December 9

Blog #133 – Was the Civil War Inevitable?

It’s easy to look back from the vantage point of 150 years ago and say that the Civil War was inevitable.  That there was no denying that a clash over slavery would eventually occur, that the compromises would only last so long or work so well until something else came up to shatter the delicate balance that the Northern and Southern states tried to perpetuate.

And looking back over the past ten to 15 years before the war began, events like the Wilmot Proviso, the Mexican War, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the new Fugitive Slave Law, Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott decision, and John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry all take on additional significance because with the aid of time, historians can look back and see which events were more pivotal and which ones weren’t.

And the last year before the war, 1860, so many things had to click into place for the war to happen.  What if Lincoln wasn’t nominated or hadn’t won?  What if there was only John Bell or Stephen Douglas to win votes in the South instead of splitting up those Union votes in many parts of the South?  Could the election have gone to the House of Representatives if Lincoln hadn’t won the majority of the electoral votes, and what would have happened?

Other questions abound when I think of the last year and a half before the war – What if the Charleston Mercury editorial hadn’t been printed?  What if President Buchanan had been stronger in resisting the secession of the first seven states?  He tried to resupply Fort Sumter in January 1861 but the ship was fired upon and returned to Washington w/o resupplying Major Robert Anderson and his men at the South Carolina fort.  Buchanan didn’t think he had the power to stop the states from seceding, but he said it was unconstitutional. Or was Buchanan just leaving the job to Abe Lincoln?

The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854 - Essential Civil War Curriculum

Check out this chronology here – https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/sixteen-months-to-sumter/chronology

Did the Southern states actually have to leave or could they have done something else beginning in December 1860?  They must have felt that working within the system of the established Constitution was not working even though that document guarantees slavery.  The election of Lincoln had additional significance for these Deep South states b/c not all slave states left the Union right away (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware stayed, and North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas and Tennessee left ONLY after Lincoln called for troops when Fort Sumter was bombed).  Were these Deep South states trying to resist Lincoln or were the resisting his party’s anti-slavery platform?  He was the first president elected since John Quincy Adams in 1824 that was avowedly not a Southerner or a Northerner soft of slavery, so he must have been perceived as some kind of threat.  Another thing people should take into consideration is that the Republicans, after Lincoln was elected, would be in charge of appointing almost 1,000 governmental jobs, including marshals, post masters, and others that had been appointed for the past 8 years under the Pierce and Buchanan administrations.

Election of 1860 - HISTORY

I know there are a lot of questions here that I’ve raised, and that’s b/c I wanted you to think about the inevitability of this whole stream of events that led to the bombing of Fort Sumter.  Please answer the following two questions:

1. Was there ONE thing in the time period (1846-1861) that you think impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing?  Why?

2. Which event or action in the last 16 months (1860 – 61) had the greatest impact on starting the war?  Why?  Did this event make the Civil War inevitable or not?  Why?

Due Saturday night, Dec. 12 by midnight.  300 words minimum combined for both answers.

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Posted December 9, 2020 by geoffwickersham in category Blogs

54 thoughts on “Blog #133 – Was the Civil War Inevitable?

  1. Kirsten Jasinski

    I think the event that triggered the start of the Civil War the most was Abraham Lincoln’s election as the president in 1860. Lincoln ran against John Bell of Tennessee representing the Constitutional Party, John Breckinridge of Kentucky representing the Southern faction of the Democratic Party, and Stephen Douglas of Illinois representing the Northern faction of the Democratic Party. Each candidate had their own ideas of slavery. Bell believed in protecting slavery as it was allowed in the Constitution, but wanted to prevent its spread to keep the peace and preserve the Union. Breckinridge wanted the right to own slaves to be protected in the territories by a federal slave code, and when a territory became a state for the settlers to decide if slavery should be allowed. Douglas used the idea of popular sovereignty, that the people have the right to decide for themselves if slavery will exist in territories and new states, without a federal slave code. Lincoln was the only candidate who wanted to not only stop the spread of slavery, but also to not allow new territories and states in the Union to be slave states. Many of the Southern states threatened to secede from the Union if Lincoln won the election. Lincoln did not believe in secession, seeing it as unlawful, and he wanted to do everything in his power to keep the Southern states from seceding. Ultimately, this great division of the North and South in my eyes was pretty much the final straw for America leading to the Civil War.

    I think the Battle of Fort Sumter had the greatest impact on the start of the Civil War. In the lead up to the Battle of Fort Sumter, Lincoln’s election caused some southern states to secede from the Union. When Abraham Lincoln announced he was going to resupply Fort Sumter, the Confederate P.G.T Beauregard decided to bomb the Fort kicking off the Battle of Fort Sumter on April 12th, 1861. About 34 hours later the Confederate union surrenders and this event is used to mark the beginning of the Civil War. 4 more states seceded from the union, making a total of 11 states in the Confederacy. By the end of 1861, there were many battles between the Union and the Confederacy. At this point, I do not think the Civil War could’ve been avoided. There was just too much civil unrest that it was bound to happen.

  2. Nadia Whalen

    1) I think that the most obvious and effective thing that happened that made the war happen was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This specifically created the fighting between a lot of the e states, because they each wanted different things for the state (slavery wise) and were overwhelmed by what may come based on that. This led to some of the starting tension between the states (though there already was some). Additionally, I think had this not happened, a lot of the tension would not have built up as much as it actually had. So, I think this did have a serious impact on the cause of the war and without this important event, I don’t know if it would’ve happened.

    2) The election of Abraham Lincoln defiantly led to a lot of the issues. I think that without that happening then the war would not have happened. A lot of the pro-slavery/southerners were scared by having him in power because he was an abolitionist. That specifically led to them separating themselves and to create their own group. It was defiantly one of the most impressionable parts leading to the war. Had this not happened, I don’t exactly know what really would’ve happened. Him being elected defiantly made the war inevitable, because it led to the complete separation of the country.

  3. Emerson Lagrou

    1. One thing that impacted the start of the American Civil War more than any other thing was the Kansas-Nebraska act. The Kansas-Nebraska act was what caused bleeding Kansas, which involved violence between pro slavery and anti slavery people. Things before the act were already tense, but the government was still trying to make compromises. While the Kansas-Nebraska act was one of these compromises, the idea of letting the people decide whether their state was slave or free only served to further escalated division. Pro-slavery mobs were raiding abolitionist towns, and anti-slavery vigilantes like John Brown were retaliating. People were getting used to the idea that people with pro and anti slavery ideals were not just political opponents, but were mortal enemies. Once America got to this point of violence, they were not very far from a full-scale war. Combined with the other events that were pushing America closer and closer to civil war, the Kansas-Nebraska act is majorly responsible for the violence that ripped apart the nation.

    2. One thing that occurred in the 16 months before the war and had a large impact on it was the election of 1860. The election had a large impact on the war because depending on who was voted in as president, the southern states were going to decide whether or not to secede. If a president that was more sympathetic to slavery and the south had been elected, it is possible that the southern states would have decided against secession. However, the deep south did not like Lincoln at all, and after he was elected president, they voted for secession. Lincoln’s election did make the war inevitable, because even before he was elected, some states threaten to secede if he was. They were not willing to make any more deals they thought would favor the north, and Lincoln got most of his votes in the north. They seceded and thus there was war.

  4. Lea Milanini

    1. The succession of a lot of events has impacted the start of the Civil War. However, the one that seems the most pivotal to me is the institution of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. In fact, this act set Kansas and Nebraska to be two new territories of the Union where popular sovereignty would be put in place. I think that it was not very wise to leave a slavery-based decision such as this one to the hands of the citizens of the country, knowing their already growing antipathy for each other’s beliefs. The establishment of popular sovereignty clearly represented a motive for the two major groups of the nation to confront each other: the pro-slavery people would fight for the new territories to allow slavery, while the anti-slavery individuals and abolitionists would contest to keep those territories free. Indeed, many settlers from each side came to Kansas, and violent arguments came about at the approach of, and even after the elections that were to determine the state’s position regarding the controversial issue. In conclusion, the Kansas-Nebraska Act further entrenched the growing tensions between the two main groups that were behind the ideals dividing the country.
    2. In the last 16 months, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 helped start the war. In fact, as South Carolina put it in the Charleston Mercury editorial, as soon as it would be “ascertained that Messrs. LINCOLN and HAMLIN will have a majority in the Electoral Colleges for President and Vice President of the United States”, a Convention would occur with people of South Carolina as early as possible. South Carolina’s goal was to assemble as many Southern states as possible into cooperation so that a “Southern Confederacy” could then resist the “Black Republican domination at Washington”. As they said it: “…nothing is needed for our deliverance, but that the ball of revolution be set in motion”. As Lincoln was part of the Republican Party, and had stated his intentions to not let slavery expand to new territories or states later added to the Union, the pro-slavery population of the South was certainly not going to be favorable to his election as President. This is why, when Abraham Lincoln got the position, a lot of Southern states chose to secede from the Union. This further separated the country in two, and set the stage for the Civil War to come. I do not think that the election of Abraham Lincoln is the only event that has caused the war to be inevitable; I believe that it is the sequence of many events that has made the conflict unpreventable. However, Abraham Lincoln’s election was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

  5. Eleanor Limbaugh

    1. The single most important historical event in the lead-up to the Civil War was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The premise was simple: because no consensus could be reached nationally on whether or not to allow slavery in the new Kansas and Nebraska territories, the decision was left up to the residents of said territories. Popular sovereignty would be used to make the choice. However, the consequences of this act were disastrous. The Kansas-Nebraska Act essentially nullified the Missouri Compromise, which had served to moderate regional tensions between the North and South ever since its creation in 1820. With this moderation gone, what was supposed to be a model display of popular sovereignty quickly devolved into a brutal ideological power struggle. Hope of a democratic decision was lost as supporters from both sides flocked to the territories in the hopes of swaying the vote. Worse, the political turmoil soon descended into violence as pro- and antislavery militias clashed, and the territory became known as Bleeding Kansas.
    The disaster of the Kansas-Nebraska Act offered America an ultimatum: it would have to be one side or the other. Kansas bled to prove what many already knew, that slavery and abolition were fundamentally incompatible ideologies. Both sides had already demonstrated that they were willing to get violent to defend their position. Compromise was a futile effort, as the two couldn’t peacefully or successfully coexist. As Abraham Lincoln said in his famous “house-divided” speech, “This government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free.”

    2. In the last 16 months leading up to the Civil War, the secession of South Carolina from the Union started a domino effect within the southern United States–the spark that lit the fuse of the Civil War. In the six weeks that followed South Carolina’s secession, 7 more would follow, and four more would eventually join them after the battle of Fort Sumter. Such a sudden and wide rift in the country challenged core American beliefs in democracy and unity. Those with an interest in preserving the Union saw the writing on the wall, and realized that if the United States was to stay true to its values, and have any hope of surviving as a nation, war was necessary and inevitable.

