The Road to Disunion: A Century of Tensions
The American Civil War (1861-1865) was not caused by a single event but by decades of escalating political, economic, and social disputes, primarily centered around the institution of slavery and its expansion into new territories. Fundamental differences in economic systems, particularly industrialization in the North versus agrarianism in the South, and diverging interpretations of states' rights also fueled the growing chasm between regions.
Escalating Conflicts over Slavery and Expansion
Key legislative events intensified these tensions. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 attempted to balance free and slave states, but westward expansion reignited the debate. The Compromise of 1850 further polarized the nation by admitting California as a free state while enacting a stricter Fugitive Slave Act. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 introduced 'popular sovereignty,' allowing residents of new territories to decide on slavery, leading to violent clashes known as 'Bleeding Kansas,' demonstrating that local populations could not peacefully resolve the issue.
Pivotal Judicial and Political Flashpoints
The Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court decision in 1857 declared that enslaved or formerly enslaved persons were not citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in territories. This ruling effectively nullified the Missouri Compromise and deeply angered abolitionists. John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, an attempt to arm enslaved people for an uprising, further terrified the South and solidified beliefs that the North intended to destroy their way of life and economic system.
Secession and the Outbreak of War
The election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860, despite not appearing on Southern ballots, was the final trigger for secession. Southern states viewed Lincoln's Republican Party as inherently anti-slavery and a direct threat to their sovereignty and slave-based economy. Eleven Southern states seceded to form the Confederate States of America, leading to the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, which marked the official start of the war.