Took a little “virtual walk” among some items in the Valley of the Shadow today and found quite a bit that was of interest, but wanted to throw these out for consideration… all from the Feb. 26, 1861 issue of the Staunton Spectator…
The Natchez Courier “Contends that the people of Natchez were not in support of secession and questions the right of the Mississippi Convention to secede without the people’s consent. The Courier also questions the right of the Southern Confederacy to appoint rulers, alter Constitutions and impose taxes without popular consent.”
An editorial-type piece from the Spectator under the heading “The Rights of the People Disregarded”: “…if given the chance to vote, the citizens of all the seceded states except South Carolina would have voted for the Union. The article argues that the politicians in those states have usurped the rights of the people.”
… and subsequently… in the following piece the argument was made that when it came to Virginia, “any decisions regarding secession should be submitted to the people for ratification. The decision cannot be left up to the legislature, because this body as it is now composed is not representative of the conservative unionist opinions of most Virginians.”
But then, you also had the issue of the secesh guard dogs…
Secret Oath-Bound Cabals
(Column 6) Summary: Blames secession on a conspiracy of secret societies which preserve order by “secret management” in the face of increasing Union sentiment. Allegedly, Unionists are watched and are ordered out of the province if they speak against secession.
Sounds like the Southern people had grounds for a little Tea Party Movement of their own, but not as some appear to think… not against the United States, but against the Confederacy.
Craig Swain
April 26, 2010
As you, I think this section is rather interesting – “a conspiracy of secret societies which preserve order by ‘secret management’ ”
I could cite very similar lines stated in meetings of the Southern Tenant Farmer’s Union, only a handful of decades later. And such reminds us that there was as much friction between the economic classes in the South as there was between races.
Robert Moore
April 26, 2010
That’s interesting about the Southern Tenant Farmer’s Union. I think Williams’ books really help to shed light on that in Ga. Though we don’t quite see it as clearly in Virginia as in the deep South, there was friction between classes there as well. It would probably be worthwhile to sift through the papers of western Virginia to get more of a grasp of the friction between the folks there and the elitist eastern planters.
Mike Simons
April 26, 2010
Thanks Robert that was quite interesting. The Solid South was anything but Solid.
Robert Moore
April 26, 2010
Thanks, Mike. One of the most fascinating stories out there about the war is the one about rifts within the South in the months leading-up to the war. My personal favorite is the part that focuses on the issues within Virginia leading up to secession, but I suppose I’m biased
. Of course, even after the war started, despite the thought that a solid South was born at the time, it was not at all the case.
Kevin
April 26, 2010
Excellent post, Robert. I think we sometimes forget that in the 1850s Virginians were focused on the sectional split between east and west. As you probably know the western counties argued that the capital in Richmond was dominated by those in the Tidewater, who shaped legislation in ways that benefited their interests in slaveholding. One of the most divisive issues was the cap on the taxing of slaves at $300. William Freehling talks quite a bit about this in a number of places. We need to move beyond the North/South divide if we really want to understand the issues that mattered to various constituencies of white southerners.
Robert Moore
April 26, 2010
Quite correct, Kevin. In fact, in that same newspaper issue from Feb. 1861, there is discussion about unequal taxes between the east and west…
Equal Taxation–Let Justice Be Done
(Column 1)
Summary: Appeals to the Convention to remedy the problem of unequal taxation, which favors the planters of eastern Virginia and penalizes the citizens of the west.
Full Text of Article:
It will be seen by reference to the proceedings of the Convention on Thursday, that Ex-Gov. Wise said that the resolutions offered by Mr. Woods, of Barbour, justified the course which he and four other Eastern members pursued in the Convention in 1850, when they contended for equal taxation and equal representation for the West and East. If justice to Western Virginia demanded, as it certainly did, equality of taxation in 1850, justice demands the same in 1861. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Wise will endeavor, in the present Convention, to have justice done to Western Virginia in respect to taxation. Since 1850, the State has been taxed to a very large amount for the purpose of protecting the property of the East. There are, if possible, stronger reasons for equalizing taxation now than in 1850. No people, we venture to say, have ever submitted with equal patience to such palpable injustice as the people of Western Virginia have done. We hope that this Convention will do justice to the Western portion of the State. The people of the West should demand justice at the hands of this Convention. Fiat justitia, ruat calum.–Let justice be done though the heavens fall.
Sherree
April 27, 2010
Thanks for this post, Robert. Also, thanks for the series of posts that you have written during “Confederate History Month” 2010.
Going further west in the state–deeper into the mountains–I remember a statement that was prevalent among some in our community: “They (meaning the government in Richmond) think that the state ends in Roanoke!” I can imagine that something of that same sentiment existed in the 1850s, even though there were some large slaveholders in the area.
I recently looked up the compiled service record of one of my ancestors. He was an old man who was assigned to an infantry group. Next, he was assigned to cook for an infantry group. Next, he was not paid. Next, he deserted. Knowing that the Confederacy executed deserters (even old men, I assume); I suppose he had to hide out somewhere, or be shot.
What a terrible exploitation of our history all of this is. If anything good comes from the controversy surrounding Governor McDonnell’s proclamation and the rapid amendment thereof, perhaps it will be the realization that American history is being exploited. Also, I know all of the many and myriad arguments concerning what caused the Civil War and what did not, but I am still struck by a comment made by one of the contributors to Kevin’s blog–too much of the discussion centers around the non enslaved, both North and South. For the four million men and women who were enslaved in the south, the Civil War was most definitely about slavery. What more needs to be said, really? I think that as Americans, we should put aside the needs, arguments, and narratives of white America this sesquicentennial, and respect and understand the position of the descendants of the African men and women who were enslaved, freed from slavery largely because of their own efforts and tenacity over several generations–culminating in convincing the North, that yes the war must be about ending slavery and not just about preserving the Union–and then abandoned by most white Americans for nearly another one hundred years after the failure of Reconstruction. You and your fellow bloggers are helping to do that.
So, to Governor McDonnell, I would have to say–so that we don’t lose our voices yet again–the best thing my “Confederate” ancestors did for me, was to not pass down a Lost Cause view of the Civil War. That left open a possibility that became reality. And that reality was a fight for racial justice by succeeding generations each in their own time. I am truly grateful for that, and commemorate it.
Robert Moore
April 27, 2010
Thanks for your comment, Sherree. I really would like to see Southerners embrace more of their… correction… OUR CW heritage and not just a single aspect of it. We aren’t just descended from soldiers who loved all things Confederate, and it’s important to realize all that they were. The SCV has exhibited that they are not capable of telling OUR story as Southerners and I’m tired of the assumed guardianship that they have taken-on.
Sherree
April 27, 2010
Indeed, Robert. Well put. Again, thank you.
Brad Forbush
May 9, 2010
Dear Robert,
I just wanted to say that I enjoy reading your very thoughtful posts, and I appreciate your perspectives.
My research is narrowly focused on a Massachusetts regiment; yet, there were two young boys within its ranks, popular boys too, who enlisted in the regiment while it was in Williamsport, Md. They were natives of Martinsburg. Their family had Union sentiments, and it is written they were persecuted for it.
Robert Moore
May 10, 2010
Thanks, Brad! I’ve also had a link to your blog and enjoy reading about the 13th Mass. around western Md. It’s interesting that those fellows joined the 13th Mass. I’m curious. Do you have any info as to why they enlisted in the 13th? I’ve seen some folks from western Maryland enlisting in units from Northern states early in the war, and I suspect it is because of the delay in getting units organized locally.