  6. catherine bean

    Which event or action in the last 16 months (1860 – 61) had the greatest impact on starting the war? Why? Did this event make the Civil War inevitable or not? Why?

    There were multiple occurrences that impacted the start of the Civil War. For example, the Compromise of 1850, John Brown raiding Harper’s Ferry, and the Kansas- Nebraska Act just to name a few. To begin with, the Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to resolve disputes over slavery in the new territories added to the United States following the Mexican-American war. Under the Compromise, California was added to the union as a free state and that left Utah and Mexico to decide for themselves whether or not they wanted to be a free or slave state. The 1850 Compromise defined new boundaries for Texas but removed its claims from New Mexico. It permitted slavery in Washington DC but outlawed the slave trade in the District of Columbia. As a result, this led to the Fugitive Act. This Act was aimed at runaway slaves who had escaped to a Northern state to be captured and returned to their Southern slave owners. Furthermore, the Fugitive Act was under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Lastly, those captured, who claimed to be free and not slaves were denied the right of trial by jury. Citizens who aided in hiding a “fugitive” faced heavy penalties. Additionally, another event that contributed to the start of the war was John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry. John Brown is and was one of the most controversial figures in American history. Many would deem him to be a terrorist of that time. Depending on who you questioned, john Brown would delineate as either a role model or villain. He was loved by abolitionists but despised by southerners. On October 16, 1859, Brown led a small group on a raid against a federal armory in Virginia. This was a plan and an attempt to instigate a revolt of enslaved people and destroy the institution of slavery. Unfortunately, word got out and Brown was caught and subsequently sentenced to death. Lastly, there was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, which, many regarded and a key part of the Union. What this Act did was divide Kansas and Nebraska into two territories; Kansas was to become a slave state. The Act contributed to the end of the Whig Party and the formation of a new Republican Party of 1854. This Act would further highlight the slavery controversy. In sum, it was the culmination of the above-mentioned events that would ultimately make the civil war inevitable as the slavery controversy would not be resolved between the Northern and Southern States.

    Was there one thing in the time period (1846-1861) that you think impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing? Why?

    There was not one event in the time period of 1846-1861 that solely impacted the start of the war. For example, the election of 1860 impacted the start of the civil war because the winner of the election, Abraham Lincoln, was totally opposed to slavery. His victory caused the southern states to secede from the union in order to preserve the institution of slavery. Moreover, another issue that impacted the start of the civil war was the Dred Scott case also know as Dredd Scott vs Stanford, which was a decade-long fight for freedom. This legal case argued that African Americans were not and could never be citizens of the United States. Furthermore, there was the Missouri Compromise. The Compromise stated that all free territories west of Missouri were unconstitutional. This decision added fuel to the sectional conservatory and pushed the country closer to the Civil War. Lastly, another prominent event that contributed to the breaking point of the Civil War was the publication of Uncle To’s Cabin. This anti-slavery novel highlighted and ripped the band-aid off to American’s about the cruelty and inhumane existence of slavery. I believe that all of the above-mentioned events had an impact on the start if the civil war.

  7. Belle Mason

    1. I don’t think there was one specific thing that impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing, I think there are two. The Dred Scott decision and the Kansas-Nebraska act. I think the Dred Scott decision impacted the start of the war because it built up tensions between the slavery vs. anti-slavery parties and states. When the Supreme Court ruled the Missouri compromise as unconstitutional, I think it set off an alarm in the anti-slave states and people, and they started uprisings against slavery, not just politically but also violently. I think that the Kansas-Nebraska act was the tipping point towards the downhill slope to the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska act, I think solidified the tensions between the states. It caused more violent uprisings such as John Brown’s raid, and ultimately led to the secession of southern states and set off the Civil War. Anti-slavery advocates saw the Dred Scott decision and theKansas-Nebraska act as two major reasons why the south and pro-slavery states were not going to give up and let it die off. They saw the Dred Scott decision as making slavery constitutional and protected, and they say the Kansas-Nebraska act as a way for slavery to be imputed above the 30-60 line which they had already established as a slavery-free area.

    2. The event in the last 16 months that had the greatest impact on starting the war was the secession of South Carolina. South Carolina set an example for other slave states to secede, and ultimately led to 6 more secessions before the Civil War started with the bombing of Fort Sumter. This event, I think, did make the Civil War inevitable because it made America no longer the United States. These states seceding made it clear that they would not be returningto the union unless the issue over Slavery was resolved, and slavery was not abolished. These states made it clear that any sort of political compromise was not going to work anymore, and that this issue could not be swept under the rug. This made violence the only option to solve the issue and ultimately made the Civil War inevitable.

  8. Faith Whitted

    1. I honestly don’t believe that it was just one single event that impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing. It was more of a chain of events that when put together, was like a powder keg waiting to explode when President Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860. One event led to another, which led to something else, which eventually led to the Civil War. For example, Bleeding Kansas happened because as a result of the Kansas-Nebraska act, many free-staters were enraged. This protesting caused a lot of additional violence and retaliation from both sides of the slavery debate. These two events (Bleeding Kansas and the Kansas-Nebraska act) were connected to one another, which is how most of the events between 1846 and 1861 happened.

    2. In the last 16 months (1860-1861), I think that the election of President Abraham Lincoln in 1860 had the greatest impact on the start of the war. Lincoln’s anti-slavery beliefs caused a lot of political turmoil, especially during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. More specifically, Lincoln’s election caused the Democratic party to become very divided, while the Republican party leaders had a growing distrust of the South. I believe that Lincoln’s election made the civil war inevitable. As we can see from our own 2020 presidential election, political turmoil causes a lot of division amongst the citizens of the country, and with something such as slavery, which was so deeply ingrained in the fabric of the country between 1846 and 1661, it was only amplified by the ongoing (and rapidly increasing) debates about the status of slavery. Lincoln also won most of the popular votes while the Republicans didn’t win a majority in Congress. Many Southerners saw that they were running out of options, which I believe made the war inevitable. Therefore, I maintain that the political division that was caused as a result of President Abraham Lincoln’s election was the primary event that impacted the start of the war.

  9. Allison Jasinski

    1. There were a lot of events between 1846 and 1861 that I think impacted the start of the war, but the event that I think impacted the start of the war the most was the Kansas- Nebraska Act of 1854. It reversed the Missouri Compromise which had moderated tensions between the North and South since it was passed in 1820. Northerners were infuriated by this decision and the Democrats faced significant backlash from the North. Stephen A. Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which mandated popular sovereignty. It allowed the settlers of a territory to decide whether or not slavery should/would be allowed within the new states’ borders by voting. Tensions between the North and the South were already high, mostly because of their different views on slavery, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act increased them even more. Proslavery and antislavery activists flooded into the new state’s borders to help sway the vote in the direction that they favored. Proslavery activists wanted slavery to be allowed in the new territories and the antislavery activists did not want slavery to spread more into the new territories acquired from Mexico. This flood of activists into the new territories quickly turned violent. This event was known as Bleeding Kansas. It was now clear to the government that compromises like this one, were not going to work and that proslavery and antislavery activists would turn to violence if it was necessary. I think that the Kansas-Nebraska Act impacted the start of the Civil War more than any other event that took place between 1846 and 1861 because it increased the tensions between the North and South to higher than they have ever been before. The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to events that continued to create sectional tensions that ultimately led to the start of the Civil War.
    2. I think the event or action in the last 16 months that had the greatest impact on the starting of the war was Abraham Lincoln’s election to president in 1860. Abraham Lincoln was representing the Republican party. He ran against a variety of candidates who had different views on slavery. John Bell of Tennessee who was representing the Constitutional Union Party believed in protecting slavery because it was allowed in the Constitution, but wanted to prevent its spread to keep peace in the Union. John Breckenridge of Kentucky who was representing the Southern Democratic Party believed that the right to own slaves should be protected in the territories by a federal slave code, and when a territory became a state, he thought the settlers should be able to decide if slavery should be allowed or not. Stephen Douglas of Illinois who was representing the Northern Democratic Party was neither proslavery or antislavery but believed in popular sovereignty. Abraham Lincoln was the only candidate who did not want to allow slavery in new territories or states added to the Union. He wanted to stop the spread of slavery. Many proslavery activists and Southerners saw Abraham Lincoln as kind of a threat because he was an abolitionist. The South based their decision to secede from the Union with the election of Abraham Lincoln to president because they wanted to preserve the idea of slavery. If another candidate, who was proslavery, it is likely that the South would not have wanted to secede from the Union. After South Carolina seceded there was a domino effect and eventually there was a total of 11 states that had succeeded from the Union within 1 year. I think that the secession of these states made the start of the war inevitable because it further divided the country into two.

  10. Max Young

    1) I believe that the one specific event from 1846-1861 that impacted the war more than any other was the Kansas Nebraska act. This act really forced pro slavery and anti-slavery people to truly become enemies. This act allowed the people to decide whether there should be slavery or not in this territory, so this caused a lot of tension. There was a lot of violence that happened after this act was put in place. This act also started what is called the bleeding of Kansas. Lastly, there were a lot of fights between pro slavery and anti slavery people. Pro slavery mobs were basically destroying all of the abolitionists towns and resources. Once this started happening abolitionist John Brown attempted to get his revenge. I believe that John Brown’s influence made this war very possible because of his influence, which made slave owners nervous and vulnerable. If the Kansas Nebraska act never occurred then what John Brown did probably wouldn’t have occurred so that’s why I believe that the Kansas Nebraska act was a big step towards a civil war.

    2)The event in the last 16 months (1860-1861) that had the greatest impact on starting the war was the election of 1860. Lincoln ended up winning this election. But, this had the greatest impact because Lincoln was the only candidate that didn’t believe in slavery and was opposed to the expansion of slavery. With his rationale it forced the southern states to succeed. If Bell, Breckinridge, or Douglas won this election rather than Lincoln, then I believe that the southern states would have never succeeded. Once the southern states voted for succession it created war between the North and the South. So, with Lincoln being elected as president in 1860 it made this war inevitable, causing the country to separate into 2 different groups. The union and the confederacy.

