Expansion of Slavery in the South
•Eli Whitney’s cotton gin greatlyincreases cotton production andprofits in the South
•Cotton will become the South’s #1crop
•At its peak, it will produce 75% ofthe worlds cotton.
•Increased production helpedsupport textile mills in the North.
Expansion of Slavery in the South
•Slaves provide the labor needed to produce thelarge amounts of cotton.
•Slaves did a variety of jobs on cotton plantations:
•Worked in the cotton fields
•Operated machinery and repairedbuildings/equipment
•Blacksmiths, carpenters, and skilled craftsmen
•Some females worked in the home
•Slaves in cities worked in factories, mills, and mines
Expansion of Slavery in the South
•After 1807, Constitution prohibitedbringing new slaves into the US.
•The price for slaves skyrockets.Average slave would cost $20,000 intoday’s money
•Slaves become a major investmentfor plantations
•75% of Southerners do not ownslaves.
Abolition Movement
•Many people in the Northdemand an immediate end toslavery; Called abolitionists
•William Lloyd Garrison startsAmerican Anti-SlaverySociety; has over 100,000members.
•He writes The Liberator, anabolition newspaper
Abolition Movement
•Frederick Douglas, an escapedslave, very effective advocatefor the end of slavery
•Harriet Beecher Stowe writes“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. It will sellmore copies than the Bible theyear it was released.
Underground Railroad
•Abolition supporters developed anetwork of escape routes for slavesfrom the South.
•Known as the Underground Railroad.
•Helps some 100,000 slaves escapethe South.
•Harriet Tubman was one of the mostfamous “conductors” on the railroad.
Southern Opposition
•South viewed abolition as an attack on their way of life.
•They supported Fugitive Slave Laws that forced escapedslaves and free blacks back into slavery.
•Dred Scott was the most famous escaped slave. Went toSupreme Court to gain his freedom
•Court ruled that Dred Scott was property and not a citizen;was not protected under the laws of the US
•Forced to return to slavery
Abolition and the Map ofthe US
Slavery and a Growing Nation
•Debate begins over allowingnew states to have slavery.
•Northwest Ordinance forbidsslavery in the NorthwestTerritory.
•How do we divide the LouisianaTerritory between Slave andFree?
Missouri Compromise
•In 1820, the number of free and slave states were equal, 22each.
•They had equal representation in the Senate.
•Missouri requested to be added to the US as a slave state;this would upset the balance.
•The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to enter as aslave state and Maine to enter as a free state.
•Also restricted slavery in the northern part of the LouisianaTerritory
Compromise of 1850
•California admitted as a free state.
•Utah and New Mexico will decide slavery based on popularsovereignty.
•Increased penalties of the Fugitive Slave Act
•Outlawed buying and selling of slaves in the federal district.
Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854
•Divided the Missouri Territory into the Kansas andNebraska Territory
•Allowed these territories to decide for themselveswhether they wanted slaves or not
•Known as popular sovereignty
Bleeding Kansas
•War breaks out in the Kansas territory between pro-slavery and free-soil (against slavery) forces.
•They were trying to influence the vote for slavery inthe state.
•Most famous battle was the pro-slavery raid on thetown of Lawrence; burned the buildings in the town
•John Brown gets his start here.
John Brown’s Raid
•John Brown attacks the arsenal atHarper’s Ferry.
•Hopes to arm the slaves and cause a slaverevolt.
•John Brown gets arrested and is hung.
•His last words,
“I, John Brown, am now quite certainthat the crimes of this guilty landcan never be purged away butwith blood”
Causes of the Civil War
Sectional Differencesbetween North and South
Country was separatedbetween two regions withdifferent beliefs and ways oflife.
Abolition Movement in theNorth
Abolitionists threatened theSouth by calling for the end ofslavery.
Causes of the Civil War
Territorial Expansion andIssue of Slavery
•Missouri Compromise
•Compromise of 1850
•Kansas-Nebraska Act
•Bleeding Kansas
The North and South failed toagree on whether slaverywould be allowed in newterritory in the United States.
The South failed to maintainbalance in the Senate.
Election of 1860:
Abraham Lincoln becomesPresident
Lincoln publicly declares thathe would not allow any newslave states to enter theUnited States.
This is the final straw for theSouth.
Causes of the Civil War
The South Secedes (Breaks Away)
•South Carolina votes to break away from the United States inDecember, 1860.
•Followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, andTexas by February, 1861
•Eventually joined by Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas
•Kentucky creates a both a Confederate and Union government. It willremain neutral, along with Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware.
•Confederate States of America is created in 1861, headed by Kentuckyborn Jefferson Davis.