The 10 Most PIVOTAL Events That Led to THE CIVIL WAR

On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to officially secede from the Union for one primary reason – to avoid the impending ban on slavery which seemed all the more likely with the recent election of Abraham Lincoln. To deal with the problem of United States military forts existing within their state in Charleston Harbor, the state demanded that all U.S. Army personnel abandon their posts. Major Robert Anderson, who was in charge of the U.S. forces near Charleston, remained loyal the Union and moved himself and all union troops to Fort Sumter, the most powerful and defensible fortress in the harbor.

Confederate forces would not allow any union ships to supply or reinforce Fort Sumter, effectively beginning a siege. Once President Lincoln took office, he informed the governor that he was sending supplies and food to Fort Sumter. The Confederate government had to make a decision – allow Fort Sumter to be re-supplied or attack, preventing hungry soldiers from receiving food while simultaneously beginning a Civil War. They went with option 2. On April 12th, 1861, Artillery Batteries surrounded the Fort and attacked, bombarding them for 34 hours until Anderson had no choice but to surrender. During this first Civil War battle, the only casualty was one Confederate horse.

Attack at Fort Sumter

While The Battle at Fort Sumter was the final event that led to the American Civil War, it certainly wasn’t the first. Tensions had been brewing for decades, and there were multiple major events throughout the 19th century that led to the deadliest military conflict in American history. In this week’s video, 10 major events that led to the battle at Fort Sumter and the Civil War itself will be quickly discussed in order of their occurrence. These will be relatively quick overviews but I encourage every one to further research any of these events that sound particularly interesting.

10. Nat Turner’s Rebellion.

Thirty years before the Civil War, an enslaved preacher named Nat Turner organized and led a rebellion that spread throughout multiple plantations in Southern Virgnia. Turner, who had an extremely high level of natural intelligence, was deeply religious and became a preacher, conducting services for his fellow slaves, who called Nat “The Prophet.” Nat had frequent visions he interpreted as messages from God and believed an uprising was called for. He discreetly communicated his ideas within his circle of trusted friends, all being careful not to tip their plans. On February 12th, 1831, he saw a lunar eclipse and took this as a sign that it was the right year to execute the uprising. After a few small delays, Nat along with at least 70 other men – including slaves and free black men – using knives, hatchets and other similar weapons, brought down a storm of terror on the local community, killing around sixty white people – men, women and children. Nat did not originally want this to be an all-out slaughter, but it was the best way to inflict complete terror and alarm in order to hopefully awaken the attitudes of white people across the south. The local militia along with artillery units were dispatched in order to suppress the rebellion and succeeded. After a short time in hiding, Nat was captured and executed on November 11th, 1831. In the immediate aftermath, things only got worse for slaves as their right to assemble and education were all but eliminated. But the bloody rebellion was also very effective as it further propelled forward the abolitionist movement in the north and created fear throughout the south.

Nat Turner

9. The Wilmot Proviso

The next major event that lead to the Civil War, the Wilmot Proviso, had to do with the dispute over whether or not slavery should be allowed in new territory obtained by the United States as the country expanded westward. As America entered into the 1840’s, both political parties had successfully found a way to keep the number of slave states and free states equal, maintaining balance and avoiding major conflict as the country expanded. However, with the election of southerner and slave-owner James K. Polk and the extreme amount of new territory in the aftermath of the American-Mexican War, this balance was in danger of disturbance. In August of 1846, Polk requested $2 million from congress in order to facilitate negotiations with Mexico following the war. During the congressional debate considering Polk’s request, Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania proposed adding a condition that any new territory required from Mexico would not allow slavery or involuntary servitude. This came as a huge surprise to President Polk as Wilmot was normally loyal to the President and he was not known for being anti-slavery. In fact, he did not oppose expanding slavery on moral grounds, rather he felt that the power of slave owners and slave states should not exceed those of free states, where jobs would be more available without competition from slave labor. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House but it failed to pass through the Senate, where there was more support for slavery. Although Wilmot’s attempt to control and limit slavery failed, it did cause a major impact going forward and fueled more division between Northern and Southern states over the question of slavery, pushing the country closer to Civil War.