  11. Samuel Goodman

    1.
    In my eyes, there is not one specific event that impacted the start of the civil war more than anything. To me, it is a large series of events that progressively made the country grow apart. If I had to choose one event I think had the largest impact, it would of course be the Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854. The country was going through a lot of internal turmoil and an extreme amount of sectionalism between the north and south during this time and the argument over slavery was only worsened by the addition of new territories. The Kansas-Nebraska act gave the people of the territories the choice over slavery or freedom in their territory. This choice of popular sovereignty for the decision over slavery was poor and lead to worse developments throughout the next few years. In essence, this nullified the Missouri Compromise, which had been the settler of the slave and free state debates before. Using an unbiased compromise line was much safer than having the people decide. In fact, Missourians who were pro-slavery crossed the border into Kansas to forcefully push their view on the people of the territory, these people were labeled as Border Ruffians. The ideological debate over the legality of slavery in Kansas only got worse because of these aggressive and violent pushes. When both sides started making their way to Kansas to swing votes, it lead to brutal confrontations in what is known as, Bleeding Kansas. Kansas-Nebraska was the first large scale sign of violence between the two sides during this period. Whilst the government first believed democracy would find them a solution, the issue was only worsened and tensions between the north and south grew drastically. These beliefs were not ones that would compromise, it was one side or the other. With both sides demonstrating the willingness to use violence to support their ideology, the country was showing it’s true colors. A country that was not willing to compromise, getting increasingly hostile, and what could only blow up into a civil war.

    2.

    In the last 16 months leading to the civil war, nothing impacted the start of the civil war more than the secession of South Carolina. This was the first state to secede and created a long string of secession and the creation of a new nation. Once this occurred, the country was split in two and the power struggle could only be decided in battle, brother against brother. With 11 seceding states, the confederacy deemed a large threat to the Union especially with its willingness to take violent action against its former country. Both sides having opposite ideologies and years of pent-up aggression were the stepping stones for war. In Charleston, South Carolina, in 1861, the militia of South Carolina stormed Fort Sumter and forced the Union Army there into surrendering. This is seen as the first battle of the civil war. South Carolina’s secession is what lead to this battle. The first battle of many, and therefore, South Carolina’s secession had the greatest impact on the beginning of the civil war in those last 16 months

  12. Hayley Bedell

    1. As I am considering the Civil War’s inevitability, one thing that strikes me is how one single event can cause a ripple of additional events that then made the war inevitable. Similar to the consequences of one domino falling over, or how dropping a pebble in a body of water will cause a series of ripples. While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where this hypothetical domino fell, or where the pebble was dropped, I genuinely think that the Kansas-Nebraska Act started the ripple of inevitability that led to the Civil War. Not only that, I think that this act impacted the war more than any other event during that time period. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, passed in 1854, separated the territory of Nebraska, adding Kansas to the lineup, repealed the Missouri Compromise, and instituted popular sovereignty, meaning that the territory legislature was given the power to determine their own stance on slavery. Before the Kansas-Nebraska Act, sectional tenses were definitely on the rise, but they were yet to reach any extreme. The North and South had their separate views on slavery, and were afraid of throwing off the free to slave state balance in Congress. However, the Kansas-Nebraska Act served as a tipping point for both groups. The removal of the MIssouri Compromise dismissed any Northern hopes of national antislavery and excited the South. This further worsened the sectional divide, and this divide quickly became violent. In the wake of the Kansas- Nebraska Act, both groups got aggressive, which led to events such as the Sack of Lawrence, John Brown’s Raid, and all other crises within Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas led to James Buchanan’s election, and so on and so forth. After the Kansas-Nebraska Act, emotions were so strong, blood had been shed, and the nation had reached the point of no return.

    2. In my opinion, Abraham Lincoln’s election, and the election of 1860 in general, had the greatest impact on starting the war. Lincoln was not in support of slavery, which further caused a bountiful uproar. After the secession of many southern states, he denounced it as illegal, which most definitely put fuel to the fire that was the sectional differences and conflicts. Additionally, he contributed to the division of the Democratic party. All in all, after Lincoln was elected, the Civil War was bound to happen, which leads to my next answer. I do think that Lincoln’s election contributed to the inevitability of the Civil War. If we continue moving through the ripple effect, mentioned in the previous answer, we would eventually get to his election, and then the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act lit the fuse, Lincoln’s election was the fuse going off. But aside from that, Lincoln’s position on slavery split the nation even more. Sectional differences in opinion can be overwhelming. His point of view, against the ideals of the recently succeeded states, was a bang, and at the point there was absolutely no way to avoid any war.

  13. Drew Ruprich

    1. Was there ONE thing in the time period (1846-1861) that you think impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing? Why?

    If I were to pick just one event that impacted the outcome of the Civil War the most, it would likely be the Kansas-Nebraska Act. When the decision was drafted by Stephen Douglas in 1854, there was a debate over whether or not the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska would be free or slave states. If the original guidelines of the Missouri Compromise (1820) were followed, both of the territories being above the line would mean that they were free states. Douglas’s draft violated this. The decision instead would be up to the population of the territories, who would then vote on their outcome. The popular sovereignty decision made a lot of people want to move into the territories, so that they could vote and make them the territories they wanted. This meant that a large population of both abolitionists and pro-slavery people were living in the same territories. This made for an increase in sectional conflict as well as the “Bleeding Kansas” event/John Brown murders. This chain of events, which ended in violence, was kickstarted by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

    2. Which event or action in the last 16 months (1860 – 61) had the greatest impact on starting the war? Why? Did this event make the Civil War inevitable or not? Why?

    I think that the most prominent event during the last 16 months leading up to the Civil War that had the biggest impact was the election of 1860. The four candidates were: Abraham Lincoln (Republican), John Bell (Constitutional Union), Stephen A. Douglas (Northern Democrat), and John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democrat). The two candidates that got the most electoral votes were Abraham Lincoln and John C. Breckinridge, but Lincoln ended up with the most and the presidency. This event was very important during this time because of the rising sectional conflict over slavery. It was important for the northern free states that the next president was anti-slavery and it was important for the southern slave states that the next president was pro-slavery. They thought whichever ended up winning, the outcome for the other group would likely not be beneficial for them. So, when Abraham Lincoln, a member of the new Republican Party and moderate anti-slavery advocate, won the presidency, the southern states became outraged. Some seceded from the Union right after the election and some seceded later. These southern states would become part of the war over slavery. So, the outcome of the election, at least partially, led to a chain reaction in which division in the nation started to show up more and more, and would eventually lead to the Civil War. Based on this, I do believe that the war was inevitable by the time the election had ended because there was not much to be done to stop the southern states from seceding, and not much to change their minds about slavery. The conflict had been building for years, and it was only a matter of time that the balloon finally popped.

  14. Mark Bossio

    1) I think the event that had more impact on the war than any other event was John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. I believe that John Brown’s raid was an example of an extremist trying to create chaos, and try to further angered the South. In fact John Brown was already the mastermind behind the Pottawatomie Creek massacre and the South was already angered. Harper’s Ferry a sign of aggression towards the South and pro-slavery settlers. Some people in the North saw John Brown as a leader so Harper’s Ferry further separated the north and south to a point where it was almost impossible to go back. John Brown had an overwhelmingly bad reputation in the south so holding hostages as well as raiding an pro-slavery town wouldn’t have gone down well with the people of the South. This event caused the most reaction in the South and further cemented the idea of secession into their minds.

    2) I think the Battle at Fort Sumter had the most impact on the start of the Civil War. Just before the battle Lincoln was elected as president with no electoral votes in the south, and left the southerners feeling like their voices were not heard, which caused some states to secede from the union. The battle at Fort Sumter started because Lincoln wanted to resupply the Fort, and the Confederates bombed it before it could resupply so a battle broke out at the Fort between the Confederates and the Union. The Confederates lost the battle, but this event marked the beginning of the Civil War. After the battle more states would secede from the union. This battle had the most impact because it is the beginning of the Civil War and at this point I believe it was impossible to go back to the way things were. The Civil War became inevitable.

  15. Mori Miller

    1. Was there ONE thing in the time period (1846-1861) that you think impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing? Why?

    The one thing that impacted the start of the war more than anything else was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. At the time, the most pressing issue for anti-slavery people was to slow or completely stop the spread of slavery. The missouri compromise was a good example of this, and it was viewed as the most influential legal document right under the constitution by some people. The Kansas-Nebraska act was a direct violation of the Missouri compromise, as slavery was supposed to be illegal anywhere north of Missouri’s southern border, with the exception of Missouri itself. When this act was put in place, it signified that the spread of slavery was inevitable if left alone, as the federal government allowed the Missouri compromise to be broken and disregarded. The effects of this act being passed lead to bloody Kansas, the start of real inter-American violence. The act’s other effects include Lincoln becoming interested in politics again and therefore the Lincoln presidency, and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. The multitude of effects the act had, and the effects of those effects make it the most impactful thing in starting the civil war.

    2. Which event or action in the last 16 months (1860 – 61) had the greatest impact on starting the war? Why? Did this event make the Civil War inevitable or not? Why?

    The division of the Democratic Party on the election of 1860 had the greatest impact on starting the war. Stephen Douglass was not accepted by Southern Democrats after the freeport doctrine, so the Democrats had 2 candidates on the ticket. Douglass took most of the Northern Democrat vote, and John Breckinridge took the Southern Democrat vote. This led to Abraham Lincoln and the Republican party taking power. Lincoln and his anti-slavery policies led to more states seceding from the union. Lincoln also had a strong spine, unlike Buchannon, and was not going to let the South secede that easily. Lincoln was prepared to fight for the nation, something none of the other candidates would have done. The election of Lincoln made the Civil War inevitable because he was the candidate who would not let the south leave easily. When he took office, there were already 7 states who already seceded, and even a new confederate government formed. Some people would have let them be, or try to work it out diplomatically, but Lincoln knew it was too late for that. He had to fight to save America.

  16. Alex Koellner

    1. I think that the most impactful event in the lead up to the Civil War was the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska bill on January 4, 1854. This was an act that allowed Kansas and Nebraska to vote for slavery through popular sovereignty. This act directly violated the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which caused extreme outrage in the North. The passing of this bill further split the North and South. A direct impact of this act was bleeding kansas which was another major cause of the civil war. Former Senator Stephen A. Douglas wanted a northern transcontinental railroad that would benefit Illinois. He attempted to pass a bill to organize the Nebraska territory but this was shut down by the southern senators because it would add another free state to America. He proposed a new bill in an attempt to gain southern support by adding two territories (Nebraska and Kansas). There was one major flaw with his bill however, it violated the Missouri Compromise that stated no states above the line of 36 30 would be slave states. The reaction to this bill varied throughout the regions with northerners extremely mad and the southerners pleased. This act was passed after gaining support from President Franklin Pierce. By the time of this bill’s passage southern states were beginning to secede from the union. Although Douglas’s railroad plans were built this bill divided the democrats beyond repair.

    2. I think that the election of Abraham Lincoln had the greatest impact in the last 16 months leading up to the Civil War. When the election came around there was turmoil amongst the democratic party and they became greatly separated. Due to this eleven southern states seceded from the union knowing that Lincoln would win the upcoming election. When Lincoln swept the election and came into office it enraged many southerners because of his ideas on slavery. He didn’t want slavery to spread to any new states and he didn’t want pro-slavery beliefs to gain power. This election confirmed the two major parties and the separation of view between the north and the south. Shortly after Lincoln swore into office the Confederate Army attacked Fort Sumter starting the Civil War.

