What Caused the Divisions Over Slavery

Today in class we learned about the Election of 1860, its results, and how they represent the countries deep divisions over slavery. First, we watched a Crash Course video to learn how the topic of slavery caused divisions through events such as Bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott case, John Brown’s raid, etc. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roNmeOOJCDY) Then we answered the essential question, “Were the results of the Election of 1860 representative of the deep divisions over slavery,” with evidence from our notes and from the video. Then, we read the article Civil War in Art, (http://www.civilwarinart.org/exhibits/show/causes/introduction/the-election-of-1860-and-seces) and used it to create a video that explained the major events surrounding the Election of 1860, and our answer to the essential question. We used art from the article, and more pieces we found online, to show the full story behind the election.

Watch our video on Educreations here:

Citations:

"Portrait of Dred Scott." 1853. 

"1860 Presidential Election Map." 1860. American Presidency Project.

"Fort Sumter Engraving." Unknown Artist. Dec 26, 1860. 

Civil War in Art. http://www.civilwarinart.org/exhibits/show/causes/introduction/the-election-of-1860-and-seces.

Civil War in Art. http://www.civilwarinart.org/exhibits/show/causes/introduction/the-election-of-1860-and-seces

Crash Course Election of 1860. https://nerdfighteria.info/video/crashcourse/roNmeOOJCDY

North vs South: Civil War Infographic

Before the Civil War, the North and the South had continuous conflict over slavery and slave laws. The war was started to end the fight over slavery once and for all, and we know that the anti-slavery North was victorious. I chose specific statistics and facts for my Infographic because I wanted to show the advantages the North had in the war, and why their strategy was so successful.

I chose to include charts that show the railroad mileage and factories that the North had because they contributed to the North’s ability to easily supply food and materials to their troops during the war. The reason I didn’t include any graphs or charts to show statistics for the South is because they didn’t really have many strong advantages. The North was the one with clear leverage in the war. Also, I included the sections about each sides strategies because it shows how the North won the war. They had a stronger plan, even though the South seemed to have stronger motivation.

The process of creating this Infographic really helped me to learn about the situations faced by the Union and Confederacy at the start of the war. I looked over the information many times, and picked out the important facts and statistics to help explain the strategies, motivations, and advantages of both the North and South at the start of the Civil War.

Slavery: The Elephant in the Room

We know that the debate over slavery was the “elephant in the room” for American politics in the early 19th century because the opinions on it were so divided, and the topic itself was extremely controversial. From 1850 to 1859, violent events and questionable government decisions brought up strong opposing sides on the topic of slavery. In class, we created a timeline with events that prove that the debate over slavery was a difficult topic to discuss in the early 19th century.

One example of violence that resulted from the lack of debate on the topic of slavery was the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1954. The Kansas Nebraska Act, created by Stephen Douglas, created a new transcontinental railroad from Chicago to new territory in the west. The act was going to make Chicago a center of commerce and trade, but to make it happen, Douglas had to compromise with the south. He proposed to violate the Missouri Compromise,which states that there were to be no slave states above the Missouri’s southern border, and create new territories in the west, Kansas and Nebraska, that would be ruled by popular sovereignty. This resulted in thousands of pro slavery activists and abolitionists to flock to the new territory in an attempt to influence their status as states. Violent disputes over land and slave laws broke out across the land, eventually naming this time Bleeding Kansas.

Just as Bleeding Kansas was the result of an incompetent compromise, John Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry was the result of the incompetent debate of slavery in the South. John Brown was upset that the anti-slavery cause was getting nowhere, and decided to take matters into his own hands. He planned to wage war on Virginia with weapons he would steal from the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry. Brown and 21 other men, black and white, violently raided the arsenal. Brown was eventually captured, tried, and hanged, in Virginia for his crime.

Obviously slavery was a topic that people in the early 19th century did not want to discuss at length due to the strong opinions on both sides. Discussions and compromises, no matter how beneficial for either side, seemed to commonly end in violence. People were injured and killed whether they supported slavery or not. Much of these instances, specifically Bleeding Kansas and Harper’s Ferry, were the result of inadequate debates that didn’t solve problems thoroughly enough. But, the result of these acts was even less discussion of slavery, out of fear for more violence and uprisings.