Secession Crisis
Most slave states heavily depended on slavery as their only source of revenue, as well they possessed a culture of white supremacy that stated that Black people’s enslavement by whites was a moral, God-ordained good. The Republican Party, and moderate northern Democrats threatened this by advocating for the prohibition of the expansion of slavery and the enforcement of Free-Soil laws.
After Stephen Douglas emerged as the compromise candidate in the House, many southern states began to conspire to leave the Union. Many “Fire-Eaters” had already resolved to secede, and were waiting for a casus belli. Between the election in November and the admition of Kansas as a Free State in March of 1861 (a key platform in Douglas’ campaign) states of “the deep south” conspired with key members of the Buchanan administration to seize federal properties and arm themselves for the conflict.
Shortly after Kansas became the 34th state, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas announced their unilateral withdrawal from the Union, and the formation of the Confederate States of America with John Breckinridge as its President. Under their declaration of independence, the stated cornerstone of this new state was the perpetual continuation of slavery, white supremacy, and a return to the old Confederation Era government.
President Douglas, his Democratic allies, and the Republican Party were opposed to secession, stating that the Union was perpetual and indivisible. At first, Douglas made peaceful overtures to the seceding states, and called for the Baltimore Peace Conference. Here, the Douglas-Johnson amendment was proposed, which stated that the Federal Government could not abolish slavery in the states where it existed, as well as the reinstitution of the old Missouri Compromise after a national referendum. However, the Confederate delegates and the Republican dominated Congress (with the departure of the Southern Democratic delegates, the Republicans now had supermajorities in both Houses) rejected them.
The attack on Fort Jefferson, Florida, in May was the first battle of the War of the Secession (ironically, this fort would remain in Unionist hands until the end of the war). President Douglas called for 20,000 volunteers to fight the war, which he got – however, this pushed Arkansas, North Carolina, and Virginia to secede and join the CSA as they opposed fighting. The states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and Tennessee, which permitted slavery, rejected secession and stayed with the Union.
View attachment 533053
A map of the US, and CSA before Virginia was split between rival governments