Virginia's Attitude Toward Slavery and Secession
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
VIRGINIA'S ATTITUDE TOWARD SLAVERY AND SECESSION VIRGINIA'S ATTITUDE TOWARD SLAVERY AND SECESSION BY BEVERLEY B. MUNFORD HUMANITATEM AMOREMQUE PATRIAE COLITK LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO 91 AND 93 FIFTH AVENUE, NEAV YORK LONDON, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA 1909 THE" N.tV.' YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 480191 ASTOR, LENOX AN© TILDEN FOUNO*TlONi, R 1909 L Copyright, 1900 by Beverley B. Munford TO MY WIFE PREFACE This work is designed as a contribution to the volume of information from which the historian of the future will be able to prepare an impartial and comprehensive narra- tive of the American Civil War, or to speak more accurately —The American War of Secession. No attempt has been made to present the causes which precipitated the secession of the Cotton States, nor the states which subsequently adopted the same policy, except Virginia. Even in regard to that commonwealth the effort has been limited to the consideration of two features prominent in the public mind as constituting the most potent factors in determining her action—namely, devo- tion to slavery and hostility to the Union. That the people of Virginia were moved to secession by a selfish desire to extend or maintain the institution of slavery, or from hostility to the Union, are propositions seemingly at variance with their whole history and the interests which might naturally have controlled them in the hour of separation. Yet how widespread the impression and how frequent the suggestion from the pen of historian and publicist that the great and compelling motives which led Virginia to secede were a desire to extend slavery into the territories and to safeguard the institution within her own borders, coupled with a spirit of hostility to the Union and the ideals of liberty proclaimed by its founders. To present the true attitude of the dominant element of the Virginia people with respect to these subjects is the work which the author has taken in hand. : viii PREFACE As cognate to this purpose the effort has been made to show what was the proximate cause which influenced the great body of the Virginia people in the hour of final decision. There were unquestionably many and widely severed causes—some remote in origin and some imme- diate to the hour, yet it may be safely asserted that but for the adoption by the Federal Government of the policy of coercion towards the Cotton States, Virginia would not have seceded. That was the crucial and determining factor, which impelled her secession. She denied the right of the Federal Government to defeat by force of arms the aspiration of a people as numerous and united as those of the Cotton States to achieve in peace their independence. She believed that such a course and the exercise of such a power on the part of the Federal Govern- ment, if not actually beyond the scope of its powers as fixed in the constitution, were clearly repugnant to the ideals of the Republic, and subversive of the principles for which their Fathers had fought and won the battles of the Revolution. Upon the question, shall the Cotton States be permitted to withdraw in peace, or shall their aspii'a- tions be defeated by force of arms, Virginia assumed no new position. She simply in the hour of danger and sacrifice held faithful to the principles which she had oft- times declared and which have ever found sturdy defenders in every part of the Republic. In the preparation of this volume the author has been the grateful recipient of the labors of many historians and publicists, accredited citations from whose works wiU be found throughout its pages. In addition, he desires to acknowledge his indebtedness to the following gentlemen First and foremost, to Dr. Philip Alexander Bruce of PREFACE IX Virginia, for his generous sympathy and invaluable assist- ance, with respect to every feature of the book; also to Edward M. Shepard, Esquire, and Reverend Samuel H. Bishop of New York and to Colonel Archer Anderson and Henry W. Anderson, Esquire, of Richmond, for their kindness in reading his manuscript and making many helpful suggestions. For none of the errors of the book, nor for any expression of opinion, are these gentlemen responsible. Thanks are due and tendered to Dr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress, Dr. H. R. Mcllwaine, State Librarian of Virginia, and Mr, W. G. Stanard, Corresponding Secretary of the Virginia Historical Society, and to their courteous assistants, for the generous use accorded the author of the wealth of historical data in the custody of those institutions. In addition to the foregoing, acknowledgments are gratefully made to a great company of librarians, lawyers, antiquarians, clerks of courts, custodians of private manu- scripts and others who have assisted the author in collecting from widely separated sections of the Union the mass of information from which he has drawn, in the preparation of this work. In many instances, the facts so kindly furnished do not appear, but have been of service to the author, in enabling him to form more accurate conclusions. The willingness exhibited by citizens of states, other than Virginia, to furnish information with respect to the subject under consideration, is indicative of a growing desire throughout the Union to know the facts and appreciate the viewpoint of our once separated but now united people. If this book, in presenting the attitude of Virginia, shall contribute to this result, it will afford the author the sincerest gratification. Richmond, Virginia, June, 1909 CONTENTS The Author's Preface Part I Page Virginia's Attitude Toward Slavery and Secession Defined I. Introduction 1 II. Virginia—Slavery and Secession!