  17. Kasen Korstanje

    I believe that the one thing from this time period that impacted the start of the war the most was the Kansas-Nebraska act. This act, signed into law in 1854, caused a monumental amount of debate in The United States. The act, drafted by Stephen Douglas, stated that Kansas and Nebraska would become states, and that its citizens would vote as to whether they would be free or slave states. This act defied the Missouri Compromise, a piece of legislation that Northerners praised because it helped to stop the spread of slavery. In the years following this act, tensions grew. People began to get violent over the issue of slavery, and large scale conflicts began to break out. For example, there was “Bleeding Kansas”, a series of attacks carried out in Kansas by slavery-supporting ruffians from Missouri. With all of this craziness going on, The north and south began to repel, and sectionalism was more apparent than ever
    2. I think the event in the last 16 months before the start of the civil war that was the most important was the Election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency. Abraham Lincoln was a republican, and he opposed the spread of slavery. With Lincoln as president, The Northerners had someone on their side. The Southerners, on the other hand, weren’t pleased whatsoever. They knew that with someone who didn’t support their ideals in office, nothing that the Southerners wanted would be accomplished. With the last president, James Buchanan, it was easier for the south to do what they wanted because Buchanan thought that slavery was protected by the constitution. Buchanan also was very indecisive and timid. this was not the case with Lincoln. Lincoln opposed slavery morally, and he also opposed the spread of it. This is one major point that prompted their secession. The southerners realized that they’d have a much harder time reaching their goals with Lincoln as president, and that it would be so much easier if they were their own nation. I believe that this event did make the civil war inevitable because it was a tipping point for the south. If the president had been a slavery-supporting person, maybe the south would’ve chosen to stay in the union because they might have been able to get their way. There were too many sectional differences at this point in time, and The United States was unable to stay together because of them.

  18. Alexander Moore

    1. The event that impacted the start of the civil war the most was the Kansas-Nebraska act. The Kansas-Nebraska act let the people of Kansas and Nebraska decide if they were going to be an anti-slavery or slavery territory through popular sovereignty. This made abolitionists and slave owners flock to Kansas and Nebraska in order to vote and get make the territories how they want. The Kansas-Nebraska act nullified the Missouri compromise. The Missouri compromise had ended discussions about slavery temporarily, so when it was nullified these disputes grew larger. This was during a time where there was a lot of sectionalism in the United States. Both sides got violent and many crimes were committed such as the Sack of Lawrence and Pottawatomie Massacre. These crimes were called Bleeding Kansas. Ultimately, the Kansas-Nebraska act caused increased sectionalism and Bleeding Kansas which contributed to the start of the civil war.

    2. I think that the event in the last 16 months before the war was the election of 1860. The candidates for the election were Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, John Bell, and John C. Breckinridge. This election was very important because of the sectionalism in America and each side wanted the president that supported their view on slavery. The north wanted a president that was against slavery and the south wanted a president that was for slavery. Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th president in the election of 1860 and he was against slavery. Because of Abraham Lincoln’s anti-slavery beliefs, the southerners were not happy. The Southern states voted for secession from the Union. Once this happened, the civil war was bound to happen. A lot of things led up to the civil war but I think that in the last 16 months before the war, the election of 1860 had the biggest impact starting the war. Because Abraham Lincoln won the Election of 1860, America was even further divided and southern states seceded from the Union.

  19. Ella Blank

    1. The Compromise of 1850 was the event that most impacted the start of the civil war because it increased sectionalism between the north and the south, supported a stronger Fugitive Slave Law, and ultimately was not enforced enough to succeed. Sectionalism between the north and the south was already rising prior to the Compromise being published. Henry Clay, the author of the Compromise, attempted to use this document to reinforce the strength of the union. His plan was unsuccessful because the north got the better end of the deal. California was added as a free state, giving the north an advantage in governmental representation. Texas also lost some of their land, and slave trade was outlawed in Washington DC. The south did get a fugitive slave law passed, but the north refused to enforce it. This was a key point because it meant that the north was not afraid of the south anymore. If the north was afraid, they would have complied with the law instead of fighting back against it. The south became bitter because of this and threatened to secede from the union on multiple occasions. When some states finally did, the president at the time, James Buchanan, did nothing to stop them. The Compromise of 1850 ultimately led to the Civil War because it heightened sectionalism, which caused some southern states to secede from the union. Also included in the compromise was a fugitive slave law that was not strictly enforced enough, adding fuel to the fire of sectionalism and secession.

    2. Abraham Lincoln’s presidential election in 1860 had the greatest impact on starting the civil war because he was elected without any electoral votes from the south and he held antislavery beliefs. As I mentioned in my previous answer, the south was feeling like they had been cheated on by the government. In the Compromise of 1850, the south was able to get a stronger fugitive slave act put into place. This was hated by the north, and they refused to follow it. That was a blow to the ego of the south. Going into this election, the south supported one of the two Democratic candidates, John Breckenridge, who believed in secession. Once the election results came out, it was quickly discovered that Lincoln was able to win by a landslide without the votes from any eastern state south of Illinois. At this point, the south knew that they had little to no real power left in the government and they had to secede. The south did not feel that they could compromise again and work with Lincoln because he held an antislavery position. In a senate race debate against Stephen Dougals on October 7, 1858, Lincoln said, “Now I confess myself as belonging to that class in the country who contemplate slavery as a moral, social and political evil.” That opinion was a major offputting point for the south, and that is why he did not receive any votes from them. Lincoln’s election in 1860 led to the Civil War because the southern states felt like they had no power so they seceded from the union and then fought it to gain that power back.

  20. Sam Walsworth

    1. The war was a result of numerous conflicts and the increasing division between the North and South. It’s hard to overstate the importance of any of the events in this period or pin a singular event as the root, but some were of clear greater importance than others. The Kansas-Nebraska Act escalated the existing tensions to a fever pitch, as both sides used violence, and had a more immediate effect on furthering the ideological and political divide between North and South than any other event in the antebellum period. Bleeding Kansas, a notorious battleground for violence by radicals attempting to sway the referendum to their favor by force, further polarising everyone involved, especially those in the middle, and made compromise an increasingly improbable feat. Events in bleeding Kansas also directly led to Brown’s stand at Harper’s Ferry, which I would describe as the final and definitive point of no return, where a war was inevitable. The earliest the conflict could’ve been avoided was in 1846 ,if the Wilmot Proviso had passed, the tensions were not yet high enough for Southerners to take up arms, it would be a controversial decision at the time, but would open the door for gradual emancipation.
    2. In my mind it was undoubtedly John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry. It reignited the violence that had started to falter just a little bit since the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Southerners were now of the mind that abolitionists were willing to be violent to abolish slavery, seeing the support Brown had gotten from many abolitionists and anti-slavery advocates, they knew that as long as they were apart of the Union, they would eventually lose their slaves and this enticed them to secede and take up arms against the North. Abraham Lincoln winning the presidency after a major part of his campaign was anti-slavery undoubtedly led to the Civil War happening sooner, It is unlikely a different president who attempted to compromise, or even a pro-slavery president who may have prevented the South from seceding initially, would either entice the North to provoke the South or declare war against them, or the war would be pushed back to the next election with likely higher tensions.

  21. Austin White

    I believe that there are probably many answers to this question that would be possible but I think that there is one event in this time period that really made the Civil War very probable, the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The act separated the unorganized territory into two separate territories, Kansas and Nebraska, and was put in place 4 years after the Compromise of 1850. Like the Compromise of 1850 this act would leave the issue of slavery in the territories to popular sovereignty, in which the decision on whether slavery would be allowed or not in the territories is left to the settlers of the territories. But if either territory would vote for slavery than it would against the idea that slavery would stay in the south and eventually die out because both territories were above the Missouri Compromise Line. This is exactly what would eventually end up happening, because of the voter fraud that would occur from outsiders in Kansas. This lead to the event we know as “Bleeding Kansas” in which towns were burned and people were killed by pro-slavery settlers and eventually anti-slavery settlers that would act in backlash like John Brown. These acts of violence stirred up the country so bad that it would polarize the nation between the north and the south to a point where war between the two was nearly inevitable.

    I believe that the election of Abraham Lincoln was the most impactful event in starting the civil war from this period. The country was already very polarized at this point and the election of Lincoln scared the southerners of the nation. When Lincoln gave his Cooper Union Address about his views on the spread of slavery they knew that Lincoln was a huge threat to their right to slavery. I believe that the little chance of there NOT being a war was gone after this war. The south knew that Lincoln would attack their rights to slavery and pretty much had to secede if they wanted to keep this institution.

  22. Hailey Young

    Was there ONE thing in the time period (1846-1861) that you think impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing? Why?
    One thing in the time period (1846-1861) that I think most impacted the start of the Civil War more than any other event or thing was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. After the feud over the Fugitive Slave Act, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was made. The Kansas- Nebraska Act was a bill that allowed popular sovereignty to decide on slavery in the new borders. This new act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to please southern Democrats. In theory the territory would be open to slavery. Douglass also agreed to split the territory into Kansas and Nebraska. President Pierce supported the bill to separate the territories making the Kansas- Nebraska Act. It became a law in May 1854 with the unanimous support of the South and the partial support of northern Democrats. No other piece of legislation in American history produced so many immediate, sweeping, and ominous consequences. Not only did this act divide the Whig party, the northern Democrats, but it also urged the creation of a new party that was together geographically and thought wise. The Kansas-Nebraska Act impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing because it produced a major split in the country. No parties could agree on anything, slavery became premitted in places it was previously outlawed in and it made the need for a new party. A lot of uproar was caused by this act, without it, the country wouldn’t have been split. A war needs two sides, and this act made the country split.

    Which event or action in the last 16 months (1860 – 61) had the greatest impact on starting the war? Why? Did this event make the Civil War inevitable or not? Why?
    One event in 1860-1861 that had the greatest impact on starting the war was the election of 1860, where Lincoln won. This election had the most consequences in American History. The Democratic party was split between southerners who demanded a strong endorsement of slavery and westerners, who supported the idea of popular sovereignty. A party convention met in April in Charleston, South Carolina. When the convention endorsed popular sovereignty, delegates from 8 states in the lower south walked out. The remaining delegates couldn’t decide on a candidate, so they decided to adjourn and meet again in Baltimore in June. Stephan Douglass was nominated in Baltimore, southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge, and a group of conservative ex-Whigs chose John Bell who stayed silent on slavery. The Republican party chose Abraham Lincoln- they wanted to get northerners and some westerners. Lincoln won the presidency with the majority of the electoral votes but only ⅖ of the popular vote. But they failed to win a majority in Congress. Within a few weeks of Lincoln’s victory, the process of disunion began. The election had split the country even more and the start of disunion began. This made the Civil War inevitable because disunion quickly led to a prolonged and bloody war between two groups of America that had no common ground with each other.

