East Tennessee Convention of 1861
Encyclopedia
The East Tennessee Convention consisted of a series of meetings held in 1861 on the eve of the American Civil War
in which 29 counties in East Tennessee
and one county in Middle Tennessee
denounced secessionist activities within the state of Tennessee
and resolved to break away and form an independent state aligned with the Union
. The first round of meetings was held on May 30 and May 31 in Knoxville
and the second round was held June 17 through June 20 in Greeneville
. The conventions consisted of delegates from every county in East Tennessee with the exception of Rhea County
.
The election of Abraham Lincoln
to the U.S. presidency in 1860 sparked a wave of secessionist sentiment across the Southern United States. In February 1861, secessionists in Tennessee's state government— led by Governor Isham Harris— sought voter approval for a convention to sever ties with the United States, but Tennessee voters rejected the referendum by a 54-46% margin (82% of East Tennesseans voted against it). Secessionists gained momentum in April, however, when federal forces attempted to resupply Fort Sumter
in South Carolina
, and sentiments in Tennessee began to shift in favor of joining the Confederacy
. President Lincoln had called upon Tennessee to provide men to fight against the South, which forced the state to take sides. A second referendum calling for secession, held on June 8, was heavily approved by voters in West and Middle Tennessee, although about 70% of East Tennesseans still voted against it. At the convention meetings in Greeneville, Unionist delegates drafted a Memorial asking that the Tennessee state government allow pro-Union East Tennessee counties to form a separate state that would remain part of the United States. The Tennessee legislature, however, rejected the request to divide the state, and Governor Harris dispatched Confederate forces to occupy East Tennessee.
— East, Middle
, and West
— had grown steadily since the state's creation. In the 1830s, Whig
sentiment in East Tennessee solidified around opposition to President Andrew Jackson
, especially following Jackson's snub of Knoxvillian Hugh Lawson White
in the 1836 presidential election
. In the early 1840s, then-state senator Andrew Johnson
introduced legislation in the Tennessee state senate calling for East Tennessee to separate from the rest of Tennessee and form a separate state, although the initiative eventually failed in spite of strong support from East Tennessee Whigs. While the Whig Party disintegrated in the 1850s, opposition to Southern Democrats remained strong in East Tennessee, especially in Knox County
and surrounding counties, throughout the Civil War. In the 1860 presidential election, East Tennesseans rallied around Constitutional Union
candidate John Bell
, helping Bell capture the state's electoral votes.
After Lincoln's election in 1860, several Southern states made plans to leave the United States and form the Confederate States of America. Unionist leaders in Knoxville began an anti-secession campaign, and spent much of the latter part of 1860 holding meetings and speaking at rallies. In February of the following year, the state government called for a referendum on whether or not to hold a convention that would sever ties with the Union. On February 25, Tennessee voters rejected the convention by about a 69,000 to 58,000 margin. In East Tennessee, the margin against the secession convention was 33,000 to 7,000. Majorities in every East Tennessee county opposed the convention with the exception of Sullivan and (by a slight majority) Meigs
.
In the weeks following the initial defeat of secessionism in the state, both secessionists and Unionists launched an intensive public speaking campaign. The threat of violence underscored many of the rallies, and both sides were warned not to enter certain areas where their opponents held a strong majority. After the Battle of Fort Sumter
in April 1861, in which South Carolina had opened fire on the Federal government fort and taken it by force, feelings intensified across the country. Governor Harris called for a second referendum, this time to approve outright an "Ordinance of Secession" and skipping the burdensome step of holding a convention. On June 8, 1861, Tennessee voted in favor of this ordinance, effectively giving the state government power to sever ties with the United States and join the Confederate States. East Tennessee voters opposed the ordinance by a 32,000 to 14,000 margin, although along with Sullivan and Meigs, four other counties— Monroe, Rhea, Sequatchie, and Polk— had majorities in favor of secession. The percentage voting against secession was most lopsided in counties where Whigs were traditionally strong, such as Sevier
(96% against), Carter
(94% against), Campbell
(94% against), and Anderson
(93% against). The five counties that voted in favor of secession were all traditionally Democratic counties. Dramatic shifts occurred in Rhea (88% against secession in February, 64% for secession in June), Washington (94% against secession in February, but only 52% against in June), Knox (89% against in February, only 72% against in June), and Roane (96% against in February, only 77% against in June).
