Why Texas Seceded in 1861

In early 1861, Texas faced a decision about whether to remain in the United States. A convention of delegates voted to secede, or leave the Union. The decision was approved later that winter. The vote was 46,129 in favor and 14,697 opposed. The arguments Texans used included states’ rights, economic interests, and connections with the South. Some Texans argued that important decisions should be made closer to home rather than in Washington. Cotton farming and trade tied Texas to the economies of other Southern states. These connections helped shape how some Texans viewed the crisis. Slavery was central to secession. Texas’s economy relied on enslaved people’s forced labor, and the Texas Declaration of Causes identified the protection of slavery as a major reason for leaving the Union. States’ rights arguments were often used to defend that system. Secession was not simply a disagreement about government power or regional culture. After Texas left the Union, it joined the Confederate States of America. The Civil War began in April 1861. Texas remained part of the Confederacy during the war, which ended in 1865. Studying the stated reasons for secession helps explain the choices made at the time, but it does not make slavery or the Confederacy’s cause just.