8. The Compromise of 1850

With the failure of the Wilmot Proviso, tensions between the North & South continued to grow as Congress needed to decide what to do with the new land acquired after the Mexican-American War. One of the new territories, California, wanted to be a “free-state,” but this alone would destroy the balance between “free” and “slave” states in the Union. Senator Henry Clay came up with a variety of proposals in the interest of keeping the peace. His idea included accepting California as a “free state,” but also establishing the territories of Utah and New Mexico, which would have no current restrictions for or against slavery. The proposal included the strengthening of the Fugitive Slave Act, the refined boundaries of the state of Texas and the banning of the slave trade in Washington D.C, although slavery itself would still be allowed. The President at the start of 1850, Zachary Taylor, opposed the Compromise and, despite being a slave-owner himself, believed the new states should be able to decide for themselves whether to be free or slave states. This upset many southerners, who did not want to upset the delicate balance between slave and free states. Still, Taylor was adamant and prepared to deal with the consequences of destroying this balance. Taylor was a soldier who had experience commanding in both the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. He was prepared to lead the Union into war if necessary and America may have broken out into Civil War much sooner had he not passed away on July 9th, 1850, possibly of food poisoning after eating a large amount of cherries. Millard Fillmore took over and fully supported the passing of the Compromise of 1850. The compromise was discussed for months and with the help of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, was eventually passed. It turned out to a band-aid that would only delay the inevitable. In fact, with the strengthened Fugitive Slave Act and the unclear status of New Mexico and Utah regarding Slavery, the division between the North and South only strengthened.

7. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

Although it was clear the North generally opposed slavery and the South generally supported it, racism still very much existed in the North and much of the opposition to slavery was more to due with economical factors such as job availability as well as a general anti-southern sentiment. However, a true eye-opener to the horrors of slavery arrived in the form of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s fictional book and exploration of slave life, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” After losing her 18-month year old child to cholera, she began to empathize with the slave mother whose child has been ripped away from her. She published “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” in 1852, depicting the sheer brutality of slavery in a way many northerners had no concept of. Stowe researched the topic well through connections with fugitive slaves who had escaped and auto-biographies of former slaves. Many in the north were shocked and appalled by what they read while southerners felt attacked and insulted. The issue of slavery had now, in the minds of many northerners, shifted from a question of economics to one of morality. The book became a best-seller, propelling abolitionist movements while enraging Southern Slave-Owners, who insisted Slavery was a necessity. Tensions between the two sides grew to epic proportions and even President Lincoln later acknowledged the importance of the book, reportedly saying to Stowe in 1862, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war.”

Uncle Tom's Cabin

6. Bleeding Kansas

Four years after the passing of the Compromise of 1850, Senator Stephen A. Douglas introduced another piece of legislation, this time regarding the new territory of Nebraska, a huge area of land which included modern-day Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. He wanted a new transcontinental railroad to pass through Chicago, Illinois and the new territory, which had been a slave-free zone ever since the 1820 Missouri Compromise, which outlawed slavery north of Missouri’s southern border except in Missouri itself. His newly proposed legislation would destroy that compromise, allowing the settlers of the Nebraska territory to decide for themselves whether or not to implement slavery. This was done as a compromise for southerners who were angry that the railroad would not pass through the South. It was called the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which also established the territory of Kansas south of Nebraska. Nebraska was far enough north that it was excepted to become a free state, but Kansas could go either way. Both pro-slave and anti-slave settlers flocked into Kansas to help sway the vote their way and Kansas became a literal battlefield over the legality of slavery. A series of bloody conflicts took place there between 1854 and 1859, including a pivotal and violent confrontation that will be next on this list. This period of violent guerrilla warfare in the territory of Kansas became known as “Bleeding Kansas,” during which time at least 55 people were killed and hundreds more seriously injured. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the ensuing violence helped inspire the formation of the Republican Party, which opposed the spread of slavery.

