Rhodes's States, 1, 345. Southern blunders. sion conventions and agreed to secession, had no thought of permanent separation from the Union when they cast their ballots. They expected to make better terms for themselves out of the Union than could be gained while members of it. Stephens says that it was this argument which brought about the defeat of the Southern moderates in 1860. The step of secession once authorized, the further step of Southern confederation was taken without again obtaining the sense of the voters. It must be admitted, however, that after the conflict was once begun, the Southerners were practically unanimous for its prosecution. No doubt it is true that only three voters in ten were slaveholders, and that only two million whites were supported directly by the forced labor of negroes, but the slaveholders were the leaders of public opinion. They were distinctly in a minority, but the majority followed blindly whither they led. 332. Southern Blunders. The slaveholders were in a minority in the South, the Southerners were in a minority in the country as a whole, and the South-economically and physically- was hopelessly inferior to the North. Notwithstanding this, the Southern chiefs seem never to have looked the facts squarely in the face and asked themselves what the cost of failure would be. Perhaps they never deemed failure possible: the Northerners had often yielded to their furious attacks; why should they resist now? Prudent leaders in these circumstances would have done nothing to increase the fighting strength of their opponents; the Southerners did their best to augment it. They formed a new government and waged war on the Union. The withdrawal of their representatives and senators made the Republicans supreme in Congress and gave the President the support of the legislative branch. Their attack on the Union soldiers at once brought the President's "war powers" (p. 246) into operation, and aroused hostile sentiment in the North as nothing else would have done. In time of peace the President's functions are limited; in time of insurrection and civil war it is difficult to dis 1861] Southern Blunders 477 powers." cern a limit to his authority-except the approval of the The Presimass of the nation. He is obliged to see to it that "the dent's "war laws are faithfully executed"; he is the commander in chief of the land and naval forces of the United States, and there is no limit to his use of this power. In time of war, too, civil institutions give way to military authority. "So far from it being true," said ex-President Adams in 1842, "that the states where slavery exists have the exclusive management of the subject, not only the President of the United States, but the commander of the army has power to order the universal emancipation." Six years earlier Adams had distinctly warned the slave owners of their danger: "From the instant that your slaveholding states become the theater of war," he said, "from that instant the war powers of the Constitution extend to interference with the institution of slavery in every way." Until 1860 the contest between slavery and freedom had been fought out in the halls of Congress, where the compromises of the Constitution protected the slaveholders at every turn; the conflict was now transferred to the field of battle, where the weaker combatant would have no protection whatever. Apathy of the Northerners. 333. Apathy of the Northerners. As soon as secession and confederation were accomplished, the Southerners set to work to possess themselves of the federal property in the South they seized arsenals and forts without resistance; coln, I, 190. the administration remained passive or only uttered mild and unheeded protests. In this Buchanan and his advisers but echoed the general feeling in the North. "Let the erring sisters depart in peace" was heard on every side. On February 23, 1861, Horace Greeley wrote in the New York Tribune that if the cotton states "choose to form an independent nation, they have a clear moral right so to do," and very many Republican journals agreed with him. Even as late as April 9 Wendell Phillips said from the lecture platform: the Southern states "think that their peculiar institutions require that they should have a separate government. They have a right to decide that question without Albany conference. The "War in Old South ... appealing to you or me. While the tide of secession was at its height in the South, a convention met at Albany. It was composed of conservative men of all shades of political opinion, and was in the hands of those who believed coercion to be revolutionary. Later, in February, a peace conference was held at Washington. It urged on Congress the adoption of the Crittenden Compromise or of some similar plan. The march of events was too rapid for compromise; the Southerners relied too implicitly on their own enthusiasm and on the lack of spirit displayed by the men of the North. During this time of hesitation, the Republican current was still running strongly in the North. In January, 1861, many Republican governors were sworn into office some of whom continued to occupy their positions during the conflict, or the greater part of it; they are known familiarly as the "war governors." To them the country owes the greatest debt. Recognizing the gravity of the crisis, some of them energetically set to work to prepare their states for war. For example, Andrew and Buckingham ordered large quantities of arms and military equipments. When the decisive moment came, they were able to send their state troops to the front within a day or two of the fall of Fort Sumter. SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS AND TOPICS As preparation for this chapter, trace the constitutional, economic, and social development of the nation by making continuous summary of portions of text underlined with identical colors; make continuous recitations from note-book on Slavery, Particularism, and Nationalism; review the Three Compromises of the Constitution, and trace the results of each from 1789 to 1861. Questions and Topics $$ 319-326. THE UNITED STATES IN 1860 479 a. Trace the history of the policy of compromise which had marked the political history of the country since 1775. What was the effect upon the slave owners; upon the self-respect of the Northerners; upon national spirit? Which group- the Northerners, the Southerners, or the slave owners - do you respect the most? Is there any group of people during this time which wholly commands your respect? Give reasons for answer to each part of this question. b. Explain fully how immigration aided in the preservation of the Union. c. Study the maps showing density of population, and arrange the population of the several sections by states. What states and cities are referred to in the last lines of the first paragraph of p. 485? Make other similar comparisons. d. Explain fully the effect of the grants of public lands upon railroad development. e. Trace the history of cotton raising from 1784 to 1890. What was the largest crop of cotton raised by slave labor; by free labor? f. Study the lives of the men whose names are given in § 326. $327. ELECTION OF 1860 a. Precisely what was the cause of the split in the Democratic party? b. Why was Lincoln nominated? Had you been a member of the Chicago Convention, how would you have voted? c. Bring to class a digest of the Republican platform of 1860, and discuss its principal features. $$ 328-332. SECESSION a. Was the South wholly wrong in the struggle which culminated in secession? Upon the basis of a strict construction of the Constitution, did the South demand more than the Constitution justified? Prove your statements. b. Summarize the compromise efforts of 1860–61. If you had been in the Senate in 1861, how would you have voted on the Crittenden Compromise, and why? c. Secession: describe carefully the course of South Carolina; did all the cotton states actually secede? Explain carefully the difference of interests between the cotton states and the border states. $$ 333, 334. THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH a. Look up and describe the President's "war powers." b. How do you account for the apathy of the Northerners in the winter of 1860-61? Explain conditions in the South which made it possible for a small minority of slave owners to dominate public opinion. c. Upon what grounds could Phillips base his assertion that "Lincoln has no right to a soldier in Fort Sumter"? HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY Represent in colors upon an Outline Map: (1) free soil, (2) slave soil, (3) states which cast their vote for Douglas or for Bell, (4) states which seceded before April, 1861, (5) states which seceded after that time. GENERAL QUESTIONS a. Represent upon a chart the origin and history of political parties from 1824 to 1860. b. What entries under headings already in note-book must you make? What new headings does this chapter suggest? TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION BY INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS (See note under this head on p. 48.) a. Tabulate the electoral vote of 1860, and compare it with that of 1856 and of 1896. b. Summarize Senator Crittenden's argument (473, last reference of first group). c. Compare Buchanan's and Andrew's messages (478, last reference). |