Elections occur in early November. South Carolina seceded in December.dubbs wrote:
So if what you are saying is true, then why did the first state succeed before Lincoln was elected? South Carolina succeeded in 1860,UGADawgs wrote:
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You did the exact thing that I mentioned. You talk about "well, the states wanted more power than the federal government," and this is true, but you continually dance around exactly what they wanted more power over. The predominant political issues throughout the early 19th century were slaves and tariffs. The South was directly threatened by its loss of Congressional power due to the admission of free states. Once Lincoln, who was at the least unfriendly to slavery, was elected, the South knew its slave days were over. The South already knew that the Republicans wanted to stop slavery from going into the territories, and they knew it'd only be a matter of time before they attacked slavery in the South. Why do you think the states seceded right after Lincoln's election? They knew that with Lincoln's election, the South had lost its political power. Now certainly this extended to other issues like tariffs, but slavery was undeniably one of the major reasons why the South seceded.
You may be right in that the war wasn't fought to end slavery at the onset, but the slavery issue was one of (if not the) dividing factors leading up to the Civil War.Wikipedia's CSA article wrote:
Seven states seceded by February 1861:
South Carolina (December 20, 1860),
Mississippi (January 9, 1861),
Florida (January 10, 1861),
Alabama (January 11, 1861),
Georgia (January 19, 1861),
Louisiana (January 26, 1861),
Texas (February 1, 1861).
After Lincoln called for troops, four more states seceded:
Virginia (April 17, 1861);
Arkansas (May 6, 1861),
Tennessee (May 7, 1861).
North Carolina (May 20, 1861)As you see there were seven states that suceeded before Lincoln took office in March of 1861. Also, South Carolina suceeded before the elections even took place, and only a month after Lincoln stated that he would again run for president. Also the later of the four listed about, only suceeded when Lincoln stated that he was going to send troops to attack the rebellion in the South. This had nothing to do with slavery, at all. The Upper South, as they are called, refused to send troops there. This was after Lincoln stated that he would not send troops into the states that suceeded during his inaugural address (shown below).Wikipedia's Lincoln article wrote:
The seven Confederate states seceded before Lincoln took officeThey suceeded, once again because of states rights. They thought that there should not be a war, and refused to send troops to combat the Southern states that suceeded.Abe Lincoln wrote:
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you.... You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it."
Once all of the states suceeded there were only for Union forts that remained in the South, and the South attacked them to take them over, thus the Civil War started.
Slavery may have been on of the minor reasons that lead to the war, but not the true cause for the war as others have stated. I would say, as you stated, tariffs were more of an issue then slavery. The South felt that they were being over taxed, just to help the North, and that the North was doing nothing to assist them. The issue about states joining Union having the right to choose to be slavery or anti-slavery, was an issue that lead to the war also. This was because the North was trying to force states to choose, not allowing them. Thus, leads to everyone thinking the issue was about slavery.
On a different note: The person who stated that Lincoln owned slaves, needs to really look at history a little more in depth. Lincoln's family was poor when he was growing up, thus not being able to have the money to own slaves. He family had to move from Kentucky to Indiana due to them not able so support themselves in Kentucky. He also was against owning slaves, which is why he help create the Republican Party. This fact itself shows that you are incorrect in you assumption.
I already said that the actual fighting took place over rights to secession. I know that. But the underlying cause of the war was mostly about slavery.
Again, you just sweep under the rug 70 years of compromises and political maneuvering around the issue of slavery. Slavery was not "a minor issue," as you claim. The whole issue of balancing slave states and free states had been paramount ever since the country was created. Until California, the South knew that it could still balance out the free states. However, once they forever lost the opportunity to outnumber the North in Congress, they turned to the presidency to keep power. Lincoln's election signaled the end of political power for the South. I find it hilarious that you even admit that slavery was the main issue dealing with states' rights, yet you then ignore slavery. Slavery was the issue that drove the South to secession. Other things had influence, but the impending threats against slavery, capped by the election of Lincoln, were the final straws for the Deep South. The other states seceded and the fighting began over right to secession, but it is undeniable that the South created a pro-slave government because it felt that the US government would not protect slavery interests.
