1. Distance Thunder of War
Time Line of events leading up to the Civil War
Content Outline
Social Studies: Fifth Grade
NCSCOS Competency Goal (s) 4: The learner will trace key developments in United States
history and describe their impact on the land and people of the nation and its neighboring
countries.
NCSCOS OBJECTIVE(s) 4.05: Describe the impact of wars and conflicts on United States
citizens, including but not limited to, the Civil War, World War1, and World War II. The Korean
War, the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and the twenty- first century war on terrorism.
I. Invention of Cotton Gin (1793)
A. Made cotton more profitable for southern growers. (Anderson11)
1. South became a one crop economy (Anderson 8).
a. A need for cheap labor increases
b. Slaves became a major source of labor in the South.
2. Slave trade increased in the South (Anderson 11).
a. In 1850, nearly 9.5 million people lived in the South. Nearly 3 million were
slaves (Anderson 8).
B. Northern economy based on Industries. (Anderson 6)

2. 1. Society made up of people with different cultures and classes.
a. Northern states experiences a period of growth know as the Industrial age
(Ray 19)
II. Slavery in the Territories
A. Balancing Free and Slave States (Anderson16)
1. 1800’s slavery becomes a political issue between North and South
2. A balance of Senate representation was sought by both free states and slave states,
which meant Congress could not pass laws that forbid slavery or promoted it.
B. U.S. Congress made a compromise to keep balance( Arnold and Wiener 17)
1. The Compromise divides Louisiana Purchase east to west.
2. New states to the north of this line entered the Union as Free states.
i. New states to the south of the line entered as slave states.
C. Missouri Compromise (1820) (Arnold and Wiener 17)
1. Missouri joined United States as a slave state (Ray 38).
2. As part of the Compromise, Congress banned slavery from any territory north of
the southern boundary of Missouri known as the 36°30´ line (Anderson 17)
III. Tariff (1828) taxes paid on imported goods (Clinton 10)
A. The south called tariff unconstitutional (Clinton 10)
1. Southern statesman John C. Calhoun wrote document entitled the “South Carolina
Exposition and Protest” stating the federal government was overextending its
power (Clinton 10).

3. 2. In 1828 South Carolina legislature declares the Tariff “null and void” (Anderson
17).
3. State’s Rights
a. With a growing need for freedom from Federal authority in Washington,
Southerners believed that state laws carried more weight than federal law and that they
should abide by state law first. (“What caused the Civil War.”?)
IV. Political power shift
A. Centered in Washington, D.C. (“What caused the Civil War.”?)
1. Northern and Mid Western States became more powerful as population increases.
a. Larger cities were in the North, New York begin the largest with a
population of 700,000 (Anderson 6)
b. The North contains 60 percent of nation’s people.
c. Included states from Maine south to Pennsylvania, west along the Ohio
River to Iowa, north to the Canadian border.
B. Southern States lost political power as population decreases. (Anderson 21).
1. South contains only a third of the Nation’s people.
2. The South included states from Virginia west to Arkansas and south to the
Gulf of Mexico.
V. Compromise of 1850 (after war with Mexico) (Anderson 17)
A. The Wilmot Proviso (Anderson 17)

4. 1. After the U.S victory in the Mexican War, it was evident that new lands would be
won from Mexico(Anderson 17)
2. David Wilmot Pennsylvania congressman introduced an amendment that would
ban slavery from any new lands that the United States might acquire.
B. California joins United States as a Free State.(Anderson 18)
1. “Popular sovereignty” Gave the people in newly acquired territories of Arizona,
New Mexico, and Utah the power to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery
(Arnold and Wiener 22)
a. Agreement broke the Missouri Compromise (Anderson 18)
b. Henry Clay, gains title “ the Great Compromise” for his role in writing two pieces
of legislation that claimed tensions between the north and south.
2. Slavery is banned in the nation’s capital, the District of Columbia(Arnold and
Wiener22)
a. Slavery becoming moral issue (right/wrong)
VI. Growing Apart
A. The Fugitive Slave Act (Ray 42)
1. Part of the Compromise of 1850. Promised southern slaveholders that the
federal government would help recapture escaped slaves. ( Ray 41)
2. Outraged northern abolitionists take to the streets in protest of massive
manhunt. (Anderson 20)
B. Kansas Nebraska Act – 1854(Arnold and Wiener 25)

