What was the above device used for?

What message is the painter trying to

convey in the picture below?

Economic Differences between the North and the South

In terms of economics, the north was much more industrial than the south which was agricultural (agrarian). Manufacturing in the north caused northerners to favor high tariffs to protect their products from low priced European imports.

High tariffs caused southerners to pay more for finished goods since there were few factories in the south. The south hated tariffs. Remember South Carolina and nullification (they believed they could ignore federal laws)!

In 1832, a tariff was passed and South

Carolina argued that since it was a sovereign state, it had the right to cancel or “nullify” any federal law it deemed

unconstitutional. Guess which state’s rights

President told southerners to stick it?

The Nullification

Crisis

The biggest social difference was the institution of slavery in the south. With the growing abolitionist movement, many southerners were worried that northerners would end their southern way of life. Uncle Tom’s Cabin and John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry made many southerners believe northerners would try to end slavery in the south.

The Power Struggle in DC

Starting with the Constitutional Convention, Southerners worked to keep control of Congress. They wanted to protect their lifestyle & they worked extremely hard to make certain that southern states did not lose any power in the Congress. If they did, they knew tariffs would increase. Well, as more northern states were added to the union, the South did lose control of Congress. So southerners knew it was very important for new states from the south to enter the Union as slave states. There were three very important events which helped keep the United States from entering a Civil War before 1861.

Virginia Slave Revolts

Gabriel ProsserAugust 30 1800: A large scale slave uprising led by Gabriel Prosser was aborted due to betrayal and bad weather. The slaves who lived near Richmond had recruited up to 1000 fellow slaves to participate in the armed rebellion. After they were betrayed by two slaves, Governor Monroe declared martial law in Richmond and called out the militia. Prosser was captured, and he and 55 others were executed. John Randolph of Virginia, who interrogated Prosser, stated: "the accused have exhibited a spirit, which if it becomes general, must deluge the southern country in blood. They manifested a sense of their rights, and contempt of danger."

                     

Nat TurnerIn August 1831, Nat Turner, an illiterate slave and preacher, organized and led a slave revolt. More than 50 whites were killed over the course of the revolt.

Three thousand armed men pursued Turner and his supporters, killing most of them, as well as many innocent African Americans. Turner escaped capture until November, when he was captured and hung.

In response to the uprising, alave states tightened their restrictions on slaves.

                                     

Abolitionists: those trying to end slavery.

William Lloyd Garrison

In the very first issue of his anti-slavery newspaper, the Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison stated, "I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. . . . I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD." And Garrison was heard. For more than three decades, from the first issue of his weekly paper in 1831, until after the end of the Civil War in 1865 when the last issue was published, Garrison spoke out eloquently and passionately against slavery and for the rights of America's black inhabitants.

Harriet Beecher Stowe & Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Antislavery novel focusing on the lives of slaves. Simon Legree was the cruel overseer of Uncle Tom. Northerners read it with great interest while southerners read it with disdain. In response, George Fitzhugh wrote Cannibals All, about how Northerners take advantage of their employees. To many Southerners, working in a northern factory or mill was worse than slavery.

Harriet TubmanNot afraid to use force, Tubman used the underground railroad to free over 300 hundred slaves. At one point, a bounty of $40,000 was placed for her capture.

Frederick DouglasFrederick Douglass was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement, which fought to end slavery within the United States in the decades prior to the Civil War. A brilliant speaker, Douglass was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to engage in a tour of lectures, and so became recognized as one of America's first great black speakers. He won world fame when his autobiography was publicized in 1845. Two years later he began publishing an antislavery paper called the North Star.

Douglass served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. He urged Lincoln to use freed slaves as soldiers and emancipate existing slaves.

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry, 1859

John Brown leads a raid on a federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA (now West Virginia). His goal: to get enough guns and ammunition to start and sustain a slave rebellion throughout the South. The raid ended when US troops led by Robert E. Lee surrounded the arsenal and forced Brown to surrender. He was tried and executed in Virginia. Before he was executed, Brown said more blood would be shed over the slavery issue. Was he right?

Seneca Falls ConferenceJuly, 1848

Many female abolitionists took up another cause, women’s suffrage (voting rights) for women. Two early suffragists, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, held a conference in Seneca Falls, NY. They and 100 others signed a declaration calling for equal rights for women, including the right to vote. Most courts gave women, especially wives, very little in the way of legal rights.

Starting with the Constitutional Convention, Southerners worked to keep control of Congress. They wanted to protect their lifestyle & they worked extremely hard to make certain that southern states did not lose any power in the Congress. If they did, they knew tariffs would increase. Well, as more northern states were added to the union, the South did lose control of Congress. So southerners knew it was very important for new states from the south to enter the Union as slave states. There were three very important events which helped keep the United States from entering a Civil War before 1861.

Congressional Power and New States

The Compromise of 1820, aka the Missouri CompromiseRemember northern and Southern leaders in Congress did not want to lose the power they had. Therefore, Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine was added to the Union as a free state. This way both sides still have the equal power in Congress.

The Compromise of 1850The question now was should CA enter the Union as a free or slave state. Southerners

were totally against CA entering the Union as a free

state, but it did just that. As a compromise, northerners agree to the Fugitive Slave

Act. The federal government will prosecute anyone who does not help return run

away slaves. Also the territories of NM and Utah

would decide by popular vote whether or not their states will become slave or free?

The Kansas Nebraska Act, aka

“Bleeding Kansas” 1856

The Kansas Nebraska Act allowed the territories of Kan. and Neb. to allow the voters in that region to decide whether or not their states would be free or slave. The Act contradicted the MO Compromise. Abolitionists were outraged. People for and against slavery flooded into the territories. Anger led to violence. John Brown led many raids. Lecompton was the proslavery capital and Topeka was the antislavery capital. Whigs are replaced by Republicans.

The drawing at right shows a raid on Lawrence, Kansas by William Quantrill's notorious band of Confederate guerillas on August 21, 1856. The attackers killed 150 people and destroyed over 200 buildings.

Other Foreshadowing Events of the Civil War

Bleeding Sumner1856

Outraged by what Charles Sumner, a Republican, had said about Senator Andrew Butler. Sumner charged Butler with having an ugly mistress, slavery! Outraged by what Sumner said, Representative Preston Brooks, Butler’s nephew, beat Sumner 30 times with his cane. It took Sumner four years to come back to the Senate.

Dred Scott v. SanfordDred Scott was a slave who lived in MO. His owner took Scott to territories which were free. Scott claimed in court that once he entered a free state he became a free man. Slave owners and Abolitionists believed this case was very important. Chief Justice Roger Taney, a southerner. The court ruled that Scott was property and not a citizen. Therefore the case was null and void. However, the court further ruled that the United States government had no right to limit slavery anywhere in the United States. Northerners were outraged and Southerners rejoiced.

The Lincoln Douglas DebatesAbraham Lincoln (Rep.) & Stephen Douglas (Dem) debated for one of the Illinois senate seats in 1858. In the debates, Lincoln said, “A house divided cannot stand.” He ultimately lost the election, but became famous throughout the country. These debates were instrumental in making Lincoln the Republican candidate for President in 1860.