America's Civil War
History 393
Study Questions
Professor John C. Willis
 
 
The First Wave of Secession

 

1.  What considerations made many Southerners discount the need or value of secession before Lincoln's inauguration? 

2.  Why were leading South Carolinians convinced that immediate secession was the only sure means of protecting Southern rights and interests? 

3.  Where was slavery most prominent in 1860?  Did slavery's importance shape acceptance of secession in 1860-1861?