The Road to Civil War

When Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state, it threatened to upset the delicate balance between free and slave states in the Senate. Henry Clay crafted a compromise that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance. Most importantly, it established the 36°30' parallel as the dividing line for future territories - slavery would be prohibited north of this line (except in Missouri). This compromise temporarily eased tensions but established a precedent of congressional involvement in slavery issues and highlighted the growing sectional divide.

Led by John C. Calhoun, South Carolina declared federal tariffs unconstitutional and attempted to nullify them within state borders. This crisis was fundamentally about states' rights and whether states could reject federal laws they deemed unconstitutional. President Andrew Jackson responded firmly, threatening military force while Congress passed a compromise tariff. Though resolved peacefully, the crisis established the dangerous precedent of a state openly defying federal authority and introduced the concept of nullification that would later influence secession arguments.

Congressman David Wilmot proposed that slavery be prohibited in any territory acquired from Mexico following the Mexican-American War. Though the proviso never became law, it sparked intense debate and forced politicians to take clear stands on slavery expansion. It divided Congress along sectional rather than party lines, with Northern representatives generally supporting it and Southern representatives opposing it. The proviso demonstrated that the slavery question could no longer be avoided through compromise and helped crystallize the Free Soil movement, which opposed slavery's expansion into new territories.

This complex package admitted California as a free state, organized Utah and New Mexico territories with popular sovereignty on slavery, ended the slave trade (but not slavery itself) in Washington D.C., and included a strengthened Fugitive Slave Act. The Fugitive Slave Act proved particularly controversial, requiring citizens to assist in capturing runaway slaves and denying suspected fugitives the right to trial by jury. This act outraged many Northerners who had previously remained neutral on slavery, as they were now legally compelled to participate in the system. The compromise delayed war for a decade but ultimately failed to resolve the fundamental conflict over slavery.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel became the best-selling book of the 19th century after the Bible, selling over 300,000 copies in its first year. Written in response to the Fugitive Slave Act, it portrayed the harsh realities of slavery through compelling characters and emotional storytelling. The book had profound political impact - it galvanized anti-slavery sentiment in the North while enraging the South, which saw it as an unfair attack on their way of life. The novel was translated into multiple languages and influenced international opinion against slavery. Abraham Lincoln allegedly told Stowe she was "the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war."

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed these territories to decide the slavery question through popular sovereignty. This led to a rush of both pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers trying to influence the outcome. Violence erupted between the factions, including the Sack of Lawrence, the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre led by John Brown, and numerous other conflicts. The violence demonstrated that democratic processes might not be sufficient to resolve the slavery question and that the conflict was becoming irrepressible. The events in Kansas also contributed to the collapse of the Whig Party and the rise of the Republican Party.

Chief Justice Roger Taney's majority opinion declared that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could never be American citizens and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in federal territories, effectively declaring the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. This decision outraged Republicans and many Northerners who saw it as proof of a "slave power conspiracy" to extend slavery everywhere. The ruling pushed the nation closer to war by eliminating legal compromises and suggesting that slavery's expansion was constitutionally protected.

John Brown, already notorious for his actions in Kansas, led a small group in an attack on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping to arm enslaved people for a massive rebellion. The raid failed when Robert E. Lee's forces captured Brown, who was later tried and executed. While most Northerners condemned Brown's methods, many admired his anti-slavery convictions, with some viewing him as a martyr. The South was horrified by the raid and the Northern reaction, seeing it as evidence that the North supported violent slave insurrections. The raid eliminated any remaining possibility of peaceful resolution and convinced many Southerners that they could not safely remain in the Union.

Abraham Lincoln won the presidency with only 39.8% of the popular vote in a four-way race, but secured a clear Electoral College victory. Crucially, Lincoln won without carrying a single Southern state and wasn't even on the ballot in most Southern states. His Republican Party platform opposed slavery's expansion but promised not to interfere with slavery where it existed. However, many Southerners viewed his election as an existential threat to their way of life and economic system. South Carolina seceded just six weeks after the election, followed by six more states before Lincoln even took office. The election demonstrated that the nation had become so polarized that normal democratic processes could no longer hold it together.