"Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth." - Mississippi's declaration of concession, 1861

April 09, 2026 - 16:34 UTC

21
10
769
“It was about states’ rights!” [to own slaves]

“It was about economics!” [of slavery]
0
0
1
Probably already linked, but Alexander Stephens' (VP, CSA) 1861 "cornerstone" speech is the apotheosis of this thinking.

"Our new govt...rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition."
2
1
44
The most clearly defined, most carefully argued, and most authoritative expression of Confederate war aims. It is especially valuable because Stephens hung on for a very long time to the hope the Union would still embrace southern domination and even voted against secession at the Georgia convention
1
0
7
gratifying to remember every April 9 the Black soldiers present at Appomattox
www.nps.gov/apco/learn/historyculture/united-states-colored-troops-at-appomattox.htm
1
0
4
personally for me my favorite "yes secession is about slavery" data point is the evolution of the actual confederate flag (not the battle flag that is in use by white supremacists today).
4
0
174
that constitution of theirs underlines it three times in red ink
1
0
6
and they had three! designs in the short life of the confederacy.
2
0
7
I prefer South Carolina’s Declaration of Secession, tl;dr: Yes it’s about slavery lolz.

The evolution flag of Georgia tells its own story though.
0
0
4
first one looked confusingly like the stars and stripes so they changed it to the battle flag on the corner of a white field. the white was supposed to represent the purity of the white race.

it never caught on because from a distance, it looks like a flag of surrender.
4
0
155
I am reading Larson's The Demon of Unrest and it was always and only about slavery.
0
0
0
📌
0
0
0
I'll also recommend Charles Dew's Apostles of Disunion for a look at what the lower south was telling the upper south to convince them to secede too. It's all pro-slavery, white supremacy and weird sexual obsession with interracial relationships.
0
0
2
"Texas...was received as a commonwealth holding, maintaining and protecting the institution known as negro slavery...a relation that had existed from the first settlement of her wilderness by the white race, and which her people intended should exist in all future time."
- TX secession doc, 1861
4
0
194
History is everything!!! Grab it while you can and teach your children because the current administration is trying to rewrite it
0
0
1
"A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery." - South Carolina Declaration of Secession, 1860
1
0
168
I recently learned that the folks defending The Alamo TM were the slavery supporters and OMG the Mexicans were anti-slavery and OMG. F the Alamo.
0
0
5
Interesting thing: That slavery from the first white settlement was illegal from the first and done by lying about the slaves' status when bringing them in. Slavery was a major cause of the 1836 revolt.
(I'm understand that the Texans didn't regard the Tejanos as white)
0
0
5
that first one should say Mississippi's declaration of secession* in my defense I'm running on few hours of sleep here
3
0
109
We've all been there, man.
0
0
3
Northern centrists who like the racial status quo: “The reasons behind this are very complicated…”

Confederates: “SLAVERY!”

Northern centrists: “Very windy in here, I believe I heard Southern Heritage”
0
0
27
I think you vastly improved it.
1
0
6
i was told it was about state rights
0
0
2
0
0
0
And not even 200 years old
0
0
8
No mention of human beings in that statement.
0
0
2
On the last part—it might have actually been hay!
0
0
4
I read once that the only economic "resource" that could be compared to petroleum in the history of the world was enslaved African Americans in the antebellum South. It made me realize both the enormity of the institution of slavery and the challenge of fighting climate change.
5
6
108
Yes! I had a U.S. History professor bring this up in class approximately 23 years ago.

Side note - she also mentioned (in a different moment) that we should keep our eyes on China.
0
0
3
I remember hearing once that Galen, the Roman physician, invented a small primitive steam engine that really was only ever used as a curiosity at parties because human slavery labor was so cheap and ubiquitous. They just didn't have a need for and so lacked the mindset to see the potential of it.
0
0
6
I think often about the antebellum period and climate change side-by-side bc they have that common cycle of some crisis erupts, a band-aid gets thrown on, attention shifts elsewhere, then crisis, band-aid, etc., until the crisis becomes inescapable and I wonder when it will be the 1850s/1860s for us
0
0
8
One key element of this argument is the recognition that the Industrial Revolution began primarily in one industry: textile manufacturing.

The wool it began with has its own horror story, but things really kicked into gear with… cotton.
0
0
4
Arguably history since the abolition of slavery has been a long attempt to replicate the plantation economy. (SO many early attempts just involved plugging in other bodies at minimal wages, like Indian indenture in British colonies!)
3
1
71
VP Stephens:

“Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. ”
0
0
2
Also to be clear, that's the second fucking sentence of Mississippi's declaration of secession.
1
0
54
As a history teacher in Mississippi, I've heard all their arguments. "It was about states rights! It was about the economy! It was about freedom from tyranny!"

Ya just gotta keep the thought going. It was about a state's right to do what? The economics of what? The freedom of whom?
7
1
211
The Battle Hymn of the Republic is, afaik, basically the only marching song we still know the words to in which the soldiers themselves actively sing to the effect of ‘we are going into contact with the enemy where we will die and that is good because killing our enemy is an unparalleled holy duty’
1
0
4
It is WILD for an army to have morale so high the rank and file sing about it being good and righteous to die killing their enemy.

Especially by the later half of the war everyone in both armies were extraordinarily clear on it being about slavery. And yet. And yet.
0
0
3
And yet people still lie about why the Civil War happened.
0
0
0
To quote William Faulkner:

"To understand the world you must first understand a place like Mississippi"
0
0
16
It WaSnT aBoUt SlAvErY iT wAs StATeS’ rIgHtS tHo
0
0
1
South Carolina’s secession document too:
0
0
4