USA > Mississippi > School history of Mississippi; for use in public and private schools > Part 16
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3. Governor Quitman's successor was John I. Guion, who served as governor of the State until the expiration of his term as president of the senate in November. Three weeks later James Whitfield was elected president of the senate, and served as gov- ernor until the following January.
4. The Whigs, and a large number of Democrats who favored the Compromise Measures, formed the Union party and nomi- nated Senator Foote for governor. Upon the withdrawal of Gov- ernor Quitman, the first Democratic nominee, his party nomi- nated Senator Davis, who greatly reduced the majority of the Union party.
5. A state convention met at Jackson in 1851 and, being com- posed mostly of Union men, expressed unalterable attachment to the Union.
6. In the administration of Governor Foote (1852-1854) the Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad was incorporated; Colonel McClung delivered his eulogy on Henry Clay; Louis Kossuth visited the capital of the State; the State Lunatic Asylum was located near Jackson; the High Court of Errors and Appeals decided that the State should pay the debt made in order to get money to buy Union Bank bonds; the people repudiated the Plan- ters' Bank bonds; Jefferson Davis entered the President's cabinet;
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
and the representatives from Mississippi in the lower House of Congress were increased from four to five.
7. In Governor McRae's administration (1854-1858) an institu- tion for deaf-mutes was established at Jackson; the code of 1857 was adopted; the people were greatly agitated over national poli- tics; and Jacob Thompson entered the President's cabinet.
8. In Governor McWillie's administration (1858-1860) the citi- zens of the State were very much excited over the Kansas struggle and over John Brown's Raid, and Robert J. Walker was made governor of the Territory of Kansas.
CHAPTER XXVIII
WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UNION (1861)
278. Administration of Governor Pettus .- In 1859 John J. Pettus of Kemper county, the nominee of the Demo- cratic party, was elected governor of Mississippi. Before this time he had taken a prominent part in State politics, having served his county in each branch of the legislature. He was inaugurated governor of the State in 1860. At that time public interest was centered on the problem of how the State could continue in the Union and be made secure in the enjoyment of her rights. In their perplexity the people anxiously awaited the actions of the national parties, hoping that in some way a peaceable and satisfac- tory solution of the problem would be reached.
279. Presidential Campaign of 1860 .- The Democratic party met in national convention at Charleston, South Carolina, April 23, 1860. The proceedings were stormy, and resulted in the divison of the party through the refusal of the Northern delegates to agree to the demands of those from the South. The Southern delegates offered resolu- tions to the effect that neither Congress nor the legislatures of the Territories had a right to prohibit slavery in the Territories. These resolutions were rejected, and the con-
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WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UNION
vention adopted a platform embodying the views of . Stephen A. Douglas, that the settlement of the slavery question should be left to the people of the Territories. By this action the Northern delegates intended to shift from their own party the responsibility of settling this grave question. Several Southern delegates, including those from Mississippi, protested against this action, and with- drew. The convention, having failed to make a nomina- tion, met again in Baltimore and nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois for the presidency. The seceding delegates at once organized a convention in Charleston and adopted a platform, which declared a purpose to carry slavery into the Territories at any cost. They afterwards met, first in Richmond, and then in Baltimore, finally nominating John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for Presi- dent. The old Know-Nothing party, now calling itself the Constitutional Union party, met in Baltimore and, after adopting a platform that declared for the constitution and the Union, but evaded the slavery question, nominated John Bell of Tennesse for President. The Republican national convention met in Chicago and adopted a platform, which expressed among other things its purpose to keep slavery out of the Territories, regardless of the conse- quences. It disclaimed any intention of interfering with slavery in any of the States where it then existed. It nomi- nated Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for President.
