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>f tbe
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fe
SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA
FROM 1776 TO 1861
BT
CHARLES HENRY AMBLER, PH.D.
CHICAGO
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
1910
COPTBIOHT 1910 Bt
Thb Univbbsitt of Ghxcaoo
Published June 1910
f^Vf
\ V
CompaMd and Printed By
The Univcntty of Chieafo PraM
Chicago, niinoii, U. B. A.
398426 ^^,
OCT -51333 ^nPllv
}y^\^
PREFACE
My interest in things pertaining to both West Vir-
ginia and Virginia is due largely to the fact that I was
reared and educated in the former state and bom of
parents who, like all triie Virginians, never forgot the
latter, the state of their nativity. Quite early in my
college career I began to inquire about the causes of the
dismemberment of the "Old Dominion." I then planned
to write a monograph upon the "Formation of West
Virginia." But a casual search into the preliminaries
for this study soon convinced me that they were prob-
ably more important than the subject upon which I
proposed to write. Accordingly I gave up my original
plan for a more difficult undertaking, the study of
sectionalism in Virginia during the ante-bellum period.
As it would require volumes to present every detail of
this subject, I have restricted this monograph mainly
to the political differences.
Neither pains nor time have been spared to obtain
accurate and exhaustive information. In addition to
the suggestions and information kindly given me by
scores of old men, who remember the last years of
the ante-bellum period, I have tried to obtain, by travel
and otherwise, a thorough knowledge of the geog-
raphy of both Virginia and West Virginia. Besides,
I have made research in person in the Department of
Archives and History, at Charleston, W. Va., in the
Virginia State Library, at Richmond, in the Library of
vi PREFACE
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, at Madison,
and in the Congressional Library. But my chief
sources of information have been the legislative docu-
ments of Virginia and West Virginia and the public
prints. I realize fully the treachery of such sources
as the last named, but, all things considered, they are
the best that are available for a study of this nature.
The first eight chapters of this study were offered
and accepted for my Doctor's dissertation at the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin in 1908. For suggestions, criti-
cism, and the care with which he has re.ad my
manuscript I am especially indebted to Dr. Ulrich B.
Phillips, of New Orleans, La. My acknowledgments
and thanks are also due to Dr. F. J. Turner, of Madi-
son, Wis.; to Dr. W. E. Dodd, of Chicago, 111.; to
Dr. W. L. Fleming, of Baton Rouge, La., and to Mr.
Virgil A. Lewis, of Charleston, W. Va. To the many
others who have assisted me in various ways, I can
here extend only a sweeping expression of thanks.
Charles Henry Ambler
Ashland, Va.
September 6, 1909
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ' PAGE
I. Introduction i
II. Revolution, Confederation, and the Con-
stitution, 1776-90 24
III. Federalists and Republicans, i 790-1816. . 61
IV. The Era of Good Feeling and the Rise of
THE National Republican Party, 1817-28 100
V. The Constitutional Convention of 1829-30 137
VI. Internal Improvements, Negro Slavery,
AND Nullification, 1829-33 175
VII. Parties in the Whig Period, 1834-50 . . 219
VIII. The Reform Convention of 1850-51 ... 251
IX. Sectionalism in Education and the Church,
1830-61 273
X. History of Political Parties, i 851 -61 . . 300
Bibliography 339
Index 351
Vll
LIST OF MAPS
1. Vote on the Ratificatign of the Federal Con-
stitution 58
2. Vote in the House of Delegates on the Resg-
lutTgns of 1798 71
3. Vote of Virginia's Representatives on the
Tariff Bill of 1828 , . 122
4. Presidential Election of 1824 131
S- Presidential Election of 1828 135
6. Vote on the Constitutional Convention Bill
OF 1828 144
7. Vote by Counties on the Ratification of the
Constitution of 1830 172
8. Vote of the House of Delegates of 1831-32
ON THE Expediency of Legislating for the
Abolition of Negro Slavery 199
9. Vote of Virginia's Representatives on the
Tariff of 1832 204
10. Vote in the House of Delegates of 1832-33
ON Resolutions Mildly Approving the Course
OF South Carolina on Nullification 217
11. Whig and Democratic Strength as Shown by
THE Membership of the House of Delegates
OF 1834-35 222
12. Presidential Election of i860 330
IX
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
PART I. NATURAL FEATURES
The surface of Virginia is divided into two un-
equally inclined planes and a centrally located valley.
The eastern plane is subdivided into the Piedmont and
the Tidewater ; -the western into the Alleghany High-
lands, the Cumberland Plateau, and the Ohio Valley
section. The area between them is commonly spoken
of as the "Valley." It is subdivided into numerous
smaller sections of which the Chinch, Holston, New,
and Shenandoah valleys are the most important.
The Tidewater extends from the Atlantic Coast to
the "fall line" on the rivers, i. e., to the line connecting
the present cities of Fredericksburg, Richmond, Peters-
burg, and Weldon. The soil contains gravel, sand,
shale, and clay. The Chesapeake and its broad arms
are doorways to the sea, the Atlantic rivers being
navigable for larg? vessels to Richmond, Fredericks-
burg, and Alexandria.
The Virginia Piedmont lies in a right triangle. Its
base is the northern boundary of North Carolina; its
perpendicular the fall line of the Atlantic rivers; and
its hypotenuse the Blue Ridge mountain range. The
surface varies from rolling to hilly. The soil is of
decomposed rocks of the Archean age and contains
gneiss, mica, granite, porphyry, and iron. It is well
adapted to wheat, com, fruits, and tobacco. The only
2 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
considerable rivers of the Piedmont, the James, Poto-
mac, and Roanoke, are too swift and shoaly to be
navigable above the fall line except in short stretches,
or for small boats bound down stream.
The Valley is a part of the great Appalachian range
of valleys. It is not a river basin, as its name might
indicate, but a depressed surface some hundred feet
below the top of the Blue Ridge on one side and the
Alleghanies on the other. Within this area are hilly
elevations which set apart slender valleys many of
which are imsurpassed for beauty of scenery and fertil-
ity of soil. The soil is of limestone formation and is
well adapted to grass, fruit, and wheat. The gaps in
the Alleghanies and the Blue Ridge at the headwaters
of the Kanawha and James respectively give openings
to the east and the west. The rivers of the southern
portion of the Valley flow toward the Ohio; those of
the northern to the Atlantic. Thus two natural east-
and-west thoroughfares join in the central part of the
state.
The land west of the Alleghanies slopes very ir-
regularly to the Ohio. The Alleghany Highlands, a
portion of this section, is a trough-like area lying be-
tween the Alleghany Mountains and the Cumberland
Plateau. The famous "Glades," or blue-grass country,
is a part of this section. The Cumberland Plateau is the
northeastern continuation of the Cumberland Moun-
tains and paralleling the Alleghanies stretches entirely
across western Virginia. It has an elevation of from
one to two thousand feet, and the surface is very un-
even. The Ohio Valley section is the hilly slope from
INTRODUCTION 3
the Cumberland Plateau to the Ohio River. The
country here is of rugged hills interspersed by fertile
river and creek bottoms. The soil of the bottom land
is fertile and well adapted to wheat, corn, rye, oats,
and buckwheat.
The trans-AUeghany possesses untold natural re-
sources. Both the Cumiberland Plateau and the Alle-
ghany Highlands are underlaid by two or more strata
of bituminous coal and contain valuable building-stone.
The Ohio Valley section has vast stores of natural gas
and petroleum, and its pasture lands are unsurpassed
in excellence. The rivers of this section are navigable
from their falls in the Cumberland Plateau to the Ohio.
PART II. SECTIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE COLONY
AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS ON THE EVE
OF THE REVOLUTION
The history of Virginia has been characterized by
sectional antagonism. The natural features of her
territory and the different elements in her population
made such conflicts inevitable. In the early colonial
days, even before population advanced into the Pied-
mont, the frontier settlers chafed under the rule of the
older and more aristocratic planters. As population
extended to the westward and became more diverse
in nationality, the contrasts and conflicts between the
older and newer societies became more pronounced.
For the purpose of study, the history of sectional-
ism in Virginia may be divided into three periods.
The first period began early in colonial history and
ended with Bacon's Rebellion and the reforms which
4 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
followed. The second began when settlement pushed
into the Piedmont and the inhabitants of that section
demanded a share in the colonial government. The
beginning of its end came with the Revolutipn and the
accompanying reforms, but the end was not reached
until the making of adjustments by the constitutional
convention of 1829-30. The third period began when
the trans-AUeghany and portions of the Valley de-
manded a voice in the state government. It ended with
the Civil War and dismemberment.
The first phase was a petty contest between the
newer plantations and counties about Williamsburg
and to the east thereof and the older counties and
plantations above on the James. As in subsequent
contests, so in this one, the inhabitants residing between
the two contending sections cast lot with the newer
and more democratic sections. The crisis. Bacon's
Rebellion, forced the concession of the moderate re-
forms demanded.
The second phase was a contest on a larger scale
between the newer society of the Piedmont and that
of the older and more aristocratic Tidewater. Under
the changed conditions of the eighteenth century the
inhabitants of the former section had need for legisla-
tion and public expenditures neither understood nor
appreciated by the older settlements. The petitions
from the uplands for the construction of roads and
bridges, for improved navigation of the rivers, and
for the erection of warehouses and a more adequate
defense were accordingly passed over with little con-
sideration and less legislation. In time the denial of
INTRODUCTION 5
these requests brought urgent demands for a greater
share in the government and a democratic aversion to
the rule of the tidewater aristocracy.^
The frontier took advantage of the preliminaries
to the Revolution to revolt against the misrule and
indifference of conservatism. The time was indeed
propitious for a change. The aristocrats could not, or
at least they would not, take an aggressive stand
against the mother country to which they were attached
by the ties of affection, the emolument of office, and
the returns of a lucrative commercial intercourse. The
old families, the Pendletons, Robinsons, Randolphs,
Nicholases, Blairs, and Tylers, accordingly forfeited
leadership to a new and younger generation. Henry
and Washington, and later Jefferson and Madison,
each closely identified with the interests of the interior
and of new families, as their names indicate, assumed
leadership.^ Their energies were exerted for inde-
pendence and a democratic government.
The third phase of sectional strife was mainly a
contest between a cismontane and a transmontane
people. It was a contest between an older society with
its peculiar institutions and a newer society funda-
mentally different from the older and inadequately
represented in the law-making bodies. It was a contest
between the owners of large estates and the owners
of small farms; between a papulation largely English
and one composed of various nationalities; and be-
tween a people whose economic interests and relations
* Spotswood, Letters, II, 93-103.
'Rives, Madison, I, 170; Randall, Jefferson, I, 195.
6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
were with the South and a people whose interests and
relations were mainly with the North. Unable to
control the action of the state in 1861, as the lower
Tidewater and the Piedmont had controlled the colony
in 1676 and 1776, most of the trans- Alleghany with-
drew from the state and formed West Virginia.
It is the purpose of this study to give an account
of sectionalism in Virginia only from 1776 to 1861.
But a sketch of the earlier developments is very neces-
sary as an introduction. Accordingly an effort will be
made to trace briefly the settlement of the sections and
to call attention to their respective institutions and
customs.
The industrial, social, and political life of the Tide-
water centered in the large estate.® This institution
had evolved from an abundance of free land, from the
nature of the agriculture adopted, and from the finan-
cial failure of the promoters of the colony. About
16 1 6 financial embarrassment compelled the London
Company to make land grants to individuals instead
of waiting for them to be taken by associations of
individuals as originally proposed. Subsequently the
discovery of means of curing tobacco in large quanti-
ties and the use of indentured servants and negro
slaves made tobacco-raising profitable and preserved
this method of making land grants, thus giving an
impetus to the growth of the individual plantation.
The spread of the plantation system was rapid.
Following the favorable treaties made with the Indians
■ Bruce, Ec, Hist, of Va,, I, 569 ; idem, Social Life of Va,,
chaps, iii, iv.
INTRODUCTION 7
in 1622 and 1623 so much land was given to tobacco-
growing and the consequent extension of the planta-
tion was so rapid that the Burgesses found it necessary
to restrict excessive planting by limiting the number
of plants which a landowner might g^ow and by
restricting all trade to Jamestown.* But attempts at
restriction were futile; the plantations continued to
increase in size and numbers. The fertile land along
the James was soon taken, and population extended
thence to the lower York peninsula, to the eastern
shores of the Chesapeake, and finally to the Potomac.
By the begfinning of the eighteenth century this
aggressive agricultural system had extended along the
rivers of the Tidewater and occupied an area almost
as large as the present state of Massachusetts. But
the continued importation of negroes, the successful
contests for Indian lands, and the good prices for
tobacco made people impatient to push farther into the
interior. Tobacco culture necessitated expansion, the
plant requiring great fertility of soil and the finest
quality growing only on new lands. Thus when Spots-
wood came as royal governor, he found a land craze
on in the colony not unlike those of more modem
times. He too caught the land fever, and in response
to the popular demand organized "The Order of the
Knights of the Golden Horseshoe,'* composed of ad-
venturers who were willing to cross the mountains.
Already many land grants had been made above the
fall line; now numerous others quickly followed.*
^Hening, Statutes, I, 163.
*Spot8wood, Letters, II, 1-80; Va. Magazine, XIII, 7.
8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776^1861
By 1776 the plantation had become the basis of
society and industry in the Piedmont as well as in
the Tidewater. Indeed portions of the former section
had already become exhausted by excessive cropping.
It should be observed, however, that in 1776 the large
plantation did not reign supreme in the Piedmont; it
was simply the basis of the industrial order. As popu-
lation advanced to the Piedmont foothills and to the
elevated lands between the rivers, wheat, hemp, flax,
and corn had become staples and the holdings had
gradually decreased in size. Although one and two-
thirds times as large as the Tidewater, the Piedmont,
in 1790, contained a much smaller negro slave popula-
tion. Immigrants from the northern colonies, who, as
will be shown later, had pushed into the Valley, came
into the Piedmont from the rear. For the most part
they were conscientiously opposed to slave-holding and
consequently did not become tobacco-growers. On the
other hand, the poorer whites of the Tidewater had
been pushed, by the gradual advance of the plantation,
into the less desirable lands of the Piedmont. Lack of
ability and the presence of conscientious scruples pre-
vented them from becoming large planters. These
elements constituted a large and influential democratic
and non-slaveholding population in the Piedmont.
The Piedmont counties. Orange, Albemarle, Nelson,
Amherst, Bedford, Franklin, Patrick, and Henry, were
strongholds of Democracy.
The society which developed in the Tidewater and
later extended to the Piedmont, in a somewhat modi-
fied form to be sure, resembled that of the mother
INTRODUCTION 9
country.® It consisted of several strata separated by
no clearly marked lines. Along the large rivers there
were the great landowners who lived in a style of
luxury and extravagance beyond the means of the
other inhabitants. Immediately below them were the
"half-breeds," persons descended from the younger
sons and daughters of the landed proprietors. They
had all the pride and social tastes of the upper class
but not its wealth. Then came the "pretenders," men
of industry and enterprise but not of established
families. The opportunities afforded by an abundance
of practically free lands and by commercial ventures
had enabled them to accumulate wealth and to gain
admission to the highest social ranks. Below these
classes were the "yeomen," most of whom were very
poor. The system of entail and primogeniture operated
to preserve these strata intact.'' A very large portion
of the inhabitants belonged to the Anglican church,
which was established by law. The industrial system
afforded the planter leisure, and he naturally turned
to society and politics. Incomes were not such as to
create a voluptuous society, but they did afford the
means for a generous hospitality. Men frequently
indulged in intemperance but never forgot to practice
civility. Social virtues occasionally ran to show and
haughtiness ; but truth was cherished, and honor was a
thing to die for.®
In theory the government of Virginia resembled
•Bruce, Ec. Hist of Va., II, 163. ^Wirt, H^nry, 3a ff.
•Jeffenon, Notes on Va. (ed. of 1787), 261-70; Tucker, Jeffer-
son, I, 19.
lO SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
that of the mother country. The Governor, Council,
and Burgesses corresponded in their respective func-
tions to the King, Lords, and Commons. Like the
English government, that of Virginia was based upon
a representation of local units and not a representation
of numbers. The theory that a member of the Bur-
gesses represented the commonwealth and not the
county which elected him was not unpopular in colonial
Virginia.® In this respect the political theory of the
Tidewater was diametrically opposed to the principles
of equal representation for equal numbers which be-
came so strong in the northern colonies and in the
Valley of Virginia.
The government of the Tidewater and the Pied-
n:K>nt was indigenous to the colony. At each step of the
frontier advance it had adjusted itself to the changing
needs of the plantation and to the constant necessity
of a vigilant defense. Following the Indian massacre
of 1622 the four boroughs along the James became
judicial and military units, and the plantations were
grouped into districts for similar purposes. Soon the
name shire, later changed to county, was applied to
these units. The official at first intrusted with the
military command now became the county lieutenant
and other local officials became the county court. As
the counties were extended to the westward they were
increased in size. The engrossment of lands, the
sparseness of population, and the military regulations*^
•Grigsby, Va, ConsiituHonal Convention of i82g-so, 50-80.
^*£ach county was required to provide for its own defense
(Hening, Statutes, III, 284; Grigsby, Va, Constitutional Convention
of 1S29-30, $27-3? ; Spotswood, Letters, I, December 15, 1710, p. 36).
INTRODUCTION 1 1
necessitated larger counties. The practice early de-
veloped of giving each county two delegates in the
House of Burgesses. An early attempt to preserve
political equality between the large and small communi-
ties by allowing parish representation proved unsatis-
factory and was abandoned.^ ^
In many respects the plantation was a self-sufficing
institution. Planters had among their slaves carpen-
ters, coopers, blacksmiths, tanners, shoemakers, spin-
ners, and weavers.^ ^ The plantation furnished the
raw material for these embryo manufactures ; the sur-
plus only went to purchase foreign luxuries and such
articles as could not be made on the estate. All the
Virginia planter desired was a free market and credit.
To him the patronage of manufacturing on a large
scale was a secondary and incidental thing designed
chiefly to supply luxuries. In this industrial system
ocean commerce stood next to agriculture; it was the
sole means whereby a market could be found.
The Northern Neck requires special mention. It
was that long narrow peninsula bounded by the Poto-
mac and the Rappahannock and a straight line connect-
ing their sources. In 1661 this immense tract was
granted to a proprietor. As a proprietorial govern-
ment it maintained a semi-independence of the colonial
government down to the Revolution, the proprietors
having their own land office and enjoying special favors
**Hemng, Statutes, I, 545; II, 357.
** Tucker, Jefferson, I, 9; Rowland, Mason, I, 99; Phillips,
"Origin and Growth of Southern Black Belts," Am. Hist, Rev., XI,
803.
12 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
in taxation.^' Besides, the area possessed great natural
advantages; the fall line of its rivers was far inland;
the soil was fertile ; and the low and swamp lands were
comparatively less extensive than on the James and
the Roanoke.
These favorable circumstances caused the eastern
portion of this section to be taken at a very early date
by the highest class of planters. Accordingly many
Cavaliers found homes there in the Cromwell period.
For generations a large and important settlement on
the Potomac was spoken of as the "Cavaliers of Cho-
tonk."^* The custom of making grants for "head-
rights," so prevalent in other parts of the colony, was
not followed by the proprietors, who thus excluded a
large number of small landowners from this area.^* In
1776 the society of the Northern Neck was conse-
quently older and more aristocratic than that of the
Piedmont south of the James ; the frontier character-
istics had long since disappeared, the plantation having
spent its force in large areas which were now given up
to wheat-raising.^®
Antipathies naturally arose between this society and
the newer and more democratic communities south of
the James. The state of feeling existing between the
two sections is well brought out in the last will and
testament of Thomson Mason, brother of George
"Hening, Statutes, XII, iii.
"DeBow, Review, XXX, 77'
"Bruce, Ec, Hist, of Va., I, 523.
" Hening, Statutes, VII, 292 ; IVilliam and Mary College Quar-
terly, XI, 24s; DcBow, Review, XXVI, 616; Va. Hist, Mag., XI,
230 ; Howe, Hist, Coll,, 354.
INTRODUCTION 13
Mason and an old resident of the Northern Neck. He
expressly directed that neither of his two sons be per-
mitted to reside south of the James or below Williams-
burg before they had attained the age of twenty-one,
"lest they should imbibe more exalted notions of their
own importance than I could wish any child of mine
to possess."^''
The Valley was settled largely by Scotch-Irish and
Germans.*® The latter constituted so large an element
of the population that it was found necessary to trans-
late the laws into their language.*® German and
Scotch-Irish pioneers began to pour into the Valley
about 1726^ and soon extended settlement along the
Shenandoah and the South Branch of the Potomac.
The arrival of these foreign nationalities on the
frontier at a period before the society and institutions
of the coast had reached the Blue Ridge constitutes an
important epoch in Virginia's history. The westward
advance of her peculiar institutions was thereby inter-
rupted, and a new society, naturally hostile to things
Virginian, was planted.
Settlement moved into the Valley in communities.
A band of congenial families came and occupied one
of the many canoe-shaped valleys ; necessity for defense
made isolated settlement impossible. Each of the
^^ Rowland, Mason, II, 77.
" Langmeister, Lehen itn Valley in 1752; Schuricht, German
Element in Va,; Foote, Sketches of Va,, 9^105; Wayland, "The
Gennans in the Valley of Virginia," Va, Mag*, IX, X.
I* Shepherd, Statutes at Large, I, 339.
''Ktthn, German and Swiss Settlements in Pa,, chap. ii.
14 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
larger geographic settlements of the Valley had its
"Irish earner" and "German settlement/'
The society which developed there was quite unlike
that east of the Blue Ridge. Here communities became
self-sufficing instead of devoting themselves to the
production of the staples. The small villages which
sprang up in the midst of the community settlement
contained wagon-makers, shoemakers, saddlers, gun-
smiths, harness-makers, tanners, etc. Strasburg, Zapp,
Hamburg, Hinkle, Chrisman, and Amsterdam were
centers of these small communities. Around these
villages there were many small farmers. The fertile
soil and abundant pastures soon created a surplus of
farm products and live stock; a market was then
sought. Inadequate means of communication made it
necessary for the farmer to feed his hay and grain
and to sell only those products which could walk to
market. ^^ To this commercial activity the inhabitants
of the small communities soon learned to look for
means of subsistence. Accordingly all interests co-
operated in the efforts made to secure good markets
and means of access to them. The homogeneity of
interests between the smaller sections soon brought co-
operation on a large scale.
The industrial life of the Valley centered in the
small farm. In 1730 Q)lonel Carter tried to operate,
by the use of slave labor, a tract of sixty-three thousand
acres located on the west bank of the Shenandoah.
Writing of his failure Kercheval later said: "This
^Richmond Enquirer, February 23, 1820; NUes Register, IX,
152.
INTRODUCTION 15
fine body of land is now subdivided into many most
valuable farms. "^^ The German settler desired little
more land than he, with the aid of a large family, could
cultivate. His skill in agriculture enabled him to
preserve its productivity and in some instances to en-
hance it.
In practice local government in the Valley con-
formed to that east of the Blue Ridge. The political
theories, however, differed very widely from those
entertained in the east. The Germans and Scotch-
Irish brought to the Valley the sacred traditions of
years of religious wars, which taught hatred to an
established church, antipathy to a government by the
privileged, and a love for civic and personal liberty.
To the Scotch-Irish, the political leaders, civil liberty
meant freedom of person, the right of fee-simple
possession, and an open door to civic honors. They
believed that free lands made free peoples who had a
perfect right to form free governments.
Home life in the Valley was plain and simple.^' A
shabby log hut with numerous children about the door
and the absence of servants and slaves were not signs
of a lack of comfort and happiness. The wife and
children did the spinning and weaving for the family,
and little attention was paid to society. Religion held
a prominent place in the daily life. Those churches
especially noted for piety, the Presb)rterian, Baptist,
Quaker, and Mennonite, flourished there. It was
only with reluctance that these dissenters gave of their
means to support an established church.
» Kercheval, Hist of the Valley, 68. " Cutler, Cutler, 94.
l6 SECTIONALISM. IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Both spiritually and commercially the Valley and
the Northern Neck were more intimately coimected
with the North than with the South. Live stock and
furs found their chief market in Baltimore and Phila-
delphia, whence came practically all articles of foreign
manufacture.^* Preachers and teachers from Yale and
Princeton had been important factors in shaping the
intellectual ideas and social customs. Their pious
energies had early turned to the establishment of insti-
tutions of learning. In this work Samuel Davies, later
president of Princeton, was a pioneer. In the west
Princeton became an active rival to William and Mary.
In 1747 John Todd, of the Princeton class of that
year, founded a classical academy in Louisa County.
In the same year a secondary school, which later be-
came Washington and Lee University, was f oimded in
Augusta by John Brown, a Princeton graduate. In
1 776 Prince Edward Academy, now Hampden-Sidney
College, was founded by Stanhope Smith, of the
Princeton class of 1769. Many other educational in-
stitutions were founded by teachers and preachers
from Princeton and Yale.^*^
During the years immediately preceding the Revo-
lution the Valley and the Piedmont formulated an
effective opposition to the political rule of the Tide-
water, and sectional parties shaped themselves on both
*^ Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 452.
* William and Mary College Quarterly, VI, 186; Washington
and Lee Hist. Papers, No. 5, p. S4'rReport of Com. of Ed, 18951-96,
I, a7o.
INTRODUCTION 17
local and national issues.*® The first stage in the
breach between the east and the west came in the years
immediately following the protest against the Stamp
Act. It was then that the corruption and inefficiency
of the former section became apparent, and the west
found a leader in the person of Patrick Henry.
Many forces operated at this time to bring the east-
em leaders into discredit and to precipitate their
political downfall. The indifference, credulity, and
aversion to detail on their part permitted corruption
and barred the way to reform. Dissenters used tell-
ingly the well-founded charges of corruption against
the clergy of the established church. Governor Fau-
quier's genial manners and democratic practices had
won the hearts of many, who following his example
gave themselves up to gaming and racing. When the
governor made his annual visits to favorite planters
"dice rattled, cards appeared, and money in immense
sums was lost and won."^''^ Writing in 1848 Howison
believed that the contagion of Fauquier's influence had
not then disappeared from Virginia.^®
The west led a revolt against these conditions. The
occasion came when John Robinson and his associates
tried to conceal a deficit in the treasury. Robinson
was one of the most opulent of the landed aristocracy ;
for twenty-five years he. had been Speaker of the
Burgesses; and he had made large loans on private
* Grigsby, Constitutional Convention of 1^88, in "Va. Hist.
ColL," IX, 49.
■'Howison, Hist, of Va., II, 47-58*
»Wirt, Henry (ed. 1838), 37.
l8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
account to his personal and political friends. "This
prolific business had continued so long that Robinson
had finally become a defaulter to an enormous amount;
and in order to avert the shame and ruin of an ex-
posure, he and his particular friends .... invented a
device to be called a public loan office. "^® From this
office it was proposed to loan money on landed security,
by which means Robinson hoped to transfer his private
loans to the public, to hide his defalcation, and to save
himself from ruin and exposure. ^^
It was under these conditions that Henry became a
member of the Burgesses and the leader of the dis-
contented interior. He was eminently fitted for this
new duty. He prided himself upon being one of the
common people; in dress, manners, and education he
was the popular ideal; his- family was intermarried
with some of the most prominent new families of the
interior; already he had championed the popular side
in the parsons' cause and in efforts to defeat the elec-
tion of corrupt Burgesses. A thorough democrat him-
self, he taught his constituency that government was
instituted solely for the benefit of the governed; that
the people were the foundation of political power; and
that offices and honors were created for them. His
ability as a popular leader finds explanation only in
the character of the interior of which he was the
spokesman.®^
"Tyler, Henry (ed. 1887), 56.
"Fa, Gcsette, May 17, 1765; Journal, House of Burgesses
(ed. Kennedy 1766-69), x-xxi ; Wirt, Henry, 69^75.
•Tor a different statement see Tyler, Henry, sa.
INTRODUCTION 19
The public loan office was pushed as a measure
wise and beneficial, and received the support of many
honorable and nonsuspecting Burgesses. It was on
the point of passage when Henry, ignorant of its true
purpose, arose to condemn the scheme on general prin-
ciples. "He laid open with so much energy the spirit
of favoritism, upon which the proposition was founded,
and the abuses to which it would lead that it was
crushed in its birth. "^^ On the final vote he carried
with him all the delegates from the interior counties.
The following year Robinson died and his deficit be-
came public. It was not until then that the real sig-
nificance of Henry's victory became apparent. His
popularity at once increased, and the cake of custom
was soon broken by the repeated blows which he ad-
ministered to the aristocracy.
It was in this unpropitious state of things, the east
divided against the west, that Henry introduced and
carried the Stamp Act Resolutions. Though intended
mainly to protest against the actions of the mother
country, they were in no small degree the product
of domestic conditions. They were carried by the vote
of the united interior against the ea$t,^^ led by Peyton
Randolph, the king's attofney-general, and Edmund
Pendleton, the protege and^ bondsman of Robinson.
Of the activity of the interior on this occasion Grigsby
says: "Had the British policy in Ireland been other
than it was, those resolutions might indeed have been
" Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford), IX, 339.
"Grigsby, Va. Constitutional Convention of 1776, 43.
20 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776^1861
offered, but they would have been rejected by a decisive
majority."**
The advent of the west to power in 1765 marked
an important epoch. Young men like Washington and
Jefferson then saw the aristocracy exposed and repudi-
ated. Jefferson, then a man of twenty-three, stood at
the door of the Burgesses while the vote on the Stamp
Act Resolutions was being taken. When they were
declared carried, it was with disgust that he saw and
heard Peyton Randolph emerge from the door and
with an oath exclaim: "I would have given five hun-
dred guineas for a single vote."^*
These years mark also a formative period in polit-
ical ideas. The questions raised by Coke on Littleton
and by Blackstone were then being comprehended.
Ideas of natural and individual rights continued to
grow in favor and to master the minds of political
thinkers. Meanwhile young men of aristocratic fami-
lies refused to rest under the opprobium of corrup-
tion and inefficiency and joined the ranks of the
reformers. Prominent among such were Richard
Henry Lee and George Wythe. A large number of
conservatives continued however to oppose a stubborn
resistance to the democratic tendencies and to take
their cue from the English royalty. Under these condi-
tions the natural aversion of the interior to the rule of
kings and the privileged became more pronounced.
The differences between the east and the west were
■•Grigsby, Constitutional Convention of 17B8, in "Va. Hist.
ColL," IX, 49.
•The resolutions were carried by one vote (Wirt, Henry, 79).
INTRODUCTION 21
not, however, wholly theoretical. The inhabitants of
the latter section were impatiently waiting to enter
promised land bounties beyond the AUeghanies and
desired the Burgesses to push their claims. In the
Quebec Act, Dunmore's relations with the Indians, and
the Royal Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting settlers
and traders to pass beyond the AUeghanies, they pro-
fessed to see acts designed to deprive them of new
homes and to call upon them the wrath of the savage.
The inhabitants of northeastern Virginia were also
aggrieved at these acts.* Because of the engrossing of
lands this area was now overpopulated, and the in-
habitants, averse as they were to finding new homes in
southern Virginia, were looking to the trans-AUeghany
country. Washington and Mason had already seen
the opportunity which the lands of the new west
afforded and were preparing to profit by it as well as
to afford an outlet to the congested communities in
which they lived.
In 1774 inhabitants of the Valley petitioned the
Burgesses for permission to enter the western lands. ®*
The following year Augusta County addressed a peti-
tion to the Continental Congress praying that Virginia
and Pennsylvania be empowered to make treaties with
the Indians. On the other hand the east tried to con-
serve the interests of the mother country. In this work
the clergy was particularly active. Beginning with
1760 they conducted more or less systematic persecu-
tions of dissenters until 1775.®''
^Journal, House of Burgesses (cd. Kennedy), 1773-76, 127,
''James, Struggle for Religious Liberty in Va., 39.
22 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 177^1861
The petitions to the Burgesses also reveal a grow-
ing desire on the part of the interior for internal im-
provements. From the counties of the Piedmont south
of the James came requests for warehouses ;®® inhabit-
ants of the Northern Neck desired the improved navi-
gation of the Potomac and a road from Alexandria to
the Blue Ridge ;^® a petition from Frederick County
sugg^ested that the improved navigation of the Potomac
from the head of tidewater "would be productive of
great advantages, not only to those who are settled
upon the adjacent lands, but to the whole country;"*®
citizens of Frederick and Hampshire complained that
they were unable "to supply the King's troops of the
western department with provisions because of the
extreme badness of the roads from this government to
Fort Pitt," and requested that Braddock's road be made
a public highway.*^
Differences between the east and the west perpetu-
ated the sectional parties of 1765. Delegates from
fourteen counties, lying wholly or partly in the Tide-
water, did not sign the non-importation agreement of
1769, while delegates from but six interior counties
did not sign it.*^ Practically the same proportion
holds between the delegates of the east and the west
^Journal, House of Burgesses (ed. Kennedy), 1766-69, 218;
ibid,, 1770-72, 5, 124.
** Ibid,, 1766-69, 253; ibid,, 1770-72, 206.
^Ibid,, 1770-72, 252, 258.
^ Ibid; 1766-69, 100, 109.
*^Ibid,, 1766-69; Int,, XLI; Grigsby, Va, Constitutional Con-
vention of 1776, 34.
INTRODUCTION 23
who signed the associations of 1770 and 1774. Of
the sectional parties in Virginia in 1 775 Grigsby said :
No error is more common than to refer the origin of party
division in the Commonwealth to the present convention [1788].
Long before that time parties had been founded, not only on
state topics but on those connected with the federal government.
From the passage of the Stamp Act to the time when eleven
years later an independent state government was formed there
had been a palpable line drawn through the parties of the
country.**
*■ Grigsby, Constitutional Convention of j/88, in "Va. Hist.
Coll.," IX, 49.
CHAPTER II
REVOLUTION, CONFEDERATION, AND THE
CONSTITUTION, 1776-90
With more tangible grievances to redress, the in-
habitants of the interior were ahead of the lowlanders
in the movement for independence. While the Tide-
water men were deliberating on peaceful reconciliation,
large nimibers in the Piedmont and the Valley were
being organized into military companies by such
patriots as Hugh Mercer, Horatio Gates, Peter
Muhlenburg, Daniel Morgan, and William Drake, who
later figured as officers and generals in the Continental
army. It was not until Lord Dunmore declared the
colony in a state of war, offered freedom to negro
slaves and indentured servants, ravaged the country by
the use of armed vessels, and burned the chief com-
mercial city, Norfolk, that the inhabitants of the Tide-
water seriously thought of armed resistance to British
misrule.^ Even then, some refused to take up arms;
they thought the radicals unduly aggressive. Some
had sons in English colleges ; others enjoyed the emolu-
ments of office ; a general, spirit of pride in the mother
country prevailed; and there was a strong desire to
retain the commercial advantages to be derived from
a dependence upon her.^
* Force, Am, Archives, 4th series, III, 387, 1385 ; Bancroft,
Hist, of U, S., IV, 354, 320; Hunt, Madison, i.
*Va. Gazette, April 26, 1776; Frothingham, Rise of the Repub-
lic, 509.
34
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 25
When the uprising did come, however, it was gen-
eral. Except in Accomac, Northampton, and Norfolk
counties and in the Quaker and Mennonite communi-
ties of the interior, there were few Tories in Virginia.
May 6, 1776, the House of Burgesses, assembled at
Williamsburg, unanimously declared that Great Britain
had subverted the ancient constitution of the colony.
Accordingly the House of Burgesses was disbanded,
and the last official connection with the mother country
disappeared.
On the same day another body, consisting largely
of the selfsame disbanded Burgesses, and # declaring
itself a constitutional convention, convened in the
very hall of the suspended House of Burgesses. In
personnel this body represented the two extremes of
the Virginia communities. Grigsby speaks thus of it :
You mark, indeed, a variety of character in those manly
faces, and in those stalwart forms a various costume. You can
tell the men who come from the bay counties and from the
banks of the large rivers, and who, from the felicity with
which they could exchange their products for British goods, are
clothed in foreign fabricks. You can also tell those who lived
oflF from the great arteries of trade, far in the interior, in the
shadow of the Blue Ridge, in the Valley, and in that splendid
principality .... West Augusta. These are mostly clad in
homespun or in the more substantial buckskin.'
This body had been invited by the Continental
Congress to form a new state government and to con-
sider the relations between the colonies and the mother
country. The conservatives, with Robert Carter Nich-
olas and Edward Pendleton as principal spokesmen,
•Grigsby, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1TT6, 35.
26 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
were not yet ready to sever every bond of dependence.
The colonial conventions of 1774 and 1775 had said
nothing about independence, and they deemed an
irrevocable step unwise. It was useless, however, to
try to withstand the tide of popular sentiment. The
delegates from the interior county of Buckingham
presented the following command f rofn their constit-
uents: '*We instruct you to cause a total and final
separation from Great Britain to take place as soon
as possible;" it also directed them to establish a con-
stitution providing for "a full representation and
free and frequent elections."* The people of West
Augusta, Transylvania, and of the Holston and
Watauga valleys sent similar instructions. Led by
Henry, the west believed that forbearance had ceased
to be a virtue and that independence was not only
necessary but inevitable. The fight between the con-
servatives and democrats began in the very organiza-
tion of the convention, when Henry's nominee,
Thomas Ludwell Lee, contested unsuccessfully against
Edmund Pendleton for election to the chairmanship.**
The crisis came on May 15, 1776, when Archibald
Gary reported those famous resolutions directing the
Virginia delegation in the Gontinental Gong^ess to
propose to that body a declaration of independence
for the United States and giving the assent of Virginia
to the same. Notwithstanding the fact that these reso-
lutions passed without division, they were opposed by
* Bancroft, Hist, of U, S., IV, 414; Hunt, Madison, 6.
• Grigsby, Va. Constitutional Convention of 1//6, 14 ; Camp-
bell, Hist, of Va,, 644.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 27
a strong conservative minority. George Mason, the
master spirit of the convention, later wrote Richard
Henry Lee : "One thing is clear in my mind, that the
three great resolutions .... were carried by the
western vote, that is, by the vote of the members living
north and west of Richmond, as were the leading
measures of reform some years later."*
The resolution for independence was accompanied
by another which proposed that a committee be ap-
pointed to draw up a declaration of rights and a plan
of state government. This was carried and the com-
mittee was instructed to frame such a plan "as will be
most likely to maintain peace and order in the colony
and to secure substantial and equal liberty to the
people." In the debates on this resolution, sectional
differences became very pronounced. But the west
was now handicapped; Henry, its leader, was not a
constructive statesman, and his oratory availed little
in constitution making. Accordingly leadership passed
to a more conservative man, the celebrated George
Mason, of Gunston Hall.
Mason was untouched by theories of extreme
democracy. He had nevertheless a keen sympathy for
the principles of English liberty as expressed in the
English constitutional docimients, and he was in sym-
pathetic touch with the democratic movement in the
colony. He was a sound scholar, especially well
versed in the legislative and political history of his
country. Unlike most of the landed aristocracy, he
was free from political ambitions. He was immovable
•Grigsby, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1//6, 44.
28 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776^1861
in his convictions, forceful and uncompromising in
debate. He now stood between the radicals and con-
servatives, and his ability as a leader of men made
him master of the situation^
On May 27, Archibald Cary reported to the con-
vention a Declaration of Rights drawn by Mason. It
set forth the principles that all men are bom equally
free and independent; that all power is by God and
nature vested in and consequently derived from the
people ; that magistrates are the trustees of the people
and at all times amenable to them ; that government is
for the common benefit, protection, and security of
the people ; that elections of members to the legislattwe
ought to be free ; that all men having common interest
with and attachment to the community have the right
of suffrage and cannot be taxed or deprived of their
property for public use without their consent; and
lastly, that all men should enjoy the fullest toleration.®
Although founded upon political theory and evoked
by abuses from abroad these declarations were, in no
small degree, the product of ten years of sectional
antagonism within the colony. Their sentiments were
those which Henry had instilled into the minds of the
frontier people; they were the principles which had
mastered the minds of Jefferson and Madison, after-
ward their greatest exponents. Thoughts on Govern-
ment by John Adams, and Common Sense by Thomas
Paine had fallen upon receptive minds in the Piedmont
and the Valley. Requests for freedom of elections
^Rowland, Mason, I, 235.
