North or South - Mrs. Alvarez United States History



North vs South: The Lead-up to Civil War

Among the causes of the American Civil War (1861-1865) were the many decisions made by politicians between 1845 and 1861, which resulted ultimately in the South seceding from the United States.

In this exercise, we will be studying these decisions and assessing how the interests of the North or the South, benefited or were injured by each, and ultimately which side had gained the most prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Directions:

- Examine the maps and handouts. Compare each with the original Missouri Compromise line, look at the

balance of northern and southern states on each, and where slavery can or cannot spread

- Then assess each of the events and weigh the evidence for each. Put a + sign for each event

that helps the northern or southern section, and a - sign if an event hurts that section and explain why

- For some events, like the Compromise of 1850, there is more then one event to take into account

For each of the following events, consider the following:

1. Affect on Congress – The Balance in the Senate (Free vs. Slave, North vs. South)

The Senate is where all states are equal no matter what the population: 2 senators from every state

• Before the Civil War, the Senate tried to maintain an equal number “free states” (north) and “slave states” (south) in the Senate was preserved to prevent either side from becoming more powerful than the other

• Each time a state was added, its constitution’s position on slavery would impact that balance (see Missouri Compromise below)

2. Affect on the spread of slavery

( Issue 1: Missouri Compromise

of 1820

• Maine entered the Union as a Free State; Missouri as a Slave State

• All territory north of the line 36° 30’ N was free from slavery (except, of course, Missouri)

• All territory south of the line 36° 30’ N was open to slavery

• Issue decided by Congress

DO: on this map, extend

the Missouri Compromise

Line west to the Pacific

Ocean!

Issue 2: Popular sovereignty in the 1850s allowed the people of a territory to decide the issue of slavery themselves

• Idea that essentially replaced the Missouri Compromise between 1850 and 1860

• In areas that had been closed to slavery by the Missouri Compromise, popular sovereignty allowed the possibility the territory would become open to slavery, a plus for the south

• Once this authority was handed over to the people, Congress could do little to control the issue of slavery in the territories

Part One. In the space below define or explain the key points each of the following:

• The Missouri Compromise

• Annexation of Texas (1845)

• US War with Mexico / Mexican Cession (1846-1848)

• California Gold Rush (1849)

• Compromise of 1850

• Gadsden Purchase (1853)

• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

• Dred Scott v. Sandford (Dred Scott Decision 1857)

• Election of 1860

Name______________________________________ Class _______ Date ________________________

On the chart below, explain how each decision affected the balance on the Senate and the restriction of or spread of slavery under the Missouri Compromise and/or Popular Sovereignty and list in each box

• For each entry, add a + if the decision had a positive effect, and - if it had a negative effect

|South |North |

|Missouri Compromise |Missouri Compromise |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|Annexation of Texas |Annexation of Texas |

| | |

| | |

|Mexican Cession |Mexican Cession |

| | |

| | |

|California Gold Rush |California Gold Rush |

| | |

| | |

|Compromise of 1850 |Compromise of 1850 |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

| | |

|Gadsden Purchase |Gadsden Purchase |

| | |

| | |

|Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) |Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) |

| | |

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| | |

| | |

|Dred Scott Decision 1857 |Dred Scott Decision 1857 |

| | |

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|Election of 1860 |Election of 1860 |

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Key Points (Part One):

Missouri Compromise (1820)

o Missouri – enters Union as a “slave” state:

o Maine - enters Union as a “free” state:

o All US territories north of the 36° 30´ N line: No slavery allowed

o All US territories south of the 36° 30´ N line: Slavery allowed

Annexation of Texas (1845)

o Texas was joined to the United States (became the 28th state)

o Mexico considered that Texas was part of Mexico

War with Mexico / Mexican Cession (1846-1848)

o US War with Mexico over the boundary between Texas and Mexico

o US defeated Mexico

o Mexican Cession: were the lands won by the US from Mexico

California Gold Rush (1849)

o Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill and hundreds of thousands of people rushed

to California to find gold

o Within a year, CA population exceeded 60,000; CA applies for statehood

Compromise of 1850

o California – to enter the Union as a free state

o New Mexico, Utah territories, would enter Union by popular sovereignty

o Foreign slave trade in Washington D.C – ended

o Stronger fugitive slave (runaway slave) law passed

Gadsden Purchase (1853)

o Land bought from Mexico for a transcontinental railroad

o Congress divided over a northern route or a southern route; issue was not settled

before the Civil War

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

o Allowed popular sovereignty or the people of the territories of Kansas &

Nebraska decide if they wanted slavery or not

Dred Scott v. Sandford (Dred Scott Decision 1857)

o Slaves were not citizens

o Living in/moving to a “free” state did not make slaves free

o The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional; Congress could not ban slavery

in the territories

Election of 1860

o November: Abraham Lincoln captured the presidency without a single electoral

vote from the South

o December: The Lower South begins seceding, formed the Confederate States of America

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[pic]

Keeps the balance of free and slave states in the Senate

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