The Great Conspiracy, Volume 3

The work traces allegations of a long-standing Southern conspiracy leading to secession, assembling diaries, letters, congressional testimony, and captured correspondence to show coordinated caucuses, proposed seizures of forts and public property, and political maneuvers in Washington. It emphasizes economic grievances, particularly disputes over tariffs and trade, alongside slavery as central motives; examines Northern sympathy and Copperhead agitation; and reviews public addresses and official messages to argue a deliberate plan to dissolve the Union and challenge federal authority.