movement in the first half of the 19th century, abolitionists still constituted a radical minority within the region. Several delegates at the Unionist conventions were themselves slave owners who believed the U.S. Constitution protected the practice. William Brownlow
, one of the convention's most prominent members, had defended the practice of slavery in a well-received speech just four years prior to the convention. Convention co-organizer Oliver Perry Temple
later recalled that when speaking during the period, he defended slavery, but said he would do away with the practice if that's what it would take to preserve the Union. East Tennessee had just 10% of the state's slave population, and overall there was widespread ambivalence in the region regarding the abolition issue.
While slavery alone may not have been a primary issue in East Tennessee's pro-Union stance, the practice may have indirectly contributed to it. Many people in the mountainous region (what is now called Southern Appalachia
) viewed the Southern slaveholding planter class as a de facto aristocracy with excessive and sometimes autocratic powers. Convention delegate Oliver Perry Temple later wrote:
The strength of East Tennessee's Whigs, who had long stood in opposition to Southern Democrats (who were pro-secession), was another key reason for the region's pro-Union sentiment. The results of the February and June referendums showed that support for the Union was strongest in counties that had traditionally voted Whig. One of the convention's speakers, Thomas D. Arnold, had been among the Whigs who were vehemently opposed to Andrew Jackson in the 1830s. Convention delegate William Brownlow was publisher of the Knoxville Whig, in which he espoused radical Whig views. Convention co-organizer Oliver Perry Temple once called the Democratic party "antichrist", and later wrote that East Tennesseans were "disciples of Henry Clay
and Daniel Webster
, both as to the theory and the administrative policy of the government". The Whigs of East Tennessee were very well organized, and were able to mount aggressive pro-Union political campaigns in the first months of 1861.
(of Washington County) president and Colonel James G. Spears of Bledsoe County vice-president. Nelson spoke for approximately one hour, mostly to recap recent events and blast the state government's recent actions as unconstitutional. After Nelson's speech, a committee was appointed to prepare business for the convention (namely to list grievances and adopt resolutions). This committee consisted of 28 delegates— at least one from each county present— with Connally F. Trigg of Knox County as chairman. Long-time Whig Thomas D. Arnold spoke in the afternoon, attacking the governor and legislature, and calling secession "ruinous and unwarranted".
On the second day of the Knoxville convention, Andrew Johnson (at that time a U.S. senator) spoke for nearly three hours in favor of keeping ties to the Union. The business committee also issued its report, condemning the state government's disregard for the U.S. Constitution and stating that law and order had yielded to "fanaticism" and "passion". The committee resolved that East Tennessee was still opposed to secession and that the General Assembly lacked the authority (under the U.S. Constitution's Contract Clause
) to form leagues with the Confederacy. The committee also resolved to meet again at a place and date to be determined by the convention president.
(one of the Knox County delegates) suggested a system of allotting one vote to each county per 1,000 votes cast in the previous election, which the convention agreed upon. Most of the first two days were spent on convention organization.
On the third day (June 19), the committee on business (still chaired by Trigg) delivered its report, resolving that 1. East Tennessee was not required to attach itself to the Confederate States; 2. East Tennessee and any willing Middle Tennessee counties would continue as part of the Union; 3. East Tennessee desired to maintain a neutral position in any coming war; 4. East Tennessee would defend itself if occupied by Confederate forces; 5. Convention delegates would retaliate if any convention members were harmed; and 6. East Tennessee would form military companies. Shortly after the committee delivered its report, Knox County delegate Oliver Perry Temple submitted an alternate set of resolutions less "violent" in tone. Temple's resolutions resolved that 1. East Tennessee had no desire to be involved in any impending civil war; 2. East Tennessee was not bound to support the Confederacy because secession was unconstitutional; 3. a Memorial would be submitted to the General Assembly seeking its consent for East Tennessee to form a separate state; 4. a third round of meetings would be held in Kingston
whenever the convention president deemed necessary. The 5th and 6th resolutions established modes of elections.