5. 1. Stephen Douglas wanted to encourage settlers to move west (Arnold and Wiener
25)
a. Transcontinental railroad
2. Popular Sovereignty in Kansas/Nebraska – two governments
VII. Issues heightened the threat of war
A. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe (Anderson 20-21)
1. Published as book 1852
2. Big Seller!!! Selling 300,000 copies first year
3. Novel exposes the outrages of slavery, with scenes highlighting the cruel
inhumanity of slavery.
B. “Bleeding Kansas” (Anderson 23)
1. First act of violence, over “popular sovereignty” which allowed the people of the
territories to decide whether to have slavery or not. ( Anderson 22-23)
2. Proslavery forces loots town of antislavery settlers, abolitionist John Brown seizes
proslavery settlers and executes them.( Anderson 23)
3. Army eventually restored order, 200 people died in “Bleeding Kansas”
C. Violence in the Senate (Anderson 23)
1. Charles Summer of Massachusetts gave speech blaming southerners for “ the crime
against Kansas” (Ray 60)

6. 2. Offended by Sumner’s speech Preston Brooks Congressman of South Carolina
approaches Sumner at his desk, and repeatedly hits him on the head with his gold-
tipped cane. (Ray 62)
D. The Dred Scott Decision (Anderson 24)
1. Missouri slave sued for freedom( Arnold and Wiener 34)
a. Could a black man be considered a full American citizen (Arnold and Wiener
34)
b. Supreme Court dominated by southerners (Anderson 24)
2. Supreme Court decided (Anderson 34)
a. Blacks not citizens
b. Dred Scott was a slave (Anderson 34)
c. Congress could not ban slavery in a territory(Arnold and Wiener34)
d. North stunned and enraged (Anderson 24)
VIII. Rise of Republican Party
A. Whig party collapse (Anderson 23)
1. Southern Whigs joined Democratic Party (Anderson 23)
2. Northern Whigs help formed new Republican Party (Anderson 23).
B. 1858 Lincoln Douglas Debates (Arnold and Wiener 35).
1. Abraham Lincoln (REP) vs. Stephen A. Douglas (DEM.) (Ray67)

7. a. Debates over slavery made slavery became a moral issue (Arnold and Wiener 35)
2. Douglas won Illinois senate race by a narrow margin of votes (Ray 72).
C. 1859 Harper Ferry – John Brown (Anderson 25)
1. Abolitionist John Brown tried to capture arsenal at Harper Ferry, Virginia (Anderson
25).
2. John Brown captured and hung as a traitor (Anderson 25).
D. Presidential Election of 1860
1. Democrats had 3 candidates (Douglas, Bell & Breckinridge)
a. Lincoln wins – 40% of the vote (NORTH)
2. South threatens to secede
E. WAR!! April 12, 1961 (Ray 85)
1. Compromises sought in Congress to save UNION
a. Lincoln said = no spread of slavery in territories
b. South Carolina seceded from union
2. Fort Sumter – April 12
a. Radicals fire on federal fort in Charleston, South Carolina harbor.

8. Citations
Anderson,D. (2004). the causes of the civil war: Milwaukee, WI. World Almanac Library.
Arnold, J.R., & Wiener, R. (2002) Divided in two: The road to civil war 1861. Minneapolis, Minn. Lerner
Publishing.
Berson, Dr. Micheal J., Dr. Tyrene Howard, Dr. Salines. “Hardcourt Social Studies “ the United States,
Canda,mexico, and central America.Harcourt School/Publisher. Sea harbor Drive Orlando,
Florida 2009.
Clinton, C. (1999). Scholastic encyclopedia of the civil war: New York, NY. Fairstreet Production.
Delia, R. (1990). A nation torn: the story of how the civil war began. New York, NY. Lodestar Books.
Kelley, M. (2012). Top five causes of the civil war." American history. About.com, 2011. Web. 5 Mar
2012. Retrieved
from<http://americanhistory.about.com/od/civilwarmenu/a/cause_civil_war.htm>.
Motley, J.L. (2005). The causes of the American civil war: A letter to the London times.
[powered by DLXS]. Retrieved from http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-
idx?c=moa;idno=ACK9297