Ordinances of Secession
Feb 11, 2011 Updates
After the election of Abraham Lincoln in December of 1860, South Carolina called for a convention to consider secession from the Union. On December 20, 1860, the convention voted 169-0 to enact an ordinance which dissolved “the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States.” A similar ordinance was adopted by Mississippi on January 9, 1861, and by Florida on January 10, 1861. Alabama enacted its ordinance of secession on January 11, 1861, and then Georgia considered the secession issue at a called convention in Milledgeville on January 18, 1861. The first vote taken by the delegates in Georgia was for secession by 166 votes to 130 votes. Immediately after the vote was taken, delegate Eugenius A. Nisbet proposed that all delegates present sign the ordinance of secession, on the grounds that all the delegates should show solidarity for the ordinance. A new ordinance of secession was passed in this manner on January 19, 1861. Augusts R. Kenan, a Unionist, signed the ordinance, and then threw his pen away in disgust. The Stars and Stripes was hauled down from the flagpole at the state capitol in Milledgeville after the ordinance was passed.
Louisiana left the Union on January 26, and Texas voted a referendum on the secession issue, seceding on February 1, 1861. The average vote in favor of secession in the Cotton States was around 80 percent in favor.
Shortly before the departure of the Cotton States from the Union, President Buchanan gave his final address to Congress. He finally addressed the secession issue, stating that “This Constitution, and the laws of the United States. . . shall be the supreme law of the land. . .any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.” If secession were legitimate, the Union would become “a rope of sand” and “our thirty three States may resolve themselves into as many petty, jarring, and hostile republics.”
After the Cotton States declared their independence from the U.S., several areas north of the Mason-Dixon Line began to make noises about cutting loose from the Union as well. New York leaders threatened to set New York City up as a free city. A New York attorney wrote a prominent railroad president and stated the following: ”[W]hen secession is fairly inaugurated at the South, we mean to do a little of the same business here & cut loose from the [fanatics] of New England & of the North generally, including most of our own State.”
In February of 1861, delegates from the Cotton States that seceded gathered at Montgomery, Alabama, and drafted a constitution for the Confederate States of America. This constitution had some innovations that differed from the U.S. Constitution. The president was given a single six year term of office. He was also given the line-item veto. The next task for the delegates in Montgomery was to choose a president for the Confederacy. The leading candidates were Robert Tombs and Alexander Stephens and Howell Cobb from Georgia, and Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. Since the Georgia delegation could not unite on one candidate, Jefferson Davis was named president of the Confederacy, and Alexander Stephens was elected vice-president. After an initial acceptance speech, Jefferson Davis began the task up setting up a new government for his new nation.
In 1861, the President-elect of the United States was not inaugurated until March 4th. The plans of the secessionists involved having a new nation in place before Abraham Lincoln could take the oath of office. The entire package could then be presented to the newly inaugurated Abraham Lincoln as a fait accompli.
Lincoln’s inaugural address boldly declared that any act of a state to secede from the Union was unlawful: “No state upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union. . . A husband and wife may be divorced, and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of the other; but the different parts of our country cannot do this.” Lincoln then throws the question of conflict back upon the seceded Cotton States. “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.”
So in March of 1861, a nation stood divided. The following month, though, a small brick fortress on an island in Charleston Harbor would soon turn a war of words into the bloodiest conflict in American history.
Steven Harrell has practiced law in Perry, Georgia since 1989.
He is the author of The Unionist, A Novel of the Civil War and The Rifle Captain, A Novel of World War I. You may view his weekly column at stevenharrell.com. You may email him at sharrell@comsouth.net.
Signs of Recovery
Feb 4, 2011 Updates
In columns from past months, I have discussed the Great Recession, and how things have not gone well for the Georgia economy. Recently though, the economy is showing signs of recovering, and it appears we now have some light at the end of the Great Recession tunnel. The Dow Jones Industrial average, which toppled below the 8000 mark in 2009, has rebounded back to its 2008 level before the market crash, recently topping the 12,000 mark on the index. This is a decent sign that investors have returned to the stock market, after taking a bath in bonds and other equity funds several years ago with the mortgage meltdown.
Georgia tax collections by the Department of Revenue have climbed for over 6 consecutive months. A new report also says state tax revenues nationwide have climbed for over the past 4 quarters around the U.S. The Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah reports that their activity there, both goods shipped into and out of the port, have increased 20% over the activity reported in 2009.
The giant aluminum producing company Alcoa, which is the world’s largest producer of aluminum, reports an estimated rise in demand for aluminum products worldwide of 8%. They also are predicting the world demand for aluminum doubling by the year 2020. Alcoa says that Asia and the Mideast have lead to the increased demand for aluminum products. However, some of the increased demand for aluminum can be attributed to increased manufacturing activity here in the U.S.
We must remember that aluminum is used in many products that are manufactured and sold as big ticket items in the economy. Aluminum is used widely in the aerospace industry, and in the manufacturing of automobiles and home appliances. An increased demand for aluminum products is a precursor to a ramp up in the manufacturing of finished big ticket products in the economy. This news is confirmed by an increase in price for copper and other metals, which again signals an increased demand for these raw materials by manufacturers.
The Institute for Supply Management reported that January 2011 was the most successful month for U.S. factories in the past seven years. Consumers over the world bought large amounts of U.S. made automobiles, computers, appliances, and mining equipment. Manufacturer added 136,000 jobs last year, the first annual net gain since 1997.
On account of the increased demand for automobiles, manufacturers are hiring employees again, as opposed to two years ago, when they were firing employees. Kia motors has announced that due to increased demand for its automobiles made in West Point, Georgia, that it is adding 1000 jobs at that plant. This will give Kia around 2500 employees at its West Point facility. Toyota is adding 850 jobs at its Tacoma truck plant in San Antonio, Texas. The Ford Motor Company is adding 1,000 jobs in Michigan for the manufacturing and design of its line of hybrid automobiles.
Chrysler Motors is also adding 1000 new engineering jobs to handle its ramped up production of Jeep vehicles and trucks. The Volkswagen Corporation recently announced the construction of an assembly plant near Chattanooga, Tennessee. This plant will build an extended version of the Passat sedan. The plant will employ 1700 assembly workers and administrative workers in the Chattanooga area. Many industry experts believe though, that suppliers will locate in southern Tennessee and into north Georgia, in reasonable proximity to this assembly plant. Suppliers relocating operations near the plant could also add another 10,000 jobs to this area of the country.
On a broader front, shipping giant UPS, which has its headquarters in Norcross, Georgia, recently announced its 2010 profit was above its pre-recession peak levels. The company reported a 48 percent increase in profit for the 4th quarter of 2010. On January 27, the U.S. Commerce Department said that the U.S. Gross Domestic Product grew at an annual rate of 3.2 percent between October 2010 and December 31, 2010. That is up from the 2.6 percent annualized growth rate in the previous quarter.
I have opined in past columns that in order to generate any type of recovery from this recession, the manufacturing and transportation sectors must lead the way. It appears that this type of recovery is indeed happening, and that is great news.
Steven Harrell has practiced law in Perry, Georgia since 1989.
He is the author of The Unionist, A Novel of the Civil War and The Rifle Captain, A Novel of World War I. You may view his weekly column at stevenharrell.com. You may email him at sharrell@comsouth.net.
