South Carolina seceded from the Union in December 1860 due to fears that a Republican president would limit states' rights. South Carolina cited frequent violations of the Constitution by the federal government and its encroachments on states' rights as justification. Not all South Carolinians supported secession. Some issued demands hoping to avoid secession unless those demands were not met, but radical secessionists prevailed. In February 1861, representatives from seven seceded southern states met in Montgomery, Alabama and formed the Confederate States of America, adopting a constitution and selecting Jefferson Davis as the provisional president. However, the new Confederacy faced many challenges with no currency, printing press, or proper government facilities in its early days.

1. The Process of Secession

2. South Carolina's Causes for
Secession from the Union
• Election of 1860 left
many on edge in the
South,
• Fear a Republican
President would limit
states' rights led them to
take drastic action.

3. SC reasons for secession
• “The people of the State of South
Carolina….declared that the frequent violations
of the Constitution of the United States, by the
Federal Government, and its encroachments
upon the reserved rights of the States, fully
justified this State in then withdrawing from
the Federal Union; but in deference to the
opinions and wishes of the other slaveholding
States, she forbore at that time to exercise this
right. Since that time, these encroachments
have continued to increase, and further
forbearance ceases to be a virtue.”

4. Secession
• Support was not universal
• Issue a final set of demands
– secede only if those demands were not
met
• Radical secessionism prevailed

6. Forming the Confederacy
• February 1861, in Montgomery,
Alabama,
• Seven seceded states met to form a
new nation.
– Wrote a constitution
– Jefferson Davis provisional
president.
– Confederate States of America.

7. Confederate Constitution
• We, the people of the Confederate States,
each State acting in its sovereign and
independent character, in order to form a
permanent federal government, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves
and our posterity invoking the favor and
guidance of Almighty God do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the
Confederate States of America.

8. Confederate States of America
• Davis president
– Not happy
– His sense of duty forced him to
accept
• Davis gave an encouraging inaugural
address
– Privately he worried.

9. Confederate States of America
• No currency
• No press capable to make it
• First cabinet meeting in a hotel room.
• The Confederacy was on shaky
ground.