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For many southerners, the election of Abraham Lincoln in the fall of 1860 was equivalent to a declaration of war on the South. A few, including Texas' aging Governor Sam Houston, argued against secession. They proclaimed the benefits of mediation and compromise. Further, if Texas did separate from the Union, Houston reasoned, she would fare better as an independent republic than as a member of the Confederacy.
Houston's views, however, carried little weight among the secessionists in the state, who were clearly in the majority. But by refusing to call the legislature into session, the increasingly unpopular Houston temporarily blocked his opponents from any official action.
The secessionists countered Houston's maneuver by calling on the people of Texas to elect delegates to a Session Convention to meet in Austin. Their purpose was to consider what action Texas should take on the secession issue in light of the recent sequence of events. As a result, a total of 177 delegates were elected, representing two members from almost every county.
The convention met on January 28, 1861. Four days later, on February 1, it's members voted by a margin of 166 to 8 to secede. They drafted and signed an Ordinance of Secession, which "repealed and annulled" the Texas annexation laws of 1845. The Ordinance of Secession was subsequently approved by popular vote in a statewide election.
As planned, the convention reconvened after the popular election and adopted another ordinance uniting Texas with the Confederacy. Sam Houston subsequently refused to take the oath of allegiance to the newly organized Confederate government. Undaunted, the convention declared the governor's office vacant and administered the governor's oath of office to Edward Clark, who had previously served as lieutenant-governor.
A few days before adjourning the fateful convention on March 25, the delegates ratified the Constitution of the Confederate States.
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What state called for the secession convention and was the first state to secede?
South Carolina became the first Southern state to declare its secession ; December 20, 1860 .
What happened four days after Lincolns election?
Four days after Lincoln's election, South Carolina called for a special convention to consider secession.
How did southerner's justify secession?
They justified secession with the theory of states' rights.
What does anti secession mean?
Anti-secession means against a seperation of the country. Anti means against, and secession means a seperation of the country. For example, the Union was anti-secession during the Civil War.
What is the withdrawal of a state from the union called?
Secession
The Republican Party's convention platform did NOT include?
Secession.
What Confederate general had been a delegate to the Virginia secession convention?
Cavalry Brigadier General Albert Gallatin Jenkins had been a delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention.
Did Anglo Texans have influence at the secession convention?
yes
Gathering of prominent New England federalists who considered secession?
the hartsford convention
November 18 1860 who made a fiery speech in favor of secession before the Georgia Secession convention at Milledgeville?
B. Benning
What is the name of the gathering of prominent New England Federalists who considered secession?
Hartford Convention
What state called for the secession convention and was the first state to secede?
South Carolina became the first Southern state to declare its secession ; December 20, 1860 .
Why was the South Carolina secession convention moved from Columbia to Charleston?
I believe that there was a smallpox outbreak in Columbia.
Did the politicians who met at the Hartford Convention in 1814 favor secession from the Union?
No, they recommended changes in the constitution
Why did governor Houston refuse to call a convention to discuss secession?
Houston was devoted to the Union, and so he was anopponent of secession. He also thought it was unwise to enter awar that he believed the South could not win.
What two states during the civil war used popular soverinity to determine slaves freedom?
The people of West Virginia were unhappy when Virginia voted for secession from the Union. About a month later, the people of West Virginia had the Wheeling Convention to become a separate state. Tennessee voted to not send delegates to a secession convention.
What is a secession convention?
In U.S. politics, it has been considered appropriate for a political question of a fundamental nature to be debated and resolved in a special assembly, elected for that purpose only. Such assemblies are called "conventions". Conventions have been called to write or revise constitutions, both state and and Federal, and to approve or reject Constitutional amendments.The ratification of the U.S. Constitution was carried out by conventions.The declaration of secession would obviously be a fundamental political question, amounting to 'un-ratification' of the Constitution. Thus, it was considered proper to have secession decided on by a convention. In some states, the procedure also included a ratifying referendum of the state's voters.In the wake of Lincoln's election in 1860, slavery advocates called for all slave states to declare secession. Opponents of secession tried to block secession conventions.Secession conventions were called by the legislatures of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. In North Carolina and Tennessee, the legislature called a referendum of the state's voters to decide on holding a secession convention, and the voters said no.In Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas, a majority of delegates elected were immediate secessionists; all these states declared secession by the end of January 1861.The convention in Arkansas voted against secession and adjourned, but with the proviso that it would meet again if circumstances changed.The convention in Missouri voted against secession and adjourned sine die (that is, permanently).The convention in Virginia voted against secession, but remained in session.In April 1861, Confederate troops bombarded Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, forcing its surrender by the U.S. Army. Lincoln then proclaimed a state of rebellion and called for troops to put it down.The Virginia convention then declared secession the next day.Tennessee and North Carolina also declared secession by legislative action. While this was in theory invalid, sentiment in both states was now overwhelmingly secessionist, and the actions were ratified by referendums later that year.Arkansas also declared immediate secession; this was ratified by its convention in early May.In Missouri, there was a struggle between Governor Jackson, who was a secret secessionist, and General Lyon, U.S. Army commander in St. Louis. Lyon seized the state militia camp at St. Louis. This dubiously legal action was shocking to many Missourians, and the legislature might have voted to declare secession - but the legislature had previously delegated that authority to the now adjourned convention, and so did not act.In Maryland, there was a brief period of disorder in April and May when pro-Confederate crowds in Baltimore attacked Union troops going to Washington. Union troops then imposed martial law, and pro-southern Marylanders called for secession. The legislature met in special session, declared that only a convention had power to declare secession, and voted not to call a convention. [NOTE: it is sometimes claimed that many Maryland legislators had been arrested, or that Union troops were present and compelled the vote. No legislators had been arrested at this time, and the legislature met in Frederick, where there were no Union troops.]Kentucky did not hold a formal convention. Governor Magoffin proclaimed the state "neutral", but this ended in September 1861 when Confederate and Union troops entered the state. The legislature and new governor declared for the Union. In November, a group of Kentuckians who were serving in the Confederate Army held an informal convention at Russellville, and issued a declaration of secession, but few have ever claimed it was effective.
