Causes of the Civil War

study guide ppt.
Use the study guide above to study for the Causes of the Civil War Test!      


The issues that caused the Civil War had been brewing since the United States was formed. The most important causes Southerners listed for the war were unfair taxation, states' rights, and the slavery issue. Here are some primary sources that show how heated these issues had become by the late 1850s.

Unfair Taxation

The history and economy of the North were very different from those of the South. Factories developed in the North, while large cotton plantations developed in the South. The Southern plantation owners relied on slave labor for economic success. Their crops were sold to cotton mills in England, and the ships returned with cheap manufactured goods produced in Europe. By the early 1800s, Northern factories were producing many of those same goods, and Northern politicians were able to pass heavy taxes on imported goods (tariffs) from Europe so that Southerners would have to buy goods from the North. These taxes angered Southerners.

• Laws unfavorable to the South were passed.

States' Rights Southerners felt that the Federal government was passing laws, such as import taxes, that treated them unfairly. They believed that individual states had the right to "nullify", or overturn, any law the Federal government passed. They also believed that individual states had the right to leave the United States and form their own independent country. Most people in the North believed that the concepts of "nullification" and "states' rights" would make the United States a weaker country and were against these ideas.


Slavery Meanwhile, in the North, many religious groups worked hard to end slavery in the United States. They were morally opposed to the idea that one person could "own" another. Abolitionists in the North wrote books, published newspapers spreading their ideas about slavery, and often assisted slaves to freedom when they ran away from their masters. Southerners believed that abolitionists were attacking their way of life and that the Federal government was not doing enough to protect their "property" from running away. Southerners were also concerned that new states were entering the Union that did not permit citizens to own slaves, because the more "free" states that entered the Union, the weaker Southerners' influence in the Federal government would become.

The Ambiguous Democracy

The decades before the Civil War saw the birth of the American reform tradition. Reformers--female and male, black and white--launched unprecedented campaigns to educate the deaf and the blind, rehabilitate criminals, extend equal rights to women, and abolish slavery. Our modern systems of free public schools, prisons, and hospitals for the infirm and the mentally ill are all legacies of this first generation of American reform..

Below you will find the chart that contains many of these reform movements.  If you were not in class or have misplaced the chart, you may copy it off and fill it out using Chapter 15 in your textbook. The chart is due Thursday at the beginning of the period.
Reform Movement Worksheet

Territorial Expansion Map

The second map you must complete this week is the Territorial Expansion Map.
If you were gone, copy the map to
a word document, then print

Directions:
1) Name of land
2) Year added to U.S.
3) How land was acquired
- name of war (if applicable)
-amount paid to purchase (if applicable)
-which country owned it before U.S.
-name of treaty (if applicable)
-President when it was added

Helpful page numbers in textbook:
543
520
526
339-340
361
365-366

Sectionalism Map

The big map assignment:  If you are at home today, copy the map and fill out.

Students received a blank map of the United States as it looked in 1820.
Use the following to fill in the map:
1.  Label the states (pg. 361)
2.  Label Northern industries (447).  Use symbols
3.  Label Southern agriculture (448).  Use symbols
4.  Label and color Spanish territory (361)
5.  Label and color Oregon Country (361)
6.  Color states/territories with slaves (use map on pg. 560)
7.  Create a map key for symbols and colors.

Did the Presidency of Andrew Jackson Benefit or Harm the United States?

Andrew Jackson was the nation's 7th president and was responsible for molding the modern presidency. He was the embodiment of the belief that the president was the only official who represented all of the American people.  Today, you will begin exploring some controversial events of Jackson's two terms as President of the United States.

Assignment:  Create a chart on a sheet of notebook paper just like the one below.  Find information in the textbook on pages 474-478
                                                                                              
                                                   The Spoils System         The Kitchen Cabinet      Nullification Crisis        Veto of National Bank
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
1.  What happened?

2.  Why was this considered 
a problem?

3.  Explain How Jackson's
 action either
increased or decreased 
the power of the
Presidency

Causes of the War of 1812

Test Monday, over the causes of the War of 1812
Items on the test include:

Napoleon Bonaparte
The Napoleonic Wars
The Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson
Lewis and Clark
Sacagawea
The Embargo Act of 1807
impressment
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
Tecumseh
Barbary Coast Pirates

The Louisiana Purchase

Today we will create a map of the United States.  The map should contain each of the following:

1) Label the states that existed at the time of the purchase.
2) Color the Louisiana Territory (create a map legend).
3) Label the river that marks the eastern boundary of the Louisiana Territory.
4) Label the following rivers:
-Missouri
-Ohio
-Arkansas
-Columbia
-Snake
-Red River
5) Label Pike's Peak
6) Label New Orleans
7) Draw and label route taken by Louis and Clark
8) Label: Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Gulf of Mexico
9) Color Oregon Territory (use map legend)
10) Color U.S. Territories (use map legend)

This map is due on Wednesday at the beginning of the period.