Conventions--Virginia. Virginia State Convention of 1861 (Richmond, Va.)

The Virginia State Convention of 1861, or the Secession Convention as it would later be known, starkly revealed the fissures among whites in the Upper South over the issue of secession. After the secession of several other southern states in the wake of Abraham Lincoln's November 1860 presidential victory, Virginia received many calls to join them. The state legislature conducted a special election in January 1861 to elect delegates to a convention for the discussion of secession. Unlike many other states, Virginians elected a majority of Unionists to the convention. The delegates convened on February 13, 1861 and fiercely debated secession for months. Many of the delegates hoped for compromise or reconciliation with the United States rather than immediate secession, while a significant portion remained staunchly loyal to the Union regardless. Therefore, on April 4, the delegates voted 90 to 45 against secession in a crushing blow to radical secessionists. However, as with other Upper South states, the Confederate assault on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina on April 12, and Lincoln's call for 75,000 state militiamen to recapture it on April 15 galvanized southerners and swung many moderates to the secessionist camp. On April 16, a secret meeting of Virginia's convention delegates met to debate secession yet again. After considerable debate, the delegates drafted an ordinance of secession and passed it by an 88 to 55 vote. The state preemptively joined the Confederacy and offered to move its capital to Richmond on April 27, before a referendum vote by Virginians on May 23 overwhelmingly passed and made Virginia's secession official (Encyclopedia Virginia).

The Virginia State Convention of 1861, or the Secession Convention as it would later be known, starkly revealed the fissures among whites in the Upper South over the issue of secession. After the secession of several other southern states in the wake of Abraham Lincoln's November 1860 presidential victory, Virginia received many calls to join them. The state legislature conducted a special election in January 1861 to elect delegates to a convention for the discussion of secession. Unlike many other states, Virginians elected a majority of Unionists to the convention. The delegates convened on February 13, 1861 and fiercely debated secession for months. Many of the delegates hoped for compromise or reconciliation with the United States rather than immediate secession, while a significant portion remained staunchly loyal to the Union regardless. Therefore, on April 4, the delegates voted 90 to 45 against secession in a crushing blow to radical secessionists. However, as with other Upper South states, the Confederate assault on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina on April 12, and Lincoln's call for 75,000 state militiamen to recapture it on April 15 galvanized southerners and swung many moderates to the secessionist camp. On April 16, a secret meeting of Virginia's convention delegates met to debate secession yet again. After considerable debate, the delegates drafted an ordinance of secession and passed it by an 88 to 55 vote. The state preemptively joined the Confederacy and offered to move its capital to Richmond on April 27, before a referendum vote by Virginians on May 23 overwhelmingly passed and made Virginia's secession official (Encyclopedia Virginia).