Secession in Georgia and Alexander Stephen's Role

Alexander Stephens was a politician in Georgia as well as the Vice President of the Confederacy.  At first he agreed that secession was not the right thing to do, with a few exceptions.  He believed that the Compromise of 1850 was acceptable as long as the Fugitive Slave Act was strong and in place.  Cotton was a major cash crop in the south, and the confederacy believed they needed slaves to care for it.  Slavery is a primary reason that states seceded from the Union, including Georgia.  Alexander Stephens made the final decision that Georgia would secede from the Union even though Georgia's vote wasn't unanimous like the other Confederate states, causing a huge change throughout the country. 

Secession in Georgia
Secession in Georgia. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 21 Jan 2014. <http://www.illinoiscivilwar150.org/images/chronos_images/1861 Jan 19 Georgia secession LOC.jpg>.

Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott Case, and the Election of 1860

The Kansas-Nebraska act started when two different territories, now Kansas, and Nebraska, were deciding weather to join the union as a either a pro-slave state or a non-slave state.  Kansas decided to join as a pro-slavery state, which broke the (36, 30) line.  The (36, 30) line is an act where any state north of that line must join the union as a non-slave state, and any state south of that line would join the union as a pro-slave state.  When Kansas chose to join the union as a slave state, the north became very upset because Kansas was north of the (36, 30) line.

(36, 30) Line

36 30 Parallel. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 17 Jan 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/37th_parallel_US.svg/220px-37th_parallel_US.svg.png>.

Dred Scott was a slave that traveled with his owner to a non-slave state.  He believed that since he lived there with his owner, in a state that slavery was illegal, he should be considered a free person.  He created a case that ultimately went to the supreme court, but the final decision was not in his favor but rather favored slave holders.  They ruled that since he was considered property, not a citizen,

 he could not sue anyone in court, and he should not have been able to bring that case to court.  Therefore opening the way for slave owners to take their slaves anywhere they wanted.  

Dred Scott
Dred Scott. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 19 Jan 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Dred_Scott_photograph_(circa_1857).jpg>.

The Election of 1860 was known as the breaking point for the secession of South Carolina, as well as the starting point of the Civil War.  When Abraham Lincoln was elected, the south was very upset; because he was not even on the ballot when they voted.  They were very mad because they felt that they would always be unheard by the country and that they weren't important.  This led to the secession of South Carolina, and the start of the Confederacy as its own country.

Election of 1860
Election of 1860. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 21 Jan 2014. <http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/a/jal5056/Election 1860.gif>.

Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Act, and the Georgia Platform

The Compromise of 1850 kept both the north and the south happy and at peace despite their differences over slavery and economy; stating that whenever a free state was added, a slave state would be added, (and vice versa).  The north and the south wanted to have equal power in Congress to make sure neither side could dictate the other.  A new state wanted to join the Union as a non-slave state, which upset the southern states very much.  The north gained California;
while the south gained the promise that other territories could come in as slave states, and the Fugitive Slave Act.  Then, to appease the southerners, Congress said that they would enforce the Fugitive Slave Act.  This was an act where if any slaves escape to the north, they had to be sent back to the south instead of helped.  This made abolitionists in the north very upset, and slave owners in the south very happy.  As for the slaves trying to escape, it changed everything; they started trying to escape to Canada, and started traveling through the Underground Railroad.  The Georgia Platform was created, stating that whatever congress did that had to do with Slavery and Slave trade in Georgia should be ignored, and that the expansion of slavery into new territories cannot be banned.  All of this helped delay the war for a couple of years.

Fugitive Slave Act

Fugitive Slave Act. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 15 Jan 2014. <http://new.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/inline-2col-full/content-images/01862.jpg>.

States' Rights, Nullification, and The Missouri Compromise

In 1820 the Missouri compromise tried to solve the problem of states threatening to secede unless they had states’ rights but instead did not help at all.  States’ Rights are when a state feels that their states needs should come before the federal government’s needs.  The Missouri Compromise is a compromise that the number of slave states and non-slave states stay even.  So as more states were joining the north (non-slavery), the south felt that the north would soon take over.  A tax was set in place by congress that only benefitted the north, which made the southerners, especially in South Carolina very upset and angry.  The people of South Carolina then came up with this idea of nullification: the right to refuse to enforce or recognize a federal law.  This made President Jackson so mad that he wanted to send troops to South Carolina to enforce the laws; which congress denied.  

The Missouri Compromise

Missouri Compromise. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 12 Jan 2014. <http://www.historicfortsnelling.org/sites/historicfortsnelling.org/files/images/800px-Missouri_Compromise_Line_svg.png>.

States' Rights and Nullification

Nullification. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 12 Jan 2014. <http://polizeros.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Nullification-Ticket.jpg>.

Sectionalism

Sectionalism is tension among different regions of the country.  Some say that the cause of the Civil War had to do with slavery.  That is a false statement, the biggest cause of the Civil War was sectionalism.  This did include slavery along with other issues of conflict, such as taxes and how the government was being run.  The country had two completely different views of the way we should live.  The north strongly beleived that slavery was wrong and should be abolished.  The south on the other hand believed that slavery was perfectly fine and was not a problem.  

The Split Country

Sectionalism Map. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 10 Jan 2014. <http://clio.missouristate.edu/wrmiller/HST/HST538/7_Sectionalism/ksnbact.JPG>.