Washington DC Peace Conference

John Tyler, a member of the Conference

When Virginia voted to stay in the Union a few weeks ago, it also voted to invite all of the states to a peace conference to attempt to find a way to prevent secession and war. This conference began on February 4th. One-hundred and thirty politicians gathered in Washington, DC, but notably absent were any members from the seceded Deep South states. The seceded states were gathering in Alabama to consider forming a new government. The Peace Conference was called the “Old Gentlemen’s Convention” by some because many of the men there were old politicians such as John Tyler, ex-president of the United States.

In the end the conference had no effect. After meeting for three weeks, a committee suggested Constitutional Amendments very similar to the Crittenden Compromise, which Lincoln and the new Republican Government had blocked from passing. The Senate defeated the suggested amendment 28 to 7. Lincoln’s private secretary wrote, “The deliberations and recommendations of the much-vaunted Peace Conference proved as worthless as Dead Sea fruit."¹

1. Abraham Lincoln: A History by John G. Nicolay and John Hay (New York: The Century Co., 1890) vol. 3 Source. http://books.google.com/books?id=TmM6gR-fteAC p. 323

Secession in the Upper South

Today Louisiana voted to secede 113 to 17, becoming the sixth state to secede.

At the time of the Civil War the south at the time of the Civil War could be divided into two portions, Deep South and Upper South. The Deep South contained states such as South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Georgia, etc. The Upper South was closer to the North – Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, etc. While both held slaves, the Deep South was the first to secede after the election of Lincoln. However the Upper South was still with the Union when Lincoln was inaugurated. They trusted that the Republicans would not attempt to abolish slavery and that they would try to work out an agreement such as the Crittenden Compromise. This was the situation that many states were in at this point, 150 years ago. However, their representatives in Washington warned the North not to attack the states that had left. One said,

Believe me, the moment you wage war, you array the entire South, as one man, in behalf of the portion that is attacked, It is as when a brother is assailed, all the brethren rush to his rescue, not stopping to inquire whether, in the contest, he be right or wrong.₁

The future would prove that in general, this statement was correct.

1. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/no-better-southern-man/?partner=rss&emc=rss