Sundog my friend,

I would like to present some historical information that should help clarify some state's secession intents.

The first link is Mississippi in their own words.

The second link has some secession summary statistics. I didn't independently fact check then, but if they're 50% accurate then they are still compelling.

Also, the link you cited was created, or edited 8 hours ago. That is surprising.

A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union

In the momentous step, which our State has taken of dissolving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course.

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. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. *There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.

Admittedly, Mississippi was the most direct in defining their justification for secession. Other states made their justification known in their articles of secession.

Best Article Ever On The Declaration Of Causes For Secession..

Pierce did something that is very revealing. He uses a pie graph to illustrate the content of the declarations. I am not going to try & replicate that here, but I will quote his figures. The four Declaration of Causes are broken down into categories.

Note: ‘Context’ indicates a combination of lawyer talk & exposition not related to a specific topic.

Georgia.

• Context 23%.
  
• Slavery 56%.
  
• States Rights 4%.
  
• Lincoln’s Election 4%.
  
• Economic Issues 15%.
  

Mississippi

• Context 20%.
• Slavery 73%.
• State’s Rights 3%.
• Lincoln’s Election 4%.

Texas.

• Context 21%.
• Slavery 54%.
• State’s Rights 15%.
• Lincoln’s Election 4%.
• Military Protection 6%.

South Carolina.

• Context 41%.
• Slavery 20%.
• State’s Rights 37%.
• Lincoln’s Election 2%.

The combination of context & slavery is a clear indication of the relative importance of all other reasons for secession.

• Georgia: context & slavery 79%.
  
• Mississippi: context & slavery 93%.
  
• Texas: context, military protection & slavery 81%.
  
• South Carolina: context & slavery 61%.
  

With the exception of South Carolina which pitched its declaration toward encouraging other states to secede, all other causes combined range from 7% to 21% of the reasons given for secession. Lincoln’s election, which is often sited in posts on this site as the true cause of the war, is 2%-4% of the reasons given for secession. For every word referring to Lincoln’s election, the people who voted for secession wrote nearly 20 about slavery as the cause for secession.

My mantra is to let them speak for themselves. I admire the way John Pierce structured his article. Each of the categories graphed is broken into several topics with links to the contextual paragraphs of the declaration. There is no opinion content at all. The delegates to the secession convention speak for themselves without an editorial filter.

Revolutionary War Context