5. The Caning of Charles Sumner

During a speech in May of 1856, as violence took over the territory of Kansas, Senator Charles Sumner, a Republican and abolitionist, denounced the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He promoted the immediate admission of Kansas into the Union as a Free State. His speech called bringing slavery into new territories “the rape of a virgin Territory, compelling it to the hateful embrace of slavery.” He severely criticized slavery and slaveowners, mentioning names such as pro-slavery Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina. He attacked the morals of Butler and also mocked his speaking ability, which was hindered by a recent stroke. Two days later, a pro-slavery Democrat, Representative Preston Brooks, a cousin of Andrew Butler, approached Sumner in the Senate Chamber and said "Mr. Sumner, I have read your speech twice over carefully. It is a libel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler, who is a relative of mine.” As Sumner began to stand, things turned violent in an instant when Brooks began to beat Sumner mercilessly with a thick cane. Sumner was almost immediately blinded by the attack as blood covered his face. He tried to stagger away but was only beat more severely on his head, face and shoulders, continuing even after the cane snapped. The beating continued even after Sumner lost consciousnesses. Others tried to intervene, but were blocked by the slave-supporting accomplices of Brooks, Henry A. Edmunson and Laurence Keitt, who used his pistol to threaten any one who tried to stop the beating. A couple of brave representatives were eventually able to get passed Brooks’ goons and restrain him, but serious damage had been done. The floor was soaked in blood and Charles Sumner barely survived. It took him three years to recover enough to return to the Senate Floor and he suffered chronic pain for the rest of his life. Brooks was fined $300 but received no prison sentence. In the aftermath of the beating, the polarization between the North and the South was amplified yet again with Sumner becoming a martyr in the north and Brooks a hero in the South. The brutal caining – which occurred between politicians in the Sentate Chamber, not two random citizens in the street – convinced every one that a peaceful and non-violent solution to the question of slavery was not in the cards.

The Caning of Charles Sumner

4. The Dred Scott Decision

Dred Scott

Dred Scott was born sometime around the year 1799 into slavery. He was sold in 1830 to U.S. Army surgeon Dr. John Emerson, who relocated from the slave state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois after purchasing Scott then to the free territory of Wisconsin in 1836. At some point, after Scott married Harriet Robinson, Emerson began hiring Scott out as a slave within free territory, an apparent violation of the law. When Emerson moved back to Missouri, taking his slave with him, Dred Scott sued for his freedom in Missouri State Court, claiming that because he had been taken into free territory, he was no longer slave. There had been legal precedents supporting Scott, including Winny v. Whitesides, an 1824 case in which the Missouri Supreme Court determined that if a slave owner took a slave into free territory and established residence there, the slave would be forever free, even if they were taken back to slave territory, inspiring the phrase "once free, always free." The fact that Scott had been taken to free territories and was allowed to establish residence there was proven in court. Nevertheless, the Missouri State Court shockingly ruled that he was still a slave under its law, finding a technicality to justify the decision. His case was elevated through appeals but every court ruled against Scott including the Supreme Court in 1857, who stated that although he was taken into free territory by his owner, he was still a slave because he was nothing but property, effectively changing precedent established in previous cases that promoted the “once free, always free” saying. Chief Justice Roger Taney was the primary author in the decision and set back the abolitionist movement 70 years, writing that

“We think ... that they are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word "citizens" in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States. On the contrary, they were at that time considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings who had been subjugated by the dominant race, and, whether emancipated or not, yet remained subject to their authority, and had no rights or privileges but such as those who held the power and the Government might choose to grant them.”

Supreme Court Judge Roger Taney

As far as northerners were concerned, things were going backwards regarding slavery after the effective cancellation of the Missouri Compromise and now the abhorrent Supreme Court decision that slaves had absolutely zero rights regardless of the circumstances. Only two Supreme Court Judges disagreed with the decision – Benjamin Robbins Curtis and John McLean. Curtis wrote a 67-page dissent noting that the decision was legally and historically baseless. Nearly every one except slave-owners were outraged and many republicans, including Abraham Lincoln, believed this was part of a plot to eventually legalize slavery throughout the United States.

