why did the south secede

Election of 1860

• Lincoln's Victory: Lincoln won the presidential election without receiving any electoral votes from the Southern states.

Immediate Southern Reaction

• Secession Movement: Before Lincoln was inaugurated, South Carolina led the charge, seceding on December 20, 1860.

• States that Seceded: Seven states from the Deep South seceded: South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

• Key Terms:

  • Secede: To withdraw from the Union.

  • Secession: The act of withdrawing from the Union.

  • Not to be confused with: Succeed or succession.

Purpose of Secession

• Conventions: States held secession conventions to formally withdraw allegiance to the United States.

• Motives Published: The conventions articulated their reasons for secession.

  • Example: The South Carolina Secession Convention's statement described grievances against non-slaveholding states.

• Main Argument: The government was deemed destructive of the ends for which it was established because of Northern actions against slavery.

Grievances Stated by South Carolina

• Denial of Property Rights: Non-slaveholding states were seen as infringing on the property rights established in slaveholding states.

• Condemnation of Slavery: They accused the North of labeling slavery as sinful and acting against it, including promoting abolitionist societies.

• Encouragement of Insurrection: The South claimed their slaves were incited to revolt by Northern influences.

• Political Threat: A solid line was drawn across the Union, with Northern states uniting to elect an anti-slavery president (Lincoln).

• Slavery as Central Issue: The driving force behind secession was the threat to slavery, not merely states' rights.

Justifications for Secession

• States' Rights as Justification: The South framed their secession as a defense of states' rights, claiming the North was failing to protect slavery.

• Abolitionist Influence: The North's acceptance of abolitionist efforts and the underground railroad contributed to Southern fears.

Change of Narrative Post-War

• Reevaluating Reasons for Secession: Initially, Southerners were proud of their reasons for secession, which centered on slavery, but this narrative shifted post-war.

• Leadership of Secession: Secession was largely led by elite slaveholders, who feared Lincoln's election.

• Non-Slaveholders' Perspective: Not all supporters of secession were slaveholders, yet slavery was central to Southern identity and culture.

Division Within the South

• Union Sympathizers: Not everyone in the South supported secession; many Union sympathizers, particularly former Whigs, viewed it as illegal.

Formation of the Confederacy

• Confederate States of America: In February 1861, the seven secessionist states formed the Confederacy, with Montgomery, Alabama as their capital.

• Jefferson Davis: They elected Jefferson Davis as their first (and only) president.

James Buchanan's Presidency

• Inaction on Secession: James Buchanan, the sitting president until March 4, 1861, did little to address the secession crisis.

• Belief in Powerlessness: Although he opposed secession, he believed the federal government had no authority to compel the seceding states to remain in the Union.