*Ibid., 240.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 29
and for general suffrage were, as has been seen, a
feature of the instructions which the frontier delegates
bore to the convention. Baptists and other dissenters
petitioned for toleration in the new government and
tried to secure the election of delegates favorable
thereto.®
Robert Carter Nicholas feared that the Declaration
of Rights would be a forerunner of civil convulsion.
To him that clause which declared all men naturally
free and equal was especially objectionable. Nicholas,
Braxton, and Pendleton were not unfavorable to a
government of monarchical tendencies. Braxton ably
defended their position in an essay entitled An Ad-
dress to the Convention of the Colony and Ancient
Dominion on the Subject of Government}^
In the plan of government conservative principles
triumphed, although the victory was not apparent at
the time. The right of suffrage was restricted to
those who then exercised it,^^ and each county, regard-
less of its size and population, was assigned two mem-
bers of the House of Delegates.^ ^ Although not made
a part of the constitution, the convention divided the
state into twenty-four districts, each entitled to elect
'Religious Herald, July, 1888; Semple, Va, Baptists, 62;
Frestoe, Hist, of Ketotton Association, 90.
^ Tyler, Henry, 179.
" Persons owning twenty-five acres of improved or one hun-
dred acres of unimproved land were admitted to suffrage together
with certain artisans residing in Norfolk and Williamsburg {Re-
vised Code of 1819, I, 38).
^ Williamsburg, Norfolk, and Richmond were each given an
additional delegate.
30 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776^1861
one senator. The country west of the Blue Ridge was
given only four senators, and no provision was made
for amending the constitution, extending suffrage, or
reapportioning representation in either house.^®.
The constitution, however, was not a complete
triumph for the conservatives. Members of both
houses of the Assembly were made elective by the
people, and elections for the most popular house were
to be held annually. The legislative department was
made supreme; it elected the governor and restricted
his actions by associating with him an Executive
Council. The higher members of the judiciary de-
partment were also made elective by the Assembly.
The reform spirit of the frontier and the general
enthusiasm over the Revolution enabled the democratic
element to control the first Assembly elected under the
new constitution and temporarily allayed the opposi-
tion of the conservatives. The time was indeed
opportune for the appearance of a constructive states-
man. 'Mason having refused to serve his people
longer as a legislator, a new leader was forthcoming
in the person of Thomas Jefferson, who in order to
carry forward the reform movement in Virginia had
declined a re-election to the Continental Congress.^*
Jefferson was peculiarly fitted for leadership at
this time. The state was rent by differences between
dissenters and conforming churchmen, but he was a
believer in no creed. Educated at William and Mary
and reared under the tutelage of Wythe, Tucker, and
"Poore, Charters and Constitutions, Part II, 1910.
■* Randall, Jefferson, I, 195; Rives, Madison, T, 170.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 31
Pendleton, he had friends and admirers among the
most influential conservatives. Besides, he had had
abundant opportunity to know and appreciate their
conception of society and politics. Himself a member
of the landed aristocracy and possessed of an infusion
of patrician blood,^** he was not at first distrusted.
The secret of Jefferson's ability as a leader at this time
lay, however, in the fact that he was a democrat of the
frontier type. Bom on the outskirts of the charmed
and corrupt circle of conservatism and in the demo-
cratic air of the mountains, he loved simplicity and
equality. The precocious child of a pioneer surveyor,
he had the frontiersman's outlook on things, which
has done so much to shape American policies and insti-
tutions. Reared on a farm devoted largely to wheat
culture and under the demtocratic influence of the dis-
senters, he had little sympathy with the institution of
negro slavery either practically or theoretically. He
was not an agitator, however, and struck only when he
knew his blows would tell.^®
The subject of most importance before the first
Assembly involved the continuation of the established
church.^'' The effort to retain it met opposition from
the dissenters and some Anglicans, and precipitated
"Jefferson's mother was Jane Randolph. Of his patrician an-
cestry he was accustomed to speak thus: "They [his mother's
people] trace their pedigree far back in England and Scotland, to
which let every one ascribe the faith and merit he chooses." —
Morse, Jefferson, 3.
"See Randall, Jefferson, I, chap, i; Parton, Jefferson^ chaps,
i-ix ; Morse, Jefferson, 4-8.
^^Hunt, Am, Hist, Asso, Kept,, 1901, I, 165-71.
32 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776^1861
the first great sectional conflict in the state. For years
Baptist associations and Presb3rterian congregations
had petitioned for toleration, and now their efforts
were renewed with increased vigor. A n^morial from
the Valley reminded the Assembly "that nothing is
more necessary in the present struggle than a union of
mind and strength" and suggested disestablishment as
a means of effecting it.^® Numerous petitions from the
west asked that the laws of the state be made to har-
monize with the Declaration of Rights and the spirit
of American liberty. The most significant memorial
on this subject came, however, from the Hanover
Presbytery. It avowed devotion to the state institu-
tions but reminded the Assembly that "in the frontier
the dissenters have borne the heavy burden of purchas-
ing glebes and supporting the established clergy where
there are very few Episcopalians either to assist in
bearing the expense or to reap the advantages." It
also alleged that intolerance had driven population
from Virginia and reduced her to the necessity of
calling in strangers to fight her battles. It ended by
asking that the state laws be made to conform to the
Declaration of Rights, the Magna Carta of the com-
nwnwealth.^^
Members of the established church, residing in the
Tidewater, also sent memorials. They pleaded the
inviolability qf the contracts by which the church held
property and the efficiency of an established church in
maintaining peace and happiness.^
^Journal, House of Delegates, 1776, 48.
; »/Wd., 24. ''Ibid., 47.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 33
In response to these memorials the Assembly took
the initial step toward disestablishment; the salaries
of the clergy were suspended for 1776, an act repeated
annually until 1779. Opposition was too strong, how-
ever, to effect the whole change at once.
The reform movement of 1776 was not confined to
attacks upon the established church. It was at this
time that Jefferson struck the first blow at the landed
aristocracy by an act abolishing entails. ^^ It would
be almost impossible to overestimate the effect of this
law in producing democratic equality in Virginia. In
1833 Henry Clay, a native of Virginia and thoroughly
in touch with the changes wrought there, said, in
speaking of the effects of the abolition of entail :
In whose hands now are the once proud seats of Westover,
Cerles, Maycockg, Shirly, and others on the James and in lower
Virginia? They have passed into other and stranger hands.
Some of the descendants of illustrious parentage have gone to
the far West, while others lingering behind have contrasted
their present condition with that of their venerated ancestors.
They behold themselves excluded from their fathers' houses,
now in the hands of those who were once their fathers' over-
seers, or sinking into decay.**
The Assembly of 1776 also gave special privileges to
the frontier county courts; increased the representa-
tion of the west by acts creating new counties; and
appointed a committee to revise and amend the laws
of the state.^^
■'Hening, Statutes, IX, 226; Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford),
II, 102.
^Congressional Debates, VIII, Part I, 290.
•Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford), II, 116.
34 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
"The Committee on Revision" was composed of
JeflFerson, Mason, Wythe, Pendleton, and Thomas L.
Lee, all reformers except Pendleton. It continued its
labors for two years and did not make a final report
tintil 1779. The report shows the handiwork of Jeffer-
son. It contained his famous bill for religious liberty,
which its author ranked next to the Declaration of
Independence; it recommended the division of the
counties into townships for the purpose of establishing
free schools ; and it contemplated the emancipation of
the negro slaves.**
These radical recommendations struck the con-
servatives with consternation. Meanwhile, there had
been a reaction against reform, and a new alignment
of parties was in process of formation. The enthusi-
asm for the democratic principles of the Revolution
had waned somewhat, and the abolition of entails
arrayed against Jefferson the landed aristocracy. Cha-
grined at being displaced from his position as popular
leader, Henry lost enthusiasm for the cause of reform
and drew closer to the conservatives.^* The transfer
of the seat of war to the South also diverted attention
to the matter of defense.
Under these changed conditions reform was
checked. Yet an act of 1779 relieved the dissenters
from the necessity of supporting the established
"Jefferson, Notes on Va. (ed. of i8oi), 268, 284; Jefferson,
Writings (ed. Ford), II, ^oi.
"This was the beginning of an irreparable breach between
Jefferson and Henry (Jefferson, Writings [ed. Ford], II, 102;
Jefferson, Autobiography, I, 49; Tucker, Jefferson, I, 97-99; Ran-
dall, Jefferson, I, 199-201).
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 35
church, and "to secure the equal rights of all" the
capitol was removed to Richmond.^® But further
consideration of the recommendations of the Com-
mittee on Revision was postponed. Jefferson was in
turn shelved by being made governor, a disposal more
than once resorted to for Virginia leaders deemed
dangerous in the Assembly. On the other hand,
Henry returned to the House of Delegates to oppose
the reforms which Jefferson had inaugurated, and to
regain his popularity.^''
As governor, Jefferson did not have smooth sail-
ing. The constitution makers of 1776 had purposely
made the executive weak and helpless.^® Reinforced
by Henry, the opposition in the Assembly soon out-
numbered the followers of Jefferson. To begin with, •
parties had been pretty evenly divided. John Page,
the conservative candidate for governor, had received
61 votes and Jefferson only 67.^^ The British in-
vasions fell most heavily upon the conservative parts
of the state, and the failure to check them caused ad-
verse criticism to be heaped upon "the political theorist
and impractical statesman," who presided in the
capitol. Two days after the expiration of Jefferson's
term as governor he was forced to retire from the
temporary seat of government, Charlottesville, to avoid
capture by the British dragoons detailed especially
for the purpose of his apprehension. Notwithstanding
* Heuing, Statutes, X, 8$ ; Randall, Jefferson, I, 223.
* Tyler, Henry, 262, 263*
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 472.
^Journal, House of Del,, 1779. 29.
36
SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 177^1861
the facts that he was no longer governor and that a
large number of the assembl)mien had already fled to
Staunton beyond the Blue Ridge, the censure heaped
upon him was unrelenting. The Assembly appointed
' an investigating committee which, however, completely
exonerated him from all charges of negligence.*®
Smarting under censure and chagrined at the
successes of the conservatives, Jefferson retired from
public life to his plantation in Bedford County. M.
de Marbois, secretary of the French foreign legation
at Philadelphia, had already directed twenty-three
questions to him designed to bring out information
regarding Virginia. Jefferson set himself assiduously
to the task of preparing answers thereto. His replies
took the form of a volume entitled Notes on Virginia.
In this book Jefferson continued his fight for
reform. Some of its chapters abound in sweeping
strictures upon the constitution of 1776 and the anti-
democratic tendencies in the state. To show the in-
equalities in representation in the Assembly he pre-
pared the following table :
Between the sea and the falls of
the rivers
Between the falls of the rivers and
tiie Blue Ridge of mountains . . .
Between the Blue Ridge of moun-
tains and the Alleghanies
Between the Alleghanies and the
Ohio
Square
Miles
11,265
18, 759
11,911
70,650
Fuhting
19,012
18,828
7,673
4,458
DdeK<^c8
71
46
16
16
Senators
12
8
3
2
^Journal, House of Del., 1781, 37.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 37
By this data he showed that nineteen thousand fight-
ing men, residing in the Tidewater, were practically
able to make the law and appoint the officers for over
thirty thousand others.** The volume deals at length
with the proposed reforms of 1779. He unhiesitat-
ingly attributed their defeat to the conservatives. In
connection with the British invasions and the excite-
ment which they occasioned, Jefferson intimated that a
movement had been on foot to make Henry dictator, a
charge which widened the breach between himself and
the hero of 1765 and 1776.'^
The west was also displeased with the conduct of
the war; it did not, however, criticize Jefferson,
Augusta and Rockbridge counties petitioned against
the practice of drafting their residents for service in
the Continental army to make good the quotas from
the eastern counties and asked that soldiers be appor-
tioned among the several counties on a property
valuation basis.** Andrew Moore, of Rockbridge, in-
troduced a resolution to compel the eastern counties to
fill their quotas in the Continental army.** Berkeley
and Jefferson counties petitioned against the draft
system, the quartering of prisoners, and the contem-
plated dictatorship.**
In 1783 reform again became an issue. The con-
servative reaction had but slightly decreased the num-
^ Notes on Va,, 161, 162.
"Henry, Henry, II, 144, 231; Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford),
VIII, 368; Randall, Jefferson, I, 34&-S2; Tyler, Henry, 197-
*^ Journal, House of Del,, 1781, 8, 18, 22.
**Ibid., 2$. "^IHd., 12, 27.
38 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ber of the memorials which the dissenters were
annually sending to the Assembly. In addition to
relief from the necessity of supporting the established
church, dissenters now desired the privilege of solem-
nizing marriages and a share in the use of the churches
and the glebes purchased at public expense.^® After the
peace of 1783 the Episcopal church fell into greater
disfavor. Some of its clergy had sympathized with the
mother country and others yet rested under the charge
of corruption. Accordingly the Assembly of 1 783 was
flooded with memorials praying for complete disestab-
lishment. Other memorials asked for a constitutional
convention, internal improvements, and administrative
reform.
Jefferson, now in France, intrusted the work of
reform to James Madison, who was eminently quali-
fied for the task. He too was born and reared in the
Piedmont foothills on the outskirts of conservatism.
He was, however, a member of the established church.
His father was vestryman of Saint Thomas parish ;
his mother was a devout communicant ; and his cousin,
also called James Madison, was president of William
and Mary and later became the first Episcopal bishop
of Virginia. But while at Princeton, where he studied
and graduated, Madison breathed another atmosphere
than that of the Virginia vestry.*"^ He there became
attached to the principles of complete toleration. He
spoke but once in the constitutional convention of
1776, and then it was in behalf of religious liberty.
^Journal, House of Del,, ist sess., 1783, 22 ; ibid., 2d sess., 10, 37.
"Hunt, Am. Hist, Asso, Rept,, 1901, I, 165-71.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 39
Although he had not protested in 1776, he was opposed
to the undemocratic principles of the constitution
adopted at that time. Meanwhile he had discussed
with Jefferson and others both the necessity and man-
ner of making Virginia's a true republican government.
Although cold and reserved, his simple courteous
manners and dignified modesty attracted strangers,
who soon became friends. ®®
In the fight for disestablishment Madison was aided
by the brothers, George and William Gary Nicholas,
both residents of Gharlottesville and intimate friends
of Jefferson. Gonfronted by this tritunvirate and
conscious of the fact that the days of the established
church were numbered, the Anglicans asked the
Assembly to incorporate the Protestant Episcopal
Ghurch of Virginia and to pass a general assessment
act. The former was to give the established church
legal title to the churches, glebes, and all property
whatsoever then in its possession; the latter required
each and every taxpayer to contribute to the support of
some church. Both bills were introduced by Henry,
himself a member of the established church, and
received his earnest support. ®® The decline of the
established church and the increase of crime and dis-
honesty brought the bills into favor with Washington,
Richard Henry Lee, Tazewell, and Marshall. By this
time most of the conservatives were willing to admit
^"Hunt, Madison, chaps, i-iii; ibid., 272, 273; Rives, Madi-
son, I, chap. i.
"* Madison, Writings (cd. Cong.), I, 88; Tyler, Henry, 262;
Rives, Madison, I, 602,
40 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
that there might be other roads to heaven, but they
were sure that no gentleman would choose any other
than the Episcopal.
Henry was able to secure the passage of the act of
incorporation,**^ but Madison succeeded in having the
final vote on the act providing for assessment post-
poned until the next meeting of the Assembly. Mean-
while the bill was ordered printed and distributed to
enable the people to make expressions of their will.
During the summer and autumn of 1785 the assess-
ment bill was the theme of discussion in all parts of
the state. At the instigation of George Nicholas,
Madison prepared a remonstrance against it. This
document received thousands of signatures in the
interior and on the frontier. The enthusiasm called
forth floods of memorials to the Assembly. Those
from the vicinity of Henry's home, Henry County,
and from the Tidewater were generally favorable to
assessment.*^ But the Presbyterians of the Valley and
the Baptists of the Piedmont denounced the proposed
law as a contravention of the Declaration of Rights
and the spirit of American liberty.*^ The Methodists
now cast lot with the dissenters, thinning the ranks of
the established church in the Tidewater and the Pied-
mont, where Asbury, Coke, Lee, and Jarratt had a
very numerous following.
^As a strategic move Madison voted for the incorporation act
(Writings [ed. Hunt], II, 88).
** Randall, Jefferson, I, 922 ; Hunt, Madison, 84, 85 ; Journal,
House of DeU, 2d sess., 1785, 6, 8, 19, 29, 30.
**Ihid., 6, 8, 9, 10, II, 18, 19, 21, 26, 34.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 41
In the excitement which fallowed this agitation the
assessment bill disappeared from sight, and Jefferson's
bill of 1779 was resurrected and made a law.*® The
act of incorporation which gave the Episcopalians
legal title to the property then in their possession
continued, however, to be a law. Accordingly peti-
tions continued to come to the Assembly asking that
it be repealed and that all church property, purchased
by taxation, be sold and the proceeds converted into a
public fund, or that such property be thrown open to
the use of all denominations.** So persistent was the
fight waged that the incorporation act was finally re-
pealed. The triumph of Jeiferson in 1799 brought
the enactment of a law to deprive all denominations
of special benefits. Thus the first great sectional con-
flict ended in the complete separation of the church
and the state.
These years also witnessed other reform move-
ments and sectional antagonisms. In 1784 Madison,
in an elaborate speech, renewed the demand of the
interior for constitutional reform;**^ Methodists and
Quakers petitioned the Assembly for the abolition of
negro slavery ;*® the interior secured the enactment of
a law encouraging manumissions of negro slaves f^ and
«Heniiig, Statutes, XII, 84.
** Journal, House of Del., 1786-87, 13, iS, «4» 3i.
«/6td., ist sess., 1784, 70; Madison, Writings, I, 82.
^Journal, House of Del,, 2d sess., 1780, 32; ihid., 2d sees.,
^7^Sf 27.
^'Hening, Statutes, XI, 39.
42 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
an attempt to remove the capitol to Williamsburg was
defeated.*® The differences between the east and west
were most pronounced on economic questions. The
latter section secured the passage of an act restricting
the number of ports of entry to five, a measure de-
signed to afford home markets to farm products and
live stock by fostering cities.** To secure a market for
their products the western delegates also placed a duty
upon imported wines, rum, cheese, beef, pork, iron,
and hemp.**^ George Mason strenuously resisted these
impost duties on the ground that they would make the
east dependent upon the west.*^* The western counties
also petitioned for time indulgences in the payment of
taxes and for the privilege of paying all public dues
in farm products.*^
The first years of the Revolution mark an impor-
tant period in the westward extension of Virginia's
population. Following the wake of the armies which
went to defend and conquer, settlers pushed into the
trans- Alleghany country. The absence of hostile Indian
tribes and an abundance of fertile and untimbered
lands attracted the first immigrants to Kentucky. By
the end of the period treated in this chapter settlers
had entered northwestern Virginia in large numbers.
^Journal, House of Del,, ist sess., 1784, 51.
* Rives, Madison, I, 548; Va. Hist, Coll,, X, 310, 319. The
east never became reconciled to this law and soon procured its
repeal (Journal, House of Del,, 1788, 31).
**Hening, Statutes, XII, 412.
"^Rowland, Mason, II, 204.
'^ Journal, House of Del,, ist sess., 1783, 3s; ibid,, ad sess.,
1784, 95; Va^ Hist, Coll,, X, 67, 77, 91. ^04.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 43
In 1790 the trans-AUeghany population numbered
more than one hundred thousand. This unprecedented
movement of population at a time when every man
was a law unto himself, gave to the new frontier
society an unusually intense individualistic spirit.
The first conflict of the frontiersmen was not with
the eastern aristocrats; it was with the savages and
with the land companies and individuals who claimed
priorities to the new lands. The companies and indi-
vidual claimants of large grants petitioned the Assem-
bly for a recognition of their titles,"® but counter peti-
tions full of the germs of squatter sovereignty came
from the individual settlers. Citizens of Botetourt
County said: "We have settled in the west and de-
fended it for years against the savage, in consequence
of which we hoped to have obtained a just and equi-
table title to our possessions, without being obliged to
contribute large sums of money for the separate
emolument of individuals."*^* The officers and soldiers
of the Continental army, who had received promises of
land bounties, joined the pioneers in a protest' against
the claims of those trying to monopolize the west.*^*
Under the direction of Jefferson, the acts and reso-
lutions passed in response to these petitions favored
decidedly the individual claimants. The Indiana and
Vandalia companies were informed that "no person
or persons have or ever had a right to purchase lands
'^ Journal, House of Del,, ad sess., 1778, 28, 42, 47, 70, 74,
9a, 97.
«*/Wrf., 1777. 31.
^Ihid,, 2d sess., 1778, 40.
44 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
of the Indians for themselves, and that all purchases
hitherto made had inured to the state. "*^^ The Assem-
bly also addressed a memorial to the Continental Con-
gress denying the rights of the Indiana and Vanda-
lia companies to lands within the sovereign territory
of Virginia.^'' Surveys made by land companies prior
to 1763 were confirmed, but those made subsequent to
that date were declared invalid.*^® In response to indi-
vidual requests land prices were reduced to two cents
per acre, land agents and surveyors were sent to the
interior, and a general land office was established.
Individual enterprise was further encouraged by giving
to each actual settler a "settlement right" to four
hundred acres and a "pre-emption right" to one
thousand acres adjoining.*^®
Virginia's liberality in granting her unoccupied
lands did not prove to be good policy. True, large
numbers of settlers were early attracted to the state,
where they made permanent homes, but much of the
land fell into the hands of speculators. Companies
were formed in both Europe and America to deal in
Virginia lands, which were bought up in large tracts
at the trifling cost of two cents per acre.®^ This
wholesale engrossment soon consumed practically all
^Journal, House of Del., ist sess., 1777, 39.
"Ibid., 2d sess., 1779, 55, 84.
^Ibid,, 2d sess., 1777, 87, 88.
"Hening, Statutes, X, 35-65.
^Debates of Congress, 22 Cong., 26. sess., IX, Part I, 142.
The Land Books of Kanawha County for the year 1791 record
the ownership of tracts of 150,000 acres each. Joseph Mayo owned
50,000 acres valued at £2,500 and assessed at £6 5^. 5</.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 45
the most desirable lands and forced the home-seeker
to purchase from a speculator or to settle as a squatter.
Added to these embarrassments were the conflicting
claims regarding land titles. Under these conditions
many of the later immigrants moved on to the terri-
tory beyond the Ohio. In these facts lies a possible
explanation for West Virginia's retarded develop-
ment.
The motives and interests which attracted settlers
to trans-AU^hany Virginia were determining factors
in the society and politics of that section. The only
common object of attraction was the new and cheap
lands. From the Piedmont of both Virginia and North
Carolina came those who had been small landowners
and the landless. In many instances the farmers
had sold their holdings to retreat from the encroach-
ing institution of negro slavery. The farmers of
the Valley sent their sons thither to seek new homes,
and the graziers of the same section pushed their hold-
ings into the Alleghany highlands. Others, squatters
for the most part, came to trap upon the large tracts
of land held by foreign capitalists. The reports of
rice, cotton, and tobacco grown upon Wheeling Island
by Ebenezar Zane*^ and the florid descriptions of the
genial climate of the new west attracted immigrants
who hoped to become plantation-owners. These im-
migrants purchased large tracts of land and in many
instances brought negro slaves to clear them.®^ In
"Cutler, Cutler, I, 410.
**New Englanders purchased slaves in Maryland and northern
Virginia and carried them to the banks of the Ohio and the
Kanawha.
46 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the years immediately following 1790 immense clear-
ings were made along the Kanawha and the Ohio riv-
ers. In some instances overseers conducted this work,
and in some cases the large-scale operators employed
the squatters, who were not infrequently paid at the
rate of one- fourth pound of gunpowder per day.
The great variety in the natural features and natu-
ral resources preserved a diversity of economic in-
terests in the trans-Alleghany section. As has been
seen, the Tidewater, the Piedmont, and the Valley
possessed within themselves respectively a practical
homogeneity of economic interests. They therefore
tended to act as sections in political matters. But the
isolation of its nuclei of settlements, the diversity of
interests, and the difficulty of communication made it
impossible for the trans-Alleghany country to act as a
political unit. Thus, while the inhabitants of Ken-
tucky contemplated the dismemberment of the com-
monwealth and a political union with either Great
Britain or Spain, as a means of securing protection
and commercial advantage, the inhabitants of north-
western Virginia, on the other hand, supported the
movement to form a strong national government.
Against foreign intrigue and Indian attacks the in-
habitants of the latter section saw their salvation only
in a continuation of that union which had made inde-
pendence possible.
The rapid development of the trans-Alleghany
section made the subject of internal improvements an
important one. Commercial intercourse between the
east and the west now seemed necessary to preserve
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 47
the integrity of the state and the Union. The Ken-
tuckians found their only market on the lower
Mississippi, and commercial relations were developing
between New Orleans and the northwestern part of
the state. In 1782 Jacob Yoder left Redstone on the
Monongahela with a boat load of flour which he sold
in New Orleans. With the proceeds he there pur-
chased furs, which were sold in Havana, where he
invested in sugar, which in turn was sold in Phila-
delphia.*® This pioneer trading expedition was CMily
the forerunner of numerous others soon to follow.
Washington feared that the natural commercial
interests of the west would lead it to move for a dis-
memberment of the commonwealth, and he suggested
as a remedy the construction of works of internal
improvement connecting the east and the west. In
1784 he visited the trans- Alleghany country, and per-
sonally inspected the portages to and the falls in the
western rivers. On his return he drew a map to show
where roads and canals could be constructed in a vast
scheme of internal improvements to connect the east-
em and western waters.** A little later he wrote
Arthur Lee : "There is nothing which binds one coun-
try to another but interest Without this cement the
western inhabitants, who more than probably will be
composed in a great degree of foreigners, can have
•*Wiiisor, Westward Movement, 326.
**Hulbert, Washington and the West, 32. Communication be-
tween the east and west by means of canals was first suggested
by Washington in 1753. See Washington and Lee Hist, Papers,
No. 4, p. 64; Washington, Writings (ed. Ford), X, 402.
48 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
no predilection for us, and a commercial connection
is tiie only tie we can have upon them."®*^
The Assemblies of 1783 and 1784 received numer-
ous petitions on the subject of internal improvements.
They asked that the Potomac and James be made
navigable above the fall line and that highways be
constructed across the Blue Ridge. In 1 784 Washing-
ton visited the Assembly to exert his influence in
behalf of contemplated internal improvement under-
takings. Under his influence and as a result of a
conference with commissioners from Pennsylvania
and Maryland the Potomac Company was incorpo-
rated for the purpose of improving the navigation of
the Potomac and its tributaries.®* In the same
year, 1784, the James River Company was incorpo-
rated, and James Rumsey was promised an adequate
compensation for any invention which would enable
boats to move against the current.®"^
From a sectional standpoint the commercial inter-
ests were at this time more important than internal
improvements. The towns of the Tidewater chafed
under the British restrictions upon trade and desired
better commercial relations between the states. Of the
numerous petitions to the Assembly on these subjects
that from Norfolk was, perhaps, the most significant.
It claimed that the restrictions on the West India trade
and the foreign commercial monopolies were produ-
« Washington, WriHngs (ed. Ford), X, 488.
"'Hening, Statutes, XI, 510. Washington was the first presi-
dent of the Potomac Company.
''Ibid,, XI, 502; Journal, House of Del,, ist sess^, 1784, 84.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 49
cing Injury to Virginia and asked for restriction on
British trade and better commercial relations between
the states.*® Petitions of a similar tone came from
Fredericksburg, Falmouth, Alexandria, and Port
Royal.®^ In 1785 Madison made a speech in the
House of Delegates in favor of these petitions and
secured the adoption of a resolution which declared
that "the relative situations of the United States have
been found, on trial, to require uniformity in their
commercial relations. "''^^ The representatives of Vir-
ginia in the Continental G^ngress were instructed to
use their influence to bring about better commercial
relations between the states.''^^ James Monroe thought
that Virginia's trade had never been more monopolized
by Great Britain, and Washington and Henry believed
that a strong government was alone adequate to
remedy the situation.''^ ^
Simultaneously with the awakening of an interest
in better commercial relations on the part of the east
the subject of the free navigation of the Mississippi
became an important issue in the west. As the Jay-
Gardoqui negotiations became more serious the latter
section developed a keener interest in national politics.
Under the direction of Henry and at the earnest solici-
tation of the west the Assembly of 1784 resolved:
"That it is essential to the prosperity and happiness of
^Journal, House of Del,, 26. sess., 1785, 22.
^ Ibid,, 24, 35.
™/Wrf., 36.
"^Ibid.
"Rives, Madison, I, 548; Tyler, Henry, 273.
so SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the western inhabitants of this Commonwealth to
enjoy the right to navigate the river Mississippi."^*
With issues and interests shaping themselves on
national questions new party alliances and alignments
were formed. Although not opposed to the free navi-
gation of the Mississippi, Madison, as has been seen,
had already espoused the cause of ^ the commercial
interests of the Tidewater. Thus, just at the time
when the first stage of the sectional fight over local
issues was being brought to a triumph by the
west, its leader, Madison, espoused the cause of those
who had been his political opponents. On the other
hand, Henry, never able to co-operate with either
Madison or Jefferson, now returned to his first affilia-
tion and again became the spokesman of the west. As
the Jay-Gardoqui negotiations continued and the com-
mercial questions became more acute, political parties
in Virginia merged with those developing in the
United States at large.
The desire for better commercial relations led to
renewed negotiations with Maryland regarding the
navigation of the Potomac and the Chesapeake. Ac-
cordingly commissioners met at Mount Vernon and
came to agreements of mutual advantage whereby
Virginia waived her right to collect duties on vessels
entering the Chesapeake and was given the privilege
of navigating the Potomac.''^* Gratified with the out-
come of this negotiation, Maryland proposed another
conference to which delegates from Pennsylvania and
^Journal, House of Del,, 2d sess., 1784, 9.
"Hcning, Statutes, XII, 50.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 51
Delaware were to be invited. Virginia did more. In
January, 1786, she appointed commissioners to meet
such other commissioners as might be named by all
the states "to take into consideration the trade of the
United States .... and to consider how far a uni-
form system in their commercial regulations might be
necessary."^* In response to this call delegates from
five states met at Annapolis in September, 1 786. They
took no action upon the object of the call but sum-
moned a convention of delegates from all the states to
meet at Philadelphia, in the following May, to take
such steps "as shall appear to them necessary to render
the constitution of the federal government adequate
to the exigencies of the U'nion."'^*
Only one month before the meeting at Annapolis
Jay made the final report of his negotiations with
Gardoqui to the Continental Congress. In return for
a favorable commercial treaty with Spain he recom-
mended to that body that the United States forego for
a period of twenty-five or thirty years the free naviga-
tion of the lower Mississippi.'^'' The desire of the
seven northern states to act upon Jay's recommenda-
tions aroused interior and frontier Virginia.'^® Henry
now insisted that the manifestation of sectionalism
between the North and the South made a stronger
union impracticable.'^®
'^hlliot. Debates, I, 92. "^ Ibid., I, 92.
^Secret Journals of Congress, IV, 44-63.
^Rowland, Mason, II, 195.
"Rivca, Madison, II, 238, 239; Tyler, Henry, 273; Bancroft,
Hist, of the Constitution, II, 397*
52 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Nevertheless the change of sentiment on the part
of many in the Tidewater and northwestern counties
prevailed, and Virginia named delegates to the federal
convention. Those named were George Washington,
James Madison, George Mason, Patrick Henry, Ed-
mund Randolph, George Wythe, and James Blair, all
residents of the Tidewater except Henry and Madison.
Henry refused, however, to attend the convention or
to take any part in an effort to strengthen a govern-
ment fraught with danger to the South.®^
When the convention met, Virginia was repre-
sented by seven delegates. Before entering into its
deliberations they drew up a set of resolutions embody-
ing a plan of government. These resolutions were
later called the "Virginia Plan" and became the
foundation of the Constitution. This plan contem-
plated a government of three separate and distinct
departments. The legislative department was to
exercise only those powers for which the several
state legislatures had proved themselves incompetent
and in the exercise of which state action would not
promote national interests. To make the executive
and judiciary departments equal with and independ-
ent of a legislative department thus constituted was,
in the minds of the authors of the plan, to create
a stronger national government. That feature of
the Virginia Plan of most importance as concerns
the theme of interest in this monograph, however,
was its contemplated division of the sovereign power
between the states and the federal government. All
""Rives, Madison, II, 238.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION S3
powers not expressly delegated to Congress were to
be reserved to the states. This arrangement contem-
plated that hardly imaginable thing, a government
under which citizens were to be responsible to two
sovereigns. The Virginians adhered to the principles
of this plan throughout and insisted that none of the
modifications later made in it vitiated its fundamental
ideas.
Though dictated primarily by her representatives,
the Constitution met strong opposition in Virginia.
The democratic leaders of the interior declared that
it sacrificed the state's sovereignty. Accordingly they
made a desperate fight to secure the election of dele-
gates pledged to vote against ratification. When the
canvass was ended it was not known which side would
be successful, so evenly were the friends and enemies
of the new plan of federal government matched.
From the Tidewater came a strong delegation favor-
able to ratification. It numbered among its members
the roost prominent characters at the Virginia bar,
former sympathizers with Great Britain, and repre-
sentatives of interests essentially commercial. The
other delegates favorable to ratification came from
the Valley and the northwestern part of the state.
Most of them had seen service in the revolutionary
armies and were largely under the influence of Wash-
ington. The Kentucky country and the Piedmont sent
delegates opposed to ratification. The former were
chiefly interested in the free navigation of the Missis-
sippi River and were opposed to strengthening a
government which might barter their commercial
54 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
interests for like interests elsewhere. Recent events
had taught them to look to Henry as their leader. The
delegates from the Piedmont were persons who had
seen much service in the Assembly ; they were the old
democratic file which had for years engaged the con-
servatives of the Tidewater.®*
*
So keen was interest that a full delegation reported
on the day set for the meeting.®^ The leaders of those
opposed to ratification, commonly called Anti-federal-
ists, were Henry, Grayson, and Mason ; those in favor
of ratification were led by Madison, Randolph, Pendle-
ton, Carrington, and W3rthe, who, except the first
named, were all from the Tidewater. The talks and ,
friendly letters of Washington, who was not a member
of the convention, did much to keep those favorably
disposed to ratification in line. All realized that the
final result would be determined only by an intellectual
battle. The prize to be fought for was the doubtful
vote from some of the northern and western counties.
During the course of the debate which followed each
side accused the other of "scuffling"®^ for the western
vote. The contest was really between the Tidewater
and the Piedmont, and was in no small degree a con-
tinuation of the fight between conservatism and democ-
racy.
The debates in the convention reveal the fact that
"Sec Va. Hist. Coll., IX, 63 ff.; Elliot, Debates, V, 368;
Madison, Papers, II, 1208; Henry, Henry, II, 340.
Tor a complete list of delegates by counties, see Rich-
mond Enquirer, September 2, 1825.
"Elliot, Debates, III, 251, 361.
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION S5
the chief participariits were representatives of geo-
graphical sections ef the state, speaking for the in-
terests and sentiments of their respective sections.
Governor Randolph thought the Kentuckians had no
better reason to hope for the free navigation of the
Mississippi out of a stronger union than in it. Defeat
of the movement for a stronger imion, he believed,
would be followed by boundary disputes and intermi-
nable wars, which would fall very heavily upon the
inhabitants of the Potomac and the northwest. The
Northern Neck might unite in a northern confederacy,
which would aid the savages in making war upon what
remained of Virginia.®* John Marshall was certain
that a strong government afforded a better agency for
securing the free navigation of the Mississippi than a
weak one.®* In case the Constitution was rejected,
Nicholas feared internal wars and dismemberment.
He told the western delegates that they could expect
no comfort from their enemies, England and Spain.
He believed that the only way to bring about the
evacuation of the Northwest by the British, and the
consequent cessation of Indian hostilities, was by the
creation of a government adequate to the task of treat-
ing with foreign nations. He encouraged the west-
erners to believe that the increased migrations of New
Englanders to the Ohio Valley made the surrender of
the Mississippi navigation improbable.®* Those rep-
resenting the commercial interests predicted war
^Ibid., Ill, 72, 74, 75.
'^Ibid,, 222, 223.
'^Jbid., 2zS ff.
S6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
between France and England. They thought the
United States should prepare for the event and then
reap a harvest by becoming the neutral carrier of the
commerce of the world.®^ Kentucky was promised
separate statehood and encouraged to believe that she
could thus protect her rights by preserving the balance
of power between the North and the South.®®
The Anti-federalists made sensational arguments
designed to appeal to those interested in the free navi-
gation of the Mississippi. Henry declared "there are
no tyrants in America" and "northern Virginia has
nothing to fear" because of invasion by sister republics.
He did not believe the Northern Neck would secede
from Virginia and insisted that, in case of the dismem-
berment of the Union, Pennsylvania would join a con-
federacy with Virginia and, if necessary, fight with
her. He warned the delegates from the northwest
that they would "sip sorrow .... if you want any
other security than the law of Virginia. "®® Mason like-
wise appealed to sectional interests. He professed to
see in the contemplated supreme court an instrument
whereby the Fairfax heirs, the representatives of the
Vandalia and Indiana companies, and individual claim-
ants to lands in the trans-AUeghany could recover
their former possessions.®^ Grayson made the ablest
"Elliot, Debates, loi, 238.
^Ibid., Ill, 259, 511. During the Jay-Gardoqui negotiations
many eastern Virginians became favorable to separate statehood
for Kentucky. Madison thought it wise to let Kentucky become a
separate state by regular and legal methods. It would, he believed,
set a safe precedent (Writings [ed. Cong.], I, I57)»
•Elliot, Debates, III, 141, IS4. ^ Ibid., Ill, 270, s^?*
REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 57
argument produced by the Anti-federalists. He spoke
directly for the agricultural and democratic interest
of central Virginia. The North, he believed, contem-
plated the sacrifice of the free use of the Mississippi.
It hoped thereby to increase the importance of com-
merce and manufacturing by retaining its population.
This policy, he contended, was opposed to the true
interests of the United States, whose real interest lay
in agriculture. Men could not be forced to the shop
and the sea, he argued, so long as they could get cheap
and fertile lands. He therefore condemned the idea
of making the United States the neutral carrier of the
commerce of the world, as impracticable and hazard-
ous.®*
Grigsby, in his study of the convention of 1788,
brings out some interesting facts and conditions which
determined the vote of the Valley and the counties of
the northwest on this occasion. "Experience in civil
and military office" and "an intimate acquaintance with
the wants and interests of the West" moved John
Stuart, of Greenbrier County, a pioneer surveyor and
soldier, to favor a stronger government. He feared
that a coalition of the Indians with the foreigners
might result in the "total extermination of settlement
west of the Blue Ridge. "®^ William Fleming "knew
that so long as Spain held Louisiana and Great Britain
held the Canadas Indian troubles would be frequent
and that all the resources of all the states would be
necessary to repel the Indians in the pay of foreign
"/Wrf., 388-93.
•" Va. Hist. Coll., X, 27.
