Secession, the withdrawal of 11 slave states states in which slaveholding was legal from the union during 186061 following the election of abraham lincoln as president of the united states. Map of the division of the states in the american civil war 18611865. Southern states use their power to force new proslavery laws through at the federal level. Southern states could no longer maintain a defense against the passage of the morrill tariff, so the other gulf states seceded in turnother southern states seceded e. The resulting civil war had three principle outcomes. Southern secession commissioners and the causes of the civil war charles b dew highlights that it was slavery more than states rights that was associated with southern secession. Secession from the united states was accepted in eleven states and failed in two others. The looming threat of a national breakup which will release on jan. Why was the south so worried about abraham lincolns. Robert lewis dabney, chaplain for stonewall jackson the states of the deep south might have left the union because of slavery, but the upper south. Immediately download the secession summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching secession. A large free black population in the way of slaverys expansion and new slave states might do it by forcing the issue of slavery years before our history. Therefore, the us would have never allowed the secession of the southern states. N, the timing of secession and lincolns election are not coincidence, and southern states were not reacting to lincoln as person.
The main obstacle to serious consideration of secession is its association with the secession of the southern states, which was motivated by the issue of slavery. Secessionists push for south to break away from us again. It is this crucial fact that much of this book is based upon. Secession could have been avoided if sc had waited, continued to aid. This fact alone shows that the southern states viewed independence as being more important than slavery. South carolina an ordinance to dissolve the union between the state of south carolina and other states united with her under the compact entitled the constitution of the united states of america. Though better known these days for erecting statues to confederate veterans. If secession of a state from the united states was meant to be permitted by the founders, why does the u. Addressing topics still hotly debated among historians and the public at large more than a century and a half after the civil war, the book offers a compelling and clearly substantiated argument that slavery and race were at the heart.
Posts about south carolina declaration of secession written by padresteve. State and federal rights issues had been an issues among the different regions of the united states since the declaration of independence. Secession dates of southern states, when south secede union. Chuck thompson, who wrote a 2012 book, better off without em. Usually it was carried out by some legislative group. The rivers of war series was going that way before it was ended. Secession acts of the thirteen confederate states yale. Charles dews apostles of disunion has established itself as a modern classic and an indispensable account of the southern states secession from the union. Secession in the united states simple english wikipedia. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of south carolina from the union known as the united states of america. The secession movement in the middle states abbeville. Legal justification of the south in secession by hon. It was followed four months later by the states of georgia, florida, alabama, mississippi, texas and louisiana.
So why was lincoln such a boogeyman, and how was the. List of books and articles about secession movement u. Among the 34 states in january 1861, seven southern slave states individually declared their secession from the united states and formed the confederate states of. In 1950 charles cauthen wrote an excellent book on this very subject and. Southern secession commissioners and the causes of the civil. The reasons for secession american battlefield trust. Ill take my stand causes of southern secession the upper south sirs, you have no reason to be ashamed of your confederate dead. But when push came to shove in 1832, it was not over slavery but tariffs. Lincoln on secession lincoln home national historic site. Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance.
Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been. Speech of horace mann, of massachusetts on the subject of slavery in the territories, and the consequences of a dissolution of the union, by horace mann page images at moa items below if any are from related and broader terms. As the years passed, however, historians came to accept the view that lincoln had the full support of the north prior to the attack on fort sumter. The confederacy was originally formed by seven secessionist slaveholding statessouth carolina. So i recently found out that the southern states started seceding moreorless right after lincolns election. Short term and long term causes of southern secession by. With southern states actively leaving the union, war broke out. In 1860, south carolina was the only state to have a majority slave population. The history of the united states also defended secession as a. A speech by jefferson davis to the mississippi senate about the possibility of secession, november 1858. This issue is not as significant as slavery because the southern states were alright with having a federal and central government above them. The leaders in the north did not realize that the election of lincoln would mean the. The american battlefield trust is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Trigger events of the civil war american battlefield trust.
