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Why Did The South Secede From The Union PDF
Why Did The South Secede From The Union PDF
South Carolina withdrew from the United States on December 20, 1860. The state seceded
because a Republican, Abraham Lincoln, had been elected president. The Republicans were a
new party, and Lincoln was the first to be elected president. They wanted to stop slavery from
spreading into the western territories.
Southern states believed they had a constitutional right to take property -- including slaves --
anywhere. They also feared that any interference with slavery would end their way of life.
This week in our series, Frank Oliver and Larry West tell what happened after South Carolina
left the Union.
South Carolina faced several problems after it seceded. The most serious problem was what to
do with property owned by the federal government. There were several United States forts in
and around the Port of Charleston. Fort Moultrie had fewer than seventy soldiers. Castle
Pinckney had only one. And Fort Sumter -- which was still being built -- had none.