S8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
powers."®^ Gabriel Jones, the ablest lawyer of his day
west of the Blue Ridge, "had no fear of a strong
government which was at the same time a republican
government."®* Expressions of similar sentiments are
attributed to Andrew Moore, Ebenezar Zane, George
Jackson, Isaac Van Meter, Archibald Stuart, and
Thomas Lewis, delegates to the convention from the
Valley and the northwest.
The masterful argument of Madison was the de-
termining factor in favor of ratification. It was not
sensational, nor did it appeal to sectional prejudices.
Before the debate was ended the Anti-federalists
became convinced that they had lost. Accordingly
they tried to prevent immediate ratification by pro-
posing amendments, which they insisted should be
accepted by the other states as the only condition upon
which Virginia would ratify the Constitution. Friends
of the Constitution did not oppose amendments, but
insisted that they should be made subsequently to rati-
fication. The whole issue was accordingly reduced to
the question of whether or not amendments should
be made before ratification. The possibility of Vir-
ginia's being deprived of a share in putting the new
government into operation made this position of the
Anti-federalists untenable.
The vote on ratification was: ayes 89, nays 79.®*^
The accompanying map shows practically all the lower
Tidewater in favor of ratification. Only two delegates
from the Shenandoah Valley and that part of the
^Va. Hist, Coll., 40. ' •*/Wd., 18.
•» Elliot, Debates, III, 653-SS.
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REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION 59
trans-AUeghany north of the Great Kanawha voted
nay. The democratic Piedmont and the Kentucky
country were almost unanimous in opposition to the
Constitution.
Two days after the vote on ratification George
W)rthe* reported, as proposed alterations and additions
to the federal Constitution, twenty separate amend-
ments and a Bill of Rights. Except the amendment
designed to restrict Congress to the use of requisitions
in the collection of direct taxes, the report was accepted
without division. The democratic element of the
convention regarded the power to levy a direct tax
as the most dangerous intrusted to the new govern-
ment. George Mason insisted that this one power
made the federal government supreme.®* A motion
to strike out the amendment requiring the use of
requisitions was lost, ayes 65, nays 85. An analysis
of this vote shows the Valley and the northwest in
favor of striking out this amendment. Only three of
the delegates from these two sections who voted for
ratification were in favor of the proposed amendment.
The additions to the ranks of the Anti-federalists
came chiefly from the Tidewater.
Ratification did not put an end to the Anti-federal-
ist opposition to the Constitution. During the summer
of 1789 Clinton's circular letter proposing a second
constitutional convention was the theme of conversa-
tion in Virginia. The Assembly of 1789-90 had been
elected when the excitement over ratification was at its
height and contained a large majority of Anti-federal-
•/dW., Ill, 33.
6o SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ists. Under the leadership of Henry it made a favor-
able reply to Clinton's letter and 'sent an address to the
states and a memorial to Congress in support of a
second convention. It also attempted to control the
delegation from Virginia in the first Congress. By
a sectional vote Madison was defeated for election to
the Senate, and the state was districted so as to make
the election of Federalists to the House of Repre-
sentatives doubtful.^^ The elections of 1789 marked
the passing of the Anti-federalist party in Virginia.
Contrary to the expectations of many political leaders
it secured only three presidential electors and three
members of the House of Representatives ; and Henry
was forced into retirement.^®
'^ Rives, Mctdifon, II, 652; Henry, Henry, II, 426; Rowland,
Mason, II, 303; Madison, Letters, I, 443, 444.
""In each case the Piedmont elected two Anti-federalists and
the Tidewater one (Madison, Writings, I, 458; Rives, Madison, II,
657; Henry, Henry, II, 441).
CHAPTER III
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS, 1790-1816
Hamilton's plans of large powers for the new
government and, in particular, his schemes for a
national bank, direct taxes, heavy duties, and the
assumption of the state debts were strongly opposed
in Virginia on the ground not only of expediency but
also of principle. It was there believed that his policy
involved the creation of a stronger national govern-
ment than that contemplated by the constitution
makers of 1787. Even Madison, staunch Federalist
as he was, believed that the framers of 1787 had
created a government of delegated powers and limited
jurisdiction. Besides, Virginia had paid a large por-
tion of her revolutionary debt and was consequently
averse to assuming the debts of those states which had
been less prompt in meeting their obligations.
Opposition to the Hamilton programme did not,
however, as some have supposed, create political unity
in Virginia. Many friends of the Constitution in
1788 now favored a liberal construction of that docu-
ment These preferences were clearly manifested by
the large minority vote in the Assembly of 1790 in
favor of a resolution approving assumption.^ Repre-
sentatives in Congress from the Tidewater and
*The vote was: ayes 47, noes 88. The affirmative vote came
almost wholly from those areas which had favored ratification of
the federal Constitution. See Journal, House of DeL, 1790, 35* 36.
61
62 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
northern Virginia also favored parts of Hamilton's
plan. Bland, who died before the final vote was taken,
Lee, and White were for the assumption of the state
debts. The attitude of both Bland and Lee was
determined by local conditions and devotion to the
principles of a strong government and not primarily
by a desire to have the federal capital located on
the Potomac or by political influence, which it has
been alleged was brought to bear upon them. Before
the understanding between Jefferson and Hamilton,
whereby the former agreed to deliver enough votes
to carry assumption provided the latter would use his
influence to fix the temporary seat of government at
Philadelphia and the permanent seat on the Potomac,
both Bland and Lee were known to favor assumption.*
They both represented districts exhausted by excessive
and unscientific cropping, whence large migrations
had been made to the West and to the South. They
therefore favored assumption, as did others in the
Tidewater and along the Potomac, as the only means
whereby the newer sections of the Union could be
made to pay an equitable share of the revolutionary
debt.»
As the opposition to Hamilton's programme became
more pronounced Jefferson and Madison conceived the
idea of forming a strong party to resist the influence
of its nationalistic tendencies. Fresh from the pre-
■ Jefferson, Anas, 34; Hunt, Madison, 184; Maclay, Journal,
328; Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford), I, 162, 163; V, 184; VI, 17a;
Annals, of Congress, i Cong., II, 171 2.
*Ibid,, I Cong., II, 1482, 1661.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 63
liminaries of the French Revolution and imbued with
the current individualistic philosophy, Jefferson was
eminently qualified to become the leader of such an
opposition party. Because of the predilection of some
of its leaders for things French the new party was
called "Republican," while the administration party
continued to be called "Federalist."
In spite of the opposition of the Virginia leaders,
the elections of 1793 showed unexpected Federalist
strength. The party secured a large minority in the
Assembly, and those sections which had favored the
ratification of the federal Constitution again elected
Federalists to Congress.*
As the next few years brought vexing questions on
foreign relations, the excise, and the Jay Treaty, the
Federalists lost strength locally. The westerners hoped
to use French aid in checking English and Spanish
intrigues and in reducing the dangers from Indian
attacks; they particularly disliked the excise and went
so far in their opposition as to raise liberty poles and
to threaten armed resistance to the encroachments of
the federal government.* The Jay Treaty was far
from remedying the rift. From the delay in sur-
rendering the western posts the frontier inhabitants
feared a continuation of Indian attacks. In the Tide-
water, although there was less love for the French,
*The Tidewater chose Parker, formerly elected as an Anti-
federalist, Lee, Page, and Griffin, and the transmontane country
elected Neville, Rutherford, and Hancock (Madison, Writings [ed.
Cong.], 25s, 577; Loudoun's Register, April 4, 1793).
* Baltimore Daily Intelligencer, September 16, 1794; Calendar
Va. State Papers, VII, 297, 323; V, 481.
64 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the Jay Treaty was even more unwelcome than in the
west, because it recognized the right of the British to
collect debts due when the Revolution began and
afforded the planters no recourse for recovering the
value of negro slaves, which they alleged had been
stolen by the British during the war.^
Other forces were at work, however, to neutralize
temporarily the Republican influences. Genet's attack
upon Washington and his pernicious meddling aroused
resentment everywhere and especially with the planters
of the Tidewater among whom Washington was even
more popular than elsewhere.'' The inhabitants of the
Tidewater also had an eye upon the negro slave up-
rising in San Domingo and were fearful lest French
influences might produce a similar upheaval in Vir-
ginia. Meanwhile the inhabitants of the west
sjrmpathized heartily with the efforts of the federal
administration to defeat the Indians of the Northwest
Territory. They valued protection more highly than
the privilege to distil and sell whisky without paying
a tax. The fact that the Federalists favored the Indian
wars while the leaders of the Republican party opposed
them kept many westerners loyal to the former party-
They accordingly volunteered aid to put down the
* Annals of Cong,, 4 Cong., i sess., 1030; Jefferson, Anas,
78-80 ; Randall, Jefferson, II, 295 ; Henry, Henry, II, 529.
^ Henry took advantage of this his first opportunity, under
these changed conditions, to break with Jefferson and Madison.
See Tyler, Henry, 358; Washington, Writings (ed. Ford), X, 562;
ibid., XI, 81, 82. During the most acute stage of the Genet affair
both Jefferson and Madison trembled for the future of their party
(Jefferson, Writings [ed. Ford], 338, 361).
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 65
Whiskey Insurrection and otherwise expressed devo-
tion to nationalism.®
Thus while many former Federalists found abun-
dant reasons for affiliating with the new party, others
were equally attracted to nationalism. The congres-
sional election of 1795 shows, however, a loss of
Federalist strength in Virginia. Their representation
in Congress fell from seven to four members.* For
the first time an opposition member was successful in
securing an election in the trans-AUeghany. George
Jackson, who had been a candidate on the anti-excise
ticket in 1793 and who was then defeated by six votes,
was now successful in contesting the re-election of
Neville.^^ The cessation of Indian hostilities and the
influence of Gallatin made Republican success in the
trans-Alleghany possible, v
The quarrel with France, which now ensued,
caused little immediate change in the party alignments.
The Assembly of 1797 was, like its predecessor, in full
control of the Republicans, and the congressional elec-
tion of 1797 again returned four Federalists.** This
lack of change in party strength does not, how-
ever, mean that Virginians were indifferent to the
political issues of the day. Giles, for example, was
strenuously opposed to war with France, while the
* Baltimore Daily Intelligencer, September 5, 13, 1794; Adams,
Gallatin, 13; Calendar Va, State Papers, VII, 119, 266,
•The Federalists elected in 1795 were: from the Tidewater,
Page and Parker; from the Valley, Hancock and Rutherford.
^Calendar Va. State Papers, VII, 289.
"The Federalists were: from the Tidewater, Evans and
Parker; from the Valley, Daniel Morgan and James Machir.
66 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
local Federalists were pronouncedly belligerent. The
Republicans, under the leadership of Giles, claimed
that war was desired to perpetuate federalism, while
the members of the administration party claimed that
it was necessary to maintain the national honor.* ^
When it became evident that war with France was
inevitable and that it was no longer the part of patriots
to oppose the policy of the administration, members of
the opposition party from Virginia ceased to vote on
measures affecting our foreign relations. Some of
them left the capitol. In April, 1798 (Congress
adjourned in July), Jefferson wrote Madison: "Giles,
Clopton, Cabell, and Nicholas have gone. Clay goes
tomorrow. Parker has completely gone over to the
war party."*'
By 1798 war with France had actually begun;
Hamilton was in control of the army and planned a
coup on the lower Mississippi to incite popular enthusi-
asm for the government ; the Federalists had a major-
ity in both houses of Congress; and with the newly
orgfanized caucus and the confidence of the executive
Pickering was in practical control of the government ;
the alien and sedition laws were being enforced to the
discomfiture of Republican politicians; and the con-
^In the subsequent sessions the Virginia Federalists voted for
the bills to provide means of defense, a stronger navy, the creation
of the Navy Department, the suspension of commercial intercourse
with France, and the increase of the provisional army. Of the four,
Evans alone voted for the alien and sedition acts; Parker opposed
them, and Morgan and Machir were not present when the votes
were taken (Annals of Cong., 5 Cong., I, 297; II, 1521, 1553, 1772,
1865, 2028, 21 71).
"Randall, Jefferson, II, 387.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 67
gressional elections of 1798 had resulted in Federalist
victories everywhere. It seemed that the days of the
Republicans were numbered.
The opposition in Virginia was too strong, how-
ever, to let things go by default ; already John Taylor,
of Caroline, had talked dismemberment;** and numer-
ous mass-meetings, held during the summer of 1798
in the Piedmont and in the interior counties of the
Tidewater, protested against the Federalist pro-
gramme; the alien and sedition laws were special
objects of attack, and Congress and the Assembly were
petitioned to bring about their repeal.*" Confronted
by these conditions and supported by an enthusiastic
constituency Jefferson and Madison conceived the idea
of having one or more state governments protest
against the nationalistic tendency of the federal gov-
ernment. Citizens of Kentucky had already spoken in
numerous petitions, memorials, and resolutions against
' the constitutionality of the alien and sedition laws and
the expediency of a war with France, which they
feared would result in the loss of the free navigation
of the Mississippi. It was accordingly decided to have
Virginia and Kentucky speak in the form of resolu-
tions from their assemblies.
Kentucky spc4ce first in a series of resolutions
which border closely upon nullification. They made
it the duty of a state to interpose to prevent federal
usurpations of reserved powers. But in Virginia's case
"Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford), VII, 263.
"See Anderson, ''Va. and Ky. Resolutions," Am, Hist, Rev,,
V, 46.
68 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
it was necessary to use both caution and moderation ;
the election of 1798 had returned a large Federalist
minority to the Assembly ; and, besides, both Jefferson
and Madison realized that their political future was
at stake. Accordingly Jefferson thought it wise to
reaffirm only the essentials of the Kentucky resolu-
tions, which he himself had drawn. On this subject
he wrote to Madison, who was to draft the Virginia
resolutions, that they should be left "in such a train
as that we may not be committed absolutely to push
the matter to extremes and yet may be free to push as
far as events will make prudent. "^^
The Virginia resolutions reaffirmed the state-
compact theory of the Constitution and declared that
in case of a "deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exer-
cise of power not granted by the said compact, the
states who are parties thereto have the right and are
in duty bound to interpose for arresting the progress
of the evil," they condemned the policy of consolidat-
ing the states by degrees into one sovereignty, and
declared the alien and sedition laws unconstitutional.
But they did not say whether the "states" were to act
through individual state legislatures or by co-operation
through the medium of state legislatures or a national
convention.
Although mild in expression these resolutions met
the united opposition of a strong sectional minority in
the state. It was led by George Keith Taylor, of
Prince George County, a brother-in-law of John
Marshall, and a thorough representative of the family
*» Jefferson, WriHngs (e<L Ford). VII, 288.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBUCANS 69
and economic interests of the Tidewater aristocracy.
He insisted that the resolutions invited the people of
the state to arms against the federal government;*''
no other inference could be drawn, said he, from reso-
lutions which make it "the duty" of citizens to resist
the execution of alleged unconstitutional laws. He
argued that the states were not the only parties, or the
chief parties, to the federal compact ; that the Articles
of Confederation were the only real compact which
had ever existed between the states, and that the effort
to annul them had resulted in their destruction and in
the creation of a government by the people.*® Parts
of the preamble and the fact that the people had rati-
fied the federal Constitution in state conventions made
it plain to Taylor that this is a government by the
people. He denied that the alien and sedition acts were
unconstitutional and insisted that they were within the
prerogatives of a sovereign power. Speaking more
directly for his section, the Tidewater, he ridiculed the
principles of the French Revolution and protested
against the further extension of republicanism in the
slave-holding districts of Virginia. In this connection
he pointed to the uprisings and bloodshed in San
Domingo as the things which Virginia might hope to
escape by casting off French influences.**
The opinions of the west found best expression in
the speech of Brooke of Frederick County. He in-
dorsed Taylor's theories, explaining the origin and
nature of the federal government, and took advantage
^Debates and Proceedings on the Res» of 1798 (ed. i835)> 8i*
^Ibid., 176. ""Ibid., 109.
70 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
of the occasion to renew the demands of his section
for a more democratic state government. He could
not see the consistency of gentlemen who argued for
democratic principles and voted to deprive themselves
of a democratic state government. As between the
government of the United States and that of Virginia,
he had always favored the former, because it was
more democratic. It gave every thirty thousand of
its citizens a representative in Congress, while the
state government, by its system of unequal representa-
tion, denied a large number an adequate voice in the
Assembly. Rather than vote for the proposed resolu-
tions he would seek an "asylum in some other region
of the globe among a race of men who have more
respect for peace and order, and who set a higher value
upon the blessings of good government."^ He closed
his argument by proposing that the Assembly petition
Congress for the repeal of the alien and sedition acts.^^
John Taylor, of Caroline County, introduced the
resolutions and led in the argument for their adoption.
He professed to speak only for the principles of the
federal Constitution and for public opinion. In declar-
ing her own position and by asking the sister states to
co-operate with her, he believed that Virginia was
pursuing the only possible and ordinary procedure to
arrest federal usurpation. Those favorable to adop-
tion argued that "the people and the states" were
parties to the federal compact. ^^ Thus it was not only
constitutional but necessary and right for states to
^Debates and Proceedings on the Res, of 1/98 (ed. i83S)»
132-33.
'^Ibid., 133. ^Jbid., 106, 165.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS ^l
arrest infractions of that compact. They insisted that
the powers of the federal government were not general
but that they were specifically enumerated. Usurpa-
tion of other powers were simply steps toward mon-
archy. Vattel and Blackstone were frequently invoked
to show that aliens have rights which should be
acknowledged and preserved. ^^ Their opponents were,
frequently accused of magnifying the influence of
French republicanism in San Domingo and the prob-
able effect of its extension into the slave-holding
districts of Virginia.^*
The minority directed its chief attacks upon that
resolution which condemned the nationalistic tenden-
cies of the federal government. A motion to strike
it out was, however, lost.^*^
The final vote on the adoption of the resolutions
was: aye3 loo, noes 63.^® As the map shows, this
vote was sectional. The Tidewater and both the
I northern and southern extremities of the Piedmont
' were almost evenly divided, while the Valley was prac-
I tically a unit in the minority. The influence of John
G. Jackson, a brother-in-law of Madison and a son of
George Jackson, leader of the anti-excise party, and
John Dawson,*'' a graduate of Yale and a close political
^Ibid., 126, 140.
^Ibid,, 92, 109, 118.
"The vote was: ayes 68» noes 96 (ibid., 211, 212).
'^ Ibid,, 212,
''Dawson represented the trans- Alleghany in the fifth Con-
gress. By the time of the election for the sixth Congress he had
found such favor with the eastern leaders that he was elected to
represent a district east of the Blue Ridge and continued to re-
ceive elections for several years.
72 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
friend to both Madison and Jefferson, reduced the
Federalist strength in the trans-AUeghany section.
In the west the discussion of 1798 brought out
frequent expressions of devotion to the principles of
a strong national government. A citizen of Rock-
bridge County wrote to his friend in Kentucky :
The attention of the people here is principally turned to
politics. The people on this side of the Blue Ridge are gener-
ally strongly in favor of the measures of the general govern-
ment and determined to oppose the French and French parti-
sans to the utmost Most of the counties on the other side of
the mountains [trans-AUeghany] are of the same mind but
some are divided.
We have a federal pole hoisted in Brownsburg, seventy
feet high, with the colors of the United States flying on top
and inscribed Independence or Death."
Another citizen of the same section wrote of the
Jefferson party : "Infidels hate religion, legal coercion,
and all those old fashioned things. "^^ Without delib-
eration the county court of Greenbrier County tore into
pieces and trampled under foot an official copy of
Madison's Report and the Resolutions of 1799. The
acts of the Assembly establishing an armory at Rich-
mond and requiring presidential electors to be elected
upon a general ticket instead of by districts as formerly
also met opposition in the Federalist strongholds.
I^ven Powell®^ feared that an act would be passed re-
^The Palladium (Frankfort, Ky.), October 23, 1798.
^ Ibid., January 8, 1799.
■*Sce Acts of 1798-99. Levcn Powell of the Loudoun-Fairfax
district had voted against Jefferson for the presidency in 1796
(Randall, Jtiferson, II, 3x5; The Palladium, February 6, 1800).
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 73
quiring representatives in Congress to be elected in the
same manner.®^
The following extract from a letter of General
Daniel Morgan, then in Congress, to General Benjamin
Biggs furnishes a clue to the attitude of the Revolu-
tionary soldier of the West toward the proceedings of
the Virginia assemblies of 1798 and 1799:
Our political situation [said he] appears to have arrived at
that crisis wh^re every friend of his country should declare
himself, and both by word and deed take a decided part in
favor of a government under which we might live free, happy,
and respectable were it not for the intrigues of designing men
and the factions of party.
You have doubtless seen the resolutions from Kentucky and
the Address from the Virginia Legislature — My God! Who
could have thought? that the Legislature of a State which
ought to be the most respectable in the Union instead of de-
voting their exertions to the mere regulation of their State
and the happiness of their constituents, were employed in fabri-
cating division in our country and in influencing the people
against our government founded by them or their constituents,
and which for its justice and moderation is the Envy and
Wonder of the surrounding Worlde. It is difficult to conceive
what these people would be at, but I verily believe should their
designs succeed, it will give a vital Stab to our political Happi-
ness. Instead of an extensive, united nation, respectable among
all the people on the Globe, we shall dwindle into a number of
petty divisions, an easy prey for domestic D^nagogues and
foreign Enemies, having besides a moral certainty of external
divisions and internal broils.
Under the circumstances, my Dear Sir, it is indispensably
•*/. P. Branch Papers, No. II, 234. The Federalists also re-
sented the act whereby the public printing was given to a Repub-
lican.
74 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, I77^^fi6i
necessary for every friend of his country to exert himself at
the ensuing and future elections, as well for Congress as the
State Legislature, to put in men of principle and integrity, men
unbiased by any foreign interest, who are good federalists and
will consult only the Honor, the advantage and Dignity of
the United States government. You may rely on it Sir, it is
time to know each other; faction shall raise its head and with-
out firmness and decision that beautiful structure the Federal
Government is no more! Leading men in our state talk openly
of dividing the Government! In the name of Heaven! are
their Views honest? I think not — a part can not contain more
Wisdom and Virtue than the whole. Does it not appear that
these people disappointed at not being elevated in the civil
Government, wish to cut it to pieces, in order that they may
rule and tyranize over a part.
I wish you to mention my sentiments to all my old friends
in your Quarters, Colonel Zane, Strecker, McGuire H. — Tell
them they are the sentiments of an old acquaintance who has
interest but in common with his fellow citizens who is just re-
turning to domestic life with a sincere wish to spend the re-
mainder of his days in retirement from public life.
As to Mr. Machir and Haymond I shall be happy if either
is elected, being both friends of the country; Mr. Machir will
have a powerful interest on the east of the mountains. I hope
you will not step between the two and suffer an enemy to our
country to succeed. When I speak of two good men I wish
to give no preference, but in justice to Mr. Machir's services
heretofore I mus^t say that for Talents, Gentlemanlike conduct
and true federalism he is worthy of respect.
I am Sir with real Esteem and Attachment — Sir, your
friend,
Daniel Morgan"
"Draper MSS (Biggs Papers), NN., V, p. ii6. For practically
the same statements see Columbian Mirror, April i8, 1799. Daniel
Morgan resided in the Valley of Virginia; General Biggs in the
extreme northwestern part of the state.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBUCANS 75
During the winter of 1798-99 national politics
took a new turn. The peace policy prevailed and, to
the great surprise of both Pickering and Hamilton,
Adams nominated William Vans Murry to be minister
to France. The nomination was confirmed, and a
breach in the Federalist party followed. The disrup-
tion did not, however, strengthen the Republican fol-
lowing in Virginia. Already John Marshall had
become the active leader of the Federalists in that
state. His opposition to the alien and sedition laws
and support of the peace policy adopted by Adams
rallied about him the Federalists of 1788. Washing-
ton and others of the older school came to his aid.
Under the leadership of Marshall the Federalists
determined to campaign for a majority in the Assem-
bly of 1799 ^^^ ^o repeal the Resolutions of 1798.
They had reason to be encouraged in this undertaking.
In many states the congressional elections of 1798 had
been decidedly anti-Republican and the Virginia Reso-
lutions of that date had not aroused great enthusiasm
in their behalf either at home or in the country at
large. The Federalists put forth their most prominent
leaders for the Assembly. At the solicitation of Wash-
ington, Henry became a candidate for election to that
body. Marshall became a candidate for Congress in
the Richmond district against a tried Republican, John
Qopton. The Federalists claimed that the Union
was in danger and that their success at the polls was
necessary to preserve it. Their position was set forth
in The Address of the Minority in the Virginia Legis-
lature to the People of the State concerning a Vindi-
76 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
cation of the Constitutionality of the Alien and
Sedition Laws, and in an address entitled Plain Truths,
The latter was written by a resident of Westmoreland
County; it denied the state-compact theory of the
Constitution and insisted on the sovereignty of the
people.
The Federalist platform is more clearly set forth,
however, in Marshall's answer to five questions pro-
pounded to him by "A Freeholder." In substance
these questions were: (i) Are you attached to the
sentiments of the Constitution as sanctioned by the
people? (2) Is the true interest, of America dependent
upon any foreign alliance? (3) Do you advocate any
other relations with Great Britain than those agreed
upon in 1794? (4) Is the war with France necessary?
(5) Are you an advocate of the alien and sedition
laws? To these inquiries Marshall's reply was that
he regarded the Constitution, "as sanctioned by the
people, as the rock of our political salvation, which has
preserved us from misery, division, and civil war;"
following the advice of Washington's farewell address,
he declared himself opposed to all alliances with
foreigners ; he thought the Treaty of 1 794 with Great
Britain should be preserved and that it might even be
necessary to make temporary arrangements with her
to secure aid against France; he was opposed to the
alien and sedition laws, because, said he, "they are use-
less and calculated to create unnecessary discontent
and jealousies. "'*
■• The Spectator, October 13, 1798. This letter was written
when it was known that Marshall would be a candidate for Con-
gress in 1799*
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS ^^
The Republican platform consisted of the Resolu-
tions of 1798. Contrary to the generally accepted
opinion, the leaders of this party were not contending
mainly for principles; they desired practical results.
They disavowed all thought of dismemberment and
made persistent efforts to break down the Federalist
strongholds. For this purpose political pamphlets
were freely distributed in the Valley, and Republican
leaders there were promised liberal rewards. The
most prominent leaders in the party offered themselves
for election to Congress or to the Assembly ; Madison
became a candidate for election to the latter. So keen
was public excitement in Richmond that the final poll
was accompanied by riots.'*
The results of the election were a surprise to both
parties. The transmontane country elected fewer
Federalists to the Assembly than at previous elections
and but one member of that party to Congress. On
the other hand, the Federalists gained a marked victory
in the Tidewater, where they increased their repre-
sentation in the Assembly and secured the election of
four representatives in Congress.'® Nicholas, a Re-
publican, was elected by a district in the Tidewater by
a bare majority.
Contemporary comments upon the election of 1799
show the surprise which the results created among
party leaders and the sectional character of the contest.
*^ Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 435.
"The successful Federalists were Parker, Marshall, Lee, and
Evans. Powell of the Loudoun-Fairfax district was also elected as
a Federalist.
78 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Jefferson wrote : "The Valley between the Blue Ridge
and the North mountain, which has for some time
been much tainted and which has given me more
serious uneasiness than any other part of the State,
has come solidly around."®® The Federalist victories
in the Tidewater were attributed to the heavy vote
cast by the merchants and "Tories." Of the election
of Lee and the close run given Nicholas, Jefferson said :
"It marks a taint in that part of the State which I have
not expected." He insisted, however, that the Fed-
eralist successes were due to "an accidental combina-
tion of circumstances" and that they were only
temporary.'''
When the Assembly of 1 799-1800 met, Madison's
Report, made in answer to the sister states opposed to
the Resolutions of 1798, was received and adopted.
The Republicans accepted this report and the resolu-
tions which later accompanied it as a vindication of
the Resolutions of 1798 and as a conclusive answer to
all arguments raised against them. The Report was
not adopted, however, without strenuous opposition.
The vote was: ayes 100, noes 63.'® An analysis of
this vote shows a Federalist loss of strength over the
preceding year in the Valley and a gain in the trans-
AUeghany and the Tidewater.
The Federalist showing in the elections of 1799
made the results of the election in the following year
uncertain. Accordingly further efforts were made to
"Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford), VII, 380.
•^/friU, VII, 380.
^Debates and Proceedings 179S and 1799, 223.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 79
break down the sectional strongholds of the minority.
Jacob Koontz, a Jefferson lieutenant in the Valley,
"left no stone unturned among his fellow citizens, the
Germans."'* Numerous political pamphlets were dis-
tributed in an effort to advance the cause of Repub-
licanism. Thomas Claiborne, of Monongalia County,
wrote his chief, Gbvemor Monroe, thus discouragingly
of the prospects in the trans- Alleghany :
The present temper of the inhabitants of this country, being
federal, not much is to be expected of them toward republi-
can > works — ^in some owing to the personal influence of a few
old residents, grown into the character of federalism by habit
and premeditation and perhaps not just reasoning, and in others
from a want of literature and a perusal of instructive publica-
tions.*'
The presidential election of 1800 was a landslide
for the Republicans. Practically complete returns gave
Jefferson a majority of 13,363 votes in a total of
20,797. Loudoun and Augusta were the only counties
which gave majorities to Adams, though several
counties of the lower Tidewater and the Shenandoah
Valley gave him large minorities. The vote in the
eastern towns and cities was also almost evenly
divided.*^
In Congress the Virginia Federalists continued to
fight the ascendency of Republicanism. They opposed
the election of Jefferson to the presidency and gave
'^ Calendar Fa. State Papers, IX, 121, 131.
*»/&«/., IX, III.
^The Palladium (Frankfort, Ky,), December 12, 1800.
8o SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
five votes to Burr;*^ they voted for the Judiciary Act
of 1 801 and against the reduction of the army;*' they
also opposed the repeal of the alien and sedition laws.
But the congressional election of x8oi was a severe
rebuke to their course ; only one Federalist, John Strat-
ton, of Accomac County, secured an election from
Virginia.
The elections of x 801 were followed by a subsid-
ence of party strife. The Republicans had undisputed
control of the Assembly, and Monroe, who did Jeffer-
son's bidding, was governor. The congressional
election of 1803, however, showed a decided reaction
in favor of Federalism. Jefferson had not yet ac-
complished his master-stroke, the purchase of Louisi-
ana; Democracy seemed to be running to excess; and
rumors of Jefferson's alleged religious skepticism made
unfavorable impressions on the pious Presb)rterians,
Methodists, and Baptists. Accordingly the old sec-
tional parties again showed signs of a revival. Four
Federalists were successful in the congressional contest
of 1803: the Tidewater elected Thomas Griffin, the
Valley Thomas Lewis^^ and James Stephenson, and
the Loudoun and Fairfax district Joseph Lewis. The
minority party in the Assembly was reinforced to such
an extent that it was able to make effective demands
for administrative reform and successful attacks upon
^National Intelligencer, February 13, 1801 ; Niles Register,
XXX, 433.
^Annals of Cong,, 6 Cong., 2d sess., 836, 915.
'^ Andrew Moore successfully contested the election of Thomas
Lewis,
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 8i
the partisan administration of Monroe.** In Congress
the Virginia Federalists, elected in 1803, opposed the
Louisiana purchase and voted against the appropria-
tion to make it effective.*®
The popularity of the Louisiana purchase tempora-
rily submerged Federalism in Virginia. In the Valley
the treaty with France was made the occasion for
numerous mass-meetings and public orations. On
March 4, 1804, Chapman Johnson addressed the
citizens of Staunton, the Federalist stronghold of all
Virginia, on the "Late Treaty with France." Of the
breakdown in party lines which the Louisiana purchase
was bringing about he said :
The clouds which accompanied the tempest [1798] are not
yet scattered from the horizon; but I see them fast disappear-
ing under the influence of the new planet. Party animosity is
forgotten, whilst all denominations of politicians concur in re-
joicing at our late acquisitions. This is the first distinguished
occasion on which both parties have rejoiced together.*^
The Louisiana purchase, as a harmonizing factor,
was aided by the prevalence of unusual economic
prosperity, especially in the Piedmont and the Valley.
These sections became the great flour-producing areas
for the demands created by the European wars. Of
his observations at this time on a trip through Albe-
marle County Thomas R. Joynes wrote: "On every
side large verdant wheat fields meet and cheer the
^Va, Argus, March 14, 1809.
^Annals of Congress, 8 Cong., i sess., 442, 546.
"Oration on the Late Treaty with France, 16. This oration
may be found in the Library of the Historical Society of Wis-
consin.
82 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
traveler."^® Hundreds of flour mills sprang up along
the Piedmont and Valley rivers. ^* In 1807 two
thousand coal boats plied annually from Richmond to
Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore.*® This is
also the period when the timber lands of the Piedmont
and the Tidewater were being exploited. Timber,
heading, staves, and poles were being shipped to the
West Indies and to foreign countries in large quanti-
ties. Hundreds of vessels sailed annually from Nor-
folk, Bermuda Hundred, and Alexandria with flour,
wheat, and other products of the interior. The im-
proved navigation of the James and the Potomac made
it possible for the planters of the interior to bring their
products to the shipping centers at the head of tide.**
These years mark also an important period in the
industrial development of the trans-AUeghany. The
treaty of 1795 with Spain encouraged the western
farmers to plant on a larger scale and gave renewed
activity to commerce on the Ohio, while the peace of
Fort Grenville, of the same year, removed the Indians
as a restraining influence. It was during these years
that the cattle-raisers of the Valley gave their lands up
to wheat-raising, to find new pastures in the "Glades"
of the Alleghany Highlands.*^ At the same time the
*» fVilliam and Mary Coll. Quarterly, X, 148.
^ Single counties contained as many as seventy flour mills.
See U, S. Census of, 1810, on "Manufactures."
'^ State Papers, 14 Cong., ist sess., Doc. No. 19 (Gallatin's
Report).
•* Jefferson, Writings, IV, 464; VI I, 292; X, 227; Baltimore
Daily Advertiser, February 11, 1796.
'^*Richtnond Enquirer, February 2, 1820.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 83
small farms on the Monongahela and the upper Ohio
became the source of supply to the New Orleans
markets for flour, potatoes, apples, and pork.*^' The
renown of the flour made on the upper Ohio was so
great that it commanded one dollar more per barrel
than that produced in other sections. Cattle-raising
also became an important industry in the Ohio Valley.
Thence large numbers of grain-fed cattle were driven
into the Glades where they were pastured for two or
three months and then driven on to Baltimore and
Philadelphia.*^^ Wool-growing also became an im-
portant industry in this section, and smelting furnaces
were erected on the Monongahela and in what is now
the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia.®* So im-
portant did the commerce on the upper Ohio become
that Charlestown, now Wellesburg, West Virginia,
was made a port of entry by act of Congress.*^*
It was, however, the manufacture of salt which
began to emancipate the west from the east. After
this industry became important it was no longer neces-
sary for a pioneer to spend weeks upon the back of a
pack-horse carrying a bag of salt from the eastern
markets. Consequently he did not return so frequently
to the east to renew his political faith at the hearth-
stone of the fathers and to contribute of his coon skins
''The Palladium, May 26, 1801. In 1801 $332,343.70 worth of
farm products passed Louisville in two and one-half months*
•* Cutler, Cutler, 90, 103.
■•Sec Acts of Assembly, 1813-141 55; -'^m. Daily Advertiser,
July 10, 1810; Richmond Enquirer, February '2, 1820.
'^ Annals of Cong., 8 Cong., ist sess., 483*
84 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
for a part of their luxuries.®^ In 1797 Elisha Brooks
set up the first salt furnace on the Great Kanawha.®®
In 1807 the Ruffner brothers improved the method
of manufacture and increased the quantity of the
Kanawha product. Soon the "Kanawha Salines"
became known far and near for the excellent quality
of salt produced. Hundreds of people became depend-
ent upon the salt-making industry for a livelihood.
Some built keel-boats and distributed the manufactured
product along the Ohio and its tributaries; others
made barrels and found employment in drawing the
salt brine from the wells and evaporating it. In 18 14
the Kanawha Salines produced 600,000 bushels
annually, supplying the western markets at prices of
seventy-five cents to one dollar per bushel.^®
The industrial development of the trans-Alleghany
and the Piedmont was accompanied by a large increase
in their population. During the two decades from
1790 to 18 10 the population of the former increased
from 41,219 to 114,195. These settlers found homes
along the bottom lands of the Ohio and its tributaries.
During the same period the increase in the population
of the Piedmont was more than ninety thousand, more
than half of which was negro slaves. As the small
farmers of this section sold their holdings and pushed
farther westward, the lands were engrossed and
"See Doddridge's Notes (bound with Kercheval's History of
the Valley), 344.
"Hale, Salt (a pamphlet).
"^At this time salt was selling at five dollars per bushel in the
Atlantic ports.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 8$
slavery became iiK>re important. The total population
of the Tidewater and the Valley remained practically
stationary.
The great development of the trans-AUeghany
prior to 1807 was not accompanied by pressing de-
mands for internal communications with the east.
The river valleys, along which the people were settled,
were the highways and led to the only market, the
lower Mississippi. The salt produced there did not
more than sapply the internal demand. At this time the
western people were more interested in the construc-
tion of mill-dams, ferries, and smelting furnaces, as
the nimierous acts of the Assembly attested,®^ than in
communication with the coast. In its final form, John
G. Jackson, fhe representative of the trans-AUeghany,
did not vote for the bill to lay out and to construct
the Ctmiberland Road.®^
Internal improvements continued, however, to be
an important interest to 'the inhabitants east of the
Blue Ridge. John Dawson and T. M. Randolph, rep-
resentatives of districts in northern Piedmont, gave
the only votes from Virginia for the Cumberland Road
Act. The east looked upon the James and Potomac
river-improvements as the beginning of larger under-
takings eventually to connect the east and the west.
Gallatin's report of 1807 aroused little enthusiasm in
the west but was received with great favor in the east.
**See Shepherd, Statutes at Large, III (years 1804, 1805, and
1806), 44, 54» 158, I7if 238, 245, 246, 272, 275,301, 302, 303, 334.
349, 401, 403.
*^ Annals of Cong., 9 Cong., ist sess., 840.
86 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
The Richmond coal operators were especially inter-
ested in it, for the canal system, which it contemplated,
would have brought Richmond into closer proximity
with Philadelphia and New York.*^
The semi-nationalistic policy pursued by Jefferson
as president gave rise to two opposition .parties in
Virginia. They were the "Tertium Quids" and a
rejuvenated Federalist party. The rise of the "Quids,"
as the opposition party east of the Blue Ridge is com-
monly called, was due largely to the eccentric character
and the uncompromising attitude of John Randolph
and to the presence of a large number of ardent strict
constructionists. The occasions for the formation of
this party lay in the congressional discussions over the
Yazoo claims*^ and the relations with Spain, and in the
unsuccessful outcome of Monroe's negotiations with
England.®^ Randolph and his followers opposed the
payment of the claims and favored war with Spain
and peace with England. Madison, the leader of the
administration party and the heir apparent to the
throne, favored the payment of the Yazoo claims.
Meanwhile Jefferson publicly professed to be with
Randolph, who had ambitions for the presidency, but
at heart he was unfriendly to war with any country.
Randolph's opposition to the payment of the claims
was heightened by the fact that he had been in Georgia
when the Yazoo scandal was being aired and by a
^Annals of Cong,, 9 Cong., 2d sess., 83, 84.
^'Haskins, "Yazoo Land Co.," in Am, Hist, Asso, Rep*,, 1891.
** Garland, Randolph, I, 218, 240-64; Randall, Jefferson, II,
146-50.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 87
ocMiviction, then formed, that most persons in any way
connected with it were rascals.
The Quids never became a factor in local politics.
When the group was first formed it included practi-
cally all the congressmen east of the Blue Ridge. But
when Jefferson and his foreign policy became involved,
a large part of Randolph's following deserted him.
In addition to a few outside of the, state, those who
continued to adhere to the Quids, more or less con-
sistently, were Giles, Gray, Clay, and Gamett, who
with Randolph claimed to be the only surviving Re-
publicans of the school of 1798.®*
The new Federalist party was in many respects a
revival of the old Federalist party, but, unlike the
Quids, it found its chief source of strength west of
the Blue Ridge. It owed its origin largely to the oppo-
sition to the Jefferson-Madison policy of war by com-
mercial restriction. That policy had early deprived
the farmers of the Valley and the interior counties of
the Piedmont of a market for their wheat, flour, and
other products. In 1812 they were able with difficulty
to secure four dollars and fifty cents per barrel for
flour,** which under more favorable commercial condi-
tions could have been sold for more than twelve dollars.
The effect of the embargo upon local politics did
not begin to be felt until after the elections of 1807.
Consequently the Federalists made little showing then
in either the state or the congressional elections,*'' but
•Sec Monroe, Writings (ed. Ham.)* IV, 486.
^Niles Register, V, 41,
** Joseph Lewis of the Loudoun-Fairfax district was re-elected.
88 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the election of the following year showed a decided
reaction in their favor. A large Federalist minority
was elected to the Assembly.
Under the leadership of Dapiel Sheffey and in
alliance with the Quids, the Federalists in the Assem-
bly of 1808-9 began a movement for reform. The
armory established in Richmond in 1798, when
Republicanism was in the ascendant, had always
been an ey^ore to the supporters of a strong na-
tional government. In x8o8 it became currently re-
ported that the armory was being used for the private
emolument of its managers and that it was turning out
an inferior product. Consequently Sheffey found little
difficulty in securing the appointment of a committee
of "backwoodsmen" to investigate it. The report sus-
tained the rumored charges and went so far as to
accuse the governor of being an a\:complice. Accord-
ingly the west again asserted itself; a law to deprive
the executive of the power to appoint officials for the
armory was enacted and the payment of money from
the state treasury was surrounded by restrictions. This
airing of mismanagement and inefficiency brought the
Republican party into great discredit in the west.®®
The Quids made a determined stand in the presi-
dential election of 1808. With the co-operation of
the Federalists they hoped to defeat Madison, whom
Jefferson had designated as his successor.®® They
** Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 480;
Journal, House of Del,, i8o8-i), X0&-14; Va, Argus, March 14, 1809;
Revised Code of 18 19, 130.
^Va, Argus, March 9, 1809; Randall, Jefferson, HI, 253.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 89
selected as their candidate James Monroe, a staunch
strict constructionist of the east Virginia school and
an earnest advocate of peace with Great Britain, who
had temporarily broken with Jeflferson over British
relations.
The contest between Monroe and Madison for
the presidency was confined to Virginia. It began in
the Assembly, in January, 1808, when a legislative
caucus favorable to each candidate was held. The
caucus favorable to Madison's election was attended
by one hundred and nineteen delegates and senators,
representatives, for the most part, of Piedmont and
transmontane counties. The Monroe caucus was at-
tended by sixty-seven delegates and senators who
came mostly from the Tidewater and Valley counties.^^
As there were only about forty senators and dele-
gates who did not attend either caucus it is fair to
presume that some of the Federalists co-operated with
the anti-administration forces. Later the fight was
carried into the congressional caucus which the Vir-
ginia Quids and Federalists favorable to the nomina-
tion of Monroe refused to attend.
Practically complete returns gave Madison 12,451
votes, Monroe 2,770, and Pinckney 435.^^ The vote by
counties shows that some counties normally Federalist
supported Monroe. Such were Loudoun and Frederick
which Monroe carried by large majorities, whereas
Pinckney did not receive a single vote in either.
^Va, Argus, January 26, 1808; ibid,, January 29, 1898; Stan-
wood, Presidency, 90.
"Ka. Argus, November 22, 1808.
90 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
The counties of the central Valley gave their opposition
vote to Pinckney. Monroe's chief source of strength,
however, was in the Tidewater counties, of which
twelve gave him more than one-half of his total vote.
Accomac gave Monroe 397 votes, whereas Madison
received only 30, and Northampton gave 121- to Mon-
roe, to 9 for Madison. The large anti-administration
vote in the Tidewater makes it clear that Jefferson's
policy of commercial restriction was unpopular there
and that the section was anti- Jefferson rather than
anti-strict construction.
In the elections of 1809, the first congressional
elections since the embargo, the Quids and Federalists
showed surprising vigor and strength. Randolph,
Qay, and Gray were re-elected to Congress, as was
Joseph Lewis, a Federalist from the Loudoun-Fairfax
district. But to the great surprise of all, the Valley
became as solidly Federalist as it had been in 1800
and 1803. Four members of that party, Daniel
Sheffey, James Breckenridge, Jacob Swoope, and
James Stephenson, were elected to Congress. The
Federalist minority in the Assembly was also greatly
increased.
The Federalists and the Quids elected to Congress
in 1809 united to oppose the administration. The
events of that year caused the tide to turn in favor of
war, but these men consistently opposed war ; they also
tried to procure the repeal of the non-intercourse act,
and voted against providing a more adequate defense
and the dismissal of the British minister.^* Sheffey
^Annals of Cong,, 11 Cong., 3d sess., 86$; ibid,, 2d stas., I,
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 91
admitted that American commerce suffered most from
Great Britain, but, said he, "the reason is the tyrant of
Europe has not power to execute his wishes." He was
unwilling to trust any man with such a "shady" past
as Napoleon J®
Although the Quids generally co-operated with the
Federalists in their attempt to recharter the United
States Bank, they were not enthusiastic over it. The
attitude of the Virginia Federalists in this attempt
deserves, however, special attention. Sheffey was their
spokesman. He defended the constitutionality of the
bank on the ground that Congress possessed all power
"necessary and proper" to carry into execution the
delegated powers. "Congress," he said, "possesses all
the attributes of sovereignty," and he insisted that the
occasion for the exercise of this power rested alone
with the representatives of the people. He admitted
that there might be flagrant wrongs done to the
rights of the minority in this feature of our govem-
Inent, but he insisted that "there never can be any
usurpation." The charter of a national bank and
kindred subjects, said he, "must always be a question
of sound discretion guided by the interests of the
Union and not a question of power. "^*
The congressional election of 181 1 sustained the
course pursued by the Federalists and the Quids.
Randolph, Clay, and Gray were re-elected ; and further-
more the area of Federalist strength was greatly in-
creased. Three members of that party, Sheffey,
""Ibid,, i8t sess., I, 401, 402.
^*Ibid,, 3d sess., 733-35«
92 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
Breckenridge, and Baker, secured election from the
Valley. Lewis was re-elected from the Loudoim
district, and the trans-Alleghany returned a Federalist
for the first time since 1 793. The Federalist minority
in the Assembly was at the same time greatly increased.
In the twelfth Congress, 181 1- 12, Sheffey and
Randolph earnestly resisted the new war party. In op-
position to war the former spoke for the economic in-
terests of his section. He opposed war because it would
cut off the market in the West Indies and elsewhere
for beef, pork, flour, and lumber. He was opposed to
war with Great Britain, because that coimtry was
the only nation with whom we had a profitable com-
merce. He showed that, when the embargo went into
effect, we exported annually to France goods valued
at only $2,700,000, while* our exports at the same time
to Great Britain amounted to $28,000,000^*^ The
Virginia Federalists and Quids voted aye on a
resolution to postpone a declaration of war/® and
when war was declared, they opposed the manner
in which it was conducted,*^*^ an increase in the military
forces,*^® and an appropriation to pay the war debt.*^®
In the Assembly many delegates from the western
coimties voted against the bill to provide a more ade-
quate defense for the coast towns. ®^ In fact, the
opposition of the interior counties of Virginia to the
"** Annals of Cong., 12 Cong., I, 622, 623.
^Ibid,, II, 1682.
""Ibid; 1056.
^Ibid., 1813. ^Ibid., 1798.
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 136.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 93
War of 1812 was excelled only by that of the New
England Federalists.
The congressional elections of 1813 resulted in the
complete disappearance of the Quid party from Vir-
ginia. Randolph went down in defeat before J. W.
Eppes, a war Republican. He was possibly never more
unpopular in his native state than during the War of
1812. From Washington he wrote : "By my old neigh-
bors and my new, I have been entirely neglected."®*
On the other hand, this election shows that the Feder-
alists were again thoroughly and securely intrenched
within the state. The redistricting of 18 12 produced
some change in the sectional character of the opposi-
tic«i strength, but numerically it did not lose a repre-
sentative. With the disappearance of the Quids from
the Tidewater, Bayley, Federalist, secured an election
from the Accomac district. Lewis, of the Loudoun
district, Sheffey, and Breckenridge were re-elected and
Francis White succeeded Baker, each chosen to repre-
sent districts in the Valley. In the northwestern
district John G. Jackson again came to the assistance
of his brother-in-law, Madison, and secured an elec-
tion as a Republican. But Hugh Caperton, Federalist,
was elected from the new trans- Alleghany district com-
posed of counties along the Great Kanawha.®^
This period of threatened Federalist ascendency
in the west was accompanied by a reform movement.
The things most desired were internal improvements,
'^Letters to a Young Relative, 118.
'^Niles Register, VIII, 192; Debates, Va, Constitutional Con-
vention of 182^-30, 511.
94 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
state banks, a greater representation in the Assembly,
and white manhood suffrage. The census of 18 10 gave
the west 312,626 white inhabitants and the east 338,-
827. In the Senate the former section had only four
members, the latter twenty, while an apportionment
on the basis of the white population would have en-
titled the west to nine. The unequal representation in
this body had resulted in the successive defeat of
several bills providing for the call of a constitutional
convention,®^ and threats of dismemberment were
current. A writer from Dumfries suggested that the
state be divided into northern and southern Virginia
by a line passing up the Rappahannock, thence to the
junction of the Greenbrier and the New rivers, thence
along the New and the Great Kanawha to the Ohio.®*
A writer in the Alexandria Herald suggested Win-
chester for the seat of government of the proposed
new state.®*^ Numerous mass-meetings passed resolu-
tions demanding suffrage for all taxpayers and militia-
men.®* A meeting held at Harrisonburg, Rockbridge
County, reiterated, in the form of a resolution, that
portion of the Bill of Rights, which describes the
qualifications of those entitled to suffrage.®^
The movement finally tocJc form in the Staunton
Convention. This body met August 19-23, 1816, and
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 258, 259,
421.
^Alexandria Herald, August, 1816; Richmond Enquirer, April
13, 1 81 6. A similar proposition had been made in 1796. See
Baltimore Daily Advertiser, June 30, 1796.
^Alexandria Herald, March 8, 18 16; ibid,, March 20, 18 16.
^Ibid., July 21, 1816. "Ibid., July 21, 1815.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBUCANS 95
was attended by sixty-five delegates representing
thirty-five western counties. Congressman Brecken-
ridge was president. The convention discussed at
great length the grievances of the west and ended its
labors by addressing a memoriaJ to the Assembly.
This document showed how it was possible for
204,766 white inhabitants residing in the small
counties east of the Blue Ridge, a number 72,183 less
than one-half the total white population of the state,
to control the action of the Assembly. This condition
it attributed to "unnatural and accidental" circum-
stances. It asked that a constitutional convention be
called empowered to remedy all the defects in the
government Six delegates, however, opposed a con-
vention with such extensive powers and insisted that
it should be called to make amendments to the consti-
tution of 1776.®®
The persistent and concerted efforts of the reform-
ers aroused sympathy and alarm in the east. It was
on this occasion that Jefferson came forward with
his famous letter of July, 18 16, to Samuel Kercheval.
This letter later became a text for the preachers of re-
form. It outlined the early reform movement of 1 779
and suggested many changes in the fundamental law.
It favored the introduction of the New England form
of local government, equal representation based on
white population, free white suffrage, and the election
of the governor, judges, jurors, and sheriffs by popu-
lar vote. Jefferson ignored the conservative idea that
^Niies Register, XI, 17-24; Alexandria Herald, September 2,
1 8 16.
96 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the constitution of 1776 was the best that could be
made and that it should be preserved out of veneration
for the fathers.®® Ritchie, of the Richmond Enquirer,
warned the conservatives that they courted danger by
running counter to public opinion. To the Assembly
of 1816-17 he said : "If you refuse it this winter, think
you that the representatives of the people will arrest
their clamors and complaints? No. The defects in
the constitution must be amended. Bow, then, to the
destiny which awaits you; for it is inevitable."*^
The conservatives would not vote for a constitu-
tional convention. They did, however, consent to a
compromise whereby the west obtained a representa-
tion in the Senate based upon white numbers in ex-
change for a law equalizing land values for purposes
of assessment.*^ This compromise and the changed
conditions following 181 6 caused a temporary sus-
pension of the reform movement, the sectional and
political character of which had doubtless prevented
the most desirable results. Breckenridge and Sheffey,
its master spirits, were Federalists. Their denuncia-
tions of Virginia's institutions and political leaders
were frequently interpreted by the east as demonstra-
tions of disloyalty and as the mutterings of voices in
sympathy with the Hartford Conventionists.
The elections of 181 5 marked a decline in the
Federalist strength in Virginia, as elsewhere. By
' *• Randall, Jefferson, II, 650 ; Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford),
37-45.
*^ Richmond Enquirer, October 2, 18 16.
*^ Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829^30, 258.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 97
18 1 7 the party had practically disappeared. The
Hartford Convention and the successful termination
of the War of 18 12 brought that party into disrepute.
By the election of 181 5 the minority in the Assembly
was greatly reduced, and Joseph Lewis was the only
Federalist to secure an election to Congress from a
district east of the Blue Ridge. The trans-Alleghany
again became solidly Republican, but the Valley re-
mained Federalist.*^
Although their action may seem inconsistent the
Virginia Federalists, elected in 181 5, in their opposi-
tion to the recharter of the United States Bank and an
increase in the tariff measures, at the time deemed
necessary by the administration to restore credit and
to protect American industries, spoke for their constitu-
ents and were not acting in the main as an obstructing
minority in Congress. They represented farmers and
graziers, who had no interest to conserve by an in-
crease in the tariff, and a section interested in the
incorporation of state banks. The delegates 6f the
eastern counties had already defeated a movement on
the part of the west for the incorporation of fifteen
state banks.*®
But on the subject of internal improvements the
west showed its truly nationalistic tendencies. The
War of 18 12 and the events leading thereto made
this -subject an important one to the transmontane
^Niles Register, IX, 280. Sheffey and Breckenridge were re-
elected and Magnus Tate was elected to succeed White.
^Niles Register, X, 90; Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford), X, 2;
Alexandria Herald, September 2, 1816.
98 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 177^1861
people. Commercial restrictions, dangers to ocean
commerce, and the great internal development caused
trade and immigration to seek an overland route
across the AUeghanies. In 1815 both cotton and
wheat were being transported by wagons from Wheel-
ing and Pittsburg to the eastern cities.®* The remnant
of the Federalist party had already become the lead-
ers in the movement for a better means of communica-
tion between the east and the west. Marshall and
Breckenridge had been the dominating power on the
commission, appointed by the Assembly in 1812, to
view the western rivers and to suggest plans for their
improved navigation.®*^ The report of this com-
mission, which recommended vast schemes of internal
improvements and suggested the expediency of secur-
ing a federal appropriation to aid in their construction,
was adopted by the Assembly of 18 14-15 by the
united vote of the west against the east. The same
Assembly, as well as the following, requested the rep-
resentatives of the state in Congress to request "the
legislature of the Union to manifest an interest in
internal improvements.*'®*
Thus the representatives of the west, both Repub-
licans and Federalists, were prepared to support Cal-
houn's Bonus Bill. In behalf of this measure Sheffey
spoke for the interests of the transmontane country.
He believed that the implied powers were sufficient
^ State Papers, 14 Cong., Doc. No. 75.
^Proceedings of the Board of Public Works, I, 6, 28; Re-
port of the Committee on Roads and Int, Imp. (1831^32), 3.
••/Wd., 5.
FEDERALISTS AND REPUBLICANS 99
gnarantee to Congress for passing the bill, and that
the sovereign people, speaking through their repre-
sentatives, should interpret the Constitution to meet
the exigencies of the times.®^ In opposition to the
individualistic theory of the Constitution, at this time
so ably set forth by P. P. Barbour,®* he insisted that
the people through their representatives in Congress
assembled were supreme.
With one exception each of the representatives of
districts west of the Blue Ridge voted for the Bonus
Bill. It received also the support of the representative
from the Norfolk district. In many respects this
affirmative vote of the west was the last expression of
Federalism, as such, in the state. Sheffey, Brecken-
ridge, and Tate, old-line Federalists, were the chief
supporters of the bill; but the Republicans of the
trans-AUeghany and the Norfolk districts were not yet
so thoroughly imbued with the principles of strict
construction as to warrant them in voting against a
measure of such vital interest to their constituents.
^Annals of Cong., 14 Cong., 2d sess., 886.
«/Wrf., 893 ff.
CHAPTER IV
THE ERA OF GOOD FEELING AND THE RISE OF THE
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY, 1817-28
As in national politics, so in Virginia, the period
following the second British war was one of accord,
giving place, as years passed, to one of clashing sec-
tional interests. In the congressional election of 1817
nationalism made no stand in the state, except in the
districts along the Potomac and the projected Cumber-
land Road; in the former section C. F. Mercer and
Edward Colston and in the latter James Pindall, all
orthodox strict constructionists, except that they
believed in the constitutionality of federal appropria-
tions to works of internal improvements, were suc-
cessful candidates. Each of these candidates urged
his election on the ground that he stood for what
the state had desired in 181 5 and 1816, when the
Assembly had asked the federal government to aid it
in improving the communication between the James
and the Kanawha rivers.^
^ The efforts to defeat Mercer in 181 7 show the
determination with which the young school of Virginia
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 182^30, speech of
C F. Mercer. PindaU's opponent was J. G. Jackson, who had
already proposed an amendment to the Constitution to give Con-
gress power to appropriate money to works of internal improve-
ment (State Papers, 13 Cong., 2d sess., Doc. No. 20). Jackson
was again defeated by Pindall in 181 9 (Northwestern Gazette,
May 19, 1819).
100
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY lOi
politicians set about to unify the state in its reaction
against Jeffersonian Republicanism. To effect the
"complete republicanization" of the Old Dominion
General Armistead T. Mason resigned his place in the
United States Senate to contest the election of Mercer
to the House of Representatives. Both Mason and
Mercer had extensive and influential family connec-
tions in the Loudoun-Fairfax district. Mason was of
the family of George Mason; Mercer of that of
General Hugh Mercer of revolutionary fame. With
all the earnestness which the younger school of Vir-
ginia politicians were able to command, Mason stood
for the ideas of strict construction so ably enunciated
by his illustrious ancestor. On the other hand, Mercer
was true to the nationalistic teachings of the revolu-
tionary soldier. After a hotly contested election
Mercer was successful by a scant majority. The
bitterness which grew out of the contest led to a duel
between Mason and his cousin, J. M. McCarthy, in
which the former was killed.^
The election of 1817 brought a sweeping change
in the personnel of Virginia's congressmen. Young
men of but medium talents generally replaced the
more illustrious representatives. Among the new men
were P. P. Barbour, John Floyd, John Tyler, R. L,
Gamett, and C. F. Mercer, each of them, except
Mercer, set against the Clay-Calhoun policies of
nationalism and ambitious to restore the fallen pres-
tige of Virginia. The change in the current of Vir-
* Alexandria Herald, May 9, 181 7; ihid,, May 24, 181 7; ibid,,
February 6, 18, 181 9; Va, Hist Colh, X, 265.
I02 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ginia politics was evidenced by John Randolph's
restoration to public favor, he being re-elected to
Congress.
Immediately following 18 17 there were many local
as well as national conditions of importance from a
sectional standpoint, which contributed to make state
unity and strict construction popular in Virginia. The
Federalist party was practically dead; the west had
been conciliated by reforms and promises; the zeal
of the young leaders tended toward accord; and a
group of issues, including the federal Supreme Court
decisions, internal improvements, and slavery agita-
tion, furthered these tendencies.
In 18 16 the chief topic of discussion in northern
and northwestern Virginia was the decision of the
federal Supreme Court in the case of Martin v.
Hunter, Lessee. In 1782 the Assembly had con-
fiscated the claims of the Fairfax heirs, having pre-
viously declared the Vandalia and Indiana companies'
claims invalid. In 1789 David Hunter was given a
patent for lands which had formerly belonged to
Fairfax, and being refused possession, he later
brought suit in the District Court of Shenandoah
County. Failing to sustain his claim there he appealed
to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which reversed the
decision of the lower court. Meanwhile Fairfax died,
bequeathing his right in the disputed property to David
Martin, who appealed from the decision of the Su-
preme Court of Virginia to the United States Supreme
Court. In 1813 the federal court handed down a deci-
sion to sustain the lower court of Virginia and issued
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 103
a mandamus to compel its execution. The decision
remained unexecuted, however, and in 1815 the
Supreme Court of Virginia, under the direction of
Judge Spencer Roane, took under consideration the
mandamus of the federal court. The bench was
unanimous in the opinion that the mandamus should
not bejf obeyed and that such appeals from the decisions
of the state courts to the federal were unconstitu-
tion3(I.^ In 1816 the federal court, under the direction
of Chief Justice Marshall, reaffirmed its decision and
ordered the marshal of western Virginia to execute
its command.'* This decision did much to diminish
nationalistic sentiment in the Northern Neck and the
northwest, its former strongholds. The decision was
an issue in the contest between Mercer and Mason,
when George Mason's objections to the ratification of
the federal Constitution were brought very cogently
to mind.*^ Besides, those landowners who had
received grants or made purchases since the confisca-
tion of the Fairfax, Indiana, and Vandalia claims now
had material reasons for becoming strict construc-
tionists. Spencer Roane, who lost no opportunity to
take advantage of these favorable conditions, became
popular in the west as well as in the east.®
The decision in the case of McCullough v. Mary-
*Va. Reports, 4 Mumford, 12.
* X Whcaton, 304 ; see also Dodd, "Chief Justice Marshall and
Virginia," in Am. Hist, ttev., XII, 776-87.
*See chap, ii, p. 56.
•See Richmond Enquirer, February, 1816; Branch Papers, II,
X, 131 ; Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford), IX, 530-53.
IQ4 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
land was also unpopular in all sections. The east
opposed it because of the political principles involved f
the west because of the devotion there to state banks,
two of which it had finally succeeded in getting.®
The western press made copious extracts from the
attacks of "Amphictyon" and "Hampden"® upon na-
tionalism, and the Northwestern Gazette, published at
Wheeling, praised the action of Ohio in collecting a
tax from the branch of the United States Bank located
at Chillicothe, and insisted that the charter to the fed-
eral bank was unconstitutional.*^ About the same
time Pindall presented petitions from sundry citizens
of Ohio and Brooke counties asking permission to
pay internal revenue dues in state bank notes. It is
significant that the west united with the east in the
Assembly of 1819 to pass a resolution directing the
Virginia senators in Congress to oppose the United
States Bank.
Those interested in securing better means of in-
ternal communications came now to rely more upon
state aid. Alarmed at the renewed activity of New
York and Philadelphia to direct trade thither they
became concerned for the future of Richmond. The
veto of the Bonus Bill had temporarily dashed the
''Richmond Enquirer, January 22, 1819.
'The Assembly of 181 7 incorporated the Bank of the Valley,
located at Winchester, and the Bank of Northwestern Virginia,
located at Wheeling.
'Pseudonyms over which Judge Roane wrote (Richmond En-
quirer, January 22, 181 9).
"February 4, 1819; see ibid,, April 23, z8i8; June 13, 18x9;
October 28, i8i9»
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 105
hope of assistance from the federal government
Accordingly the east and the west tmited to create
the Board of Public Works** and a permanent fund
for internal improvements.*^ The proceeds of the
internal improvement fund were to be appropriated
by the Board of Public Works to such approved
companies as should have previously provided thre^-
fifths of the capital stock necessary to complete their
proposed undertakings.
The inadequacy of the income from the internal
improvement fund and the proverbial inactivity of
the Assembly, however, came near causing a political
reaction in the transmontane country, where private
enterprise was unable to avail itself of the benefits of
the fund, and no important works could be com-
menced. Accordingly its representatives in Congress,
although elected as strict constructionists, frequently
showed a disposition to favor federal internal im-
provements. Thus the representatives of the trans-
AUeghany voted for the bill of 18 18 to make further
appropriations to the Cumberiand Road, as did those
of the Valley, who recorded their vote. Still doubtful
of the course of the state and federal government,
Ballard Smith, of the Kanawha River district, pro-
posed to amend this appropriation bill by the addition
^^The board was composed of thirteen members: the governor,
treasurer, and attorney-general, members ex officio, and ten other
persons, elected annually by joint ballot of the Assembly. The
elective members were to be distributed as follows: the Tidewater,
2; the Piedmont, 3; the Valley, 2; the trans-Allcghany, 3.
^In 1816 the fund amounted to $1,462,140.61. Acts of 1815-
16, 35, 57; Niles Register, IX, 429, 451.
lo6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
of a clause to authorize the federal government to sub-
scribe two-fifths of the capital stock of any company
which Virginia might incorporate to effect a com-
munication between the James and Kanawha rivers.^ ^
Tucker, who represented a district in the Shenandoah
Valley, proposed a similar amendment to aid internal
improvements in that section. At the same time
sundry persons, residents of counties between the
Kanawha and the James, petitioned Congress to aid
the state in the construction of works of internal im-
provement.^*
The necessity for political union and for the ac-
complishment of some material results made further
delay on the part of the conservatives impossible.
Accordingly the Assembly of 181 9 authorized the
purchase of the rights of the James River Com-
pany and assumed the responsibility for continuing
the James and Kanawha river-improvements at the
expense of the state. The stockholders of the
James River Company were to receive 12 per cent,
per annum on the par value of their stock for
twelve years, after which they were to receive 15
per cent. The actual work of construction was
left to the management of the company, but the
Board of Public Works was authorized to spend
annually $200,000, in addition to the income from the
permanent fund.^* An act of 1820 further appeased
^Annals of Cong^, 15 Cong., ist ses&, II, 1660.
^Richmond Enquirer, January 23, 1818; Niles Register, XIII,
125, 126.
"Acts of 1 81 8-1 9, 39; Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the
James Riv^r and Kanawha Co., 665.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 107
the west by placing the management of the works on
the Kanawha and of the proposed turnpike connecting
the Kanawha and the James imder the control of two
commissions, each composed of persons residing west
of the Blue Ridge. ^® At the same time efforts were
made to purchase the rights and interests of the
Potomac Company, and surveys were authorized to
determine the best means of connecting the waters of
the Potomac and the Ohio.^'^ During the years im-
mediately following 1 819 many thousands of dollars
were expended on the James and Kanawha river-
improvements and the turnpike connecting them.
Strange as it may at first seem, the representatives
of western Virginia in Congress were for the exten-
sion of ntgro slavery into Missouri. Both Pindall
and Smith argued that extension did not necessarily
increase the evils of ntgro slavery, or the number of
those in bondage, and that it permitted diffusion,
which brought intimate relations between master and
slave, to the great advantage of the latter.^® Virginia
gave no vote to exclude slavery from all territory or
from the proposed state of Missouri,^® and the com-
promise by which Missouri was finally admitted
received only four affirmative votes, but one of which
came from west of the Blue Ridge. ^^
^Acts of 1820-21, 49.
"Alexandria Herald, August 8, 1821 ; Niles Register, XVII,
440.
^Annals of Cong,, 16 Cong., ist sess., I, 996, 1000, 1268-72,
^Ibid., 1316, 1572.
^Ibid,, II, 1572, 1587; Richmond Enquirer, March 7, 1820.
Io8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
The east feared that agitation on the subject of
negro slavery would endanger the existence of the
institution and array the North against the South. In
such agitation as the Missouri issue occasioned, Jef-
ferson heard "a fire-bell in the night — the death knell
of the Union."^^ The blow given state rights was,
however, the chief objection raised in that section to
the Missouri Compromise. In it Roane saw the cause
of a future war to restore the rights of the states;
Andrew Stevenson was opposed to any compromise
with constitutional principles; and Linn Banks, Epps,
and Ritchie unhesitatingly denounced the compromise
as a breach of the Constitution.^^
In* 1820 temporary conditions made a large and
powerful element in the west favorable to the exten-
sion of negro slavery. The belief had not yet become
general there that negro slavery was an economic evil
and that it was then preventing the material develop-
ment of the country. True, most of the inhabitants
disliked the institution, but they disliked the negro
more. They knew just enough about him to banish
from their minds exalted opinions of the possibilities
of his race. Besides, sectional agitation of negro
slavery was in their minds the greatest menace which
could befall the Union.^® The larger portion of the
inhabitants knew but little about negro slavery and
*^ William and Mary College Quarterly, X, 7 ; Jefferson, Writ-
ings (cd. Ford), X, 157.
^Ihid,, 7-15.
• Western Spy, June 22, 1820 ; National Intelligencer, Sep-
tember 13, 1820.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 109
less about its worst features. Except in small areas
along the Kanawha and in the Valley, slavery was
more or less paternal. Few thought of deriving in-
comes from slave labor or offspring, and overseers
were unknown.
A few communities of the west, however, had a
material interest in slaves. Following the War of 181 2
much of the land, which had formerly been devoted
to wheat culture, was given up to tobacco-growing,
and negroes were purchased to assist in the new in-
dustry. The total increase in the slave population of
the Valley during the decade from 1810 to 1820 was
quite marked.^* This was also the period when a
large number of slave-owners found homes in the
Kanawha Valley. For the most part they were per-
sons emigrating to the Missouri cotmtry, who were
stopped on the route by the cheapness of lands and
the opportunity for hiring their negro slaves to the
salt-makers for cash wages. Some owners were able
to hire out as many as fifty negroes annually. Soon
the emigrants became attached to the country and took
up permanent residences.
This is a4so the period when most intense feeling
existed in the west over the escape of fugitive slaves.
The humane societies of Pennsylvania and Ohio were
then doing much to encourage runaways and to in-
timidate masters trying to apprehend them.^*^ In
some instances masters were thrown into prison on
the charge of kidnaping, while in others they en-
'^ Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829^30^ 260-90.
^Va, Northwestern Gazette, August 20, 1820.
no SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
countered mob violence.^® So intense did feeling in
western Virginia become that Pindall introduced in
Congress a resolution to amend the fugitive slave law
of 1793 so as to make it the duty of the federal gov-
ernment to apprehend and return runaway slaves.^''
The press of Wheeling denounced the humane socie-
ties of Ohio as "inquisitorial tribunals," which "rob
the master of his legal property to put it into the hands
of an illegal master." It also insisted that the en-
thusiasm of the abolitionists made the condition of
the slave worse, because it made a breach of friendship
and confidence between him and his master, and
brought the consequent sale of the slave to the south-
em dealer to prevent financial loss.^®
But this peaceful period of political unity and
apparent homogeneity of interests was marked by a
divergence of industries and interests which were un-
consciously working toward the destruction of the
local era of good feeling. Beginning with 18 18 and
extending on through the '20's the east experienced
a great industrial decline and loss of population.^®
The Indian land cessions opened up the Northwest and
the Southwest, and the cultivation of short staple
cotton, rendered profitable by the use of the cotton
gin, had extended the plantation into the uplands of
* Va. Northwestern Gazette, November 30, 1820.
''Journal, House of Rep., 15 Cong., i»t scss., 197.
"Fo. Northwestern Gazette, August 18, 1820; National In-
telligencer, September 13, 1820.
"Prize essay on "Agriculture," in the Lynchburg Virginian,
July 4, 1833; NUes Register, XLIV, 411; Garland, Randolph, II,
318; Collins, Domestic Slave Trade , 26.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY ill
Georgia and South Carolina and into the Gulf states.
Meanwhile the tobacco-growers were selling their plan-
tations to become pioneers on the western frontier or
cotton-planters in the new South. ®^ Excessive emigra-
tion not only reduced population but also threw vast
areas of worn-out lands upon the local markets ; prices
fell; and many hundreds of acres were given up to
briars, broom-sedge, and pines. ^^ In the *2o's various
travelers wrote of the gloomy depression with which
they were filled at the sight of the "red-gullied and
tumedK^ut lands" of Virginia. In this period John
Randolph predicted that the day would come when the
master would run away from his negroes and be ad-
vertised by them in the public prints.'^ From 1820
to 1830 the total increase in the white popillation in
the Piedmont and the Tidewater was only 26,524. In
the Assembly of 1831-32 Thomas Marshall asserted
that at that time the agricultural products were worth
no more than they had been eighty years prior when
the population was only one-sixth as large.^^ Charles
F. Mercer estimated that the land values in 181 7 had
been $206,000,000 and that they had fallen in thirteen
years to $90,000,000.^* In 181 7 Virginia exported
goods valued at $8,212,860, but the exports amounted
^Annals of Cong,, i6 Cong., ist sess., II, 1392; Niles Regis-
ter, XII, 336, 359, 400; ibid,, XIII, 35.
* Madison, Writings (ed. 1865), III, 614-16; Lynchburg Vir-
ginian, July 4, 1833*
■■Collins, Domestic Slave Trade, 26.
'^ Richmond Enquirer, February 2, 1832.
*^ Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30^ 178.
112 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
to only $3,340,185 in 1828. •* This was the period
when Madison was unable to get a loan he wanted
from the United States Bank, because of the poor
security he had to offer;'® when Jefferson mortgaged
his home to make good the financial failures of
friends;*^ and when Monroe sold his beautiful home
at Oak Hill and became dependent upon friends and
relatives in New York City.
The superior quality of her tobacco and the
possession of a surplus of negro slaves were the chief
economic resources which eastern Virginia possessed
at this time.'® The demand for "Virginia leaf" and
the sale of the surplus negroes to the southern cotton-
planters enabled the inhabitants to keep the wolf from
the door and to maintain a semblance of their former
hospitality. Petersburg, Lynchburg, Richmond, Nor-
folk, and Alexandria each contained two or three slave-
dealers who made a regular business of supplying the
southern markets. The press of these cities spoke
enthusiastically of the new South. "It creates," said
the Alexandria Herald^ "a new demand for the slaves
of the southern states, and increased demands raise
prices."'* During the year 1829 Amistead and Frank-
lin, dealers doing business at Alexandria, are believed
to have cleared $33,000 in the domestic slave traffic**^
"DcBow, Review, II, 403. ■•Hunt, Madison, 380.
''Journal, House of DeL, 1829-30, Doc No. 20,
'^ Richmond Enquirer, February 2, 1832; Hunt, Merchants^
Mag., VI, 473.
* September 22, 1833.
^Tremain, Slavery in the District of Columbia, 236.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 113
By 1829, however, this traffic suffered a temporary
decline. The southern states were passing laws to
restrain or prohibit the trade, and the fall in the price
of cotton after 1825 decreased the demand for negro
slaves. Many planters feared that their negroes,
under these changed conditions, would become as
valueless a species of property as their exhausted
realty.**
The new tobacco lands of the West and the South-
west, together with the constant draining of wealth
and population from the Piedmont, prevented the up-
lands of Virginia from undergoing that economic
transformation which the cotton industry effected in
the uplands of the South.*^ True, the plantation did
become more firmly established in portions of the
Piedmont during this period.*® As the small farmer
had moved to the West and the South the plantation-
owners had increased the size of their holdings and
the number of their slaves. By 1828 the negro popu-
lation was as dense in portions of the Piedmont as in
the Tidewater, but the amount of tobacco produced
was not so lai^e as formerly. The impetus given
the tobacco industry in the Valley following the War
of 1 81 2 proved only temporary.
The inhabitants of the east tried various experi-
ments to retrieve their fallen fortunes. Under stress
^Debates, Va. Constitutional Convention of 182^30,
^In x8i8 Louisiana exported 24,138 hogsheads of tobacco,
and Virginia's exports for same time were only 24,736 hogsheads
{Alexandria Herald, March 29, 1819).
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829^30, 62,
114 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
of necessity Edmund Ruffin began the use of marl, or
calcareous fertilizing;** in 1816, and afterward, nu-
merous agricultural societies were organized in the
Tidewater and the Piedmont;**^ an effort was made
to establish a chair of agriculture in the University,**
but the movement was defeated by the west, which did
not appreciate the needs of the east and took this
oppbrtimity to strike at the hated University; and
premiums and rewards were offered for good crops
and well-kept farms. John Taylor deplored "the
morbid aversion" to writing on subjects pertaining to
agriculture,*'^ and Madison, upon retiring from public
life, became president of the Albemarle Agricultural
Society and devoted much attention to its work.*®
In their desperation many planters tried to devote
their lands to cotton-growing. The high price of
cotton and the consequent prosperity of the South
caused many to look forward to the day when the
cotton plant should be the staple in Virginia also.**
They hoped that it would be especially adapted to the
worn-out lands of the Tidewater ; Madison entertained
this delusion.*^^ Enthusiastic letters were written on
the possibilities of the cotton industry in Virginia.**^
*^Farm Register, I, 108. **See Acts of Assembly, 1816-26,
"^NUes Register, XXIII, 203.
^"^ Western Spy, August 8, 1818.
^Madison, Writings (ed. 1865), III, 63-95.
*^Niles Register, XXVII, 3, 115; XXIX, 147, 243.
"Madison, Writings (cd. 1865), HI, 86.
"Sec Richmond Enquirer, August 5, 1826, ibid., December
19, 1825 ; Richmond Compiler, November 25, 1825 ; Charleston
(S. C.) Gazette, December i, 1825.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 115
As an article of commerce [wrote a correspondent to the
National Intelligencer] cotton is far less flucttiating in value
and more to be relied upon than tobacco or bread-stuffs.
Cotton may decline from fifteen to ten cents, but it can hardly
be so faithless as flour has proved to be in falling from four-
teen to less than four dollars a barrel in a period of less than
three years."
So long as the price of cotton remained distinctly
high Virginia continued to produce it. During the
early '20's it was the chief staple in Southampton,
Sussex, Greenesville, and Nansemond counties. At the
same time many experiments in cotton-growing were
made on the upper Potomac and James. The decline
in prices in the later '20's, and the unfavorable climatic
conditions, by reason of the short growing season,
made it impossible to extend the cotton-glowing area
in the state. In a few years cotton ceased to be grown
except in a few counties along the Roanoke.*^®
Other attempts to reclaim the worn-out lands of
eastern Virginia and to rejuvenate her industries were
generally unsuccessful. Consequently the inhabitants
attributed their failures to the operation of the Ameri-
can System ; they would not tolerate the idea of giving
''National Intelligencer, May 16, 1820.
'*The following table shows the rise and decline of the cotton
industry in Virginia:
Year Pounds produced
1 80 1 5,000,000
181 1 8,000,000
1821 12,000,000
1826 25,000,000
1834 10,000,000
— See Turner, Rise of the New West, 47.
Il6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
up agriculture for manufacuring. The agricultural
societies became semi-political organizations and de-
voted much time to passing resolutions against the
protective tariff. In vain did Madison and others
point out the fact that excessive migrations from the
state were responsible for many of its calamities. But
those who remained at home refused to see in the
efforts of friends and relatives to seek new homes and
fortunes the cause of their undoing. They continued,
therefore, to support John Floyd,*^* one of the greatest
of the early American expansionists, and to attribute
the cause of their fallen fortunes to the American
System.
Meanwhile the west was undergoing economic
change. The manufacture of iron became an impor-
tant industry in several localities in the Valley and in
the northwest;*^' the Jackson works on the Cheat
River were among the most productive in the western
country. Sheep-raising also became a profitable in-
dustry in the counties on the upper Ohio and on the
Monongahela, and even extended to the Valley.*®
Wheeling rolled one thousand tons of iron annually
and cut three hundred tons of nails;*'' it had two
cotton and two woolen mills, each of which employed
several hundred men. The application of steam to
water navigation increased the importance of the salt
** Floyd was made governor in 1829.
'^Journal, House of Rep,, 15 Cong., ist sess., 182; Martin
and Bi-ockenbrough, Hist, of Va, (ed. 1835), 310, 320, 330, 357,
389. 390.
'^Jbid., 320, 330, 362, 390. ^''Ibid,, 406.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 117
industry and improved the facilities of the manu-
facturing towns on the Ohio and the Monongahela.
Meanwhile the northwestern part of the state was
being settled by persons who had no sympathetic touch
with the east. Thither came many New Englanders
and Germans. For the most part they settled in com-
munities of their own and lived apart politically. The
largest German settlement was of some five hundred
souls, and was located in Preston County near Mount
Carmel.*^® It did not tolerate slavery. The largest
settlement of New Englanders was on French Creek
in Lewis County. It numbered about four hundred
persons, and was divided into five school districts, each
with a common school.**®
As compared with eastern Virginia the west,
within the state, was progressing.®^ But the develop-
ment was not what settlers of a new country of bound-
less resources had reason to expect. Both in wealth
and population the West beyond them was advancing
more rapidly. In 1830 the larger part of western
Virginia was inhabited by from two to six persons
to the square mile. At the same time it was bounded
on the north and west by a semicircle of free white
population, which numbered from forty-five to ninety
souls to the square mile.®^ It was with chagrin that
the inhabitants looked upon the immigrant wagons
that passed over the Cumberland Road and down the
^Ihid,, 421. Many Germans also found homes in Wheeling.
"/Wrf., 38s.
^NUes Register, XLIII, 146.
*^ Census Map, 1890, XX.
Il8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Kanawha to the more prosperous trans-Ohio West.
In 1829 a resident of the Kanawha Valley wrote:
"They go on careless of the varying climate and ap-
parently without regret for the friends and relatives
they leave behind, seeking forests to fell and new
countries to settle."®^ Some western Virginians, in-
deed, joined the caravans and moved on into the
farthest West; others remained to fight the battle of
reform and nationalism.
When the inhabitants of western Virginia com-
pared their condition with that of their neighbors in
the free states, they were made conscious that their
development was being retarded. At this time of vast
expenditures for roads and canals, it was only natural
for them to attribute the cause of their misfortunes
to the inefficiency of the state as an agent for such
purposes. Accordingly they again came to look upon
the federal government as a better agent than the state
government for effecting communication between the
east and the west, and in time they espoused the whole
of the American System.
In 1 81 8 citizens of Shenandoah and Frederick
counties had petitioned Congress for an increase in
the duty on bar, pig, and cast iron, but the Virginia
west in general showed little interest in the tariff bill
of 1820. On the other hand, the east was actively
opposed to the bill of that year, the agricultural socie-
ties taking the lead. A memorial from the united
societies insisted that the embarrassment to American
manufacturers was not due to inadequate protection
^National Intelligencer, November 4, 1829,
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 119
but to a desire to realize returns on fictitious capital.*'
Thomas Newton, of the Norfolk district, alone ^foted
for the bill, and all the other Virginia congressmen
opposed it.
Meanwhile western Virginia began to develop a
sentiment favorable to the protective system. In 1821
citizens of Hampshire County memorialized Congress
for a general increase in the tariff.®* Later, citizens of
the Valley sent petitions praying protection for iron
manufacturers, and the wool-growers of the north-
west asked it for wool.®'
As the sentiment for a protective tariff increased
in the North, eastern Virginia became more bitter in its
denunciations of the American System. In its attack
thereon the Richmond Enquirer pointed to the coun-
try north of the Potomac as the place where the people
were losing interest in the preservation of the Consti-
tution; where the public expenditures were being
made; where the United States Bank sat in majesty;
where the spirit of mercantile cupidity was enveloping
itself in the mantle of monopoly and privilege; and
where the people wished to enthrone the federal gov-
ernment and debase that of the states.®* Jefferson,
regarded by some as the father of the American Sys-
tem, now thought it unsoimd policy and unfair to tax
agriculture for the purpose of promoting manufactur-
^ Annals of Cong,, 16 Cong., ist scss., II, 2323. Sec Appen-
dix, ibid; 2296.
^Journal, House of Rep,, 16 Cong., 2d sess., 178.
^Ihid., 18 Cong., ist sess., 134, 174, 194, 212.
••August 8, 1821.
I20 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ing.®^ The agricultural societies continued to petition
Congress against any further increase in the tariff
duties.*® It was at this time that many strict con-
structionists began to question the constitutionality
of a tariff for protection.
The representatives from eastern Virginia argued
at great length against the tariff bill of 1824. They
were most opposed to the increased duty on woolens,
that on "napt cotton," a coarse woolen cloth used in
making clothing for negro slaves, being the most
obnoxious. A memorial from Richmond and Man-
chester contained data to show that such a duty would
be equivalent to a direct tax of at least twenty-four
thousand dollars annually upon Richmond and its
vicinity. ®® With the exception of the representative
of the extreme northwestern district, who voted for
the bill, the solid delegation of Virginia voted against
the tariff of 1824.''^
The tariff of 1824 produced a storm of indigna-
tion in the east. Jefferson, now bent with the infirmi-
ties of age, came forward to denounce it. He wrote
the veteran Giles, the "younger recruits who, having
nothing in them of the feelings or principles of '76,
now look to a single and splendid government of an
aristocracy, founded on banking institutions, and
•^Jefferson, Writings (ed. Ford), X, 8, 285; Niles Register,
XXXVIII, 294.
^Journal, House of Rep,, 16 Cong., 2d sess., 30, 32, 69, 95 ;
ibid,, 17 Cong., ist sess., 69, 138, 162, 200; ibid,, 18 Cong., ist
sess., 243, 245, 304.
^ Ibid., 18 Cong., ist sess., II, 3098.
"^Ibid,, 18 Cong., ist sess., II, 1921.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY I2i
moneyed corporations."'^^ Madison was much milder
in his criticism; he did not deny the constitutionality
of a protective tariff, but doubted its expediency. He
recognized that it was difficult to protect the interests
of ^ minority in a government based on the rule of
the people, but he insisted that the Supreme Court
was adequate to the duty of determining the constitu-
tionality of laws.*^^ The press and the political
leaders accepted the ideas of Jefferson, and were en-
thusiastic to return to the principles of 1798.
The increased demand for greater protection to
articles of woolen manufacture added new strength to
the anti-protection sentiment in the east. Few^r memo-
rials and petitions were sent to Congress, but resolu-
tions denouncing the principles of the American System
were passed annually by the Assembly. On the other
hand, the west became more desirous of protection.
The salt manufacturers on the Kanawha and Holston
rivers were beginning to feel the effect of com-
petition of the salt from the West Indies, imported by
way of New Orleans. Meanwhile the wool-growers
and manufacturers were increasing the scale of their
industries.''^ Petitions praying an increase in the
tariff duties continued to come in increasing numbers
from the transmontane people. Northwestern Vir-
ginia sent two delegates to the Harrisburg Convention
of 1827. Except those from Kentucky, there were no
"Jefferson, WHHngs (ed. Ford), X, 356.
''Madison, Writings (ed. Cong.), Ill, 483, 507; see also
Madison, Cabell Letters,
^Journal, House of Rep,, 20 Cong., ist sess., 419.
122 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
other members of that body from states south of the
Potomac J*
The debates on the Woolens Bill and the tariff of
1828 brought out no new features in the position of
either the east or the west. The representatives of
the west said nothing, but voted for the tariff. Map I
shows practically all the area now embraced in West
Virginia voting for the tariff of "Abominations/'
while the east was as solidly against it. Those voting
aye were: Leffler, Armstrong, and Maxwell, all Na-
tional Republicans.'^**
When the state had assumed the responsibility for
the construction of works of internal improvement,
the west had expected results ; but they were not forth-
coming, and a decided return to nationalism fol-
lowed.''® Already its representatives in Congress had
voted for the bill of 1822 to provide for the preserva-
tion of the Cumberland Road.'^'^ In 181 7 Madison's
veto of the Bonus Bill had been readily acquiesced
in by the inhabitants of western Virginia; but in 1822
they were highly incensed at Monroe's veto of a
similar bill, and their representatives in Congress
voted to pass it, over the president's veto.''®
During the spring and summer of 1823 numerous
mass-meetings were held along the Potomac and in
the northwest to encourage internal improvements by
'"^ Miles Register, XXXII, 388, 417.
""Reg, of Cong, Debates, IX, Part II, 2472.
"** Alexandria Herald, January 9, 1822.
""Annals of Cong,, 17 Cong., ist sess., II, 1734-
^Ibid., 17 Cong., ist sess., II, 1874.
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RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 123
the federal government. So pronounced was public
opinion that Monroe began to feel doubtful of the
wisdom of the position he had taken in the veto
message of 1822^^ This popular movement led to
the surrender of the rights and interests of the Po-
tomac Company, and to the incorporation of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company. Notwithstand-
ing the fact that this proposed canal was to be con-
structed in part by funds derived from the federal
government, the influence of western and northeastern
Virginia in the Assembly was sufficient to secure the
ratification of the act to incorporate the new company
and an appropriation to it.®^ For a time the Assembly
showed a disposition to abandon the internal improve-
ments on the James and Kanawha rivers.
The vacillation of the Assembly increased the
jealousy of sections. Appropriations continued to be
defeated, and efforts were made to rescind the Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal Company's charter.®^ To
counteract this attempt an appropriation was made to
be used in constructing a canal, commonly known as
the Blue Ridge Canal, around Balcony Falls where
the James breaks through the Blue Ridge.®^
"/. H, U. Studies, XVII, 490.
^ Later some of the strict constructionists tried to explain
their action on this occasion by insisting that Congress had aided
the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in the capacity of the local legis-
lature of the District of Columbia {Debates, Va. Constitutional
Convention of 1829-30, 146).
^Richmond Enquirer, January 23, 1823.
•■ Pamphlet, Report of the Committee on Roads and Int, Imp.
(1831-32), 2$; Niles Register, XXVI, 16.
124 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
The encouragement contained in the document,
"Views on the Subject of Internal Improvements/'
which accompanied Monroe's veto message of 1822,
called forth the General Survey Bill of 1824, so
popular in western Virginia. This bill gave the
President power to make surveys for such roads and
canals as he deemed of national importance for com-
mercial, military, and postal purposes. In the minds
of its supporters it contemplated a system of national
internal improvements. For this reason it met strenu-
ous opposition in eastern Virginia. John Randolph
declared that its enactment into law implied the pos-
session of sufficient power by Congress to emancipate
every slave in the Union.®®
Map I, showing Virginia's vote on the tariff of
1828, serves also for a map of her vote on the General
Survey Bill.®^ The districts voting aye are in each
case the same, although those not voting are not quite
identical. As has been shown, but one representative
voted for the tariff of 1824. This vote, when com-
pared with that on the General Survey Bill, shows
what was undoubtedly true of western Virginia,
namely, a greater interest in internal improvements
than in other features. of the American System.
Meanwhile the steam railway became a factor in
internal improvements, which now became more com-
plex than ever in Virginia. In 1826 the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad Company was incorporated. Im-
mediately it appealed to Virginia and Pennsylvania for
"Annals of Cong,, 18 Cong., ist sess., I, 1296-1311,
^ See ibid,, 18 Cong., ist sess., I, 1468.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 125
the privilege of constructing its proposed lines across
their territory. The request was granted by Virginia,
but only after a severe sectional contest.
To avoid competition with the Erie Canal and the
Pennsylvania lines of improvement the Baltimore and
Ohio Company desired to reach the Ohio by the
most southern route possible. Accordingly it asked
permission to construct its lines along the Shenandoah
to the headwaters of the Kanawha, thence by that
stream to the Ohio.®** The inhabitants of the Valley
and the Kanawha section heartily indorsed the scheme.
The western press was full of letters and editorials
designed to influence the action of the Assembly. Un-
willing to make the west the backyard to Baltimore
and to injure the possibility of Richmond as a com-
mercial city, the Assembly refused the request and
restricted the western terminus of the proposed road
to such a point as the company might select north
of the mouth of the Little Kanawha.®* There
was considerable sentiment in the east favorable to
keeping the road out of the state entirely,®*^ and later
an effort was made to repeal the act whereby per-
mission had been given it to construct its lines across
Virginia territory.®®
When strict construction became more popular in
the east and when it became certain that the Chesa-
'^Niles Register, XXXIII, 163.
"Acts of Assembly, 1826-27, 77-84; Report of Committee on
Roads and Int. Imp, (1831-32), 35; Niles Register, XXXII.
* Virginia Advocate, May 3, 1828.
^Richmond Enquirer, December, 1829.
126 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
peake and Ohio Canal would be largely a national
enterprise under the direction of Adams, Virginia
began to oppose the scheme for connecting the
PotonMic and Ohio rivers by a canal.®* In 1826 the
state engineer reported that a canal connecting the
James and the Kanawha was practicable, but he sug-
gested that the work be not undertaken until it was
known whether or not the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
would be constructed. For a brief period the Assem-
bly remained friendly to this recommendation, but the
necessity for a greater demonstration against nation-
alism caused a reaction. Ten days after Adams
threw the first spade of dirt from the proposed Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal, the east Virginians held an
internal improvement convention at Charlottesville.
The object was to revive interest in the scheme of con-
necting the James and the Kanawha by a continuous
canal, now a rival scheme to that of the federal gov-
ernment on the Potomac.®^ The Assembly of 1828
also defeated a bill to make further appropriations to
the capital stock of the Chesapeake and Ohio Com-
pany.®^
Delays and changes in plans heightened the dis-
content of the west and made the national plan more
popular. The presence of several corps of surveyors
tended to keep the subject of internal improvements
'* Debates, Va. Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 148.
*^Niles Register, XXXIV, 345; Debates, Va. Constitutional
Convention of 1829-30, 143. Madison, Marshall, Monroe, James
Barbour, Mercer, and Professor Dew, of William and Mary, were
members of this convention.
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 127,
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 127
continually before the inhabitants. In 1828 the west
was overrun by three corps of engineers, one in the
employ of the state, another in the employ of the
federal government, and still another in the employ of
the Baltimore and Ohio Company.^^ xhe incessant
discussion between the advocates of the sluice and
dam system, of continuous canals, and of railroads
respectively did not contribute to political unity and
accord.
The presidential elections of 1824 and 1828 are
important from a sectional standpoint, as the various
issues involved in each were the tariff, internal im-
provements, and local reform. Before the state be-
came divided sectionally on these subjects it would
have been difficult to tell which of the two favorites
in 1824, Crawford or Adams, had the stronger follow-
ing-^^ James Barbour, United States senator, favored
the election of Adams, and John Taylor, United States
senator for a few months of the year 1824, was, for
a time at least, not unfriendly to it. By most persons
Adams was then regarded as a good Republican of
the Jefferson type; his character was above reproach;
he was the heir apparent to the throne; and domestic
tranquillity seemed to demand his election, since the
North had not had a president in a quarter of a
century. Besides, his official conduct had not made
him unpopular.®^ On the other hand, Crawford's
^Niles Register, XXXIII, 163; Washington and Lee Hist,
Papers, No. 5, p. 63; Register Cong, Debates, 19 Cong., 2d sess.,
Ill, 1565; Report of Com. on Road and Int, Imp, (1831-32), 32.
^Richmond Enquirer, January 26, 1822.
^Ihid,, January 26, 1822; Alexandria Herald, IILqy 5, 1823.
128 SECTIONAUSM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-18$!
business methods and executive ability were not above
criticism. He also had supported the "infamous
regime" under John Adams, and the recharter of the
United States Bank. By the strict constructionists he
was frequently dubbed "one of the tribe of South
Carolina Federalists."**^
In the early stages of the contest of 1824 the
support given the less popular candidates, Jackson,
Clay, and Calhoun, was more sectional in character
than either the Adams or Crawford following. Jack-
son had a following in the counties of the southwest ;
Clay was popular in the counties along the Cumber-
land Road;** and the internal improvement interests
of the west were not unfriendly to Calhoun. Not one
of these candidates was seriously mentioned in the
east. Calhoun was especially objectionable to the
young school of state-rights politicians.**^ By them
he was regarded as a "sort of prodigy, nigro sifnil"
limus cygno,"^^ A letter to the Richmond Enquirer,
in 1824, gives a fair estimate of the popular conception
then entertained in the east regarding Calhoun.
He has no friends [said the writer] in Virginia who will
rally on the hustings in any of her districts. His kindly man-
ners and fine genius may attract a few stragglers here and
there to his banners, but no considerate Virginian who values
the constitution of his country will lend himself to the care
of an ultra politician of the federal school.**
^Richmond Enquirer, January 22, 1822; ibid., January 27,
1822; Alexandria Herald, January 11, 1823; ibid., January 26, 1823.
** Richmond Enquirer, January 22, 1822.
^ Ibid., January 26, 1822.
'^Ibid,, December 19, 1822.
^Ibid,, February 12, 1824.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBUCAN PARTY 129
As the interest in internal improvements and the
tariff discussions became intense the Adams and
Crawford followings became more sectionalized.^^^
Crawford's open declaration of devotion to the princi-
ples of strict construction won friends in the east. On
the other hand, Adams' refusal to commit himself gave
his supporters there no position to maintain, and a
large number ultimately deserted him. By 1823 the
Enquirer had espoused Crawford's candidacy and was
earnestly pressing the Adams supporters for a state-
ment of principles. ^^* None came, and the extreme
state-rights advocates began to doubt the orthodoxy
of the favorite son of Massachusetts. They went so
far as to criticize Adams for deserting his state in
1807.^^^ Meanwhile Crawford's nationalistic tenden-
cies were forgotten; his assailants were refuted as
calumniators and liars ; "his firmness of character and
his disinterested patriotism of 1816," when he readily
acquiesced in the election of Monroe to the presidency,
took precedence of all other considerations.^^^ The
west preferred Adams with no statement of political
principle to Crawford resting his candidacy upon a
platform which they did not like.
Meanwhile Jackson's candidacy increased in popu-
larity in the west and detracted from the Adams
strength there. Jackson and reform struck a responsive
chord in those parts of the state which had long been
»"/Wd., May, 1823.
^Ibid., May s, 1826; ibid., October 29, 1823.
^^ Alexandria Herald, October 10, 16, 29, 1823.
^Richmond Enquirer, May s, 1824; ibid., July 4, i8a3-
I30 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
contending with conservatism. In April, 1824, the
Jackson supporters held several mass-meetings in the
western counties. That of Warrenton/^* Fauquier
County, appointed committees of correspondence, and
inaugurated a systematic campaign. The east refused
to consider Jackson seriously ; Ritchie was even severe
in his criticism of him. He feared Jackson would be-
come the tool of designing politicians, and that his im-
petuous temper would thoroughly disqualify him for
the position of chief executive.^®*^ When the congres-
sional caucus for nominating presidential candidates
became an issue in the campaign, Jackson's popularity
in the west increased. In January, 1824, members of
the Assembly held a convention to discuss the New
York letter favoring a continuation of the caucus
method of nomination. Out of a total of 236 delegates
and senators, 168 attended. Few of the western coun-
ties were represented in this meeting by their full
delegation in the Assembly. Somd were not repre-
sented at all; others by only one delegate.^^* At this
time Ritchie was in favor of the continuation of the
congressional nominating caucus. He believed it was
a choice between an election by the people and an elec-
tion by the House of Representatives. In the latter
alternative he feared a deadlock and the promotion
of Calhoun to the presidency.^®*^
^^ Alexandria Herald, April 23, 26, 1824.
^Ibid., September 17, 1824; Richmond Enquirer, March 2,
1824; ibid,, March 19, 1824.
^Ihid,, January 6, 13, 22, 1824.
^Ibid., February 12, 1824.
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RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 131
Notwithstanding the fact that the congressional
caucus, which placed Crawford in nomination for the
presidency, was largely a New York, North Carolina,
and Virginia affair, most of the representatives of the
transmontane country in Virginia did not attend it.^^®
Immediately following Crawford's nomination mem-
bers of the Assembly met in a convention to name
electors for the Democratic ticket. One hundred and
sixty-three members, mostly from the counties east of
the Blue Ridge, attended. Of this number 139 voted
for Crawford electors, 7 for Adams, 6 for Jackson,
and 5 for Clay. The Enquirer estimated that the 73
members who did not attend were about evenly divided
between Jackson and Adams.^^*
In the summer of 1824 efforts were made in the
west to induce the supporters of Clay and Adams to
unite against the Crawford party in favor of Jackson,
but without success. Accordingly the popular vote
went to four candidates, viz., Clay, Jackson, Adams,
and Crawford. There was, however, little enthusiasm
in the election, not half of the full vote being polled.^ ^^
Returns practically complete gave Clay 418 votes,
Jackson 2,850, Adams 3,389, and Crawford 8,408.^^^
The accompanying Map II gives the vote of Vir-
*^"The trans- Alleghany was not represented (ibid., January 15,
1824; February 19, 1832).
^Ibid,, February 24, 1824; ibid,, January 6, 1824; ibid,,
February 24, 1824.
^Ibid., August 6, 1824.
"* Complete returns may be gathered from the Richmond En-
quirer following November 5, 1824.
132 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ginia by counties in the presidential election of 1824.
It shows those counties interested in internal improve-
ments and predisposed to nationalism voting for
Adams and Clay. Jackson's largest vote came from
the southwestern part of the state where the interest
in internal improvements was not strong. Crawford
carried isolated counties in the west, but his chief vote
came from the Piedmont and the Tidewater. The
vote for both Jackson and Clay was purely sectional,
neither receiving more than a few votes east of the
Blue Ridge. On the other hand, Adams received a
strong minority vote in most of the eastern counties,
as did Crawford in the western.
When the presidential election was taken to the
House of Representatives, Powell, who represented the
district on the lower Shenandoah, voted for Adams.
A representative from the southwestern part of the
state voted for Jackson, but the remaining vote was
given to Crawford.^ ^^
In the presidential election of 1828 internal im-
provements played the important part. Under the
provisions of the General Survey Act, Adams had kept
a corps of surveyors employed almost constantly in
those districts of the state where their presence would
be most conducive to nationalism.^^* So long as
"*The vote of the electoral college was for Nathaniel Macon
for vice-president.
*"At this time James Barbour of Virginia was secretary of
war and did much to aid Adams in his effort to nationalize
Virginia.
RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 133
Adams operated under the provisions of the Survey
Act, the strict constructionists were not in a position
to interfere. But in 1826 a resolution was introduced
in the House to appropriate $30,000 to be used in
making surveys not provided for by the act of 1824.
A debate which throws much Hght upon Virginia
politics ensued.
W. C. Rives, spokesman for the east on this occa-
sion, denounced the General Survey Act and the
proposed appropriation as the modus operandi of an
extensive system of internal improvements to be under-
taken by the federal government. The influence of the
proposed appropriation, he argued, could be measured
only as the compound ratio of the whole sum
necessary to complete the works contemplated by the
surveys which it would make. He believed that a
concerted effort was on foot to melt down the political^
scruples of Virginia "in the crucible of mercenary in-
terest" and that "reconnaissances and surveys were to
be the powerful menstruum by which the solution was
to be effected." "Political engineering" and "topo-
graphical arguments," he alleged, were being used to
smother out Jackson majorities along the Cumberland
Road."*
Most of the representatives from the transmontane
districts felt personally called upon to answer Rives.
The chief refutation was made, however, by Mercer
of the Loudoun district. He reviewed the internal
^Register of Cong, Debates, III, 1262-78.
134 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
improvement history of Virginia in an effort to show
that he and his colleagues from the west had not de-
parted from the principle entertained by the state in
181 5 and 1816.***^ Joseph Johnson, of the north-
western district, assured Rives that notwithstanding
"literal construction" and "construction construed,"
favorite expressions of John Taylor, of Caroline, east-
em Virginia knew absolutely nothing of the feelings'
and interests of the west.^^^ Powell denied that the
inhabitants of western Virginia were disciples of the
strict construction school, and assured the east that
they would vote for no candidate for the presidency
who denied the power of Congress to make appropria-
tions to work of internal improvements.^^''
The election of 1828 was the most hotly contested
which had yet taken place in Virginia. It was really
the first election since that of 1800 to be participated
in by two clearly defined and well-organized parties.
In the absence of a more orthodox candidate the east
*
accepted Jackson. Adams had a strong following there,
but his greatest following was in the west. The total
popular vote was 38,859,^^® which was almost two and
one-half times the total vote of 1824. Of this vote
Adams received 12,107, which was four-fifths of the
total vote given all four candidates in 1824. The in-
creased vote came largely from the western counties
^Register of Cong, Debates, III, 1285.
^Ibid., Ill, 1320.
""Ibid., Ill, 1 312.
^^ Richmond Enquirer, November 28, 1828.
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RISE OF NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PARTY 135
and was called forth by the increased interest in reform
and internal improvements.^^®
Map III of this chapter shows the vote of Virginia
by counties in the election of 1828. Most counties in
those sections intensely interested in internal improve-
ments gave either majorities or large minorities for
Adams. On the other hand, those counties where the
sentiment for strict construction and the desire for
local reform were strongest gave majorities for Jack-
son.
This election does not, however, show clearly the
sectional character of political parties in Virginia,
because the issues were too complicated. Many nation-
alists voted for Jackson, because his congressional
record in favor of internal improvements and a tariff
appealed to them. Jackson's personality is also an
element which must be reckoned with in trying to
account for his political success. The results of the
congressional elections of 1825 and 1827 and the votes
taken in the House of Delegates on federal relations
afford a much better basis for a judgment of the status
of political parties than does the presidential election
^The following table shows the increased popular vote in
some of the western counties:
County
Botetourt ...
Frederick . . .
Mootgamery
Ohio
Harrison
Yeas
x8a4
1838
138
440
X083
X05
296
7a
4Sa
761
728 "
136 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
of 1828. In the contest of 1825 the Valley returned
three National Republicans, namely, A. H. Powell,
Benjamin Estil, and William Armstrong. At the
same time all those Democratic-Republican representa-
tives, from the trans-Alleghany and from the districts
along the Potomac, who believed in the constitution-
ality of federal appropriations to works of internal
improvement, were re-elected.^ ^ In the election of
1827 the National Republicans made further gains.
Notwithstanding the fact that Joseph Johnson and
William Smith, the representatives from the trans-
Alleghany, had voted for federal appropriations to
works of internal improvements, they went down to
defeat in an effort to secure a re-election. Their suc-
cessors were Lewis Maxwell and Isaac Leffler, pro-
nounced Clay men. Practically all the delegates from
the counties west of the Blue Ridge voted against the
resolutions on federal relations, adopted annually by
the House of Delegates for several years following
1825.
""They were: Mercer and Taliaferro from districts along the
Potomac, Newton from the Norfolk district, and Johnson and
Smith from the trans-Alleghany,
CHAPTER V
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 182^30
The constitutional convention of 1829-30 was the
result of a half-century of conflict between the east
and the west over representation, suffrage, and abuses
in the state and local governments. In 1828 the House
of Delegates consisted of two hundred and fourteen
members; the Senate of twenty-four. Of this ntunber
the transmontane country with a total white population
of 254,196 had only eighty delegates and nine senators,
while the cismontane country with a total white popu-
lation of 348,873 had one hundred and thirty-four
delegates and fifteen senators. An apportionment on
the basis of white population would have made little
change in the representation of either section in the
Senate, but it would have entitled the west to ninety
delegates and the east to one hundred and twenty-four.
Such a reapportionment would have involved a sacri-
fice of political power on the part of both the Tide-
water and the trans-AUeghany. Accordingly these
sections were not anxious for such a change or over-
enthusiastic for a constitutional convention.
An extension of suffrage was a subject only sec-
ondary in importance to that of reapportionment of
representation. The law regulating this privilege had
remained from 1776, except that the number of acres
of improved land, the possession of which entitled one
to a vote, had been reduced from fifty to twenty-five.
137
138 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
The estimates, generally accepted in 1829, fixed the
number of those who could vote then at 45,000.^ At
least 31,000^ men of legal age and taxpayers, several
thousand paying on realty, were then excluded from
the right of suffrage. Merchants, mechanics, and
others, unattached to the soil, had been petitioning the
Assembly for this right for more than a quarter of a
century.
Meanwhile grave abuses had arisen in the exercise
of suffrage in the western counties. There it was an
easy matter to secure enough unimproved land to
entitle one to the privilege. Mountain land was as
cheap as "mountain dew," and much of it was used
for the same purpose, namely, to carry elections. The
barren lands of some counties were shingled over with
patents held for the sole purpose of entitling their own-
ers to suffrage. * The demands for a greater electorate
were general, but were loudest in the east. Cheap
lands were not so abundant there, and the eastern cities
contained many landless artisans.*
Much dissatisfaction had also arisen over the con-
duct of the legislature. The prolonged discussions on
federal relations did not receive a hearty response west
of the mountains. Reformers believed that thousands
of dollars might be saved annually by trimming down
the legislative expenses and that this expenditure might
be applied to better purposes upon roads and, canals.
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829^30,
'This number did not include 22,000 men who worked the
roads and performed military service (ibid,, 423, 424).
»/Wd., 757. */&«/., 692.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, i82c>-30 139
Accordingly they proposed to limit the Assembly both
in membership and in the frequency and duration of
its sessions.
In the west grave dissatisfaction was felt over
the existence and character of the governor's council
and the reputed abuse of its powers in connection
with the internal improvement and literary funds.
Accordingly the people desired a more responsible
executive and the abolition of the Privy Council.
The county courts were also a source of much dis-
satisfaction. In many counties these bodies had become
close corporations. The members were appointed by the
governor, but only on recommendation of the sheriff,
who was himself generally in close personal touch with
the court. Persons receiving the appointment as sheriff
were, as a rule, members of the county court, and gen-
erally returned to it when their term of office as sheriff
had expired. The court combined the executive, legis-
lative, and judicial functions in the county govern-
ment; it appointed civil officers and all military
officials below the rank of brigadier-general; it laid
the county levy ; in many cases the offices of honor and
profit, even the petty positions, were bestowed either
upon its members or their relatives. New families
and those long exclud-ed from a participation in public
affairs were hostile to this institution and anxious to
bring it and the whole official system to an elective
basis.
The reformers also wanted to wipe out the abuses
which had developed in many of the older localities
in the sheriff's office. This office was usually appropri-
I40 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ated by members of the county court who accepted it
to compensate their gratuitous services as judges.
It was passed on from one member of the court to
another, and was in each case usually fanned out to a
deputy. In some cases the privileges of the office
were sold at public auction.* The opportunity for
peculation and extortion which the office afforded was
so great that deputies frequently paid as much for its
privileges as the legal fees from it amounted to. In
some counties the sheriff's office remained for years
in the hands of professional "paper shavers."^
Had conditions been such as to involve no other
questions than the reform of these abuses and practices,
it is not at all likely that the reform movement would
have encountered opposition from any quarter. But
there were other and very practical reasons why the
conservatives should oppose it. A constitutional con-
vention, the only means of remedying the evils com-
plained of, was almost sure to take political power
from the east. This section was thus confronted by
the very practical proposition of whether or not it
would surrender to the west, which desired greater
revenues to construct roads and canals and to maintain
free schools, and the power to tax the worn-out lands
and slave property of the east. Thus the reform move-
ment became complicated by problems of taxation,
internal improvements, and even of negro slavery.
Already the east was complaining of excessive taxa-
tion. In 1829 the west drew annually for the purposes
* Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 486.
*Ihid., 486-503.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 141
of ordinary administration more from the treasury
than it contributed.'' Efforts to equalize the burden by
imposing a tax upon "neat cattle" had resulted in fail-
ure. The excessive tax upon realty constituted a
genuine grievance in the east, which paid on an arbi-
trary valuation made in 181 7. Then the east was in
the height of prosperity; good markets for produce
and the prevalence of a speculative fever inflated
values of all kinds. In consequence realty had been
valued at very high rates. On the other hand, the
absence of state banks and the isolation of the country
had checked the speculative spirit in the west. Conse-
quently values had remained stable and realty had
been rated very low. In 1829 the average valuation
upon which each section paid taxes was per acre: for
the trans-AUeghany, 92 cents ; for the Valley, $7.33 ;
for the Piedmont, $8.20; and for the Tidewater,
$8.43.® B. W. Leigh estimated that the east paid
$3.24 taxes for every dollar paid by the west.^
But the crux of the issue was that the east pos-
sessed a large amount of slave property, while the
west was practically non-slaveholding. At this time
there were east of the Blue Ridge 397,000 negro
slaves subject to taxation and only 50,000 west thereof,
and slave property contributed almost one-third of the
entire state revenue. Monroe was of the opinion that,
"if no such thing as slavery existed, the people of the
Atlantic border would meet their brethren of the
''Ibid,, 214.
*Ibid,, 258, 661; Richmond Enquirer, February 22, 1830.
* Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 153.
142 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
west, upon the basis of a majority of the free white
population. "^^ Madison entertained a similar opinion/*
In 1822 the reform movement, suspended during
the local era of good feeling, was again set in motion.
In its first stages it met favor in all sections. In 1824
several eastern counties, quite independently of the
Assembly, took polls to determine the sense of the
people upon the call of a constitutional convention
and gave majorities for it;*^ Jefferson again came
from his retirement to advocate reform;** both
Ritchie and Pleasants of the Richmond Enquirer and
Whig, respectively, spoke for it; the advisability of
reform was debated on the public square at Rich-
mond ;** and petitions came from all parts of the state
, asking for a new constitution. Under this pressure
the House of Delegates of 1824-25 passed a bill to
take the voice of the people upon the question of call-
ing a constitutional convention, but it was defeated in
the more conservative Senate.**^
Unfortunately the reform movement became com-
plicated with national politics. The conservatives
began to oppose it on the ground that a constitutional
convention would endanger the representation ac-
corded slave population in the national government
and the rights of the minority. Fewer delegates from
^Debates, Va. Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 149.
"Madison, Writings (ed, Cong.)> IV, 60,
^Richmond Enquirer, May 16, 1824; Niles Register, XXVI,
179.
'^Richmond Enquirer, April 27, 1824.
"/Wrf., April 16, 1824; Niles Register, XXVI, 117,
^Richmond Enquirer, February' 8, 10, 1825.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 143
the east voted for the call of a constitutional conven-
tion in 1826 than had voted for it in 1825, and the
opinion became current in the west that the strict
constructionists were opposed to reform. By an analy-
sis of the vote in the House of Delegates, by which
the bill to submit the call of a constitutional convention
to the people was finally agreed upon, the editor of the
Winchester Republican showed that ninety-nine of the
one hundred and twenty-six state-rights men in that
body had voted against it.^®
On the other hand, the reform movement fell
more and more into the hands of those out of S3mipa-
thetic touch with the political leaders of the east. The
Staunton Convention of July, 1825, called to promote
the call of a constitutional convention, was composed
alnK>st entirely of such delegates, and was representa-
tive of the western part of the state only. Mercer had
been the moving spirit in bringing it about, and Shef-
fey and Breckenridge, the old Federalist leaders of
18 16, were its most active members. It took up the
cause of reform where the partisan leaders of 18 16
had left off. But in addition to a resolution favoring
an equalization of representation, it resolved that the
privilege of suffrage should be extended to all white
male citizens above the age of twenty-one, that the
local and state administrations should be reformed,
and that the membership of the Assembly should be
reduced.^^
"•Niles Register, XXXVI, 65.
"Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 420-23;
Richmond Enquirer, August 2, 1825.
144 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
The popular vote on the call of a constitutional
convention, taken in 1828, was: for it, 21,896, against
it, 16,646. The map shows the geographic distri-
bution of this vote. A comparison of this map
with a map of the vote of the House of Delegates
of 1 828-^29 upon the resolutions on the federal rela-
tions reveals striking similarities.^® The affirmative
vote came chiefly from the large populous counties in
the Valley, along the Potomac, and in the northwest.
The democratic counties of the Piedmont foothills,
which were slightly nationalistic, also gave majorities
for the convention,^® as did the old Federalist strong-
hold, Accomac County. An analysis of the vote shows
seven-eighths of the voters in the Tidewater opposed
to it ; the Piedmont almost equally divided ; the Valley
practically unanimous for it; and one-fourth of those
in the trans-AUeghany opposed to it.
Although the convention had carried by a large
majority, it was with difficulty that the Assembly of
1828-29 agreed to call a constitutional convention.
The west made a determined effort to have a census
and to base the representation in the proposed conven-
tion upon the white population. After weeks of debate,
in many ways a preliminary to that of the convention,
it was decided to permit each of the twenty-four sena-
torial districts to elect four delegates. Theoretically
this arrangement was a concession to the reformers ;
but practically it was their defeat, because the Senate
"See chap, iv, p. 136.
"The counties were Albemarle, Amherst, Campbell, Fluvanna,
Henry, Nelson, and Pittsylvania.
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CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 145
was elected upon a basis of the white population as
determined in 1810. Only qualified electors for mem-
bers of the most numerous branch of the Assembly
were permitted to vote, but no restriction, either as
to the office which the candidate held or the place of
his residence, was imposed upon the voters in their
choice of delegates to the convention.
The liberal provisions regulating their choice and
the importance of the occasion caused the voters to
appeal to the best in character and talent. Among
those chosen as delegates were two ex-presidents,
Madison and Monroe; the chief justice of the United
States Supreme Court, John Marshall; Governor W.
B. Giles; two United States senators, John Tyler and
L, W. Tazewell; eleven representatives in Congress,
of whom the most prominent were John Randolph,
C. F. Mercer, P. P. Barbour, and Philip Doddridge;
Judges Dade, Green, and Upshur; and B. W. Leigh,
Chapman Johnson, and Lewis Summers, each favor-
ably known at the state and federal bar.^ In personnel
the convention was of national reputation; from the
east came those who had played a large part in shaping
the Virginia school of political thought and in directing
the affairs of the nation; while from the west came
those who had long been buried beneath the "weight
of their obnoxious federalism."
As the time for the meeting of the convention
"On the personnel of the convention see Southern Literary
Messenger, XVII, 298; Grigsby, Va, Constitutional Convention of
1829-^30, in "Va, Hiat. Coll.;" Niles Register, XXXVI, 285, 300,
410.
146 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
approached, its far-reaching importance became more
pronounced. Hezekiah Niles believed that the effects
of its deliberations would not be confined to Virginia
alone. Indorsing the opinion of another writer, he
said, "The greatest question before the Virginia con-
vention is the perpetual duration of negro slavery or
the increase of a generous and free white population."^^
The editor of the Charleston (S. C.) Mercury looked
with alarm upon the proposed free discussion of negro
slavery. "Already," said he, "do the advocates of
abolition rejoice even at the agitation of the subject
and confidently predict the day of triumph." He be-
lieved, however, that Virginia could not be suicidal to
herself, nor traitorous to her sister states similarly
situated. "Sectional interests may clash," said he,
"local jealousies may jar; eastern and western Virginia
may contend warmly and even fearfully, but we have
no apprehension for the result. "^^ It was at this time
that Thomas Ritchie, of the Enquirer, found more
frequent occasion than usual to make use of his choice
expression, "The eyes of the world are upon us."
Young men, embryo politicians, realized the impor-
tance of the convention and repaired to Richmond to
hear the debates, while distinguished strangers, foreign
ministers, and travelers came to drink of Virginia
eloquence on the native heath. ^^
'^mies Register, XXXVII, 145.
'^Richmond Enquirer, October 27, 1829.
"T. F. Marshall, Speeches and Writings, 7; Grigsby, Va, Con-
stitutional Convention of 1829^30, 5; Richmond Enquirer, Octo-
ber 17, 1829.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 147
The convention met at Richmond, October 5, 1829.
After organization^* four committees, composed of one
delegate from each of the twenty-four senatorial dis-
tricts, were appointed, one each on the Bill of Rights
and the legislative, executive, and judicial departments
of the government. Each committee was instructed to
consider and report what amendments, if any, should
be made to the particular part of the constitution of
1776 committed to it.
