Civil War Home
Home of the American Civil War: Secession of the Southern States
Scroll through this article to "Secession in the Upper South" to find out what was happening in southern states that had not yet seceded before April, 1861, and what convinced these states to secede. From an article by William L. Barney...
Digital History
Digital History: Explorations: Why Did the South Secede?
Resource explores the states that withdrew from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War and why.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Secession and Civil War
Part of a unit on the Civil War and Reconstruction, this section provides an overview of the formation of the Confederacy and subsequent secession of states in the South.
Library of Virginia
Virginia Memory: Virginia Ordinance of Secession
For this lesson, students learn what the Virginia Ordinance of Secession declared.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South
A very good compilation of the advantages and disadvantages of both the North and South at the beginning of the Civil War. The South had the trained officers, but the North had the factories to make rifles. Read about the major...
Siteseen
Siteseen: Civil Conflict: The Crittenden Compromise of 1860
Web page on the Crittenden Compromise of 1860 which assured the continuation of slavery where it already existed in an attempt to appease Southerners and halt secession of Southern states from the Union.
Siteseen
Siteseen: Civil Conflict: Secession
Site with outline information on the beginning stages of the Civil War when southern states seceded and rebelled against the Union.
University of North Carolina
Address of Congress to the Confederate States
Contains the actual "Address of Congress to the People of the Confederate States," joint resolution in relation to the war. The address claims that slaves are indeed private property.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Southern Secession: The Secession Crisis
Describes the events leading up to the secession of the Upper South and the formation of the Confederate States of America, including the attack on Fort Sumter.
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Secession of the Southern States
This primary source set uses documents, illustrations, and maps to explore events and ideas that drove the formation of the Confederate States of America and the United States' descent into civil war. Includes a teacher's guide.