The Secession of Southern States: Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia
Prior to the Civil War, many southern states had been actively expressing their dissatisfaction with the Federal Government, regarding their rights as slave owners. Among their chief complaints were that the government was destroying the southern states economic security by hindering their ability to continue to live as they had been--using slave labor for their cotton production. The southern state’s dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s perceived intrusion finally reached the precipice of no return, and secession from the Union, was to them the only solution.
The first state to declare itself independent from the Union was South Carolina, citing violations of the Constitution by the Federal Government. However, South Carolina had held state assemblies regarding the possibility of secession as early as ten years prior to the start of the Civil War. But, it was not until December of 1860 that South Carolina officially declared itself independent from the Union--issuing a Declaration of Causes citing its reasons. Mississippi followed suit a few weeks later in early January of 1861, then Georgia in late January, and Texas on the first of February. However Virginia waited until five days after the Civil War had already begun before issuing its own Declaration of Causes and taking the step to secede from the Union.
South Carolina, being the first to secede, issued a lengthy Declaration of Causes that made it clear slavery, and the right to slaves as property, was their chief concern in their decision to secede. However, in their declaration, they pointed to several different causes that led to their secession, going all the way back to the Declaration of Independence. South Carolina argued the legality of the deprivation of slave property, based on the Declaration stating the states within the colonies were “free and independent states” that held the right to do all “things which independent states may of right do” (South Carolina). South Carolina further pointed out that the Declaration made it clear that if the government became destructive, it would be up to the people to change or abolish it. To them, this was enough to give the state the legal
right to secede if necessary. Additionally, according to South Carolina, the compact that existed between the States and the Government determined that powers, not specifically delegated or prohibited by the Constitution, were left up to the states to decide. Within that compact stood a provision, under the fourth article, that individuals held in service to labor in a state would have that person returned to them if they fled to another state--the Fugitive Slave Law. Therefore, when Northern states such as Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, and others, passed laws that went directly against that provision of the Constitution, denying the right of Southern states to have their slave property returned to them, according to South Carolina, the state was released from their obligations to the compact.
South Carolina stood firm in their argument that Government had broken the contract first, releasing them from their duty to maintain their end. Since, according to South Carolina, the Federal Government was becoming destructive to their economic security through the actions of non-slaveholding states. And since the Federal Government had broken its compact with the state, and in the states view, had become destructive to its own people, South Carolina had no choice but to secede.
Georgia, seceding a month after South Carolina (right behind Mississippi), issued their own Declaration of Causes. Georgia also pointed to the agreement that existed between its state and the Federal
Government by recalling the 1783 treaty with Great Britain, in which they pointed out that land obtained from Great Britain, France, and Spain had been uniformly obtained, and as a result of that uniform acquisition, all immigrants to the new territory and their property, which included slaves, were protected. They further pointed out that once enough migrants had settled in an area, and the area qualified for statehood, that the southern states were “admitted into the Union upon equal terms” with the states already in existence (Georgia). Therefore, to Georgia, the Federal Government had from the beginning recognized and protected their property (slaves), and had only recently begun their endeavor to limit slavery where it had previously existed. The line of division that ran across the country, dividing the states into slave holding and non-slave holding was also an issue for the state of Georgia. Georgia
contended that, beginning with the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery north of the 36 degree and 30 minutes north line, the Federal Government had set forth the dissolution of the Union all on their own. Georgia contended that if the line had not been drawn, which led to chastisement of their way of life, the Fugitive Slave Law would not have been met with such hostility from the Northern States, and blatant disregard for the return of their slave property would not have exacerbated to such a point of contention. South Carolina also made note of the “geographical line” that had been drawn across the nation was a source of irritation for southern states, as well as the Northern States disregard for the Fugitive Slave Law. (South Carolina). The state of Georgia made it clear in their Declaration of Causes that the election of Lincoln in 1860 was the tipping point, because they saw Lincoln as wholly anti-slavery, and they believed that with his election that slavery would be abolished in all states.
That sentiment was also held by South Carolina who believed that upon Lincoln's inauguration a war would ensue against the slave holding states, by the non-slave holding states, throughout the United States, until slavery no longer existed. Georgia’s Declaration of Causes made it abundantly clear that slaves were nothing more than property, albeit valuable property worth at least three billion, but nonetheless they were property, and as such there could never be “equality of the black and white races” as professed by Northern States (Georgia).
