Declaration of the immediate causes which induce and justify the secession of Georgia from the Feder.

The article presents the text of the State of Georgia's declaration of secession from the Federal Union of the United States, approved January 29, 1861. In stating the reasons for this separation, Georgia cites the United States' acquisition of territory from the victory in the Mexican-American War. The United States Congress decided to prohibit slavery in the new territory, a direct affront to the residents of the South, who had shed blood to win the war and acquire those territories. The declaration also states that Northern states made no effort to turn over persons charged with crimes affecting slave property who had fled to the North, even though the Constitution declares that fleeing criminals ought to be returned to the state in which the crime occurred.