Most of the third day of the convention and part of the fourth day were spent debating which of the two resolutions to adopt. Horace Maynard, John Baxter, and John Fleming (all of Knox County) supported Temple's proposals. Nelson, Arnold, Robert Johnson (son of Andrew Johnson, who was unable to attend), William Clift (of Hamilton County
), and William Blount Carter (of Carter County) were among those who supported the original, more aggressive stance. By the afternoon of June 20, however, the convention had adopted Temple's alternate set. A "Declaration of Grievances" (written primarily by Nelson) was attached to the resolutions, proclaiming that the June 8 election was fraudulent in the Middle and West divisions, that East Tennessee would remain with the Union, and that the Lincoln Administration had given them no cause for secession. Before adjourning, an executive committee was appointed to act in the interests of the convention should it be unable to meet.
laws. Governor Isham Harris dispatched Confederate forces to East Tennessee to protect secessionists in the region. Harris chose General Felix Zollicoffer
— a former Whig and one-time Knoxville resident— to command the Confederate army in East Tennessee, hoping to pursue a reconciliatory path with the region. Nevertheless, many of the convention members fled to the north or went into hiding, although some agreed to support the Confederacy. Late in 1861, the county court of Scott County, which had voted against secession by a 521 to 19 margin (the highest percentage of any county), passed a resolution stating that it was breaking away from Tennessee and forming the "Free and Independent State of Scott".
In late 1861, Andrew Johnson and Horace Maynard, who had both retained their respective seats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, urged President Lincoln to send forces into East Tennessee to drive out the Confederate army. In a letter to General Don Carlos Buell
in Kentucky, General George B. McClellan
wrote "Johnson, Maynard, etc., are again becoming frantic and have President Lincoln's sympathy excited. Political considerations would make it advisable to get arms and troops into East Tennessee at a very early date." Convention delegate William B. Carter went to Washington
to meet with Lincoln and McClellan, and conceived a plan to burn several bridges along the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad between Bristol
and Bridgeport
, while Buell would simultaneously march across the Cumberland Mountains
from Kentucky to capture Knoxville. On November 8, 1861, Carter and his co-conspirators carried out their half of plan, burning nine bridges along the railroad. Buell, however, was unable to invade due to difficulties in crossing the Cumberlands. Zollicoffer's response to the bridge-burning was to institute martial law
in East Tennessee, under which the region remained until the arrival of Union forces under Ambrose Burnside
in September 1863.
, who was on the Grainger County delegation. David T. Patterson
, a member of the Greene County delegation, later served in the U.S. senate, and along with Maynard and Nelson, several convention delegates, including Leonidas Houk (representing Anderson County) and George Washington Bridges
(representing McMinn County), were later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. A number of delegates served as Union officers during the war, namely Joseph A. Cooper (who represented Campbell County), James G. Spears of Bledsoe County, and Andrew Johnson's son, Robert.
Whig strength in East Tennessee evolved into support for the Republican Party
toward the end of the Civil War. After the war, East Tennessee remained a rare consistent pocket of Republican support in the former Confederacy, voting for the Republican candidate in nearly every presidential election from Reconstruction through the 2008 presidential election (the lone exception coming in 1912, when Theodore Roosevelt
ran as a 3rd party candidate).
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in which 29 counties in East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
and one county in Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
denounced secessionist activities within the state of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and resolved to break away and form an independent state aligned with the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
. The first round of meetings was held on May 30 and May 31 in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
and the second round was held June 17 through June 20 in Greeneville
Greeneville, Tennessee
Greeneville is a town in Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 15,198 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Greene County. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. It is the only town with this spelling in the United States, although there...
. The conventions consisted of delegates from every county in East Tennessee with the exception of Rhea County
Rhea County, Tennessee
Rhea County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 28,400. Its county seat is Dayton.-Geography:According to the U.S...
.
The election of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
to the U.S. presidency in 1860 sparked a wave of secessionist sentiment across the Southern United States. In February 1861, secessionists in Tennessee's state government— led by Governor Isham Harris— sought voter approval for a convention to sever ties with the United States, but Tennessee voters rejected the referendum by a 54-46% margin (82% of East Tennesseans voted against it). Secessionists gained momentum in April, however, when federal forces attempted to resupply Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, and sentiments in Tennessee began to shift in favor of joining the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. President Lincoln had called upon Tennessee to provide men to fight against the South, which forced the state to take sides. A second referendum calling for secession, held on June 8, was heavily approved by voters in West and Middle Tennessee, although about 70% of East Tennesseans still voted against it. At the convention meetings in Greeneville, Unionist delegates drafted a Memorial asking that the Tennessee state government allow pro-Union East Tennessee counties to form a separate state that would remain part of the United States. The Tennessee legislature, however, rejected the request to divide the state, and Governor Harris dispatched Confederate forces to occupy East Tennessee.