The committees on the Bill of Rights, the executive,
and the judicial departments soon reached conclusions
favorable to the conservatives, but that on the legis-
lative department found greater difficulty in agreeing
upon a report. The reformers controlled twelve of its
twenty-four members, and the conservatives eleven,
while Madison, the twenty-fourth member, refused to
concede to the extreme demands of either side. The
reformers, led by Doddridge, stood out for the white
basis of representation in both houses and for a general
extension of the suffrage. The conservatives, led by
B. W. Leigh, favored a basis for both houses to be
determined by a compound ratio of white population
and direct taxes. Madison favored the white basis
for one house but opposed it for both.^* Accordingly
Doddridge proposed two resolutions: one to provide
for the white basis for the House ; the other to provide
the same basis for the Senate. Madison's vote carried
the first but tied the committee on the second resolu-
^ James Monroe was made president of the convention.
^Richmond Enquirer, October 15, 1829; ibid,, October 22,
1829.
148 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
tion.^* Accordingly the committee recommended that
"in the apportionment of representation in the House
of Delegates regard should be had to the white popula-
tion exclusively," and said nothing about a basis for
the Senate. It also recommended a reduction in the
membership of the House of Delegates and an ex-
tension of the suffrage.^''
Fearing to accept the Bill of Rights as a basis for
continuing their work, the conservatives desired to
pass that part of the constitution by until the more
practical parts could be agreed upon. Avowing their
intention to begin where the framers of 1776 left off,
the reformers favored adopting the Bill of Rights as a
preliminary to subsequent work. Some desired to go
even farther and to amend the declaration of 1776 by
the addition thereto of clauses to provide for equal
representation for all voters and for manhood suffrage.
Robert B. Taylor, of Norfolk, made a long speech in
favor of such an amendment.^® The conservatives
prevailed, however, and the report of the committee on
the Bill of Rights was temporarily laid on the table.
The attitude of the most radical reformers on this
procedure can be shown by an extract from the speech
of Alexander Campbell, of Brooke County.
We set sail [said he] without compass, rudder or pilot.
So anxious were some gentlemen here to put to sea, that
when we called for the compass and the pilot, they ex-
claimed: "Never mind, we will get the compass and the
^Richmond Enquirer, March 26, 1830.
^Debates, Va. Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 40.
^Ibid,, 46-50.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 182^30 149
pilot when we get to port." We are now a thousand miles
from land. Gentlemen are making fine speeches upon the ele-
ments of the ocean and now and then upon the art of sailing.
It will be well, if the rari nantes in gurgite vasto apply not
to us.*
Immediately the committee of the whole passed to
the consideration of that part of the report of the com-
mittee on the legislative department, which recom-
mended "that in the apportionment of representation
in the House of Delegates, regard should be had to the
white population exclusively." Judge Green moved
to amend this report by striking out the word "exclu-
sively" and adding in lieu thereof the words "and taxa-
tion combined." The debate which followed involved
questions of political theory as well as practical politics.
Because of their subsequent importance some space
will here be given to a discussion of the political
theories advanced by the different sections.
There were three clearly defined classes of political
thinkers in the convention, viz., the reformers and the
old and new school of conservatives. The reformers
drew their political theories largely from the Declara-
tion of Rights and the teachings of 1776, which, they
contended, contained "eternal truths." Practically all
the members of this class were favorable to the rule of
the majority in both the state and the national govern-
ment. They made frequent use of those parts of the
Declaration of Rights which declare that all men are
naturally free and independent, that they have inalien-
able rights, that power is derived from the people, that
■/Wd^ 117.
ISO SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
government was instituted for the common benefit, and
that a majority of a community have a right to amend
or abolish any government when it becomes inadequate
for the purposes for which it was created. These were,
said the reformers, the teachings of Locke and Milton
and the products of the English struggle for liberty.
Upon these hypotheses they defended the natural right
of numbers to rule. The only prerequisite for the
exercise of political power which they admitted in their
own case was a "common interest with and attachment
to the country,*' which they claimed to have shown
repeatedly.
The older and more numerous class of the conserv-
atives, led by Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Tazewell,
and Giles, were also devoted to the teachings of 1776.
But they were strict constructionists, admirers of the
works of the fathers, and intensely fearful of the in-
creasing power and prominence of the west.
The smaller class of the conservatives, and subse-
quently the more important one, was led by young men,
such as B. W. Leigh and Abel P. Upshur. They
accepted the doctrines of strict construction, but were
rapidly departing from the teachings and principles of
1776. They had formed their conception of the proper
relation between the states and the national government
during the period of conflict between state rights and
the American System and were strenuously opposed to
nationalism. The representatives of a section which
had become impoverished while the surrounding states
became wealthy, they were concerned in the protection
of minority rights and interests and, with their more
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 151
powerful leader, Calhoun, were beginning to discredit
the contract theory of government. They were the
political forerunners of such men as R. M. T. Hunter,
H. A. Wise, James A. Seddon, John Y. Mason, and
Roger A. Pryor. The debate of the convention re-
solved itself largely into a contest between them and
the reformers.
Upshur and Leigh attacked the theoretical argu-
ments of the reformers. They each insisted that the
constitution of 1776 was the only sane and practical
application of Mason's Bill of Rights. They either
repudiated as "metaphysical subtleties" the arguments
advanced by the reformers, or accused them of inten-
tionally misapplying the provisions of the Declaration
of Rights. That all men are not bom equally free and
independent, they argued, is obvious, because slaves
are men bom daily into bondage. They insisted that
the majority did not possess the right to reform or
abolish a government, unless such change be "most
conducive to the public weal," a condition imposed by
the Declaration of Rights itself, and that no such rights
were recognized in practical government. They fre-
quently called attention to the fact that the reformers
omitted from their quotations from the Declaration of
Rights that part which expressly enumerated the right
"to acquire and possess property" as an inalienable
right.8<>
The older school of conservatives differed farthest
from Leigh and Upshur on questions of political
^Debates, Va. Constitutional Convention of 1829^30, 72-88,
1 5 1-74*
152 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
theory. But, in their praxrtical conclusions, they did
not differ much from the younger leaders, even on
these subjects. Wm. B. Giles, a leader in Congress
during the stormy days of the French Revolution,
would not agree with Upshur that a state of nature had
never existed, but he willingly accepted his conclusion
that a majority did not possess a natural right to rule
a state.** Although Leigh and Upshur denounced the
Bill of Rights as a compilation of "metaphysical subtle-
ties," Randolph desired to go on record "as subscrib-
ing to every word*' of it.*^
In defense of the rights of property to a share in
the law-making body, Upshur insisted that it was neces-
sary to consider two majorities, viz., a majority of
numbers and a majority of interests. He believed that
physical strength, intrepidity, and skill had always been
the ruling power in states and that numbers did not
always possess these requisites. He admitted, however,
that in most governments power could safely be in-
trusted to a majority of the legal voters, because they
usually possessed identical interests. But Virginia, he
maintained, was an exception to this general rule.
There it became necessary for the slave-owner to pos-
sess political power to be able to protect his "peculiar"
property against unjust taxation and fanatical assault. ®®
Leigh argued that property had potential power to
protect itself in all well-regulated governments and
insisted that the lawmakers should acknowledge this
practical fact by giving it representation. He believed
'^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 18 29-30 ^ 151-74.
"^Ibid., 317. "^Ibid., 72-88.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 182^30 153
that it was possible, by force or fraud, to separate prop-
erty and political power for a time, but he insisted that
as soon as the separation was felt property would either
purchase power or power would destroy property. Ac-
cordingly he asked the lawmakers not to establish a
basis of anarchy or corruption by refusing property a
voice in the government. **
Here again the older school of conservatives dif-
fered somewhat from their young leaders. Giles did
not base his claim to representation for negro slaves
alone on the fact that they were property. He claimed
representation for them on the ground that they were
persons with rights which the master must protect.
The slave, he argued, cannot be put to death ; he must
have humane treatment ; and he cannot be illegally im-
prisoned.'*
Because of the representation given economic in-
terests by the English system of government, the
younger school of conservatives professed great ad-
miration for that system. Leigh had "no hesitation
in saying, in the face of the whole world, that the
English Gk)vernment is a free Government, and the
English people a free people,"'® The conservatives
claimed to be the only true followers of Locke and
Milton and repeatedly insisted that the reformers were
tainted with the principles of the French Revolution. '"^
Giles believed that the combinations of the northern
majorities to oppress the South and to deprive it of
the rewards of its labor had caused the political ideas
•*/Wd., 156. ''Ibid., 157.
^Ihid., 348, 306. '^Ibid., I3S» IS7«
154 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
of the fathers to remain dormant there and had forced
the minority to return to the English system of
practical government'® John Randolph and other
conservatives had become admirers of Burke and ex-
ponents of his political theories.'®
The reformers objected strenuously to having the
raw head and bloody bones of the French Revolution
passed so frequently before them.^ But they were
careful to remind the conservatives that the political
upheavals in France were not due to the rule of a
majority, but to the rule of a privileged minority.
They also contended that, however dear the price,
the French Revolution was a good thing in its re-
sults because it brought a limited monarchy, a free
press, a republican assembly, and the trial by jury.*^
They denied the assertions that there are no funda-
mental principles in government and maintained
that man's social instinct, love of country, and re-
ligious feelings were fundamental to all govern-
ment.*^ Alexander Campbell, of Broolce County,
insisted that, if Upshur's argument be carried to
a logical conclusion, it would be necessary to con-
sider more than two majorities, a majority of numbers
and of property. It would be necessary then to con-
sider a majority of intellect, of physical strength, of
scientific skill, and of general literature; interests as
** Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 18^9-^30, 237.
•Garland, Randolph, I, 52, 56, 58; Goode, Speech in Va,
Assembly iSsi-s^ (pamphlet), 13.
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 143, 425,
*^/W., 143. "/Wd., 116, 124.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 ISS
important and as dear to some men as the possession of
negro slaves was to others ; interests which the slave-
holding aristocracy had proven itself unable or unwill-
ing to protect and encourage in the non-slaveholding
population. He believed a Joseph Lancaster, a Robert
Fulton, or a Benjamin Franklin worth infinitely more
to any society than a man whose chief merit was the
ownership of a hundred negro slaves.*^ The reformers
also argfued that property, of whatever variety, had
intrinsic qualities which had always enabled it to pro-
tect itself, and that added power, expressly conferred
upon it, had always deprived individuals of their rights
and liberties.** They believed that the man who
brought a large family of intelligent children, or the
section which brought a large population into the social
compact, was entitled to as much, if not more, power,
than he who brought only property. The latter was
perishable, the former was the hope of the society.**
As the debate proceeded it became more practical,
much time being given to a discussion of taxation.
Taking "the exactions of the federal government and
the state government together," Leigh doubted
"whether there is a people on earth more heavily taxed
than the slave-holding planters of Virginia.'*** He
argued that the white basis, if adopted by the conven-
tion, would cause representation "to rise in the
mountains and to overflow and drown the lowlands;
while taxation rising in the lowlands, and reversing
the course of nature, will flow to the mountains and
^ Ihid., 123, 124. *^Ibid,, 123.
"^Ibid., 88, 128. "^Ibid., 154.
IS6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 1776-1861
there spend, if not waste, its fertilizing streams over
every narrow valley and deep glen."*^ Upshur
scorned the argument that the west was rapidly becom-
ing slave holding and that it would soon possess a
homogeneity of interest with the east.
There exists [said he] in a great portion of the west a
rooted antipathy to this species of population — ^the habits of
the people are strongly opposed to it. With them personal
industry, and a reliance on personal exertion is tihe order of
society. They know how little slave labor is worth, while their
feelings as free men forbid them to work by the side of a
slave. And besides. Sir, their vicinity to non-slaveholding states
must forever render this sort of property precarious and in-
secure.**
The reformers admitted they did not pay as much
taxes as the conservatives, but insisted that the reason
lay in the fact that they did not possess as much prop-
erty. Notwithstanding the almost conclusive argu-
ments of Upshur, they insisted that negro slavery was
increasing in the west and that it would continue to
do so. The laws against the domestic slave trade and
the extension of internal improvements, they argued,.
HKide such an extension inevitable. In proof of their
position they pointed to the fact that the construction
of the Blue Ridge Canal in 1825 had carried the plan-
tation system into Botetourt and adjacent counties and
increased the negro slave population there.*® They
also insisted that it would be impossible for political
power, on the white basis, to pass to the west before
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-^30, 155.
« Ibid., 76. • Ibid., 2S2.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 182^30 157
1850, by which time they predicted that the Valley
would be thoroughly slave holding.*^^ They denied the
assertion that the internal improvement schemes were
intended to enrich the west and impoverish the east.
Internal improvement schemes; they argued, had been
handed down from the fathers and promised and re-
promised almost annually by the Assembly. It was
frequently pointed out that the great variety of inter-
ests made it almost impossible for two or more sections
to combine their interests so as to oppress other sections
by excessive taxation.*^*
The conservatives made a further defense of the
rights of property to a share in the government on the
ground that those who possessed it had never misruled
and that in some instances their rule had been a positive
blessing to the west. It was frequently asserted that a
"wise and conservative minority" had spared the west
the evils of excessive banking. On the other hand, the
reformers believed the rule of the property classes had
not always been "wise and benevolent." They could
not believe that the law which exempted all persons
who owned more than two negroes from service upon
the public highways, and imposed such service upon
all persons who owned less than that number was just.
They also pointed out that the poorer whites were sub-
ject to military duty, personal taxes, and poor levies,
which in some counties amounted to more than the tax
contributed by property.*^^ They doubted the wisdom
and benevolence of a policy which made all the public
■•/Wrf*, 209, 28 J.
«/Wd., 286. "7Wd., 128-33, 201.
158 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
expenditures for internal improvements east of the
mountains and denied foreign capital the privilege to
construct a railroad where it would accommodate the
largest numbers of citizens of the west.*^® Summers, of
Kanawha, also showed that the Assembly had not hesi-
tated to authorize numerous branch banks east of the
Blue Ridge, while it practically denied the west the
privileges of banks in any form.*^*
The conservatives also condemned the white basis
on the ground that it would set a precedent which might
endanger the power of Virginia in the national coun-
cils.*^*^ They deemed it inexpedient to repudiate a
principle whereby the state was entitled to one-third
of its power in the House of Representatives. "Be
assured," said Leigh, "that fanatics are at work, and
that the political power to which the possession of
negro slaves entitles the South hangs in the balance."*^*
It was alleged that on a former occasion Doddridge,
the spokesman of the west, had favored the white
basis for representation in Congress.*^''
The answers to these arguments were direct. You
ask too great security for .slave property, said the re-
formers; there is danger of making it odious in the
sight of the west ; of clothing it in the shirt of Nessus.*^®
Greater security, they claimed, would be assured by
admitting the white basis than by rejecting it.
"See chap, iv, p. 125.
** Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 18^9-30, 658.
^Ibid., 136, 243, 250, 317.
■•/Wd,, 125, 163, 173-
'"Ibid., 135. "^Ibid., 86, 99, 219.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 159
Let it once be openly avowed as a principle [said Chapman
Johnson] that the price which the western people must pay for
the protection of your slaves, is the surrender of their power
in the government, and you render that property hateful to
them in the extreme, and hold out to them the strongest of
all possible temptations to make war upon it, to render it of
no value to you, and to induce you to part with it." It will
never do [said he] to put the people of the west under the ban
of the Empire.**
Gordon, of Albemarle County, was certain that no
better security for slave property could be established
than that which lay in "the composed, silent, but tre-
mendous power which resides in the free white popula-
tion! of the state; that power which defends all and
without noise, or apparent effort, keeps all things still
in Virginia."®^
Leigh professed to believe that the convention had
been called "to overturn the doctrine of state rights"
and to remove the barrier which Virginia opposed to
works of internal improvement by the federal govern-
ment. Such purposes, he declared, had been avowed to
him, and he had himself noticed that when "the Federal
Government points a road along the Valley, or along
the foot of the Blue Ridge, or across the country at
the head of tidewater — state rights fall or tremble at
the very sight of the tremendous ordinance."®^ The
answers to these arguments were not convincing.
Johnson and Mercer thought it unfair to introduce the
demon of party spirit when an effort was being made
to relay the fundamental law. Others made as feeble
^Ibid., 283. "^Ibid,, 141.
"^Ibid., 283. «/Wrf., 154.
i6o SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
efforts to show devotion to the doctrines of strict con-
struction.
To reconcile the east to the white basis, some re-
formers proposed constitutional guarantees for the
protection of slave property. Some were willing to
make all taxes ad valorem and on a fixed ratio between
personal and real property f^ while others were willing
to accept the federal ratio for the Senate.** The con-
servatives spumed with contempt the proposal of "a
paper guarantee." P. P. Barbour was unwilling to
accept any guarantee which the west had both the in-
terest and power to violate.**^ Upshur believed there
could be no guarantee for the protection of slave prop-
erty except that which came from the possession of
political power by its owners.*®
After almost three weeks of discussion, Green's
amendment*'^ was defeated: ayes 47, noes 49.*® But
the reformers did not dare to demand a final vote on
the report of the committee on the legislative depart-
ment, because the basis of representation for the Senate
and the provisions regelating suffrage had not yet
been settled. Meanwhile the conservatives began to
talk compromise and various plans to that end were
proposed.*®
^Richmond Enquirer, October 15, 22, 1829; Debates, Va,
Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 497.
•*Thi» proposition was defeated: ayes 43, noes 49 {ibid,, 148).
^Ibid., 135.
**Ibid,, 177. ""See chap, v, p. 149.
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 321.
^Richmond Enquirer, November 19, 1829.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 i6i
Unable to agree upon a basis of representation, the
committee of the whole proceeded to consider the
proposed extension of suffrage. In behalf of a general
extension the reformers frequently quoted from Jeffer-
son. They also called the Declaration of Rights into
use and made efforts to defend free white suffrage as a
natural right. In reply the conservatives said : "We are
not to be struck down with the authority of Mr. Jeffer-
son."^® Randolph denied that Jefferson was authority
on any subject, except it be the mechanism of a plow.
The conservatives claimed that suffrage was a conven-
tional right and that it could be exercised only in the
highest orders of society. Most of the arguments for
and against an extension of suffrage were, however,
very concrete. The reformers frequently referred to
the fact that twenty-two of the twenty- four states had
general suffrage and that New York and North
Carolina permitted free negroes to vote.'^^ Nativity,
long residence, and military service, they contended,
were as good proofs of "common interest with and
attachment to the community" as the possession of real
estate.*^ ^ They attributed the emigration from Vir-
ginia to the non-participation of her citizens in govern-
ment.*^® Morgan, of Monongalia, argued that an
extension of suffrage would afford greater security to
slave property. He believed that the states of the new
South (Alabama and Mississippi) had felt this fact and
^Debates, Va, ConsHtutional Convention of 18 29-30 ^ 557, 57 "»
716.
~7&fd., 366, 379, 417.
"JWd., 386. "/Wif., 353, 374, 381.
i62 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
tried to make the white man as free and independent as
it was in the power of government to make him. "The
time is not far distant," said he, "when not only Vir-
ginia, but all the southern states, must be essentially
military, and will have military governments
We are going to such a state as fast as time can move.
The youth will be taught not only in the arts and sci-
ences but they will be trained in arms." He accord-
ingly believed it necessary to call forth "every free
white human being and to unite them in the same
common interest and government"^*
Many conservatives favored an extension of the
suffrage,*^** but Leigh, Upshur, Giles, and others feared
that it would be followed by a transfer of political
power to the west. Leigh classed general suffrage with
the other plagues : the Hessian fly, the varioloid, etc.,
which had arisen in the north and later spread to the
south, "always keeping above the fall line in the great
rivers."^® The conservatives opposed to extension
argued that the possession of realty furnished the only
evidence of permanent common interest with and
attachment to the country. They insisted that an ex-
tension of suffrage had always preceded democratic
revolution, to which they professed to believe the
United States was then drifting.'^'' In brief, they
voiced a protest against the Jacksonian Democracy
which was then sweeping the country.
^^ Debates, Va. Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 382.
"Marshall presented an elaborate memorial from the non-
freeholders of Richmond in favor of an extension of suffrage
{ibid., 26, 27, 31, 32).
^Ibid., 407. "/Wd., 397.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 163
Finally the convention turned to a consideration of
the various plans of compromise. The reformers pro-
posed the white basis of representation for the House
of Delegates, the federal numbers for the Senate, and a
reapportionment on this basis every ten yearsJ® The
thing most desired was the white basis for the House,
the one point which the conservatives were most un-
willing to yield. Four other plans were placed before
the convention. That by Gordon of Albemarle, a
white-basis man, although unauthorized by the reform-
ers, became the basis of the plan which was finally
agreed upon. It ignored the basis question entirely
and simply attempted an equitable distribution of rep-
resentation.'^® Upshur's plan, which met with next
favor, was based on an average of the white basis, the
federal numbers, and the mixed basis, and had the
advantage of recognizing a principle in the apportion-
ments.®^ Leigh's plan was based on an average be-
tween the white numbers and the mixed basis, while
Marshall's plan favored a basis formed from an aver-
age of the white population and the federal numbers,
according to the census of 1820. After modifications,
which raised the number of delegates to one hundred
'^Ibid., 497. This is known as Cooke's plan.
"^ Ibid,, 455. Gordon's plan proposed a Senate of 24, 10 from
the west and 14 from the east; and a House of 120, 26 from the
trans- Alleghany, 24 from the Valley, 37 from the Piedmont, and
33 from the Tidewater. This would have given the east 24 ma-
jority on joint ballot
'^ Ibid., 494. Upshur's plan provided for a Senate of 30, 13
from the west and 17 from the east; and a House of 120, 48
from the west and 72 from the east. This plan gave the east 28
majority on joint ballot.
l64 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
and twenty-seven and the senators to thirty-two,
Gordon's plan was adopted : ayes 49, noes 43.®*
The reformers' chief opposition to Gordon's plan
was that it contained no basis or principle for a re-
apportionment. They had come to the convention to
fight for "principles," but this plan recognized none.
They denounced it as "a mere makeshift, a temporary
expedient," and threw out the warning that failure to
adopt a constitutional basis would mean another con-
vention in the near future and a continuation of sec-
tional strife in the meantime.^^ Doddridge announced
that he was thinking of leaving the convention ; John
Randolph had proposed a sine die adjournment; and
there was talk of the western delegates retiring in a
body.®^.
Accordingly other efforts were made to agree upon
some basis for future reapportionments. Doddridge
favored a reapportionment after each census to be
made, for the House, on the white basis, and for the
Senate, on federal numbers, while Upshur insisted upon
regular reapportionments for both houses based upon
an average of the white population and federal num-
bers. Another plan proposed to submit the question of
reapportionment to a vote of the people, and still an-
other proposed to submit the white basis alone to a
vote of the people.®* The committee of the whole
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 574.
Marshall voted aye, Madison and Monroe nay. Both Madison and
Marshall favored the federal numbers (ibid,, 537, 538, 573, 574).
"/Wrf., 570, 571.
"/Wrf., 492, 57o-7«. ■*/Wd., 570, 573-75.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 182^30 165
finally agreed upon Upshur's plan of reapportionment,
which with Gordon's plan was submitted to a vote in
the. convention. Gordon's plan was adopted, ayes 50,
noes 46, but the plan for a reapportionment was so
thoroughly distasteful to the reformers that its advo-
cates did not dare to push it.
The adoption of Gordon's plan sounded the death
knell to the white basis of representation. A combina-
tion of circumstances had operated to bring about its
defeat. Discussion in the convention had been followed
by a democratic reaction in those parts of the east fa-
vorable to reform. By instructions the voters of the
Norfolk district compelled Robert B. Taylor, the only
delegate from the Tidewater favorable to reform, to
leave the convention, and they replaced him by a
conservative, Hugh Blair Grigsby. Both Madison and
Marshall, at first regarded as neutral, gradually became
more favorable to the conservatives,®** who, following
the introduction of Gordon's plan, had swamped the
convention with other and similar plans until an im-
pression had been created that compromise was inevi-
table. Besides, Gordon's plan was very attractive to the
delegates of the large and populous counties of the
Piedmont foothills and the Valley, which sections had
led in the movement for reform. It gave to most of
the counties of these sections two delegates and to some
three,®* whereas only a few counties in the other sec-
tions received more than one delegate each in the
House.
"Monroe had left the convention because of ill-health.
••Shenandoah, Frederick, and Loudoun counties received three
delegates each.
i66 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
But the cause which contributed most to the defeat
of the white basis was the disloyalty, approaching
treason, which manifested itself in the ranks of the
reformers. Cooke, of Frederick County, and Hender-
son, of Loudoun County, both representatives of
counties which would profit largely by Gordon's com-
promise, secretly agreed to support it and then went
into caucus with those favorable to the white basis. On
the nomination of Henderson, Cooke was elected to
represent the white-basis men in their conferences with
the conservatives.®^ That he did not push their claims
as Doddridge would have done is evident.
Talk of dismemberment characterized many debates
in the convention. In the first stages of the debate,
before the Gordon compromise had been agreed upon,
the eastern delegates indulged most freely in such ex-
pressions. The preservation of the commonwealth
was only the second wish to Leigh's heart,®* and
Morris, of Hanover County, said that an emancipation
act or a heavy tax upon negro slaves "would cause a
sword to be unsheathed which would be red with blood
before it found the scabbard.''®* Monroe thought the
dismemberment of Virginia would be followed by the
dismemberment of both Georgia and South Carolina,*^
and W. B. Giles said : "The forceful separation of Vir-
ginia must and will lead to the separation of the United
States, come when it will." He also added "that in
•'Doddridge, circular letter in Richmond Enquirer, March 26,
1830. See also ibid,, April 2, 1830.
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829^30, 164.
''Ibid., 116. *^Ibid., 148.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 167
the event of disunion among ourselves, the future
destinies of the United States must be determined by
the physical force of foreign nations."**
In turn the western delegates and their constituents
were even more emphatic in their talk of dismember-
ment than the conservatives had been. Citizens of
Wheeling held a mass-meeting at which resolutions
were adopted calling upon the western delegates to
secede in case the convention rejected the white basis.®^
At Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, the effigy of
B. W. Leigh and a copy of his speech made in the con-
vention were burned together in the public square.®®
There are few issues of the Richmond Enquirer for
the month of December, 1829, which do not discuss
the probabilities of the western delegates retiring from
the convention to make a constitution of their own.®*
Later Doddridge acknowledged that they had contem-
plated such a course.®*^ Baldwin of Augusta believed
that a successful attempt to force representation for
slave property would result in dismemberment, and
Moore of Rockbridge assured the conservatives that
the west had been settled by the Wallaces, Graemes,
and Douglasses, and that if the struggle came to Ban-
nockburn, they would all be there and old Kirkpatrick
among the rest.®*
''Ibid., 254.
'^ Richmond Enquirer, December 25, 1829.
•^ Miles Register, XXXVII, 225.
**See also Richmond Enquirer, January 16, 1830*
^Ibid., March 26, 1830; ibid,, April 2, 1830.
** Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 542.
l68 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
After the adoption of Gordon's plan of compromise,
the conservatives retained practical control of the con-
vention. The reformers made a desperate effort to
extend the franchise to all taxpayers, but were not
successful ; a resolution for that purpose was defeated
by the close vote: ayes 44, noes 48.®'' Suffrage was
extended, however, to leaseholders and house-keepers,
but the number of men of legal age, who remained ex-
cluded, amounted to more than thirty thousand.
The central executive power was vested in a gov-
ernor to be elected for a term of three years by joint
ballot of the Assembly. He was given greater power
than former executives, but the Executive Council was
retained, although reduced in membership. The vote
on Doddridge's resolution to elect the governor by
popular vote was a tie and was decided in the negative
by the chairman.®®
^ The judicial power was vested in a Supreme Court
of Appeals, such inferior courts as the Assembly might
from time to time establish, the county courts, and the
justices of the peace. The judges of the higher courts
were made elective by joint ballot of the Assembly, but
the justices of the peace, who held the county and
justice courts, remained appointive by the executive.
Marshall's influence was exerted in behalf of the main-
tenance of the established judicial systenx "There is
no state in the Union," he argued, "which enjoys more
internal quiet than Virginia;" a condition which he
^Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 441.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1829-30 169
attributed "to the practical operation of the county
courts."*®
The last sectional conflict in the convention was
occasioned by a renewed effort to adopt some constitu-
tutional basis for future reapportionments of repre-
sentation* The west insisted upon the white basis, but
finally agreed to accept the white basis for the House
of Delegates and the federal numbers for the Senate to
take effect after 1840.*^^ Finally Madison proposed
that the
General Assembly, after the year 1841 and at intervals there-
after of not less than ten years, should have authority, two-
thirds of each house concurring, to make re-apportionments of
delegates and senators throughout the commonwealth so that
the number of delegates shall not at any time exceed one hunr-
dred and fifty, nor of senators thirty-six."*
Notwithstanding the bitter opposition of the reformers
this provision became a part of the constitution.**^^
Thus with the chief issue between the east and the
west unsatisfactorily settled and with no provision in
the new constitution for amendments, the question,
"Shall this constitution pass ?" was put. The vote was :
ayes 55, noes 4a*^® Cooke of Frederick was the only
^ Ibid., 505.
^Ibid., 681. ^Ibid,, 849, 854.
I®* The plan of representation finally agreed upon provided for
a House of 134 delegates and a Senate of 32 members. The
trans- Alleghany was given 31 delegates; the Valley 25; the Pied-
mont 42; and the Tidewater 36. The counties west of the Blue
Ridge were to have 13 senators; the east 19. The apportionment
was practically upon the basis of the white population according
to the census of 1820.
^^ Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829^30, 882,
I70 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
member from west of the Blue Ridge who voted aye.
Thirty-nine of the forty votes in the negative came
from cxDunties west of the Blue Ridge and from the
Piedmont foothills. The other vote was given by
Stanard, who represented a district located in the
northeastern part of the state and composed of coun-
ties lying both in the Piedmont and the Tidewater.*^*
The constitution of 1830 did not settle the differ-
ences between the east and the west. It simply
transferred the center of discontent and reform from
the large populous counties of northern Piedmont and
the Shenandoah Valley to the trans-AUeghany.
Henceforth sectionalism was more largely a contest
between the areas which are now Virginia and West
Virginia.
The trans-AUeghany went into the reform move-
ment of the '20's with few grievances; it came out
deserted by its allies, robbed of political power, and
shackled in its efforts to obtain redress. Its delegates
had not long retired to their homes before echoes of
discontent began to resound through the mountain
valleys and occasionally to reach the lowlands. The
inhabitants were determined to defeat the ratification
of the new constitution when it should be submitted to
a vote of the people. A writer in the Wheeling Gazette
suggested that "the west call a convention of the
west" and that commissioners be appointed "to treat
with the eastern nabobs for a division of the state —
^^ Doddridge waa not present when the vote on the adoption
of the constitution was takcPt
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 182^30 171
peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must."^^*^ Citizens
of Ohio County resolved, "That a constitution char-
acterized by and composed of such ingredients is unfit
for the government of a free people. "^^* An editorial
comment in the Wheeling Compiler said :
Should the victory turn out in favor of our opponents, the
declared enemies of equal rights and practical republicanism,
we still have, provided the entire west will move unanimously
with the counties in this section of the staite, one chance left,
and that is Separation. This will not prove an impractical
matter. If the people of the west will it, it is effective.**'
While the west was tense with excitement over the
ratification of the new constitution, Doddridge, now a
member of Congress from northwestern Virginia, sent
his famous circular letter*^® to the western counties.
In it he laid before the people his version of how
Cooke and Henderson had betrayed the west into the
hands of the eastern aristocracy, and did not spare
the venerable Madison the opprobium of his cutting
epithets. He narrated the part which the trans-
AUeghany had in bringing the convention about and
the story of its betrayal, and concluded that the price
she must now pay for it all is "the unconditional sur-
render of ourselves and our posterity to practical
vassalage under the yoke of an eastern oligarchy."
The effort to defeat ratification was unsuccessful.
^Wheeling Gazette, April 6, 1830.
"^^ Ibid,, March 12, 1830.
"^^ Compiler, March 10, 1830.
^^ Richmond Enquirer, March 23, 1830; ibid,, March 26, 1830;
ibid,, April 2, 1830.
172 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
The total vote was: for ratification, 26,055, ^^r rejec-
tion, 15,566. The accompanying map of the vote by
counties on ratification shows every county east of the
Blue Ridge for it, except Warwick and Lancaster.
These were small counties which had been combined
with other counties to constitute delegate districts. In
most cases the minority vote in the eastern counties
was insignificant. Madison County gave no vote for
rejection and 256 for ratification. The largest votes
for ratification came from the counties of northern
and western Piedmont and of the Shenandoah Valley.
But two of the twenty-six counties in the trans-Aller
ghany gave majorities for ratification. These counties
were Washington and Lee, each located in the extreme
southwestern part of the state and more or less
interested in negro slavery.^^® Most of the trans-
Alleghany counties gave insignificant minorities for
ratification. Out of a total vote of 646, Ohio County
gave only 3 votes for ratification. Brooke County, the
home of Campbell and Doddridge, gave no vote for
ratification, and Harrison gave only 8 for it in a total
vote of 1,128.^^^
Although the new constitution was ratified by more
than ten thousand majority, the trans- Alleghany people
would not be reconciled to it, and continued to talk
dismemberment During the autumn of 1830 a series
of essays, favoring the formation of a new state west
of the mountains, appeared in many of the western
^ Many negroes were employed in the salt works in Washing-
ton County.
^^ Debates, Va, Constitutional Convention of 1829-30, 903.
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CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 182^30 173
prints over the signature, "Senex/*^^^ The writer of
these articles took the position that nothing but dis-
memberment could bring relief to the west He
believed that future reforms were practically impossible
and that western Virginia had the natural resources
which would enable it to become a self-sufficing and
prosperous commonwealth. On October i, 1830, the
citizens of Wheeling called a mass-meeting to consider
the expediency of taking measures to annex north-
western Virginia to Maryland.^^^ They contemplated
adding that part of Virginia's territory which lay
north of a straight line from the southwestern comer
of Maryland to the mouth of the Little Kanawha
River. Speaking of this move, the Winchester Re-
publican said :
We are not at all surprised and are prepared to see it per-
sisted in until it is crowned with success. In politics there is
an utter contrariety of sentiment between the people of these
counties and their eastern brethren, while with their neighbors
of Maryland they harmonize exactly. Were the cession to take
place, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad would unquestionably
extend to Parkersburg or some point on the Ohio near that
place.*"
It was not "as patriots of Virginia" but "as patriots
of America*' that the editors of the Wheeling Compiler
favored dismemberment.^^*
The following extract from the Winchester Re-
^See Kanawha Banner, September 17, 1830; ibid., October
I, 1830; ibid,, October 8, 1830.
^Ibid,, October 29, 1830.
"■ Winchester Republican, October 15, 1830.
^^ Kanawha Banner, November 15, 1830.
174 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
publican^^^ shows the change of attitude which the
Valley was assuming toward the trans-AUeghany
country after the constitutional convention of 1829-30,
and it also afforded a clue to the various schemes of
dismemberment which were on foot in Virginia at the
time it was written :
The Virginia Legislature will convene on Monday. To the
proceedings of this body we look with intense interest Mat-
ters of great moment will come before it, and the discussions
will be as interesting as those of the late convention. The
preservation of the state we believe will depend upon this
L^slature. Dispute the claims of the Trans-Alleghany counties
to what they may deem a proper share of the fund for inter-
nal improvements and a division of the state must follow —
not immediately perhaps, but the signal will be given for the
rising of the clans, and they will rise. It is not worth while
now to speculate on the mode and manner in which the gov-
ernment will be opposed. Sufficient unto the day is the evil
thereof. But a crisis is approaching. The northern counties
demand to be separated from the state with a view of attach-
ing themselves to Maryland or Pennsylvania; the southwest
counties go for a division of the state into two commonwealths.
Should the latter be effected, what will be our condition in the
Valley? Infinitely worse than the present. The mere depend-
ency of a government whose interest and whose trade would
all go westward, we would be taxed without receiving any
equivalent; and instead of being cjiastened with whips, we
should be scourged with scorpions. Of the two projects spoken
of, that which would be least injurious to the Valley and the
state at large, would be to part with the northwestern counties.
Let them go. Let us get clear of this disaffected population.
Then prosecute the improvements called for in the southwest,
and that portion of our state, deprived of its northern allies,
would give up its desire for a separation.
"•December 3, 1830; see also the Kanawha Banner, Decem-
ber 17, 1830.
CHAPTER VI
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. NEGRO SLAVERY, AND
NULLIFICATION, iS2^33
The internal improvement schemes ui^ed by advo-
cates of the American System and the railways in
process of construction westward from Baltimore
were the important factors in shaping the internal im-
provement policies in Virginia during this period.
Her legislators yet believed it possible to make Rich-
mond a commercial rival of Baltimore, Philadelphia,
and New York.- Accordingly they again sought to
revive interest in the proposed water communication
between the James and the Kanawha rivers and took
every precaution to prevent the west from becoming
tributary to Baltimore by means of either the railway
or canal.
During the first years of this period the chief dis-
cussion, especially in the west, was to determine the
policy of the Jackson administration on the subject of
internal improvements. The constitutional convention
of 1829-30 taught the west to expect little of the east
in the way of roads and canals. Its inhabitants, there-
fore, hoped for a continuation of the Adams policy,
which Jackson's inaugural address and first message
had led them to believe might be adhered to.
The proposed Buffalo and New Orleans turnpike,
to be built by way of Washington, thence through the
Valley, aroused keen interest in western Virginia. The
175
176 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
representatives from that section argued for it on^the
ground that it was necessary to promote the general
welfare,^ and to comply with the provisions of a con-
tract between the federal government and Alabama
and Mississippi, whereby the former had agreed to use
a portion of the proceeds of the land sales within
those states to construct works of internal improve-
ment.^ Craig favored using the proceeds of the sales
of the public lands upon works of internal improve-
ment as the only means whereby they could be returned
to the people. Another argument advanced by these
representatives was that the proposed road would
expedite the transfer of the mails, and afford an easy
and necessary means of communication in time of war.
Archer, P. P. Barbour, and Bouldin spoke for the
east in opposition to the proposed road. Barbour in-
sisted that the circumstances surrounding the construc-
tion of the Cumberland turnpike, deemed necessary to
comply with a contract between the federal govern-
ment and Ohio, were not identical with those advanced
in behalf of the Buffalo and New Orleans turnpike ; in
the former case Ohio had demanded the road, while in
the latter both Alabama and Mississippi were opposed
to it. He professed to see in the proposed undertaking
the beginning of appropriations designed to continue
the national debt and the obnoxious tariff." In reply
"•The chief market for the Valley, even to the Tennessee line,
was Baltimore (Seward, Seward, I, 268).
* Register of Cong, Debates, 21 Cong., ist sess., VI, Part II,
674, 6g6, 7".
»/Wd., 696, 739, 743, 77^
SLAVERY AND NULUFICATION 177
to the inquiry which Archer said had been repeatedly
put to him, namely: "Will Virginia nullify the law
providing for the road?" he answered, invariably and
promptly, "no!" for that would be to "refuse obedience
to the laws of the Union." He insisted, however, that
the proposed road was unnecessary, unconstitutional,
and bad precedent*
The importance and uncertainty of the sectional
conflict then on in the state was attested by the frequent
references made to it, in the course of this debate, by
speakers other than Virginians. Some believed the
proposed road necessary to prevent the dismemberment
of Virginia and possibly of the Union.*^ Irwin of
Ohio, a native Virginian, believed that ""the signs of
the times" pointed to a revolution in the Old Dominion,
and that the day was not distant when she would con-
cede all that the friends of internal improvements
desired and regard C. F. Mercer as her greatest bene-
factor.®
The bill to provide for the Buffalo and New
Orleans turnpike was defeated on engrossment for a
third reading: ayes 88, noes 105. The representatives
of trans-AUeghany Virginia voted aye, as did Craig of
the Valley and Mercer of the Loudoun district."^ The
bill was finally laid on the table in order to take up
instead the bill to appropriate money to the Maysville,
Washington, Paris, and Lexington Turnpike Com-
pany.
