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The southern secession from the Union increased pressure between the South (Confederacy) and the North (Union). The South’s attempts on withdrawal proved the fact that the South and the North were destined to fall apart after growing tensions between the two sides. For years, historians have been debating the point if the South had the right to secede from the Union. While some historians argue that the South could leave due to legality, others claim that it is a breaking the Constitutional Oath that the states would stay together. The secession of the Confederacy was a primary cause of the civil war.
“This is a union of equal states, and no state can force another state either to remain in it or withdraw from it. ”(C) I hold that… the Union of these States is perpetual… No state upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union. The argument between whether a state could leave the US without permission was one of the main reasons that the Civil War began.
Many other states followed forming the Confederacy. Document Seven describes a message to Congress by Lincoln. He states that the southern states have created a clever deception, that states could peacefully withdraw from the Union without their consent. He goes on to say that many of the states succeeding have never been a state outside of the Union. Thus by them asserting a claim of state rights, without never being a state outside the Union is blasphemy and is just another attempt to destroy the Union.
Even after the civil war, the balance of power between the federal government and state governments was greatly debated. South Carolina, for example, stated in their declaration of secession “...certain duties were imposed upon the several states… which necessarily imperiled their continued existence as sovereign states.” (doc. 1 ) This was written to the federal government to explain why South Carolina was seceding from the Union.
According to Document C, Abraham Lincoln expressed himself saying, “No state upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union.” He did not feel as though Texas should secede from the United
The Civil War began in the United States in 1861, after many years of infuriated pressure amid Northern and Southern states over slavery, states rights and Westward expansion. The acclamation of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, generated seven Southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America; four more states soon united with them. In addition to the disagreement over slavery, many Southern states were convinced that the laws of the individual states should overrule the laws of the federal, or national, government. These Southerners didn’t want the federal government to interfere in their state affairs. They believed that the states reserved the right to reject any federal laws they did not like.
Even though the South was a part of the Union, and was bound by a contract, the South had every right to secede from the Union. Many states of the North has broken the Constitution, therefore the agreement that keeps the Southern states from seceding is broken. The North has also gained overwhelming power over the South in Congress, therefore the Southern states are not equally represented in the Union anymore. According to the tenth Amendment, the rights that are not listed in the Constitution are reserved for the states, and the right to secede is not in the Constitution.
The Texas State Gazette wrote, “ This is a Union of equal states, and no state can force another state either to remain in it or to withdraw from it.” (Document C) This document states that every state has equal rights, and that no state has more power than another state. Also from Document C, Abraham Lincoln stated, “No state upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union.” What Abraham Lincoln meant by this is that no state can just say they are out of the Union.
In the 1860’s South Carolina decided to secede from the union. This caused an uprising of many other states that decided the United States was not working out for them and many others decided to secede too. President Lincoln felt that this violated the Constitution and felt that it was not the states choice whether or not they were part of the union. On the contrary, the states felt that if they joined the union they should be able to leave it, no questions asked.
In the summer of 1787, delegates from 13 new American states, recently British colonies, met in Philadelphia to write a constitution for a unified nation. By September, they had produced a document that then began to circulate among the state legislatures for ratification. The new constitution provided a blueprint for how the national government would function, but it did not contain a section specifically outlining the rights of individual citizens. A public debate quickly arose. Advocates of the draft constitution argued that guarantees of individual rights were not needed.
In 1787, the Constitution of the United States was being written by delegates from 12 states; however, it took several months for the Constitution to be approved in order to replace the Articles of Confederation (Bill of Rights Institute., 2017). After much consideration, the constitution was set up to include three separate powers of government so that they could not have total control. These forms of government included the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The executive branch was created to enforce the laws, the legislative branch created the laws and was the most powerful, and the judiciary determines if the laws were unconstitutional while upholding them.
The free and slave states both shared the power, therefore creating an equal balance in government. But if another state was to enter the Union, it would upset the balance between the states, which could have potentially led to war. In 1850, John C.Calhoun, describes to Congress how by admitting California to the Union the balance between free and slave states will not remain equal. Calhoun states, “With the intention of destroying, irretrievably, the equilibrium between the two sections,” (Document C).
“By use of their power in the federal government have striven to deprive us of an equal enjoyment of the common territories of the republic.” (Declaration). Some states claimed to stay attached to the union in hopes that something would change but since they hadn’t that they would as well secede. “This hostile policy of our Confederates has been pursued with every circumstance of aggravation which could arouse the passions and excite the hatred of our people.”
The Southern states even threatened to secede because of the differences in opinion on slavery. To prevent this, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise in 1820. Missouri joined the Union as a slave state, but in exchange, Maine was admitted as a free state. In addition, all states and lands north of the 36°30’ parallel would be free (except for Missouri). This ‘compromise’ somehow managed to hold America together, but no one was really satisfied.
Do you remember how ecstatic you were when you got your own four-wheeler? You were able to ride up and down the road you lived on. However, you needed to know the safety rules. If you knew the safety rules you wouldn’t have an accident and hurt yourself or others. What would have happened if nobody told you those rules?