^ . .10 Part II Virginia Did Not Secede in Order to Extend Slavery INTO the Territories, or to Prevent its Threatened Destruction Within Her Own Borders III, Virginia's Colonial Record with Respect to Slavery .15 IV. Virginia's Statute Abolishing the African Slave Trade and Her Part in Enacting the Ordinance of 1787 25 V. Slavery and the Federal Constitution—Virginia's Position 29 VI. The Foreign Slave Trade—Virginia's Efforts to Abolish It 33 VII. Some Virginia Statutes with Respect to Slavery . 41 VIII. The Movement in the Virginia Legislature of 1832 to Abolish Slavery in the State . .45 IX. The Northern Abolitionists and Their Reaction- ary Influence upon Anti-Slavery Sentiment in Virginia 51' X. Negro Colonization—State and National . 60 XI. Instances of Colonization by Individual Slave- holders 66 xi [ C0NT2NTS Page XII. Emancipation and Colonization—Views of Jeffer- son, Clay and Lincoln 75 XIII. Anti-Slavery Sentiments of Prominent Virginians. 82 / XIV. Anti-Slavery Sentiments of Prominent Virginians. Continued 91 XV. Anti-Slavery Sentiments of Prominent Virginians. Concluded 96 XVI. Specimens of Deeds and Wills Emancipating Slaves 104 XVII. Specimens of Deeds and AVills Emancipating Slaves. Concluded 114 < XVIII. The Small Nimiber of Slaveholders in Virginia, as Compared with Her Whole White Population . 125 XIX. The Injurious Effects of Slavery upon the Pros- perity of Virginia 128 XX. The Custom of Buying and Selling Slaves—Vir- ginia's Attitude 139 XXI. The Custom of Buying and Selling Slaves—Vir- ginia's Attitude. Concluded .... 147 XXII. Small Proportion of Slaveholders among Virginia Soldiers 154 XXIII. Some of the Almost Insuperable Difficulties which Embarrassed Every Plan of Emancipation . 159 XXIV. Some of the Almost Insuperable Difficulties which Embarrassed Every Plan of Emancipation. Con- tinued 164 XXV. Some of the Almost Insuperable Difficulties which Embarrassed Eveiy Plan of Emancipation. Concluded 175 XXVI. The Status of the Controversy Regarding Slav- ery at the Time Virginia Seceded from the Union 185 XXVII. The Status of the Controversy Regarding Slav- ery at the Time Virginia Seceded from the Union. Concluded 193 XXVIII. The Attitude of Certain Northern States . 201 XXIX. The Attitude of Certain Northern States. Con- cluded ........ 206 CONTENTS xni Page XXX. The Abolitionists 214 XXXI. The Abolitionists and Disunion 217 XXXII. The Abolitionists and Disunion. Concluded 225 XXXIII. The Emancipation Proclamations and the Virginia People 230 Part III Virginia Did Not Secede From a Wanton Desire to Destroy the Union, or From Hostility to the Ideals of its Founders XXXIV. Virginia's Part in the Revolution . , . 237 XXXV. Virginia's Part in Making the Union under the Constitution 242 XXXVI. Virginia's Efforts to Promote Reconciliation and Union in 1861 248 XXXVII. The People of Virginia Declare for Union 255 Part IV The Attempt of the Federal Government to Coerce THE Cotton States—The Proximate Cause of Vir- ginia's Secession XXXVIII. The Coercion of the Cotton States—Virginia's Position 263 XXXIX. The Contest in the Virginia Convention for and against Secession 269 XL. The Contest in the Virginia Convention for and against Secession. Concluded . 277 XLI. The Attempted Reinforcement of Fort Sumter and its Significance 284 XLII. The Attempt to Coerce the Cotton States Im- pels Virginia to Secede 290 XLIII. Conclusion 301 BibUography 305 Index 312 PART I VIRGINIA'S ATTITUDE TOWARD SLAVERY AND SECESSION DEFINED INTRODUCTION The story of the American Civil War presents a subject fraught with interest, not destined to die with the passing years. Even the finahty of the verdict then rendered on the issues joined will not abate the desire of men to fix with precision the political and ethical questions in- volved and the motives which impelled the participants in that deplorable tragedy. The sword may determine the boundaries of empire or the political destinies of a people, but the great assize of the world's thought and conscience tries again and again the merits of controversies and brings victor and vanquished to the bar of its in- creasingly fair and discriminating judgment. What was the character of the War? Though one of the greatest wars of modern times, having its rise and fall before the eyes of all the world, yet men are to-day in doubt as to the true term by which to describe it.