The troops then confronted the revenue cutter U.S.S. Both sides in the Civil War regarded these eleven states and territory as de facto seceding. This act to take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Fugitive Slave Act 1850. Many were cooperationists who either leaned against seceding or favored a more moderate path out of the Union. delegated to the Government of the United States of America, be and they are Your email address will not be published. An Ordinance to dissolve the Union Between The State of North Carolina and The United States, May 20, 1861. An Ordinance to dissolve the Union Between The State of North Carolina That the people of the State of Mississippi hereby consent to form a federal union with such of the States as may have seceded or may secede from the Union of the United States of America, upon the basis of the present Constitution of the said United States, except such parts thereof as embrace other portions than such seceding States. And be it further resolved, That the President of this Convention be, and he is hereby, instructed to transmit forthwith a copy of the foregoing Preamble, Ordinance, and Resolutions to the Governors of the several States named in said resolutions. And we do further hereby declare and ordain, That the State of Arkansas hereby resumes to herself all rights and powers heretofore delegated to the Government of the United States of America; that her citizens are absolved from all allegiance to said Government of the United States, and that she is in full possession and exercise of all the rights and sovereignty which appertain to a free and independent State. He perused the documents of the Secession Convention and nothing turned up to support its official adoption. The second phase of secession occurred after the attack on Fort Sumter. Whereas, the Federal Constitution, which created the Government of the United States, was declared by the framers thereof to be the supreme law of the land, and was intended to limit and did expressly limit the powers of said Government to certain general specified purposes, and did expressly reserve to the States and people all other powers whatever, and the President and Congress have treated this supreme law of the Union with contempt and usurped to themselves the power to interfere with the rights and liberties of the States and the people against the expressed provisions of the Constitution, and have thus substituted for the highest forms of national liberty and constitutional government a central despotism founded upon the ignorant prejudices of the masses of Northern society, and instead of giving protection with the Constitution to the people of fifteen States of this Union have turned loose upon them the unrestrained and raging passions of mobs and fanatics, and because we now seek to hold our liberties, our property, our homes, and our families under the protection of the reserved powers of the States, have blockaded our ports, invaded our soil, and waged war upon our people for the purpose of subjugating us to their will; and AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the union between the State of North Carolina and the other States united with her, under the compact of government entitled "The Constitution of the United States." approve such purpose, in order to frame a provisional as well as permanent In addition, Kathleen was a seasonal interpreter at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park from 2010-2014 and has worked on various other publications and projects. One-stop destination for complete information on all trending topics related to Alabama state. Debate and compromise over the institution of slavery happened as early as the founding of the nation and the Constitutional Convention, and in the antebellum period conflict and compromise over the issue occurred regularly. Secession - North Carolina History Project Stay up-to-date on the American Battlefield Trust's battlefield preservation efforts, travel tips, upcoming events, history content and more. in history with a Certificate in Revolutionary Era Studies from Siena College in 2010. Florida Secession (U.S. National Park Service) The document also calls for a convention of the slave states in order to determine the path in their own shared interests. And be it further resolved, That the Men . Secession Documents: Introduction Civil Discourse President of this Convention, be and is hereby instructed to transmit forthwith hereby withdrawn from said Government, and are hereby resumed and vested in the The Civil War was not about slaveryhistorians hear this all the time, whether at historic sites, in the classroom, or in conversations with friends and strangers alike. ________________________________________MISSOURI Avalon Project - Confederate States of America : Documents 1861, Library of Congress Act I documents (Attached) (From "Alabama Will Secede," "Alabama Out of the Union," "The Secession Jubilee," and "Alabama's Ordinance of Secession." The first three are articles published in the Montgomery Advertiser. Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the union now existing between the State of Arkansas and the other States united with her under the compact entitled "The Constitution of the United States of America." . Alert at Mobile. The controlling majority of the Federal Government, under various pretences and disguises, has so administered the same as to exclude the citizens of the Southern States, unless under odious and unconstitutional restrictions, from all the immense territory owned in common by all the States on the Pacific Ocean, for the avowed purpose of acquiring Write your response below: In Convention assembled, That the State of Alabama now withdraws, and is hereby withdrawn from the Union known as "the United States of America," and henceforth ceases to be one of said United States . Alabama became the fourth state, and the third in three days, to leave the Union. . Secession Documents: Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, North Carolina, and Required fields are marked *. This edition is from Ordinances and Constitution of the State of Alabama (1861). common peace and security. in history with a Certificate in Revolutionary Era Studies from Siena College in 2010. We do further declare and ordain that the union now existing between the State of Georgia and other States under the name of the United States of America is hereby dissolved, and that the State of Georgia is in full possession and exercise of all those rights of sovereignty which belong and appertain to a free and independent State. These conflicts took many formseconomic, social, politicalbut almost always