Constitution of the United States

The  was the foundational document of the government of the United States of America. It was a major point of contention during the American Civil War, because it had allowed slavery to be legal in only the southernmost states of the country. The people of South Carolina felt that the government of the United States had "frequently violat[ed]" the Constitution, especially on the issue of slavery. Therefore, they laid out, in the Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union how they specifically believed the US Federal Government had wronged the Constitution, thus justifying their attempt to secede from the Union. (TN: Blood and Hope)