Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union; and the Ordinance of the Secession

by Christopher Memminger

Overview

This is the original document of "The Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union", which is a legal proclamation issued on December 24, 1860, by the government of South Carolina, explaining its reasons for seceding from the United States. The declaration was written by Christopher Memminger, first Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederate States of America.

The opening portion of the declaration outlines the historical background of South Carolina and offers a legal justification for its secession. It asserts that the right of states to secede is implicit in the Constitution and this right was explicitly reaffirmed by South Carolina in 1852. The declaration states that the agreement between South Carolina and the United States is subject to the law of compact, which creates obligations on both parties and which revokes the agreement if either party fails to uphold its obligations.

The next section asserts that the government of the United States and of states within that government had failed to uphold their obligations to South Carolina. The specific issue stated was the refusal of some states to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act, clauses in the US Constitution protecting slavery, and the federal government's perceived role in attempting to abolish slavery.

The next section states that while these problems have existed for twenty-five years, the situation had recently become unacceptable due to the election of a president (Abraham Lincoln although he is not mentioned by name) who was planning to outlaw slavery.

The final section concludes with a statement that South Carolina had therefore seceded from the United States.

Following the declaration of causes is the ordinance that dissolves the Union between South Carolina and other states united with it.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940014936682
Publisher:	Balefire Publishing
Publication date:	08/04/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	13
File size:	641 KB

About the Author

Christopher Gustavus Memminger (January 9, 1803 – March 7, 1888) was a prominent political leader and the first Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederate States of America.

Memminger was born in Vaihingen an der Enz, Germany (in what was then the Duchy of Württemberg). His father, Gottfried Memminger, was a military officer who died in combat a month after his son's birth. His mother, Eberhardina Kohler Memminger, immigrated to Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States but died of yellow fever in 1807. Christopher was placed in an orphanage

Memminger's fortunes changed when, at the age of eleven, he was taken under the care of Thomas Bennett, a prominent lawyer and future Governor. Memminger was quite intelligent and entered South Carolina College at the age of 12 and graduated second in his class at 16. Memminger passed the bar in 1825 and became a successful lawyer. He married Mary Withers Wilkinson in 1832.

He was a leader of the opponents during the nullification excitement. He published The Book of Nullification (1832-33) which satirized the advocates of the doctrine in biblical style. He entered state politics and served in the South Carolina state legislature from 1836 to 1852 and 1854 to 1860, where for nearly twenty years he was the head of the finance committee. Memminger was a staunch advocate of education and helped give Charleston one of the most comprehensive public school systems in the country. In 1859, after John Brown's raid, he was commissioned by South Carolina to consult with other delegates in Virginia as to the best method of warding off attacks of abolitionists.