Secession

    Date Event
    John Anthony Quitman, Mexican War general and Mississippi advocate of secession, dies on his plantation in Natchez
    New governor of Mississippi is inaugurated in Jackson and calls for a convention of southern states
    South Carolina statehouse raises the idea of a "Southern Confederacy"
    Senator Gwin of California hints in the Senate that his state could join the South if the Union breaks up
    Southern students from Philadelphia's medical schools meet and vote to leave for the South
    Southern students make a mass exodus from Philadelphia's medical schools
    Governor Wise of Virginia meets with southern medical students returned from Philadelphia
    Large political meeting in favor of the Union held in Maysville, Kentucky
    - The Alabama Democratic Convention meets in Montgomery and formulates the "Alabama Platform"
    South Carolina sends Christopher Memminger to discuss the sectional crisis with the Virginia legislature
    Louisiana Governor Wickliffe recommends economic self-defense for the South
    South Carolina Commissioner Christopher Memminger speaks for four hours before the Virginia legislature
    Virginia rejects South Carolina's call for a convention of southern states
    Virginia Democrats urge participation in the proposed convention of southern states
    In Texas, devastating fires strike Dallas and other parts of Denton County
    Texas newspaper editor accuses abolitionists of planning to launch a slave revolt in the state
    South Carolina congressman calls for secession should Abraham Lincoln win the general election
    Reverend Anthony Bewley, a white Methodist preacher, lynched in Fort Worth, Texas
    In Maryland, Breckinridge supporter William Yancey of Alabama speaks before a large crowd in Easton
    - Stephen Douglas makes his final campaign tour, through the Deep South
    In Charleston, South Carolina, the city's elite militia unit offers its services to the state
    South Carolina's political leadership meets to decide on secession should Lincoln win the presidency
    - Stephen Douglas ends his presidential campaign with speeches in Georgia and Alabama
    William T. Sherman, teaching in Louisiana, writes to his wife about local attitudes on the election
    Crowd waiting outside the Charleston Mercury office cheer at news of Abraham Lincoln’s victory
    In Charleston, South Carolina U.S. District Court Judge A.G. Magrath dissolves his federal court and resigns
    Philadelphia Democrats urge the South not to take precipitous action over the Republican victory
    In New York, Southern medical students enrolled in the city's schools meet to decide on their future
    In Washington D.C., South Carolinian James Chesnut, Jr. becomes the first Southern senator to resign his seat
    William T. Sherman writes to his wife from Louisiana about the election
    Louisiana native Major Pierre G.T. Beauregard appointed as the next Superintendent of West Point
    In Washington D.C., the second South Carolina senator, James Henry Hammond, resigns his seat
    U.S. naval units secure the forts of the Florida Keys against secessionist takeover
    In Alabama, a Montgomery meeting nominates William Yancey and Thomas Watts for the secession convention
    As specie flows South, New York banks agree to work in concert to stabilize markets
    - Financial disruption verges on panic and Virginia banks suspend specie payments
    Philadelphia banks suspend specie payments
    William T. Sherman writes to his wife from Louisiana that she stay in Ohio
    - The coldest night of the year does not cool secessionist fervor in the South Carolina state capital
    In Louisville, Kentucky, a large Unionist meeting resolves to support the Constitution and seek compromise
    Governor John J. Pettus of Mississippi calls for a state convention to consider secession
    In Columbia, the Governor of South Carolina delivers his annual message to the state legislature
    Texas Governor Sam Houston calls for all Southern governors to meet in conference at Austin
    Commander of federal forces in Charleston, South Carolina asks again for area forts to be manned
    Thanksgiving Day is celebrated across the country
    Philadelphia textile manufacturers put their factories on half-time production
    Abolitionist meeting to commemorate John Brown broken up in Boston
    President Buchanan's annual message to Congress is delivered to Capital Hill
    In Washington, the U.S. House creates its "Committee of Thirty-Three" on the sectional crisis
    South Carolina voters elect delegates to its Secession Convention
    Buchanan's Secretary of the Treasury recommends secession to his home state of Georgia
    Secretary of the Treasury Howell Cobb resigns from the Buchanan Cabinet
    In Washington DC, President Buchanan meets with the South Carolina congressional delegation
    Congressman John Sherman urges his brother William to return to Ohio from Louisiana
    Midshipman William Barker Cushing writes of "the huge weight of the crisis" on the U.S. Naval Academy
    Philip Francis Thomas of Maryland becomes Secretary of the Treasury, replacing Howell Cobb
    Southern senators and congressmen meet in Washington and produce the "Southern Manifesto"
    Mass meeting in Philadelphia's Independence Square endorses the Union and conciliation with South
    Secretary of State Lewis Cass resigns over the non-reinforcement of federal forts in South Carolina
    President Buchanan designates January 4, 1861 as a national day of fasting and prayer
    Francis Pickens is elected as the new governor of the state of South Carolina
    Philadelphia's mayor instructed to transmit recent city resolutions for conciliation to South Carolina
    In Columbia, South Carolina's Convention on secession opens with a morning session
    Mississippi secession commissioner William L. Harris urges Georgia legislature to support secession
    Commissioners from Mississippi and Alabama speak to the South Carolina Secession Convention
    South Carolina governor asks President Buchanan's permission to occupy Fort Sumter with state troops
    South Carolina's Convention on secession moves to Charleston to avoid smallpox outbreak
    Governor Hicks refuses to call the Maryland legislature to hear the Mississippi secession commissioner
    Buchanan's Secretary of the Interior arrives in North Carolina to lobby that state for secession
    South Carolina governor orders militia to patrol Charleston Harbor between Forts Moultrie and Sumter
    President Buchanan sends Caleb Cushing to ask South Carolina to postpone its Secession Convention
    Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky introduces his Compromise in the United States Senate
    Mississippi secession commissioner tells a large Baltimore crowd that "slavery was ordained by God"
    U.S. Senate confirms well-known Democrat lawyer Edwin M. Stanton as Attorney-General
    Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee defends the Union on the floor of the U.S. Senate
    South Carolina secedes from the Union and declares itself "an independent commonweath"
    New Orleans celebrates the secession of South Carolina
    Speaker of the U.S. House refuses resignations of the South Carolina congressional delegation
    In Pennsylvania, mass Union meeting at the Carlisle courthouse resolves that secession is illegal
    In Memphis, U.S. Senator Andrew Johnson of Tennessee is hanged in effigy
    In New York City, William H. Seward says in a speech that disunion will be avoided
    Hundred foot flagpole flying the South Carolina flag vandalized in Petersburg, Virginia
