Withdrawal from These United States in 1861

Judah P. Benjamin, advocate of sucession from Louisisana

One hundred and fifty years ago, starting in late 1860 and into 1861, Ordinances of Secession were drafted by the states officially seceding from these United States. The word secede comes from the latin secedere, meaning to withdraw. Since no provision was made in the Constitution of these United States to prohibit withdrawal from the Union, it was presumed that each state had a right to secede if it should so choose. Therefore, the following states ratified their own Ordinance of Secession, typicall by means of a specially elected convention or general referendum:

South Carolina - 20 December 1860

Mississippi - 9 January 1861

Florida - 10 January 1861

Alabama - 11 January 1861

Georgia - 19 January 1861

Louisiana - 26 January 1861

Texas - 1 February 1861

Virginia - 17 April 1861

Arkansas 6 May 1861

Tennessee - 6 May 1861

North Carolina - 20 May 1861

Missouri - 31 October 1861

Kentucky - 20 November 1861

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