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Why did the South say they had the legal right to secede?
Many maintain that the primary cause of the war was the Southern states’ desire to preserve the institution of slavery. Others minimize slavery and point to other factors, such as taxation or the principle of States’ Rights.
Why didn’t the United states let the South secede?
Lincoln claimed that they did not have that right. He opposed secession for these reasons: 1. Secession would destroy the world’s only existing democracy, and prove for all time, to future Americans and to the world, that a government of the people cannot survive.
Is it unconstitutional for a State to secede?
The Constitution makes no provision for secession. Constitutionally, there can be no such thing as secession of a State from the Union. But it does not follow that because a State cannot secede constitutionally, it is obliged under all circumstances to remain in the Union.
Is it constitutional for a State to secede?
Is secession constitutional Why or why not?
What caused the south to secede from the Union?
The Election of 1860. The proximate cause of the South’s secession was the election of Abraham Lincoln with a Republican majority in 1860. However, in and of itself, secession was a major overreaction to this political setback.
Should South Carolina have the right to secede from the Union?
The right to secede flows from the original process of ratifying the Constitution. That is, if South Carolina voluntarily entered the Union through the process of a ratification convention, they ought to have the right to voluntarily exit the Union through a de-ratification convention.
Should the south have seceded to protect slavery from abolition?
If the reason for seceding was to protect slavery from abolition — then perhaps a better strategy would have been to wait until such an attempt was actually made. Surely at the very least this might have made the Southern cause more sympathetic under the sensibilities of the time.
How many states seceded from the Union?
Lincoln on Secession Soon after Abraham Lincoln was elected to the presidency in November 1860, seven southern states seceded from the Union. Lincoln may have thought the fifth point was the most important.