  23. Jack Abbot

    Whether or not the Civil War was inevitable, it can be seen that a peaceful solution between the sectionalism was fading after the Kansas-Nebraska act. The Kansas-Nebraska act repealed the Missouri Compromise and split the rest of the Louisiana territory into two territories of Kansas and Nebraska. These territories were made under the influence that they could be states after they made a constitution based on popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty meant that the citizens would vote a constitution to finalize it and make it the state. The big issue over the constitution was whether it was going to be pro-slavery, or antislavery. As soon as this act was passed, abolitionists mostly from the North and pro-slavery believers mostly from the South moved into the area. Kansas became a battleground, it was known as Bleeding Kansas. The most noticable fights were the sack of Lawrence, where a posse of pro-slavery citizens went to Lawrence, destroyed several printing press and burned down the free-staters “governor’s” house. In retaliation an abolitionists named John Brown led a group to Potawatomie and killed 5 pro-slavery settlers. From this act, fighting over sectionalism became more intense, popular sovereignty, supposed to be a peaceful solution to sectionalism, was proven not effective, sections grew more scared of each other, and the nation took a big step towards civil war. A specific event that I think had the greatest impact on starting the war was John Brown’s raid. John Brown’s idea was to capture an arsenal, take all the weapons, and journey to the South aiding slaves with weapons for rebellion against slavery. This plan was stopped short as John Brown failed to capture the arsenal and was caught. When word got out about his plan and his support from northerners, fear in the South grew exponentially. This fear in the South provoked by the rebellion was a major part in them wanting disunion, and eventually, the start of the Civil War. I do think this made the Civil war inevitable because at this point the South felt trapped with basically nowhere to run to, and only the option to fight.

  24. Lauren Kamp

    1.) I believe the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was the defining moment that led the nation towards the Civil War. This act proposed by Stephen A Douglas of Illinois would create two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska, that would allow the people of the new territories to vote on the permissibility of slavery, not a law from the government. Further, the Kansas-Nebraska Act invalidated the key restriction of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that permitted having slave states north of the 36’30’ parallel. With the population expanding westward, the question of legalizing slavery in new territories would continue to drive tension for popular power within the federal government between the North and South. Also, because the Whig Party voted almost entirely based on geography rather than loyalty to the party principles, the Whig Party lost its power once it was divided by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Northerners started the anti-slavery party called the Republican Party and Southerners joined the Democratic Party. Once it passed, the country was divided geographically and politically between north and south and these growing tensions would eventually lead to the Civil War.
    2.) There are many important events that immediately lead up and directly contributed to South Carolina’s decision to secede from the United States in December of 1860. I believe the most critical event that made the Civil War absolutely unavoidable was the nation’s decision to elect the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln as their next president on November 6, 1860. Because the Election of 1860 was divided among four candidates, Lincoln’s ability to sweep the Northern states assured his nomination. To highlight the threat of a Republican President, Lincoln was not even included on the ballot in many states in the South. In the four months between his election and inauguration, seven states seceded from the Union and Lincoln was forced to act to preserve the country. By Lincoln being elected and tensions increasing, civil war was bound to occur.

  25. Lily R Schafer

    I believe the most impactful event before the civil war was bleeding Kansas. I’m not saying that the other factors don’t count, but this I believe to be the “flashpoint” of the tensions that eventually led to the war. I think this because this was the beginning of violence due to differing opinions- a sign of pre-war conflagration. I also think that it truly showed the depth and extent of how opposed each side was to each other, to the point of murder and fraud against each other. additionally, it led to Kansas being admitted as a free state which enraged the south- this is the turning point at which the war was likely a direct result of this specific action. In general, I also believe that it would have rallied “neutralists” or people who didn’t really have any opinions on the debate to one or the other side BECAUSE of the atrocities committed.
    Which event or action in the last 16 months (1860 – 61) had the greatest impact on starting the war? Why? Did this event make the Civil War inevitable or not? Why?
    I believe the battle at Fort Sumter was the final point of no return for the starting of the war. I do believe that this made the civil war inevitable, as it was essentially an unofficial war- with troops in commanders. I actually think that this was already IN the war in a way, because of nature. the reason I think it was the point of no return is that it was the end for all tensions- the south was fed up and paranoid of the north (defense of the fort lasted to the point of exhaustion of supplies- south scared of the north) and the north didn’t want to but were willing to go to war. This was the singularly most important event leading up to before the war, I believe that without this event perhaps tensions could have de-escalated slowly.

  26. Matt Meilinger

    I think that the Kansas-Nebraska Act had the greatest impact on the start of the Civil War. This act caused a lot of conflicts and violence, along with raising sectional tensions. Also, I believe that this act was where the North and South truly split into two different places. They were like two different countries at this point. Both regions had different views on things, and didn’t have the same laws in place. Once the Kansas-Nebraska act was passed, both the North and South flooded into Kansas to have the state stand for their cause in terms of slavery. As a result of both parts of the country flooding into Kansas, there were many attacks from both sides. This series of conflicts, known as Bleeding Kansas, increased sectional tensions, which I believe made the Civil War inevitable. These were some of the first big attacks between the North and South, which I think led to more conflicts between the North and South. In my opinion, this act lit the fuse that started the conflicts between the two parts of the country, which ultimately led to the Civil War. However, in the last 16 months before the Civil War, I think Lincoln becoming President had the greatest impact on the start of the Civil War because he was against slavery. This was the first time a President that was opposed to slavery was elected to the presidency, so the South was angry. I believe that this made the Civil War inevitable because the South was afraid that slavery would be abolished, because the president opposed the concept. In my opinion, I think the South felt like they had to fight a war to keep slavery, otherwise Lincoln would abolish it. They felt like they had no choice but to fight for their beliefs, or slavery wouldn’t stand. As a result, the South invaded Fort Sumter, in hopes of taking over the fort, which marked the start of the Civil War.

  27. Margaret DuRoss

    *I clicked the “post” button prematurely, so this is my full post*

    1) Among the many important events contributing to the start of the Civil War, I think the most prominant and impactful was the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. This act was basically just an updated, more complicated version of the Missouri Compromise made in 1820. The Missouri Compromise was simple, straightforward, and easy to determine which territories would be free or slaveholding, so why not just apply that Compromise to the new land aquired? Leaving territories up to popular sovereignty was a recipe for disaster. All the new Kansas-Nebraska Act accomplished was accelerating issues of sectionalism between abolitionists and slaveholders voting on what to do. We’ll never know for sure how events would’ve unfolded if not for this act- tensions still would’ve been high, as it’s hard to maintain peace between two groups of people with such diametrically opposing views. However, I think the absence of this act could’ve prevented war. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act overshadowing the Missouri Compromise set a dangerous precedent. This change in the protocol of determining a new state’s “slavery status” could be interpreted by the people of America as a way of letting citizens know that if they complained enough, the government will eventually bend to their will.

    2) Staying more specific to the year and a half leading to the start of the Civil War, the most prevalent cause was South Carolina’s secession from the Union. This event was a trigger, a the push other southern states needed to secede as well. SC’s secession was the point at which there was no truning back from war. The only people prone to listening to reason have already been overpowered by the crowd of irrational behavior. Once all the states seceding from the nation were set in their decision, nothing could bring them back short of bloodshed.

  28. Lily Dittrich

    1)I think John Brown and his raid on Harpers Ferry had the largest impact on causing the civil war. It was a large act of violence that gained popularity and once again brought the debate of slavery back into the public eye. It caused the civil rights movement to move from Congress Debates into the average man’s home. It stirred the pot, so to say. People were forced to choose sides, it installed fear in southerners, again, having the debate traveling through the country.
    2)I think Lincolns election to presidency had the greatest impact in starting the war because it gave the government the power tp outlaw slavery, and that scared the southerners to violent actions. with Lincoln as president, it caused a divide in the democratic party, giving republicans’ more power to push the laws they wanted to pass. As Lincoln and the Republican party gained the power to outlaw slavery, southerners became intimidated, creating a more harsh divide between north and south. This divide grew, as people were feeding it, growing pride in being a northerner or southerner, until eventually, compromise could no longer be made, and it turned violent.

  29. Luke Goodwin

    1. The event that occurred during the time period of 1846 to 1861 that most largely impacted the civil war was the election of Abraham Lincoln. I say this because it had been known that he disliked slavery and people knew that he would be the first president that would attempt to abolish it. This would obviously create tension between the north and the south, although it would escalate once Lincoln took action to abolish slavery by issuing the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, stating that all slaves in rebelious states would be set free. These two tensions and many more would spark a wild fire that spun out of control, resulting in the civil war.
    2. The event or action in the last sixteen months that had the greatest impact on starting the civil war was South Carolina’s secession from the union. Due to South Carolina attempting to leave the union and succeeding, it would lay down a path as well as set a process for other southern states to leave the union. Without surprise, many more southern states would follow South Carolina, these states include Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee. This event had already literally separated the states, and a war within a country was inevitablly coming. This event made the war inevitable because of the disarray it had left our country in and the hatrid that it had built between the north and the south. The hatred couldn’t be resolved by the states simply leaving the union, because they were still there. The only thing that could have the potential to resolve this hatred and conflict would be a war to settle things between the north and the south. If the north won the war, slavery would be abolished, and if the south won the war, slavey would live on and potentially spread to parts of the north.

  30. Maya Juratli

    1.
    Something that impacted the start of the war with the most velocity was the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854). The Kansas-Nebraska Act, although a bit before the Civil War, set off a series of events that could definitely be linked to it directly. Firstly, it increased the sectional tension between the North and the South(generally anti-slavery and pro-slavery, respectively) to greater proportions than it had ever been before. When the Kansas Nebraska Act was passed, those who were anti-slavery felt that the government was encouraging what was a slowly dying institution under the Missouri Compromise to flourish by allowing popular sovereignty. Meanwhile, pro-slavery people took it upon themselves to institute fraudulent voting by moving in from other states in great numbers to vote in Kansas. The pro-slavery people were opposed to this, further increasing conflicts in a region where they in close proximity to one another. This tension would lead to an onslaught of violence(Bleeding Kansas) amongst the two in instances such as the raid on Harper’s Ferry and the caning of Charles Sumner. Secondly, these violent instances led to people realizing that the compromises they had been relying upon up till that point would not hold up and that a conflict would be necessary for the country to be able to decide on something again. Also, sectionalism and division that had been reinforced by the events in Kansas led to division in the Democratic party, which led to them breaking their vote in two (candidates), Lincoln getting elected, and eventually, the Civil War.