Jackson's veto of the Maysville appropriation and
*/Wd., 745. •/Wrf., 670, 742. ^Ihid., 727,
^ Smith, of the Valley, spoke for the bill but did not vote.
178 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
his subsequent pocket veto of the appropriation to the
Portland Canal Company® did not materially lessen
his popularity in western Virginia. To be sure, the
pocket veto did provoke criticism in the counties along
the Ohio and the Great Kanawha, but these were
largely National Republican. On the other hand, the
action of the House in tabling the Buffalo and New
Orleans turnpike bill relieved Jackson of the necessity
of expressing himself on the subject. The inhabitants
of the Valley and the Piedmont foothills had therefore
little grievance against the president. They continued
to insist that their schemes were national in character
and to attribute the responsibility for their defeat to
the strict construction leaders of the east and the
lower south. Their devotion to nationalism and loy-
alty to Jackson thus continued.
The attitude of Jackson made it clear, however,
that local schemes of internal improvement could not
expect federal aid, and already those interested in
such schemes had turned to the state. The Assembly
of 1829-30 was flooded by the west with petitions
asking the incorporation of internal improvement
companies and appropriations thereto. From the
Kanawha Valley they requested a public highway to
the mouth of the Big Sandy, while those from the
north and northwest were for the incorporation of
turnpike companies. Many of these petitions requested
permission to institute lotteries to promote internal
improvements.®
"This was the company which constructed the canal around
the falls at Louisville, Kentucky.
* Journal, House of Del,, 1829-30, 13, 15, 47, 48.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 179
Meanwhile the railway daily became a greater
factor in transportation. The west readily accepted it
as the only practical solution of its difficult problems,
but the east clung to the canal. During these years the
merits of railways and canals were subjects of much
discussion. Although opposed to the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal on general principles, the Richmond press
borrowed the arguments advanced in its favor and
applied them to promote the James River and Kanawha
Canal. The westerners were equally loud in praise
of the railway. The Winchester Republican believed
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had already greatly
enhanced the value of property along the Potomac and
confidently predicted greater prosperity due to its
influence.^^ In 183 1 Winchester, a very small place,
subscribed $40,000 to be used in constructing a lateral
road to the Baltimore and Ohio. About the same time
Lynchburg subscribed $300,000 to be used to construct
a railroad between the James and New rivers.^ ^ The
hope had not yet vanished in the west that the Balti-
more and Ohio Company would eventually be per-
mitted to construct its lines through the Valley, thence
to the Ohio by way of the Great Kanawha. Some
expected to see the company construct its lines from
Baltimore to Harper's Ferry and from Louisville to
the southwestern boundary of the state. Under these
circiunstances it was deemed impossible longer to de-
prive it of permission to cross central Virginia.^ ^
^Niles Register, XL, 59.
^Ibid,, XL, 59; National Intelligencer, November 33, 1831.
"Kanawha Banner, August 26, i83i.
l8o SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Ere long the east admitted the practical utility of
railroads. Accordingly the Assembly of 1830-31
incorporated a number of railway companies/* but the
acts of incorporation were determined largely by sec-
tional interest. Delegates from the Great Kanawha
Valley made a desperate effort to amend the act in-
corporating the Staunton and Potomac Company, so
as to permit it to extend its proposed lines westward
from Staunton by way of the Great Kanawha to the
Ohio River. Summers' amendment to this act aroused
great alarm in the east, which feared that the act of
1827, restricting the Baltimore and Ohio G>mpany to
the northwestern part of the state, would thereby be
rendered null. The conservatives believed that the
Baltimore and Ohio Company was back of the Staun-
ton and Potomac Company and that it intended to
purchase its rights and interests.^ ^ Accordingly the
amendment was defeated by a sectional vote : ayes 53,
noes 58.^*^ Another blow was given nationalism and
the Baltimore interests, which then expected federal
aid, by so amending the act of incorporation of the
Staunton and Potomac Company as to render void all
its privileges in case it ever received aid from the
federal government.^ ^
"The companies incoiporated were the Staunton and Potomac,
the Winchester and Potomac, the Loudoun, the Petersburg, and
the Lynchburg and New River (Acts of i830-<3i, 167-205 ; Niles
Register, XL> 91 ; Richmond Enquirer, March 21, 1831).
^Kanawha Banner, July 15, 1831 ; Richmond Enquirer, March
iS» 1831 ; Niles Register, XL, 58.
^Journal, House of Del,, 1830-31, 249.
^Richmond Enquirer, March 15, 1831 ; Niles Register, XL,
58; Kanawha Banner, March 25, 1831.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION i8l
By a combination of interests the same Assembly
incorporated the Lynchburg and New River Railroad
Company.^'' Should the railroad prove more prac-
ticable the east hoped to divert the trade of the west
from the New York and Pennsylvania routes to the
Great Kanawha and New River route, thence to the
James. The delegates from the southwest favored this
scheme because it contemplated a lateral line to the
Tennessee boundary. It also met favor from the
delegates from the southern Piedmont and the counties
about Norfolk, because they expected to see the pro-
posed line extended to the coast by way of Petersburg
and Norfolk.
The Assembly of 1830-31 ended its work by re-
jecting a bill to appropriate two million dollars in-
tended to aid the companies it had incorporated and
internal improvements in general. Because of the
scarcity of private capital in the west this defeat was
a death blow to the L)mchburg and New River and
the Staunton and Potomac railway companies. By an
analysis of the vote on this appropriation bill the editor
of the Kanawha Banner showed that the counties west
of the Blue Ridge cast only seven votes against it.^®
Commenting upon the defeat of the proposed appro-
priation and Mr. Summers' efforts in its behalf Niles
said : "Had the people adopted his views years ago we
have no doubt that the real and personal property of
Virginia would now have been worth 200 millions
"Acts of 1830^31, 167, 177.
^Kanawha Banner, March 2$, 1831.
l82 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
more than it is and her population 300,000 freemen
more."^*
This unsuccessful beginning did not end the early
attempts at railroad construction in Virginia. During
a large part of the year 1831 Benjamin Wright, a
skilled engineer of New York, assisted the state
engineer in making surveys to determine the relative
merits of railways and canals as a means of continuing
the James and Kanawha improvements. The conflict-
ing report of the two engineers added new perplexities
to the situation. One favored a canal from Richmond
to the mountains and a railroad thence to the Ohio ; the
other a continuous railroad. ^^
The Assembly of 1831-32 was thus placed in an
embarrassing position. Some of its members desired
a railroad as the most suitable method to continue the
James and Kanawha improvements; others a canal;
and still others clung to the sluice and dam navigation
and the use of the steamboat. A compromise was
effected whereby the state surrendered its interest in
the James River Canal Company and its right to su-
perintend the work to a joint stock company, the James
River and Kanawha Company, ^^ which was em-
^Niles Register, XL, 58.
'^Journal, House of Del,, 1831-32, 11; Report of the Com. on
Roads and Int. Imp. (1831-32), 36. This report gives one of the
best reviews to be found of the internal improvement history of
Virginia prior to 1832.
'^The James River and Kanawha Company, commonly called
the "J- R» and K. Co.," superseded the old James River Com-
pany. It had an authorized capital of $5,000,000, of which the
state took $2,000,000, one-half of which was to be paid by a
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 183
powered to continue the work to the Ohio by either a
railroad or a canal, or a combination of both. At the
same time a number of railway companies, restricted,
however, to the east, were incorporated to construct
lateral lines to the proposed central line of improve-
ments.^^
This programme did not pass, however, without
sectional opposition. The act incorporating the James
River and Kanawha Company received 37 negative to
75 affirmative votes. ^^ Delegates from counties along
the proposed route of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road and the Lynchburg and New River Railroad,
through southern Piedmont, voted against it. At the
same time the most enthusiastic supporters of the new
company, who came largely from counties along the
Kanawha and between the headwaters of the Kanawha
and the James, tried to place the construction and the
expense of the work upon the state. A resolution to
this effect was defeated: ayes 57, noes 67. On the
other hand, those interested in the extension of the
Staimton and Potomac Railway to the Ohio made a
renewed fight for that privilege.^*
transfer of the state's interest in the James River Company, and
the remaining half in cash when three-fifths of the capital stock
had been subscribed by individuals and corporations (Acts of
1831-32, 73-87).
''The railroad companies incorporated at this time were the
Richmond and Turkey Island, the Richmond, the Richmond and
Yorktown, the Portsmouth and Roanoke, the Fredericksburg and
Potomac, and the Leesburg (Acts of 1831-32, 1 12-61).
^Journal, House of Del,, 1831-32, 225.
'^Ibid,, 224.
l84 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
The James River and Kanawha Company encoun-
tered other and more material difficulties, which post-
poned the commencement of its work for several years.
At this time there was not enough capital at the com-
mand of individuals residing in the east to promote
such an undertaking, and the banks of the eastern
cities, remote from the proposed central line of im-
provement, refused to contribute to a scheme which
would make Richmond more powerful commercially.^*
Thus the question of banking again became compli-
cated with that of internal improvements, and the west
had occasion to renew its demands for state banks
and to oppose any further increase in the banking
capital or the number of banks in the east.
Meanwhile the management of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal Company had incurred the displeasure of
the federal administration, an incident which attracted
much attention in Virginia and elsewhere. As presi-
dent of the company and representative of the internal
improvement interests of his section, C. F. Mercer had
become very popular along the Potomac, the strong-
hold of National Republicanism. Because of his anti-
administration sentiments Jackson resolved to remove
him from the presidency of the company. Accord-
ingly he prepared charges against him and openly
asserted that, in case of his re-election, he would veto
any and all appropriations to the Chesapeake and Ohio
Company. When the election came off Major Eaton
superseded Mercer by the votes which the federal
'^Lynchburg Virginian, May 6, 1833; Niles Register, XLIV,
258; see also Lynchburg Virginian, June 3 and 27, 1833.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 185
government owned and controlled.^® Thus the com-
pany was deprived of Mercer's wise counsel and per-
sonal influence and soon ceased to receive federal aid.
Discussions in the constitutional convention of 1829
-30 and the abolition agitation caused the question of
negro slavery to assume an alarming sectional aspect
in this period. Prior to 1829 the sentiments and
theories of 1776 and religious enthusiasm did much
to ameliorate the condition of those in bondage. But
during this period portions of the east began to defend
negro slavery as a divinely sanctioned institution and
as the only practical means of dealing with an inferior
race. Planters began to oppose emancipations and to
assume an unfriendly attitude toward those who fa-
vored them. For the public good they deemed it neces-
sary to restrict the liberties of the slave and even of
the free colored population. On the other hand, the
inhabitants of the west clung to the theories and senti-
ments which had formerly made emancipation popular.
They became more grounded in the conviction that
slavery was an economic evil, and consequently con-
tinued to favor gradual emancipation and deportation.
There were, however, few abolitionists of the Garrison
type among them, but the abolition doctrines of Jeffer-
son and Madison continued to be popular.
The divergence of view between the east and the
^ Mercer received 3,740 votes ; Eaton 5,054. Of the votes
given Eaton 2,008 were cast by the secretary of the treasury and
2,008 by the corporation of Washington. Mercer's vote was largely
from the individual stockholders (National Intelligencer, May 22,
1833; ibid,, June 6 and 8, 1833).
l86 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
west on the subject of negro slavery restilted largely
from economic causes. Of the slavery debate in the
Assembly of 1831-32 James McDowell said: "This is
not a debate involving the first and leading principles
of the Republic, nor a question relating to abstract
principles of morality. It is a question of self-interest
on the one hand and self-preservation on the other."^
By 1830 the Kanawha Valley counties and the south-
west had acquired practically as many n^roes as was
needed to perform the manual labor in connection with
salt working. Thus there was no economic demand
for them in the west. Outstripped in the race for
material gain by the new states to the north and west
of them and firm in the belief that negro slavery was
causing the impoverishment of the east, the westerners
began to attribute their lack of prosperity to their
proximity to the slave-holding portion of the state.
They began to indulge in statistical comparisons
wherein the numerical and material strength of Vir-
ginia was contrasted with that of the free states. Con-
clusions like those found in Helper's Impending Crisis
were the invariable results. The belief became current
that the natural resources of the west would attract
capital and population thither, if the objectionable
negroes were removed.
On the other hand, the slave-holders became stand-
patters. Loria's proposition that slavery is never
voluntarily abolished so long as slaves are over-
valued^® never found a truer confirmation than in
'^Pamphlet, speech of James McDowell (1831-32), 5.
'^La Constitutione Economic Adierno, 779.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 187
Virginia during the years following 1830. The do-
mestic slave trade; improved methods of agriculture
produced by the agricultural societies and by the
scientific experiments of Edmund Ruffin and others ;^
better means of intercommunication, the railroad and
the canal; and the employment given negro slaves
upon works of internal improvement and in factories
revived the economic interest in negro slaves in the
east. The domestic slave trade provided capital, and
the scientific agriculture and improved means of com-
munication were restoring the worn-out lands and
bringing into use uncultivated areas.
Many attributed the rise in prices and the marked
increased interest in negro slaves to the ravages of
the cholera, but a planter denied that this had a telling
effect and offered the following explanation:
The price has gradually been increasing for several years
and is known to be caused mainly by the increased demand in
the South for that description of negroes which form the
efficient labor of the country, say males from twelve to eighteen.
Such immense numbers within these ages have within a few
years been bought up for the southern markets, that there is
now but few of that description for sale, hence the enormous
price now given for even common field hands. Besides which
Virginia has, within a few years, entered largely into the spirit
of internal improvements and not a little into domestic manu-
facturing — ^all which increase the demand for labor, and the
blacks being better accommodated, are preferable. Men that
a few years since hired out by the year for from 35 to 40
dollars now hire readily at from 60 to 70. The tobacco fac-
tories in Richmond and Manchester alone, I presume, will give
emplo)rment to from one to two thousand men and boys and
^Lynchburg Virginian, August 20, 1832.
l88 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the coal pits to nearly or quite as many more. All these
causes draw from the agriculturist his most efficient labor."
About the same time another planter wrote :
We have never known of negroes selling or hiring out at
so high a price as they do at present. We have heard of a
carpenter selling at $1,200; a boy of fourteen selling at $400.
Negroes hire also at very high rates. Is it because produce is
selling so high .... or because hands are also wanting for
tobacco factories, for internal improvements — for the settle-
ment of new farms — for slaves to supply the place of those
who have died of the cholera?"-
The Nat Turner insurrection brought a movement
on the part of the east to secure itself against similar
outbreaks and on the part of the west to rid the state
of the evils of slavery. Governor Floyd, who s)rmpa-
thized with the east, attributed the causes of the in-
surrection to the influence of "unrestricted fanatics"
from the neighboring states and to the work of negro
preachers. He recommended that the legislature
silence the latter, that it enact laws to keep the negro
slaves in subordination, and that measures be takeg
for the removal of the free people of color from the
commonwealth.®^
Meanwhile the people, in their public meetings and
through their prints, had broken the long silence upon
the question of disestablishing slavery. Their activity
called forth numerous petitions, memorials, and reso-
lutions on this subject. These may be divided into
'^National Intelligencer, January 19, 1833.
^Richmond Compiler, January 14, 1833.
'^Journal, House of Del,, 1831-32, 5-14.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 189
three classes : ( i ) those asking for the renfoval of the
free people of color from the state; (2) those asking
an amendment to the federal Constitution to give
Congress power to appropriate money to purchase
negro slaves and transport the colored population from
the United States; (3) those urging the state to devise
some scheme for gradual emancipation. The first
class of petitions was obviously opposed to any and
all forms of emancipation and desired the removal of
the free people of color to make the possession of slave
property less precarious. They came only from the
counties of the Tidewater and the Piedmont. The
second and third classes came chiefly from the Valley
and the counties of the Piedmont foothills. **' A
memorial from Augusta County, signed by three hun-
dred and forty-three women, asked the immediate
abolition of slavery. A mass-meeting in Loudoun
resolved,
That a gradual emancipation and removal of the slaves of the
Commonwealth is practicable and, upon that assumption, the
continuation of slavery is forbidden by the true policy of Vir-
ginia, repugnant to her political theory and christian profes-
sions; and an opprobrium to our ancient and renowned Do-
minion." *•
These various memorials, petitions, and resolutions
were referred to a select committee composed of
twenty-one members, of whom sixteen were from
counties east of the Blue Ridge. Mr. Goode, of
'"But two petitions favorable to emancipation came from the
Tidewater.
•• Washington and Lee Hist. Papers, No. 5, p. 84.
igo SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Mecklenburg, the leader of the slave interests, tried to
prevent consideration of the requests for abolition
l^slation. With this object in view he introduced a
resolution to relieve the committee from the necessity
of considering the petition from the Quakers of
Charles City County. The resolution was defeated,
however, by the decisive vote : ayes 27, noes 93. Only
one affirmative vote came from west of the Blue
Ridge.^
By dilatory tactics the committee tried to prevent
discussion, but it was impossible. The public had been
aroused to too intense a state of excitement. While
impatiently awaiting action the Richmond Enquirer
threw a firebrand which put an end to all silence. It
said:
It is possible from what we learn that the committee on
the colored population will report some plan for getting rid
of the free people of color. But is this all that can be done?
Are we forever to suffer the greatest evil which can scourge
G^ur land, not only to remain but increase in its domains?
"We may shut our eyes and avert our faces, if you please,"
writes an eloquent South Carolinian, "but there it is, the black
and gnawing evil at our doors — ^and meet the question we must
at no distant day. God only knows what it is the part of wise
men to do on that momentous and appalling subject. Of this
I am sure, that the difference, nothing short of frightful, be-
tween all that exists on one side of the Potomac and all on
the other side, is owing to that cause alone. The disease is
deep rooted — ^Lt is at the heart's core — it is consuming and
has all along been consuming our vitals, and I would laugh,
if I could laugh at such a subject, of the ignorance and folly
of politicians who ascribe that to an act of government which
* Journal, House of DeL, 1831-32, 29.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 191
is the inevitable effect of the eternal laws of nature. What is
to be done? Oh, my God, I don't know, but something must
be done!""
Within a very few days this editorial appeared in
whole or in part in practically the entire press of the
state. ^''^ Four days after its appearance in the En-
quirer Groode made another effort in the Assembly to
restrain the smoldering fire of abolition sentiment.
After inquiring when the committee on the abolition
petitions intended to report and receiving no definite
answer, he moved that it be discharged from the con-
sideration of "all petitions, memorials, and resolutions
which have for their object the manumission of per-
sons held in servitude under the laws of this Common-
wealth, and that it is not expedient to legislate on the
subject."^®
This resolution gave the abolitionists an opportu-
nity, and precipitated one of the ablest debates ever
witnessed in this country on the subject of emancipa-
tion. Immediately Thomas Jefferson Randolph, grand-
son of Jeflferson, moved to amend Gk)ode's motion by
substituting in lieu thereof the following :
That the committee be instructed to inquire into the ex-
pediency of submitting to the vote of the qualified voters in
the several towns, cities, boroughs and counties of this Com-
monwealth the propriety of providing by law that the children
of all female slaves who may be born in this state on or after
the fourth day of July, 1840, shall become the property of the
^Richmond Enquirer, January 7, 1832.
"Miles Register, XTwI, 369; National Intelligencer, January 10,
1832.
'^Journal, House of Del., i83i-32» 93*
192 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Commonwealth, the males at the age of twenty-one and the
females at the age of eighteen if detained by their owners
within the limits of Virginia until they respectively arrive at
the ages aforesaid; to be hired out until the net sum arising
therefrom shall be sufficient to defray the expense of their
removal beyond the limits of the United States."
This is Jefferson's post nati scheme, first advanced
in 1779. After three days of discussion the committee
made a report to the effect that "it is inexpedient for
the present to make any l^slative enactments for the
abolition of slavery."*^ Immediately Mr. Preston, of
Montgomery, moved to amend the report by substi-
tuting in lieu thereof, "it is expedient to adopt some
legislative enactment for the abolition of slavery."**
The general tone in the argument of the western
delegates in 1831-32 was quite different from what
it had been in the constitutional convention of 1829-30.
Now they looked upon negro slavery as the greatest
evil which could befall them. They now feared that
the state laws against the domestic slave trade would
divert Virginia's surplus slaves to the west,*^ and that
they would soon become slave-holders in spite of them-
selves. In reply to these arguments the eastern dele-
gates assured the westerners that it was not imperative
for them to purchase n^^oes. They also insisted that
slavery would continue to be confined more and more
to the lower South, eventually ridding Virginia of the
evil. In this connection Mr. Burr said :
** Journal, House of Del,, 1831-32, 93.
* Ibid., 99. *" Ihid,, 99.
*■ Pamphlet, speech of James McDowell (1831-32), ai, 23.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 193
The dark wave of negro slavery, which haunts your imagi-
nation, has rolled against the mountains for generations and
has cast only a slight spray beyond. The foot of the negro
delights not in the dew of the mountain grass. He is the
child of the sandy desert. The burning sun gives him life and
vigor, and his step is most joyous in the arid plain.^
The burden of the argument of the abolitionists
was that negro slavery was an economic evil. "It is,"
said Thomas Marshall, "ruinous to the whites ; retards
improvements; roots out oiu" industrious population;
banishes the yeomanry from the country ; and deprives
the spinner, the weaver, the smith, the shoemaker, and
the carpenter of employment and support."** They
insisted that the domestic slave trade was the only
thing which then made negro slavery profitable in
Virginia, and that when it should cease slave prices
would fall to a minimum. They frequently compared
the wealth and population of Virginia with that of '
one of the new free states to the g^eat disadvantage
of the former. They also insisted that the presence
of the neg^o slaves was causing the standard of living
to decline. Said Marshall: "All the chief glories of
Virginia style have faded; gone is the massive coach
with its stately attelage of four or six; shut is the
beneficent hall door; .... the watering-places no
longer blaze with the rich but decent pomp of Virgin-
ians ; and the cities rarely bear witness of her generous
expense."^*^ But the Virginia abolitionists, like those
*• Pamphlet, speech in the General Assembly of 1831-32.
** Wheeling Intelligencer, November 28, 1859.
** American Quarterly Review, December, 1832.
194 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
elsewhere, failed or refused to consider that negroes
freed would still be negroes, and as repellent to white
immigration as when slav6s. They busied themselves
chiefly with a slave problem, while their opponents
were concerned with a negro problem.
The answers to these arguments reveal clearly the
change of mind which the east was undergoing.
Goode denied that negro slavery was responsible for
the "gullied hillsides" and "the turnedH>ut fields."
Such spectacles, he insisted, had appeared only after
the planter with his negroes had deserted the land to
build commonwealths in the new South. He insisted
that slave-holding Virginia was being reclaimed, and
that her population had not flown from the evils of
negro slavery, "because," said he, "they are now
found residing chiefly in the slave-holding states."*®
He believed that the energy and power of Virginia
and her institutions could not be estimated with
accuracy unless the new commonwealths of the South-
west were taken into consideration.
Others of the eastern delegates were not so opti-
mistic regarding the economic benefits of negro
slavery. "It is," said Brodnax, "a mildew which has
blighted in its course every region it has touched from
the creation of the world."**' He was, however,
opposed to Randolph's plan of gradual emancipation
and laid down the following conditions as the only
ones under which abolition could be effected : ( i ) the
immediate removal of the emancipated from the state ;
^Pamphlet, speech of W. O. Goode (1831-32), 10, 20.
* Pamphlet, speech of W. H. Brodnax (1831-32), 11.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 195
(2) private property must not be interfered with; and
(3) not a single negro or any other property he pos-
sesses can be taken from its owner, ''without his own-
er's consent, or an ample compensation."*® He
opposed the post nati scheme because it deprived the
owner of his property in the child-bearing power of
his female slaves, "an item of chief consideration in
their sale or purchase."*®
Many of the abolitionists insisted that there was
no property right in the unborn and that an act declar-
ing them free could not infringe the rights of private
property. Others admitted that such rights would be
thus impaired but insisted that the sacrifice should be
made. McDowell, of Rockbridge, said: "Private
property, which a state allows to be held by its citizens,
must consist with the general end for which the state
is created; the power to correct an evil tendency is
inherent in all government, and the exercise of such
power is no infringement of private rights."*^^
Randolph's plan was also opposed on the ground
that it was impracticable ; the state would add one more
purchaser; and prices would accordingly be increased.
The abolitionists were repeatedly reminded that, had
abolition been practicable, the fathers who desired it
so much would have devised some scheme to effect it.
To this argument McDowell answered: "The diffi-
culties in the way are not more positive than the neces-
sity of legislation" and "you cannot canonize error
because of its antiquity." Mr. Summers of Kanawha
^Ibid., 12. "^Ibid., 14.
■•Pamphlet, speech of James McDowell (1831-32), 15.
196 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
suggested that the proceeds of the public lands be used
to eff^t emancipation.*^^
Moral issues influenced only a few of the Virginia
abolitionists of 1832. On this phase of the subject
Marshall said : "We know that the ordinary condition
of the slaves in Virginia is not such as to make hu-
manity weep for his lot. Our solicitations to the slave-
holder, it will be perceived, are founded but little on
the miseries of the blacks."*^^ Other reasons advanced
in behalf of emancipation were : the danger of a servile
population in times of war and that it was demanded
by the public. To support these points it was main-
tained that dismemberment of the Union was not im-
probable and that there was danger of the slaves
becoming a constant source of trouble between a north-
ern and a southern confederacy.^®
In reply to these arguments the pro-slavery dele-
gates insisted that negro slaves would be a source of
strength in time of war and pointed to the experience
of two successful wars to prove their contention.^*
The proposition to submit the question of emancipa-
tion to a vote of the people Goode condemned as
unsafe; it would then be necessary to discuss emanci-
pation in the midst of the slaves; useless excitement
and possible insurrections might follow.^^
On the part of the westerners the argument was
characterized by frequent outbursts of the principles
•* Pamphlet, speech of James McDowell (1831-32), 6 ff.
''^American Quarterly Review, December 18, 1832.
••Pamphlet, speech of W. O. Goode (1831-32), 18.
"/WJ., 18. ^Ibid., 9.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 197
of 1776. One of the most eloquent appeals of this
nature was made by McDowell :
You may place the slave [said he] where you please, you
may dry up to the utmost the fountains of his feelings, the
spring of his thought — ^you may close upon his mind the avenue
to knowledge and cloud it over with artificial night — ^you may
yoke him to your labor as an ox which liveth only to work
and worketh only to live — ^you may put him under any process,
which, without destroying his value as a slave, will debase and
crush him as a rational being — ^you may do this and the idea
that he was born to be free will survive all. It is allied to
his hope of immortality — it is the ethical part of his nature
which oppression cannot reach — it is the torch lit up in his
soul by the hand of the deity and never meant to be extin-
guished by the hand of man.**
Samuel McDowell Moore, his colleague and relative,
believed that —
the autocrat of Russia does not more deserve the name
tyrant for sending his hordes of barbarians to plant the blood-
stained banner on the walls of Warsaw, amid the desolation
of all that is near to the hearts of free men, than does the
petty tyrant, who, in any quarter of the globe, is equally regard-
less of the acknowledged rights of man."
Such Utterances constituted, however, only a minor
part of the debate. Most of the speakers were- of a
younger generation and they addressed themselves to
reach a more materially minded Virginia than did even
the speakers of 1829-30.
Another feature of the debates of 1831-32, not so
marked a feature of prior discussions but of much
*• Wheeling Inielligencer, November 28, 1859.
"Quoted in speech by W. O. Goode, 32,
198 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
subsequent importance, was the disposition of the pro-
slavery men to place the western leaders in a place of
discredit, to whip them into line, and to dub the most
refractory with opprobrious epithets. Gk)ode was
especially resourceful in the use of these tactics. He
characterized the abolition leaders as the Rufus Kings
of the west; they were told that the east could expect
nothing of them in the time of her calamity, should it
ever come. "When our aged mothers shall call in vain
for protection from their slaughtered sons," asked
Goode, "will they be found leading or mingling with
the black horde?" C. J. Faulkner and W. B. Preston
were ridiculed for comparing the abolition movement
to "a great political revolution," to the "generous
efforts of the Parisian patriots." W. G. Summers was
an object of suspicion because he found delight in the
political theories of Thomas Jefferson. He was de-
nominated the "Byron of the west, walking on the
mountain tops and gazing on the desolation which
bums in the plains below." In case abolition had
diffused itself through the mountains, Goode was for
immediate dismemberment, as the only alternative to
the recurrence of the horrors of Saint Bartholomew.*^®
Few of the prominent western leaders ever lived
down the part they took in this debate. Some did not
care to do so and usually sank into political oblivion;
others succeeded in placating the slave power and
received political recognition. Among them were Mc-
Dowell, who later became governor, and Faulkner and
Preston, who became minister to France and secretary
*• Quoted in speech by W. O. Goode, 32.
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SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 199
of the navy respectively. But Summers could not
become governor; McDowell was denied the goal of
his ambition, a seat in the United States Senate ; while
others received only casual recognition.
Preston's amendment to the report of the select
committee that, "it is expedient to adopt some l^s-
lative amendment for the abolition of slavery," was
defeated : ayes 58, noes 73.^® The accompanying map
shows the sectional character of the vote in the House
of Delegates. * Only three delegates from the Tide-
water counties voted aye, and one of them represented
Henrico, which lies only partly below the fall line.
The counties of the Piedmont foothills, Buckingham,
Amherst, Albemarle, together gave four votes in the
affirmative. The fact that the counties in the upper
Potomac and the lower Shenandoah Valley voted so
largely in the negative is not without significance.
True, they had a large slave population, but they were
also the counties which, as has been seen, had recently
formed a political alliance with the east. The map
shows the central and southern parts of the valley and
the whole trans-Alleghany a unit in favor of the
expediency of legislation upon the subject of emanci-
pation.
Defeated on Preston's amendment, the abolitionists
attempted another declaration of principles. Bryce,
of Goochland County, proposed to amend the report
of the select committee which declared it inexpedient
to legislate upon the subject of emancipation, by pre-
fixing the following preamble :
^Journal, House of Del., 1831-32, 109.
200 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Profoundly sensible of the great evils arising from the
condition of the colored population of the Commonwealth; in-
duced by humanity as well as policy, to an immediate effort
for the removal, in the first place, as well as those. who are
now free as of such as may hereafter become free, believing
that this effort, while it is in just accordance with the senti-
ment of the community on the subject, will absorb all our
present means; and that a further action for the removal of
the slaves should await a more definite development of public
opinion. Resolved, etc.
After Strenuous opposition from the pro-slavery men
this preamble was adopted: ayes 67, noes 6o.*^ In
addition to the counties favorable to Preston's amend-
ment those counties marked "X" on the map favored
this preamble. They were represented by delegates
favorable to emancipation but opposed to immediate
l^slation, on the ground that the status of federal
relations made it inexpedient.®^
The House next took up a bill for the removal
from the state of the free people of color.®^ It pro-
vided for their compulsory removal and for an appro-
priation of $100,000 to meet the first expenses thereof.
The discussion of this bill turned upon whether or not
coercion should be used and upon the amount of the
appropriation. Delegates from the west opposed
forced removals and so large an appropriation. As
finally passed by the House the bill made the deporta-
tion of those already free voluntary and provided for
^Journal, House of Del,, 1831-32, no. Thus amended the
report of the select committee passed but was carried by the
western vote.
*^ Slaughter, Hist, Am, Colonization Society, 40.
^'At this time the free colored population numbered 47*34^-
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 20i
an appropriation of $35,000 to be used in 1832 and
$90,000 to be used in 1833.*^
The free discussion of 1831-32 was followed by a
decided reaction against abolition. A powerful essay
entitled A Review of the Debates in the Virginia Legis-
lature of 1831-32 by Professor Thomas R. Dew, of
William and Mary College, crystallized the pro-slavery
sentiment.*^ In both the abstract and the practical this
essay dealt with slavery in all countries and especially
with the rise and development of negro slavery in
America. It clearly set forth the difficulties in deport-
ing the slave and free colored population and the
dangers to society of emancipation without deporta-
tion. It deprecated the idea of a successful slave up-
rising so long as the whites constituted a considerable
portion of the total population, and pointed out the
dangers to property and society of permitting young
and inexperienced legislators freely to discuss so mo-
mentous a question as emancipation.
Jesse Burton Harrison*** answered Professor Dew
in an essay entitled A Review of the Speech of
Thomas Marshall in the Virginia Assembly of 1831-
32.^^ It was simply a reiteration of the arguments
*^ Journal, House of Del., 1831-32, 158. The bill was defeated
in the Senate (National Intelligencer, February 21, 1832; ibid,,
March 15, 1832).
•*This essay can be found in the Political Register, II, No. s,
and in pamphlet form. It was also published in Pro-Slavery
Argument (Charleston, 1852), 287-490.
•• Slaughter, Hist, Am, Col, Society, 64.
^American Quarterly Review, December, 1832; African Re-
pository, IX, No. I.
202 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
advanced to prove negro slavery in Virginia an eco-
nomic evil. It met with little favor, and for a long
time the authorship of the essay was kept anonymous.
Madison also made a brief answer to Dew's
essay.*'' He insisted that in his explanation of the
depressed condition of Virginia, Dew had given too
little importance to the presence of negro slavery and
to emigration, and that he had emphasized too strongly
the influence of the tariff laws. This protest is inter-
esting as an expression of the attitude of the old
school of conservatives.
As wool-growing and manufacturing became more
important in the west devotion to the American System
increased.*® Petitions continued to come to Congress
from that section for protection and appropriations
for works of internal improvement.** Of the condi-
tions there Niles said : "The western and middle coun-
ties are even now favorable to the system, though yet
embarrassed by the politics of the 'junto' at Rich-
mond.'*^*
The subject of most interest to the west was the
preservation of the salt industry. In 1830 Benton
introduced a bill in Congress to abolish entirely the
duty on salt. By numerous depositions and letters he
attempted to show that the salt-makers on the Kanawha
*^ Madison, Writings (cd. Cong.), IV, 277, 278.
""The census of 1840 gave more than one-half million sheep
in western Virginia (Howe, Hist, Coll,, 161, 162).
^Journal, House of Rep,, 21 Cong., 2d sess., 120, 162.
^ Niles Register, XLV, 242.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 203
and Holston maintained a monopoly of the salt trade ;
that owners were annually paid large amounts to keep
their salt wells idle ; and that unfair means were used
to prevent foreign competition^^ On the other hand,
the salt-makers claimed to be the benefactors of the
coimtry. By elaborate memorials to Congress they
showed how their enterprise had reduced the price in
the interior from twelve, eight, five, and three dollars
successively, to seventy-five cents cents per bushel, and
denied that a monopoly existed J ^ Since the applica-
tion of steam to river navigation had enabled the West
India salt, carried to New Orleans as ballast, to com-
pete with home manufacturers, they insisted that in-
creased protection was needed instead of the proposed
reduction.
The final abolition of the protective duty on salt
made the administration very unpopular in the Kana-
wha and Holston valleys. Accompanied by severe
editorial comments, Benton's speeches on the salt tax
appeared in the western prints, and mass-meetings
were held to - denounce their author.'^' "That a
measure calculated to destroy the only considerable
manufacture in the state," said the editor of the
Kanawha Banner, "should meet the support of almost
the entire representation from Virginia presents a
strange anomaly. More than one million dollars worth
^Cong, Debates, VIII, Part III, 3314, 3469; ibid,, VII, 127,
131, 136. \
^Ibid., VII, Appendix, cxxy; Journal, House of Rep,, 21
Cong., 26, sess., 162.
^Kanawha Banner, November 12, 19, 26, 1830; ibid,, Feb-
ruary 4, 18, 25, 1 83 1.
204 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
of property, actually invested, is thus sacrificed on
the altar of political consistency."^* The policy of re-
taining the duty upon sugar and repealing that upon
salt was denominated "an attack upon the free citizens
of the country." "We hold," said the editor of the
Kanawha Banner^ "that the owner [slave-owner] can
never rightfully so regulate the country by law, as to
give a value to slave labor over that of the free, hardy,
and enlightened sons of the republic."''*^
The accompanying map shows the vote of Virginia
in the House of Representatives on the tariff of
i832.''* But one representative from west of the
Blue Ridge voted against it. The compromise feature
of this tariff gained votes for it in the slightly nation-
alistic districts of the Tidewater and along the Po-
tomac.^'' The affirmative vote from the district lying
immediately southwest of Richmond was determined
largely by the desire of the coal operators of Chester-
field and Powhatan counties for a duty on coal.''®
In the congressional elections of 1829 and 1831
not wholly unsuccessful efforts were made by the
National Republicans to carry the congressional dis-
tricts in the west.''® These attacks upon this vulnerable
spot in the strict construction phalanx and the agita-
"^^ Kanawha Banner, December 31, 1830.
^Ibid., January 7, 1831.
''^ Journal, House of Rep,, 22 Cong., 1st sess., 1023.
""Lynchburg Virginian, . Stptevaher 3, 10, 1832.
^Journal, House of Rep,, 22 Cong., ist sess., 234, 290.
^ In 1829 the transmontane districts elected Doddridge, Craig,
Maxwell, and Armstrong, all National Republicans. They were re-
elected in 1 83 1.
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SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 205
tion for a protective tariff called from John Tyler the
following : "I know that the effort is working to sever,
in sentiment and feeling, eastern and western Virginia,
.... I have even heard something said about a
division of the state. I have but a single sentiment to
express upon this subject, and it is Virginia now and
forever.'*®^
The result of the presidential election of 1832 was
more important from the standpoint of sectionalism
than a map of the vote would indicate. By safe majori-
ties Jackson carried every county in the state except
seven. Clay's strength was isolated and confined to
small areas more or less interested in internal improve-
ments.®^ But the issue in the election of 1832 in Vir-
ginia was not so much specific items of the American
System as the general policy of strict construction.
Convinced that they could not succeed and satisfied
with the attitude of Jackson toward the nullifiers the
National Republicans of the west forfeited the elec-
tion,®* It is not without significance that Jackson's
largest vote came from the Valley ; that the old nation-
alist strongholds, Augusta, Greenbrier, and Kanawh^
coimties, gave him majorities; and that the vote in
the east, despite the fact that a large number had been
recently admitted to the rights of suffrage, was small.
Already many political leaders and most of the aristo-
"^Cong. Debates, VIII, Part I, 360.
"He carried Ohio, Jefferson, Berkeley, Loudoun, and Princess
Anne counties (Richmond Whig, November 19, 1832).
^Lynchburg Virginian, September 3, 183a; ibid,, November
15, 1832.
2o6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 1776^1861
cratic planters were revolting against the absolutism
which reigned in the White House and the whoop and
hurrah methods which gave it sanction.®' Many voters
in the east accepted Jackson in 1832 as the lesser
of two evils.®*
As a sectional contest the campaign for the election
of the vice-president was more important than the
presidential election. Led by Thomas W. Gilmer the
ardent strict construction wing of the Democratic
party, for the most part confined to the counties east of
the Blue Ridge, opposed the election of Van Buren and
put P. P. Barbour forward as their choice. Barbour
was an ardent strict constructionist ; he opposed Nulli-
fication, but defended the right of a state to secede.®^
At first an effort was made to secure the nomination
of the Baltimore convention for him. In this attempt
the state-rights men of Virginia co-operated with
others of the same political faith in South Carolina,
North Carolina, and Alabama. Their combined efforts
gave Barbour, however, only forty-nine votes.®*
Chagrined at. their defeat and distrustful of Van
Buren's nationalism and political methods the Barbour
party in Virginia resolved to turn the electoral vote to
^Alexandria Gazette, August 8, 1832; William and Mary Col-
lege Quarterly, XXII, 87; Niles Register, XLI, 227; National
Intelligencer, September 14, 1831.