280. Results of the Election .- The campaign which fol- lowed was unusually bitter. As a result of the division of the Democratic party, Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, was elected, but failed to receive a majority of the votes cast. As has been said, " the South had avowedly staked everything, even her allegiance to the Union, upon this election. The triumph of Mr. Lincoln was, in her eyes, nothing less than the establishment in power of a
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
party bent upon the destruction of slavery and the defeat of Southern interests, even to the point of countenancing and assisting slave insurrection."*
281. Secession .- Immediately after the election of Lin- coln the legislature of South Carolina, which was then in session, made provision for the purchase of arms, and called a convention of delegates to consider the question of secession. About the same time Governor Pettus called an extra session of the legislature of Mississippi to meet in Jackson on November 26, 1860. In accordance with the advice of the representatives of Mississippi in both houses of Congress, who met at Jackson four days before the legislature assembled, the governor inserted in his message to the legislature a recommendation that it call a conven- tion for the purpose of seceding from the Union without awaiting the action of other States.t
In response to a spirited message from the governor the legislature called a convention to meet at Jackson January 7, 1861, and adopted a resolution declaring " that secession by the aggrieved States, for their grievances, is the remedy." Governor Pettus was authorized to appoint commissioners to visit the other Southern States to inform them of the action of Mississippi, and to secure their aid in the establishment of an independent nation. After pro- viding for the preparation of a device for a new coat of arms for the State and adopting a joint resolution justify- ing its action, the special session of the legislature adjourned.
Some of the ablest men of the State were appointed com- missioners to the different States, and they discharged their
*Wilson's Division and Reunion, p. 208.
tSee Reuben Davis' Recollections of Mississippi and Mississip- pians, pp. 390-398; Mayes' Lucius Q. C. Lamar: His Life, Times and Speeches, p. 87.
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duties with great ability, being received as embassadors from a sovereign and independent nation, and as such treated with great distinction .*
282. The Secession Convention .- This historic body met in the hall of the House of Representatives of the State on the 7th of January, 1861, and organized by electing William S. Barry of Lowndes county president. It was composed of two classes of delegates-the " unconditional secessionists," who were determined on secession at any cost, and the "cooperationists," who were in favor of secession "only upon condition that the border States between the two sections would cooperate in the move- ment." The latter class constituted only about one-third of the convention. On January 9th Mr. Lamar reported for a committee of fifteen, that had been appointed in accordance with a resolution offered by him two days before, "an ordinance to dissolve the union between the State of Mississippi and other States united with her under the compact entitled 'The Constitution of the United States of America.'"
On the afternoon of the same day the question of the final passage of the ordinance was voted on. A large throng of spectators had assembled to view the solemn proceedings. The yeas and nays having been ordered, the secretary called the roll slowly, the first name being James L. Alcorn. As he had been an ardent " cooperationist,"
*The commissioners were as follows: Thomas J. Wharton to Tennessee, Charles E. Hooker to South Carolina, Jacob Thompson to North Carolina, Wirt Adams to Louisiana, A. H. Handy to Maryland, George R. Fall to Arkansas, W. S. Featherston to Kentucky, W. L. Harris to Georgia, Fulton Anderson to Virginia, Joseph W. Matthews to Alabama, H. H. Miller to Texas, Daniel Russell to Missouri, Henry Dickinson to Delaware, and E. M. Yerger to Florida.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
all who were present awaited his vote with much interest. He arose and responded with much feeling: " Mr. Presi- dent, the die is cast, the Rubicon is crossed; I follow the army that goes to Rome; I vote for the ordinance." When the roll call had proceeded until it had become manifest that the ordinance would be adopted, tears came into the eyes of the spectators and the delegates. The president then announced that of the ninety-nine votes cast eighty- four were for the ordinance and fifteen against it. Then came profound silence, which was finally broken by the earnest tones of the Rev. Whitfield Harrington, who in eloquent words invoked the Divine blessings on the step just taken, while the delegates and spectators, standing with bowed heads, joined in the invocation.
283. " The Bonnie Blue Flag."-We are told by a gentle- man who was present at that time, that immediately after THE the conclusion of the prayer, " Mr. C. R. Dickson entered the hall, bearing a beautiful silk flag with a single white star in THE OF MISSISSIPPI S the center (made that morning by Mrs. H. H. Smythe), which he handed to President Barry, GREAT who, after a brief pause, waved it, and with a tear in his eye ST and a tremor in his voice, re- marked that it was the first flag unfurled in the young republic. The members saluted it by rising, the vast au- dience present uniting in shouts of applause. Illumina- tions and artillery salutes in Jackson and elsewhere through- out the State expressed the popular approval of this drama in the history of the State."*
*Power's (Col. J. L.) Mississippi Sccession Convention, pub- lished in the Southern Home Journal for April and May, 1899.
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WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UNION
Upon leaving the hall Harry McCarthy, a comic actor who had witnessed the scene, wrote that popular war-song, " The Bonnie Blue Flag, that Bears a Single Star." The next day it was printed by Colonel J. L. Power, and that night it was sung in the old theatre in Jackson by its author."
284. Signing of the Ordinance .- On the 15th of January the ordinance was signed in the presence of the governor and the members of the legislature by ninety-cight delegates, including the president of the convention. Although Dr. J. J. Thornton of Rankin county refused to sign it, he became its gallant defender, being one of the first volunteers to enter the Confederate army.
285. Other Acts of the Convention .- The convention also adopted " an address setting forth the Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of Mississippi from the Federal Union."
It also endeavored to place the State on a war footing, and elected Colonel Jefferson Davis major-general, and Earl Van Dorn, Charles Clark, J. L. Alcorn, and C. H. Mott brigadier-generals of the State forces.
It then chose W. P. Harris, A. M. Clayton, W. S. Barry, James T. Harrison, and J. A. P. Campbell delegates to a convention of the seceding States to be held in Mont- gomery, Alabama, for the purpose of framing a constitution for the new Confederacy. After a session of seventeen days the Mississippi convention adjourned, subject to the call of the president. It reassembled on the 25th day of March, 1861, and ratified the " Constitution of the Confederate States" by a vote of 78 to 7.
286. State Constitution .- The constitution of 1832 was retained by the State during her connection with the Con- federacy. The words, "Confederate States," were substi- tuted for the expression, " United States," wherever the latter occurred in that document.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
Summary
1. At the beginning of the administration of Governor Pettus (1860-1862) public interest was centered on the problem of how the State could remain in the Union and be made secure in the enjoyment of her rights.
2. At the national convention of the Democratic party held in 1860, it was divided into two parts over the slavery question, the Southern delegates, who asserted that neither Congress nor the legislatures of the Territories had the right to prohibit slavery in the Territories, and the northern delegates, who wished to leave the settlement of the question to the people of the Territories.
3. As the result of a division in the Democratic party the Republican candidate was elected, though he did not have a majority of the votes cast.
4. At a special session of the legislature held in 1860 a State convention was called, at the suggestion of the governor, to meet iL Jackson in the following January for the purpose of discussing the question of secession.
5. This convention met at the appointed time and passed an ordinance, January 9, 1861, to dissolve the union between the State of Mississippi and the other States, by a vote of eighty-four to fifteen. This ordinance was signed by ninety-eight delegates, January 15th.
6. The first flag of the young republic was unfurled in this convention and the famous war song, " The Bonnie Blue Flag," was composed and sung in Jackson by its author, Harry Mc- Carthy.
7. The convention adopted an address setting forth the causes which justified sccession, took steps to place the State on a war footing, and chose delegates to a convention of the Southern States to be held in Montgomery, Alabama.
8. The Constitution of the Confederate States of America, which had been adopted at Montgomery, Alabama, was promptly ratified at the capital of Mississippi (March 25, 1861).
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SOCIAL AND MORAL CONDITIONS
CHAPTER XXIX
SOCIAL AND MORAL CONDITIONS (1832-1860)
287. Social Classes Among the White People .- In this period the contrast between wealth and poverty became more marked than in former years. The industrial system of the times developed a class of wealthy planters, who became sharply distinguished from the lower class of poor white laborers. There were comparatively few of the great middle class of small farmers, who may now be seen everywhere .*
288. Traits of Character .- There were certain clearly defined traits of character which the Mississippians pos- sessed in common with other. people of the South. They held their women in high esteem and showed them a respect that was genuine. They had no patience with the ยท idea of bringing woman into public life, but believed that her proper place was the home. They were generous to a fault and seldom turned a traveler away from their doors. Unfortunately the men had an exaggerated sense of per- sonal pride and courage, which could be offended only at the risk of a duel or a fisticuff.