included discussion of slavery in some form. Four states went further. Whereas, the election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the offices of president and vice-president of the United States of America, by a sectional party, avowedly hostile to the domestic institutions and to the peace and security of the people of the State of Alabama, preceded by many and dangerous infractions of the constitution of the United States by many of the States and people of the Northern section, is a political wrong of so insulting and menacing a character as to justify the people of the State of Alabama in the adoption of prompt and decided measures for their future peace and security, therefore: 2. The ordinance declared Florida to be "a sovereign and independent nation." On April 13, the convention ratified the constitution adopted by the Confederate States of America. The Alabama Secession - The Civil War Months In Alabama's secession document it states the they are receding partially because they wanted to uphold the laws that promote slavery, where as Lincoln did not. The secession of Southern States led to the establishment of the Confederacy and ultimately the Civil War. This ordinance shall be submitted to the people of Texas for their ratification or rejection, by the qualified voters, on the 23rd day of February, 1861, and unless rejected by a majority of the votes cast, shall take effect and be in force on and after the 2d day of March, A.D. 1861.PROVIDED, that in the Representative District of El Paso said election may be held on the 18th day of February, 1861. Adopted and passed in open convention on the 6th day of May, A.D. 1861. The remaining slave-holding states had to decide whether they would side with the Union against the South or secede and join the new Confederacyfour states decided to leave. When Confederate armies invaded Kentucky in 1862, bringing extra arms to equip new volunteers, briefly seizing the state capital, and installing an ephemeral state government, local recruitment proved weak and Union forces soon decisively defeated the invasion. Rebecca Beatrice Brooks May 14, 2012 No Comments. Ordinance of Secession, adopted by the Alabama constitutional convention of 1861. The force of events moved very quickly upon the election of Lincoln. the people of Alabama to meet the slaveholding States of the South, who may 2. Sec 2. Alabama declares a Resolution of Resistance - We secede![orig] Alabamainfohub.com provides information through various online resources and not liable to any kind of error or oversight. Secession - New Georgia Encyclopedia Guide to the "To the People of Alabama": anti-secession document signed by Robert Jemison Jr. and other members of Alabama's 1861 secession convention Status Completed Date June 2014 Description rules Describing Archives: A Content Standard Language of description English Script of description . ________________________________________KENTUCKY 06-05_task1.docx - Name: Date: School: Facilitator: 6.05 Secession Passed January 19, 1861. WHEREAS, The recent developments in Federal affairs make it evident that the power of the Federal Government is sought to be made a weapon with which to strike down the interests and property of the people of Texas, and her sister slave-holding States, instead of permitting it to be, as was intended, our shield against outrage and aggression; THEREFORE,SECTION 1.-- We, the people of the State of Texas, by delegates in convention assembled, do declare and ordain that the ordinance adopted by our convention of delegates on the 4th day of July, A.D. 1845, and afterwards ratified by us, under which the Republic of Texas was admitted into the Union with other States, and became a party to the compact styled "The Constitution of the United States of America," be, and is hereby, repealed and annulled; that all the powers which, by the said compact, were delegated by Texas to the Federal Government are revoked and resumed; that Texas is of right absolved from all restraints and obligations incurred by said compact, and is a separate sovereign State, and that her citizens and people are absolved from all allegiance to the United States or the government thereof. Federal Identification Number (EIN): 54-1426643. It even led to a sharp exchange at a recent meeting of the Alabama Political Science Association. These acquisitions largely exceeded the original limits of the Republic. The President appointed as the Committe of Fifteen to prepare Ordinance of Secession: L. Q. C. Lamar, of Lafayette; A. M. Clayton, of Marshall; G. R. Clayton, of Lowndes; Alfred C. Holt, of Wilkinson; Wiley P. Harris, of Hinds; J. Document: The Secession Acts of the 13 Confederate States. The hysteria quickly spread throughout the state, as 100 cannon were fired in Mobile and a Federal judge yelled out his courtroom window that the U.S. Court for the South District of Alabama was adjourned forever. One Alabaman, mocking President-elect Lincolns Eminence as a Rail Splitter, wrote to him asking if he could recommend wood to use in fencing in my South Carolina Georgia Alabama Mississippi Louisiana and Florida Lands., After approving secession, the convention delegates went one step further by passing a resolution inviting delegates from other southern states to come to Alabama: In order to frame a revisional as a permanent Government, the people of the States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri, be and they are hereby invited to meet the people of the State of Alabama, by their delegates in convention, on the 4th day of February next in Montgomery.. Resolved, By the people of Alabama, in Convention assembled That the State of Alabama cannot, and will not, submit to the Administration of Lincoln and Hamlin as President and Vice President of the United States, upon the principles referred to in the preamble. