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Border slave states that did not secede. Tennessee was the eleventh state to secede on June 8, 1861. Arkansas was the ninth state to secede on May 6, 1861. Georgia was the fifth state to secede on Jan. 19, 1861. South Carolina was the first to secede on Dec. 20,1860. Florida was the third state to secede on Jan. 10, 1861.

Virginia was the eighth state to secede on April 17, 1861. North Carolina was the tenth state to secede on May 20, 1861. Texas was the seventh state to secede on Feb. 1, 1861. Louisiana was the sixth state to secede on Jan. 26, 1861. Mississippi was the second state to secede on Jan 9, 1861. Alabama was the fourth state to secede on Jan. 11, 1861.

There was no one reason that can be attributed to each state leaving the Union. Each state for the most part had it's own unique reason for breaking ties. Most were upset by what they considered the tipping of the balance of political powers against them. Two quotes that shed some light on this are:
The crime of the North was the census returns. -James Russell Lowell
All we ask is to be left alone. -Jefferson Davis

Man citizens of the South were unopposed to secession simply because they felt it would be unopposed. They were confident that the shopkeeping Yankees had no stomach to fight. They also felt that Northern industry was so heavily dependent on the South's cotton they would never allow the government to intervene.

The South was very eager to develop it's own foreign trade and banking, without the heavy handed minding of the North. They also became very interested and somewhat caught up in the Nationalism that was sweeping Europe in areas of Italy and Germany.

Few of the seceders felt that what they were doing was wrong. many turned to the Declaration of Independence itself as it determined the principle of self determination. And actually the parallels existed between what the colonies had done to the King and what the states felt they were doing to the Union and Lincoln.

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The map data was compiled and drawn by Chip Brown. Research for the brief essay came from many sources.