Ordinance of Secession, 1861.

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Ordinance of Secession, 1861.

The Ordinance of Secession, adopted on 1861 Jan. 11, is the document which declared "An Ordinance to dissolve the Union between the State of Alabama and other states united under the compact styled The Constitution of the United States of America." The Ordinance states that as a result of the election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States, "by a sectional party avowedly hostile to the domestic institutions and to the peace and security of the people of the State of Alabama. . ., be it declared and ordained by the People of the State of Alabama in Convention assembled, that the State of Alabama now withdraws, and is hereby withdrawn from the Union known as the United States of America, and henceforth ceases to be one of said United States, and is, and of right ought to be a Sovereign and Independent State." The ordinance served as an invitation to the states of Del., Md., Va., N.C., S.C., Fla., Ga., Miss., La., Tex., Ark., Tenn., Ky., and Mo. to meet in Montgomery, Ala. to discuss "the most effectual mode of securing . . . our common peace and security." The document is signed by all of the Secession Convention delegates. It is written on one sheet of parchment, which is 31 1/4" long and 26" wide, and was originally filed with the Secretary of State.

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Related Entities

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Alabama. Secretary of State. Administrative Division.

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Alabama. Secession Convention (1861).

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Authorities: 1859-1860 Alabama Acts, Joint Resolutions n.n. 1923 Alabama Code, Vol. 1, 1861 Constitution. "The Alabama Secession Convention," The Alabama Historical Quarterly, Vol. 3 (1941): 269-468. Markley, Anne Ethelyn. Author Headings for the Official Publications of the State of Alabama. Chicago: American Library Association, 1948. Owen, Thomas McAdory. The History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicag...