1/29/1861: Texas votes to secede

[Craig Tx]

On this day in 1861, the Secession Convention of the state of Texas voted overwhelmingly to secede from the United States.

South Carolina had seceded in December 1860. The election of Republican Abraham Lincoln precipitated the fall of the Southern dominoes. Fearful of Northern encroachment on traditional freedoms, and acutely aware of the South's economic dependence upon slavery, the Southern states voted one by one to withdraw from the Union. A Texas referendum to settle the legality of the move was held on February 23, 1861. The results for the state as a whole were 46,153 for secession and 14,747 against. The stage was set for Texans to fight and lose a bloody civil war.