Mississippi, being the second state to secede, made it abundantly clear in their own Declaration of Causes that the promotion of “negro equality, socially and politically” was something they just could not abide by (Mississippi). Mississippi argued that the Northern
States intentions were solely to cause injury to the slave holding states, citing, much like Georgia, that the Federal Government and the Northern States had broken the compact to return fugitive slaves as per the Fugitive Slave Law--going so far as to state the government had broken every contract it entered into with the state. It further argued that by prohibiting, and limiting the expansion of slavery, the Federal Government was directly seeking to destroy their commerce, civilization, and the equality of the South, which like Georgia, they argued had existed since the country’s inception. Mississippi's Declaration of Causes painted the state, and all of the southern slave holding states, as martyrs by making the case that their state had suffered hostility from every angle. Mississippi accused the free states of the Union of causing a social war against them by using the power of the pulpit, schools, and the press in order to incite anger and prejudice against southern slave holding states. Ironically, Mississippi's own Declaration consisted of prejudiced language against slaves, stating that the black race was the only race fit to bear exposure to the sun, and that equality among races was not possible or
permissible. Regardless, they pointed out that the incitement against slavery had caused such hatred towards citizens in the state that it had led to individuals from the Union physically attacking individuals in slave holding states, burning their homes and businesses. Mississippi further pointed out that, like Georgia and South Carolina, there was no assistance for them from the government in dealing with such attacks. However, unlike Georgia and South Carolina, Mississippi expressly stated that it did not view secession as a choice, legal or otherwise, but as a necessity. If the state did not secede, in their view, they would have to “submit to degradation” and lose property (slaves) worth billions of dollars (Mississippi).
Texas, like Mississippi, stated in its Declaration of Causes that secession was determined by necessity, rather than choice. Having decided to secede after the successive secession of six states prior, Texas found itself in a position where it had to decide between
staying in connection with the North, or join its sister slave holding states in the south, through secession. Even though Texas seceded, finding itself in a predicament, the state still had plenty of issues of their own which inspired them to secede. Texas made it abundantly clear in their Declaration that it felt the United States, and each individual states, governments were “established exclusively by the white race” (Texas). Such statements, much like those of Mississippi, made it clear that slaves were not only viewed as property, but as less than human, and certainly less than the white man. Similar to Mississippi, Texas also believed the proper place for the “African race” was in servitude, and that equality, such as the North wanted, would be disastrous economically as well as socially (Texas).
The state of Texas also had a quam with the Federal Government that was unique from the other states by virtue of it having formerly been part of Mexico, and becoming the Republic of Texas, an independent nation, prior to joining the United States--something which no other slave holding state could attest. So, by that virtue, Texas was particularly vexed about having given up their independence as a sovereign nation to join the United States, only to then, in their opinion, be attacked and have their way of life threatened. Much like the arguments of Georgia and South Carolina, Texas pointed out that slavery had existed in their region since the beginning, and that the state was admitted into the Union as a commonwealth holding that maintained and protected slavery. Texas, like all other states that preceded it in secession, viewed the Federal Government as actively trying to exclude and destroy its state through its active and passive efforts regarding the issue of slaves. Texas, like Georgia, took issue with the Federal Government failing to protect the
state from various attacks; however, Texas, unlike the other states, specifically pointed out the Federal Government's failure to protect the states citizens from being attacked, not only by Northern citizens, but “Indian savages” to the West and South of them as well as bandits from the Mexican territory (Texas). The state claimed that the government and Northern states had encouraged murderous organizations to to murder innocent citizens, burn their homes, and arm slaves. The state of Texas felt it was being attacked on all sides, literally and figuratively. The Fugitive Slave Law was another point of issue for the state of Texas. Like Georgia, and other seceding states, Texas pointed out that the Northern states has passed laws prohibiting the return of escaped slaves, which Texas viewed solely as property. Therefore, as far as Texas was concerned, the Northern states were keeping Texas from their property. Much like Mississippi had pointed out in their own Declaration of Causes, Texas pointed to the “seeds of discord” that had been sown against slave-holding states by using the press and pamphlets--discord that led to physical violence against Southern citizens (Texas). Texas lamented that the slave-holding states rights were being stripped away, they were receiving less than equal representation in government, and that the government had also failed to vote for appropriations that would protect Texas against savages.
