Agreed. If any historian is looking for a infallible argument to the causes of the secession movements (yes plural) of 1860-61, don't look to only one source like the secession debates because you will not find it. Most of the public oratory and printed documents produced at these events were made by politicians whose primary representation was to his lobbyist, i.e. secessionist. Their goal was to sway the opinion of those in power (i.e. rich Southerners) that secession was a good and necessary thing. As the weeks and months went on, events took over and political priorities changed, and so did the political swaying. But the overall primary goal was to secede.

David