southern secession from the unionWhat was the reasons for Southern secession from the Union?

Under what conditions could war been avoided? How and why was the South defeated?
Of the 11 states that seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America, four published official declarations of their reasons for seceding. All four of them said that they were seceding to protect the institution of slavery and to uphold the ideal of white superiority and black inferiority. There is no question that the other seven secessionist states agreed with that racist, pro-slavery thinking.

"Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery," said Mississippi's secession declaration.

Georgia declared, "For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our non-slave-holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery."

South Carolina justified its secession on the basis of "an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slsouthern secession from the unionaveholding States to the institution of slavery."

Texas declared that it was committed to "maintaining and protecting the institution known as n*gro slavery -- the servitude of the African to the white race."

In his famous "cornerstone speech," Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens said that the Declaration of Independence had been wrong to say that all men are created equal: "Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the n*gro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition."

As the United States expanded westward in the 1800s, the most heated controversy between the North and South was the issue of slavery in the new Western territories. Think of any divisive issue today -- the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, gay marriage, nationsouthern secession from the unional health care. The slavery issue was much, much more divisive back then.

Southern slave states wanted slavery in the new territories so that those territories would eventually become slave states and send pro-slavery Senators and Representatives to Congress. (Also, since importing slaves from Africa had been outlawed, slaveowners in the new territories would have had to buy slaves bred on Southern plantations. That would have been extremely profitable for the slave states.)

When Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, running on a platform that opposed slavery in the territories, Southern states began seceding from the Union.

You can read the full texts of the secession declarations here:



You can read the "cornerstone speech" here:


Great answer!!! Thank you. Too bad that not enough people read the original documents.