TO THE EDITOR:
The South seceded from the Union because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and his opposition to the extension of slavery into the western territories. They seceded in order to maintain the institution of slavery.
Alexander Stephens, the CSA Vice President, gave a speech called “The Cornerstone Address” in which he stated that the slavery was the cornerstone of the Union. He proclaimed, “African slavery as it exists among us — the proper status of the Negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution.”
It seems as if there is no need for debate — a top ranking official of the rebel government stated the reason for secession. Furthermore, John C. Calhoun, whose arguments the South invoked, gave a speech in the Senate arguing that slavery was a positive good. The South Carolina Secession Declaration is full of mentions of slavery.
If we are to believe anything the Confederates said, we must believe that the protection of slavery was the reason for secession. It always strikes me as ironic how people can say with a straight face that secession was an attempt to thwart an oppressive government, as if the Confederates weren’t responsible for the enslavement of over three million human beings. The 13th Amendment went into effect in 1865. Within five years of secession, slavery in America was abolished. The South seceded primarily to protect slavery. The belief that they seceded for any other reason ought to be abolished as well.
Keith Pulling
Freshman
History
