Page 119 - ABCTE Study Guide_Neat

Growth and Strife

Lesson Objective

This lesson will touch on some important events in the country's growth. It will review the rise of
regionalism, the seeds of the Civil War, and the conflict itself.

Previously Covered

The previous section discussed the colonies, several key figures, and how the colonists rebelled against
Britain. The development and ratification of the U.S. Constitution was also examined.

In the nineteenth century, several divisive issues threatened the unity of the new nation. The causes of
the Civil War are complex and numerous, but, as a review, it may be helpful to divide them into the social,
economic and political causes. Note that slavery and its economic effects play an important role across all
of these categories.

Social

Although the abolitionist spirit was alive and well in the colonies (chiefly in the Quaker colonies) since the
eighteenth century, the movement experienced resurgence in the first decades of the nineteenth century,
primarily in the northern states. Abolitionism was part of a general wave of reform, and the movement
became better organized in the years prior to the War between the States. William Lloyd Garrison and
Frederick Douglas were two abolitionists who wanted the immediate emancipation of all slaves.

Economic

The North and South in the nineteenth century had very different economies. The agrarian South relied on
exporting its crops and importing machinery and equipment from abroad. Conversely, the north’s
burgeoning industrial-based economy was more insular. These differences led to many conflicts over
trade tariffs. The South deplored the tariffs and their effects while the North encouraged them as they
protected their own industries.

The Tariff of 1828, for example, was known in the South as the Tariff of Abominations. This tariff protected
northern industry by raising prices of competing goods from overseas. Higher import prices meant an
economic downturn in the South, which negatively affected North-South relations.

Political

Adding new territories and states to the nation was another contentious issue between the proslavery
South and the antislavery North. When new states petitioned for entry into the United States, acrimony
and dissent took hold in Congress. The Missouri Compromise was an attempt to smooth over this
rising sectionalism.

Lincoln, Secession, and War

In some ways, Lincoln’s election was the last straw in sending the states to war. After his victory, several
proslavery states (led by South Carolina) seceded—even before Lincoln's inauguration. In February 1861,
these states formed a provisional government for the Confederate States of America.

Confederate forces took control of most of the forts in the South, but a few holdouts remained. Fort
Sumter in South Carolina was one of them. After prolonged shelling from the South Carolina militia, the