Key Players
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Charles Sumner:
John Brown:
Stephen Douglas:
Abraham Lincoln:
Jefferson Davis:
Ulysses S. Grant:
Robert E. Lee:
William Tecumseh Sherman:
|
Harriet Beecher Stowe is a very well known author who is credited with the publishing of her all-powerful, anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. This best selling novel centers around the life of a black slave known as Uncle Tom and reveals the horrors of Southern slavery to people in the North. Stowe's novel features heavy abolitionist themes which created high levels of animosity between the North and the South. Many believe that the publishing of Uncle Tom's Cabin laid down the ground work for the start of the civil war. Charles Sumner was a senator from Massachusetts who had strong antislavery beliefs. He was the leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate, which was a powerful group that worked to destroy the Confederacy and free all the slaves. In 1856, Sumner was almost killed in an assassination attempt by Preston Brooks, a South Carolina Congressman, who was angered over Sumner's "The Crime Against Kansas" anti-slavery speech. This failed attempt at killing Sumner was one of the many contributions to the coming of the Civil War. Sumner was also known for the heavy amount of pressure he put on Abraham Lincoln to emancipate the slaves, let blacks fight in the Civil War, and also for equal suffrage for black males. John Brown was an abolitionist who strongly believed that the use of violence was the only way to put an end to slavery. During the Bleeding Kansas conflict, Brown recruited a small group of men and led them through multiple battles. In 1859, Brown and his followers raided the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, yet failed to succeed as Brown and many of his men were captured in the process. Brown's plan was to arm slaves with weapons from the arsenal and thus begin a slave rebellion. After his capturing, Brown was then convicted of treason in trail which resulted in death by hanging. This raid at Harper's Ferry escalated tensions and contributed to the start of civil war later on. Stephen Douglas was a Democratic politician from Illinois who is credited with the creation of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Douglas ran for president in 1860, but lost to Abraham Lincoln, who represented the Republican party. Prior to the presidential election of 1860, Douglas had defeated Lincoln in an election for State Senate in 1858. This senate race is famously remembered for the popular Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. Both Douglas and Lincoln held different views on what should be done to the institution of slavery in the U.S.. Lincoln wished to abolish slavery while Douglas favored the continuation of having some slave states and some non-slave states. Although eventually, when Lincoln was president, Douglas adopted Lincoln's views and supported the abolition of slavery in the U.S.. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He was elected in 1861, famously remembered for the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 during a campaign for State Senate. Once Lincoln was elected, many southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy, contributing to the start of civil war a month after his inauguration. Lincoln then made it a goal to preserve the Union through the war. During Lincoln's presidential term he worked alongside the abolitionists on behalf of a common anti-slavery cause. Soon after, Lincoln found himself issuing the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which legally freed all slaves. Jefferson Davis was a Mississippi native who became the President of the Confederate States of America. He was responsible for planning out the Confederate war strategies, but was unable to defeat the Union. Prior to his involvement in civil war, Davis graduated from West Point and served six years as a lieutenant in the Army. Davis also served as a Democratic U.S. senator and strongly supported slavery in the U.S.. Although Davis struggled to succeed in war, his efforts were noted and he was able to keep his position of President of the Confederate States of America through out the entire war. Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States. Grant graduated from West Point and served as a soldier in the Mexican-American War. When Civil War began, Grant joined the Union Army, taking on small commanding positions and eventually working his way up to Secretary of War. As head commander of the Union Army, Grant successfully led the Union Army to a final victory over the Confederate Army in which Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. Prior to his involvement in Civil War, Lee became an officer in the U.S. Army for 32 years after graduating from West Point. Lee then went on to play a key role in the Mexican-American War. Although Robert E. Lee was recruited to the all-powerful Union Army by Abraham Lincoln, Lee turned down the offer and fought for his native state of Virginia. Even with his strongest efforts Lee was unable to defeat the Union Army and eventually was forced to surrender to Ulysses S. Grant. William Tecumseh Sherman was a general in the Union Army during the Civil War. Sherman was very successful in the commanding of Union troops. In 1864, Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander and then lead his troops to the successful capture of the city of Atlanta. This fortunate victory by he Union Army strongly contributed to the re-election of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. |
Long Term Causes
Economic:
Political (Increasing Sectionalism):
Economic:
- Job competition (for immigrants)
- Different types of economy
- Industrial
- Capital North v. slave labor
- Agricultural south
- Opposed to the use of slave labor
- Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Political (Increasing Sectionalism):
- Fugitive Slave Act/Personal Liberty Laws
- Kansas-Nebraska Act (Bleeding Kansas)
- Dred Scott Decision
- The Compromise of 1850
Triggering Events
- Lincoln is elected President in 1860
- In February of 1861, The Confederate States of America is formed
- Jefferson Davis is elected President of the Confederate States
- Confederacy fires on South Carolina Union fort at Fort Sumter in April, 1861