Silly stuff, citizen. You are suggesting that the South was denied life, liberty, and happiness ~ they weren't. You are suggesting they suffered outrageous suffering at the hands of the North ~ they lost an election.
The fact remains the leaders of the South were seditious: they defied constitutional electoral process and suffered the consequence. Good riddance to rubbish.
Although you may not find any problems with the fact that the North was forcing the South to pay for most of the Northern improvements, paid for by the federal government, via tariffs imposed upon the South, those that were compelled to pay tribute to the North felt that they were being denied their liberty and ability to pursue happiness.
The unjust taxation and expenditure of taxes by the Government of the United States, and the change of the government from a confederated republic to a national sectional despotism was clearly an infringment of unalienable Rights of the citizens of the South .
The North wanted high tariffs on imported goods to protect its own manufactured products, while the South wanted low tariffs on imports and exports since it exported cotton and tobacco to Europe and imported manufactured goods in exchange. High tariffs depressed the price for Southern exports and caused them to have to pay high prices for what they bought and got low prices for what they sold because of federal tariff policy which they were powerless to change. The South felt that they were being dominated by the mercantile interests of the North who profited from these high tariffs.
As examples, in 1840 the South paid 84% of the tariffs, rising to 87% in 1860. The South paid 83% of the $13 million federal fishing bounties paid to New England fishermen, and also paid $35 million to Northern shipping interests which has a monopoly on shipping from Southern ports.
The Morill tariff of March 1861 imposed the highest tariffs in US history, with over 50% duty on iron products and 25% on clothing; rates averaged 47%.
The South was paying tribute to the North, and the only way to stop it was to withdraw from the Union they had voluntary entered, with nothing included in the US Constitution to prevent such separation.
At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Virginia proposed a requirement for a two-thirds majority to enact laws regulating commerce and levying tariffs, which were the chief revenue of the federal government. Virginia withdrew its amendment at the Convention in the interest of adopting the Constitution, but ratification was with the understanding that it could be rescinded if the powers granted the federal government were used to oppress, and that Virginia could them withdraw from the Union.
The fact that the Southern states were being oppressed by the North is clearly an example of infringment of their unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And remember that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