Background
Disunity between Tennessee's three Grand DivisionsGrand Divisions (Tennessee)
The Grand Divisions are geographic, cultural, and legally recognized regions, each constituting roughly one-third of the State of Tennessee. The Grand Divisions are represented prominently by the three stars on the flag of Tennessee...
— East, Middle
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
, and West
West Tennessee
West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the State of Tennessee. Of the three, it is the one that is most sharply defined geographically. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River on the west and the Tennessee River on the east...
— had grown steadily since the state's creation. In the 1830s, Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
sentiment in East Tennessee solidified around opposition to President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, especially following Jackson's snub of Knoxvillian Hugh Lawson White
Hugh Lawson White
Hugh Lawson White was a prominent American politician during the first third of the 19th century. He succeeded Andrew Jackson and served in the United States Senate, representing Tennessee, from 1825 until his resignation in 1840, and was a Whig candidate for President in 1836...
in the 1836 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1836
The United States presidential election of 1836 ushered Martin Van Buren into the White House. It is predominantly remembered for three reasons:...
. In the early 1840s, then-state senator Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
introduced legislation in the Tennessee state senate calling for East Tennessee to separate from the rest of Tennessee and form a separate state, although the initiative eventually failed in spite of strong support from East Tennessee Whigs. While the Whig Party disintegrated in the 1850s, opposition to Southern Democrats remained strong in East Tennessee, especially in Knox County
Knox County, Tennessee
Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its 2007 population was estimated at 423,874 by the United States Census Bureau. Its county seat is Knoxville, as it has been since the creation of the county. The county is at the geographical center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee...
and surrounding counties, throughout the Civil War. In the 1860 presidential election, East Tennesseans rallied around Constitutional Union
Constitutional Union Party (United States)
The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue...
candidate John Bell
John Bell (Tennessee politician)
John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...
, helping Bell capture the state's electoral votes.
After Lincoln's election in 1860, several Southern states made plans to leave the United States and form the Confederate States of America. Unionist leaders in Knoxville began an anti-secession campaign, and spent much of the latter part of 1860 holding meetings and speaking at rallies. In February of the following year, the state government called for a referendum on whether or not to hold a convention that would sever ties with the Union. On February 25, Tennessee voters rejected the convention by about a 69,000 to 58,000 margin. In East Tennessee, the margin against the secession convention was 33,000 to 7,000. Majorities in every East Tennessee county opposed the convention with the exception of Sullivan and (by a slight majority) Meigs
Meigs County, Tennessee
Meigs County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 11,753. Its county seat is Decatur.-History:Before 1819, the area that is now Meigs County was Cherokee territory. White settlers established ferries to cross the Tennessee River from Rhea County as...
.
In the weeks following the initial defeat of secessionism in the state, both secessionists and Unionists launched an intensive public speaking campaign. The threat of violence underscored many of the rallies, and both sides were warned not to enter certain areas where their opponents held a strong majority. After the Battle of Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On...
in April 1861, in which South Carolina had opened fire on the Federal government fort and taken it by force, feelings intensified across the country. Governor Harris called for a second referendum, this time to approve outright an "Ordinance of Secession" and skipping the burdensome step of holding a convention. On June 8, 1861, Tennessee voted in favor of this ordinance, effectively giving the state government power to sever ties with the United States and join the Confederate States. East Tennessee voters opposed the ordinance by a 32,000 to 14,000 margin, although along with Sullivan and Meigs, four other counties— Monroe, Rhea, Sequatchie, and Polk— had majorities in favor of secession. The percentage voting against secession was most lopsided in counties where Whigs were traditionally strong, such as Sevier
Sevier County, Tennessee
Sevier County is a county of the state of Tennessee, United States. Its population was 71,170 at the 2000 United States Census. It is included in the Sevierville, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area. The...