    Senator Robert A. Toombs recommends that his Georgia constituents vote for secession
    In New Orleans, a massive meeting endorses candidates for the upcoming secession convention
    Under cover of night in Charleston Harbor, Major Anderson consolidates his forces at Fort Sumter
    South Carolina's commissioners to the United States arrive and take up residence in Washington
    Commander of the U.S. Revenue cutter in Charleston Harbor turns his vessel over to South Carolina
    In Pennsylvania, a large public meeting in Pittsburgh resolves to block transfers of cannon to the South
    Alabama's commissioner to Kentucky warns Governor Magoffin of race war under Republican rule
    South Carolina militia occupy Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney in Charleston Harbor
    In the United States Senate, Albert G. Brown of Mississippi insists on the definition of slaves as property
    Secretary of War Floyd demands that the Cabinet permit withdrawal of federal forces from Charleston
    South Carolina's commissioners to the United States present their credentials and explain their mission
    South Carolina seizes the U.S. Customs House and the U.S. Post Office buildings in Charleston
    Postmaster-General Holt threatens action over South Carolina's seizure of U.S. Post Office accounts
    Secretary of War John B. Floyd of Virginia resigns and is replaced by Postmaster-General Joseph Holt
    President Buchanan replies to the South Carolina's commissioners as "private gentlemen"
    In Charleston, South Carolina militia seize the federal arsenal and begin issuing arms and ammunition
    Secretary of Navy orders U.S.S. Brooklyn to prepare to sail from Hampton Roads in Virginia
    In the U.S. Senate, packed galleries cheer Senator Benjamin of Louisiana's defiant speech
    South Carolina redefines treason, to be punished with "death without benefit of clergy"
    Governor Pickens declares South Carolina waters, especially Charleston Harbor, off-limits to U. S. vessels
    Alabama's secession commissioner warns Delaware of slave insurrection under Republican rule
    General Winfield Scott orders Captain Charles Stone to put the District of Columbia Militia under arms
    Captain Charles Stone takes up his duties at the head of the District of Columbia Militia
    Delaware state legislature votes overwhelmingly to stay in the Union
    The Florida state convention on secession assembles in Tallahassee
    In North Carolina, Governor Ellis orders his state militia to occupy key federal forts
    On the Senate floor, Stephen Douglas warns of the danger of the moment and calls for compromise
    Alabama state troops seize the massive arsenal at Mount Vernon in Mobile County
    National day of "fasting, humiliation, and prayer" takes place throughout the United States
    In Alabama, voting underway to elect delegates to the state's secession convention
    Chartered steamship sails from New York City bound for Charleston and the resupply of Fort Sumter
    Mississippi's Secession Convention assembles in Jackson, the state capital
    The Bank of England raises its discount rate as financial disruption in the United States effects Europe
    Alabama's secession convention assembles in Montgomery
    Jacob Thompson of Mississippi resigns as the Buchanan Administration's Secretary of the Interior
    Mississippi's Secession Convention appoints a committee to draw up an ordinance of secession
    From the capital, Dickinson alumni L. Q. Washington leaks the secret reinforcement of Fort Sumter
    Federal resupply ship for Fort Sumter fired on outside Charleston Harbor and forced to retreat
    North Carolina militia seize Fort Johnston and Fort Caswell at the mouth of the Cape Fear River
    Mississippi secedes from the Union
    In Tallahassee, the Florida secession convention votes by 62-7 to leave the United States
    In Pensacola Bay, U.S. Army Lieutenant Adam J. Slemmer consolidates his forces in Fort Pickens
    In Baton Rouge, Louisiana militia take control of massive stocks of arms at the Federal Arsenal
    Alabama secedes from the Union
    Marylander Philip F. Thomas resigns after one month as Secretary of the Treasury
    Louisiana militia seize Forts Saint Philip and Jackson at the mouth of the Mississippi River
    In Rochester, New York, a pro-compromise pro-Union crowd breaks up an abolition meeting
    In Tallahassee, the formal Ordinance of Secession is signed on the capitol steps and Florida secedes
    New York City's First Division, New York State Militia volunteers its services to state governor
    In Philadelphia, southern students disrupt a program of patriotic tunes at the Academy of Music
    Florida and Alabama militias seize the Pensacola Navy Yard and Fort Barracas
    Mississippi militia at Vicksburg fire warning shots across bows of Cincinnati to New Orleans riverboat
    Washington pays Governor Pickens what he is owed, from the newly seized Charleston Sub-Treasury
    In Pennsylvania, a Carlisle courthouse meeting debates the Crittenden Compromise
    From his bench in New York City, U.S. District Court Judge David Smalley defines high treason
    Hinton Helper's scheduled lecture postponed in New York City due to fears of mob action
    In Harrisburg, Andrew Gregg Curtin sworn in as the Pennsylvania's first Republican governor
    Georgia's secession convention assembles in Milledgeville
    Large and contentious meeting opposing coercion of the South held in Philadelphia
    Maine legislature offers men and money to sustain the Union
    The Bank of England replenishes its gold reserves as American financial disruption effects Europe
    Georgia secedes from the Union
    Philadelphia's labor leaders endorse compromise but also recommend defensive force if needed
    In Connecticut, Southern students hoist the Palmetto Flag over Yale College's Alumni Hall
    Jefferson Davis of Mississippi resigns from the United States Senate
    Militia and police in New York City respond to rumors of an assault on the Brooklyn Naval Yard
    New York City police seize almost a thousand muskets bound for Alabama
    Louisiana's secession convention assembles in Baton Rouge
    Georgia troops seize the federal arsenal at Augusta
    A mass meeting of Philadelphia workingmen supports compromise and the Union
    Louisiana secedes from the Union
    Texans gather in Austin for their secession convention
    Major Pierre Gustave T. Beauregard is removed from his post as Superintendent of West Point
    Treasury Secretary Dix issues his order to "shoot on the spot" anyone hauling down the national flag
    Louisiana seizes the United States Mint and the United States Customs House in New Orleans
    Texas secedes from the Union
    Virginians elect delegates to their secession convention
    - The Washington Peace Conference is meeting at Willard's Hotel in Washington DC
    The Convention of Seceding States opens at the State House in Montgomery, Alabama
    In Boston, the Massachusetts Legislature amends its Militia Act to allow troops to march out of state
    The Convention of Seceding States passes the provisional constitution of the Confederate States
    In Arkansas, local militia seize the U.S. Arsenal at Little Rock
    Georgia seizes New York ships in reprisal for New York police confiscation of arms bound for Savannah
    In a statewide poll, Tennessee votes against holding a secession convention
    - The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States is sitting in Montgomery, Alabama
    Jefferson Davis selected as Provisional President of the Confederate States
