“Some of you laugh to scorn the idea of bloodshed as the result of secession, but let me tell you what is coming….Your fathers and husbands, your sons and brothers, will be herded at the point of the bayonet….You may after the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, as a bare possibility, win Southern independence…but I doubt it. I tell you that, while I believe with you in the doctrine of state rights, the North is determined to preserve this Union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction…they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche; and what I fear is, they will overwhelm the South. “
Sam Houston, 1861
It took a fair amount of courage to stand against the tide of secession in the South in 1860-1861, but not even his most determined enemy, and he had many enemies, could say that Sam Houston ever had a shortage of that virtue. As an ardent Unionist he fought secession every step of the way.
Houston assumed many roles during his tempestuous life: husband, father, soldier, lawyer, Congressman from Tennessee, Governor of Tennessee, drunk, adopted Cherokee, Major General of the Texas Army, President of the Republic of Texas, Texas Representative, Senator from Texas, but perhaps his greatest role was at the end as Governor of Texas in 1859-1861. As secession fever built in Texas at the end of 1860 he stumped the state vigorously, although he knew it was hopeless, arguing against secession which he viewed as an unmitigated disaster for Texas and the nation.
“To secede from the Union and set up another government would cause war. If you go to war with the United States, you will never conquer her, as she has the money and the men. If she does not whip you by guns, powder, and steel, she will starve you to death. It will take the flower of the country-the young men.”
“I declare that civil war is inevitable and is near at hand. When it comes the descendants of the heroes of Lexington and Bunker Hill will be found equal in patriotism, courage and heroic endurance with the descendants of the heroes of Cowpens and Yorktown. For this reason I predict the civil war which is now at hand will be stubborn and of long duration.”
Houston, as governor of Texas, refused to bring the state legislature back into session to consider secession. The Secession Convention, which held its opening session on January 28, 1861, voted to abrogate the treaty of annexation with the US on February 1. Secession was put to a popular vote and won at the ballot. Texas was admitted to the Confederacy on March 1, 1861. Houston never recognized the legality of any of this, and refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy.
“In the name of the constitution of Texas, which has been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath. I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon her.”
He was deposed from office on March 15, 1861. Houston died on July 26, 1863, with his wife Margaret by his side. He had never ceased to bemoan the Civil War raging throughout the nation. His last words were “Texas! Texas! Margaret.”
Bonus:
Not a particularly pleasant man but he had principles and stuck with them. Time has proven him right.
“They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction…they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche.” I dunno. Not all Texans are fiery or impulsive. Houston describes my Daughters of the Republic of Texas wife almost perfectly, especially the mighty avalanche part. My experience, most Texans are very persistent. Geography paid a part but they were still fighting months after Appomattox.
“Geography paid a part”
It wasn’t worth the effort once the blockade was established. By the time General Kirby Smith surrendered his Trans-Missippi forces on June 2, 1865, almost all his men had already gone home. The skirmish at Palmito Ranch involved 500 Union troops and 300 Confederate troops and is regarded as the last battle of the Civil War. It was fought on May 12-May 13 and was ironically a Confederate victory.
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Sam was right about two things: that secession would ultimately mean that the South would be invaded and destroyed, and that the Yankee was an absolute fanatic who would stop at nothing to get his way. The South failed to consider the likely consequences of their action, so it shares in the blame for the eventual disaster. But the primary blame still goes to Mr. Lincoln and his decision to invade the Southern states after they had legally, peacefully, and democratically elected to leave. Let’s try to remember that. Leaving may have been a bad decision for all sorts of reasons, but it was still their right to make it.
But the primary blame still goes to Mr. Lincoln and his decision to invade the Southern states after they had legally, peacefully, and democratically elected to leave.
No right of secession existed. The writers of the Articles of the Articles of Confederation noted that the Union was perpetual and the Constitution had not a word to the contrary. A substantial part of the white South did not wish to leave the Union. Look at West Virginia, East Tennessee and Appalachia in general, along with other parts of the South. The Union raised one hundred thousand troops from these Southern Unionists.
As to what secession was, I will defer to Robert E. Lee, sentiments he expressed to his son Rooney in a letter dated January 29, 1861:
The South in my opinion has been aggrieved by the acts of the North as you say. I feel the aggression, & am willing to take every proper step for redress. It is the principle I contend for, not individual or private benefit. As an American citizen I take great pride in my country, her prosperity & institutions & would defend any State if her rights were invaded. But I can anticipate no greater calamity for the country than a dissolution of the Union. It would be an accumulation of all the evils we complain of, & I am willing to sacrifice every thing but honour for its preservation. I hope therefore that all Constitutional means will be exhausted, before there is a resort to force. Secession is nothing but revolution. The framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labour, wisdom & forbearance in its formation & surrounded it with so many guards & securities, if it was intended to be broken by every member of the confederacy at will. It was intended for pepetual [sic] union, so expressed in the preamble,4 & for the establishment of a government, not a compact, which can only be dissolved by revolution or the consent of all the people in convention assembled. It is idle to talk of secession. Anarchy would have been established & not a government, by Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison & the other patriots of the Revolution. In 1808 when the New England States resisted Mr Jeffersons Imbargo law & the Hartford Convention assembled secession was termed treason by Virga statesmen. What can it be now?
The South embarked not on some mythical right of secession but on a revolution to protect slavery. Most of the Secession Ordinances make that crystal clear. When the Confederate Constitution was drafted it noted that it was perpetual. The delegates from South Carolina wanted to enshrine a right of secession in the Constitution of the Confederacy. Their proposal was voted down and the South Carolinians were the only ones to vote for it.
Never were a braver people more foolishly led than the people of the South during the secession debacle of 1860-61.
You are completely correct. Secession was intended to protect slavery; states rights was, in 1860, an issue only because of slavery. There are loonies on the right, just as there are on the left; and those on the right tend to deny this fundamental historical reality.