The Civil War was fought between 1861-1865. Before the war broke out the North and South had very opposite opinions on slavery. The North was anti-slavery and the South was pro-slavery. The people in the South did not want to make adjustments to their way of life, but with the North wanting economic growth it would. The South saw that their way of using slaves for labor was going to change dramatically. When Abraham Lincoln was running for election the South stated that they would secede if Lincoln won. They believed that he would destroy their way of life by narrowing the rights to own slaves. The South was not making empty threats. All eleven southern states seceded (not all at once) after Lincoln won. Lincoln viewed the secession as unlawful. The Civil War started at the Battle of Fort Sumter. The main triggers leading up to the Civil War are the Missouri Compromise, Nat Turner’s Rebellion, the Wilmot Proviso, the Compromise of 1850, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Bleeding Kansas, Dred Scott v. Stanford, John Browns Raid, and Abraham Lincoln’s Election.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 is the first spark leading up to the war. In 1819 a high strain between the anti-slavery and the pro-slavery groups was rising. The strain between the two exploded when Missouri made a request to become a slave state. If Missouri turned into a slave state, the ratio of slave to non-slave states would be off. Congress had a plan. To make the north and south happy they devised a two-part compromise. Missouri would become a slave state, but Maine would be a free state. The compromise also set up a “line” along the 36°30′ parallel and stated that “no slavery would be permitted in other states developed out of the Louisiana Purchase.”1 This divided the north and south as free and slave states.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion caused a lot of tension to arise and played a part in causing the war. Nat Turner was a slave who was born on a Virginia plantation. While he was growing up his father allowed him to be taught writing, religion, and how to read. Turner became a fierce leader and preacher. He would preach to other slaves that “he was chosen by God to led them from bondage.”2 In August, 1831 Turner believed that the eclipse of the Sun was his sign from God that it was time to rise against the slave owners and the whites. Turner recruited help from fellow slaves. Turner and six of his followers killed the Travis family who had been the plantation owner. After they were dead Turner and his followers got their hands-on weapons and horses. Their success led to the recruitment of roughly seventy-five other slaves ready to fight. The group went on to kill roughly sixty people, and of that the majority was women and children. The rebellion was stopped after two days, but it was one of the bloodiest. Turner and about sixteen followers managed to evade capture for six weeks. Once they were caught they were convicted and executed. Turner was hung on November 11, 1831. Nat Turner’s rebellion shot fear through the Southerners. It also resulted in new laws that were stricter and harsher. The laws also caused more tension and stress between the North and South.

David Wilmot was from Pennsylvania. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives and part of the Democratic party. In 1846 David made a “proposal to prohibit slavery in the territory acquired by the United States at the conclusion of the Mexican War.”3 This proposal was known as the Wilmot Proviso. The House of Representatives approved the proviso in 1846, but the Senate denied it in 1847. The reason the proviso first passed was because most of the representatives are from the North, but when it comes to the Senate the representation is equal between the South and the North. With both sides wanting different things the proviso could not be approved. This caused the strain between the two to intensify, and it further divided them.