    Philadelphians gather to cheer a shipment of heavy cannon bound for the defenses of New York Harbor
    - The Virginia Convention on secession is meeting in Richmond
    In Cumberland County, the secession flag is briefly hoisted in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
    General Daniel Twiggs surrenders all U.S. Army units and installations to Texas state troops
    - Secessionists occupy a disused fort in Nebraska overnight but lose it to Unionists in the morning
    Jefferson Davis sworn in as Provisional President of the Confederate States
    A national convention of workingmen meets in Philadelphia
    Texas voters ratify the state's Ordinance of Secession by a large majority
    The Washington Peace Conference presents its proposals to the U.S. Congress
    North Carolina votes narrowly not to hold a secession convention
    First Confederate government bond authorized
    Secretary of War Holt dismisses General Twiggs from the U.S. Army for treachery
    Texas seizes the United States Revenue cutter Henry Dodge in Galveston
    - In Washington, DC, the United States Senate is sitting in Special Session
    The Confederate States flag, "the Stars and Bars," is adopted in Montgomery, Alabama
    Confederate diplomats arrive in Washington DC
    Jefferson Davis appoints Pierre G.T. Beauregard commanding general of the troops around Fort Sumter
    After weeks of refusal, the commander of Fort Brown in Texas surrenders and marches his men to the coast
    In Montgomery, Alabama, the Confederate Congress passes a bill to create the Confederate Army
    Confederate States Constitution adopted in Montgomery, Alabama
    In Washington, DC, Confederate diplomats request a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State
    Secretary of State Seward refuses to recognize the Confederate diplomats sent to Washington DC
    The Congress of the Confederate States ends its first session in Montgomery, Alabama
    In Florida, Confederate authorities ban the locals from resupplying Fort Pickens and the U.S. Navy
    In Georgia, Vice-President A.H. Stephens pronounces slavery the foundation of the new Confederacy
    In Mississippi, Governor Pettus provides two regiments of infantry to the new Confederate Army
    A secessionist flag flies near the Frankford Arsenal in north-east Philadelphia
    The Philadelphia Methodist Conference urges withdrawal of the Church's new "discipline" on slavery
    In Virginia, secessionists raise the Confederate flag in a ceremony near Richmond
    In St. Louis, Missouri, a unified anti-Republican ticket takes control of mayor's office and city council
    Southern journalist urges the South to reclaim the "Star-Spangled Banner" as a southern patriotic song
    In Richmond, the Virginia Convention rejects secession in a decisive vote
    In Kentucky, Unionist John M. Delph easily wins election as the mayor of Louisville
    President Lincoln gives South Carolina notice that he intends to resupply Fort Sumter
    From Montgomery, the Confederate secretary of war orders immediate action against Fort Sumter
    In Washington, DC, the District of Columbia militia called out and sworn in for three months
    Federal troops evacuated from Texas arrive in New York Harbor
    General Beauregard demands that Major Anderson surrender Fort Sumter immediately
    Off Pensacola, Florida, under cover of night, small boats reinforce the federal garrison at Fort Pickens
    Pennsylvania votes $500,000 for the expansion of its militia
    Beauregard again demands that Major Anderson surrender Fort Sumter immediately
    Major Anderson accepts a ceasefire and prepares to evacuate Fort Sumter
    Major Anderson and his men evacuate Fort Sumter and sail for New York
    Stephen Douglas meets with Lincoln at the White House and pledges his support
    President Abraham Lincoln calls a special early session of the new 37th Congress
    President Lincoln calls for 75,000 troops to suppress the Rebellion and enforce United States law
    The governor of North Carolina sends an immediate refusal to provide troops for the Union
    Secretary of War Cameron outlines his quotas of volunteers to state governors
    In Philadelphia, angry crowds threaten the offices of the city's southern-based newspaper
    Governor Magoffin of Kentucky refuses troops for "the wicked purpose" of subduing the South
    Reading, Pennsylvania militia artillery unit called to service arrives in Harrisburg
    In Philadelphia, Mayor Alexander proclaims both against treason and popular disorder in the city
    At the House of Delegates in Richmond, the Virginia Convention votes for secession
    Confederate president invites applications for "letters of Marque and Reprisal"
    - Union garrison at Harpers Ferry burns the Arsenal and withdraws in an overnight march to Pennsylvania
    In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the Democratic newspaper denounces "Old Abe's War"
    Baltimore rioters mount a deadly attack on the Sixth Massachusetts in the streets of the city
    - Marylanders in sympathy with the South burn railroad bridges linking Philadelphia with Washington DC
    Remarkable gathering of 100,000 New Yorkers in Union Square in support of suppressing the rebellion
    First company of volunteers from Carlisle, Pennsylvania leaves for training, equipment, and service
    In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a public meeting condemns the South and strongly supports the war
    At Dickinson College, the Junior and Senior classes request the end of term be brought forward
    In Pennsylvania, the Carlisle Fencibles are officially mustered in as Pennsylvania Volunteers
    North Carolina authorities seize the branch United States Mint in Charlotte
    Philadelphia's enlistments since the attack on Fort Sumter approach ten thousand
    Pennsylvania suffers its first war fatality when a Philadelphia militiaman hurt in the Baltimore Riot dies
    In Philadelphia, the empty Girard House Hotel becomes a giant army uniform factory
    In Knoxville, editor "Parson" Brownlow famously rejects invitation to enlist in Confederate army
    U.S. Government takes over the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Delaware Railroad
    In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the Democratic newspaper swings into line in support of the war
    In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, James Colwell is appointed first lieutenant of the Carlisle Fencibles
    At Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, students are leaving for home in large numbers
    In Frederick, Maryland, the state's House of Delegates votes down secession
    In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Dickinson College students are finding it difficult to attend class
    The Congress of the Confederate States opens a special session session in Montgomery, Alabama
    - The Congress of the Confederate States is sitting in special session session in Montgomery, Alabama
    President Lincoln's twenty day grace period for the rebellion to "disperse" expires
    In Missouri, Federal forces arrest 639 pro-secession St Louis militiamen and face city mobs in response
    Violence continues on the streets of St. Louis as pro-Union militia battle with pro-Confederate mobs
    With war in the United States underway, the Bank of England raises its discount rate again
    The Kentucky Senate votes for neutrality but resolves to hold with the Union
    In Virginia, Captain John Quincy Marr becomes the first Confederate officer to die in the Civil War.
