I was wondering, why did the South seceded?

Question

I mean, why on 1861?? what, in the view of confederate politicians, precipitated the declaration of independence for the South?? They were unprepared to confront the Union, so why did the hurry up so much??? Of course there is the issue of slavery, but Lincoln didn't abolish it until 1863 (Emancipation Proclamation). There were also different views on what the US should be, a Union, or a Federation of soveriegn states, there was an economic clash between the industrial north and the agrarian South, and the issue of expanding slavery to new states, but none of those matters should have prompted the South to engage in a war so steadily. I mean, the northerners want to abolish black slavery just to have cheap labour force for their industries, they were not thinking of equality or civil rights, or as Lincoln himself said: "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races" So, why the South couldnt just wait?

Answer 1

It was the election of Lincoln

Answer 2

Well done Gustavo!

With each expansion of US territory there were applications for statehood.  Because the South was already outnumbered and out represented in Congress; their only hope was to stay even in the Senate.

Why was this a concern?  The North was a growing industrial power.  They were trying to compete on the world market for manufactured goods.  They (North) using their clout in the government, they would apply export duties on Southern goods to subsidize Northern manufacturing.   When it looked like they would lose their ability to have an even shot in the Senate, South Carolina seceeded.  This started a whole cascade of events leading to the American Civil War.

Answer 3

They had already waited. Many famous U.S. Senators such as Daniel Webster and Thomas Hart Benton sacrificed political success, party recognition, and popularity amongst the people in order to stick to their morals, Preserve the Union, and delay an inevitable Civil war. The great Compromise of 1850 was done in order to keep war and secession at bay, and it worked for a while. So, the south was on the verge of secession for years, and already had been waiting! Read JFK's Profiles in Courage for some more information on the topic.

Answer 4

Hold it! The issue that brought the South to secede from the Union  WAS NOT slavery,but STATES RIGHTS. You had thirteen anti federal states trying to become thirteen allied countries. This had been long and coming  since the beginning of the 1800's,especially during the Amistad incident when a boatload of Negroes were found of the coast of Massachusettes in 1839  and it had been discovered that the slaves had killed their Spanish masters.

It couldn't be decided if these slaves were property or not. And if they were,who was the owner(s)? The case went before the Supreme Court and almost ended up causing a civil war then.

If the South had gotten organized first,THEN seceded,it might have had a fighting chance. But with a limited mail system,no central government,and no way to enforce tax collection to pay for an army and navy(each state had a "looking out for our own" way of thinking) and with a limited railway system ,there was no way to succeed.

Answer 5

If I remember correctly what I learned in history it was that the south feared thier way of life was threatened and so they seceeded to preserve thier independance as states over a more powerful federal goverment.