Election of 1860 and Secession

A widely acclaimed pamphlet written by Howell Cobb was well known in the South. Cobb emphasized the Republican party's attitude towards slavery, which he regarded as the linchpin of southern social order. The planter-professional elite controlled the means of communication in the South and were able to secure majorities in secession conventions. By February 1861, all of the Lower South had seceded from the Union. By the end of the month, the Provisional Confederacy had been formed in Montgomery, Alabama. Jefferson Davis was elected President. South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were out of the Union. Now, it remained to be seen whether the border states would follow.

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