On this day in 1860 South Carolina seceded from the Union, resulting in one of the major triggers of the Civil War. As most know, the secession only lasted until 1865 - It's a good thing too, because it would be a shame to not have South Carolina in the country - after all, there's Charleston, and...well, Charleston (Just kidding, fellas - we North Carolina boys love ya!) At any rate, here's what basically happened:- Decades of animosity - I won't go into it - but think of a really bad case of he said/he said.
- November 6th, 1860 Ol' Abraham Lincoln elected. "Tall and Ugly" officially chic.
- South hears about election. 100,000 guns heard simultaneously loading. You see kids, the South didn't like Mr. Lincoln. They felt he was the embodiment of Government control over Southern interests. Of course, the main interest was slavery and the expansion of slavery in the new territories. State-rights was a huge issue, but the issues are so interlocked it is hard to separate them, in my humble opinion.
- Four days after election, the South Carolina legislature calls for a convention to consider secession. John Calhoun seen literally frothing at the mouth.
- December 20, 1860 South Carolina officially secedes. Charleston is alight with fire-works and celebration. President James Buchanan, (who I am related to) does nothing, preferring to leave it to President-elect Lincoln. Okay, family, say it with me - 1, 2, 3 "Thank You, Jaaamees!"
- Next six months, 10 other states seceded. John Williams already writing intense score for future movie deal.
- April 12, 1861, Confederate Batteries begin shelling Fort Sumter. A guy named Edmund Ruffin (yes, you read that name right) is credited with firing the first shot. Upon later interviews, he claims he "didn't like the unfashionable scarfs they were wearing. So 1859".
- 1861-1864: All hell breaks loose.
Well, thats the secession in a nutshell. Or a giant, howling Mortar-shell, as it were. In any case, ol South Carolina shook things up a bit, and for good or bad, we haven't been the same since. That's history for ya!
2 comments:
I had no idea you were related to Buchanan.
Born in a log cabin (common for that period, and usually drafty) on April 23, 1791, two hundred years before I graduated from high school, Buchanan was a descdendant of James I of Scotland.
Although Jarod was a tenacious skater in his day, unlike Buchanan, who attended the American School of Acrobatics, Jarod's forays into acrobatics were limited to onstage rock-star antics: pinwheeling of the arms, Axyl Rose-esque lyrical torso swaying, and the occasional stage-dive into the waiting arms of sweaty, beer-excreting youths.
In 1812 Buchanan opened a law firm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at that time a booming metropolis. He quickly tired of the wild city life and entered politics, at one point serving as minister to Russia. During this time he was presented with an antique kokoshnik, which he immediately refused to acknowledge.
Very True. Although I am related to one of the worst presidents ever, I take comfort in the fact that he was an accomplished acrobat.
Post a Comment