In the 1800s one of the most debated subjects was whether states should have more or less power than the entire union. In the south most believed that the states should receive more power than the union, while in the north most believed that the union should get most of the power. This dispute was just an other reason on the rapidly growing list of why the Civil War started.
Abraham lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. He served as a militiaman in the Black Hawk war of 1832, he had no appetite for war, even though he was elected general of his militia. He was our 16th president and he was against three things. Slavery, war and states having more power than the nation. He thought the only way to protect the union was to go to war.
Jefferson davis
Jefferson Davis wanted to be a general of the Confederate army, but he was instead elected president. He was chosen president because he was more moderate in his stance on leaving the union. The states tried to determine laws for their new country but he argued against it. He elected a good leader of the army, but didn't run the army well by arguing with his generals.
16th presidential election
During the election, Lincoln had spoken out strongly against the spread of slavery and hoped that one day it would end. He hoped to prevent a war. "We are not enemies," he said to the southerners after taking the oath of office, "we must not become enemies." But time was running out for a diplomatic solution before a war broke out.
secession
Secession is when a state breaks from a union, and in the early 1860s most of the southern states did just that. Lincoln's presidency pushed the south to the limit. The first to leave was South Carolina, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. These states then formed the confederacy, they even wrote their own constitution.
Compromise of 1850
This is a picture of the original comromise of 1850, which stated.... 1. California would enter the Union as a free state. 2. The rest of the Mexican Cession would be federal land. In this territory, popular sovereignty would decide on slavery. 3. Texas would give up land east of the upper Rio Grande. In return, the government would pay Texas's debts from when it was an independent republic. 4. The slave trade-but not slavery- would end in the nation's capital. 5. A more effective fugitive slave law would be passed.