1. A HOUSE DIVIDING
SECTIONALISM AND THE ROAD
TO THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
Kristin Prusinski
EPI 0003 Educational Technology
Mrs. Carolyn Slygh
May 29, 2012

2. What We Will Cover Today

3. Guiding Questions to Think About
1. How did the Missouri Compromise of 1820
illustrate the widening divide between northern
and southern states?
2. What were the leading arguments against slavery
in the antebellum era and how did slaveholders
defend the "peculiar institution"?
3. How did the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln
lead to the secession of southern states and
eventually civil war?

4. The North in
the 1820s
• Industrial
centers like
New York,
Boston, &
Philadelphia.
• Most
northerners
considered
slavery
barbaric and
cruel.

5. The South in
the 1820s
• Heavily agrarian
in economy &
outlook.
• Used slaves to
operate large
plantations.
• Southern states
angry about
taxes on foreign
imports used to
fund northern
factories.

6. The Missouri Compromise: A Temporary Solution
Missouri applies for statehood in 1819. Maine applies
for statehood in 1820.
The north wants them to be free states. The south
wants them to be slave states.
• But America was
also expanding
west towards the
Pacific coast.
Would these states
be slave or free?

7. The Fight Over Slavery
The South: “our peculiar
The North: Abolition
institution”
 Northern states began  Southern states regarded
abolishing slavery after slavery as crucial to their
1776. agrarian economy.
 Abolitionists (anyone who  Pro-slavery argued that
opposes slavery) thought slavery was less cruel than
it totally inhumane and work in Northern factories
economically infeasible.  South calls it their
 Free states were richer “peculiar institution”
than slave states.

8. Repeals the
Missouri
Compromise.
Admits Kansas
& Nebraska as
states.
Popular
Sovereignty
decides if they
are slave
states. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
of 1854

9. The Kansas-Nebraka Act, continued
Popular Sovreignty meant allowing the settlers of
Kansas and Nebraska decide on whether they would
allow slavery in their state or not.
Kansas becomes a battleground for the slavery
debate.
The North did not want slavery spreading west into
Kansas & Nebraska. The South does. America is
polarized. Interactive 1854 Map

10. •The fight over
which new states
were declared
“free” or “slave”
was not only
about the
institution of
slavery
•People, and
politicians
especially, were
concerned about
the balance of
power in Was the division only
Congress.
about slavery?
•America
Divided Video

11. Lincoln Enters the Political Arena Again
Abraham Lincoln had been a congressman during
the Mexican-American War, but left public service
for 5 years to attend to his law practice.
•After the passage of the
Kansas-Nebraska Act, Lincoln
decided to reenter politics to
fight the spread of slavery
westward.
•Although he had always wanted slavery to end, he
knew early on there would be no peaceful means to
do so.

12. The Start of
the 1860
Election
One of the most
contentious
elections in
American
history.
America had
been deeply
divided for
almost ten
years leading
up to it.

13. The 1860 Election
Four delegates ran for president in this election:
 Abraham Lincoln, Republican, Illinois
 John C. Breckenridge, Southern
Democratic, Kentucky
 John Bell, Constitutional Union,
Tennessee
 Stephen A. Douglas, Democrat, Illinois
 Thisrace would ultimately decide the fate of the
union, and whether the south would secede

14. Electoral College Voting Results
for the 1860 Election

15. States are
already
starting the
secesion
process before
Lincoln is even
inagurated on
the steps of the
as yet
unfinished
capitol
buildingThe Lincoln Wins the 1860
Road to War Election
Video

16. Lincoln Tips
the Scales
Lincoln’s election
is a breaking point
for many southern
states that wish to
preserve their
autonomy,
especially as it
relates to slavery,
which they
consider their
livlihood.
South Carolina is
the first to secede
in 1860.

17. The Confederate States of America
After Lincoln
was elected, 11
states seceded
to form the
Confederate
States of
America in
1861

18. The Road to Civil War
The Civil War did not begin because these 11
southern states seceded.
The Civil War began because Lincoln and the Union
decided to resist the secession, and push back,
forcing the confederacy to rejoin the Union.
Pictured left, one
of the first battles
of the Civil War at
Fort Sumter,
South Carolina

19. The Road to Civil War
Going into the war it was unclear which side had the
most advantage.
Because the North and South had developed so
differently over the past 50 years they had many
different advantages.
The North had manpower and industry, but the
South had highly trained military leaders.

20. Conclusion & Summary
The path to the American Civil War started more than
40 years before any actual fighting took place because the
North and South were so divided.
The issue of slavery was at the heart of this division.
The Missouri-Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act
attempted to resolve the issue.
Ultimately the election of Lincoln would drive southern
states to secede, and the union would respond in battle.

21. Questions for Review
What was the significant
legislation that intesified
the North-South divide?
How did southeners
characterize slavery?
Could the Civil War have
been prevented? Why or
why not?

22. References
United States Library of Congress. Retrieved May 24,
2012 from http://www.loc.gov/index.html
HarpWeekly. Retrieved May 24, 2012 from
http://www.harpweek.com/
Edsitement. Retrieved May 15, 2012 from
http://edsitement.neh.gov/curriculum-unit/growing-
crisis-sectionalism-antebellum-america-house-
dividing