The South Secedes
Vanesa Medel
Joseph Pantoja
History 11
May 1, 2014
South Secedes Even though things were already coming to a head, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, South Carolina issued its “Declaration of the Causes of Secession.” They believed that Lincoln was anti-slavery and in favor of Northern interests. Before Lincoln was even president, seven states had seceded from the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. By this time, South Carolina’s two United States Senators had submitted their resignations. On December 20, 1860, under the name of ‘The United States of America’ South Carolina’s legislature enacted an ordinance that the union now subsisting between South Carolina was declared dissolved. This meant that they alone formed a union. One reason why the Southern states were pushed over the brink was because of anti-south tariffs. With Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton became very profitable. This machine was able to reduce the time it took to separate seeds from the cotton. However, at the same time the increase in the number of plantations willing to move from other crops to cotton meant the greater need for a large amount of cheap labor, which meant slaves. The southern economy became a one crop economy, depending on cotton and therefore on slavery. On the other hand, the northern economy was based more on industry than agriculture. In fact, the northern industries were purchasing the raw cotton and turning it into finished goods. This disparity between the two set up a major difference in economic attitudes. The South was based on the plantation system while the North was focused on city life. This change in the North meant that society evolved as people of different cultures and classes had to work together. On the other hand, the South continued to hold onto an antiquated social order.
Another reason that pushed the Southern states over the brink was because of the structural government.
Joseph Pantoja
History 11
May 1, 2014
South Secedes Even though things were already coming to a head, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, South Carolina issued its “Declaration of the Causes of Secession.” They believed that Lincoln was anti-slavery and in favor of Northern interests. Before Lincoln was even president, seven states had seceded from the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. By this time, South Carolina’s two United States Senators had submitted their resignations. On December 20, 1860, under the name of ‘The United States of America’ South Carolina’s legislature enacted an ordinance that the union now subsisting between South Carolina was declared dissolved. This meant that they alone formed a union. One reason why the Southern states were pushed over the brink was because of anti-south tariffs. With Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin in 1793, cotton became very profitable. This machine was able to reduce the time it took to separate seeds from the cotton. However, at the same time the increase in the number of plantations willing to move from other crops to cotton meant the greater need for a large amount of cheap labor, which meant slaves. The southern economy became a one crop economy, depending on cotton and therefore on slavery. On the other hand, the northern economy was based more on industry than agriculture. In fact, the northern industries were purchasing the raw cotton and turning it into finished goods. This disparity between the two set up a major difference in economic attitudes. The South was based on the plantation system while the North was focused on city life. This change in the North meant that society evolved as people of different cultures and classes had to work together. On the other hand, the South continued to hold onto an antiquated social order.
Another reason that pushed the Southern states over the brink was because of the structural government.