Existing comment:
"If the Declaration of Independence justifies the secession from the British empire of 3,000,000 colonists in 1776, we do not see why it would not justify the secession of 5,000,000 of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861."
-- New York Tribune, December 17, 1860
National Debate: Secession
South Carolina seceded from the Union in December 1860 after the election of Abraham Lincoln. Over the following months, six more Deep South states seceded. After the firing on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, four more states left the Union.
The long-simmering issues of slavery, states' rights, and protective tariffs were the catalysts that prompted secession of these states. The Republican Party, with its known anti-slavery stance, and the election of Lincoln provided the motivation to leave the Union. Secession set the stage for the Civil War. |