    The 37th Congress opens in Washington, DC
    The Wheeling Convention of the western Virginia counties passes an ordinance setting up a new state
    Confederate troops invade western Kentucky and bring the state's efforts to remain neutral to an end
    In Union-occupied North Carolina, loyalists meet in convention, rescind secession, and name a new governor
    In Paducah, Kentucky, Union officers clash over the treatment of a local secessionist
    - In Wheeling, the elected West Virginia convention is meeting to write a constitution for the new state
    In Richmond, the Confederate Congress votes to admit Missouri as the Confederacy's eleventh state
    The Wheeling Convention votes to drop the provisional name "Kanawha" in favor of "West Virginia"
    U.S.S. Hartford returns home from Asia with four officers who had declared for the Confederacy
    As the year closes, the armed forces of the United States reach a strength of more than 680,000 men
    U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee votes to expel Missouri Senators Waldo Johnson and Trusten Polk
    The United States Senate expels Missouri Senators Waldo Johnson and Trusten Polk for treason
    In Cincinnati, Wendell Phillips is forced from the stage as he attempts agitate for abolition and disunion
    The U.S. Senate organizes the impeachment trial of U.S. District Judge West H. Humphreys
    The U.S. Senate trial of U.S. District Judge West H. Humphreys of Tennessee ends with his removal
    In Charleston Harbor, General Robert Anderson re-hoists the United States flag over Fort Sumter
    In North Carolina, CSA General J. E. Johnston opens surrender talks with Union General W. T. Sherman
    In North Carolina, against orders, CSA General J. E. Johnston surrenders the entire Army of the Tennessee
    Notorious secessionist "fire-eater" Edmund Ruffin commits suicide at his Virginia plantation
    The Georgia State Convention votes to repeal the act of Secession passed in its legislature on January 19, 1861
    In Detroit, Michigan, Democratic Party giant Lewis Cass dies at the age of eighty-three.
    Date Title
    Daniel Webster, Second Reply to Hayne, United States Senate, January 26, 1830
    New York Times, “South Carolina Senator,” October 12, 1857
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Rumored Breaking Up of the Cabinet,” June 18, 1858
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “The Union of the South,” March 9, 1859
    San Francisco (CA) Evening Bulletin, “Filibusterism and Disunion,” April 1, 1859
    James Buchanan to Charles E. Wentz, April 22, 1859
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Folly,” July 25, 1859
    William T. Sherman to Ellen Sherman, December 12, 1859
    Chillicothe (OH) Scioto Gazette, “Disunion Bosh and the Cause of it,” January 3, 1860
    William T. Sherman to Thomas Ewing, January 8, 1860
    Entry by Edward Bates, March 17, 1860
    New York Times, “Disunion Plots,” May 10, 1860
    Raleigh (NC) Register, “The President on the Stump,” July 18, 1860
    Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, "Who Are For Disunion?," August 8, 1860
    Charlestown (VA) Free Press, "Precipitate A Revolution," August 9, 1860
    New York Times, “Mr. Yancey's Speech,” August 21, 1860
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "The Disunion Movement," September 13, 1860
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Mum on the Great Question,” September 17, 1860
    New York Times, “Disunion Ravings,” September 20, 1860
    New York Times, “The Nonsense of Disunion,” September 22, 1860
    New York Times, “When to Secede,” September 28, 1860
    (Jackson) Mississippian, "The 'Coercion' Issue," October 5, 1860
    New York Herald, “Won't Submit to Lincoln,” October 8, 1860
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, "The Terrors of Submission," October 11, 1860
    Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “A Trap For Douglas,” October 11, 1860
    New York Herald, “What are the Southern States Going to Do?,” October 12, 1860
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “There's No Secession in That,” October 13, 1860
    New York Times, “Very Suspicious,” October 15, 1860
    New York Times, “The Alabama Insurrection,” October 20, 1860
    New York Times, “A Bad Beginning,” October 22, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, “Fear of Insurrection,” October 24, 1860
    New York Times, “The Disunion Plot at Washington,” October 26, 1860
    Abraham Lincoln to David Hunter, October 26, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, "The Union at the South," October 29, 1860
    New York Times, “Buchanan vs. Gen Scott,” November 2, 1860
    New York Herald, “The New York Herald and the Disunion Question,” November 4, 1860
    New York Times, "The Republicans and Slavery," November 5, 1860
    New York Times, "The Administration and Disunion," November 7, 1860
    Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “Conservative Sentiments,” November 8, 1860
    (Jackson) Mississippian, “Remarkable Unanimity,” November 9, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, "The Disunion Flurry," November 10, 1860
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “A Traitor in Embryo,” November 12, 1860
    (Jackson) Mississippian, “A Bugle Blast from Washington,” November 13, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, "Secession and Finance," November 13, 1860
    Ripley (OH) Bee, “Southern Pranks,” November 15, 1860
    Varina Anne Banks Howell Davis to Jefferson Finis Davis, November 15, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, "A Seceder's Opinion in 1851," November 16, 1860
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The Reign of Terror in Georgia,” November 17, 1860
    New York Herald, “The Disunion Question,” November 19, 1860
    New York Times, “A Secession Breakwater,” November 20, 1860
    August Belmont to Herschel Johnson, November 22, 1860
    William T. Sherman to Ellen Sherman, November 23, 1860
    John Sherman to William Tecumseh Sherman, November 26, 1860
    (Montpelier) Vermont Patriot, “Nullifying the Laws,” November 24, 1860
    New York Times, "Object of the South Carolina Convention," November 24, 1860
    New York Herald, “The Real Disunionists,” November 25, 1860
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Secession Cadets,” November 26, 1860
    New York Times, “Unionism in Georgia,” November 27, 1860
    William T. Sherman to Ellen Sherman, November 29, 1860
    New York Times, “Political Assassination,” November 29, 1860
    Atchison (KS) Freedom’s Champion, “An Impossibility,” December 1, 1860
    New York Times, "Southern Debtors," December 1, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “A Good Precedent,” December 3, 1860
    August Belmont to William Sprague, December 6, 1860
    John Sherman to William Tecumseh Sherman, December 9, 1860
    New York Herald, “The Crisis and Its Solution,” December 10, 1860
    New York Times, “The President’s Organ on the Crisis,” December 11, 1860
    Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, “A British Opinion of American Disunion,” December 12, 1860
    Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, “British Views of Secession,” December 14, 1860
