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A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union.
In the momentous step which our State has taken of dissolving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course.

Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery– the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.

That we do not overstate the dangers to our institution, a reference to a few facts will sufficiently prove.

The hostility to this institution commenced before the adoption of the Constitution (Links to an external site.), and was manifested in the well-known Ordinance of 1787 (Links to an external site.), in regard to the Northwestern Territory.

The feeling increased, until, in 1819-20, it deprived the South of more than half the vast territory acquired from France.

The same hostility dismembered Texas and seized upon all the territory acquired from Mexico.

It has grown until it denies the right of property in slaves, and refuses protection to that right on the high seas, in the Territories, and wherever the government of the United States had jurisdiction.

It refuses the admission of new slave States into the Union, and seeks to extinguish it by confining it within its present limits, denying the power of expansion.

It tramples the original equality of the South under foot.

It has nullified the Fugitive Slave Law (Links to an external site.) in almost every free State in the Union, and has utterly broken the compact which our fathers pledged their faith to maintain.

It advocates negro equality, socially and politically, and promotes insurrection and incendiarism in our midst.

It has enlisted its press, its pulpit and its schools against us, until the whole popular mind of the North is excited and inflamed with prejudice.

It has made combinations and formed associations to carry out its schemes of emancipation in the States and wherever else slavery exists.

It seeks not to elevate or to support the slave, but to destroy his present condition without providing a better.

It has invaded a State, and invested with the honors of martyrdom the wretch whose purpose was to apply flames to our dwellings, and the weapons of destruction to our lives.

It has broken every compact into which it has entered for our security.

It has given indubitable evidence of its design to ruin our agriculture, to prostrate our industrial pursuits and to destroy our social system.

It knows no relenting or hesitation in its purposes; it stops not in its march of aggression, and leaves us no room to hope for cessation or for pause.

It has recently obtained control of the Government, by the prosecution of its unhallowed schemes, and destroyed the last expectation of living together in friendship and brotherhood.

Utter subjugation awaits us in the Union, if we should consent longer to remain in it. It is not a matter of choice, but of necessity. We must either submit to degradation, and to the loss of property worth four billions of money, or we must secede from the Union framed by our fathers, to secure this as well as every other species of property. For far less cause than this, our fathers separated from the Crown of England.

Our decision is made. We follow their footsteps. We embrace the alternative of separation; and for the reasons here stated, we resolve to maintain our rights with the full consciousness of the justice of our course, and the undoubting belief of our ability to maintain it.

Instructions:
Why did Mississippi secede? What issue(s) seemed to motivate Mississippi’s ordinance of secession?

Sample Solution

 

 

 

Why Did Mississippi Secede?

The state of Mississippi’s decision to secede from the United States in January 1861 was fueled by a deep-seated commitment to the institution of slavery. The Mississippi Declaration of Secession, adopted on January 9, 1861, explicitly stated that the state’s “position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery” and that its secession was necessary to protect this “greatest material interest of the world.”

Key Factors Driving Mississippi’s Secession

  1. The Threat to Slavery: The primary motivation behind Mississippi’s secession was the growing abolitionist sentiment in the North and the perceived threat to the institution of slavery. Northern abolitionists, fueled by moral outrage against slavery, advocated for its abolition and supported anti-slavery political candidates. This posed a significant challenge to the South’s economy and social structure, as slavery was the backbone of the Southern economy and was deeply embedded in Southern culture.
  2. The Expansion of Slavery: The debate over the expansion of slavery into new territories was another major factor driving Mississippi’s secession. Northern states and abolitionists generally opposed the expansion of slavery, while Southern states, including Mississippi, insisted on the right to maintain and expand slavery in the territories. This conflict intensified following the acquisition of vast territories from Mexico in the Mexican-American War, leading to the Compromise of 1850 and then the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Each of these events exacerbated sectional tensions and solidified the South’s determination to protect its “peculiar institution.”
  3. Violations of the Fugitive Slave Act: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, a key provision of the Compromise of 1850, was widely opposed in the North, where many people saw it as a violation of states’ rights and a threat to personal liberty. Northern states and communities often refused to cooperate with the Act’s provisions, which required them to capture and return escaped enslaved people to their owners. This refusal to enforce the law further fueled Southern fears of Northern aggression against slavery.
  4. Northern Hostility and Alienation: Mississippi’s secession was also fueled by a growing sense of alienation from the North. Southern states felt that their interests were not being adequately represented in the federal government, and they resented the North’s growing moral and political opposition to slavery. This sense of alienation and perceived injustice further strengthened the South’s resolve to secede and form its own independent nation.
  5. Fear of Anti-Slavery Abolitionism: The increasing popularity of anti-slavery abolitionists, such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, further alarmed Southern slaveholders. Abolitionist rhetoric, which called for the immediate and unconditional abolition of slavery, was viewed as a direct threat to their property and their way of life. This heightened fear of abolitionist activism contributed to the South’s sense of urgency in seceding.

In conclusion, Mississippi’s decision to secede from the Union was deeply rooted in the state’s commitment to slavery and its fear of Northern attempts to abolish it. The expansion of slavery, the Fugitive Slave Act, Northern hostility, and the rise of abolitionism all played a significant role in driving the state to take this drastic step. Mississippi’s secession was a pivotal moment in American history, setting the stage for the Civil War and the eventual abolition of slavery.

 

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