The final straw for Texas, similar to Georgia, was the election of 1860. Texas contended that it had suffered physical attacks from all sides, and attacks on its way of life, therefore, with the election of an anti-slavery President, Texas did not see its situation becoming any better, and secession was its only choice.
Although Virginia did not secede from the Union until five days after the Civil War had already begun, it nonetheless issued its own Declaration of Causes regarding the reasons it chose to secede. Virginia’s Declaration was short and simple compared to the previous states, and provided a simple explanation as to why they chose to secede and what legal means they felt afforded them the ability to secede.
The state of Virginia simply stated that it sought to repeal the ratification of the Constitution, and in doing so sought to resume all the rights and independence granted to an independent State, no longer bound by the Union (Virginia). Their Declarations pointed to the fact that any powers granted under the Constitution existed merely because the people had given the powers of themselves. By that token, Virginia declared that the same rights that gave power to the Constitution, could also remove them. The state accused the Federal Government of causing injury to the state of Virginia as their reason for succession; however, their Declaration of Causes stated that the “oppression of the Southern Slave-holding States” was also a reason for secession. Making it clear that for Virginia, like the other seceding states, slavery, and the right to have slave labor, was the main cause for secession.
Each seceding states Declaration of Causes laid out their reasons for secession in different terms; however, they all held the chief complaint that the Federal Government had failed to honor their constitutional rights, as laid out in the Constitution. With the chief concern being protection over the rights of property, namely slave property. Georgia went so far as to accuse the Federal Government of purposely trying to weaken the states security through their refusal to “comply with their express constitutional obligations” (Georgia). Georgia not only held issue with the Federal Government supporting legislation that deprived them of their rights to slave property, but also accused the Federal Government of inciting violence upon the citizens of the state through anti-slavery legislation, and failure to protect citizens from that violence.
Georgia cited violence, murder, and in one instance invasion, that had came upon its citizens at the hands of citizens in the Northern States. They further accused the government of protecting the murderers after they had fled to the North. Texas similarly accused the government of a passive sabotage by pointing out that the government failed to assist in protecting Texas “against ruthless savages” purely because it was a slave-holding state (Texas). Texas was particularly miffed that they had given up their individual status and joined the Union, only to be treated, in their opinion, unfairly and poorly. In South Carolina’s 1852 convention, it expressly accused the Federal Government of encroaching upon the states rights, and denying the “right of property in slaves” (South Carolina). Mississippi likewise held issue with the Federal Government supporting legislation that
deprived them of their rights to slave property, which supported their way of life financially, and made it absolutely clear that their “position [was] thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery” (Mississippi). Mississippi, like Georgia, cited the invasion of their state by Northern citizens, who physically attacked them and burned their homes. By the time Virginia seceded the Civil War was in full swing, therefore their Declaration of Causes simply stated the Federal Government had perverted their powers and in doing so injured Virginia and oppressed the rest of the Southern slave-holding states--that was enough for them to secede. Not to mention Virginia was situated closer to the Northern and border states, than the deep south states like Georgia and Mississippi, that decided upon immediate secession. Their geographical position gave Virginia additional time to consider secession, although they ultimately decided to secede.
Even though each state held a particular grievance against the Federal Government, they all held firm in their conviction that the Federal Government had failed in their duties to the Constitution, either through encroachment, failure to protect, passive incitement of violence, or removal of their rights to slave property through legislation. The south had built itself upon the institution of race based slavery from inception, using African slaves to sow, tend, and reap cotton crops. With each crop sold, the Southern slaveholders bought more land and more slaves, to farm more cotton.
So entwined was the Southern economy with slavery, that for them, the removal of slavery was equal to destruction of their economy, and even their very lives. So, when talk began of limiting slavery’s expansion, the south took it as a direct insult akin to telling people in the south they would be limited on their successfulness. And when talk of abolition began shortly after, the southern slave-holding states saw it as a direct attack--one which they had no choice but directly answer through secession, especially after the election of 1860--and so began the Civil War.
Works Cited
“Georgia.” The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States, Civil War Trust, 2018, www.civilwar.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states.
“Mississippi.” The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States, Civil War Trust, 2018, www.civilwar.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states.
“South Carolina.” The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States, Civil War Trust, 2018, www.civilwar.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states.
“Texas.” The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States, Civil War Trust, 2018, www.civilwar.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states.
“Virginia..” The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States, Civil War Trust, 2018, www.civilwar.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states.
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