Kentucky and the Secession Crisis

A Documentary History

Dwight Pitcaithley

• Publisher: University of Tennessee Press
• Year: 2022
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781621907244
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

As the election of 1860 loomed, the United States suffered tumultuous division over the political fate of slavery in the western territories. While Northern states favored territorial sovereignty, the Deep South advocated for federal protection of slavery during the territorial period. Disagreement festered and gave way to civil war—but for some states literally caught in the middle, choosing a side was not so easy.
 
A slave state itself but bordering three non-slave-state neighbors across the Ohio River, Kentucky was in a difficult position as division swept the country. Aware that secession would nullify the Fugitive Slave Act and believing that slavery as a statewide institution would be better protected if Kentucky remained in the Union, the Bluegrass State ultimately stepped away from its Deep South sister states and chose not to secede. Kentucky and the Secession Crisis: A Documentary History showcases the discourse that followed the 1860 election and sheds light on Kentucky’s political thought processes as the state struggled toward a decision.
 
This important collection includes addresses by Governor Beriah Magoffin; Senator John J. Crittenden’s December 1860 address proposing a Constitutional solution to secession; speeches by various proponents and opponents of the Crittenden amendment; various Constitutional amendments proposed by Kentuckians; and documents related to the second session of the Thirty-Sixth Congress, the Washington Peace Conference of 1861, and the Border Slave State Conference. With a lengthy introduction and questions for discussion, Kentucky and the Secession Crisis is an insightful and valuable resource for historians as well as for the classroom.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. Governor Beriah Magoffin
• 2. Constitutional Amendment Proposed by Senator John Jordan Crittenden
• 3. Crittenden Debated: Pro-Crittenden
• 4. Crittenden Debated: Anti-Crittenden
• 5. Exchange between Senators Charles Sumner and John J. Crittenden, February 12, 1861
• 6. Constitutional Amendments Proposed by Kentuckians
• 7. Selected Memorials, Petitions, and Resolutions to the Second Session of the Thirty-Sixth Congress, January–March 1861
• 8. Washington Peace Conference
• 9. Neutrality Proclaimed
• 10. Border Slave State Convention
• Appendix. Timeline for Secession Winter
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Questions for Discussion
• Index