SOUTH CAROLINA'S DECLARATION SOUTH CAROLINA'S DECLARATION CIVIL WAR SLAVERY SOUTH NORTH POLITICAL PARTIES ELECTIONS AND POLITICS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION INTRODUCTION THE ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN 1860 UPSET THE POLITICAL BALANCE BETWEEN THE PRO SLAVERY SOUTH AND THE ANTISLAVERY NORTH SOUTHERNERS FELT AS IF THEY HAD LOST WHAT INFLUENCE THEY HAD ONCE HAD OVER A NATIONAL POLICY THEY ALSO FELT THAT THE ELECTION OF A REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT WOULD DESTROY THEIR WAY OF LIFE ON DECEMBER 20 1860 SOUTH CAROLINA BECAME THE FIRST STATE TO SECEDE FROM THE UNION ON THE GROUNDS THAT THEIR NEEDS AND INTERESTS WERE NOT ADEQUATELY REPRESENTED IN THE U.S GOVERNMENT SOUTH CAROLINA'S LEGISLATURE DECLARED THAT THE STATE HAD RESUMED HER SEPARATE AND EQUAL PLACE AMONG NATIONS THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS ARE EXCERPTS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA'S DECLARATION OF SECESSION TWO GREAT PRINCIPLES WERE ASSERTED STATED BY THE COLONIES NAMELY THE RIGHT OF A STATE TO GOVERN ITSELF AND THE RIGHT OF A PEOPLE TO ABOLISH A GOVERNMENT WHEN IT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THE ENDS FOR WHICH IT WAS INSTITUTED CREATED AND CONCURRENT AT THE SAME TIME WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THESE PRINCIPLES WAS THE FACT THAT EACH COLONY BECAME AND WAS RECOGNIZED BY THE MOTHER COUNTRY AS A FREE SOVEREIGN AND INDEPENDENT STATE WE AFFIRM DECLARE TRUE THAT THE ENDS FOR WHICH THIS GOVERNMENT WAS INSTITUTED HAVE BEEN DEFEATED AND THE GOVERNMENT ITSELF HAS BEEN DESTRUCTIVE OF THEM BY THE ACTION OF THE NONSLAVEHOLDING STATES THOSE STATES HAVE ASSUMED THE RIGHT OF DECIDING UPON THE PROPRIETY PROPERNESS OF OUR DOMESTIC NATIVE INSTITUTIONS CUSTOMS AND HAVE DENIED THE RIGHTS OF PROPERTY ESTABLISHED IN FIFTEEN OF THE STATES RECOGNIZED BY THE CONSTITUTION A GEOGRAPHICAL LINE HAS BEEN DRAWN ACROSS THE UNION AND ALL THE STATES NORTH OF THAT LINE HAVE UNITED IN THE ELECTION OF A MAN TO THE HIGH OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WHOSE OPINIONS AND PURPOSES ARE HOSTILE TO SLAVERY HE IS TO BE ENTRUSTED WITH THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMON GOVERNMENT BECAUSE HE HAS DECLARED THAT GOVERNMENT CANNOT ENDURE PERMANENTLY HALF SLAVE HALF FREE AND THAT THE PUBLIC MIND MUST REST IN THE BELIEF THAT SLAVERY IS IN THE COURSE OF ULTIMATE FINAL EXTINCTION WHEN LINCOLN TAKES POWER THE GUARANTEES OF THE CONSTITUTION WILL THEN NO LONGER EXIST THE EQUAL RIGHTS OF THE STATES WILL BE LOST THE SLAVEHOLDING STATES WILL NO LONGER HAVE THE POWER OF SELF GOVERNMENT OR SELF PROTECTION AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE BECOME THEIR ENEMY WE THEREFORE THE ASSEMBLED PEOPLE OF SOUTH CAROLINA BY OUR DELEGATES IN CONVENTION ASSEMBLED APPEALING TO THE SUPREME JUDGE OF THE WORLD FOR THE RECTITUDE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF OUR INTENTIONS HAVE SOLEMNLY DECLARED THAT THE UNION HERETOFORE EXISTING BETWEEN THIS STATE AND THE OTHER STATES OF NORTH AMERICA IS DISSOLVED AND THAT THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA HAS RESUMED HER POSITION AMONG THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD AS A SEPARATE AND INDEPENDENT STATE WITH FULL POWER TO LEVY WAR CONCLUDE PEACE CONTRACT ALLIANCES ESTABLISH COMMERCE AND TO DO ALL OTHER ACTS AND THINGS WHICH INDEPENDENT STATES MAY OF RIGHT DO FROM THE REBELLION RECORD EDITED BY FRANK MOORE VOL 1 DOCUMENT 3 REPRINTED IN THE ANNALS OF AMERICA VOLUME 9 1858 1865
