Some historians have argued that a civil war in the United States was somewhat inevitable, considering the hypocrisy of America’s foundations as a nation built on the glorious principle of equality and the hideous practice of slavery-- the conflict within the nation had been brewing since the creation of the Constitution in 1783.

In this episode, we will be examining  the individual catalysts that caused southern states to secede from the Union, all of which directly connect  to the debate over the ownership of black and brown bodies in the United States between 1854 and 1861-- sectionalism, Bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott decision, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Abolitionist Movement, and,finally, the 1860 election.