As every American, South and North, knew at the time from a lifetime of listening to readings on the Fourth of July, "prudence . . . will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes." On the basis of your reading of Secession Debated and the South Carolina "Declaration of Immediate Causes," did the secessionists meet that criterion? Note that the answer does not depend on whether or not you like their motives.