    Bangor (ME) Whig and Courier, “What Will Texas Do?,” December 15, 1860
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “What the South Intends to do on the Fourth of March,” December 15, 1860
    New York Herald, “Not a Bed of Roses,” December 16, 1860
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, "The Tempest Brewing at the North," December 17, 1860
    Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, “Compromise Projects,” December 18, 1860
    New York Herald, “Views on Secession in England,” December 19, 1860
    New York Times,“A Visit to Mr. Lincoln,” December 20, 1860
    New York Times, “A Sensible Proceeding,” December 20, 1860
    Newark (OH) Advocate, "Suffering in New York," December 21, 1860
    Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, “Mr. Lincoln's Position,” December 24, 1860
    New York Times, "Secession is Anarchy," December 25, 1860
    Bangor (ME) Whig and Courier, “Have We a Traitor at the Head,” December 25, 1860
    Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, “Secession Explained,” December 26, 1860
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Character of the Secession Leaders,” December 27, 1860
    Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “The Clouds Lowering,” December 27, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Organize For Safety,” December 28, 1860
    Atchison (KS) Freedom’s Champion, “No Backing Down!,” December 29, 1860
    New York Herald, “Is South Carolina Out of the Union?,” December 30, 1860
    Thomas Cadwallerder to Abraham Lincoln, December 31, 1860
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Letter From Virginia,” January 2, 1861
    Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “A Forgeone Conclusion,” January 3, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Danger of the Capital,” January 4, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Pennsylvania Arming,” January 5, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Secession Flag At Wilmington,” January 7, 1861
    Boston (MA) Herald, “The Crisis Approaching!,” January 8, 1861
    New York Times, “Arms for Traitors,” January 10, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “The One Man Power,” January 11, 1861
    (Montpelier) Vermont Patriot, “Will the Union be Preserved?,” January 12, 1861
    New York Times, “Disunion Leading the Way,” January 14, 1861
    New York Herald, “Coercion Symptoms in the West and North-West,” January 15, 1861
    New York Herald, “Ex-Secretary Floyd on the Crisis,” January 15, 1861
    Alexander K. McClure to Abraham Lincoln, January 15, 1861
    New York Times, “Aid For Disunion,” January 16, 1861
    "The Floyd Banquet," New York Herald, January 17, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “An Incident at Fort Sumter,” January 17, 1861
    New York Times, “The Battle of Morris’ Island,” January 19, 1861
    New York Herald, “A Contrast,” January 20, 1861
    Israel Washburn Jr. to Abraham Lincoln, January 21, 1861
    New York Times, “Secession of Florida,” January 23, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “Will England Recognize the Southern Confederacy?,” January 26, 1861
    New York Herald, “The Blockade of the Mississippi River,” January 27, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Hardly Credible,” January 28, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “‘Coercion’ in Alabama,” January 28, 1861
    Campbell Kinnear to Abraham Lincoln, January 29, 1861
    Elihu B. Washburne to Abraham Lincoln, January 30, 1861
    Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “Let the People Consider,” January 31, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The Yoke of Oppression,” February 1, 1861
    (Montpelier) Vermont Patriot, “Lincoln and His Guard,” February 2, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “The Next Step,” February 6, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Mr. Lincoln’s Views,” February 7, 1861
    Newark (OH) Advocate, “Abolition Threat of John P. Hale,” February 8, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “A. H. Stephens,” February 12, 1861
    New York Herald, “Free Love and Passional Attraction in the New Administration,” February 13, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “The Irrepressible Conflict,” February 13, 1861
    Louisville (KY) Journal, “Mr. Lincoln’s Speeches,” February 14, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "Another Strong Blow for the Union," February 14, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Thurlow Weed,” February 14, 1861
    New York Times, “An Unsatisfactory Defence,” February 15, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Lincoln’s War Speech,” February 16, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Popular Sovereignty,” February 18, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Mr. Lincoln’s Indianapolis Speech,” February 19, 1861
    New York Times, “Southern Streets and Northern Names,” February 20, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Bad For Virginia,” February 20, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Our New Colors,” February 21, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “Regular Officers in the South,” February 22, 1861
    (Concord) New Hampshire Statesman, “What Will Lincoln Do?,” February 23, 1861
    Memphis (TN) Appeal, “Enforcement of the Laws,” February 24, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Mayor Wood Lectures Lincoln,” February 25, 1861
    New York Times, “Traitor Officers,” February 26, 1861
    Winfield Scott to William H. Seward, March 3, 1861
    New York Herald, “Resignations in the Army, Navy and Civil Service of the Federal Government,” March 3, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The President’s Inaugural,” March 5, 1861
    New York Times, “A Bloody Programme,” March 6, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "The Inaugural Address," March 7, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Premonitions of a Storm,” March 8, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “A Scurvy Trick,” March 11, 1861
    Winfield Scott to Abraham Lincoln, March 11, 1861
    James Buchanan to James Gordon Bennett, March 11, 1861
    New York Times, “A Loyal Regiment,” March 12, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Abolitionists and Secessionists,” March 14, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, "Fort Sumter," March 15, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The Impending Downfall of Secession,” March 16, 1861
    New York Herald, “The New York Vessels Seized by the State of Georgia,” March 17, 1861
    New York Times, “About Fort Sumpter [Sumter],” March 18, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "Arkansas," March 18, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “Massachusetts Personal Liberty Bill,” March 19, 1861
    Savannah (GA) News, “A Northern Invasion,” March 20, 1861
    Charlestown (VA) Free Press, “Pryor Rampant,” March 21, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Fort Sumter,” March 22, 1861
    New York Times, “A Not Very Civil War,” March 23, 1861
    New York Herald, “Honor to Abolitionism Pure and Simple,” March 24, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Spirit of Washington Letters,” March 25, 1861
