How the War Began...

The American Civil War was a conflict between the northern states and the southern states. The northern states referred to themselves as the Union because they fought for the union of the United States of America. The secessionist southern states fought for independence and state's rights.

The secessionist movement began well before the start of the Civil War. A southern secessionist attitude can be sensed since the early 1800’s and the great compromise laid down by Henry Clay. The compromise lasted 15 or so years until the Missouri Compromise. The compromise stated that all land below the 36 - 30 line would be slave, all land above the line would be free, Missouri would be admitted as a slave state and Maine would be admitted as a free state. Sectional differences became more apparent as more conflicts arose between North and South.

With the introduction of the cotton gin in the early 1800’s, the United States saw a resurgence in Slavery, the foundation of the southern economy, and rising sectional differences.

The first clash between the North and the South came in 1819 when Missouri asked for admission into the Union as a slave state. However, the recent Tallamadge Amendment provided that no new slaves were to be brought into the state and that the already existing slaves were to be gradually emancipated. Southerners saw that the Tallamadge amendment would be a threat to sectional balance and therefore was defeated in the senate. (It is good to note that as time passed, the North was becoming more thickly settled, giving it dominance in the House of Representatives while in the Senate every state had 2 representatives, giving the south the advantage in the Senate and providing balance) The rift between North and South was solved the old American way- through compromise. Henry Clay played a key role in the drafting know as the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The compromise provisions went as follows: 1) Missouri enters the union as a slave state. 2) All states south of the 36 - 30 line in the Louisiana purchase would be admitted as slave states while all states above the 36 - 30 would be free. The compromise would last for 15 years.

The second clash between the North and South came in 1850 again over slavery. California asked for admittance into the union, having a potentially devastating effect on the balance between North and South. New Mexico and Utah were also looking to be admitted as Free States. The decision made over California would set the precedent for the rest of the Mexican cession Territory. Other grievances added to the controversy. Texas was being threatened by the Federal Govt. The government wanted to down-size Texas by removing territory and giving it to New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. Additionally, southerners were also angered over the possibility of the removal of slavery from the District of Columbia as well as the problem of runaway slaves and the underground railroad.

Southern fears were so great that Congress had a major problem in 1850. The great problem was solved by the fantastic trio of Calhoun, Clay and Webster. The compromise, after heated debate, was decided in late 1850 and provides as follows: California enters as a free state. Territory disputed by Texas and New Mexico to be surrendered to New Mexico. The slave trade (NOT SLAVERY) was permitted in the District of Columbia. Territories of New Mexico and Utah were created and open to slavery (popular sovereignty). Texas to receive 10 million for compensation. A more stringent Fugitive Slave Law.

Click on one of the Senators below to read their arguments for or against the Compromise of 1850.

As 1860 approached, many things occurred that would warrant the occurrence of the civil war. The first thing to happen which further destroyed the relationship between the North and the South was the publishing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book opened the eyes of the North to the cruelty and the savageness of slavery. The book was a success and when Beecher Stowe met Lincoln for the first time in 1862, the president said, “So your’re the little woman that wrote this book that made this great war.”

The second event which accelerated the start of the Civil war were the events involving John Brown. John Brown, with a few helping hands, traveled to Harpers Ferry where he seized a federal arsenal. His plan was to arm slaves and have them rise against their masters. However, not very many slaves knew about his plan and John Brown was captured and later hanged. But his actions struck fear into the South. Many began to question the motives of the North and the Union.

The Dred-Scott decision was another occurrence which sped the arrival of the Civil War. Dred Scott, a slave, traveled with his master and resided in Illinois and then Wisconsin territory for a number of years. With the help of abolitionists, he sued for his freedom because he felt that since he lived on free soil that he was free.. Dred Scott was denied his freedom on the basis that he is a slave, therefore he is private property of the slave owner and can be taken into any territory. This was devastating for the Northern cause but a major win for the South.

Yet all these events came to a head at the election of 1860. 5 candidates ran for the presidency in 1860: Lincoln - a republican, Breckinridge - a democrat, Bell from the constitutional union and Douglas - a southern democrat. The south threatened that if Lincoln would win, they would secede. Lincoln won, receiving 180 electoral votes, none of which came from below the Mason Dixon line. Four days after the election, the first wave of southern states began to secede. They included South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. After the first battle of the war at Fort Sumter on April 12 and 13, 1861, four more states seceded. The second wave included Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.