Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: Secession of the Southern States

For Students 9th - 10th
Scroll through this article to "Secession in the Upper South" to find out what was happening in southern states that had not yet seceded before April, 1861, and what convinced these states to secede. From an article by William L. Barney...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Explorations: Why Did the South Secede?

For Students 9th - 10th
Resource explores the states that withdrew from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War and why.
Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Secession and Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of a unit on the Civil War and Reconstruction, this section provides an overview of the formation of the Confederacy and subsequent secession of states in the South.
Lesson Plan
Library of Virginia

Virginia Memory: Virginia Ordinance of Secession

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this instructional activity, students learn what the Virginia Ordinance of Secession declared.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South

For Students 5th - 8th
A very good compilation of the advantages and disadvantages of both the North and South at the beginning of the Civil War. The South had the trained officers, but the North had the factories to make rifles. Read about the major...
Website
Siteseen

Siteseen: Civil Conflict: Secession

For Students 9th - 10th
Site with outline information on the beginning stages of the Civil War when southern states seceded and rebelled against the Union.
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Southern Secession: The Secession Crisis

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the events leading up to the secession of the Upper South and the formation of the Confederate States of America, including the attack on Fort Sumter.