Secession Crisis Research Paper

In 1854 another problem arose which resulted in Congress passing the Kansas-Nebraska Act which repealed the Missouri Compromise, this act was introduced by Stephen A. Douglas a chairman of Committee on Territories, this act allowed the people of Kansas and Nebraska to choose rather they wanted slavery in their boundary or not through the power of popular sovereignty, the Pro-slavery settlers won the election but were charged with accusations that they cheated, in order to make sure that the vote was right they ordered a re-election but the Pro-slavery refused and the refusal resulted into a battle. John Brown an Anti-slavery leader who believed that he was sent here by god to kill anyone who was pro-slavery. He led the anti-slavery force which gained the nickname “Bleeding Kansas”. The fight was soon stopped, and a final election was held, this time the anti-slavery settlers won the vote and was announced that Kansas would become a free state in 1861. In conclusion the Compromises and Acts may have had their flaws but it they some how manage to solve the slavery issues.

The election of Lincoln in November 1860 was the final trigger for secession.[74] Efforts at compromise, including the "Corwin Amendment" and the "Crittenden Compromise", failed. Southern leaders feared that Lincoln would stop the expansion of slavery and put it on a course toward extinction. The slave states, which had already become a minority in the House of Representatives, were now facing a future as a perpetual minority in the Senate and Electoral College against an increasingly powerful North. Before Lincoln took office in March 1861, seven slave states had declared their secession and joined together to form the Confederacy.

In the spring of 1861, after many years of tension between the Northern and Southern United States issues had become a major problem. Including westward expansion, the states’ rights against federal authority, and slavery eventually turned into the American Civil War. Abraham Lincoln's election led to seven southern states, leaving the Union, four more states joined after the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Many events lead to the Civil War.

During the Civil War Era and Reconstruction, there was continuous threats by the Confederacy of secession from the Union. The Confederacy was extremely hesitant to maintain relations with the Union and was willing to separate into its own territory. Secession, in Civil War terms, is the act of disassociation from the Union. The Confederacy was willing to secede from the Union for various reasons. Lincoln being elected was a red flag for the Southern states, which allowed for the issue of abolition to be a rising threat as well as create tension between the North and Southern territories.

In the mid-1800's, many events occurred that increased sectional tension between the Northern and Southern states of the Union. These tensions ultimately resulted in the outbreak of civil war. One thing in particular that is considered to be a source of sectional discord is the U.S. Constitution. However the Constitution itself was not a source of sectional tension that caused the failure of the Union. The failure erupted generally from the issue of slavery. combination of the people in general and the differences in economic styles that lead to the downfall. Poor political decisions such as the Kansas Nebraska Act, lead to bad decisions which worsened the tensions of the union. The economic differences ultimately lead to the Civil War

The constitutional developments started when the South tried to secede from the Union. The election of the anti-slavery Republican, Abraham Lincoln, as president in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. Four more states tried seceding by using the 10th amendment, which declared “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states.” The secession of Southern states caused a Civil War, which was, by itself, not a revolution. The Civil War is considered “America’s bloodiest clash”, which started in 1861 and ended in 1865. The Union was pitted against the Confederate States and resulted in the death of more than 620,000, with millions more injured. The war was over issues including states’ rights versus federal authority, westward expansion, and slavery.

The secession of seven southern states. After Lincoln was elected southern states were furious. The reason why they were furious was that they never voted for him. They felt that their votes did not matter to them. Some states threatened to secede from the union. Secession was declared unconstitutional, but the states did not care. Lincoln argued that “The government was a union of people and not of states.”. He could of of helped the states or let the states go and let the United States look weak and apart. He picked the second choice, eleven states seceded, South Carolina was the first to go. The states were Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee,

Strong men don't compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.” The four times that the North and South had compromised, there were usually only a few issues, or even a single issue. But when 1860 had come around, there were multiple events that occurred before it was too late for a compromise. The South had endured a few events before they decided to secede; these events slowly polarized opinions between the North and the South, leading to a growing sense of sectionalism which identified more with the North or South than they did with the Union. Even though the North and the

1) The secession was a pivotal moment in American history. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, it caused alarm in several Southern states since he did not receive a single electoral vote from them. Since he was the first from the political Republican Party to become president, nobody quite knew what to expect and the South feared that he would disregard and corrode their values. Lincoln desired to place the slaveholding states under the non-slaveholding states to prevent slavery from spreading, which was the last straw that pushed South Carolina to secede on December 20, 1860. Even before Lincoln’s inauguration on March 4, 1861, seven states seceded.