3. John Brown’s Raid

John Brown

As the 1850’s neared an end, abolitionists were coming to the realization that desperate times called for desperate measures. One of the most motivated and determined was John Brown, who was born in Connecticut in 1800. He had already captured the attention of the nation during “Bleeding Kansas” when he and his sons killed five pro-slavery men. By 1859, after all the events already covered including the Dred Scott decision and caning of Charles Sumner, Brown was ready for major – and violent – action. “These men are all talk,” he said regarding abolitionist pacifists. “What we need is action – action!” He had been planning a massive anti-slavery raid that would throw a wrench into the entire system, hopefully sparking a revolt across the South that would forcefully end slavery. An acquaintance of Brown said that he was “fully convinced in his own mind that he was to be the instrument in the hands of God to effect the emancipation of the slaves.” Brown had prepared for years, raising funds and collecting weapons. Throughout the first few months of 1859, he traveled around the north, drumming up support for the upcoming raid. He recruited former slaves to help in the attack, some of whom were found through the help of Harriet Tubman. In early July, he arrived at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and rented a farmhouse nearby under the name “Isaac Smith.” He awaited his recruits, but they did not arrive in large number. Still, Brown’s plan was to recruit slaves as they were freed, thus increasing the size of the revolt as they wreaked havoc on the pro-slavery states, striking fear in the hearts of slave-owners while destroying the entire institution of slavery. With his relatively small 21-man army, Brown began the raid, capturing the local Harpers Ferry armory and capturing hostages from local farms. News spread to the local slaves that a raid was in process and liberation was coming. Unfortunately for Brown, most of them did not join in on the raid and the local militia, with the help of the U.S. Marines, under Robert E. Lee, quickly shut it down, capture or killing many of Brown’s men. Brown took refuge in an engine house, which later became known as John Brown’s Fort. The Marines had to break down the engine room door when Brown refused to surrender, preferring to die for the cause. They broke in and arrested him and his surviving recruits. Sixteen people died in the raid, including 10 of Brown’s men. Brown was arrested and found guilty of murder, inciting slave insurrection and treason against the State of Virginia. He was hanged on December 2nd, 1859. Although many people on both sides denounced his methods, there was little doubt such attacks would continue and the aftermath of the raid, the nation continued to divide even further. Civil War was on the horizon.

2. The 1860 Election

With the country more torn apart than ever, the 1860 election was absolutely pivotal as Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln faced off against multiple candidates due to the divide in the Democratic party with Southern Democrats supporting the continuation and even expansion of slavery while the northern Democrats opposed it. Stephen Douglas was the obvious choice as the Democratic frontrunner, but he refused to take a pro-slavery stance which made him extremely unpopular in the South. The Democrat Party was completely divided and the South produced their own candidate who would run as a Southern Democrat – and his name was John Breckinridge. A fourth candidate was running as well under a party made up of mostly disgruntled Democrats – the Constitutional Union Party, who nominated Tennesee Slaveholder John Bell. With the Democrat party in shambles, unable to unify behind one candidate, Abraham Lincoln had a massive advantage in the Election. His strategy was simple – keep the Republican party united and let the Democrat party split the votes between three candidates.

That is exactly what happened as Abe Lincoln despite winning less than 40% of the popular vote won the election in a landslide. He didn’t carry a single Southern State, but the Southern vote was split between Brekenridge and Bell. In the North, Lincoln dominated, with Douglas winning only the state of Missouri. The election of an anti-Slavery Republican President was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many of the Southern States, who immediately considered secession.

1. The Formation of the Confederacy

The final of the ten most pivotal events that led to Civil War has to be the formation of the Confederacy. With the country completely divided, the South had no faith that President Lincoln had their best interests in mind. States immediately began to hold conventions in which they would consider seceding from the Union. The first of these meetings took place about a month and a half after the election in Charleston, South Carolina. The vote was unanimous – South Carolina would secede. After five more states followed – Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi – the newly seceded states decided to establish a new government – the Confederate States of America. They even elected a president – Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. Just before Lincoln’s inauguration, the state of Texas joined the Confederacy, making it seven states. Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina would secede after the Battle at Fort Sumter. The Civil War had officially begun between the Union and the Confederacy, a four-year conflict that took the lives of about 620,000 people.

As you can tell from the several major events that led to the Civil War, it took a tremendous amount of conflict and division that lasted for decades before the country broke out into Civil War. Both sides expected to a swift victory, but the war dragged on for years due to a variety of factors including some incompetent Northern Commanders who underestimated the determination of the Confederacy. I will be creating many more blogs and videos on this terrible war, with this being the first. I hope you all enjoyed it and if you did, feel free to hit that thumbs up and subscribe button. Thank you so much for your amazing support and we will talk to you in the next one.