17553. AMERICAN CIVIL WAR: FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO ITS OUTBREAK. This paper discusses the five events that most contributed to the outbreak of the American Civil War: 1) the 1832 Nullifcation Crisis; 2) the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854; 3) the 1857 Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott case; 4) John Brown’s 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia; and 5) Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 Presidential race. KEYWORDS: us civil war causes dred scott harper’s ferry raid nullification crisis Lincoln presidency. Written 2005. MLA Style. 4 pages, 9 footnotes, 5 bibliographic sources. 944 words.