South Carolina and other States Secede

The secession of the Southern states


After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, states began to secede from the Union.  The first to do so was South Carolina.  The Ordinance of Secession was passed unanimously and South Carolina officially seceded. By February sixth of 1861, six more stats had seceded.  These states were Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.  In an attempt to hold the Union together, Congress tried to compromise with the seceding states.  Their attempts were ignored and the Confederate States of America formed with Jefferson Davis as the president.  They drafted a constitution which was basically the same as the American Constitution except for the fact that it guaranteed slavery, banned protective tariffs, limited the presidency to a single six-year term, and declared that each state was independent.

The secession marked the ended of the United States of America and its split into two separate countries.  It showed how far the South was willing to go to retain their ways of life.

Fort Sumter Falls

Fort Sumter


In April of 1861, Abraham Lincoln announced that he intended to resupply Fort Sumter in South Carolina.  Because the South saw itself as a new sovereign nation, "foreign" troops in one of it most vital harbors would seem unacceptable.  In an attempt to peacefully capture Fort Sumter before the supply ships arrived, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, had a letter delivered to major Robert Anderson by April 12, 1861.  After the established time of surrender passed, Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter.  After thirty-three hours of bombardment, Major Anderson and his men surrendered.

The attack on Fort Sumter was the first attack to occur during the Civil War.  The attack marked the beginning of the Civil War in the United States.

Election of 1860

The candidates in the election of 1860


In 1860, the Democratic party split over who should be the candidate for the election.  The Southern Democrats chose the current vice president, John C. Breckenridge.  Other people, such as former Whigs, created another political party known as the Constitutional Union Party, and chose John Bell as their candidate.  Realizing that they had no hope of winning any votes in the South, the Republicans decided to find someone they believed would sweep through the North and gain a large number of votes.  For this purpose, they chose Abraham Lincoln, who had become popular in the North due to the Lincoln-Douglas debates.  In the end, the democratic votes were split between Douglas and Breckenridge, allowing Lincoln to win the election without Southern support.

After Lincoln was elected, many Southerners believed their very way of life was in risk.  Southern states began to secede after Lincoln was elected.

John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

Abolitionist John Brown


John Brown was an extreme abolitionist who formulated a plan to incite a slave rebellion.  He planned to do this by capturing the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in Virginia.  After capturing the arsenal, he was going to arm the slaves in the nearby area, then spread the revolt across the U.S., thus purging slavery from America.  On the night of October 16, 1859, John Brown, along with eighteen of his followers, captured the arsenal.  Soon after seizing the arsenal, a contingent of U.S. Marines were brought from Washington D.C. to Harper's Ferry.  Only 36 hours after he captures the arsenal, John Brown was captured and tried by a Virginia court.  He was hanged on December second.

John Brown's raid resulted in a split opinion from the North and South.  While the North viewed John Brown as a hero, the South viewed it as an example of the extent to which the North would go to eliminate slavery, even if it meant bloodshed.

Kansas's Lecompton Constitution

Political cartoon concerning the Lecompton Constitution


In response to conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in Bleeding Kansas, President Buchanan urged the Kansas territory to apply for statehood.  In response to Buchanan's request, pro-slavery officials organized an election for delegates to participate in a constitutional convention.  However, anti-slavery advocates refused to participate, claiming the election was rigged.  Because the ant-slavery supporters didn't participate in the convention, the constitution drafted in the town of Lecompton (after which the constitution is named) legalized slavery.  After the constitution was established, each side held a vote on the new constitution.  President Buchanan accepted the pro-slavery vote and requested that Congress admit Kansas as a slave state.  After extreme political debate, a deal was eventually made to have a second popular vote in Kansas, which ruled in the favor of the pro-slavery supporters.  After several years of delay, Kansas finally became a state in 1861.

The Lecompton Constitution demonstrated the continued divide that was slowly pulling the United States apart at the Northern-Southern seam.  It caused troubles in the state of Kansas as well in the political battleground in Washington D.C.

Dred Scott Decision

Dred Scott

Dred Scott was an enslaved African whose master had taken him into free territory before returning with him to Missouri.  Dred Scott, with the assistance of abolitionists, sued for his freedom, claiming that since he had spent time in a free state, he was free.  The case ended up proceeding all the was to the Supreme Court.  On March 6, 1857, the verdict was declared by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.  He stated that because African American's were not citizens, they did not have the right to utilize the court system to sue someone.