How did the sectional crisis begin? What one event triggered this crisis? While these are question commonly answered, it is up to interpretation of the conflicts between the North and South in order to decide which events caused the secession. There is not simply one event or conflict which resulted in the secession of the deep southern sates beginning in 1860 (Brands 2015, 333). As of February 1, 1860 seven southern states had seceded from the union due to the friction between Northern and Southerners. While some may argue that the sectional crisis is a result of the fight for power between the North and South; the sectional crisis can be attributed to three main factors and their effects on the nation, differences

Some states are currently threatening to leave the country because of the belief that the government has too much power over the people and the laws our country has to follow. In our society, we live by laws set by the government, and if any of them are broken, there is a punishment. These laws are set to make sure that the people of America are following the way things are ran so the country will not collapse. Although these laws are set for the safety of the people, sometimes when the government has that kind of power to make people follow certain things they should not have to follow, many issues arise. In the late 1800’s, many issues emerged between the South and the Union on whether the Southern states had the right to secede from the

The underlying conflicts between North and South were finally fully exposed as a result of failure of compromise in the political arena. The failure of American leadership in 1846-1861was epitomised by key events such as; Douglas's Kansas Nebraska act of 1854 and the dread Scott case pronouncement of 1857. Both of these events overturned the previous Missouri compromise and thus once again brought the two opposing nations head to head. The Wilmot proviso bill which proposed to eliminate slavery in the territories was a clear signal to the South that the North was plotting against her way of life. Thus the southern mind set became increasingly locked in a persecution complex which they justified by evidence of a ‘Northern conspiracy' to destroy their economic institution, the Wilmot proviso was one such piece of evidence even though it was not passed. The election of Lincoln was the final straw with which the south believed the northern conspirators would gain the upper hand and bring about the destruction of the Southern institutions. "Most irresponsible, wanton, and disastrous of all was the decision of those southern leaders who in 1858-1860 turned to the provocative demand for Congressional protection of slavery in all the territories of the Republic." Allan Nevins. Nevins in the previous quote demonstrates the reckless extent

Arguments that slavery was undesirable for the nation had long existed, and the northern states all abolished slavery after 1776. In the interest of maintaining unity, politicians had mostly moderate opposition to slavery, resulting in numerous compromises such as the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850. However, The compromise that was reached (the Kansas-Nebraska Act) outraged too many northerners, which triggered violent uprisings from the North. These uprisings angered the Southern states greatly.

The controversy over slaves ultimately led to the secession. Abraham Lincoln thinks slavery is wrong and he wants to stop it from spreading. Earlier, he had warned that slavery could separate a nation. In the 1860 election Lincoln is elected, but southerners are worried he will end slavery forever. Southern states start to secede because they are worried. First South Carolina succeeds, then North, Texas, and then Florida too. They give themselves a new name called the Confederate States of America. (Wise...)

The secession of South Carolina on December 20, 1860, by a vote of 169-0 was a response to the election of Abraham Lincoln of 1860. Lincoln perceived as an abolitionist wanted to contain slavery rather than ending it. The majority party above the Mason-Dixon line were Republicans and below were primarily Democrats and Republicans were viewed as abolitionists. The election of a Republican threatened the South’s status quo. The primary catalyst for secession was based on slavery. Different social cultures and political beliefs developed due to the South’s intimate and reliant relationship on slavery. Southern whites feared the end of slavery and this paranoia was shared among plantation slave owners and white Yeoman farmers. Southern whites felt that the North were threatening the supposed tranquility of the South. The South’s agrarian economy, honor, and independence were believed to be in danger. Slavery was intertwined with the South’s social, cultural, and economic makeup. As a result of slavery, the South developed a paternalistic culture and racial ideology of white supremacy. The perceived notion that the North was influencing it’s political and social beliefs on the South lead them to believe that secession was the only act of self-preservation. The growing differences between the South and North made it difficult to negotiate. This fear was exaggerated and accelerated the South’s eventual implosion. The South believed that without slavery it would self-destruct and