(96% against), Carter
Carter County, Tennessee
Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton.Carter County is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined...
(94% against), Campbell
Campbell County, Tennessee
Campbell County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 40,716. Its county seat is Jacksboro. The Census Bureau has identified the county as a Micropolitan Statistical Area, designated the LaFollette Micropolitan Statistical Area for the largest...
(94% against), and Anderson
Anderson County, Tennessee
Anderson County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, its population is 75,129. Its county seat is Clinton.It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
(93% against). The five counties that voted in favor of secession were all traditionally Democratic counties. Dramatic shifts occurred in Rhea (88% against secession in February, 64% for secession in June), Washington (94% against secession in February, but only 52% against in June), Knox (89% against in February, only 72% against in June), and Roane (96% against in February, only 77% against in June).
Origins of Union support in East Tennessee
East Tennessee's support of the Union should not necessarily be interpreted as a rejection of slavery. While East Tennessee was home to a substantial manumissionManumission
Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
movement in the first half of the 19th century, abolitionists still constituted a radical minority within the region. Several delegates at the Unionist conventions were themselves slave owners who believed the U.S. Constitution protected the practice. William Brownlow
William Gannaway Brownlow
William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow was an American newspaper editor, minister, and politician who served as Governor of the state of Tennessee from 1865 to 1869 and as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1869 to 1875...
, one of the convention's most prominent members, had defended the practice of slavery in a well-received speech just four years prior to the convention. Convention co-organizer Oliver Perry Temple
Oliver Perry Temple
Oliver Perry Temple was an American attorney, author, judge, and economic promoter active primarily in East Tennessee in the latter half of the 19th century. During the months leading up to the Civil War, Temple played a pivotal role in organizing East Tennessee's Unionists...
later recalled that when speaking during the period, he defended slavery, but said he would do away with the practice if that's what it would take to preserve the Union. East Tennessee had just 10% of the state's slave population, and overall there was widespread ambivalence in the region regarding the abolition issue.
While slavery alone may not have been a primary issue in East Tennessee's pro-Union stance, the practice may have indirectly contributed to it. Many people in the mountainous region (what is now called Southern Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
) viewed the Southern slaveholding planter class as a de facto aristocracy with excessive and sometimes autocratic powers. Convention delegate Oliver Perry Temple later wrote:
Seven-tenths of the Union men[in East Tennessee] were non-slaveholders. They cared little about that institution. Some of them were opposed to it on moral grounds. With some it was no special, because associated with an aristocracy of wealth. Many, perhaps nearly every one of the Union men who were slaveholders, preferred the government to slavery.
The strength of East Tennessee's Whigs, who had long stood in opposition to Southern Democrats (who were pro-secession), was another key reason for the region's pro-Union sentiment. The results of the February and June referendums showed that support for the Union was strongest in counties that had traditionally voted Whig. One of the convention's speakers, Thomas D. Arnold, had been among the Whigs who were vehemently opposed to Andrew Jackson in the 1830s. Convention delegate William Brownlow was publisher of the Knoxville Whig, in which he espoused radical Whig views. Convention co-organizer Oliver Perry Temple once called the Democratic party "antichrist", and later wrote that East Tennesseans were "disciples of Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
and Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
, both as to the theory and the administrative policy of the government". The Whigs of East Tennessee were very well organized, and were able to mount aggressive pro-Union political campaigns in the first months of 1861.
Knoxville, May 30-31
In early May 1861, Governor Isham Harris and the Tennessee General Assembly formed a military league with the Confederate States of America and initiated other moves to align the state with the Confederacy. In response, Knoxville's Unionists called for a convention to be held at the end of the month to address the state's pro-secession actions. The convention was held at Temperance Hall in Knoxville, and was attended by 462 delegates from 28 counties (Scott County didn't send a delegate to the Knoxville meetings, but did appoint a proxy for the Greeneville meetings). On the first day (May 30), the convention appointed Congressman Thomas A. R. NelsonThomas Amos Rogers Nelson
Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson was an American attorney, politician, and judge, active primarily in East Tennessee during the mid-19th century. He represented Tennessee's 1st Congressional District in the 36th U.S. Congress , where he gained a reputation as a staunch pro-Union southerner...
