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How did secession work?  Did all the southern states secede together?

In their secession documents, southern states repeatedly cited their concern over one issue as the reason they were leaving the Union.  This one issue was 

The class has indicated, through its discussions of Indian Wars, slave rebellions, military conflicts, duels, slavery, and the Civil War, that the pre-Civil War United States was a violent place.  Did this violence extend into politics?  Which of the following politicians were victims or  perpetrators of violent acts?

According to the lecture, what were the four events between 1854-1860 that caused so much controversy, they resulted in Civil War in 1861.  What were these events?  

Why were southerners so concerned about the US tariff in the 1820s and 1830s?

Lectures noted that the California Gold Rush is really overstated in history.  The amount of gold realized in California was under one million dollars’ worth – hardly worth all the attention it has received.

Americans got very interested in settling Oregon territory and the far west in the mid-1800s.  Consider, however, that the Pacific side of North America was separated from the United States by thousands of miles and the Rocky Mountains.  How did Americans even know that there was good land out there?

Secession documents make clear that when southern states seceded from the United States, the made they were motivated to do so solely to defend states’ rights.

Who was Preston Brooks?

European exploration and colonization of the New World began after what two events significantly altered European culture?