Documents, Speeches, Etc.

A collection of material relevant to the American Civil War and its causes.

September 3, 1783 (signed) May 12, 1784 (Effective) — The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War.
July 13, 1787 — Ordinance of 1787 (Northwest Ordinance)
1835 — The Rights of Slavery by George McDuffie
1837 — Morals of Slavery by Harriet Martineau
April 29, 1851— Plan of State Action, “a plan of action short of actual Secession” “in the rough form of an ordinance” for the use of a member elect at a state convention called for by the South Carolina legislature but never actually scheduled.
June 16, 1858 — A House Divided, Abraham Lincoln, Illinois Republican State Convention, Springfield, Illinois
January 24, 1860 — Invasion of States by Senator Robert Toombs
February 27, 1860 — Address at Cooper Institute by Abraham Lincoln
November 13, 1860 — Speech Delivered before the Legislature of Georgia by Robert Toombs
November 14, 1860 — Speech Against Secession Delivered Before The Legislature Of Georgia by Alexander H. Stephens
December 18, 1860 — The Crittenden Compromise
December 20, 1860 — South Carolina Ordinance of Secession
December 24, 1860 — South Carolina Secession—Declaration of Causes
December 25, 1860 — South Carolina’s Address to the Slaveholding States, December 25, 1860
January 9, 1861 — Mississippi Ordinance of Secession
January 9, 1861 — Mississippi Declaration of Causes of Secession
January 10, 1861 — Florida Ordinance of Secession
January 11, 1861 — Alabama Ordinance of Secession
January 19, 1861 — Georgia Ordinance of Secession
January 21, 1861 — Jefferson Davis’ Farewell Address to the US Senate
January 26 — Louisiana Ordinance of Secession
January 29, 1861 — Georgia Declaration of Causes for Secession
February 1, 1861 (ratified by state referendum February 23) — Texas Ordinance of Secession
February 2, 1861 — Texas Declaration of Causes
(Undated, untitled, and never issued) — Florida’s “Lost” Draft Declaration of Causes.
February 15, 1861 — CSA Provisional Congress resolution to appoint commissioners to the USA
February 18, 1861 — Inaugural Address of the President of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America
March 4, 1861 — Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln
March 11, 1861 — The Constitution of the Confederate States of America
March 11, 1861 — Resolutions passed by the Convention of the People of Arkansas on the 11th day of March 1861
March 12, 1861 — Communication from CSA Commissioners to Secretary of State Seward (a sealed request for a meeting for the purpose of presenting their credentials as representatives of a foreign government and to make overtures for the opening of negotiations between the CSA and the USA.)
March 15, 1861 — Secretary of State Seward’s Response to the Communication from the CSA Commissioners (explains that the position of the administration is that the CSA states remain a part of the United States and are not a foreign government with whom diplomatic relations ought to be or can be established; states that the President directs and agrees with this position)
March 15, 1861 — Cameron letter with enclosures on Provisioning Fort Sumter
March 21, 1861 — The Corner Stone Speech by Alexander H. Stephens, at this point, provisional Vice-President of the Confederate States of America.
April 15, 1861 — Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation Calling Militia and Convening Congress
April 17, 1861 — Virginia Ordinance of Secession
April 19, 1861— Southern Ports Blockade Proclamation
April 25, 1861— Speech of Senator Stephen Douglas before the Legislature of Illinois
April 29, 1861— Message from Jefferson Davis to The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States
May 6, 1861 — Arkansas Ordinance of Secession
May 6, 1861 — Tennessee Ordinance of Secession
May 6, 1861 — Confederate War and Privateering Act
May 20, 1861 — North Carolina Ordinance of Secession