What do you think?
Rate this book
The U.S. Constitution and Secession: A Documentary Anthology of Slavery and White Supremacy
Five months after the election of Abraham Lincoln, which had revealed the fracturing state of the nation, Confederates fired on Fort Sumter and the fight for the Union began in earnest. This documentary reader offers a firsthand look at the constitutional debates that consumed the country in those fraught five months. Day by day, week by week, these documents chart the political path, and the insurmountable differences, that led directly—but not inevitably—to the American Civil War.
At issue in these debates is the nature of the U.S. Constitution with regard to slavery. Editor Dwight Pitcaithley provides expert guidance through the speeches and discussions that took place over Secession Winter (1860–1861)—in Congress, eleven state conventions, legislatures in Tennessee and Kentucky, and the Washington Peace Conference of February, 1861. The anthology brings to light dozens of solutions to the secession crisis proposed in the form of constitutional amendments—90 percent of them carefully designed to protect the institution of slavery in different ways throughout the country. And yet, the book suggests, secession solved neither of the South’s primary the expansion of slavery into the western territories and the return of fugitive slaves.
What emerges clearly from these documents, and from Pitcaithley’s incisive analysis, is the centrality of white supremacy and slavery—specifically the fear of abolition—to the South’s decision to secede. Also evident in the words of these politicians and statesmen is how thoroughly passion and fear, rather than reason and reflection, drove the decision making process.
At issue in these debates is the nature of the U.S. Constitution with regard to slavery. Editor Dwight Pitcaithley provides expert guidance through the speeches and discussions that took place over Secession Winter (1860–1861)—in Congress, eleven state conventions, legislatures in Tennessee and Kentucky, and the Washington Peace Conference of February, 1861. The anthology brings to light dozens of solutions to the secession crisis proposed in the form of constitutional amendments—90 percent of them carefully designed to protect the institution of slavery in different ways throughout the country. And yet, the book suggests, secession solved neither of the South’s primary the expansion of slavery into the western territories and the return of fugitive slaves.
What emerges clearly from these documents, and from Pitcaithley’s incisive analysis, is the centrality of white supremacy and slavery—specifically the fear of abolition—to the South’s decision to secede. Also evident in the words of these politicians and statesmen is how thoroughly passion and fear, rather than reason and reflection, drove the decision making process.
- GenresAmerican HistoryHistory
400 pages, Paperback
Published May 4, 2018
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 19, 2019
After all the garbage that has been put out by Southern apologists in the past fifty years (and even longer), The U.S. Constitution and Secession is another breath of fresh air.
In essence, this book is a collection of documents, journal entries, proposals, and speeches from the "Secession Winter" of 1860, all of which document the rationales for the secession of the southern states and the various proposals to amend the U.S. Constitution in an attempt to resolve the crisis. Interestingly, most of the documents provided are from southerners or Democrats who wanted to appease southerners. In the end, reading through all of the documentation led me to two solid conclusions:
1) Despite 150 years of denials, it is overwhelmingly clear that the principal reason for dissatisfaction in the southern states in 1860 was a deathly fear that the new Republican administration would take steps to end slavery in the United States.
Yep! Secession was about slavery. Period. Want to argue the point? Read the book first. Then, we'll talk.
2) Up until the states seceded, the biggest political complaint that southerns had about government was that the federal government did not seem to have enough power to stop the northern states from enacting various schemes to mitigate the effects of the Fugitive Slave Act and various slave transportation issues. In short, it was the northerners who were asserting the rights of their states to make laws to regulate slavery within their borders and the southerners who argued against those northern states' rights. In fact, "states' rights" didn't become a "thing" for the South until they started arguing for their right to leave the Union.
My only (minor) complaint about the book was that it grew to be repetitive. How many times can you read another proposal for constitutional amendments that are not only similar in nature, but are, in fact, worded exactly the same? In a way, though, that's also the strength of the book. It's hard to argue that the editor is "cherry picking" his facts when page after page after page provides the same argument, but from different sources.
Another strength of the book is the excellent introduction by the editor, Dwight Pitcaithley, as well as the extensive footnotes, appendices, and glossary.
One final caution: this is not a "casual reading" kind of book. But it's an essential book for anyone who is truly interested in reading the source materials behind the Secession Winter.
In essence, this book is a collection of documents, journal entries, proposals, and speeches from the "Secession Winter" of 1860, all of which document the rationales for the secession of the southern states and the various proposals to amend the U.S. Constitution in an attempt to resolve the crisis. Interestingly, most of the documents provided are from southerners or Democrats who wanted to appease southerners. In the end, reading through all of the documentation led me to two solid conclusions:
1) Despite 150 years of denials, it is overwhelmingly clear that the principal reason for dissatisfaction in the southern states in 1860 was a deathly fear that the new Republican administration would take steps to end slavery in the United States.
Yep! Secession was about slavery. Period. Want to argue the point? Read the book first. Then, we'll talk.
2) Up until the states seceded, the biggest political complaint that southerns had about government was that the federal government did not seem to have enough power to stop the northern states from enacting various schemes to mitigate the effects of the Fugitive Slave Act and various slave transportation issues. In short, it was the northerners who were asserting the rights of their states to make laws to regulate slavery within their borders and the southerners who argued against those northern states' rights. In fact, "states' rights" didn't become a "thing" for the South until they started arguing for their right to leave the Union.
My only (minor) complaint about the book was that it grew to be repetitive. How many times can you read another proposal for constitutional amendments that are not only similar in nature, but are, in fact, worded exactly the same? In a way, though, that's also the strength of the book. It's hard to argue that the editor is "cherry picking" his facts when page after page after page provides the same argument, but from different sources.
Another strength of the book is the excellent introduction by the editor, Dwight Pitcaithley, as well as the extensive footnotes, appendices, and glossary.
One final caution: this is not a "casual reading" kind of book. But it's an essential book for anyone who is truly interested in reading the source materials behind the Secession Winter.
March 10, 2021
A fantastic 60 page intro by Pitcaithley, and an equally fantastic collection of documents to go along with it. Unequivocally dispels much of the Lost Cause ideology.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews