the first southern state seceded from the union on december 20, 1860.
the first southern state seceded from the union on december 20, 1860.
when did the first southern state secede from the union?
december 20 , 1860
in 1850, southern extremists had called the nashville convention in an attempt to organize the simultaneous secession of southern states. in 1860, pro-secession leaders pursued a state-by-state strategy, hoping to trigger a chain reaction by leading states to secede one-by-one. a minority of leaders in the deep south, including alexander stephens, opposed secession before lincoln made a move that would threaten slavery in the southern states. however, the wide popularity of secession in the deep south precluded delay until after lincoln took office. as congress scrambled to devise a compromise acceptable to north and south, the first southern state seceded. south carolina, long the most radical southern state, declared its secession on december 20, 1860. the state ordnance of secession accused the north of having "assumed the right to decide upon the propriety of our domestic institutions" and also declared that the republican party believed that "a war must be waged against slavery until it shall cease throughout the united states." after declaring its own secession, south carolina sent commissioners to the other southern states. by february 1, 1861, another six states had seceded. conventions in mississippi, louisiana, and florida overwhelmingly voted to secede, while unionists in alabama and georgia put up a stronger, but still unsuccessful, fight. in a referendum, two-thirds of texans also voted to secede, despite the opposition of long-time texas leader sam houston. the other eight slave states rejected secession, though north carolina, virginia, tennessee, and arkansas would later secede during lincoln's presidency. the seceded states organized into the confederate states of america, and jefferson davis was elected as the confederacy's first president on february 9.
presidency of james buchanan
the culture of the carolinas is a distinct subset of larger southern culture. notably, the coastal carolina region was settled by europeans over a century before the inland regions of the south, and was influenced by the culture of the caribbean, especially barbados; many of the early governors during the unified period were barbadians. though the two states both form part of the south, there are historically a number of differences in the settlement patterns, political development, and economic growth of the two states. for example, during the civil war, south carolina was the first southern state to secede from the union, while north carolina was the last state to secede. when north carolina did secede, it did so largely because north carolinians refused to provide the federal government men to fight against their sister state, or to allow them passage through north carolina to make war on south carolina.
the carolinas