Causes of The Civil War Flashcards
Missouri Compromise
drew a line across the nation to separate the north and the south into slave/free states, adopted Missouri as a Slave State and Maine as a free state
prohibited slavery north of the 36-30 line in the Louisiana Territory except for Missouri
exposed the deep divisions between the north and the south because Northerners increasingly opposed the expansion of slavery and southerners viewed restrictions on slavery as a threat to their economic and political interests
the compromise was only a temporary solution
Wilmot Proviso
decided that California, New Mexico, and Utah would be closed to slavery
divided congress along regional lines
Northerners supported the Wilmot Proviso and feared that adding these territories as slave states would give slave states more members in Congress and deny economic opportunities to free workers
Southerners opposed the Wilmot Proviso and argued that slaves were property and were thus protected by the Constitution and argued the Proviso was unconstitutional
the Wilmot Proviso was never passed
Secession
Formal withdrawal from a state or union
Southern states threatened to secede
There was a border dispute in which Texas, a slave state, claimed the eastern half of New Mexico territory where the issue of slavery had not yet been settled
Northerners demanded the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia
Southerners accused the north of failing to uphold the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
The South’s economy relied heavily on slavery, and they feared that the growing abolitionist movement in the North and the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 would lead to the restriction or abolition of slavery. They also believed in the principle of states’ rights, arguing that individual states should have the authority to make decisions about slavery and other issues without federal interference.
