Week 13 — Readings & Resources · The Coming of the Civil War

Course: U.S. History to 1877 (HIST 1301) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Hartwell
Objective covered: Objective 7 — the political crises of the 1850s, secession, and the coming of the Civil War.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser. Nothing needs to be downloaded or purchased.

This week's resources group by the lecture's sequence: ① party realignment → ② Lincoln–Douglas → ③ Harpers Ferry → ④ secession and Fort Sumter → ⑤ the primary source for the workshop. Do one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll have no surprises.

A habit to carry into this week: before you trust any characterization of why the Civil War happened — whether from a chatbot, a textbook, or a documentary — ask: What is the evidence? What did the people making these decisions write at the time? This week's primary source answers that question directly.

Order that matches the lecture: ① party realignment (1854) → ② Lincoln–Douglas (1858) → ③ Harpers Ferry (1859) → ④ secession crisis / Fort Sumter (1860–61) → ⑤ the SC Declaration (the workshop source).

① The Republican Party and the Political Realignment of the 1850s

Maps to Lecture Segment 2. The Kansas–Nebraska Act (1854) shattered the Whig Party and created the political realignment that made 1860 possible.

Reading — "The Election of 1860 and the Coming of the Civil War" (Khan Academy, US History → The Civil War era)
🔗 https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history
(Open the "Civil War era" unit; find the readings on political parties and the election of 1860.)
Why it's here: clear, free overview of the party collapse, the 1860 four-way race, and why Lincoln's victory triggered secession.
⏱ ~12 min

Video — "Lincoln and the 1860 Election" (CrashCourse US History #18)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5cBiLGfhMY
Why it's here: covers the Whig collapse, Republican Party, 1856 and 1860 elections, and the secession crisis — the fastest way to visualize the political picture.
⏱ ~13 min

② The Lincoln–Douglas Debates (1858)

Maps to Lecture Segment 3. Seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas over slavery in the territories; Lincoln lost the Senate race but won the national argument.

Primary source — Lincoln–Douglas debate texts (Abraham Lincoln Online)
🔗 http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/debates.htm
Why it's here: all seven debate transcripts, including the Freeport debate (Aug 27, 1858) where Douglas gave the answer that cost him the South in 1860. Read any 10-minute excerpt to hear the argument firsthand.
⏱ ~10 min (excerpts)

Reading — OpenStax U.S. History, "The Lincoln-Douglas Debates and the Election of 1858"
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/14-2-the-lincoln-douglas-debates-and-the-election-of-1858
Why it's here: readable context for the debates and the Freeport Doctrine.
⏱ ~10 min

③ John Brown and Harpers Ferry (October 1859)

Maps to Lecture Segment 4. Brown's raid failed militarily but succeeded in polarizing the nation — accelerating the chain toward secession.

Reading — OpenStax U.S. History, "John Brown and the Election of 1860"
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/14-3-john-brown-and-the-election-of-1860
Why it's here: covers the raid, its reception North and South, and the connection to 1860.
⏱ ~10 min

Video — "John Brown's Holy War" (PBS American Experience — free stream)
🔗 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/johnbrown/
Why it's here: full documentary on Brown; useful for the AI-critique moment (documentaries are secondary sources — what would you need to check about their claims?).
⏱ ~90 min (optional; skim the summary for class prep)

④ Secession Crisis and Fort Sumter (1860–61)

Maps to Lecture Segments 5–6. Seven states out before Lincoln takes office; Confederacy formed February 1861; the first shot April 12, 1861.

Reading — OpenStax U.S. History, "The Secession Crisis"
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/14-4-the-secession-crisis
Why it's here: the sequence of secessions, the Confederacy's formation, Buchanan's lame-duck paralysis, and Fort Sumter.
⏱ ~12 min

Video — CrashCourse US History #20, "The Road to the Civil War"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So4HOKKZhYg
Why it's here: covers the secession winter and Fort Sumter with maps and timeline.
⏱ ~12 min

⑤ The Week's Primary Source (for the Workshop)

You'll analyze this in Primary Source Workshop 13. Read it once before the workshop so you arrive ready to close-read it carefully.

Primary source — South Carolina, "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union" (December 24, 1860)
🔗 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp (Avalon Project, Yale Law School)
Why it's here: this is the primary source the workshop is built around — the secessionists' own explanation, written in the moment. Read it once through. Notice what it names as its cause, in its own words.
⏱ ~15 min

Corroboration — Mississippi Declaration of Secession (January 9, 1861)
🔗 https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_missec.asp (Avalon Project)
Why it's here: one paragraph in — "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest of the world" — makes the corroboration case that SC was not unique. Skim for comparison.
⏱ ~5 min

Optional one-stop references (free online)

• Gilder Lehrman Institute — "The Coming of the Civil War." Curated primary sources and commentary on the secession crisis.
  🔗 https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/teaching-resource/coming-civil-war
• National Archives — "Secession Acts of the Southern States." Government archives collection of the secession documents.
  🔗 https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american-originals/secessn.html
• OpenStax U.S. History, Chapter 14 — full chapter on sectionalism and secession.
  🔗 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/14-introduction

Pick-one quick path (≈45 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these and you'll be ready for the quiz and workshop:
1. Watch CrashCourse #18 for the party realignment and 1860 election (group ①).
2. Read OpenStax on the secession crisis (group ④).
3. Read the SC Declaration once through (group ⑤) — at minimum, the paragraphs on slavery and the Fugitive Slave Act.

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Hartwell and use the OpenStax, Avalon, or National Archives references above in the meantime. The Avalon Project (avalon.law.yale.edu) and National Archives (archives.gov) are authoritative canonical archives with stable URLs.