Prior to the Civil War, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 led to discussions in slaveholding states about secession from the United States.
Between December 1860 and June 1861 eleven states seceded from the Union (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.) Four states - Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri - decided in either legislative session or convention not to secede from the Union. The complete records of debate for all states in which secession was an active issue are included in this 35mm microfilm program.