Secession in the United States facts for kids
Secession in the United States is mostly about states leaving the United States. This happened right before the American Civil War. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina officially announced it was leaving the United States.
Over the next four months, six more states followed: Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana. These first seven states that left formed the Confederate States of America. Their first capital was in Montgomery, Alabama.
Then, on April 12, 1861, fighting began at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. After this, four more states joined the Confederacy: Virginia (except for its northwestern parts), Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The Confederate capital then moved to Richmond, Virginia. The states in the North and the Border states stayed with the Union.
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Why Did States Leave?
In 1860, the idea of states leaving the Union was not new. It had been talked about as early as 1776. At that time, the Continental Congress wanted to tax all Thirteen Colonies based on how many people lived there, including enslaved people. South Carolina threatened to leave the other 12 colonies over this issue.
From then until the Civil War, whenever there was a big disagreement between different parts of the country (often about slavery), states would threaten to leave. This was a concern when the Constitutional Convention met in 1787 in Philadelphia. Some people believed that states had a right to rebel against any unfair government, just like the colonies rebelled against Great Britain in 1776.
When the Southern states left in 1860-61, some argued it was like the American Revolution. They said that when the thirteen colonies rebelled against Great Britain, it was a form of secession. Others disagreed, saying the two situations were very different. The colonies fought for independence from Great Britain, they didn't just leave a union they were part of. Each colony saw itself as an independent nation fighting together.
Main Reasons for Secession
After the Civil War, experts disagreed about what truly caused the war. These disagreements still happen today. Many historians say that slavery was the main reason for the war. The Southern states wanted to keep slavery, while the Northern states wanted to stop it.
However, others argue that slavery was not the only main issue. They point to states' rights (the idea that states should have more power than the federal government) and taxes as important causes.
Each state that left the Union wrote an "Article of Secession." This was a formal document saying they were leaving. Four states – Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina – also wrote "Declarations of Causes." These papers explained in more detail why they were leaving.
Georgia's Reasons
Georgia listed these main reasons for leaving the United States:
- The U.S. government had made Georgia feel unsafe and had not protected its right to own property (enslaved African people).
- The U.S. government stopped Georgia from having "equal enjoyment" of new lands. Laws like the Compromise of 1850 limited where slavery could spread in these new areas.
- Georgia felt the U.S. government was unfriendly towards it. They had hoped this would change, but it didn't.
- They believed the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, was against slavery and was not fair.
Mississippi's Reasons
Mississippi wrote that slavery was vital for its economy. They also said that only Black people could work in their hot climate. They felt the North gave them only two choices: end slavery and face ruin, or leave the Union. Their reasons included:
- The United States government did not protect their right to own enslaved people.
- It did not enforce the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This law said that enslaved people who escaped to free states had to be returned.
- They believed the North wanted social and political equality for Black people and encouraged Slave rebellions.
- They felt that Northern schools, newspapers, and churches were completely against them.
- They believed the North wanted to end slavery without offering any solutions for what would happen next.
- They felt the North had broken agreements and wanted to destroy their way of life.
South Carolina's Reasons
South Carolina explained its reasons for leaving in its "Declaration of Immediate Causes," adopted on December 24, 1860. These reasons included:
- The U.S. government had broken the Constitution many times by not respecting the rights of South Carolina.
- They argued that in 1776, the colonies declared their right to govern themselves. They felt the Southern states were now in the same situation as the colonies were with Great Britain. They believed the U.S. government had become unfair and controlling, and they needed to become free.
- The Southern states were a minority in the United States Congress and felt they were taxed unfairly. They believed taxes were used to help Northern factories and mines, and most taxes collected in the South were spent in the North.
- They said that the U.S. foreign trade depended on Southern agriculture. However, Southern cities were not allowed to trade directly with other countries.
- They believed the U.S. government had become too powerful, like the government they fought against in the Revolutionary War. They felt it wanted to control everything, including slavery.
- They thought the U.S. Constitution was an "experiment" that had failed. They believed the Southern states followed the Constitution, but the Northern states had worked against it for their own benefit. They felt their rights were no longer protected, and the federal government had become an enemy to states that allowed slavery.
Texas's Reasons
Texas became a state on December 29, 1845. It joined the Union with the promise that it would be an equal state and that its constitution, which protected slavery, would be honored. Texas gave up being an independent country to join the U.S. to protect its people's safety and freedom. Its declaration of causes included:
- They believed the federal government wanted to end slavery in Texas and other states that allowed it. They felt the Northern states had allowed people in Kansas to break federal laws and work against slavery.
- They accused Northern states of using violence and mob rule to harm the rights of Southern citizens.
- The federal government had not protected the people and property of Texas from Indigenous groups on their border. Also, they said Mexican bandits raided into Texas. Texas had to pay to protect its citizens without getting money back from the federal government.
- Texas felt it was no longer as safe as it was when it was the Republic of Texas (an independent country).
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