On January 19, 1861, Georgia’s state convention voted to secede from the United States and join the Confederacy. This act followed South Carolina, which had already seceded, and intensified the national crisis over slavery and union. Georgia cited the perceived threat to slaveholder rights and the election of Abraham Lincoln as justification. The secession accelerated polarization between North and South, making reconciliation more difficult. It was one of several state secessions that directly led to the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861.
