Did South Carolina Invent Secession?

Popular mythology assumes that South Carolina, or perhaps the South in general, invented the idea of secession. Many think that South Carolina was the first state ever to threaten secession. This is not correct. There is a long history of secession efforts by various states because the states deemed it a sovereign right.

These are some of the secession movements that occurred before the War Between the States.


1787 - New York, Rhode Island, Virginia Assert Right to Secede
Only after passing legislation clarifying their sovereign right to secede if necessary do these states' conventions adopt the Constitution.

1803 - New England States Threaten Secession
New Englanders object to the Louisiana Purchase.

1807 - New England States Threaten Secession
New Englanders object to the Embargo Act.

1812 - New England States Threaten Secession
New Englanders object to the admission of Louisiana as a state.

1814 - New England States Threaten Secession
At the Hartford Convention New Englanders object to the War of 1812.

1845 - New England States Threaten Secession
New Englanders object to the admission of Texas as a state.

1860-61 - Southern States Secede
Southern states object to high federal tariffs, which they believe unfairly favor the North and harm the South.

1860 - Vermont Threatens Secession
Secession effort halts in 1861 when the War for Southern Independence breaks out.

Compiled by Holly Sheen