The Causes of War
Fugitive Slave Act
The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act was a component of the Compromise of 1850. The terms of the Fugitive Slave Act were very harsh. This law eliminated the right of slaves to have a trial by jury. This was a right that was granted to citizens of the United States by the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution. Under the Fugitive Slave Act, fugitives could no longer testify on their own behalf. The most controversial portion of this act required all people in the free states to help capture and return escaped slaves.
The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act was hated by abolitionists. The Fugitive Slave Act created an Underground Railroad. This was a network of over 3,000 homes and other stations that helped slaves escape from the Southern states to the North and into Canada.
The Fugitive Slave Act and the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was dangerous. Abolitionists were helping slaves escape by cover of night. The slaves attempted to travel secretly, without food, for long distances. The Fugitive Slave Act made it so that already escaped slave’s freedom was in jeopardy. View The Fugitive Slave Act was a Threat to Free Blacks from eMediaVASM to explore how the Fugitive Slave Act impacted the Underground Railroad.
Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe
Northern abolitionists and Southern defenders of slavery shared opposite views. Key abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas, David Walker, and John Brown wanted to see the emancipation of slaves. During this time, a fugitive network of people began to help slaves escape and the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was published that generated reactions from the North and South. In this interactivity, learn about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, and Harriet Beecher Stowe and her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Click the player button to begin.
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Impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin
When growing up, Harriet Beecher Stowe saw the horrors of slavery at a young age. Stowe’s commitment to the abolitionist cause was strengthened after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. Her main contribution to the Abolitionist Movement was the writing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel that showed slavery from the view point of slaves. View Harriet Beecher Stowe: Uncle Tom’s Cabin from eMediaVASM to learn more about the impact of one of the most influential novels in the history of the United States.
The Dred Scott Decision
This issue of slavery came before the Supreme Court in 1857. Dred Scott filed a lawsuit for his freedom and the freedom of his family. Scott believed he should be a free man since he had lived in free territory for several years. The Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott case would further divide the Union, leading to Civil War. In this interactivity, explore the Dred Scott Decision and how it caused more sectional tension over the issue of slavery and became a cause of the Civil War. Click the player button to begin.
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Consequences of the Dred Scott Decision
A United States Supreme Court ruling against Dred Scott eliminated the rights of Black Americans. The decision in the Dred Scott case allowed slaves to be owned in all states and territories in the United States. View The Abolitionists: What was the Dred Scott Decision? from eMediaVASM to learn more about the consequences of the Dred Scott decision.
Ineffective Presidencies of the 1850s
Prior to the Dred Scott case, several disagreements over the issue of the expansion of slavery occurred. With each failed compromise, tension built between the Northern and Southern states, leading to civil war. The first issue came about when California became a free state in 1850. Since the majority of California was below the Missouri Compromise line, Southerners expected this state to accept slavery. The Kansas-Nebraska Act caused more sectional tension as Northerners and Southerners tried to gain control in Congress. Unfortunately, the presidency was ineffective in the 1850s and any attempts to calm sectional disagreements created more sectional differences. In this interactivity, learn about the three ineffective presidents during the 1850s and how their poor leadership was a cause for civil war. Click the player button to begin.
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James Buchanan
James Buchanan put his trust in constitutional law to settle the sectional differences between the North and South. With the ruling in the Dred Scott case, his attempts backfired. During his time as president, tensions between the North and South grew and South Carolina attempted to secede. View James Buchanan – 60-Second Presidents from eMediaVASM to learn about ineffectiveness of the fifteenth president of the United States.
The Election of Lincoln, Secession, and the Start of the Civil War
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln ran for president. Even without a single vote from the Southern states in the Electoral College, Lincoln won the election. In response to his election, the Southern states took action and seceded from the Union. The seceding states formed the Confederate States of America. During his inaugural address, President Lincoln put the blame for a future civil war on the seceding states when he said, "In your hands my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war..." The Confederacy chose war when they attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. This marked the beginning of the Civil War. In this interactivity, explore the election of Lincoln, secession, and the start of the Civil War. Click the player button to begin.
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The Causes of War Review
Now that you have investigated the causes of the Civil War, complete this activity to check your knowledge. In this non-graded interactivity, read each question and check the boxes next to the correct answer(s). Click the player button to get started.