We dive into the secession winter of 1860-1861 when politicians sacrificed unity and stability for personal power. The story of secession cannot be defined as simply an abolitionist versus slaveholders story. There were many factions of people in between the two extremes who were anti-slavery, deportationists, and everywhere in between. It was not as cut and dry as many historians tend to argue.

Who were the “fire-eaters”? What were the differences between the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the Confederate States of America? Was the election of 1860 the reason that secession conventions were held?

Further Reading:

Freehling, William W. The Road to Disunion, Vol. I: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854. New York: Oxford University Press. 1990. The Road to Disunion, Vol. II: Secessionists Triumphant, 1854-1861. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007.

Channing, Steven. Crisis of Fear: Secession in South Carolina. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1970.

Thomas, Emory. The Confederate Nation: 1861-1865. New York: Harper & Row. 1979.

Related Content:

Why Did the Southern States Secede?, written by Anthony Comegna

Conflicts Among Peace Advocates during the Civil War, written by George H. Smith

Who Killed Jefferson(ianism)?, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

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