But at 1:15 pm on Dec. 20th, 1860,
when South Carolina voted to withdraw from the Union,
the "Republic" had already been destroyed.
What came along in the aftermath was something totally different.
How can one state decide that the union is dissolved?
South Carolina’s decision to depart the Union was accepted by most northerners until South Carolina later reduced its import tariff from 48% to 10%. Northern commercial interests suddenly saw their captive southern market not only disappear but go to France and England. Lincoln was negotiating the terms of secession BEFORE that vote in the South Carolina legislature. When the tariff was reduced, everything changed and northern newspapers, once accepting secession, demanded war! The Republican Party, abolitionists aside and being the distinct minority, agreed war was necessary (to protect northern commercial interests). I don’t hate Lincoln, I just love the truth more.