    2.
    I believe that the event in the 1860-1861 time period that had the greatest impact on starting the war was the secession of South Carolina from the Union in 1860. Their secession was a little under 2 months after Abraham Lincoln won the election to become president in early 1861. Although this was not their first time threatening to secede (1830s tariff), this time they actually did so. After their secession, a flurry of Southern states followed their lead. 10 more states would end up seceding before July of 1861. (Chronologically: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee). These states were all pro-slavery and unhappy with the election of then president-elect Abraham Lincoln. Nothing can be a bigger sign of extreme division than a third of a country separating themselves from their country. Ultimately, this event made the Civil War inevitable because Lincoln was not a fan of secession. In fact, he believed that a country that allowed secession would descend into anarchy. He also believed that, because the U.S was the only example of democracy out there – if they failed, the rest of the world would take that as proof that democracies would never work. Thus, when Lincoln took office, it was inevitable that he would take action against secession.

  31. Kaitlyn Sanders

    1.) Although the idea is that one event and one event only took the U.S into war, I believe it was a web of events during 1860-1861 that triggered the Civil War, but the most impactful and probably the biggest explosion in the U.S infrastructure at this time, was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. By creating Kansas and Nebraska to be their own new territories, you would assume positive outcomes to continue to occur from there, you would assume wrong. Because they were both north of the Missouri Compromise line, both territories would be set as free states, but the final decision was made that the settlers of both Kansas and Nebraska would determine if these two territories become free states or slave states. It’s obvious from the start what the issues would be, by leaving a territory open to pro- and anti-slavery citizens to decide whether to allow slavery or not was probably one of the more stupid ideas of that time, especially with the pot already stirred between both sides of the issue. Of course, the conflict began, “Bleeding Kansas” as referred to rather than the series of violent conflicts between pro- and anti-slavery militias from 1854 to 1859 over the idea of slavery in the new territory of Kansas. Sure, you could argue that if this event hadn’t happened the tension build-up that was already happening would’ve continued and later had the possibility of sparking a civil war, but I would argue that this event was the last straw, and the last big concern needed to spark our nation into internal conflict on the greatest scale. A house divided, Lincoln said it best, “This government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free”, and so, Kansas bled. It was the sad battleground over an idea already established: abolition and slavery were so far from hand in hand, that there would be no peaceful agreement created. In the end, these two polar opposite ideas and views caused a civil war.

    2.) The last 16 months were the most crucial, and of that came detailed events with their own reasons for starting a civil war. One may argue that Lincoln beginning elected in 1860 – as he was very anti-slavery – could’ve sparked the U.S into conflict. His election was the cause for the secession of the southern states from the union, with their hopes of preserving slavery. Another notable event would be “The Dred Scott Decision”, a final decision made declaring African-Americans never the ability to become U.S citizens. This was obviously very upsetting to anyone who was fighting for African-American rights in the U.S and against slavery – abolitionists. The final case I am resting is The Battle of Fort Sumter or more the bombing of Fort Sumter which sparked the battle, and then the war. One thing led to another and after the Confederate P.G.T Beauregard bombed Sumter on April 12th, 1861 and 34 hours later surrendered, this was the beginning of the great and bloody American Civil War. After the bombing, there wasn’t much going back from there, especially because by the end of 1861 there were so many events and battles between the Union and the now Confederacy that made it truly inevitable.

  32. Jules Sainte-Marie

    I think that there wasn’t one major thing that impacted the start of the war. I believe that it was more of a domino effect of events that caused the start of the war. The start of this domino effect was The compromise of 1850, Ironically It was designed by Henry Clay to ease the tension between the Slave states and Free states. The compromise consisted of five bills. It allowed for new states to vote on whether they would be a slave state or a free states, it put the fugitive slave act into effect, it banned the slave trade in Washington D.C, it made California a free state (it had to send one free senator and one slave senator to congress before.), and It gave Texas money for land. It was disliked by both sides of the slavery debate. It led to the next event on my domino effect. The Kansas-Nebraska Act assured that the Missouri compromise was completely nullified. It was seen as an attempt to expand slavery by the free states and people rushed into both states to try to sway the results of the vote in their favor. This led to the next domino bleeding Kansas, With so many people who are willing to die for their cause in the area I’m sure nothing could go wrong. Things went wrong, The territory was basically the warm-up for the civil war. This all culminated in the Pottawatomie Creek massacre orchestrated by John Brown. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back; there was zero chance that a compromise would be made when the two political parties were openly fighting. This is where I end my timeline because I believe that if any republican had won the southern states would have seceded it didn’t matter if they held slight anti-slavery views or heavy anti-slavery views it was all the same to the southern states. It’s a domino effect because none of these alone would have made the south secede; it was all of them combined that led to it.
    I would say that it is the actions of President Buchanan that had the greatest impact because he decided to do nothing instead of making a decision to either let them leave or to declare war because they attacked Americans and he had the choice to fight or led the south to secede. It made the civil war inevitable because it forced lincoln who was against slavery to make the choice and Lincoln was obviously gonna make the choice to save the union and later free the slaves.

  33. Chase Richardson

    1: There were many different things that impacted the start of the civil war, but the one that stands out to me is the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Kansas-Nebraska Act caused what was known as bleeding Kansas, which was considered a small civil war between proslavery and antislavery advocates. Antislavery and proslavery advocates were fighting for control of the new territory called Kansas, which was under the Doctrine of Popular Sovereignty. People were already very divided on their views of slavery, so when the government gave people the choice for Kansas to become a slave state or a free state, people were so divided that many mobs and violent outbrakes occured. This violence was prevalent enough to launch a small war. The concepts of anti-slavery and pro-slavery were also quite prevelant in politics. In addition to numerous factors, the Kansas-Nebraska Act helped to push America into the Civil War that we know today.

    2: One event that occurred within 16 months of the Civil War – and which played a great role in starting the Civil War – was the election of 1860. The four candidates that were running for Presidency were: John Bell, Abraham Lincoln, John C. Breckinridge, and Stephen A. Douglass. This was important because if the Southerners´ favorable candidate was not elected, they planned to secede from the Union. Lincoln was elected, much to the Southerners´ dismay; they disagreed with his views on slavery, which resulted in the South voting for a secession. Lincoln’s presidency was a main reason why the Civil War was not preventable because several southern states said that they would secede if Lincoln won. After Lincoln won the election, many states began to withdraw from the Union without proposing any deals: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, followed by the threat of four more (Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina). After these states seceded, Lincoln decided he had no choice but to go to war with them in order to restore the Union.

  34. Katherine Amend

    I believe the Kansas Nebraska act avails to stir the boiling pot. And it also caused invertible actions of angry citizens of the U.S. And the act was, when the Kansas /Nebraska territory was sanctioned to cull whether they were a slave state or a free state. And since Kansas voted to be a free state it caused the power to shift in the government to free states rather than slave states. And this led to raids and riots like John Brown’s raid of the ferry and the pottawatomie massacre. It did not just anger the southerners it also angered the northerners and this is because. Popular sovereignty led to a corrupt election process whereby southerners peregrinated to Kansas to illegally vote for slavery, and this vexed the northerners, because it was highly illegal to do so. This act specifically upset the southerners because what if Kansas became a free state they would no longer have as much over in congress as the northerners, and that was a reason why desidied to illegally vote in kansas to sway the state. And this is when it reached a point where you couldn’t stop the ripple effect.

    In my opinion I believe the election of 1860 was the most immensely colossal cause of the civil war thur 1860-1861. And this because, the southerners were trepidation to have Lincoln as a president mainly because he was an abolitionist. Abraham lincoln withal opposed the expansion of slavery in the west hence the Kansas/ Nebraska act. It additionally caused the split of the democratic party leaving a moiety of them becoming republicans. And when Abraham Lincoln won the election the southerners were devastated because they couldnt have and anti-slavery president if they still wanted to slavery to live on. Abraham Lincion was already aganist slavery and when he won it made the civil war inveatable. The election caused a chain reaction and once it commenced you could not stop it. Lincons positions on slavery, and on top of that him becoming the president, lead to the bomb that commenced the civil war.

  35. Mike Ajluni

    1.In my opinion, although lots of things contributed to the start of the Civil War, I think the Kansas-Nebraska act had by far the biggest impact on starting the war as that is what truly ended any compromise. It started a chain effect as it happened before the tension between the North and South escalated fully in 1854.The Missouri Compromise back in 1920 had established the 36-30 line which had gone smoothly up until 1954. In 1954, the Kansas-Nebraska act had been introduced which allowed popular sovertey which meant the people can vote if there should be slavery in those states. This did many things short and long term. As said earlier it caused most compromises to be thrown out the window. It caused the North to be very upset and lead to lots of fights and violence and started tension which never went away.

    2.In my opinion, the election of Abe Lincoln had the biggest impact on the Civil War. After a very tight presidential race, Lincoln won and left the country split in quarters, but no area took it harder than the South as they disagreed with Lincolns views the most, specifically with slavery as that put pro slavery at a disadvantage. This lead to the South doing many things in retaliation. Lots of states left the union which later lead to those states fighting in the civil war. Another reaction from Lincolns election is that it caused in some effect the Battle at Fort Sumter as some debate that some of the reasons the south attacked was due to Lincolns election. The Civil War was going to happen at one point, but the Lincoln election is what broke the last straw or at least what lead to the last straw being broke.

  36. Ian Duncan

    1. I consider the Kansas-Nebraska act to have impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing. The act directly led to fighting between Northerners and Southerners, and severely damaged any crossing beliefs the two sides had. The Kansas-Nebraska act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and most importantly allowed for popular sovereignty to decide whether slavery would be allowed within a new state’s borders. Popular sovereignty created a sharp battle, as the Northerners, who wanted free states, and the Southerners, who wanted slave states, now saw each other as opponents more than ever. Inevitably, events like Bleeding Kansas occurred. Where we saw pro-slavery mobs burning and looting abolitionists’ towns, and then abolitionists such as John Brown retaliating and killing pro-slavery believers. Figures such as John Brown shook fear in Southerners, as the Southerners believed that Northerners were doing everything they could to stop the Southerners way of life. Leading to great amounts of distrust and un-unity thoughts in Southerns’ heads. Both sides now had it ingrained in their minds that they were opponents on every level. As other events occurred, the nation grew farther and farther apart, edging to a civil war. Many other events pushed the nation closer to the eventual civil war. But, I believe that the Kansas-Nebraska act gave the country the biggest leap closer to the war.