(of Washington County) president and Colonel James G. Spears of Bledsoe County vice-president. Nelson spoke for approximately one hour, mostly to recap recent events and blast the state government's recent actions as unconstitutional. After Nelson's speech, a committee was appointed to prepare business for the convention (namely to list grievances and adopt resolutions). This committee consisted of 28 delegates— at least one from each county present— with Connally F. Trigg of Knox County as chairman. Long-time Whig Thomas D. Arnold spoke in the afternoon, attacking the governor and legislature, and calling secession "ruinous and unwarranted".
On the second day of the Knoxville convention, Andrew Johnson (at that time a U.S. senator) spoke for nearly three hours in favor of keeping ties to the Union. The business committee also issued its report, condemning the state government's disregard for the U.S. Constitution and stating that law and order had yielded to "fanaticism" and "passion". The committee resolved that East Tennessee was still opposed to secession and that the General Assembly lacked the authority (under the U.S. Constitution's Contract Clause
Contract Clause
The Contract Clause appears in the United States Constitution, Article I, section 10, clause 1. It states:The Contract Clause prohibits states from enacting any law that retroactively impairs contract rights...
) to form leagues with the Confederacy. The committee also resolved to meet again at a place and date to be determined by the convention president.
Greeneville, June 17-20
After Tennessee voters approved the Ordinance of Secession on June 8, 1861, the East Tennessee Convention's president, Thomas A. R. Nelson, called for a second round of meetings to be held in Greeneville on June 17. Along with delegates from 29 East Tennessee counties, a delegate from Fentress County (which is legally part of Middle Tennessee) was also admitted. On the first day, Congressman Horace MaynardHorace Maynard
Horace Maynard was an American educator, attorney, politician and diplomat active primarily in the second half of the 19th century...
(one of the Knox County delegates) suggested a system of allotting one vote to each county per 1,000 votes cast in the previous election, which the convention agreed upon. Most of the first two days were spent on convention organization.
On the third day (June 19), the committee on business (still chaired by Trigg) delivered its report, resolving that 1. East Tennessee was not required to attach itself to the Confederate States; 2. East Tennessee and any willing Middle Tennessee counties would continue as part of the Union; 3. East Tennessee desired to maintain a neutral position in any coming war; 4. East Tennessee would defend itself if occupied by Confederate forces; 5. Convention delegates would retaliate if any convention members were harmed; and 6. East Tennessee would form military companies. Shortly after the committee delivered its report, Knox County delegate Oliver Perry Temple submitted an alternate set of resolutions less "violent" in tone. Temple's resolutions resolved that 1. East Tennessee had no desire to be involved in any impending civil war; 2. East Tennessee was not bound to support the Confederacy because secession was unconstitutional; 3. a Memorial would be submitted to the General Assembly seeking its consent for East Tennessee to form a separate state; 4. a third round of meetings would be held in Kingston
Kingston, Tennessee
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Roane County, Tennessee, United States, and is adjacent to Watts Bar Lake. Kingston, with a population of 5,264 at the 2000 United States census, is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area....
whenever the convention president deemed necessary. The 5th and 6th resolutions established modes of elections.
Most of the third day of the convention and part of the fourth day were spent debating which of the two resolutions to adopt. Horace Maynard, John Baxter, and John Fleming (all of Knox County) supported Temple's proposals. Nelson, Arnold, Robert Johnson (son of Andrew Johnson, who was unable to attend), William Clift (of Hamilton County
Hamilton County, Tennessee
Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was named for Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury. The 2005 Census Estimate placed the population at 310,935 . Its county seat is Chattanooga....
), and William Blount Carter (of Carter County) were among those who supported the original, more aggressive stance. By the afternoon of June 20, however, the convention had adopted Temple's alternate set. A "Declaration of Grievances" (written primarily by Nelson) was attached to the resolutions, proclaiming that the June 8 election was fraudulent in the Middle and West divisions, that East Tennessee would remain with the Union, and that the Lincoln Administration had given them no cause for secession. Before adjourning, an executive committee was appointed to act in the interests of the convention should it be unable to meet.
