Why did the Southern states secede?

orientated, supporting the rights of individual states to run their own affairs. The contentious issue of slavery had many implications. The South depended economically on the institution. There was one industry - cotton - due to the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney (ironically a northerner) in 1793 which made cotton production very profitable. Profits soared making slavery an even greater institution. Between 1800 and 1860, the number of slaves increased from one to four miliion - this was despite slave importation being banned in 1808. The South was dependent on this one industry which depended on slavery, without slaves the southern economy would collapse. The Northern economy did not rely on slavery, they had an industrial base. It became easier for Northerners therefore to accept the moral arguments against slavery because it was unlikely that they would be affected economically by its abolition. As the protestant religion spread in the North - a religion which believed in equality, Abolitionists began to more strongly argue for the abolition of slavery on moral grounds. The problem which confronted every American was racism. The thought of four million negros having equal rights and being able to marry their daughters scared many Americans, especially those in the South. Southerners who did not agree with slavery were still racist, Hinton R. Helper who attacked slavery in his book 'The Impending Crisis.' (1857) despised the negro to the point of fighting for the South. Two key events brought slavery onto the agenda, the first was a book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' (1852) which told the story of a fugitive slave and the general brutality of the slave system. It can be argued that it opened many Americans eyes that such an institution could exist in a country which professed itself to be the most democratic and free. From this book, anti- slavery snowballed from a racial issue to a nation one. The second key event was the raid on the Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia in October 1859 by John Brown. Brown planned to take the arsenal, call slaves from the local area and establish a free state before marching south. His mission failed, no slaves joined him and after a three day seige, Federal troops under the command of General Robert E. Lee captured him and he was hanged for treason on December 2nd. Brown was held as a martyr by anti-slavery groups in the north. Brown showed the country that people were prepared to fight for slave rights and the South would defend themselves. By now, the war was inevitable and was only a matter of time, the ideas and reasons behind each sides arguments were now so deeply entrenched that only war could result. William Lloyd Garrison commented,"In firing his gun, John Brown has merely told what time of day it is. it is high noon, thank God". John Brown also knew this, at his execution, he handed a note to the executioner which read "I, John Brown, am certain that the crimes of this land will never be purged away but with blood." The South saw the issue of slavery as a states rights issue. They believed it was just another attempt by the Federal government ( a government based in the northern city of Washington ) to force them to conform. Southerners strongly believed in their states' culture and disapproved of external interference. They also held all their allegiances to their state and not the Union, Alexander Stephens, a southern congressman against seccession typified many southerners sentiments, "My native land, my country - the only one that is country to me is Georgia". Before the war, "My country" meant "My state" to many southerners. For thirty years before the war, many southerners had been well educated in states rights, they were seen as a constitutional safeguard against the stronger, larger northern states. The right to self determination to the point of secession was strongly guarded by southern politicians. The North was not so state orientated and failed to recognise the southern alliegences before the war begun. This argument can be seen to have parallels with the demands for independence from Britain. The South did not want to be ruled by a government based in a state which had a different culture and could be argued to be unrepresentative of their rights. It can also be argued that this was a major flaw in the Souths' attempt to secede, the Union fought as a co-ordinated army, the Confederates fought as State armies and so were not so unified. The idea of a separate Confederate state on equal terms to the Union was unfeasible until the 1830s with the Mexican acqusitions. The large area of territory acquired, particulary Texas gave the idea more realism. This idea was a threat to the Union, there was therefore much debate as to what 'ideology' these new states should take. This came to the forefront in the 1850s. It was decided to allow the people of Kansas to vote on whether they wanted a free or slave state. This caused a violent civil war between the two factions which lasted for ten years, these intentions could be seen as early as 1854. It was to be the first place where their was fighting over slavery, it showed each sides intentions and commitment.