    2. The election of 1860 had the greatest impact on starting the war in the last 16 months. The election of 1860 stood as the last stand for southern democrats and their ideals of secession. Abraham Lincoln being elected president resulted in several southern states seceding from the north. If the election of 1860 had resulted in the election of either Democrat, secession may have not happened. But, since Lincoln was elected president the southern states were pushed past the breaking point to secede. Abraham Lincolns’ election of president did make the Civil War inevitable. As said before, the southern states had been pushed back hard. Many southern states were already flirting with the idea of secession before the election. The election only furthered this idea, as the election of Lincoln proved to southerners that the northerners were largely against southern way of life. With Lincoln’s election the south realized that their way of life was vastly different than the northern way of life. And, that they did not have the majority of voters to keep it safe. Making it inevitable that the south would secede to keep their way of life from being removed.

  37. Liv Chapman

    1. I don’t think it’s reasonable to say that one specific event alone impacted the start of the Civil War. Countless events all lead to one another and as a whole, all lead up to the war. If I had to narrow it down to one of the most important events, the Kansas-Nebraska act. This act seemed to be one of the more impactful events that made up the build-up to the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a bill ordered in 1854 that basically mandated popular sovereignty. The act allowed settlers of the territory to decide whether slavery should, and would, be allowed within a new state’s boundaries. Slavery was a horrible, awful part of our history, I believe that it was not smart to let residents decide whether slavery would be allowed in their state. This act created a huge split in the states, the bill that was created to “organize western territories”, became part of the political whirlwind of sectionalism, railroad building, splitting two major political parties, and quite honestly just added on to the worsening North and South relationship, those who were pro-slavery and those who were against it. The bill flamed more disagreements and arguments. As we know, this split sparked a lot of violence to uprise in the nation, as contradicting activists flooded into new states to try and persuade the vote, which was not exactly peaceful. Eventually, such violence led to the secession of southern states. Secession basically was the idea that, voluntarily, we could withdraw one or more states from the Union. In summary, I feel as if the Kansas-Nebraska act was the most pivotal event that led up to the Civil War because the act worsened tensions in the North and South.
    2. An event or action in the last 16 months (1860 – 61) that had the greatest impact on starting the war was the election of 1860 when Abraham Lincoln was elected as president. Lincolns anti-slavery belief caused a lot of political sways, specifically in the Lincoln v Douglas debates. During this election, Lincoln was one of the only candidates who believed that slavery was wrong. Most candidates believed that slavery was constitutional, people had a right to own slaves, and of course, the idea that a “majority vote” got to decide whether slavery should be allowed. As time passed, many southern states seceded and Abraham Lincoln denounced slavery as illegal. Lincoln basically threw gas into the already raging fire of tension and disagreements. Did this event make the Civil War inevitable or not? Yes. After Lincoln made slavery illegal, along with tension, violence rose in the Union. As secession grew, the United States was no longer united. Secession made it obvious that the seceded states would not return back into the Union unless they agreed to anti-slavery beliefs, the debate of slavery wouldn’t be ignored. This caused a large ripple effect to take place and limited violence as “the only way” to prove their point, their only solution. Lincoln’s election created an aggressive divide which did in fact make the Civil War inevitable.

  38. Ciera Green

    1. I think the election of Abraham Lincoln played a big role in the start of the Civil War because the southerners were very mad that he was elected and not a single slave state endorsed him, but I think the thing that really impacted the start of the war was the Kansas-Nebraska act. The act replaced the Missouri Compromise, which was put into place to keep the number of slave and free states balanced, and made many northerners mad. Since the Missouri Compromise was repealed after the Dred Scott decision, slavery could expand basically wherever it wanted to if that state or territory voted for it. This would sway the power in congress towards the south so the north was mad and it caused a lot of tension. The issue of the expansion of slavery was present all through this time period, even in the Lincoln – Douglas debates. Bleeding Kansas could be considered a mini Civil War because it was between the pro slavery and anti slavery advocates trying to control the territory and it also led to the formation of the Republican Party. The Kansas- Nebraska act is what really opened the eyes of the North and I think it was one of the biggest factors leading to the Civil War.

    2. Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the election of 1860 had the greatest impact on starting the war and I think it made the war inevitable at this point, it was just waiting to happen because the North and South were getting violent. After he was elected, southern states began debating whether they were going to secede or not and Buchanan’s cabinet was falling apart. South Carolina made the decision to secede from the union and then Robert Anderson moved his forces to Fort Sumter which South Carolina didn’t like. Fort Sumter was bombarded because Abraham Lincoln said he would re-supply it and South Carolina wanted to move the US soldiers out their territory. If it had not been for Lincoln being elected in the first place, the states wouldn’t have seceded, or been so quick to secede, and there wouldn’t have been a problem in Charleston which started the Civil War.

  39. Colin Keane

    1.Yes, the Kansas Nebraska act impacted the start of the war more than any other. Personally why I think the civil war happened is because the government was way too lenient about slavery. The southerners wanted more land for their slaves to work on. So when the southerners also had a state like Missouri that was over the 36-30 line, they felt like they could get more and more land, and the government kept letting the southerners get more and more land. Then, this is where the government screwed up, the government let the people vote on whether Kansas and Nebraska would be a slave state (Kansas and Nebraska is north of Missouri geographically). Most of the northerners did not want Nebraska and Kansas to be a slave state. Following this there were drastically different views on this situation, which led to fights, which led to full on battles over slavery. This event of letting the people vote on whether Nebraska and Kansas is a slave state impacted the start of the civil war. If you had wanted to stop the war they should have started to crack down on slavery and stop letting the southerners from getting more and more.

    2. The event from 1860-1861 had the greatest impact on starting the war was the election of 1860. The winner of this election was Abraham Lincoln. The election had such a big impact because of the rising tension over slavery and who ever was the winner was a big help to one side of the argument. Abraham Lincoln was a republican, and supported the idea of anti slavery. This election started a chain of events, some of the southern states had left the union, which led to the splitting of the U.S, and the start of the war. So that’s why between 1860 and 1861 the election had the biggest impact on the start of the Civil War.
    Yes, the election of 1860 made the civil war inevitable. The Government did not crack down on slavery earlier and the tension between slavery kept growing and growing. So when this election happened, it was the event that made the southerners finally snap.

  40. Rachel Mercer

    One thing in the time period from 1846-1846 that I think impacted the start of the Civil War the most was the new fugitive slave law. This event may not be viewed as such an important turning point by others but I believe this law had a large impact on the Civil War. The South believed that states should decide for themselves about their laws for slavery. The North disagreed and believed that slavery should be outlawed in the entire country. The new fugitive slave act made the country much tenser about slavery by making all the states make sure runaway slaves were returned or if someone fit a description of a runaway slave, they would bring them to the court to be brought to the South. This was very harmful and eventually had the most impact on the start of the Civil War because the act was giving slavery a “boost” by making sure that slaves stayed put. This meant that slavery was becoming stricter throughout all of the states, even though some places in the country did not want slavery at all. Many slaves still found ways against this act and managed to run away by going to Canada or laying low in the North. If this act had not happened, slavery would have had one less act that made it extremely harmful for the country. This act made slavery harmful because it was more proslavery than most acts. If perhaps, this act was more anti-slavery or not put into place at all, the country may have not had the same reaction to the rest of the things that happened afterward.
    On November 13, 1860, the South Carolina legislature authorizes the raising of ten thousand men for the state’s defense. This event had the greatest impact on the start of the war because this event meant that, though it was just a state legislature, the government was starting to bring in people to fight or to stand for the government and their ideas. The government bringing in people to fight or people who are prepared to fight is never a good sign because it is almost as if the government is anticipating a fight, which leads people surrounding them also anticipating a fight. Many people then believe a fight will happen soon, they just do not know when. Now we know that someone was going to start a fight and that this event was one of the events that made the Civil War inevitable. This made it inevitable because it brought the fight into the government and it was a large problem that wasn’t going to be settled by just a few people in South Carolina.

  41. Grace Khamis

    1. I believe that there were multiple events from 1846-1861 that impacted the start of the Civil War, but I think that the Kansas-Nebraska act had the greatest impact on it. Tensions in the United States were already increasing at this time, but this act really set it off. In hopes of ending the national debate over slavery, popular soveriegnty was introduced to Kansas and Nebraska. Unfortunately, this did the exact opposite. When the decision was made that Kansas and Nebraska had to decide whether they would be free or slave states, people all around the country had something to say about it. The rising debate on these two states’ status on slavery provoked the clashing opinions between the North and the South which added to this tension. This act also kind of forced those without an opinion on slavery to form one as well. All of these disagreements and this newly added tension within the states led to violent outbreaks such as Bleeding Kansas and eventually provoked the start of the Civil War.

    2. Along with the several other events that occurred during this time period, the election of 1860 definitely helped cause the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was an abolitionist, so of course the Southern states were opposed to him becoming president. When he was elected president, they were afraid that Lincoln’s stance on slavery would lead to actions on abolishing it which caused many Southern states to secede from the Union. As if the country wasn’t already divided enough, the secession created even more division. Every event that occurred within this timeline built onto the inevitability of the Civil War, but I believe that this event specifically pushed the country off the edge and sent it into mania. Although the election had a great impact on the start of war, I still believe that it would’ve happened regardless; it was only a matter of time.

  42. Milan Tillman

    1.I think the event that impacted the start of the war more than any other event was the President Abraham Licoln’s election to office in the fall of 1860. In the election, there were four different candidates from three different parties. Abraham Lincoln ran for the Republican party which was against the expansion of slavery. John Bell ran for the Constitutional union party which planned to keep things in this country the same. Stephan Douglas was from the north and he ran for the democratic party. A vote for Douglas was a vote to keep things the same. John Breckinridge was from the south and he also ran for the democratic party. A vote for him at that time was a vote for succession. The south was already showing signs of rebellion and succession, so when it was revealed that Lincoln wanted to stop the spread of slavery to new territories and states, people in the south become very angry. They began to prepare to defend slavery at any cost because it was there way of life and their largest source of income.

    2.The Battle of Fort Sumner had the greatest impact in starting the war because it made the different states choose sides and it officially started the war. President Licoln announced that he would be sending supplies to restock Fort Sumner, when the South Carolina militia decided to bombard the fort. There was no turning back after this battle because it was clear that both the north and the south were willing to fight for what they wanted. Also, the south had already decided that they would no longer be a part of this country with Lincoln as president because he fought for the change that they didn’t want to see in America. Also, the President Lincoln realised that the only way to solve the century long disputes of slavery was to go to war;it was the last resort, but completely necessary.