    New York Times, “Mischievous Rumors,” March 26, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Virginia Still for the Union,” March 28, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Houston and the Rebels,” March 28, 1861
    Memphis (TN) Appeal, “Mr. Stephens’ Speech,” March 29, 1861
    (Montpelier) Vermont Patriot, “The Policy of the Administration,” March 30, 1861
    New York Times, “Negro Regiments to be Raised,” April 1, 1861
    New York Times, “Ho! For The Road!,” April 4, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "A Hoax," April 4, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “North Carolina and Secession,” April 4, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “A Rugged Issue,” April 5, 1861
    Savannah (GA) News, “The Tribune on Virginia,” April 6, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “A Cheat at the Board,” April 6, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “The Naval Preparations at the North,” April 8, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “What Does It All Mean?,” April 9, 1861
    New York Times, “Wise Rampant,” April 9, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Prepare to Howl!,” April 10, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "Alarming News," April 11, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “War Inaugurated!,” April 13, 1861
    General P. G. T. Beauregard's General Order Number 20, April 14, 1861, Charleston, South Carolina
    New York Herald, “Apprehensions of an Attack on Washington,” April 14, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The Dread Arbitrament of War,” April 15, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Quick, Sharp, and Decisive,” April 15, 1861
    New Orleans (LA) Picayune, “Lincoln’s War Talk,” April 15, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “Retaliation,” April 15, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln, Presidential Proclamation, April 15, 1861, Washington , DC
    Proclamation by Mayor Fernando Wood of New York City, April 15, 1861
    Entry by George Templeton Strong, April 15, 1861
    Joseph Medill to Abraham Lincoln, April 15, 1861
    Winfield Scott to Abraham Lincoln, April 15, 1861
    Alexander J. Sessions to Abraham Lincoln, April 16, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The Border States,” April 16, 1861
    James Henderson to Abraham Lincoln, April 16, 1861
    New York Herald, “The Present Administration Doing What The Last Should Have Done,” April 16, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “Another John Brown Raid,” April 16, 1861
    Chillicothe (OH) Scioto Gazette, “The War News,” April 16, 1861
    Entry by Josie Underwood, April 16, 1861
    Entry by George Templeton Strong, April 16, 1861
    Entry by Catherine Edmondston, April 16, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Abolition Anticipations,” April 17, 1861
    The Virginia Ordinance of Secession, April 17, 1861
    Jefferson Davis, Proclamation, April 17, 1861
    Entry by Josie Underwood, April 17, 1861
    Entry by George Templeton Strong, April 17, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “The Old Fire,” April 18, 1861
    Proclamation of the Governor of Maryland, April 18, 1861
    Boston (MA) Liberator, “An Ancient and A Modern Compromise,” April 19, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Henry Ward Beecher on War,” April 19, 1861
    Newark (OH) Advocate, “Speech of Hon. Alex H. Stephens,” April 19, 1861
    George W. Brown to John A. Andrew, April 20, 1861
    Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin's Proclamation, April 20, 1861
    New York Times, “The Position of Maryland,” April 20, 1861
    Savannah (GA) News, “Mails to the South to be Cut Off,” April 20, 1861
    John A. Andrew to George W. Brown, April 21, 1861
    New York Herald, “News from Baltimore,” April 21, 1861
    Lunsford L. Lomax to George B. Bayard, April 21, 1861, Washington, D.C.
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Cannot Be Accepted,” April 22, 1861
    William Seward to Thomas Hicks, April 22, 1861
    William Willey to Waitman Willey, April 22, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Reorganization,” April 22, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “We Don’t Believe It!,” April 23, 1861
    David D. Field to Abraham Lincoln, April 23, 1861
    New York Times, “How to End the War,” April 24, 1861
    Proclamation of Kentucky Governor Beriah Magoffin, April 24, 1861
    Virginia Governor John Letcher’s Proclamation, April 24, 1861
    Andrew H. Reeder to Simon Cameron, April 24, 1861
    Dickinson College President Herman Johnson Circular Letter, April 24, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln to Winfield Scott, April 25, 1861
    New York Times, “Rushing to Ruin,” April 26, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Gen. Scott,” April 27, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Secession Wounded in Missouri,” April 27, 1861
    Entry by George Templeton Strong, April 27, 1861
    - C. P. Kirkland, Jr.’s Letter, April 27-28, 1861
    New York Herald, “Protection to Southern Property in New York,” April 28, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Washington Safe,” April 29, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "A New Difficulty," April 29, 1861
    William Willey to Waitman Willey, April 29, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Time Not Expired,” April 30, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Brave Words from Brownlow,” April 30, 1861
    New York Times, “Arms for the Rebels,” May 1, 1861
    Savannah (GA) News, “Northern Free Speech,” May 1, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "Neutrality," May 2, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Good Bye, John Bell,” May 2, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The Peril of Kentucky,” May 3, 1861
    Atchison (KS) Freedom’s Champion, “Are They Secessionists?,” May 4, 1861
    New York Times, “Affairs in Maryland,” May 5, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "What We Have To Expect," May 6, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “The Feeling in Alabama,” May 6, 1861
    New York Herald, “English Opinions on American Affairs,” May 7, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “Horace Greeley,” May 8, 1861
    Boston (MA) Advertiser, “Not Quite a Unit,” May 9, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Unfounded Complaints,” May 9, 1861
    New York Times, “Not a War against the South,” May 10, 1861
    Boston (MA) Herald, “Union in California,” May 13, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “Lying Dexterity,” May 14, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Treason,” May 15, 1861
    Ripley (OH) Bee, “Letter from a Union man in Kentucky,” May 16, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Help From England,” May 16, 1861
    New York Times, “The Reward of Treason,” May 16, 1861
    Montgomery Blair to Abraham Lincoln, May 16, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “New European Views of the South,” May 17, 1861
    Savannah (GA) News, “The Civil War in Missouri,” May 17, 1861
    Robert Anderson to Abraham Lincoln, May 19, 1861
