SOUTH CAROLINA SECESSION

South Carolina Secession

South Carolina Secession

Introduction

The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in November 1860 was the last straw for white South Carolinians, who felt the ascendance of Lincoln's Republican Party threatened the institution of slavery. On December 24 delegates from the South Carolina secession convention signed the "Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union." Modeled on the Declaration of Independence, this document explains South Carolina's reasons for seceding. According to the delegates, the northern states have undermined the strength of the Union by passing laws prohibiting the ...