In dispelling a myth about the origin of the Civil War, this author created one of his own.
In 2017, the American Civil War Museum in Richmond published an article in its Myths & Misunderstandings series that contained erroneous information about the Commonwealth of Virginia’s stance toward the Federal Government prior to its secession. In dispelling a myth about the origin of the Civil War, the author, John M. Coski, created one of his own.
The article argues that the primary cause of the Civil War was the issue of slavery. Coski is a historian and vice president of research and publications for what was formerly known as the Museum of the Confederacy (renamed in 2014). In discussing the larger issue, his article states:
“Even Virginia, which seceded after war began, had formulated a list of demands that the U.S. government must meet if Virginia were to remain in the Union; all of them related to slavery and race.”
The embedded reference links back to a transcript of the Virginia Secession Convention published by the University of Richmond, but the text doesn’t support his assertion.
On March 19, 1861, Leonard S. Hall, delegate from Wetzel County, submitted the following resolution before the Convention to be referred to the Committee on Federal Relations:
“Resolved, That the Committee on Federal Relations are hereby requested to report the Constitution of the Confederate States of the South, as Virginia’s ultimatum, and that they recommend the same to the Northern States of this Confederacy for their adoption or rejection, and in order to give them time to act on the same, this Convention will adjourn to meet again on the first Monday in October, 1861.”
Hall then went on to outline several amendments to the U.S. Constitution, based on the Confederate Constitution, that the United States should enact to ensure Virginia’s loyalty. Contrary to what Coski wrote in his article, hardly any of them had to do with slavery or race. You can read them for yourself.
But the substance of Hall’s resolution is a moot point because it was tabled and never acted upon (as far as I can determine). Secession was initially rejected by the Convention on April 4, 1861, but the firing on Fort Sumter a week later made compromise considerably less likely.
There were many peace proposals made in early 1861 to prevent secession and war, most notably the Crittenden Compromise and Virginia Governor John Letcher (1813-1884) and former U.S. President John Tyler’s peace conference in Washington, DC in February 1861. That conference did adopt recommendations for several amendments regarding slavery, but it was attended by delegates from states remaining in the Union. This wasn’t an “ultimatum” proposed by Virginia alone.
On April 4, President Abraham Lincoln met with a Virginia Unionist named John B. Baldwin, who reportedly proposed exchanging Virginia’s loyalty for the surrender of Fort Sumter. This was obviously something Baldwin had no authority to do, and he returned to Richmond empty handed (metaphorically).
Neither Leonard Hall nor John Baldwin had the authority to act on the state’s behalf, and they certainly did not speak for the entire Commonwealth of Virginia when they made their proposals.
Spirit of '61 