The election of 1860 put to rest a tumultuous decade of legislative
contest over the institution of slavery--even as it set in motion events
that led directly to its demise by civil war. While some scholarship
tends to minimize the role of slavery in the secession of the Southern
states in the early 1860s, Dwight Pitcaithley's Tennessee Secedes: A
Documentary History takes the opposite approach, examining the many
factors that both fueled and complicated Tennessee's unique journey
toward secession in 1861.
Organized chronologically by source and speaker, Tennessee Secedes
presents a selection of primary sources from December 1860 through the
summer of 1861, inviting students to examine the arc of Tennessee's
secession march. Pitcaithley introduces proclamations, declarations,
addresses, resolutions, proposed constitutional amendments, and other
materials from Tennessee legislators, members of Congress, and delegates
to the East Tennessee Convention. These sources highlight the political
divisions apparent in the Volunteer State during this season of unrest.
While many other Southern states saw little support for Unionism in the
early 1860s, Tennessee stood in stark contrast, with a large and vocal
population that ardently opposed secession.
Complete with appendices featuring 1861 election returns, communications
from the Tennessee Congressional Delegation of the Thirty-Sixth
Congress, and a timeline for Secession Winter--as well as questions for
further discussion--Tennessee Secedes is an invaluable resource for
students of the Civil War and Tennessee history, offering an insightful
analysis of Tennessee's uncertain path to the Confederacy in the summer
of 1861.