    New York Times, “A Halter with Two Nooses,” May 20, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “What Is Meant By ‘Armed Neutrality,’” May 21, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “The Day of Election,” May 22, 1861
    Ripley (OH) Bee, “One of the Volunteers,” May 23, 1861
    Boston (MA) Advertiser, “Impotent Rage,” May 27, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Abusing England,” May 27, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Army Slave Catching,” May 28, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “The Military Policy of the North,” May 29, 1861
    New York Times, “Civil and Martial Law at Baltimore,” May 30, 1861
    Newark (OH) Advocate, “England and the United States,” May 31, 1861
    New York Herald, “Our Fashionable Summer Resorts,” June 2, 1861
    New York Times, “One of their Errors,” June 3, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Virginia Playing the Foot,” June 4, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “The Mothers and Wives,” June 6, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Treason in Illinois,” June 7, 1861
    Carlisle (PA) Herald, “Departure of the Volunteers,” June 7, 1861
    New York Times, “The Bitter Fruits,” June 10, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “The Capture of the Privateer Savannah,” June 11, 1861
    San Francisco (CA) Evening Bulletin, “Doing at Virginia,” June 12, 1861
    (Concord) New Hampshire Statesman, “The Patriot and the Merryman Case,” June 15, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “A Submissionist Answered,” June 17, 1861
    Ripley (OH) Bee, “Fugitives from Oppression,” June 20, 1861
    San Francisco (CA) Evening Bulletin, “Disreputable Weapons of Political Warfare,” June 27, 1861
    Atchison (KS) Freedom’s Champion, “One of Floyd’s Performances,” June 29, 1861
    Worthington G. Snethen to Winfield Scott, June 29, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln, Message to the Congress in Special Session, July 4, 1861
    Entry by Kate Stone, July 4, 1861
    (Concord) New Hampshire Statesman, “Andrew Johnson,” July 6, 1861
    Memphis (TN) Appeal, “Kentucky Neutrality to be Disregarded,” July 7, 1861
    Memphis (TN) Appeal, “Ulterior Squinting,” July 9, 1861
    Charles B. Calvert to Abraham Lincoln, July 10, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Missouri,” July 13, 1861
    Boston (MA) Advertiser, “Missouri Discontents,” July 22, 1861
    Andrew Johnson and William B. Carter to Abraham Lincoln, August 6, 1861
    Boston (MA) Advertiser, “The Kentucky Victory,” August 10, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “East Tennessee,” August 16, 1861
    Beriah Magoffin to Abraham Lincoln, August 19, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Secession Organs in the North,” August 20, 1861
    Ward H. Lamon to Abraham Lincoln, August 23, 1861
    Cleveland (OH) Herald, “Union Feeling in North Carolina,” August 27, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln to Orville Hickman Browning, September 22, 1861
    Gen. William Nelson's Proclamation and Offer of Amnesty in Kentucky, October 17, 1861
    Chillicothe (OH) Scioto Gazette, “Disgraceful Fraud,” October 29, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln to Lorenzo Thomas, November 7, 1861
    Marble Nash Taylor, Proclamation to the People of North Carolina, November 20, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln, Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861
    Claiborne Fox Jackson to the Soldiers and Fellow-Citizens of Missouri, December 13, 1861
    Marble Nash Taylor, Proclamation to the People of North Carolina calling Elections, January 22, 1862
    Henry Massey Rector to the Freemen of Arkansas, Little Rock, May 5, 1862
    Abraham Lincoln to Cuthbert Bullitt, July 28, 1862
    Reverdy Johnson to Abraham Lincoln, Friday, September 05, 1862
    Abraham Lincoln, Response to a Serenade, November 10, 1864
    Andrew Johnson, Amnesty Proclamation, Washington D.C., May 29, 1865
    Edmund Ruffin, Diary Entry, June 17, 1865
    Georgia State Convention, "An Ordinance to repeal certain ordinances and resolutions...." Milledgeville, Georgia, October 30, 1865
    Georgia State Convention, "Plea for the release and pardon of Jefferson Davis..." Milledgeville, Georgia, October 30, 1865
    Andrew Johnson, Proclamation announcing that the Rebellion has ended, April 2, 1866
    Chicago Style Entry Link
    Adams, Charles. When in the Course of Human Events: Arguing the Case for Southern Secession. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000. View Record
    Ash, Stephen V. Secessionists and Other Scoundrels: Selections from Parson Brownlow’s Book. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1999. View Record
    Auchampaugh, Philip Gerald. James Buchanan and His Cabinet on the Eve of Secession. Lancaster, PA: Privately printed, 1926. View Record
    Ayers, Edward L. In the Presence of Mine Enemies: War in the Heart of America 1859-1863. New York: W W Norton & Company, 2003. View Record
    Ayers, Edward L. What Caused the Civil War? Reflections on the South and Southern History. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2005. View Record
    Ayers, Edward L., Gary W. Gallagher, and Andrew J. Torget. Crucible of the Civil War: Virginia from Secession to Commemoration. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2006. View Record
    Barney, William L. The Making of a Confederate: Walter Lenoir's Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. View Record
    Barney, William L. The Secessionist Impulse: Alabama and Mississippi in 1860. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974. View Record
    Belohlavek, John M. "The Politics of Scandal: A Reassessment of John B. Floyd as Secretary of War, 1857-1861." West Virginia History 31, no. 3 (1970): 145-160. View Record
    Boyd, William Kenneth. North Carolina on the Eve of Secession. Washington, DC: American Historical Association, 1912. View Record
    Buenger, Walter L. Secession and the Union in Texas. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1984. View Record
    Canfield, Eugene B. "Birth of a Blockade." Naval History 21, no. 5 (2007): 44-51. View Record
    Channing, Steven A. Crisis of Fear: Secession in South Carolina. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978. View Record
    Crofts, Daniel W. "A Reluctant Unionist: John A. Gilmer and Lincoln's Cabinet." Civil War History 24, no. 3 (1978): 225-249. View Record
    Crofts, Daniel W. Reluctant Confederates: Upper South Unionists in the Secession Crisis. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. View Record
    Davis, Kenneth W. “Black, Buchanan and Secession.” Laurel Messenger 15 (February 1975): 1, 8. View Record
    Denton, Lawrence M. A Southern Star for Maryland: Maryland and the Secession Crisis, 1860-1861. Baltimore: Publishing Concepts, 1995. View Record
    Dew, Charles B. Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2001. View Record
    Di Nunzio, Mario. “Secession Winter: Lyman Trumbull and the Crisis in Congress.” Capitol Studies 1 (Fall 1972): 29-39. View Record
    Faulkner, Thomas C. Faulkner’s History of the Revolution in the Southern States Including the Special Messages of President Buchanan—the Ordinances of Secession of the Six Withdrawing States . . . etc. New York: J. F. Trow, 1861. View Record
