ZOPITE

For those who cite the secession documents as “proof” that secession was all about slavery, I wonder how closely they have read them, if they read them at all? Read the only four State’s Declarations of Secession that mention slavery, while considering this context. Note they do not say their ultimate cause is to “preserve and extend slavery.” They say slavery is the “immediate cause” or is “thoroughly identified with slavery.” They do not say slavery is THE CAUSE. To be “identified with” something or if it is the “immediate cause” it is not the “only cause.” Why they stated it this way is because there was a long list of reasons that the South chose to secede, and the most recent and legally egregious were issues surrounding slavery. The ultimate cause of secession was not slavery, but slavery issues were identified with that ultimate cause. Often Southerners said slavery was the mere “occasion” and not “the cause” of secession. This meant slavery was the most recent symptom of a more fundamental cause. That fundamental cause was Northern cupidity and infidelity to the Constitution for the purpose of gaining political and economic control over the South. The South’s primary sources are filled with this complaint. Slavery, like tariffs, internal improvements, subsidies, bounties, centralization, national banks, etc. . . all were symptoms of a more fundamental cause for secession – Northern infidelity to the Constitution, backed by domestic terrorism. Nowhere does any secession document say the South wanted to “preserve and extend slavery.” Defending slavery against irresponsible demands is not the same as a desire for slavery by the majority. They simply wanted the mandate, along with the guarantees the Constitution allowed.