  43. Dylan Stojanovic

    1. I think what ultimately shifted the argument to the possibility of war was the Kansas-Nebraska act. A senator by the name of Stephen Douglas came up with the idea to let states decide whether or not they should become a free state and that caused an increase in sectionalism. To me, the Kansas-Nebraska act was the official declaration of a 2-sided nation between people pro and against slavery which is defended by the soon to happen crimes known as bleeding Kansas. The Kansas-Nebraska act unofficially officially declared war in my eyes. It was the start of many following effects from this cause. Had there not been this act, and the continuation of the following of the Missouri Compromise, I think a couple of years could’ve been added before the Civil War.

    The biggest effect leading to the Civil War in my opinion was the 11 Southern States that seceded between 1860 and 1861 However, I don’t think it answers the question on what was the biggest impact, and I think the cause of the states seceding is the correct answer, and that was the election of Abraham Lincoln. In the 1860 election, America was very divided, with 2 major Democrat candidates resulting from different views between the southwest and southeast. Lincoln was fortunate of the split between the regions and was able to win the election with just 40% of the popular vote. With the rising tensions, the southern states seceded from the United States creating the confederacy, and ultimately declaring war. I think even with whoever won the election, a civil war was inevitable in that person’s upcoming term. With Lincoln, someone who was against slavery, it made the war extremely inevitable with such a split in opinions within the country. Abraham Lincoln turned out to be the right choice in our eyes, as the north took the win in the war and ended slavery for once and for all.

  44. William Penoza

    The one thing that triggered the civil war, in my eyes, is the Kansas-Nebraska act. Introduced in 1854, the Kansas Nebraska act repealed the Missouri Compromise and created two new territories. It also allowed popular sovereignty. This allowed the people to decide weather or not a state would have slavery or not. Now, after the Kansas-Nebraska act, instead of having one slave state and no non slave states there were two states that could choose which way to go. This angered the south as it slowed and possibly stopped the spread of slavery into this new land. This idea was proposed by Abraham Lincoln’s senate opponent, Stephan A. Douglas. Douglas, a democrat, lost support from the southern democrats while retaining support from northern democrats. This caused the democratic party to vote for two different candidates in the 1860 election. After winning the electoral college against the now split democrats, Lincoln won the presidency. This angered the south even more, causing a domino effect of states seceding from the union and establishing the confederacy. These two republics forced clashed not long after in the American Civil war.

    One of the most important things that happened in the 16 months before the Civil War was the election of Lincoln. Lincoln was anti slavery, so the south did not like him. He was elected in 1860. Days after Lincoln won the election the south began to discuss seceding from the union. South Carolina was the first state to leave the union. After South Carolina leads the charge, six more southern states that opposed Lincoln secede. They form their own government and even appoint their own leader, Jefferson Davis. All of this happened before Lincoln was even inaugurated. He got inaugurated in Washington D.C. on march 4th 1861. Just over a month after Lincolns Inauguration the newly formed confederacy attacks a union base, and the civil war has begun.

  45. Chelsea Wallington

    I think the one thing that impacted the start of the Civil War was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Stephen Douglas wrote a bill for us to use popular sovereignty when the Missouri Compromise was falling apart. Douglas’s idea to use popular sovereignty was a horrible idea. There were already growing tensions with slavery in the territories, but by having the citizens vote, this made everything worse. When it was time to vote in Kansas, people crossed over the border from Missouri, and this led to slavery winning. When they began writing laws saying that you could only be in their legislature if you support slavery, this led to abolitionists making their own government system. This fiasco led to Bleeding Kansas. Bleeding Kansas was kind of like a small civil war. While they created their own government, they also decided to create their own army, and that was like a sign that things were about to go crazy. The biggest thing that happened was when John Brown was so upset by slavey supporters attacking anything abolitionists supported that he went on a bloody rampage. I think this added to people believing they could be just as violent if not more than John Brown.

    The biggest event within the last 16 months was President Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860. It was not a secret that Lincoln did not support slavery, so when he was elected president, this led to southern slavery supporters getting scared. They decided to separate themselves from the union. They were going to create their own country. I think that if Lincoln was not elected, these issues wouldn’t come up until much later. I think the pot was already boiling and it just exploded once Lincoln was elected since he wanted slaves to be free. I think that if the other candidates had won, the south wouldn’t have separated. Overall, I think the issue of slavery and the Civil War was inevitable.

  46. Kyle Konopka

    I think that Abraham Lincoln’s decision to re-provision Fort Sumter impacted the start of the war more than any other event leading up to it. I believe this was so impactful because it was the first sign that hinted that violence could be used to end this issue. I believe that Lincoln’s order to re-provision Fort Sumter had the greatest impact on starting the war. It told the Confederate states that the Union wasn’t going to let them leave. I don’t think this made the war completely inevitable, but it made it extremely difficult. While it was still possible for both sides to negotiate, it was much easier to go to war. Both sides had now gathered troops, weapons and other things to aid them in

  47. James Fall

    The event that triggered the start of the Civil War the most was Abraham Lincoln’s election as the president. At the time of his election in 1860 his other running mates were in some way pro slavery, John Bell wanted to protect slavery but also wanted to prevent its spread and to keep the peace between people and preserve the Union. Stephen Douglas was using the idea of popular sovereignty and that the people have rights and should be able to decide for themselves but if slavery will exist in the new territories and new states, it would be without a federal slave code. John Breckinridge wanted the right to own slaves in the new territories and new states and thought there should be a federal slave code and when territory’s became a new state it would be the settlers job to decide if slavery should be allowed.Lincoln was the only one who wanted there to be no slave states at all and wanted the spread of slavery to be stopped completely. People in the south were furious with Lincoln’s ideals and said that they planned on a secession if he won this created a huge divided in the north and south Lincoln wanted to stop the talk of secession and it ever happening but than as we know they seceded and this seemed like the real turning point that pushed america over the edge leading to the civil war

    The event in the last 16 months that had the greatest impact on starting the war was South Carolina’s choice to secede. This led to so many other states making the same choice. This was devastating for the United States because they weren’t the same; their way to divided that division led to the civil war inventively. The states that seceded saw the war as the only way to get the issue of slavery resolved so they were willing to fight.

  48. Elizabeth Culbertson

    One major factor (during the time frame of 1846 to 1861) that lent a hand in the spark of the Civil War was definitely the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 came as a result of the Westward Expansion movement. Before this, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 instilled a “36 30” line horizontally across the United States to clarify whether a state was a free state (no slavery) or a slave state (allowing slaves). However, the time came when Americans began to journey westward, in the directions of future states like Kansas and Nebraska. Stephen Douglas (Abraham Lincoln’s opponent in the election of 1860) was the first to propose the idea of having the citizens of each state decide whether they’re a free state or slave state, basically using the idea of popular sovereignty. Although possibly a good plan in hindsight, this act ended up separating and pinning Americans against each other in extremely heated debates and fights to declare which states shared their views. After the bloody internal wars in Kansas, Southern states began to secede from the Union in anger, believing that the North was against them and their beliefs.

    I feel as though one of the biggest influences on the start of the Civil War, between the years of 1860 to 1861, had to be the seceding of South Carolina from the Union. Even before the rumors of the Civil War, South Carolina didn’t have the best relationship with the federal government. An example would be Andrew Jackson’s implementation of several tariffs in the 1830s (that had poorer impacts on Southern slave states), which caused South Carolina to threaten to secede from the Union. Moving into the era of Abraham Lincoln’s candidacy, several more Southern States began to question the difference between the states’ rights and the federal government’s rights, more specifically on the topic of the abolition of slavery. Once Lincoln was elected, South Carolina finally had enough, and in the belief that they had the rights to drop out of the Union if they chose, they wrote and unanimously voted on the “South Carolina Ordinance of Secession.” This was signed into law on December 20th, 1860, and set the example for other states like Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana to secede from the Union prior to the fall of Fort Sumter in the spring of 1861. When reflecting on whether this event made the Civil War inevitable, I’m saying yes. I believe the Civil War was already inevitable enough when it came to the mounting tensions regarding the slave trade and the aboltion of slavery throughout the 1860s, however, the seceding of South Carolina may have set a major precedent in the start of the Civil War. By seceding, South Carolina was showing the Northern states that they were not afraid to stand for what they believe in, and showed Southern states that they could join them in doing the same. This event separated the country into two, later turning into the two opposing forces in the Civil War.

  49. Emerson Mousseau

    Was there ONE thing in the time period (1846-1861) that you think impacted the start of the war more than any other event or thing? Why?

    1- I do not believe there was one specific event that impacted the start of the war. The Kansas-Nebraska act I felt was one of the more bigger causes of the beginning of the war. The tension between the two sides was very tight but the creation of this act really set things off. The creation of the Kansas-Nebraska act created two new territories. This act allowed each territory to decide the issue of slavery on the act of popular sovereignty. The Kansas-Nebraska act was drafted by Stephen A. Douglas. Stephen Douglas said he wanted to see Nebraska made into a territory and, to win southern support, proposed a southern state inclined to support slavery. Kansas wanted to build the transcontinental railroad to go through Chicago. Kansas ended up violating the Missouri Compromise, which had kept the Union from falling apart for the last thirty-four years. The compromise would have to be repealed, the opposition would be intense, but the bill ended up being passed in May of 1854.

    Which event or action in the last 16 months (1860 – 61) had the greatest impact on starting the war? Why? Did this event make the Civil War inevitable or not? Why?

    2- One thing that occurred before the war and had a large impact was the election of 1860. This election would end up electing Abraham Lincoln. Most of the pro-slavery people were worried about him having power. Abraham Lincoln was also an abolitionist so that made the pro-slavery people much more worried. The election of Abraham Lincoln was probably the moment when the country separated in half with people disagreeing on the topic.

  50. Brandon Counts

    I think that the creation of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 made the biggest impact on the start of the Civil War. The Kansas-Nabraska act allowed popular sovereignty which allowed the people to vote if slavery should be legal in those states. People crossed the border in Kansas when it was time to vote which led to slavery winning. The act also lead to the Missouri Compromise getting repealed which stirred up lots of controversy. The debate over the status of slavery in these two states widened the already large divide between the north and the south. Laws were made that only let people be in the legistaure if you supported slavery, in retalition abolionnists made their own legislature. This feud led to the events of “Bleeding Kansas” which was a violent period of time caused by the disagreements between the north and south.

    The most important event that took place within the last 16 months was Abraham Lincoln winning the election of 1860. Lincoln made it apparent that he was anti-slavery, this automatically meant that the south did not like him. Just days after Lincoln won, the south seceded from the union, starting with South Carolina and six other states followed suite (being Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississipi, and Texas)in order to start a confederacy. They made their own government where slavery was legal and they elected their own leader, Jefferson Davis. about a month after Lincoln was innaugurated the confederacy attacked a union base which is what began the Civil war. I do not think the Civil war was inevitable because If another candidate were to have won the election of 1860 there is a good chance that the south wouldn’t have seceded from the union so Abraham Lincoln winning the election impacted the Civil War a lot.

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