The Political and Economic Geography of Southern Secession

<span>We
study the economic and political determinants of the Southern secession
movement of 1860/61. While economic
historians emphasize the importance of slavery to the South’s economy as the
primary factor behind the movement, we demonstrate the important role that
political inequality among whites played in facilitating secession. In
particular, secession was decided in state conventions, which allowed
secessionists to exploit biases to representation and may have been pivotal in Alabama
and Georgia. Our results suggest that the region’s investment in slavery alone
may not be sufficient to explain the electoral success of the movement in the
biggest Lower South states.</span>