The Dred Scott Case, by its indirect verdict, ended up causing more trouble because the verdict caused political arguments. It did this by stating that the federal government did not have the right to deny the ability to have slavery in the new western territories.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

A scene from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin


Uncle Tom's Cabin became one of the most purchased book in its century, second only to the Bible.  It sold 300,000 copies in its first year of print.  Originally running as a serial in an anti-slavery newspaper, Harriet Beecher Stow, the author, eventually published it in the form of a book.  The book was extremely, especially in the South.  In fact,  Southerners tried, unsuccessfully, to have the book banned, claiming that it falsely portrayed slavery.  It had such a massive impact on the opinion of the public that some historians have gone so far as to name it as one of the causes of the Civil War.

Uncle Tom's Cabin greatly influenced public opinion on slavery.  It allowed anyone with the ability to read it to what happened to enslaved Africans.  It added fuel to the anti-slavery supporter's fire.

Gadsden Purchase

Stamp commemorating the Gadsden Purchase.


In preparation for the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, a large area of land was purchased from Mexico.  This purchase became known as the Gadsden Purchase.  Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, sent James Gadsden (after whom the purchase is named) to negotiate a deal with Mexican leader Santa Anna.  In 1853, Mexico agreed to sell a 30,000-square-mile area that contained what is modern day Southern Arizona and New Mexico.  The purchase costed the United States ten million dollars.

The Gadsden Purchase provided the land through which to build the Transcontinental Railroad, paving the way for Manifest Destiny.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Abraham Lincoln (standing, center) and Stephen Douglas (seated, to left of Lincoln) held a series of debates during the campaign for senator of Illinois.


During the year 1858, in Illinois, the campaign for senator was taking place.  The two candidates in this campaign were Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln and Democratic candidate Stephen Douglas (nicknamed "The Little Giant").  During the debates, the two candidates had differing views over the primary subject of debate, slavery.  Abraham Lincoln, although not an abolitionist, believed that slavery was morally wrong and should not be allowed to spread into the Western territories.  Douglas, on the other hand, believed that states should have to right to decide on slavery using popular sovereignty (as demonstrated in the Compromise of 1850).  During the debates, Lincoln cornered Douglas by asking if the people of a territory could legally ban slavery before becoming a state.  If he responded yes, he would be losing his Southern support.  However, if he answered no, he would be dropping the principles on which he was running in the campaign.  In hope of averting any offense to any party, he responded with what became known as the Freeport Doctrine.  He stated that he accepted the ruling of the Dred Scott case, but said people could keep slavery out by simply not passing laws to regulate slavery.  Douglas's response, contrary to his hope, angered Southern supporters.

In the end, Lincoln lost the election, and Douglas was reelected a Senator of Illinois.  Despite his loss int he campaign for Senator, the debates put Abraham Lincoln on the political radar, which eventually led to his election as president.

Compromise of 1850

Henry Clay (center, standing) introduced the Compromise of 1850.


In 1850, Henry Clay proposed a plan known as the Compromise of 1850.  There were five major parts of the plan: California would enter the Union as a free state, New Mexico and Utah would decide on slavery using popular sovereignty, The Republic of Texas would relinquish lands in New Mexico and receive money to pay off their debts to Mexico, slave trade was banned in Washington D.C., and the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. After much debate, Congress didn't pass Clay's compromise.  However, Stephen A. Douglas divided the five parts of the pan into separate bills, thus allowing them to be voted on individually.  By fall of 1850, Congress had passed all parts of Compromise of 1850.

The Compromise of 1850 succeeded in easing the tensions over slavery for a short time, further postponing the Civil War.  It held a continued equal balance between the slave states supporters and the northern anti-slavery supporters.

Underground Railroad/Harriet Tubman

Slaves, such as the one pictured above, fled slavery in the South

in hopes of finding a new life as free men in the North.

The Underground Railroad was a well-organized system utilized by runaway slaves to escape the South into the North.  This organization became legendary during the 1830's by assisting thousands of slaves to escape to the North.  Members of the Underground Railroad, called "conductors," sheltered and fed runaway slaves as they led them North.  These conductors led the slaves to Northern states or Canada and provided them with money to begin their new life.  Other members of this organization, many African American, made trips into the South to guide slaves along the Underground Railroad.  Among these guides, Harriet Tubman was the most famous.  Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave from Maryland.  Another notable person along this path to freedom was Levi Coffin, a Quaker from North Carolina.  Coffin allowed an estimated 2,000 African Americans to stay at his house.  He later moved to Ohio, and allowed another 1,300 slaves to stay at that home.

Southern planters were angered by the Underground Railroad because it allowed their slaves to escape more easily.  They were especially angered that members of the Underground Railroad consisted of people from both the North and the South.

Transcontinental Railroad

The last spike was laid in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869.

