Friday, October 11, 2013

To secede or not to secede

For some states in the deep South where Breckinridge was overwhelmingly supported, secession was the logical course of action after Lincoln's election.  Others, however, especially border states, remained torn over the pros and cons.  What are some of the ideas that the readings suggest that may have motivated the border states to leave or to stay in the Union?

13 comments:

  1. Well what motivated these border states to leave was that Lincoln becoming president was not what they wanted and wanted to live they way they have been with slavery and all that. But they can not do so with Lincoln as president. Now what was making them stay with the union was that seceding is a scary thought and people did not want to go against the union they would stay and if they were also against slavery and liked Lincoln were just some of the reasons why they would want to stay. So The south seceded from the union and a big motivation to leave and to stay was there opinion on Lincoln.

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  2. I agree with Chandler. No one wanted Lincoln to become president in the south because they wanted to continue living their lives with slaves and people doing everything for them. No one wanted to work for themselves and do everything by themselves because they were lazy. This is why they didnt want Lincoln to be president. Lincoln becoming president suggested that the border states should leave because they could not have slaves anymore. Secession suggested that the border states should stay. I think this because no one really wanted secession and they thought that if they stayed then it would be easier and they wouldn't have to worry about it.

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  3. For a state like Tennessee, were considered as border states which might secede from the Union. Tennessee finally had the majority on votes and seceded from the Union, and joined Confederacy. The cons that they saw from staying in the union was a potential war from which President Lincoln issued a proclamation on April 15 called "the militia of the several States of he Union, to the ...number of seventy five thousand". However, Tennesseans saw the union as which "might be restored on the free consent of a great people guilty of mistakes and freely acknowledging and nobly correcting them", just before Lincoln's proclamation. They thought it is necessary to take a side from one of the others but in its subtext is saying "stay in the union is what we are going to do now". Again, they don't want a war.

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  4. It made sense for the states of the deep South to secede because they would have the most to lose of slavery was eventually abolished, and they would not be greatly affected by the civil war that ultimately occurred due to their secession. the border states, on the other hand, had strong economic and social ties to both Northern states and Southern states.They also did not have as many slave holding families in their populations, so the question of slavery was not quite as big of a deal in the border states as in the deep South. Not to mention that as 'border states', they would see most of the fighting in the Civil War. Interestingly, this does not deter them from joining the Confederacy. It was not until Lincoln called to arms against the rebellious Southern states that many of the border states seceded. These states were not driven by the need for slavery, but for their support of states rights. This proved to be the determining factor when it came to the allegiances of border states.

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  5. From the Norths point of view it made sense for the South to secede because they did not share the same values at all. And from the Souths point of view it made sense to secede because they wanted slavery and with Lincoln's election, that was not going to happen. Ways that the readings suggested that may have motivated the border states to leave or to stay in the Union were when Parham said at one point "I see a war between the states approaching". From what the reading said, it sounded like the amount of criminal violence sprouted up after Lincoln was elected president. Also the reading says how the bordering states were getting newspapers from both the confederate and the union. I agree with Stefan that the bordering states would have seen the most of the civil war because some of the people in that particular state might have been union of confederate. Overall the south has a pretty strong argument to secede from the union because their political and racial views did not match up at all with the north, which is what eventually led to the civil war.

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  6. While there were obvious reasons for as why the most southern states wanted to seperate from the north, (lkike the fact that lincoln had become elected and they did not want him as their president) it was much more difficult for boardering states to choose wether or not they wanted to leave the union or stay. While the north foudn the idea of the succession schocking, the south found it an easy alternative to having to have lincoln as their president. the south thought they had many social economic and intellectual reasons for as to why they should seperate, but hte boardering states to the north didnt find it so easy because they wer ebeing tyold they could continue slavery and lioncolns Secretary of State was working hard to keep the northern states apart of the same union.

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  7. It made sense that the states of the South seceded because Southern States would have lost everything if slavery was abolished, because of the fact that cotton was completely dependent on slaves(considering the fact that cotton was their major income). However, for the border states, opinions differened because based on their economy and location, different border states had social and economic connection with either Northern or Southern States. Plus, although if civil war happened, it was obvious that a lot of damage would be done to the Border States, most of the border states did not join the Southern Confederacy until Lincolon called for arms. That was because in the boarder states, abolishing slavery wasn't a big issue since the boarder states did not have many slave holding population.

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  8. There are plenty of reasons for the South to secede instead of to stay in the union. One of the most significant factors is the imminent abolition of the slavery. This will damage not only the economy of the South, but also disrupt their white supremacy life style. Meanwhile, the South was also paying the majority of the tax and contributing the most to the union, but the North only provided little to the union. There were also many people tried to seek power out of the secession. The establishment of a new republic definitely offer more opportunities for new leaders. Furthermore, the South also believe if they separate from the union, they would have more trading opportunity internationally and become more powerful. They would even be able to gain more territories down south of America continent. Overall, there are huge temptation for the South to separate from the union.

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  9. After the election of Lincoln in 1860 , the Southern states had obviously reasons for leaving the country and form their own constitution ( Lincoln had been elected president and slavery would be abolished very soon and they were very afraid of what could happen to the economy and other without slavery ) . However, for the border states it was much more difficult to choose whether to stay or leave the union . Although according Lincoln was not a matter of choice since the Constitution did not allow secession"the different two parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face: and intercourse either amicable or hostile, must continue between them".
    Anyway, border states were having a hard time because they did not know whether to stay or leave as most of their economies depended on both the north and south. But both knew that if a war broke out , they would be the most affected since they were the border of the two parts .

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  10. as a border state you knew the main battle ground would be held right in your back yard you bordered both slave having and freedom granting regions. as a border state you also knew that the north had a vastly superior edge army a system compared to the south. why would you want to join not only a underdog but a morally corrupt underdog who system of life in not a necessity to yours. as a predominately slave holding border state you are more inclined to defend your state and your culture. after fort sumpter multiple boarder states fluctuate to the confederacy thinking that they way of life is endangered and that the north is to oppressive and aggressive.

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  11. Lincoln's election to presidency was a huge motivator to border states to secede. These states knew about Lincoln's view on slavery and chose not to live under his terms by leaving. They needed slaves in order to keep their business as profitable as it had been previously. The reason why border states stuck to the union is mostly because of the fear of not knowing what would happen if they seceded and then had to go up against the union. Lincoln was elected as president meaning that of the candidates present in the election, the United States democratically decided on Lincoln as the country's new leader. This proves that although there were a lot of people against Lincoln, there were obviously more who agreed and supported his ideas and trusted him as a leader.

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  12. Both sides have there pros and cons making the decision for the border states extremely difficult. Here again we see that the basis of their economies on either side directly correlating with their influence. The north is an industry economy and the south one that thrives on agriculture and slaves. The border states- being the border states were equipped to assimilate into either of these economies. They also probably figured out that because they're right in the middle their decision could be a catalyst for war. The two sides would draw a line gather support and go at it way faster than they actually did.

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  13. Lincolns election was a major turning point in the decisions of the border states. The states then feel pity for the south because they were basically being wrongly led. One could make the argument that the north was becoming england all over again- stirring up controversies of not too long before this.

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