1. Southern Secession
Goal: Examine the reasoning behind the South’s secession from the United States.

2. Southern Secession
Southern states believed they had the right to secede (states’ rights)
Many Southerners supported secession (breaking away from the Union) and believed they were justified in doing so
To them, the government broke the contract they had (Constitution) and therefore, the South was free to leave

3. Attempting to Prevent
Crittenden Compromise: Senator John Crittenden’s last ditch effort to save the Union
Included protection of slavery in the South
Rejected by North and South

4. Secession
First Wave: South Carolina begins secession, 6 other states follow (Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana)
Second Wave: Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee join after the Siege of Fort Sumter.
These states come together to form the Confederate States of
America (CSA) (think Articles of Confederation type government)
Border States: slave states that remained in the Union

5. Fort Sumter Fort Sumter: Union fort in Charleston, South Carolina
Confederacy demanded the forts surrender
The fort was low on supplies and needed help from Lincoln, which he sends
Jefferson Davis (Confederate President) orders troops to attack and take the fort
They succeed and force Lincoln to issue a call for troops from the Union to go to war