The racism wasn't a sudden thing. What was new was the movement to ban slavery, especially in new states, which would undo the political balance that had been put in the Constitution from the beginning. (The Constitution still gives extra power to those states.) The election of an anti-slavery President was the impetus that turned it into war before he even took office.
It's not just about owning slaves, but also the belief that some people are fundamentally an underclass. Poor people didn't own slaves but feared that they would be put in the slaves' position if the slaves were gone.
So yes, it's a basic racism that goes back to the beginning. It only seems sudden because the election indicated that the tide of history was against them.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declarati...
The racism wasn't a sudden thing. What was new was the movement to ban slavery, especially in new states, which would undo the political balance that had been put in the Constitution from the beginning. (The Constitution still gives extra power to those states.) The election of an anti-slavery President was the impetus that turned it into war before he even took office.
It's not just about owning slaves, but also the belief that some people are fundamentally an underclass. Poor people didn't own slaves but feared that they would be put in the slaves' position if the slaves were gone.
So yes, it's a basic racism that goes back to the beginning. It only seems sudden because the election indicated that the tide of history was against them.