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Chapter 4: Sectionalism and Secession (Primary Documents (South Carolina…
Chapter 4: Sectionalism and Secession
Primary Documents
South Carolina Declares and Justifies Its Secession, December 1860
This document is written to address the rest of the Nation because South Carolina has decided to separate themselves from the Union. It could be said that it is directly written to the Republican group that has taken control of the United States government
This document is full of southern biases but is totally credible because it is the secession document that South Carolina used to dissolve its tie with the Nation
The document directly addresses how the Lincoln administration brought this event of secession because of their abolitionist views
They feel that if they were to stay in the nation under the new administration, they would loose their precious slavery and their individual state rights
They formally declare that they are leaving the Nation and present a list of things they can do as a sovereign nation
Mississippi's Secession Commissioner Urges Georgia to Secede, December 1860
This document argues for Georgia to secede from the Union and is directed at people living in Georgia
This source is very biased to the southern point of view which causes it to be not fully credible but it paints a clear picture of what the South thinks of the North at this time
The secession commissioner starts off by saying that the North is starting a revolution that is against the ideas of the Founding Fathers and there will no longer be any guarantee of property, life, or liberty
This document urges Georgia to secede and says that they have two choices: stay in the union where they will loose their property (slaves) or leave the union and secure their life, liberty, and, most importantly, property.
This document ends with a very racist comment stating that nothing is worse than being seen as equal to African Americans and this is yet another reason that Georgia should secede
Abraham Lincoln Addresses the Issue of Sectionalism, February 1860
Lincoln was directly addressing a New York crowd with this speech but it is directed in general at northerners
Lincoln's position as a Republican does bring bias to this speech but he makes points that are easily backed up and continually proves his ideas
Lincoln claims that the South does not have any patience for Republicans and refuse to even listen to them
The South claims that Republicans are sectionalist but Lincoln refutes this by proving that the founding fathers wanted slavery to end which shows that, in fact, the South is taking the radical trail from the founders of the nation
Lincoln makes it clear that the only new ideas are coming from the South and their plans to expand slavery because the nation was founded on the idea of getting rid of slavery
Lincoln clearly states that the South is the group that is betraying the founding fathers and the young nation, not the Republican party
Ralph Waldo Emerson Condemns the South for the Assault on Charles Sumner, February 1857
This document was directed toward the North to condemn slavery
This is a very radical republican viewpoint and only shows how far the North was willing to go to protect people who supported the dissolve of slavery
This outlines the barbaric nature of slavery and how the North must end this terrible institution. It condemns the actions of the South and how they treat Northerners that advocate for abolition
The document also talks about Senator Sumner and his character and seems to question why Southerners would attack such a good man with strong character who just felt the need to speak his ideas on abolition
Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens Identifies "The Cornerstone of the Confederacy," March 1861
This speech was given to clarify the "cornerstone" of the seceded states to those states and their men
This speech is very bias but presents ideas that were facts to southerners whom make up the audience
Stephens starts off by saying that the founders wanted slavery to be at the forefront of the nation
Stevens claims that African Americans will not and never be equal to white men and because the Union is questioning this idea, which is why southern states have seceded
Secondary Essays
The Political Ideology of Secession in South Carolina by Manisha Sinah
While there is often question of whether or not the founding fathers supported slavery, the South felt that it was vital to the nation
Slavery promotes stability in southern society which made southerners overlook the morality of it
The South rejected modern society because modern ideas were not centered around slavery
South felt that to keep white liberty, African American people must stay enslaved
The South took on very anti-democratic and anti-republic views which lead them to disunion
The South's secession was decided by the elite plantation and slave owners only but the lower classes supported their decisions
The South seceded mainly due to their proslavery and Constitutional views which they felt they could not give up
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The Crisis of American Nationality by Susan-Mary Grant
After the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the North became more unified and were inherently mad at the South
Before this point, the South had been the only unified part of the nation because of their common goal of keeping slavery alive
Southern ways threatened the northern style of life because their ideals were opposite
When a free-soiler got elected to be the speaker of the house, it showed that the North and republicanism was gaining momentum
The North spread their ideas on what it meant to be American which created a sectional split across the nation
When the North went through a period of religious revival, the anti-slave movement grew
The unity of the South threatened the North, especially in Congress and government in general
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