us civil war - origins Flashcards
what is federalism
national and state laws have shared responsibilities.
federal: declare war, maintain armed forces
state: maintain schools, local governments
strengths and weaknesses of federalism
+ maintains connections between Americans and their state
+ easier to control when delegating power
+allowed early us government to achieve and maintain stability
- overlap of boundaries means it difficult to assign blame
- different taxes for each state
- less governmental powers for state
what is the 10th ammendment
if its not mentioned inthe constitution, and not explicitly said to be prohibited, then its up to state government to decide on what to do
how did the 10th amendment affect slavery
if the federal governemnt doesnt have a strong stance on slavery, it would be dependent on state governments to decide and slavery could still existw
what did the north think of federalism?
- wanted strong federal government
- policies such as infastructure and tarrifs were seen as necessary
- federal governemnt was in north
what did south think of federalism?
- wanted weak federal government
- wanted more autonomy
- thought government was promoting northern interests at the expense of southern interests
what was the nullification crisis 1832-33
1832-33
powers not delegated to the states by the constitution, nor prohibitied are reserved to the states
what was the 1828 tarrif act
aim: to protect factories by taxing imports from europe to raise the prices of foreign goods, to encourage the us economy
what was the impact of the 1828 tarrif act??
if the us taxed britain, britain could tax the us, meaning it would hurt their economy due to the cotton and textile industry.
it would make it difficult for britain to pay for cotton that they imported from the south
what did south carolina think of the 1828 tarrif act?
they believed they could nullify the law is they didnt think it was in their best interest and so they would stay in the union.
they hoped other southern states would rally behind them and their stance
what was the force act?
allowed us to enforce federal laws
had the goal of forcing south carolina to pay federal import tariffs
passed in response to the nullification crisis
what was the compromise tarrif act of 1833
adopted to gradually reduce taxes over the next decade until it matches the levels set in 1816
what did the democrats believe
- opposed federal government
- favoured state rights
- opposed tarrifs
- supported by south and poorer immigrants
- supported westward expansion
what did the whigs believe?
- favoured government
- supported tariffs
- seen as party of buisness and old elites
- some whigs supported social reforms such as abolition of slavery
what is sectionalism?
loyalty to one’s own reigons or section of the country, rather than the country as a wholeco
compare the industry in n and s
n - saw industry as the way forward for the economy
s - mainly agricultural work
compare the infastructure in the n and s
n - signficant increase in railway industry and the majority of these railways connected nothern cities and ports
s - wasn’t very industrialised and thought they could live without it
compare the agriculture in n and s
n - embraced new scientific approaches such as fertilisers, crop rotations and machinery
s - traditional values and methods
compare the mechanisation in n and s
n - used technology a lot more which helped boost production rates and the economy
s- saw it as a threat to slavery
compare labour in the n and s
n - use of free labour, so workers could strive to improve their lot. connected to american dream
s - depended on slave labour, the population lacked motivation of pay or improving position, so lower productivity
compare wealth distribution in n and s
n - not distributed equally, with 10% having 70%
s - growth in demand for cotton brought wealth to south but again, not distributed equally
compare investment in n and s
n - invested in machinery, factories and technology
s - invested in slavery
compare urbanisation in n and s
n - integrated economy with commercial farmers and manufacturing cities. famers changed from being self sufficient to being with new transportation which drew them into a new market economy. some cities saw massive growth due to transport
s- urbanisation was not common
compare tariffs in n and s
n - loved tarrifs because it benefitted them, by putting tarrifs on foreign goods, it favoured us economy
s- they saw it as favouring the north whilst alientating south’s key markets for their products
what is the historiography for this?
Charles Beard - claimed civil war was a conflict between planter dominated south and modern, capitalist north
why was sectionalism growing in the us?
both north and south thought they were superior
each side thought what they were doing was right
what are the shared similarites between n and s
- shared history
- shared religion - protestant christianity dominated both
- shared legal and political systems
- common language
- 75% of southern families did not own slaves
‘discuss how nullification crisis deepened sectional differences’
- tarrif act
- force act
- compromise act
- slavery
- economy
- industrialisation
‘in 1850 there was more to unite than divide north and south’ to what extent do you agree
- federalism yes
- slavery yes
- social divisons yes
- industrialisation no
- slavery no
- compromise act yes
compare and contrast the economic differences
compare:
- both benefitted from slavery
- compromise act
- social divisions
contrast
- industrialisation
- work force
- tarrifs
what was bleeding sumner
Senator Charles Sumner said there was a southern conspriacy to make kansas a slave state and said that ANDREW BUTLER was behind it. anti slavery speeches
BUTLER’s newphew Preston Brooks (democrat) entered his senate chambers and began striking him with a cane. Brooks was seen as a hero.
impact: south saw themselves as chivalrous, but are choosing violence in comparison to the north using speeches and education.
