This little book gives a concise overview of the historical and constitutional arguments, as well as the series of events, which justified the Southern States in their departure from the Federal Union. The author, originally from Maryland, had relocated to Mississippi a few decades prior to the war where he served as Chief Justice of the State's High Court of Errors and Appeals, and from which office he later opposed the unlawful proceedings against Mississippi citizens by military tribunals under the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Also included as an appendix is a speech delivered by Judge Handy in Baltimore, Maryland on December 19, 1860.