When Oregon opened and California was admitted to the Union, Americans began to convince Americans that a transcontinental railroad should be built to connect the West Coast to the rest of the country in the East.  While everyone that a continental railroad needed to be built, there were disagreements as to where itts Eastern starting point should be.  Many southerners believed the starting point for the railroad should be New Orleans.  Eventually it was decided that the starting point in the East would be in Omaha, Nebraska.  In the West, the Central Pacific Railroad built eastward from Sacramento, California.  When the last spike was laid  on May 10, 1869 in Promontory, Utah, the railroad extended across six states.


In order to create the territory of Nebraska, Stephen A. Douglas would have to repeal the Missouri Compromise.  By forcing his bill through Congress, Douglas misjudged the deep-rooted dislike of slavery in the North.  His bill resulted in the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, angering the North.

Bleeding Kansas/Caning of Charles Sumner

Preston Brooks, angered by Charles Sumner's criticism of his cousin, savagely

beat him with a cane in the Senate chamber.

Because Eastern Kansas had the same climate and soil as Missouri, farmers moving from Missouri were likely to bring their slaves with them, effectively claiming Kansas for the South.  Realizing this, Northern anti-slavery supporters, supported largely by the New England Emigrant Aid Society, took arms and supplies, and headed South.  Northerners arriving in Kansas recruited and outfitted antislavery settlers against the anti-slavery supporters flooding Kansas.  On May 21, 1856, Southern anti-slavery supporters, referred to as "border ruffians by the press," attacked the town of Lawrence, an anti-slavery stronghold.  They destroyed printing presses, plundered shops and homes, and burned a hotel and the home of the free-state elected governor.

While Bleeding Kansas was occurring in the South, tempers flared over the issue of the Western territories.  In mid-May of 1856, a Massachusetts Senator named Charles Sumner gave a speech accusing the pro-slavery senators of forcing slavery upon Kansas.  During his speech, he mentioned one such senator, Senator Andrew P. Butler by name.  On May 22, Andrew Butler's second cousin, Representative Preston Brooks, approached Charles Sumner's desk in the Senate chamber and after shouting that the speech was "a libel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler, who is a relative of mine," he beat him and left him injured and bleeding on the chamber floor.

These events marked the first violent confrontations between pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters.  It also showed that the issue was deep in the government, as well as the people.

Kansas-Nebrasks Act

Conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery force escalate.

Passed in May of 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act did away with the Missouri Compromise.  It instead proposed that the new territory be divided into two separate territories, one being a slave state and the other being a free state.  Northern Democrats and Whigs were angered by Douglas's bill, believing that the Missouri Compromise was a promise to halt the spread of slavery.

As a result of this, thousands of Missourians flooded into Kansas, inciting violence and illegally voting in favor of slavery.  Basically, the Kansas-Nebraska led directly to Bleeding Kansas.  

Fugitive Slave Act/Civil Disobedience

Posters such as the one above were posted in the North to 

warn both free and fugitive blacks to beware of slave catchers.

In the year 1850, The Fugitive Slave Act was put into affect.  This act caused considerable social issues between the North and South.  Henry Clay had believed the law would be a benefit to Southern plantation owners because it would allow them to legally cross state borders into the North in order to retrieve their escaped slaves.  Though the act was passed with good intentions, it caused open hostility towards slavery in the South as well as slave-catchers coming to the North to retrieve slaves.  The Fugitive Slave act included a reward for the assistance in catching a fugitive slave.  Along with the financial incentive to boost Northern cooperation, it was also required by law that Northern marshals assist slave-catchers in catching fugitive slaves.  Many people in the North openly disobeyed the Act and assisted fugitive slaves and misled Southern slave-catchers.

As a result of the Fugitive Slave Act, there was increased hostility between the North and South over slavery.  Increasingly more than before, the hostility was open.  People in the North refused to assist Southern slave-catchers, further angering Southern plantation owners.

Wilmot Proviso/Popular Sovereignty

Letters such as this one were written by the South in protest of the Wilmot Proviso.

In August of 1846, Democratic representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania posed an addition to the was appropriations bill.  Appropriations are the funds utilized to pay for a war.  In his proposition, Wilmot suggested that "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist" in any territory obtained from Mexico.  Wilmot was a member of a group of Northern Democrats who believed James K. Polk was "pro-Southern."  The Wilmot Proviso was an act to try to put a halt to the spread of slavery.

The result of the Wilmot Proviso was a deeper split between the states, specifically the regions of North and South.  While the North claimed the new territories were a property of all the states because they themselves were not yet states, the Southern states claimed that the new territory was open to the spread of slavery.