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 […]
Stephen, I am distressed that there is little mention of the confederate revolt being referred to as a traitorist act against our nation. While the focus is on the issue of slavery, the secession of the South led to the deaths of more than 620,000 men, equal to the number killed in ALL our subsequent wars. This is the price of their devotion to their Southern Heritage. Is this worthy of their celebration?
Well, I have said it. But you are correct you don’t hear it or read it often.
It is being mentioned, but that is not where we are as a culture.
This is a great piece of history.
I really wish that when I was being taught that the U.S. Civil War was not over slavery but over states rights that such a thing as the internet existed so I could have pulled up something like this Mississippi state legislature declaration of secession. (All I had then was an uneasy feeling that it seemed like a very unlikely explanation.)
Countering revisionist lies of white supremacists and racists is so much more possible now that the facts are readily accessible.
I don’t know how I came to understand that slavery was the cause of the civil war. After all I was born in 1949 on a tobacco farm in eastern NC. Received my education in small rural schools during the 50’s and 60’s. The confederate flag, “the south shall rise again” and “the war of northern aggression” were not part of my educational experience. These weren’t topics that people talked about or something that I was taught was important. On the other hand race was a major issue for many including my mother, not so much my father.