289. Plantation Life .- The wealth of the planters of the State consisted principally of land and slaves. Each large
* The following table will show the number of slave-owners in Mississippi according to the number owned, 1850-1860:
1 Slave.
Under 5.
Under 10.
Under 20.
Under 50.
Under 100.
Under 200.
More than 200.
Aggre- gate.
3,640
6,228
5,143
4,015
2,964
910
189
27
:23,116
Robert and Hardin Hairston of this State are said to have owned 1,000 and 600 slaves each respectively.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
plantation had an overseer, who had the management of its affairs, directing the labor and caring for the personal comfort of the slaves. His home was built near the " quarters "-the homes of the negroes. The "White Folks' House," a term applied by the slaves to the large, - stately mansion of the planter, stood at a distance from the " quarters." Here the planter lived in princely style, with a large number of trained household servants, who assumed a dignity in keeping with their station and derived much . pleasure in attending to every want of their master's family. The hospitality of the mansion was unexcelled. Its women were queenly and its men ".royal in all phases of life." Although these conditions created a sentiment against manual labor, they fostered a peculiar pride in out-door amusements as well as in artistic and literary accomplish- ments.
On a typical Mississippi plantation twenty-four houses furnished the quarters for one hundred and fifty negroes. These buildings were constructed of hewn logs, and had close plank floors, two feet above the ground, and good chimneys. They were placed fifty feet apart and arranged in a double row with an avenue two hundred feet wide between. The house of the overseer, the workshop, tool- house, and wagon sheds stood at one end of the avenue, and the cistern, grist and sawmill, at the other. Near the overseer's house hung the plantation bell, which in turn aroused the slaves from their slumbers, summoned them to their daily labors, and recalled them from the field. Their " rations " were given to them every week, and con- sisted of bread, meat, rice, and molasses from the " smoke- house," with vegetables and milk. On the plantation described above "two hours at midday were devoted to cating and rest. Each head of a family had his henhouse and truck-patch; he was not permitted to sell what he
-
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SOCIAL AND MORAL CONDITIONS
raised, as on many plantations, but was given five dollars at Christmas and sent to town in charge of an overseer or a driver to enjoy himself."* -
After supper the negroes at the "quarters " made the plantation ring with their melodies. The twanging banjo and the squeaking fiddle were favorite musical instruments with these simple minded, music-loving people, who, when- ever permitted to do so, "fiddled " and danced and sang until late in the night.t
The religious instinct of the plantation negroes asserted itself most freely in the church near the " quarters," where they generally conducted their own worship, unrestrained by the formalities of the white man. Most plantations had at least one colored " parson," who was assisted by several " exhorters " that were self-commissioned to look after the spiritual welfare of the slave community. The negroes were also carefully taught scriptural truths either by the family of their master or by missionaries employed for that purpose.
The " Black Mammy " was reverenced by both white and colored. She was the nurse of the little children, and often the confidential adviser of the older members of the family. Colonel Claiborne has said that "the relation be- tween the owner and the slaves, particularly when they had been inherited, was strictly patriarchal. 'Old Massa' was not a tyrant, but the head of the family, of which they all considered themselves members. 'Old Missus' was the head nurse and waiting woman of the plantation, seeing
*Ingle's Southern Sidelights, pp. 269-270.
TA pleasing reproduction of the social life of the slaves of Mississippi will be found in the poems of Irwin Russell. The writings of Mrs. Stuart of Louisiana will be helpful in this con- nection. See also Rowland's Plantation Life Before the War, in the Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. III.
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
to the sick and the children and distributing clothing and comforts all around. 'Young Missus' spruced up the colored 'gals,' taught them the fashions, and 'Young Marster ' stood between the slaves and the overseer, got them out of trouble, and took the boys with him to hunt and fish. The planter and his family slept, amidst a hun-
SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON A SOUTHERN PLANTATION
dred slaves, in perfect tranquility, without locking a door. A slave might occasionally grab a fowl or a pig, but the lives and the treasures of the master and his family were sacred."*
290. Slave Laws .- By an act of the legislature (1833) slaves charged with capital offences were tried by the same laws as free white persons. One-half the value of slaves executed for crimes was paid to their owners by the State. Masters were responsible for all things stolen by their
*Claiborne's Mississippi, p. 145.