Aftermath
Shortly after the Greeneville meeting, the business committee of the East Tennessee Convention presented the Memorial to Tennessee's General Assembly calling for the formation of a new Union-aligned state in East Tennessee. Although the Assembly rejected East Tennessee's bid for statehood, it assured the region that the state would not pass any conscriptionConscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
laws. Governor Isham Harris dispatched Confederate forces to East Tennessee to protect secessionists in the region. Harris chose General Felix Zollicoffer
Felix Zollicoffer
Felix Kirk Zollicoffer was a newspaperman, three-term United States Congressman from Tennessee, officer in the United States Army, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War...
— a former Whig and one-time Knoxville resident— to command the Confederate army in East Tennessee, hoping to pursue a reconciliatory path with the region. Nevertheless, many of the convention members fled to the north or went into hiding, although some agreed to support the Confederacy. Late in 1861, the county court of Scott County, which had voted against secession by a 521 to 19 margin (the highest percentage of any county), passed a resolution stating that it was breaking away from Tennessee and forming the "Free and Independent State of Scott".
In late 1861, Andrew Johnson and Horace Maynard, who had both retained their respective seats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, urged President Lincoln to send forces into East Tennessee to drive out the Confederate army. In a letter to General Don Carlos Buell
Don Carlos Buell
Don Carlos Buell was a career United States Army officer who fought in the Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the American Civil War. Buell led Union armies in two great Civil War battles—Shiloh and Perryville. The nation was angry at his failure to defeat the outnumbered...
in Kentucky, General George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
wrote "Johnson, Maynard, etc., are again becoming frantic and have President Lincoln's sympathy excited. Political considerations would make it advisable to get arms and troops into East Tennessee at a very early date." Convention delegate William B. Carter went to Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to meet with Lincoln and McClellan, and conceived a plan to burn several bridges along the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad between Bristol
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...
and Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Alabama
Bridgeport is a small city in Jackson County, Alabama, United States. At the time of 2000 census the population was 2,728. Bridgeport is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area.-History:...
, while Buell would simultaneously march across the Cumberland Mountains
Cumberland Mountains
The Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located in southern West Virginia, western Virginia, eastern edges of Kentucky, and eastern middle Tennessee, including the Crab Orchard Mountains...
from Kentucky to capture Knoxville. On November 8, 1861, Carter and his co-conspirators carried out their half of plan, burning nine bridges along the railroad. Buell, however, was unable to invade due to difficulties in crossing the Cumberlands. Zollicoffer's response to the bridge-burning was to institute martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
in East Tennessee, under which the region remained until the arrival of Union forces under Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
in September 1863.
Legacy
While the initiatives of the East Tennessee Convention failed, its members would play important roles in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Lincoln selected Andrew Johnson as his running mate in 1864, and upon Lincoln's assassination the following year, Johnson became president. William Brownlow spent much of the first half of the war speaking at rallies in northern states before returning alongside Burnside's forces in 1863. Brownlow was elected governor in 1865, and his controversial and highly divisive policies helped Tennessee to become the first ex-Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union. Brownlow was succeeded by fellow convention delegate Dewitt Clinton SenterDewitt Clinton Senter
Dewitt Clinton Senter was governor of Tennessee from 1869 to 1871.-Biography:Senter was the son of a Methodist minister and was born in McMinn County, Tennessee. He was admitted to the bar after reading law on his own and passing the examination, a fairly common practice of the era. He was first...
, who was on the Grainger County delegation. David T. Patterson
David T. Patterson
David Trotter Patterson was a United States Senator from Tennessee at the beginning of the Reconstruction Period....
, a member of the Greene County delegation, later served in the U.S. senate, and along with Maynard and Nelson, several convention delegates, including Leonidas Houk (representing Anderson County) and George Washington Bridges
George Washington Bridges
George Washington Bridges was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 3rd congressional district of Tennessee.-Biography:...
(representing McMinn County), were later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. A number of delegates served as Union officers during the war, namely Joseph A. Cooper (who represented Campbell County), James G. Spears of Bledsoe County, and Andrew Johnson's son, Robert.
Whig strength in East Tennessee evolved into support for the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
toward the end of the Civil War. After the war, East Tennessee remained a rare consistent pocket of Republican support in the former Confederacy, voting for the Republican candidate in nearly every presidential election from Reconstruction through the 2008 presidential election (the lone exception coming in 1912, when Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
ran as a 3rd party candidate).