Introduction This week we examine what historians call the “sectional crisis” b

Introduction
This week we examine what historians call the “sectional crisis” between Northern free states and Southern slave states that first flared during the early decades of the nineteenth century as slavery’s rapid spread to the west generated volatile political and economic questions: Should slavery be allowed in newly acquired territories and states in the west and who gets to determine that – the states or the federal government? And where does their authority come from to make that determination?
A growing abolitionist movement in the North, fueled in part by Christian revivalism and the powerful oratory and writings of formerly enslaved Black men and women, also intensified sectional fears and animosities. Many Southerners believed that abolitionist radicalism in the North threatened slavery and thus their social, economic, and political power. They also thought the abolitionist movement encouraged slaves to runaway to the North or into Canada. Conservative Southerners, who otherwise believed in states’ rights and limited federal power, now called for a vigorous fugitive slave law that empowered the federal government to deputize police and citizens in Northern states and use them to help capture and return escaped slaves.
The fury over the westward expansion of slavery and the fugitive slave law led to the creation of a new political party in 1854 – the Republican Party. For Southerners, whether Democrats or Whigs, the Republicans represented an existential threat. Though only a tiny minority of liberal Republicans advocated for the immediate abolition of slavery, many Southerners interpreted the Republicans’ anti-slavery platform – opposition to slavery’s westward expansion and the fugitive slave law – as dangerous first steps toward eventual abolition. When Abraham Lincoln became the nation’s first Republican president following the election of 1860, many Southern states, including Florida, seceded or left the union to form the Confederate States of America. Why exactly did the Southern states secede, though? Why did Lincoln’s election represent such a grave threat?
In addition to reading Chapter 13, and the first part of Chapter 14, in The American Yawp about the sectional crisis and secession, you’ll also read Chapter 1 from the best book on the history of the Civil War era in Jacksonville, Thunder on the River. This chapter provides a look at how the sectional crisis and secession played out in Jacksonville and in the state of Florida. Additionally, you’ll read primary sources – documents from Southern secession conventions and debates in 1860 and 1861 – that reveal the arguments some Southerners made to justify secession. You will then use evidence from these sources to answer the discussion forum question: Why did Southern states secede from the United States? As always, I care less about what you think than with how you think – that is, how well you interpret and use historical evidence to support your points.
Readings
“The Sectional Crisis,” Links to an external site. https://www.americanyawp.com/text/13-the-sectional-crisis/ .Chapter 13, The American Yawp
“The Election of 1860 and Secession,” Links to an external site. https://www.americanyawp.com/text/14-the-civilwar/#II_The_Election_of_1860_and_Secession Part II, Chapter 14, The American Yawp
Thunder on the River: The Civil War in Northeast Florida Links to an external site. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=nlebk&AN=655432&site=ehost-live&custid=fccj by Daniel L. Schafer. Read Chapter 1 only.
“The Decision to Secede and Establish the Confederacy: A Selection of Primary Sources,” Links to an external site. https://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/teaching-resources-for-historians/the-decision-to-secede-and-establish-the-confederacy-a-selection-of-primary-sources The American Historical Association.
Film
The Civil War, Episode 1: The Cause Links to an external site. https://fscj-flvc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01FALSC_FSCJ/b590d6/alma991003321593106575
Discussion Forum Questions:
1. What do you think was the factor or issue that most motivated Southern states to secede from the United States in 1860-61?
2. What did you find most revealing or interesting about the debates Jacksonville residents had about secession during this time?
You can only use assigned sources to answer these questions. For question 1, you must use evidence from the “Declaration of Causes of Secession” sources found in the assigned reading titled, “The Decision to Secede and Establish the Confederacy.” You can use other assigned sources as well if you wish. For question 2, you must cite and explain examples from Chapter 1 of Thunder on the River: The Civil War in Northeast Florida by Daniel Schafer.
As usual, your main post should be about two paragraphs in length and you should cite your sources using brief parenthetical citations
.