u7 causes of civil war

u7 causes of the civil war 

missouri compromise 

• 1820 missouri becomes a slave state while maine becomes a free state 

• prohibited slavery north of 36 30 + lousiana, excluding missouri (later overturned by kansas nebraska act) 

nat turners rebellion 

• nat turner (pastor/religious leader) led rebellion of 60+ slaves that killed 57+ whites 

• instilled fear abt future rebellions 

compromise of 1850 

• henry clay (popular sovereignty) 

• wd land acquired from mexico be slave or free? 

• california was free, new mex, nevada, arizona, utah could decide 

• stopped the washington dc slave trade 

fugitive slave acts 

• escaped slaves must be captured and returned (police involvement) 

uncle toms cabin 

• novel by harriet beecher stowe about fugitive slave act 

• very powerful in driving public support/awareness 

kansas nebraska act 

• stephen a. douglas 

• repealed missouri compromise by allowing kansas/nebraska to decide for themselves 

• bleeding kansas 

  • raid in lawrence, kansas (john brown murdered 5 proslavery men) 

• caning of charles sumner 

  • spoke out against stephen a. douglas (crime against kansas) 

  • 2 days later preston brookes attacked him w a cane on the senate floor

dred scott vs. sandford 

• he and his family sued on the grounds that their master took them to free territory (they shd be freed!) 

• scott was a non citizen (as a slave) and couldn’t sue 

• represented the justice system’s views on slavery 

john brown’s raid 

• planned to capture weapons w 20+ men and raid harpers ferry, va 

• planned to arm and free slaves 

• us marines captured brown b4 he could do anything 

• southerners feared another raid (considered leaving union bc of tension) 

secession 

• they joined union freely, they can also leave it 

• dec 20, 1860 south carolina left the union (1st to do so) 

• formed the conf. states of america 

• jefferson davis as president 

fort sumter 

• conf. opened fire on sumter, a federal fort 

• after 30hrs of fighting union troops surrendered 

• marked beginning of the civil war.