This course will take an interesting look at the decade of the 1850s in America and how several issues would be the sparks to the fire that started the Civil War. The interesting part of this decade in American history is that there are several key issues and differences among the different regions of the United States at this time period. 

America has farming in the far West of Oregon and with gold discovered in California the world would rush in. While in the mid-west you have expansion into the frontier and the issue of slavery in the West becoming a major debate for the new states. In the northeast we find a region and economic sector that is moving towards industry and major trading hubs. In the southeast of America there are large plantation farms and cash crop type of economy along with the "peculiar institution" and unfortunate practice of slavery. Many history courses highlight slavery and the election of President Abraham Lincoln as causes for the Civil War. They are two of the main cause, but there are several more causes that we will examine from a regional viewpoint and we will use the historical themes of cultural interaction/conflict, role of attitudes (philosophical and psychological look at the 1850s), role of the environment (economics), and role of government as we dive deep into the several causes for the Civil War. This course will examine the issue of slavery in a historical context and in the context of the moral debates that were created on a national stage between Abraham Lincoln and Stephan Douglas.