While David Holt was in Mississippi, people in his town debated about the choice to secede from the Union. This was not necessarily an easy decision. Politicians traveled around the South in the days before the war to try to convince Americans of the choices they should make. In his memoirs, Holt describes debates in his home town of men debating the proper course of action.
Holt's account:
After the day was over, we gathered at Oddity Hall and the subject discussed by the senators became the subject of our discussion. It became quite a heated conversation as father was a strong pro-slavery man, as were Mr. Stockett and Brother John. However, neither Joe nor I believed in the institution of slavery, and so we took opposite sides. We both declared that we would never own slaves, yet at the same time, we denounced the fanatical ideas of the North as unjust and unfair. The abolitionists never showed a way to get rid of slavery, nor a way to provide for the negroes after they were free. Under a false idea of Christianity, and with envy, hatred, and malice, they shook the red flag of war in the face of the Southerner.
After the day was over, we gathered at Oddity Hall and the subject discussed by the senators became the subject of our discussion. It became quite a heated conversation as father was a strong pro-slavery man, as were Mr. Stockett and Brother John. However, neither Joe nor I believed in the institution of slavery, and so we took opposite sides. We both declared that we would never own slaves, yet at the same time, we denounced the fanatical ideas of the North as unjust and unfair. The abolitionists never showed a way to get rid of slavery, nor a way to provide for the negroes after they were free. Under a false idea of Christianity, and with envy, hatred, and malice, they shook the red flag of war in the face of the Southerner.
These political cartoons reflect the long-standing debate over secession. Arguments like the one Holt describes played out throughout the South in the years leading up to the Civil War, as politicians debated their course of action.
Click on the pictures to take a closer look! Images courtesy the Library of Congress. |
David writes in his memoirs that he did not believe in slavery. When Mississippi left the United States it issued an Ordinance of Secession which explained the reasoning of the state government for leaving the Union. That ordinance stated, "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery."
If you were David, would you still fight for Mississippi?
If you were David, would you still fight for Mississippi?
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