The Coming of the Civil War 1857-1861

A succession of American presidents, from John Quincy Adams to James Buchanan, was unable to remedy the regionalism and strife over slavery and states’ rights that had inflamed American politics over the previous four decades. With the election of James Buchanan in 1856, there was one last chance to keep the nation out of war. However, Buchanan was not a strong leader, had no plan on how to resolve the slave issue, nor did he have any desire to reform the current system of slave holding. Five events between 1857 and 1861 led to the sectional interests of American flaring to the point of civil war: the Dred Scott decision, the Panic of 1857, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, the raids of John Brown, and the 1860 presidential election.

In March 1857, the Supreme Court heard a case of an escaped slave, Dred Scott, who left his master and eventually resided in Missouri. The questions for the conservative, pro-Southern Supreme Court were whether Scott was a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state of Missouri, and whether the Missouri Compromise (which split the nation between free and slave states) was constitutional. The Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled against Scott and against a more general abolition of the slave trade in the United States. Scott’s standing in the case was dismissed outright because as a slave, he was not a citizen of the United States and could not bring suit. Even if Scott were a citizen, the Court determined that since he resided and brought suit from Missouri, a slave state, that he was not a free man in the first place. Finally, the Missouri Compromise was upheld by the Court, to the celebration of the south and the consternation of abolitionist northerners.

The economic differences between the North and South became apparent with the Panic of 1857, a devastating depression that disproportionately affected the North while the South was protected by its thriving cotton economy. However, the North did possess a much higher amount of railroads, factories, and other structures necessary for the future of the nation, which was industry and urban development. Meanwhile, the Lincoln-Douglas debates in Illinois led to the definition of the Democratic Party as a purely Southern party and the new Republican Party as a party of abolitionists and the North and West. Lincoln strengthened the profile of the fledgling party while Douglas demonstrated that his moderate approach to slavery and party politics would create cracks within the Democratic facade.

The raid of John Brown in 1859 inflamed the senses of the Southern states while igniting the abolitionist passions of the Northern states. Brown, a religious zealot and businessman, felt that he was an agent of God sent to restore justice in American society. His small band of militant abolitionists infiltrated the hornet’s nest of Kansas in 1856 and attempted to take over Harper’s Ferry, an arms outpost in Virginia, in 1859. In between, Brown was a prominent speaker on behalf of total abolition. However, his greatest plans involved using the arms taken at Harper’s Ferry and beginning an assault on the South. However, his plans were foiled by Robert E. Lee and Brown was hung in December of 1859. Brown was rational and calm during his trial and even on the eve of his death, recognized that his sole purpose on Earth was to abolish slavery. Brown’s execution was seen as an act of martyrdom in abolitionist circles while others saw Brown as evil and destructive.

The final straw in the great debate over slavery was the 1860 presidential election, in which Republican Abraham Lincoln won over a series of opponents, including former foe Stephen Douglas, vying for the divided electorate. Following Lincoln’s inauguration, Southerners realized that they need something besides a Congress and presidency that did not represent them. Beginning in December 1860 in South Carolina, southern states left the Union, recognizing that it was unconstitutional but seeing no recourse to the assault on states’ rights and the institution of slavery. The Confederated States named Jefferson Davis as its president and the Civil War was begun.