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What is the cause? Explain what it was and how it contributed to the rising sectional tensions that led to the Civil War

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What is the cause? Explain what it was and how it contributed to the rising sectional tensions that led to the Civil War

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Event - Date
- What is it - explain
- How does it contribute to deepening sectional tensions = explain

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1619-1819 American Slavery - "A Peculiar Institution"

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1619-1819 American Slavery - "A Peculiar Institution"

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During the 17th and 18th century more than 645,000 enslaves were imported from Africa to the United States. After the American Revolution northern states began to emancipate slavery one by one and by 1820 slavery was illegal in all northern states. Having slaves in the southern states contributed to the deepening sectional tensions as northern states were against slavery and slavery was growing rapidly due to the picking of cotton. Southern states depended on slavery for their economy, in South Carolina it had a majority of slaves than white people.

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Missouri wanted to join the United States as a state, but it was a slave state. Congress didn't want to allow statehood because the power of balance would be disrupted as there was an equal number of slave states to free states. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an agreement that was passed in Congress to admit Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Congress admitted both Missouri and Maine as states to keep the number of slave to free states equal. Then, they created the 36'30 Parallel which meant states above that line in the Louisiana Territory would be slavery free. The Missouri Compromise was just a band aid to a problem that would rise up again. It drove the deepening sectional tensions between the north and south as if a territory in the Louisiana Territory wanted to become a state, it was automatically a free state which would mean unequal balance of power in Congress.

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Westward Expansion between the 1830s and 1850s was caused by the Louisiana Purchase and the belief of Manifest Destiny. People wanted to explore the newly acquired territories west. The people who settled in the newly acquired territories that were ruled by popular sovereignty had the decision to have slaves or not. During that period of time people were already divided in the north and south with westward expansion each wanted their ideals to expand throughout the newly acquired territory. This caused deepening sectional tensions as both the north and south wanted their ideals to be in the territory, the south wanted the territory to make slavery legal while the north wanted to stop the spread of slavery.

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Compromise of 1850 / Fugitive Slave Act 

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Compromise of 1850 / Fugitive Slave Act 

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The United States had acquired new territory after their win in the Mexican - American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which were California, Utah territory, and the New Mexico territory. The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act were passed to please both the northern and southern states. It also repealed the Missouri Compromise. The Compromise of 1850 allowed for California to be admitted to the United States as a free state as their economy was bigger than the entire US. The Utah and New Mexico territory the US had acquired was to be chosen if it wanted slaves or not by popular sovereignty. Congress needed something to please the south after admitted California as a free state, so Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act. The Fugitive Slave Act allowed slave holders to get any black people they said were their slaves and be returned to them. Even if free black people were captured, they couldn't dispute the claim and were taken to southern states. The southern states benefited the most from the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act as people in the newly acquired territories chose by popular sovereignty if they wanted slaves and most did as they were racist and lazy; the Fugitive Slave Act allowed them to capture any person they said was a slave, all of this lead to deepening sectional tensions between the south and north.

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The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, which was drafted by Stephen A. Douglas, allowed the settlers of the states of Kansas and Nebraska to decide on whether or not slavery would be allowed within a new states border. This law  repealed the Missouri Compromise and mandated Popular Sovereignty. The Kansas- Nebraska Act also set off the beginning of "Bleeding Kansas" which was a violent uprising as pro-slavery and antislavery activists fled into the territories to sway the vote. This act caused sectional tensions because since this issue was to be decided by popular sovereignty, southerners hoped that slavery would be allowed and the Northerners were angry that the Missouri Compromise was abolished.

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In The Election of 1860, Lincoln was a Republican while Stephen Douglas and John Breckenridge were Democrats. Lincoln wanted to stop the westward expansion of slaves while Breckenridge wanted to expand slavery. Abraham Lincoln won with support of the north even though he had zero support of the south which led to the event of the secession of the South. The Election of 1860 increased sectional tension because Abraham Lincoln would not agree to any extension of slavery, which angered the Southern states.

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As we already know, the South was known for allowing slavery.  The South wanted the slaves and needed and relied on slavery but the North did not. After Abraham Lincoln became elected as president, the South felt outraged because they new that Abraham Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery and they felt as if they no longer had any power in the United States. This outrage led to South Carolina becoming the first state to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860 with the permission from State's Rights.

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The battle of Fort Sumter took place on April 12, 1861 and was initially the first battle of the Civil War. This battle took place in a fort that was located in Charleston, South Carolina. This fort did not have many supplies so additional troops and supplies were sent to Fort Sumter by Buchanan. A while after, the Confederate army attacked the Union army after the North refused to leave the fort. Sectional tensions deepened because the South triggered the battle in which the North assembled an army and fought back.