Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 facts for kids
The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 was a big meeting held in Richmond, Virginia. Its main goal was to decide if Virginia should leave the United States and join the Confederate States of America. The convention also had to manage the state during a time of crisis and even tried to write a new state constitution, but that new constitution was later rejected by voters.
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What Was the Virginia Secession Convention?
In 1861, the United States was deeply divided, especially over the issue of slavery. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president, many Southern states, known as the Deep South, decided to leave the Union. Virginia, like other states in the Upper South, was torn. People had strong feelings on both sides.
In May 1861, Virginia's government decided to hold a special meeting, called a convention, to discuss whether to secede (leave the Union). Delegates, or representatives, were elected from different parts of Virginia to attend this convention. About one-third of these delegates wanted to secede right away. The other two-thirds wanted to stay in the Union, but they were divided. Some were "Conditional Unionists," meaning they would stay only if President Lincoln didn't try to force the Southern states back into the Union. Others were "Unconditional Unionists," who were always loyal to the United States government.
Why Did Virginia Consider Leaving the Union?
The disagreements in Virginia mirrored the larger conflicts across the country, especially during the 1860 presidential election. The Democratic Party, which was strong in the South, split apart. Some Southern Democrats, who supported slavery, nominated John C. Breckinridge for president. He won votes in many Southern states.
Many people in the South, influenced by thinkers like John C. Calhoun, believed that Southern states had a special right to agree with national decisions, especially about who became president. If a president was elected without enough support from the South, they felt they could ignore the election results or even leave the country. They worried that a Republican president, like Lincoln, who had allies against slavery, would threaten their way of life, which depended on slavery.
In the 1860 election, Abraham Lincoln's name wasn't even on the ballot in nine Southern states where leaders wanted to secede. This made it impossible for him to win votes there.
Other candidates also ran. John Bell, a former senator who owned enslaved people, ran as a "Constitutional Unionist" and won Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Stephen A. Douglas, a senator from Illinois, was a Northern Democrat who campaigned across the country. He believed in using force to stop states from leaving the Union.
In November 1860, most people in seven Southern states, including Virginia, actually voted to stay in the Union by supporting Bell and Douglas. Despite a plot to harm Lincoln on his way to Washington, D.C., he was sworn in as president under military protection.
Debates and Decisions: Staying or Leaving?
The Virginia Secession Convention met from February 3 to December 6, 1861. John Janney was chosen to lead the meeting. At first, most delegates voted to stay in the Union. However, they decided to keep meeting to see what would happen next.
Early in the convention, leaders from the Confederate States of America came to speak. Fulton Anderson from Mississippi warned that the new U.S. government wanted to end slavery and harm Southern people. Henry Lewis Benning from Georgia said his state left because it was the only way to protect slavery. John Smith Preston from South Carolina claimed that Lincoln's election meant the destruction of white Southerners, and Virginia should lead the South in a new country. His speech got a standing ovation, but still, only about a third of the delegates wanted to secede immediately. The "Conditional Unionists" were waiting for Lincoln to make a move that seemed aggressive before they would consider leaving.
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At first, the speeches were a mix. Some delegates argued for leaving the Union, others for staying, and some insisted that leaving was illegal and a bad idea. On February 28, Jeremiah Morton from Orange County spoke for secession. He said that people in the North had been attacking slavery for 30 years and that Virginia would be safer with its Southern neighbors.
On March 4, the day Lincoln became president, Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, called for 100,000 soldiers and sent troops to surround U.S. forts in the South. Lincoln, in his speech, even supported a change to the Constitution that would protect slavery where it already existed. That same day, Waitman T. Willey from Monongalia County argued against secession. He said it would lead to war, high taxes, and the end of slavery in Virginia. He believed that if Virginia stayed, the Confederate states might eventually return to the Union.
John S. Carlile from Alleghany County, another strong Union supporter, agreed that slavery was important but said the U.S. government had never harmed Virginia. He warned that if Virginia joined the Confederacy, the North would no longer be bound by the Constitution to protect slavery and might even work with other countries to end it. George W. Randolph, a lawyer from Richmond, argued for secession. He said that even though Lincoln was elected fairly, his government was only for one part of the country. He believed joining the Confederacy would prevent war and help Virginia's businesses.
John Brown Baldwin from Augusta County spoke for the Union. He defended slavery in Virginia but said that electing a president could not justify leaving the country. He believed the U.S. government's system of checks and balances protected states' rights. He also pointed out that Congress had even passed an amendment to protect slavery. Baldwin hoped that border states could meet and find a way for the Confederate states to return to the Union.
John S. Barbour Jr. from Culpeper County was a Unionist who changed his mind. He wanted to protect slavery and help Virginia's businesses. He asked if Virginia would have more power with the North (11 out of 150 votes) or with the South (21 out of 89 votes). He said the Confederacy was already a strong, working government.
Former governor Henry A. Wise, a very influential delegate, tried to push the convention to immediately set up a secessionist government. But on April 4, nearly two-thirds of the convention voted against secession. A group of three delegates was sent to talk with Lincoln, who had decided to protect U.S. property in the South.
Then, Fort Sumter in South Carolina was attacked. Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers, including 3,500 Virginians, to get back federal property taken by force in the South. This call for troops changed everything. The "Conditional Unionists" felt Lincoln was being aggressive. On April 16, the convention met in secret. Unionists warned that war would lead to the end of slavery. The next day, former Governor Henry Wise announced that he had already started a "revolution" by having loyal Virginians seize the Harper's Ferry federal armory and the Gosport Navy Yard at Norfolk. Wise even waved a pistol during his speech to convince delegates from the Piedmont and Valley regions who had previously voted to stay in the Union. After his speech and actions, most of the Conditional Unionists joined the secessionist side. The resolution for Virginia to secede passed with 88 votes for and 55 against.
What Happened After Virginia Seceded?
The Virginia Secession Ordinance officially canceled Virginia's agreement to the U.S. Constitution. Two days after the vote to secede, and a month before the public vote, the Confederate flag was raised over Virginia's capitol building. Virginia sent delegates to the Confederate Congress, activated its state militias, and invited a Confederate army to occupy Richmond.
While some votes from Union-supporting counties were lost, the total votes counted showed that secession was approved by 128,884 to 32,134. Many soldiers in Confederate army camps also voted. The idea that this would be a "War in defense of Virginia" failed, as did the promise of slavery lasting into the future.
On June 29, 1861, the convention removed two Unionist delegates, William G. Brown and James Clark McGrew, because they had attended a meeting in Wheeling, which later led to the creation of West Virginia.
One of the first laws passed by the convention after secession was to create the Provisional Army of Virginia.
Delegates and Their Votes
The Virginia Secession Convention had 152 delegates. They were elected from different districts in Virginia. The first vote on secession failed on April 4. But after Lincoln asked Virginia for troops, many "conditional unionists" changed their minds and voted for secession. The resolution then passed. You can see how the votes changed on maps from the University of Richmond.
