Slavery and

The American Civil War

Starter:
Use the prompts and add some of
the things you would like to know.
Learning Objectives: To assess the role of Abraham
Lincoln and the Civil War in the Civil Rights
movement.

Success Criteria: To tell someone why the war

began, decide whether Lincoln was an
emancipator or an opportunist.

Key Question:
How important were slavery & racism in causing
the Civil War?
Events leading up to the Civil War
As the expansion west
in search of new land
became more
extensive new states
were created. The
major question at this
time was whether or
not to allow slavery in
the new states.
 The North opposes slavery
Many Northerners were opposed to the
extension of slavery:
• Abolitionists had turned many against it.
• Some objected to the presence of non-whites
in new states that they may wish to settle in.
• Cheap slave labour may make it difficult to
gain employment.
• Some feared more slave states would increase
political power of the South within the Union.
 The Missouri Compromise
In 1819, Missouri applied to join the Union.
Northerners said no new state should
be allowed in with slavery.
Southerners were furious.
They felt Northerners were claiming
superiority and threatening to decrease
Southern influence in Congress.
The answer was the Missouri Compromise:
Congress allowed the admission of
Missouri as a slave state but balanced
this with the admission of a non-slave
state – Maine.
Tensions continued between North & South
regarding admission of new territories,
leading to the ‘Dred Scott’ case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL-A6fOh6Nk

Dred Scott case 1857

Supreme court ruled that

blacks were not US citizens
and Congress lacked the
constitutional authority to
exclude slavery from the
new states

Why would this annoy the

North?
 Outbreak of Civil War
• Extrmeism on both sides increased tension.
• Republican Party opposed slavery.
• Election of Republican President Abraham Lincoln
seemed to threaten the existence of slavery.
• 1860-1 Southern staes formed a new nation: The
Confederate States of America.
• Lincoln raised armies in the North to bring the
South back to the Union.
• The Civil War had begun.
After 4 years of fighting the North won
What is your opinion of Abraham
Lincoln?
 Was the Civil War the war to end
slavery?
Lincoln on Slavery:
“the greatest wrong inflicted on
any people”.
However, Lincoln had been willing
to accept its continued existence
in the South.
“There must be the position of
superior & inferior”
To a black audience……
“not a single man of your race is
made the equal of a single man
of ours”
“It is better for us to be seperated”
 Was the Civil War the war to end
slavery?
Lincoln opposed the extension of
slavery in new states but was
willing to protect it in existing
states, especially those who
supported him such as Kentucky,
Maryland, Missouri and
Delaware (these fought for the
North).
He told congress in 1861
“We did not go to war to put down
slavery”
One abolitionist siad about Lincoln
“He is a wet rag; halting,
prevaricating(delaying),
irresolute(indecisive) and weak”
What is your opinion of Abrahm
Lincoln?
 The Empancipation Proclamation
Generations of black people felt grateful to Lincoln because of
the E.P. However, many deemed it to be very cautious. The
Proclamation said that
1. Slaves in the Confederate States were free
2. Allowed slavery to continue in slave-owning Union States &
any other state occupied by Union armies
3. Or, that would return to the Union before Jan 1863
In practice, the EP did not liberate a single slave
The London Spectator said the proclamation’s philosophy was
“not that a being cannot justly own another, but that he
cannot own him unless he is loyal to the United States”

Why did Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

 Reasons for the
Emancipation Proclamation
• Many Republicans believed Slavery was immoral & made a mockery
of Declaration of Independence. Lincoln agreed.
• Most Republicans blamed slave owners for the Civil War. If slavery
was not abolished, war would be for nothing.
• Once the North was was committed to emancipation, the South
would no longer receive any help from foreign countries like
Britain.
• Republicans preferred outright condemnation of slavery as it gave
them the moral high ground in the war.
• Military necessity: Fleeing slaves from the South would head North.
This would weaken the Confederates and strenthen the Union as
the freed black people could fight for the North.
• Nearly 250,000 black men fought for the North in the Civil War.
They entered the war just as the North’s Armies were becoming
severely depleted.
 Finally……..
After Lincoln’s death in 1865,
the 13th Ammendment to the constitution
abolished slavery throughout the United
States.
For Lincoln, as well as most Northerners, the
Civil War was not about racial equality but the
preservation of the Union.
 Task
In no more than 300 words, write an obituary for
President Abraham Lincoln.

It is your decision how you see the President based

on the evidence from todays lesson.

You could begin your obituary………

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15,
1865) the 16th President of the United States was
assassinated yesterday evening. He was …………..
 Plenary
5–3-1
Summarise today’s topic in 5 sentences.

Reduce to 3 phrases.

Now to 1 word.