The civil war trusts history article analyzing the reasons for secession as set forth in the articles of secession and declarations of causes issued by the southern states. The act of secession was not an easy one, and once a state decided to do so, it would change the nation drastically. The american civil war, was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the survival of the union or independence for the confederacy. Secession in the united states refers mainly to state secession. Secession dates of southern states, when did the southern states secede, order of secession history, why did the south secede civil war, constitution declaration of independence and civil war. Why did lincolns election prompt the southern states to. A speech by jefferson davis to the mississippi senate. A northern manifesto for southern secession, points out that the south has been at odds with the rest of the nation for generations over issues including education, race. The principal source on which the book is built certainly appears neglected to. Soon after abraham lincoln was elected to the presidency in november 1860, seven southern states seceded from the union.
Go all in with lost cause dogma and be able to sell the book only in the south. The secession of the south would have resulted in the loss of important territory and resources that were simply to valuable to the us. Red represents southern seceded states in rebellion, also known as the confederate states of america. Choose from 79 different sets of southern secession flashcards on quizlet. Within a few weeks of the election, southern states, unwilling to accept a republican president, began seceding from the union. In late 1860 and early 1861, stateappointed commissioners traveled the. Learn southern secession with free interactive flashcards.
Fremantle went on to write in his book three months in the southern states. The real cause of secession additional discussion on. As ive heard it, the mere fact that lincoln won the election was enough to push them over the edge. Secession is rooted in individual liberty and any opposition ultimately requires an outright act of force. There is still much debate over the causes of the civil war centuries after some southerners sought secession. Since secession is the most common way of establishing new states, the expectation is that a sound theory of secession will inform a normativebased international legal practice of state. Start studying apush election of 1860 southern secession.
It applies to the outbreak of the american civil war when on december 20, 1860, south carolina officially declared their secession from the united states. Sumter, secession, and the coming of the civil war as want to read. Secession is the act of a state formally leaving the union. Issues of secession, past, present, and future are all dealt with accordingly. He shows that the north used its supremacy in congress to push through massive tariffs to fund the government, and that these tariffs fell much harder on the exportdependent south than upon the insular north. It established the three branches of the federal governmentexecutive, legislative. Socalled southern nationalists are within the group of demonstrators who are fighting the removal of. Using this start, lincoln began his push for an amendment to the constitution to abolish slavery throughout the entire nation, by legal and constitutional.
Constitution contain so many details about the procedures for states to join the united states, but not a word about procedures to leave it. Wright wcw historical writing during the civil war and immediately after noted the existence of these men. Apush election of 1860 southern secession flashcards. Southern secession commissioners and the causes of the. In march 1861, after he was inaugurated as the 16th president of the united states, four more followed. Secession the secession of seven southern states in 1860 to 1861 set in motion the train of events that led to the american civil war. Perhaps the bestknown example of a secession taking place within the borders of a formerly unified nation was the withdrawal 186061 of the 11 southern states from the united states. The secession of the south would have resulted in the formation of a new country that could have developed into a rival nation. Many believe that secession is what caused the war too. The southern secession reconsidered politics and prosperity. While radicals in south carolina continued to push ahead with their plans to. A post by the vociferous reader, lincolns war, prompts me to revisit the issue of secession. Lincoln and the republicans were reviled in the south, and did not carry a single state south of the mason dixon line. Only the editorpublisher charles river takes the responsibility for promising a work that comprehensively covers the events and political issues that led up to the secession of the southern states in 1860 and 1861 and the creation of the confederacy.
Professor buckleys book examines secession movements in other countries as well as the secession movement that caused the civil war to get an idea of what a modern secession movement. Southern secession and the causes for the civil war bartleby. He shows that the north used its supremacy in congress to push through massive tariffs to fund the government, and that these tariffs fell much harder. After the 1860 election, tensions between north and south finally came to a head. Why did some southern states secede immediately after. Get an answer for why did some southern states secede immediately after lincolns election in 1860.
Uncle toms cabin was the secondbestselling book in america in the 19th century. Influential southern preachers joined in the push for secession and warned of what they saw as the dire consequences of lincolns election. See main articles origins of the american civil war, confederate states of america and american civil war the most famous secession movement was the case of the southern states of the united states. Southerners were threatening succession in 1856, if republican fremont elected president.