American Civil War

1861-1865
Plan:
1. Causes of the Civil War
2. Facts about Civil War

References;
3. https://
www.ducksters.com/history/civil_war/causes_of_the_civil_war.p
hp
4. https://learnodo-newtonic.com/american-civil-war-causes
5. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-what-everyon
e-should-know-about-civil-war
#1 ECONOMICS OF COTTON
The financial and political influence of cotton in the 18th and 19th century was unprecedented.

With the introduction of the cotton

gin in 1793 and the flourishing slave
trade, the southern states of
America became the primary cotton
suppliers of the world. By the mid-
19th century, the southerners were
supplying more than 70 percent of
the cotton to Great Britain, the
leading world economic and colonial
power of the time. The plantation
owners, with black cotton growing
slaves, gained tremendous wealth
and influence during the times and
were willing to go to any lengths to
protect their interests. The long
tension between the northern Free
states and the southern Slave states
was reaching a boiling point at this
time.
#2SLAVERY

By the mid-19th century, slavery had been the cause of friction between the southern Slave

states and the northern Free states for many decades. Slavery was illegal in much of the
north, being outlawed in the late 18th and early 19th century. 

By the beginning of the Civil War, some 4 million Africans and their

descendants toiled as slave laborers in the South. The per capita wealth of
Southern whites was twice that of the Northerners. Three-fifths of the
wealthiest individuals in the Union came from the southern states and they
were deeply invested in slavery. On the contrary the north was more invested in
industry and entrepreneurship despite a reasonably poor working class. 
#3 STATE’S RIGHTS

• The politics and debates over which powers belonged to the

sovereign states and which to the Federal government were
not uncommon in the United States since its inception. It was
in fact the basis for the formation of its first two political
parties; the Democratic Republican party formed
in 1792 under Thomas Jefferson, favored state rights while
the Federalists under Alexander Hamilton believed in
a centralized national government with strong fiscal
roots. Slavery was be the main bone of contention in this
state vs federal government tussle leading up to the civil war.
The Slave states were adamant that slavery was a state
issue and they were unwilling to accept any federal
intervention on the subject.
 #4 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION OF THE
UNITED STATES
The northern whites feared that if slavery continued to expand to
new territories they would inevitably join the southern slave-
holding states making the north irrelevant and the United States
would eventually become totally dominated by elite Southern
slaveholders. The Southerners on the other hand viewed slavery as
the key to their economic well-being. Its expansion to newer
territories opened up tremendous production opportunities for
them to further their political and economic interests.
#5 BLEEDING KANSAS
The first fighting over the slavery issue took place in Kansas. In 1854, the
government passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowing the residents of Kansas
to vote on whether they would be a slave state or a free state. The region was
flooded with supporters from both sides. They fought over the issue for years.
Several people were killed in small skirmishes giving the confrontation the
name Bleeding Kansas. Eventually Kansas entered the Union as a free state in
1861.
 #6 ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
AS THE PRESIDENT
The final straw for the South
was election of Abraham
Lincoln to President of the
United States. Abraham
Lincoln was a member of the
new anti-slavery Republican
Party. He managed to get
elected without even being
on the ballot in ten of the
southern states. The
southern states felt that
Lincoln was against slavery
and also against the South.
 #7 SECESSION OF THE SOUTH FROM
THE UNION
When Lincoln was elected, many of the southern states decided they no longer
wanted to be a part of the United States. They felt that they had every right to
leave. Starting with South Carolina, eleven states would eventually leave the
United States and form a new country called the Confederate States of America.
Abraham Lincoln said they did not have the right to leave the United States and
sent in troops to stop the South from leaving. The Civil War had begun.

Map of the Union and Confederate States in the American

Civil War
American Civil War Interesting Facts
# The Civil War began when Southern troops bombarded Fort
Sumter, South Carolina.
# In the first few battles each side did not have regular uniforms. This
made it tough to figure out who was who. Later the Union would
wear dark blue uniforms and the Confederates gray coats and pants.
# The North had more men and war materials than the South.
The Union Army of 2,100,000 soldiers was nearly twice the size of the
Confederate Army of 1,064,000.
#  The bloodiest battle of the Civil War was the Battle of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania.
# The North won the Civil War.
# It was the deadliest war in American history. There were around 210,000
soldiers killed in action and 625,000 total dead.
# 66 % of the deaths in the war were due to disease.
# In the Second Battle of Bull run many of the wounded were left on the
battle field for 3 to 4 days.
# John and George Crittenden were brothers who were both generals during
the war. John for the North and George for the South!
# Clara Barton was a famous nurse to the Union Troops. She was called the
"Angel of the Battlefields" and founded the American Red Cross.