Abolition and Sectional Conflict
Despite the fact the abolitionist movement was never large, the activities of black and white abolitionists helped exacerbate the sectional tensions between the North and South--tensions that ultimately led to the Civil War.
Origins of Sectional Conflict
During the first half of the 19th century, the North and South both experienced important economic, demographic, political, and cultural changes.
- With development of cotton agriculture, Southerners became increasingly tied to the system of labor that provided their economic security--slavery.
- Meanwhile, during the same years, the North moved toward free labor and an increasingly diverse economy (industrialization, urbanization, western settlement).
The Character of Sectional Conflict
The sectional differences that began to divide the regions were not only economic, but also ideological, cultural, political and social
- Slavery shaped Southern culture giving rise to proslavery thought and states rights ideology
- In part these social and political ideals were shaped by Southern opposition to Northern calls for reform (abolitionism; free labor).
- In the North free labor (vs. Slavery) became an increasingly important political commitment
The Causes of Sectional Conflict
Major causes of sectional conflict centered around issues related slavery and the different economies of the two regions
- tariffs and federal economic policy
- Westward Expansion and Manifest Destiny
- The status of slavery in the new Territories
- Federal fugitive slave policy
Sectional Conflict 1820-1860: Major Events
- 1820 Missouri Compromise marks the beginning of sectional voting
- 1832 Nullification Crisis
- 1836-1844 Gag Rule prohibits discussion of antislavery petitions in Congress
- 1840 Liberty Party (first antislavery party)
- 1846 The Wilmot Proviso
- 1848 Free Soil Party
- 1850 The Compromise of 1850
- 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act
- 1856 Republican Party Founded,
- 1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford
- 1858 The Lincoln-Douglass Debates
- 1859 John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
- 1860 The Election of Lincoln