Causes of the Civil War

Causes of the Civil War

By Coach Hat

Divided Economy

• Northern Economy was based on manufacturing and production, with very little farming. The North depended on highly skilled artisans and unskilled factory workers

• Southern Economy was based on agriculture. Cash Crops like cotton and tobacco dominated the landscape. They also depended on slave labor.

Rising Tensions

• The growing Abolitionist movement in the North tried to limit the expansion of slavery to Western territories. The South saw this as a threat to the backbone of their economy.

• Several events raised tension between the North and South. When Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860 under the banner of ending slavery, several Southern states seceded from the Union. (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas)

Multiple Select

Which of these was NOT a state that seceded from the Union?

• Florida

• Pennsylvania

• South Carolina

• Texas

The War Begins

• April 12, 1861 the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter off the coach of Charlestown, South Carolina

• After 34 Hours of Cannon blasts, the Union finally surrendered the fort to the Confederacy.

• North Carolina,Tennessee, Virginia, and Arkansas then chose to secede following the attack

• Border states- Slave states that did not join the Confederacy, stayed mostly due to having similar politics and economies like that of the North

• Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware made up the Border States

Multiple Choice

Who fired the "first shot" of the Civil War?

• Union

• Confederacy

Multiple Select

Which of these WAS a Border State?

• West Virginia

• Florida

• Virginia

• Arkansas

Poll

Does this map still look like the political map of today?

• Yes

• No

Northern Advantages

• 22 Million people to choose soldiers from (South only had 5 million)

• Had tons of roads, canals, and railroads. 22k of railroad (9k miles of track)

• The Union had money and a good banking system (Each state had their own money)

Southern Advantages

• Had the more experienced military generals, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson (The North had few experienced Generals)

• Better Strategy, they did not have to go on the attack, just had to defend. (The North had to travel everywhere to fight and didn't know the territory)

• Food was easily accessible at first (Food had to travel long distances before the Union received it)

Poll

Based off what you just learned who had the best chance to win the Civil War from the Beginning?

• North

• South