In December, 1860, an event occurred which lead eventually to the Civil War: what was the first state to secede from the Union?

On December 20, 1860, a special convention in Charleston voted unanimously to approve an Ordinance of Secession, officially declaring its separation from the United States. This action was a direct response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president the previous month. While Lincoln had not called for the immediate abolition of slavery, his Republican Party platform opposed its expansion into western territories, a stance that pro-slavery leaders saw as a mortal threat to their way of life and economic system.

For years, the state had been a hotbed of secessionist sentiment, championing the doctrine of "states' rights" to protect and preserve the institution of slavery. In their "Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession," the delegates argued that the federal government had broken its constitutional compact, primarily by failing to protect the rights of slaveholders. They believed Lincoln's victory signaled the beginning of the end for slavery and that leaving the Union was the only way to safeguard their interests.

This bold move set off a chain reaction across the Deep South. Within two months, six other states had followed suit, leading to the formation of the Confederate States of America in February 1861. The stage was set for a national crisis that would erupt into war just a few months later with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, located in Charleston Harbor.