Old School Presbyterians remained united until after the start of hostilities in the American Civil War. In May 1861, the Old School General Assembly passed the controversial Gardiner Spring Resolutions that called on Presbyterians to support the Federal Government of the United States as a religious duty. Southerners, with support from a minority of Northerners, protested that this action violated the spirituality of the church and required Southerners to commit treason against their home states in order to remain members of the church.