Tyler Varley There were a few causes of the secession of the eleven southern states out of the United
States. Though there has been much confusion over which events were the actual causes for their secession. The many existing differences between the northern states and the southern states made it almost impossible to function as a nation. After multiple events it was only a matter of time before the southern states took action. The idea of slavery was what divided the northern and the southern states into two separate unions. According to Document 1, the issue that continued to separate these two halves of our country was the idea of the allowance of slavery in new territories. Neither side was willing to compromise on this issue, so tensions grew stronger. Then Henry Clay drew up what is known as the Missouri Compromise. This prohibited slavery north of the parallel 36°30° north. “Northerns hate us now, and they teach their children in their schools and churches to hate our children. . . (Document 2).” This Mississippi politician was trying to advocate secession by showing how the north was accumulating power. The southerners became intimidated and uncomfortable. This is yet another example of the tension growing between the north and the south. Also, this excerpt shows more examples of the division between the north and the south.
According to Document 4, a bulk of President Lincoln’s votes came from the north and the north east. This is because the people in those regions opposed slavery. After the election of Abraham
Lincoln, the north gains even more power, and shortly after, the civil war begins.
In the events approaching the big split in autumn 1860, a lot went down. According to
George Templeton Strong in Document 5, two systems could not coexist because if slaves were allowed to enter our own free labor must be excluded from it. These events include the
California Compromise, repeal of Missouri Compromise, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.
The election of Abraham Lincoln was the last straw in forcing the southern states to take action and secede. According to Document 6, “…All of the States north of that line have united in the election of a man tof President of the United States whose opinion and purposes are hostile to