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The First American President: Setting the Precedent, African Americans During the Revolutionary War, Help Save 820 Acres at Five Virginia Battlefields, Save 343 Acres at FIVE Battlefields in FOUR Western Theater States, Save 42 Historic Acres at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Phase Three of Gaines Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign, An Unparalleled Preservation Opportunity at Gettysburg Battlefield. If it was mistaken, then so am I, but it was my understanding that the early versions of the southern cross were already being introduced as the southern states began seceding. The work of the historian is based on the documents and evidence left by the actors of historical events. Bitter, violent controversy remained even in states where a popular majority clearly favored secession. When it was over, 166 had voted for secession and 8 against. These delegates came mainly from cities where there were few slaves, or from northern Alabama where small farmers still adhered to Andrew Jacksons notion of an indivisible Union. to the offices of president and vice-president of the United States of America, South Carolina acted first, calling for a convention to secede from the Union. Other Southern states, including Arkansas, watched and waited. The Majority of our funds go directly to Preservation and Education. Secession itself occurred in two phases, sparked by specific events in 1860 and 1861. Alabamainfohub.com acknowledges that the information provided on this website is for information purposes only. Be it further ordained, That the unconstitutional edicts of a factious majority of a Legislature thus false to their pledges, their honor, and their interests are not law, and that such a government is unworthy of the support of a brave and free people, and that we do therefore declare that the people are thereby absolved from all allegiance to said government, and that they have a right to establish any government which to them may seem best adapted to the preservation of their rights and liberties. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was elected president. Done by the people of the State of Texas, in convention assembled, at Austin, this 1st day of February, A.D. 1861. Adopted by the convention of Virginia April 17,1861 ratified by a vote of 132,201 to 37,451 on 23 May 1861. We, the people of the State of Tennessee, waiving any expression of opinion as to the abstract doctrine of secession, but asserting the right, as a free and independent people, to alter, reform, or abolish our form of government in such manner as we think proper, do ordain and declare that all the laws and ordinances by which the State of Tennessee became a member of the Federal Union of the United States of America are hereby abrogated and annulled, and that all the rights, functions, and powers which by any of said laws and ordinances were conveyed to the Government of the United States, and to absolve ourselves from all the obligations, restraints, and duties incurred thereto; and do hereby henceforth become a free, sovereign, and independent State. The first seven seceding states, all of the Deep South, were motivated mainly by two factors: the election in November 1860 of President Lincoln, who had no support among Southern voters, and the direct threat to slavery his election posed. Secession - Definition, Civil War & Southern States - History Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository, some erosion (taking about ten letters); matted, glazed, and framed, Document to the people of Alabama from thirty-three men at the 1861 secession convention explaining why they did not sign the Ordinance of Secession. Dr. Kathleen Logothetis Thompson graduated with her Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 2017. Dr. Kathleen Logothetis Thompson graduated with her Ph.D. from West Virginia University in 2017. In the "volunteer state," the memory of Andrew . Ordinance of Secession, 1861. | Library of Congress Now the word "rights" can be found 14 times, and "right" appear 32 times in these four state secession . South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas also issued separate documents purporting to justify secession. An act declaring the political ties heretofore existing between the State of Missouri and the United States of America dissolved. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research. Mississippi Alabama Ordinance of Secession | eHISTORY, Secession Documents: Alabama Civil Discourse, The Declaration of Causes of Seceding States | American Battlefield , Alabama : Constitution of January 7, 1861 Avalon Project, THE ALABAMA CONVENTION. Beginning with South Carolina in December 1860, eleven Southern states and one territory[2] both ratified an ordinance of secession and effected de facto secession by some regular or purportedly lawful means, including by state legislative action, special convention, or popular referendum, as sustained by state public opinion and mobilized military force. Mississippi seceded from the United States on January 9, 1861. Alabama Textual Materials Collection Ordinance of Secession, adopted by the Alabama constitutional convention of 1861. These are great resources to use in the classroomI do an exercise with these documents whenever I teach secession to my studentsbut also for those who want to engage in the practice of history and better understand the causes of secession. In 1863, forty-eight northwestern Unionist counties seceded from . Compiled from the census of 1860", "This date in Delaware history: State rejects secession, sticks to the Union in Civil War", Virginia's Ordinance of Secession (enrolled bill), Virginia's Ordinance of Secession (signed copies), Texas Declaration of Causes, Feb. 2, 1861, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Secession&oldid=1130159788, To announce Georgia's formal intent to secede from the, This page was last edited on 28 December 2022, at 21:49. She earned her M.A. SOUTH CAROLINA|MISSISSIPPI|FLORIDA|ALABAMA|GEORGIA|LOUISIANA|TEXAS|VIRGINIA|ARKANSAS|NORTH CAROLINA|TENNESSEE|MISSOURI|KENTUCKY, Secession Acts of the Thirteen Confederate States (Yale), SOUTH CAROLINA ________________________________________ALABAMA Four months later, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana seceded as well. That the people of the States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri, be and are hereby invited to meet the people of the State of Alabama, by their Delegates, in Convention, on the fourth day of February, A. D. 1861, at the city of Montgomery, in the State of Alabama, for the purpose of consulting with each other as to the most effectual mode of securing concerted and harmonious action in whatever measures may be deemed most desirable for our common peace and security. Articles of secession, adopted December 24, 1860. Second. SEC. The unorganized Indian Territory did not document secession and was not unanimous in its orientation, but generally supported the Confederacy. Troops seized Mount Vernon that same day, which had been guarded by just 17 Federal troops under Captain Jesse L. Reno. The governor sent a force to take the Fort Smith arsenal, and Arkansas regiments began organizing to fight for the South. AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the union between the State of South Carolina and other States united with her under the compact entitled "The Constitution of the United States of America."