Why South Carolina and the Deep South Seceded

The primary driver was slavery. Key factors:

1. Preservation of Slavery: The agrarian economy depended on enslaved labor; rising anti-slavery sentiment and Republican power threatened the institution.
2. States' Rights & Nullification: South Carolina championed the doctrine that states could nullify federal laws; secession was the ultimate assertion of state sovereignty.
3. Election of Lincoln (1860): His anti-slavery platform catalyzed immediate secession.
4. Economic Grievances: Tariffs and federal spending seen as favoring the industrial North.
5. Cultural/Social Divide: Distinct Southern identity felt threatened by Northern influence.

South Carolina seceded December 20, 1860, followed by six more Deep South states, forming the Confederacy and precipitating the Civil War.