The South's Secession
Divided America During the Antebellum/Civil War Period
From December of 1860 to May of 1861, as a result of the conflict caused by various events during the antebellum period, the Southern states and territories seceded from the North, forming the Confederate States of America.
- 11 states that seceded from the Union: Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia
- 24 states that remained in the Union: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oregon, California, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, West Virginia (which had been a territory of Virginia until 1863 of the Civil War), Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland
- Out of those 24 Union states, 5 (West Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland) were border states
- Border states were part of the Union, yet allowed slavery
Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy
"I rise, Mr. President, for the purpose of announcing to the Senate that I have satisfactory evidence that the State of Mississippi, by a solemn ordinance of her people, in convention assembled, has declared her separation from the United States. Under these circumstances, of course, my functions are terminated here. It has seemed to me proper, however, that I should appear in the Senate to announce that fact to my associates, and I will say but very little more. The occasion does not invite me to go into argument; and my physical condition would not permit me to do so, if it were otherwise; and yet it seems to become me to say something on the part of the State 1 here represent on an occasion as solemn as this."
-Jefferson Davis, Farewell speech to U.S. Congress
-Jefferson Davis, Farewell speech to U.S. Congress
Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy
"For this your Constitution makes adequate provision; but beyond this, if I mistake not the judgment and will of the people, a reunion with the States from which we have separated is neither practicable nor desirable. To increase the power, develop the resources, and promote the happiness of a confederacy, it is requisite that there should be so much of homogeneity that the welfare of every portion shall be the aim of the whole. Where this does not exist, antagonisms are engendered which must and should result in separation."
-Jefferson Davis Inaugural Address
-Jefferson Davis Inaugural Address
