The southern secession from the Union increased pressure between the South (Confederacy) and the North (Union). The South’s attempts on withdrawal proved the fact that the South and the North were destined to fall apart after growing tensions between the two sides. For years, historians have been debating the point if the South had the right to secede from the Union. While some historians argue that the South could leave due to legality, others claim that it is a breaking the Constitutional Oath that the states would stay together. The secession of the Confederacy was a primary cause of the civil war. The Union wanted to keep the country together, while the South wanted to become independent, just as they had from Britain. Due to legality …show more content…
The Union believed that both the Confederacy and Union had to agree before the Confederacy could secede, due to the binding Constitution. Although, the North violated the agreement which would give the South full permission to leave the Union. In the Constitution, it states, “No person held to service or labor in one state… be discharged from service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the [person] to whom such service or labor may be due… [The North States] have enacted laws, which [nullifies] the Act of Congress … Thus the constituted compact has been deliberately broken… ,” (Document E). This statement shows the fact that taking away slaves would be taking away the Confederates’ services, which is against the Constitution. In addition, the Northern States have nullified the Fugitive Slave Act, which is illegal, so they were technically breaking the law first. This is especially shown at ‘.. have enacted laws, which [nullifies] the Acts of Congress,” which further proves that the North States have already broken their contract as a country by circumventing a law. Therefore, the agreement between them had broke, so the South had the right to leave the Union with free
The North and South were quite different, so during the Civil war, each side had advantages politically, socially, economically, and demographically. One of the Advantages the North had was Political. The South seceded from the Union because they feared the end to slavery, so when they left the union they had no government. After all of the states seceded, they announced the creation of the Confederate States of America.
Some Southerners believed that they needed to secede from the nation because they believed Abraham Lincoln, and his Republican majority were a major threat to the institution of slavery. The new Republican Party showed up in the 1850s and they were against the institution of slavery. When the election of 1860 came about, one of the candidates was Abraham Lincoln who just so happened to be a republican. When he won the election alongside his commanding majorities in both houses of Congress, the Southern states panicked, and got afraid that the federal government would stop the continuation of the practice of slavery. In other words, they were afraid that they were going to abolish slavery in the South, which they believed was going to be a problem
Many organizations formed to end slavery including the Anti Slavery Society and other groups. I think the South wanted to secede from the Union because they did not want their economy to fail, they did not want to follow the laws of Abraham Lincoln and they did not want to feel less powerful that Northern states. I think the South wanted to secede from the Union because they did not want their economy to fail. “The South thus quickly established a rural way of life supported by an agricultural economy based on slave labor”(Doc
The Southern States ultimately dissociated from the Union which led to succession. The combination of the succession of Southern states along with territorial disputes prompted sectional discord throughout.
the civil war The American civil war (April 12, 1861- May 9, 1865), now you might be thinking to yourself Why would the south secede? and where they justified to do so? Those are good question and I 'll answer them right now. Here 's why the south seceded... The North was industrial, and the South was agricultural. This meant that the South 's exports earned more money.
They thought this was one way to prevent succession. Some thought that state government outranked federal government, so they could decide which laws to follow, and which to ignore. Due to this conflict, there were two sides. Only the merchants of Charleston and the small farmers of the up country supported the Union side.
The South seceded because of slavery, political power, the differences in their way of life. Slavery was a major issue here in America. The South wanted slavery and the North didn’t. “Government cannot endure half slave, half free” (Doc 5).
The election of Abraham Lincoln seems to have triggered the call for the separation of the Southern states, based on the need to end slavery as campaigned by his incoming presidency. The Union felt the need to launch an offensive campaign and attack the Confederate’s territory. The Confederates, on the other hand, was only preoccupied with the need to survive and stand up for their right to secede in order to preserve slavery (Woods, 2012). Although the Confederate generals had no interest in invading the north, the war strategists did not want to use the defensive tactic of waiting for the union to decide on the place and time for the battle to occur.
The Confederates felt if they stayed as part of the Union their rights were at risk. Primarily slavery, considering Lincoln became President and was a representative for the Republican party, which was the side that didn't approve slavery. Lincoln at first becoming President and even beforehand claimed to not have any plans to end slavery. He says in his First Inaugural that "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution
The South was completely unjustified for seceding from the North. This is because of slavery being unconstitutional, the South’s dependence on the North, and the fact that so few wanted slavery. Slavery was completely unconstitutional. For example, according to document 9, “(T)he fifth amendment to the Constitution...provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, and property without due process of law...which prohibited a citizen from holding and owning property of this kind (slaves)...” These are exact words from the Constitution stating that slavery is illegal and “prohibited” under law.
The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 with a victory for the North. What were the reasons the South lost the war? War is not just fought on the battlefield and that is a big reason the South lost the Civil War. The South was disadvantaged in a lot of ways including economically, demographically, politically and Geographically. The South had a lack of human resources, and lagged behind in technology and education.
This was another issue because as the Constitution did not say those who joined the Union had to stay, it left the door open for seceding. The Union tried very hard to keep the South as they made a series of compromises like the Crittenden Amendements, which would allow them the ability to keep slavery
Many Southerners felt that state governments alone had the right to make important decisions, such as whether slavery should be legal. Advocates of states’ rights believed that the individual state governments had power over the federal government because the states had ratified the Constitution to create the federal government in the first place. Most Southern states eventually seceded from the Union because they felt that secession was the only way to protect their rights. But Abraham Lincoln and many Northerners held that the Union could not be dissolved. The Union victory solidified the federal government’s power over the states and ended the debate over states’
During the war, the South faced poverty and struggled to gain support from foreign countries. The Confederacy was also known for being the rebels. The Confederates seceded because they wanted to hold on to slavery, states’ rights, and political liberty for whites. They thought that the election of Abraham Lincoln threatened their way of living based on slavery. The Confederate’s president was Jefferson Davis, who was from Mississippi.
Two fundamental questions normally surround the history of any war: whether the war was inevitable and if it was necessary. These same questions emerge any time during debates regarding the American Civil war. The most cited cause of the Civil war is the secession of certain southern states that formed the Confederate States of America in January 1861. Thomas Bonner writes "Civil War Historians and the "Needless War" Doctrine" arguing that Southern Carolina seceded in 1860, followed by six other states by January the following year. A deep analysis of the events leading to the war indicates that the Union and the Confederates had profound ideological, economic, political, and social differences.