Slavery
A major cause of the Civil War was slavery because the Northerners and Southerners disagreed on this topic. By the early 1700's, slavery had caught on in a huge way throughout the Southern colonies. The Northerners wanted to stop the spread of slavery, while the Southerners wanted to have new states that allowed slavery. In places like South Carolina, slavery was essential to the economy and soon slaves outnumbered whites in that colony.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was important on the topic of slavery because she was one of the most famous conductors of the Underground Railroad. She was a courageous, self-taught, charismatic escaped slave, that was single-minded in her dedication to freeing other slaves. In 1849, she escaped slavery, leaving her family. she swore that she would come back and lead her family to freedom in the North. She returned to the South 19 times, successfully leading her family and more than 300 other slaves to freedom.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was another important person on the topic of slavery because, during his election, he had spoken out strongly against the spread of slavery and hoped that one day it would end. In an 1858 speech, he declared, "There is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights numerated in the Declaration of Independence- the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Yet as president, Lincoln found emancipation, or freeing slaves, to be a difficult issue.
Fugitive Slave Act
A major event that involved slavery was the Fugitive Slave Act. It was a law that made it a crime to help runaway slaves and allowed officials to arrest those slaves in free areas.