# 6 Key Causes of the American Civil War | History Lesson
> Explore the primary causes of the American Civil War, including sectionalism, the Missouri Compromise, abolitionism, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.

Tags: civil-war, american-history, abolitionists, abraham-lincoln, missouri-compromise, sectionalism, underground-railroad, history-lesson
## Slide 1: The Causes of the Civil War
* Overview of what tore the United States apart.
* Includes historical context from May 1861.

## Slide 2: Key Vocabulary
* **Sectionalism**: Prioritizing regional interests over the country.
* **Confederacy**: Southern states that seceded.
* **Union**: Northern states that remained loyal.
* **Abolitionist**: Person seeking to end slavery.
* **Secede**: Officially leaving a country.

## Slide 3: Visual Analysis
* Analysis of historical military photographs from April 1861.

## Slide 4: A Divided Nation: North vs. South
* **North**: Industrial economy, growing cities, free labor.
* **South**: Agricultural economy, plantations, enslaved labor.

## Slide 5: The Missouri Compromise (1820)
* Congress drew a line at the 36°30′ parallel.
* Missouri entered as a slave state; Maine entered as a free state.
* Delayed rather than solved mid-19th century tensions.

## Slide 6: Abolitionists & The Underground Railroad
* Key figures: Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.
* Methods of resistance: Newspapers (*The Liberator*), speeches, and escape networks.

## Slide 7: The Compromise of 1850
* California admitted as a free state.
* Inclusion of the Fugitive Slave Act, which outraged Northerners.

## Slide 8: Bleeding Kansas (1854)
* The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers.
* Highlighted the failure of popular sovereignty and compromise.

## Slide 9: Lincoln's Election & Secession
* Abraham Lincoln elected in Nov 1860.
* South Carolina and 10 other states seceded to form the Confederacy.
* Trigger point: Attack on Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861.

## Slide 10: Summary of Factors
* Review of the six main drivers toward war: Economic differences, legislative compromises, moral resistance to slavery, and political shifts.
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