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SOCIAL AND MORAL CONDITIONS
slaves. The freeing of slaves by last will was positively prohibited. Under the same code, all persons, except the attorneys, who rendered aid to a slave in an unsuccessful suit for his freedom were fined one hundred dollars for each slave.so assisted, unless the judge should certify that there was probable ground for a suit. No member of an abolition society was a competent juror in the trial of a slave for his freedom. It was made a felony to advise or persuade a slave to run away. No slave or free negro was allowed to serve as a peddler, and no slave was permitted to preach, except on his master's premises. The testimony of negroes and mulattoes, bond or free, was admitted in court " in civil cases when free negroes or mulattoes alone shall be parties, and in no other cases." If any negro or mulatto gave false testimony in the trial of a case that did not involve the death penalty, he was punished with thirty- nine lashes, which might be repeated any number of days not exceeding five. A slave was never put on trial for his life without having, at his master's expense, the benefit of counsel to defend him. Besides these laws, most of those which were in force under the first constitution were con- tinued throughout this period.
291. Slave Trade .- The constitution of 1833 provided that " the introduction of slaves into this State as mer- chandise or for sale, shall be prohibited from and after the Ist of May, 1833." The Court of Appeals of the State decided that this clause of the constitution was sufficient to prohibit the bringing in of slaves as merchandise with- out legislative action. The Supreme Court of the United States asserted, however, that no prohibition was created by the constitution, and that legislative action was necessary to make it binding. The legislature therefore passed an act in 1837 which removed all doubts on the subject by prohibiting the slave trade with other States. This law
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HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI
was repealed in 1846, and the slave trade with other States was again opened.
292. Slavery Agitations .- In 1835 the State was greatly excited over the fear of a slave insurrection. The plot was soon discovered, and by prompt action the trouble was confined to only one or two neighborhoods. About ten or fifteen negroes were implicated. These, together with a few lawless white men who had originated the plot, were hanged.
Ten years later an abolitionist book, entitled " Pictures of Slavery," was found in the negro quarters of a planta- tion in Wilkinson county. In this book were numerous engravings illustrating the different modes of punishment which the people of the South were accused of inflicting upon their slaves. Similar evidences of the activity of those opposed to slavery excited from time to time the indigna- tion of the people of Mississippi. In Governor Quitman's message to the legislature in 1836, he stated that people of the free States had tried to drive slavery from the South by inciting the slaves to rebellion and involving this section of the country in a slave war.
293. Colonization Society .- As early as 1816 the African Colonization Society was organized in the United States to encourage the freeing of slaves by helping free negroes to form colonies in Africa. It was joined by both the friends and opponents of slavery, and had a large member- ship throughout the country. Madison and Clay were among its presidents. It was encouraged in Mississippi, because it furnished a means for removing the free negroes from the State. The society failed to accomplish the pur- pose for which it was organized. since it did not have the money to pay for carrying enough negroes from the coun- try to produce any important results .*
*By the report of this society made in 1852, it seems that in thirty-two years only 7,592 persons of color were sent back to
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SOCIAL AND MORAL CONDITIONS
294. Whipping and Branding .- As early as 1832 public sentiment in Mississippi began to assert itself against many of the cruel forms of punishment that had been for some time common throughout the country. The following quotation from a newspaper of that year indicates the growth of this sentiment :
' Will the pillory still disgrace a civilized age? Will the branding iron still be exhibited in the courts of justice to the dishonor of humanity, giving to the villain letters in hand and body, which will carry his hatred to all the human race? Will the thirty-nine lashes still be prescribed by our bloody penal code? '*
295. Establishment of a Penitentiary .- In order to lessen the severity of the punishment inflicted upon criminals, many of the. most humane men of the State had insisted for years upon the establishment of a penitentiary. The necessity of establishing such an institution was greatly increased by the fact that many criminals were turned loose upon society because of the severity of the punishments prescribed by the laws of the State. The difficulties of conviction increased in proportion to the growth of senti- ment that the penalties inflicted were too severe. A peni- tentiary was finally established (1836) in response to a demand for more humane modes of punishment.
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