Civil War

American History
Ms. Thomas
11/9/15-11/20/15

1. What does this

flag/symbol
represent to you?
Why?
2. How does it
make you feel?
Why?
3. What is the
controversy with
this flag/symbol?

DO NOW

Civil War Unit

Today
Do Now/Discussion/Confederate Flag Article
Intro to Civil War Lecture
Essential Questions and Causes

Upcoming
Civil War Project- Talk about tomorrow. 75 points!
Civil War Test (25-30 points) =November 20th

Civil War Essential Questions

Was the Civil War inevitable?
What social, political, and economic issues caused the Civil War?
Why did the election of Abraham Lincoln increase sectional tensions
between the states?
How did the war affect minorities during the period (women, free blacks,
slaves, immigrants)?
Did Reconstruction work for everyone?
How did the Civil War make modern America?

Causes of the War

Slavery
The North had little use for slavery- industrial economy
(Free States)
Abolitionists

The South had a smaller population and an agricultural economy. Needed manual labor.
(Slave states)

Sectionalism and States Rights

The North wanted a stronger federal government. They believed federal government was
supreme over the power of the states.
Southerners believed state governments should take precedence over federal power.

Economic Issues and Interests

The North thrived on its industrial economy
The South remained agricultural and had a smaller population. They couldnt keep up with
the North

The Civil War Overview

18611865
Although the United States became unified with the ratification
of the Constitution, it became clear that various factions and
sectionalism was separating the country.
From 1861 to 1865, the U.S. saw the bloodiest conflict in its
history, with over 600,000 Americans dead.
The conflict ended slavery as an institution in America and
restored the break between North and South. While states rights
and sectionalism have since remained issues, Americans have
never threatened war upon each other to the extent that they
did in the 1860s.

Major Events before the War

Dred Scot v. Stanford in 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that a slave moved from slave
to free territory remained a slave.
Led to the Fugitive Slave Act- North had to return slaves to their Southern masters.

Missouri Compromise in 1820 agreed to admit Missouri to the union as a slave state
and Maine as a free state.
The line officially divided Northern free territories from Southern slave ones.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed KS and Nebraska to choose whether they would be
free or slave states
Election of 1860- Abraham Lincoln (Republican and anti-slavery) won
Not one Southern state voted for him
Finally caused the South to secede from the Union