What Led to the Civil War The Civil War began in 1861 under President Lincoln. There were events that dated as far back as 1856 that started the Civil War. When the Dred Scott case was ruled in favor of the Emmersons, many protests started (Griffin, PP3, 11/19/15). The raid at Harpers Ferry made the nation feel a sense of crisis (Griffin, PP5, 11/19/15). When the militia of South Carolina attacked Fort Sumter and the states declared succession because of the insurrection, the Civil War began (Griffin, PP8,11/19/15). One of the events that led to the start of the Civil war was the election. In 1856, the Republican party nominated John C. Fremont for president but he lost to democratic representative James Buchanan (Griffin, PP3,11/19/15).
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The raid was in October of 1859. John Brown led twenty-one men to a federal arsenal because he wanted to seize weapons to arm the slaves for rebellion. They did not succeed because the Virginians heard about their plan and sent in military personal. John Brown and a few of the men survived but they were captured, tried, and hung. The foiled attempt to stimulate a race war created a sense of crisis and panic in the South which brought the United States closer to war (Griffin, PP4, …show more content…
Lincoln acclaimed himself during his unsuccessful senatorial campaign in 1858. During that campaign, he lost to Stephen Douglas. Lincoln argued that slavery was immoral and that the nation could not survive with half of the states supporting slavery and half of the states being free but he reassured his people that he supported white supremacy. Douglas did not favor slavery, but was not against it. He favored popular sovereignty. The election had two other major candidates named John Bell and John Breckinridge. John Bell created a new Constitutional Union party that had a manifesto of preservation of the Union. John Breckinridge was an advocate for Southern rights. After Lincoln lost the election, he became a contender for the Republican presidential nomination two years later in 1860. Lincoln became the nations 16th president and won majority of the Electoral College (Griffin, PP6, 11/19/15). When Lincoln won, the South lost the balance of power and the slaveholding interest was not protected anymore (Griffin, PP7, 11/19/15). On April 12, 1861, the South Carolina militia attacked Fort Sumter which was a month after Lincoln was declared president. When this happened the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas declared their secession, and the Civil War began (Griffin, PP7, 12/8/15). The final event that led to the war was ultimately the election of Abraham Lincoln. The events of the 1856 election,
The raid was in October of 1859. John Brown led twenty-one men to a federal arsenal because he wanted to seize weapons to arm the slaves for rebellion. They did not succeed because the Virginians heard about their plan and sent in military personal. John Brown and a few of the men survived but they were captured, tried, and hung. The foiled attempt to stimulate a race war created a sense of crisis and panic in the South which brought the United States closer to war (Griffin, PP4, …show more content…
Lincoln acclaimed himself during his unsuccessful senatorial campaign in 1858. During that campaign, he lost to Stephen Douglas. Lincoln argued that slavery was immoral and that the nation could not survive with half of the states supporting slavery and half of the states being free but he reassured his people that he supported white supremacy. Douglas did not favor slavery, but was not against it. He favored popular sovereignty. The election had two other major candidates named John Bell and John Breckinridge. John Bell created a new Constitutional Union party that had a manifesto of preservation of the Union. John Breckinridge was an advocate for Southern rights. After Lincoln lost the election, he became a contender for the Republican presidential nomination two years later in 1860. Lincoln became the nations 16th president and won majority of the Electoral College (Griffin, PP6, 11/19/15). When Lincoln won, the South lost the balance of power and the slaveholding interest was not protected anymore (Griffin, PP7, 11/19/15). On April 12, 1861, the South Carolina militia attacked Fort Sumter which was a month after Lincoln was declared president. When this happened the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas declared their secession, and the Civil War began (Griffin, PP7, 12/8/15). The final event that led to the war was ultimately the election of Abraham Lincoln. The events of the 1856 election,