    Fehrenbacher, Don E. "Lincoln's Wartime Leadership: The First Hundred Days." Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association 9 (1987): 1-18. View Record
    Ford, Lacy K., Jr. "Toward a Divided Union." Reviews in American History 18, no. 3 (September 1990): 349-356. View Record
    Ford, Lacy K., Jr. Origins of Southern Radicalism: The South Carolina Upcountry, 1800-1860. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. View Record
    Freehling, William W. The Road to Disunion. Vol. 2, Secessionists Triumphant, 1854-1861. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. View Record
    Freehling, William W. and Craig M. Simpson. Secession Debated: Georgia's Showdown in 1860. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. View Record
    Hitchcock, William S. "The Limits of Southern Unionism: Virginia Conservatives and the Gubernatorial Election of 1859." Journal of Southern History 47, no 1 (1981): 57-72. View Record
    Hitchcock, William S.  "Southern Moderates and Secession: Senator Robert M. T. Hunter's Call for Union," Journal of American History 59, no. 4 (1973): 871-884. View Record
    Holt, Michael F. The Fate of Their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extension, and the Coming of the Civil War. New York: Hill and Wang, 2004. View Record
    Holzer, Harold. Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. View Record
    Horton, Paul. "Submitting to the 'Shadow of Slavery': The Secession Crisis and Civil War in Alabama's Lawrence County." Civil War History 44, no. 2 (1998): 111-136. View Record
    Hubbell, John T. “Jeremiah Sullivan Black and the Great Secession Winter.” Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine 57, no. 3 (1974): 255-274. View Record
    Hughes, Robert M. “Floyd’s Resignation from Buchanan’s Cabinet.” Tyler’s Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine 5 (1923): 73-95. View Record
    Hunt, Gaillard. “Narrative and Letter of William Henry Trescot, Concerning the Negotiations between South Carolina and President Buchanan in December, 1860.” American Historical Review 13, no. 3 (April 1908): 528-556. View Record
    Huston, James L. Calculating the Value of the Union: Slavery, Property Rights, and the Economic Origins of the Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. View Record
    Johannsen, Robert W. "The Douglas Democracy and the Crisis of Disunion." Civil War History 9, no. 3 (1963): 229-247. View Record
    Johnson, Michael P. Toward a Patriarchal Republic: The Secession of Georgia. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1977. View Record
    Kendall, Amos. Secession Letters of Amos Kendall: Also, His Letters to Colonel Orr and President Buchanan. Washington, DC: H. Polkinhorn, 1861. View Record
    Klein, Maury. Days of Defiance: Sumter, Secession, and the Coming of the Civil War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. View Record
    Klein, Philip Shriver. “Patriotic Myths and Political Realities: Buchanan and the Origins of the Civil War.” Lock Haven Review 15 (1974): 65-78. View Record
    Klingberg, Frank Wysor. "James Buchanan and the Crisis of the Union." Journal of Southern History 9, no. 4 (1943): 455-474. View Record
    Link, William A. Roots of Secession: Slavery and Politics in Antebellum Virginia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. View Record
    Lundberg, John R. “Wheat Farmers in the Secession Crisis: The Imprint of the Upper South on Northeast Texas Politics.” East Texas Historical Journal 47, no. 1 (2009): 29-43. View Record
    Marvel, William. Mr. Lincoln Goes to War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006. View Record
    McClintock, Russell. Lincoln and the Decision for War: The Northern Response to Secession. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. View Record
    McCrary, Peyton, Clark Miller, and Dale Baum. "Class and Party in the Secession Crisis: Voting Behavior in the Deep South, 1856-1861." Journal of Interdisciplinary History 8, no. 3 (1978): 429-457. View Record
    McKenzie, Robert Tracy. "Contesting Secession: Parson Brownlow and the Rhetoric of Proslavery Unionism, 1860-1861." Civil War History 48, no. 4 (2002): 294-312. View Record
    McKenzie, Robert Tracy. Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. View Record
    McPherson, James M. This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. View Record
    Milton, George Fort. "Stephen A. Douglas' Efforts for Peace." Journal of Southern History 1, no. 3 (1935): 261-275. View Record
    Olsen, Christopher. Political Culture and Secession in Mississippi: Masculinity, Honor, and the Antiparty Tradition, 1830-1860. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. View Record
    Phillips, Christopher. Missouri's Confederate: Claiborne Fox Jackson and the Creation of Southern Identify in the Border West. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2000. View Record
    Potter, David Morris. The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861. Edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1976. View Record
    Reid, Brian Holden. "The Crisis at Fort Sumter in 1861 Reconsidered." History 77 (1992): 3-32. View Record
    Reynolds, David S. "John Brown, the Election of Lincoln, and the Civil War." North & South 9, no. 1 (2006): 78-88. View Record
    Reynolds, Donald E. Texas Terror: The Slave Insurrection Panic of 1860 and the Secession of the Lower South. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2007 View Record
    Shanks, Henry Thomas. The Secession Movement in Virginia, 1847-1861. Richmond: Garrett & Massie, 1934. View Record
    Simpson, Brooks D. "Two More Roads to Sumter." Reviews in American History 17, no. 2 (1989): 225-231. View Record
    Simpson, Craig M. A Good Southerner: The Life of Henry A. Wise of Virginia. The Fred W. Morrison Series in Southern Studies. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1985. View Record
    Sitterson, Joseph Carlyle. The Secession Movement in North Carolina. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1939. View Record
    Stampp, Kenneth M. And the War Came: The North and the Secession Crisis, 1860-1861. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1950. View Record
    Swanberg, W. A. First Blood: The Story of Fort Sumter. New York: Scribner Press, 1957. View Record
    Varon, Elizabeth R. Disunion!: The Coming of the American Civil War, 1789-1859. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. View Record
    Walther, Eric H. The Fire-Eaters. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1992. View Record
    Walther, Eric H. William Lowndes Yancey: The Coming of the Civil War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. View Record
    Watson, Ritchie Devon. "'The Difference of Race': Antebellum Race Mythology and the Development of Southern Nationalism." Southern Literary Journal 35, no. 1 (2003): 1-13. View Record
    Weatherman, Donald V. “James Buchanan on Slavery and Secession.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 15, no. 4 (Fall 1985): 796-805. View Record
    Woodard, David E. “Abraham Lincoln, Duff Green, and the Mysterious Trumbull Letter.” Civil War History 42, no. 3 (1996): 211-219. View Record
    How to Cite This Page: "Secession," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/9606.