Analyzing Factors Leading to the Civil War

In the years leading up to the American Civil War, various social, political, and economic factors contributed to the growing sectional tensions between the North and South. Analyze the following documents, which include speeches, letters, legislation, and political cartoons from the 1840s to the 1860s. Using evidence from these documents, along with your knowledge of the period, assess the extent to which these factors were significant in creating sections that ultimately led to the Civil War.

Document 1: Excerpt from Frederick Douglass’s speech advocating for abolition (1852).

Document 2: A letter from a Southern plantation owner arguing in favor of slavery (1850).

Document 3: The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854).

Document 4: Political cartoon depicting the tensions over the Missouri Compromise (1850).

Document 5: Abraham Lincoln’s speeches on the Union and slavery (1861).