The 1860 Election & the Coming of the Civil War

I. Three Long Term Causes of the Civil War

A. The Rise of the Anti-Slavery Movement (1830s)

B. Slavery and Westward Expansion (1840s)

C. Bad Political Leaders (1850s)

B. The Late 1850s: The Crisis Worsens

1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin Upsets the South (1852)

2. The Dred Scott Decision: Slavery on Free Soil (1857)

C. John Brown’s Failed Raid to Free Slaves (1859)

III. The 1860 Election and Secession

A. The 1860 Election: Rising Republicans and Divided Democrats

B. Lincoln: The “Minority” President-Elect (Nov.)

C. 7 Southern States Secede (Dec.-Jan.)

D. The Crittendon Amendments and Failed Compromise (Jan-March)

E. The First Shots & 4 Years of War (April)

IV. Lingering Questions: What Ifs…..

• The south hadn’t seceded?

• Lincoln had accepted the Crittendon Compromise?

• Northerners had just paid southerners to free their slaves?