*^Cong. Debates, VI, Part II, 732.
'^ Niles Register, XLIII, 124, 125; Lynchburg Virginian, Octo-
ber II, 1832.
"•The vote for Barbour was: Virginia, 23; South Carolina,
1 1 ; North Carolina, 6 ; Alabama, 6 ; Maryland, 3 (Niles Register,
XLII, 33s).
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 207
their candidate. With the co-operation of other south-
em states they hoped to throw the election of the vice-
president into the Senate and thus to defeat Van Buren.
At first an effort was made to secure a pledge from the
electors on the Democratic ticket to support Barbour in
case the popular vote should name him as the choice
of the state.®'' The Jackson-Van Buren electors re-
fused to commit themselves,®® and a Jackson-Barbour
electoral ticket was nominated.®* As finally launched,
the opposition party professed devotion to Jackson,
applauded the bank veto, and denounced the tariff.
The election of Barbour, its adherents insisted, would
break up the "nest of harpies'* which were hovering
about the federal capital, teach Jackson that he could
not impose the political practices of New York upon
Virginia, and allay the nullification excitement.®^
Led by Rives, Ritchie, and McDowell the thor-
oughgoing Jackson Democrats remained loyal to Van
Buren. The followers of McDowell and Rives, con-
fined for the most part to the counties of the Piedmont
foothills and the west, were Democrats of the Madison
type. They believed in the constitutionality of a bank
and a protective tariff but doubted their expediency.*^
They claimed that the defeat of Van Buren meant the
"'Lynchburg Virginian, September 17, 1832.
^Ibid,, September 24, 1832.
^Ibid,, October 15, 1832.
*^ Ibid., September 20, 1832; ibid,, October 8;^ 1832.
*^See Madison, Cabell Letters; also "Letters to C. J. Inger-
sol/' in Niles Register, XL, 352; Madison, Writings (ed. Cong.),
IV, 183. Rives was possibly Madison's closest "political friend dur-
ing the last years of his life.
2o8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
election of Sargent, the National Republican candi-
date,®* and that Clay and Calhoun had combined to
defeat Jackson and Van Buren.®' McDowell, the
leader of the western wing of this party, opposed the
election of Barbour on the ground that he was a nuUi-
fier. "It is not enough,'* said he, "to say that Mr.
Barbour is no more of a nuUifier than any state-rights
man in Virginia."®*
Immediately after Van Buren's public declaration
of opposition to an oppressive protective tariff, to
works of internal improvement by the federal govern-
ment,®*^ and to the recharter of the national bank,
Barbour withdrew from the contest. The necessity of
party unity, he said, demanded his withdrawal.®*
Members of the opposition party alleged, however,
that threats from Richmond and promises from Wash-
ington prompted his action.®*^ The National Repub-
lican press was pretty well agreed that Barbour would
not have received more than one-half the votes given
Sargent.®® Accepting this estimate and considering
the fact that the Barbour party was almost exclusively
confined to the east, there can be little doubt that a
poll for their candidate would have shown a large
^Lynchburg Virginian, September 3, 1832.
^ Ibid,, September 3, 1832.
** Washington and Lee Hist, Papers, No. 5, p. 113. McDowell
was a brother-in-law of Thomas H. Benton.
'^Lynchburg Virginian, October 25, 1832.
^Ibid,, November, 1832.
^ Ibid,, November, 1832. Barbour was later appointed asso-
ciate justice of the Supreme Court.
"Sargent and Clay received about 12,000 votes.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 209
number of the counties in the Tidewater and lower
Piedmont opposed to Van Buren.
When the Assembly met, one month after the elec-
tion of 1832, there was every indication that the union
between the Barbour and Van Buren factions was per-
manent. With only six dissenting votes W. C. Rives
was elected to the United States Senate.** The press
commented upon the political union and the blow given
Nullification by the election of Rives.^^^
But South Carolina's ordinance of Nullification and
the President's Proclamation soon caused the discor-
dant factions of the Democratic party to part company.
Led by Rives and McDowell the western party joined
the National Republicans to form a Union party, while
the seceders and nullifiers in the east united and
formed a State-Rights party. True, no hard-and-
fast sectional line can be drawn between these parties.
The Union party had supporters in the east; the
State-Rights party found a following in the Valley
and along the Kanawha; Ritchie of the Enquirer re-
mained with the former; while Pleasants of the Whig,
the former National-Republican organ, joined the
latter.
Already the position of the east and the west upon
the subject of federal relations had been pretty def-
initely determined. A majority of the leaders in the
former section were opposed to Nullification but in-
"'The dissenting votes were given, two to Barbour, three to
Randolph, and one to Floyd {Journal, House of Del., 1832-33,
22) »'
^^ Lynchburg Virginian, December 17, 1832; Washington and
Lee Hist, Papers, No. s, p. no.
2IO SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 1776-1861
sisted on the right of a state to secede. How far this
position was determined by the practical difficulties
which then confronted the nullifiers is difficult to de-
termine. There were, however, many state-rights
men in Virginia who believed in McDuffie's conten-
tion that Nullification was based upon the doctrines
of 1798.*^^ Representatives Gordon, Davenport,
Bouldin, and J. S. Barbour "hobnobbed" with the
nullifiers in Washington and considered their re-elec-
tion in 1 83 1 as a triumph for their cause.^^* Governor
Floyd was considered friendly to Nullification;^^' the
Richmond Whig co-operated with southern leaders in
behalf of a southern convention ;^®^ leaders in the
lower Piedmont (quite probably Bouldin and Daven-
port) were thought to be in alliance with the nulli-
fiers;^^** and the Petersburg Jeffersonian edited by
Cralle was an ardent Nullification sheet.^^*
On the other hand, the westerners had refused to
accept either Nullification or Secession as the shibbo-
leth of their party or to raise state sovereignty above
that of the nation.*^'' Accepting Madison's interpreta-
tion of the Resolutions of 1798, they insisted that the
states possessed only a part of the sovereign power and
that no one of them could nullify a federal law.^^® Nu-
^^ Register of Cong, Debates, VIII, Part I, 290,
^^ Lynchburg Virginian, August 23, 1832.
^^Ibid,, August 23, 1832.
^^Ibid,, September 10, 27, 1832.
^^ Register of Cong, Debates, VIII, Part III, 3170.
^^ Lynchburg Virginian, February 11, 25, 1833.
^ Washington and Lee Hist. Papers, No. s, pp. 106-12.
^* Madison, Writings (ed. Cong.), IV, 61, 289, 409; Wise,
Seven Decades of the Union, 121-25.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 21 1
merous essays, letters, and editorials had already
appeared in the western prints and the Richmond En-
quirer to show that the South Carolina doctrines were
not those of 1798. The most important contributions
of this nature were the series of essays by "Agricola,"
which appeared in the Enquirer in August and Septem-
ber, 1832. Inhabitants of the west believed that South
Carolina's course had been determined by the reverses
of designing and ambitious politicians; they accord-
ingly refused "to parcel out the Empire."^®® South
Carolina out of the Union was pictured as "the most
wretched place on the globe." "She would be," said
the editor of the Lynchburg Virginian^ "an ally con-
temptible to a foreign nation and would be forced to
sell her independence as the price of protection." Even
before the election of 1832 numerous mass-meetings
had been held in the western counties to condemn the
Nullification programme. Citizens of Amherst County
denounced it as a fallacious delusion opposed to the
Resolutions of 1798.^^^ At a meeting in Nelson it was
resolved : "That we consider any immediate opposition
to the tariff law by the forceful interposition of a state
as unsafe, impolitic, unwise, and highly dangerous to
the best interests of the nation."^^^
The ordinance of Nullification, the Proclamation,
and the subsequent discussions in Congress and the
Assembly aroused the west to take a firmer stand for
the Union. The resolutions passed by the various
mass-meetings there and the letters written on federal
^^ Richmond Enquirer, August 23, 1832.
^Ibid,, October, 1832. ^^Ihid,, September 10, 1832.
212 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
relations would fill a good-sized volume. They repre-
sent the final sentiment in the contest of the west for
nationalism. They are very similar in content, and it
will be necessary to note only a few of them here.
Citizens of Augusta were of opinion that no state
had a right to resist federal laws; that their only re-
course lay in constitutional amendment or in the Su-
preme Court ; that the actidn of South Carolina was "a
plain and palpable violation of her constitutional obli-
gation to the other states ;" they looked with pity rather
than anger upon her rashness and asked executive
clemency ; they insisted that —
if South Carolina has a moral right to overthrow the govern-
ment, when it becomes intolerably oppressive, Virginia and the
other states of the Union have, in addition to the right of
union and security conferred upon them by the federal com-
pact, the moral right of self-protection; and in the spirit of
justice, and of enlightened liberty, of preserving by force, if
necessary, that government upon which they believe the strength,
the freedom, and the happiness of these United States de-
pends."*
Citizens of Nelson resolved that the sovereign
power, both state and national, resided in the people;
that power did not belong to the majority of a single
state, a small part of the total population, "to alter or
abolish the government established for the collective
and united benefit, safety and happiness, by nullifying
the laws of the United States or destroying by seces-
sion the compact entered into for the mutual benefit
of all ;" that the action of South Carolina was anarchic ;
^Lynchburg Virginian, January 7, 1833.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 213
and that force should be used, if necessary, to compel
obedience to federal laws.*^^
A mass-meeting in Smyth County expressed devo-
tion to the Union, denounced Nullification as political
heresy, opposed the Proclamation, and asked that the
tariff be reduced.*** Of the vacillating attitude of the
state-rights men in the Assembly it said :
Its [their] doctrines are temporizing and puerile, calculated
to draw this commonwealth into the vortex of Nullification.
.... For we hold that Virginia Secession and South Carolina
Nullification do most necessarily lead to the same results; and
it is with unutterable regret and the deepest indignation that
we see the legislature of Virginia spending days and weeks in
impossible debates to determine whether she will give up our
whole Union into the hands of demagogues and frenzied po-
litical aspirants.""
Moore, the doughty old Federalist of Rockbridge,
believed that —
when the star .spangled banner is unfurled upon the top
of one of our lofty mountains, and the inhabitants are told
that the Union is in danger, every valley, glen and dale will
pour forth its population prepared to conquer or die beneath
the flag that has so often led their fathers to victory."*
Moore's neighbor, William Taylor, wrote James Mc-
Dowell :
"•/dtrf., January 31, 1832. For similar resolutions, sec ibid,^
December 25, 1832; January 10, 21, 31, 1833; February 11, 25,
1833; National Intelligencer, January 7, 8, 10, 1833; ^Hes Regis-
ter, XLIII, 318.
"^Many, if not most, of the resolutions passed at these mass-
meetings favored a reduction in the tariff.
^"Lynchburg Virginian, February 11, 1833.
^^^Ibid., December 25, 1832. Moore later joined the Confed-
erate army.
214 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
The President's Proclamation meets general approval. The
Clay men are loud in its praise. The Union [the local paper]
thinks it ought to be placed along side of the Declaration of
Independence.***
Later he wrote of the mass-meeting held in Rock-
bridge :
There was great unanimity and a fixed determination to
sustain the President. All were against Nullification although
there would have been a difference of opinion on the subject of
state rights, if any attempt had been made to give an analysis
of the principles of our government. This exciting subject
was, however, prudently avoided.
I was sorry to see the strong sentiment expressed against
Carolina by some of the people. I believe volunteers could
have been obtained at once to go out against her.*"
About the same time Archibald Graham wrote :
The old General's Proclamation seems not to have been
relished much by the Virginia politicians. In this region [the
Valley] it has been received with loud and almost universal
applause. The old federal and Clay parties hail it as the har-
binger of better times that are to settle forever the principles
they have been contending for. The Jackson party receive it
favorably because it is Jackson's. A few, and a very few,
cannot swallow its high-toned federal doctrines There
is a strong feeling in this county against Nullification and a
very general disposition to put it down vi et armis. I believe
a strong volunteer company could be raised at a moment's
warning to march against them."*
At first few mass-meetings were held in the lower
Piedmont and the Tidewater counties, but the dis-
^^"^ Washington and Lee Hist. Papers, No. 5, pp. 110-15.
^^Ibid*, No. 5, p. no.
^^ Ibid., No. 5, pp. 110-15.
SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 215
cussion of the Force Bill made feigned indifference on
their part no longer possible. John Randolph threw
away his bed and crutches and appeared on the politi-
cal stage for the last time as the advocate of state
rights. Under his direction citizens of Charlotte and
other counties resolved that Virgina was a free, sov-
ereign, and independent state ; that, although necessity
had made it convenient to delegate certain powers to a
confederacy, she had parted with no portion of her
sovereignty, and that she had never parted with her
right to withdraw her delegated powers to secede from
the confederacy. These resolutions condemned Nulli-
fication as weak and mischievous and denounced the
nationalistic tendencies of Jackson's Proclamation and
the Force BilL^^o
A few days after the meeting of the Assembly of
1832-33 Governor Floyd communicated to it official
information of the Nullification ordinance and the
President's Proclamations.^^* Immediately a select
committee of twenty-one was appointed to take under
consideration the federal relations; to determine the
course which Virginia should pursue and the propriety
of a general convention of the states ; and to make a
declaration of opinion on "the present fearful crisis."
After much debate in the committee of the whole, the
select committee, controlled by the State-Rights party,
reported a long list of resolutions. They expressed a
desire for union by means which would keep the fed-
eral and state governments within constitutional limits ;
^"^ Lynchburg Virginian, February 11, 14, 25, 1833.
^Journal, House of Del,, 1832-33, 30,
2i6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
deemed it unwise to make an exposition of Virginia's
well-known political creed; denounced the tariff as
contrary to the spirit and intent of the Constitution;
praised South Carolina's resistance but deplored her
methods; denounced the Proclamation as a departure
from the spirit of the Constitution and the Resolutions
of 1798 ; deplored the use of arms by either the federal
government or South Carolina; recommended a gen-
eral convention in case Congress did not take action to
reduce the tariff ; and suggested that commissioners be
appointed to convey the resolutions of the Assembly
to South Carolina. ^^^
Marshall, of Fauquier County, moved to substitute
for the report of the committee a resolution asking the
proper authorities in South Carolina to rescind the
ordinance of Nullification, or at least to suspend it
until after Congress should adjourn.*^® Whereupon
Bodne, of Hanover, moved to amend the proposed
substitute by adding thereto a series of resolutions
which declared it the duty of Virginia to prevent dis-
union, denounced Nullification as untimely and op-
posed to the Resolutions of 1798, admitted the right
of the President to enforce the laws but condemned
his Proclamation, and requested that he revise it and
countermand his military orders.^ ^4
Although somewhat milder than the report of the
select committee, Boone's resolutions did not conciliate
the Union party, as it was hoped they would. The
^Journal, House of Del., 1832-33, 79. B. W. Leigh was later
sent to South Carolina to offer friendly mediation.
»/W<f., 79. "^Ibid., 79.
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SLAVERY AND NULLIFICATION 217
vote on amending Marshall's substitute by adding
Boone's resolutions to it was : ayes 73, nays 50.*^*^ The
accompanying map of this vote shows practically all
the delegates from counties west of the Blue Ridge
opposed to it.
When it became evident that the State-Rights party
was in control of the Assembly, the Union men
made a desperate effort to strike from the report of
the select committee that resolution which censured
Jackson. A motion to this effect was decided in the
negative: ayes 61, nays 70.^^* A map of this vote
would show practically the same counties opposed to
censuring Jackson as had opposed Boone's resolutions.
The resolutions finally adopted by the Assembly
were in sentiment the same as those originally pro-
posed by the select committee. The great change
which had taken place in Virginia politics during the
session of the Assembly of 1832-33 was shown in the
result of the election of a United States senator to
succeed John Tyler. In the first days of the session,
Rives, an ardent administration man, was elected with-
out opposition; in the last days Tyler, who sympa-
thized with Nullification and cast the only vote in the
United States Senate against the Force Bill,^^^ was re-
elected. The vote for senator in the House was : Tyler
63, McDowell 53.^^® An analysis of this vote shows
»/W(f.. 82. "^Ibid., 88.
*The vote of Virginia in the House on the Force Bill was:
ayes 7, nays 13. But one delegate from west of the Blue Ridge
voted nay.
^Journal, House of Del,, 1832-33. In the House Leigh also
received 7 votes, Tucker 2, Randolph i, and Daniel i.
2i8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the same delegates voting for McDowell as opposed the
State-Rights party on the resolutions on federal rela-
tions.*^
The State-Rights and Union parties contested the
congressional and state elections of 1833.*®^ The
former secured a majority in the Assembly and elected
nine out of twenty-one representatives in Congress.
East of the Blue Ridge and south of the Rappahannock
River the nullifiers and seceders, names applied to the
State-Rights party, elected every representative ex-
cept Andrew Stevenson from the Richmond district
and George Roy all from the Norfolk district. In the
east the Union party was successful only in those
sections where the National Republican party had been
strong and where the influence of Ritchie extended.*®*
On the other hand, the districts west of the Blue Ridge,
without exception, sent members of the Union party
to represent them in Congress.
** Commenting upon the election of Tyler the Lynchburg Vir-
ginian of February 21, 1833, said: "So that John Tyler whose
sentiments border so closely on Nullification as that heresy does
on Secession was re-elected by a majority of two votes. This is
a rather singular result, when we recollect that the same body, not
many weeks ago, by an almost unanimous vote, elected W. C. Rives
to the same office."
^Lynchburg Virginian, April 11, 1833; ibid,. May 16, 1833.
^Ibid., May 2, 1833; National Intelligencer, May 7, 1833;
jy/iles Register, XLIV, 162.
CHAPTER VII
PARTIES IN THE WHIG PERIOD, 1834-S0
The compromise tariff and the attempt to distribute
the proceeds of the sales of the public lands increased
Clay's popularity in the west, but they brought con-
fusion in the ranks of the Union party. The tariff
satisfied the desire for protection, and the nationalists
hoped to use the income from the land sales to promote
works of internal improvement. Many citizens of the
west refused to believe the rumor that Clay had formed
a corrupt coalition with Calhoun and insisted that his
surrender of the American System was a "magnani-
mous offering on the altar of peace."^ Jackson, "the
impersonation of the Union," was in a measure super-
seded by Clay, "its real preserver."^
Preparatory to the election of 1834 the administra-
tion party, again called Democrat, made a desperate
effort to prevent union between the followers of Clay
in the west and members of the State-Rights party in
the east. To this end Rives made a campaign in the
west. Though it was generally recognized that nulli-
fication and secession were no longer issues, he praised
the heroic Union party of South Carolina; expounded
the Resolutions of 1798 to show wherein they were
unlike the Nullification doctrines; justified his course
* Lynchburg Virginian, March 4 and 14, 1833 ; ibid,, Febru-
ary 28, 1833.
*Ibitk, March 4, 1833.
219
220 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776^1861
in support of the Force Bill; and drank toasts to the
President, "who has given effect to the sentiment *the
Union, it must be preserved/ "'
About the same time Mercer made a trip to the
west in behalf of the Clay party, and Clay himself
found it convenient to tarry among the mountaineers
on his way to and from Washington. The people,
however, would not be wrought up by appeals to na-
tionalism or other general principles. They were turn-
ing again entirely to the practical questions of their
locality. The following toast to Mercer shows the
sentiment which was uppermost in their minds : "West-
em Virginia! The feeling is awake; the canal boat
shall bear away the product of our industry, where
a little while ago, the mountain deer trod with trim
step."*
Meanwhile Jackson's arbitrary conduct in the re-
moval of the deposits had widened the breach within
the Union party and increased the zeal of the opposi-
tion. Although opposed to the recharter of the United
States Bank, the east did not sanction executive usurpa-
tion;^ and many state-rights politicians had come to
regard "a United States Bank" as a necessary evil.®
In many counties of the east mass-meetings denounced
the removals as dangerous to the business interests of
the country and as an executive usurpation.''^ In his
^Niles Register, XLIV, 61, 78.
*Ibid., XLV, 131.
•Wise, Seven Decades of the Union, 136.
•NUes Register, XLVIII, 249.
^National Intelligencer, January 2 and 30, 1834; "Calhoun
Correspondence," Am. Hist, Asso. Rept, (1899), II, 335.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-S0 221
«
annual message to the Assembly, Grovernor Tazewell
condemned them as a scheme intended to promote the
banking interests of New York and to make the South
dependent thereon.® In the Assembly the nationalists
and state-rights delegates united to pass resolutions
declaring the removals "a dangerous and alarming
assumption of power" and asserting the right of
Congress to a voice in policies of general finance;*
and they requested their representatives in Congress
and instructed their senators to bring about the restora-
tion of the deposits and to adopt measures to remedy
the evils occasioned by their removal. ^*^
Rives refused to obey these instructions and re-
signed his place in the Senate. Again the nationalists
and state-rights delegates united to elect his successor,
B. W. Leigh."
Despite the efforts of the Democrats, the coalition
had been made between the opposition factions and the
name Whig adopted by the whole. The election of
1834 returned a large Whig majority in the Assembly,
and the coalition held a formal jubilation over this, its
first victory in the state. Letters of congratulation
from Clay, Calhoun, Preston, Ewing, and Poindexter
were features of the occasion. Of this election Cal-
houn said : "The result has given joy and confidence to
* Journal, House of Del,, 1833-34, 9.
•Niles Register, XLV, 388, 410.
^^ Journal, House of DeL, 1833-34, 'oo» i67«
"The vote, in the House was: Leigh 69; P. P. Barbour 56
{Journal, 1833-34, 214). One-half of the vote given Leigh came
from west of the Blue Ridge. See Washington and Lee Hist,
Papers, No. 5, p. 109.
222 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
those who supported the side of constitutional Hb-
erty."i«
The accompanyii^ map shows the party affiliations
of the delegates elected to the House of Delegates of
1834-35. The union between the state-rights voters
and the nationalists enabled the opposition to carry an
unbroken line of counties from the Atlantic to the
Ohio along the James and Kanawha rivers. Appar-
ently the nationalistic wing of the Whig party was the
stronger; almost one-half of the Whig delegates came
from west of the Blue Ridge, and a large portion of
the other half came from counties strongly national-
istic. For the most part the mountain districts of the
west elected Democrats, as did those counties of the
east which were under the influence of able leaders of
the administration party. The Democratic counties
in north-central Piedmont were in the bailiwick of
P. P. Barbour, W. C. Rives, Thomas Ritchie, and
Andrew Stevenson.**
-It was with difficulty, however, that the large Whig
majority secured the re-election of Leigh to the United
States Senate.** The conflict between the incongruous
elements in the party, which continued through its
whole lifetime, first manifested itself on this occasion.
Leigh's ardent devotion to state rights and his record
in the constitutional convention of 1829-30 rendered
him unpopular in the west, where some Whig counties
^National Intelligencer, July 10, 1834.
"This map is made from data taken from the National In-
telligencer, May 31, 1834.
"The vote on joint ballot was: Leigh 85; Rives 8i {loumal,
House of Del,, 1834-35, no).
o
Oh
- §
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 223
instructed their delegates in the Assembly to vote
against his re-election.**^ To defeat him an effort was
made to refer the choice of a senator to a vote of the
people. Of the efforts to re-elect Leigh, James Mc-
Dowell, of Rockbridge County, said: "The election
was a bitter one and gave rise to a far deeper resent-
ment than I have ever seen in the Legislature. "*®
The differences within the Whig party made its
rule short. It had not yet wrought its conflicting ele-
ments into a working party. In vain the Richmond
Whig praised "the ever memorable and blessed family
compact which gave quiet to South Carolina, preserved
the peace and integrity of the states, and tempered the
harsh operation of the tariff; in vain it insisted that
the Whigs are agreed in an ardent attachment to the
institutions of our country and in a deep devotion to
the Union."*'' The zealous efforts of Rives, Ritchie,
and McDowell, the dissatisfaction of the west with
the election of Leigh to the United States Senate, and
the abolition agitation brought defeat to the Whig
party in the elections of 1835. The Democrats elected
a large majority to the Assembly and seventeen of the
twenty-one representatives in Congress. This election
^^Niles Register, XLVIII, 130. In answer to the objections
raised to his re-election Leigh said: "The charge of aristocracy
has been raised against me, founded I am quite sure on no other
ground than the course I took in the convention of 1829-30.''
See National Intelligencer, September 9, 1835.
^Washington and Lee Hist, Papers, No. 5, p. 119; National
Intelligencer, February 21, 1835.
"National Intelligencer, March 24, 1835. This quotation is
from an "Address of the Richmond Whig to the People of Vir-
ginia.
224 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
marked the first appearance of the ''Tenth Legion" of
the Valley, the German ''invincibles/' as a factor in
Virginia politics.**
The Democrats retained power three years, and
completely reversed the Whig policy. Ejected officials
were restored to their places ; resolutions censuring the
President for the removal of the deposits were re-
scinded ; and Tyler and Leigh were instructed to vote
for the expunging resolutions.** Tyler refused to
obey, resigned, and was succeeded by W. C. Rives.
Leigh, however, refused to resign until the fight over
the expunging resolutions was ended and then did so
only because of business reasons.^ His course met
disapproval among state-rights Whigs, who believed
in the right of instruction, aroused the west, and doubt-
less did much to increase the strength of the adminis-
tration party throughout the state. ^ Leigh was suc-
ceeded by Judge R. E. Parker, a Democrat.
The year 1835 witnessed the beginning of the
movement for the abolition of slavery and the slave
trade in the District of Columbia. From the first
both parties in the east, and especially the Whigs,
opposed the abolition agitation. During the summer of
1835 "^ost of the counties east of the Blue Ridge held
one or more mass-meetings to denounce the abolition-
^The Whigs elected no representatives to Congress from
west of the Blue Ridge {National Intelligencer, May 15, 1835;
Miles Register, XLVIII, 186).
** Journal, House of Del,, 1835-36, 26, 37, 55, 100. *
''Ibid., 1836-37, 18.
"Wise, Seven Decades of the Union, 138; Tyler, Letters and
Times of the Tylers, I, 536-38.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 225
/
ists, to memorialize the Assembly regarding them, and
to protest against the abolition of negro slavery in the
District of Columbia.^^ These memorials insisted that
negro slavery was not the cause of Virginia's indus-
trial decline, but that unscientific cultivation and ex-
cessive migrations had produced her "turned-out" land
and "gullied** hillsides. The agricultural societies
advised the state to foster its "peculiar institutions'*
and asked that a chair of agriculture be established in
the State University. ^^ It was at this period and on
this issue that a number of young men, most prominent
of whom were : Henry A. Wise, R. M. T. Hunter, and
John Y. Mason, came into prominence in the east as
the defenders of negro slavery and as disciples of John
C. Calhoun. "Slavery interwoven with our political
institutions," said Wise, "is guaranteed by our Con-
stitution, and its consequence must be borne by our
northern brethren as resulting from our system of
government, and they cannot attack the institution of
slavery without attacking the institutions of our coun-
try, our safety, our welfare."^^
On the other hand, members of both parties in the
west were at first inclined to criticize the attitude of
the extreme state-rights men toward the abolitionists.
Opposition to the pro-slavery agitation caused many
western Whigs to join the administration party, con-
^No such memorials were sent to the Assembly from counties
west of the Blue Ridge (Journal, House of Del,, 1835-36, Doc.
No. 12, pp. 1-25).
'^ Ibid,, Doc. No. 30.
** Register of Cong, Debates, XI, 1399. See also "Calhoun
Correspondence,*' in Am, Hist. Asso, Kept, (1899), 11, 356.
226 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
tributing to its victory of 1835. Many voters in the
west believed that Calhoun was bent upon "picking a'
quarrel with the North about negroes." The Lynch-
burg Virginian, the chief organ of the Whig party in
that section, insisted that the nuUifiers and seceders
had accepted the Compromise Tariff, "not for the pur-
pose of establishing peace and tranquillity but with the
design of changing their weapon of attack," and "that
the subject which they are now wielding, in aid of their
settled purpose to dissolve the Union and erect a south-
em confederacy, is slavery."^*^ The western press
opposed any and all attempts to call a southern conven-
tion to devise means of co-operative action against the
abolitionists.^*
But when the abolition agitation began to endanger
the perpetuity of the Union, the sentiment in western
Virginia toward the abolitionists changed. With the
inhabitants of this section, as with those of Massa-
chusetts, who destroyed the abolitionist printing-presses
and dragged Garrison through the streets of Boston,
and those of Illinois, who murdered Lovejoy, the
Union was sacred and not to be endangered by fanatics.
Under these conditions the Democratic party, which
Jackson had made to stand for the Union, and the
southern leaders who had committed themselves
against abolition, increased in popularity in the west.
Leaders like James McDowell, C. J. Faulkner, Jr.,
W. B. Preston, and G. W. Summers now tried to right
themselves with the east on the subject of slavery and
* Lynchburg Virginian, April 29, 1833.
** National Intelligencer, quoting the Lexington (Va.) Gasette.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-S0 227
to dispel the alarm occasioned by their utterances in
the constitutional convention of 1829-30 and the
slavery debate of 1831-32. It now became possible
for such leaders to defend the Union in the same
breath that they denounced the abolitionists. This
largely explains the Democratic strength in west-
ern Virginia. The following from an address,
delivered at Princeton Collie, New Jersey, in 1838,
by James McDowell, shows the position which these
leaders were taking upon the question of slavery:
"Leave slavery to the wisdom of those upon whom the
providence of God and the constitution have cast it
Furious and mad philanthropy will bring destruction ;
a stop should come before it is impossible.*'^'' In this
frame of mind the west voted with the east to suppress
incendiary publications, for the "gag resolutions," and
against the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in
the District of Columbia.
The abolition agitation and local differences pre-
vented the union of the Whig party in the presidential
election of 1836. The eastern wing favored Hugh L.
White, of Tennessee, who was not a Whig, for presi-
dent, and John Tyler for vice-president. Thus no
concession was to be made to the west which desired
either Harrison or Clay, preferably the latter, for
president, and was not enthusiastic over Tyler for the
second place. Finally an unsatisfactory compromise
was agreed upon whereby an electoral ticket, pledged
"^ Washington and Lee Hist, Papers, No. s, p. 126. McDowell
was an alumnus of Princeton. His speech on this occasion was
entitled "West Augusta."
228 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
to support either White or Harrison and favorable to
Tyler, was placed in the field. ^®
The Democrats, however, were scarcely more
united. Ritchie and other leaders of the eastern wing
were not enthusiastic over Van Buren and bitterly
opposed Johnson for the second place, but a more sat-
isfactory solution than that reached by the Whigs was
agreed upon. After a vain effort to coinmit Van
Buren on the subject of abolition, the east indorsed
him for president and the west agreed to support
William Smith of Alabama for vice-president. This
was a mutual concession, whereas the opposing wing^
in the Whig party had not reached accord.
After a dull campaign Van Buren carried the state
by seven thousand majority. ^*^ His vote was unusually
large in counties west of the Blue Ridge, especially
those of the Tenth Legion where the German element
rallied to his support. Only seven counties west of the
mountains gave majorities against him. The. Whig
defeat was attributed to a falling-off in their vote in
the west and the Northern Neck.^^
The financial panic of 1837 and the legislation in-
tended to restore a healthful currency brought a breach
in both the Whig and Democratic parties in Virginia.
Rives and his "conservative" following refused to
support Van Buren's scheme for an independent
treasury and continued to favor a regulated system of
^Niles Register, XLIX, 290; Wise, Life of Wise, 66; Na-
tional Intelligencer, October 5, 1836.
^ Niles Register, LIX, 229.
^National Intelligencer, November 19, 1836.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 229
deposits in the state banks. Rives believed that the
general government ought to aid the states in main-
taining a sound currency and an efficient banking
system ; that currency good enough for the people was
good enough for the government; that the public purse
should not be intrusted to the custody of the chief
executive; that the separation of the federal govern-
ment from banks and banking would impair the co-
operation between it and the states; and that an
independent treasury would eventually lead to a re-
charter of a national bank.®* For some time the
conservatives maintained a ^wa^i-independent attitude,
and there was much talk of a third party. The
Madisonian founded at Washington in August, 1837,
was thought to be the intended organ of the proposed
new party. ®^ But the northern conservatives, under
the leadership of Tallmadge of New York, soon
joined the Whigs, and Rives and his following in
Virginia did likewise. On the other hand, R. M. T.
Hunter, W. F. Gk)rdon, L. W. Tazewell, and others of
the strict construction wing of the Whig party fol-
lowed their idol, Calhoun, into the administration
party, which was daily growing into greater harmony
with the South on the subject of abolition. ®®
These changes in issues and party alignments made
union and success possible for the Whigs. They swept
"■ See his letter, signed "Camillus," in National Intelligencer^
August 16, 1837.
*^Ihid., August 23, 1837.
^Niles Register, LVl, 411 j "Calhoun Correspondence," Am,
Hist. Asso. Rept, (1899), H* 436.
230 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the state in the election of 1838,'^ and retained control
of the Assembly for four years. Wise dates the
formation of the Whig party in Virginia from the
year 1838.^*
The Whig rule worked a continuation of the sec-
tional differences. Rives's term as United States
senator expired March 4, 1839, but the west desired
his re-election, while the east, led by B. W. Leigh,
F. W. Gilmer, and W. S. Archer, desired the more
orthodox Whig, John Tyler, to succeed him. The
contest between Rives and Tyler was waged for two
years, and for that period Virginia had only one
senator in Congress. Mr. Wise to the contrary not-
withstanding,** it ended only after Tyler's nomination
to the vice-presidency. On several occasions Rives
was near a re-election, but just enough of the leaders
remained aloof from him to prevent it. Although he
refused to attend a reconciliation dinner Leigh com-
mended Rives's independence in repudiating Van
Buren, but he insisted that it was only a partial atone-
ment for his errors in supporting the expunging
resolutions and the removal of the deposits. He also
believed that Rives should commit himself to the sup-
port of the Whig candidate for president, in 1840,
before he could expect that party to return him to the
Senate. *''
Both parties went into the election of 1840 with
** National Intelligencer, May 3, 1838.
'^ Seven Decades of the Union, 157.
^Ibid., 174.
"Niles Register, LVI, 66.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 231
greater unity than in 1836, though not with entire
harmony between the sections. The eastern Demo-
crats reluctantly su|)ported the renomination of Van
Buren but refused to support R. M. Johnson for the
vice-presidency. They put forward James K. Polk,
of Tennessee, for that office and ceased to support him
only when he declined to be a candidate. ®® On the
other hand, the eastern Whigs were willing to vote for
Clay, the choice of the west, for the presidential nom-
ination, provided the west would support Tyler for the
vice-presidency.
The poll called forth an unprecedented vote in
which Van Buren had a bare majority.®*^ He owed
his success to the heavy vote in the counties west of
the Blue Ridge, which gave him more than three
thousand majority.^^ A map of this vote by counties
would be strikingly similar to the map of the Demo-
cratic and Whig counties as represented in the Assem-
bly of 1834-35. It would also show the areas of
Whig strength when the party was most powerful in
Virginia.
Tyler's opposition to the Whig programme of
1 84 1 caused his following in Virginia to desert the
party. For some time they tried to maintain a third
party, the Madisonian becoming the party organ, but
their inability to rally a following to Tyler and his
^Richmond Whig, August 7, 1840.
'•The total vote was 84,223. Van Buren's majority was 1,413
{Niles Register, LIX, 229).
*^Ibid., LIX, 294.
232 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ultimate repudiation by the Whigs drove Wise, Gilmer,
and their colleagues into the Democratic party.
The rank and file of the Virginia Whigs, how-
ever, stood fast. The nationalists of the west were
exasperated by Tyler's vetoes. They had expected
and petitioned for an increased duty on iron, salt, and
woolens.^* The tariff of 1842 received seven affirma-
tive votes from Virginia, only three of which came
from east of the Blue Ridge,^^ and the Whig repre-
sentatives in Congress were not unfriendly to the
recharter of a national bank. That the course of the
eastern representatives in support of the tariff was
determined by factors other than the desire to oppose
the Democrats is evident from the popular support
they received. Twenty-two hundred citizens of Rich-
mond and vicinity signed a petition to Congress pray-
ing for an increase in the tariff.^^ It is evident that the
eastern wing of the Whig party became more nation-
alistic as the eastern wing of the Democratic party
became more strongly attached to state rights.
The political readjustments of 1841 and 1842 en-
abled the Democrats to regain control of the Assem-
bly** and to reverse completely the course pursued by
the Whig assemblies. They refused to receive any
more of the surplus from the sale of the public lands,
an act which provoked severe criticism in the Whig
^ House Journal, 27 Cong., 2d sess., 532, 611, 617, 680, 793,
8x0, 854.
**Ibid., 27 Cong., ad sess., 1107.
^Niles Register, LXII, 288, 302; DeBow, Review, X, 54^.
*^Niles Register, XLVI, 112, 176.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 233
counties of the Kanawha Valley;^* some favored in-
structing Rives and Archer out of the Senate ;*• and
others encouraged the use of hard money.
By 1843 most of the prominent leaders residing
east of the Blue Ridge had become Democrats,*''^ but
the rank and file of that party continued to reside west
of the mountains. Notwithstanding these conditions
Hunter and his political friends inaugurated a move-
ment to make Calhoun president in 1844 ^i^d the
Democratic party of Virginia a strictly state-rights
and pro-slavery party. Hunter's political biography
of Calhoun was scattered broadcast, and there was
talk of establishing a Calhoun paper in Richmond.
That such a movement met with opposition goes
almost without saying. Ritchie remained true to the
west, which had enabled him to gain so many political
victories, and continued to favor the renomination of
Van Buren and the cause of local reform. He was
frequently accused of keeping Virginia attached to
the tail of a northern alliance with "demagogues"
when "she should be the head of a southern state-
rights party."*® On the other hand, the Calhoim party
was accused of treason to the regular Democratic
party and of a desire to dissolve the Union. The fol-
lowing comment by the Washington Globe upon the
Calhoun party was indorsed by the Enquirer and the
^Kanawha Republican, March 19, 1842.
** Journal, House of Del., 1842-43, 90.
«Wi8C, Life of Wise, 103-5.
*• "Calhoun Correspondence/' Am. Hist, Asso. Rept. (i899)»
II, 527, 536, 602.
234 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
western prints: "Some of the would be leaders may
kick out of the traces and give us some trouble, but
they will soon be run over rough shod to rise no more
in political preferment."^*^
These differences in the Democratic party enabled
the Whigs to gain a majority in the House of Dele-
gates elected in 1844, but the holdovers in the Senate
prevented them from controlling the Assembly on joint
ballot. The prospect of defeat in the presidential elec-
tion was not a sufficient incentive to produce immedi-
ate union in the Democratic party. As the presidential
canvass continued, Van Buren's renomination became
generally conceded. Accordingly his friends tried to
allay the opposition to him in Virginia by securing an
agreement from the Calhoun men to support the nom-
inee of the national convention. "Harmony," they
agreed, "is necessary to defeat Clay." But the fol-
lowers of Calhoun openly declared that Van Buren's
nomination would necessitate an independent ticket in
Virginia. Their tenacity was a determining factor in
the nomination of Polk instead of Van Buren.*^®
The slogan "Polk and Texas" reunited the Demo-
cratic party and enabled it to carry the presidential
contest in the state by almost six thousand majority.*^*
Ritchie, who now drank toasts to "Calhoun, the presi-
dent in 1848," went to Washington to become editor of
^Quoted in the Kanawha Republican, August 26, 1843.
"""Calhoun Correspondence/' in Am. Hist Asso. Rept, (1899),
11, 896, 915.
^NUes Register, LXVI, 160, 176; LXVII, 276.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 235
the Union^^ and Calhoun himself believed that the day
of southern supremacy had returned. He wrote : "The
great difficulty has heretofore been with Virginia,
under the guidance of Mr. Ritchie. His policy has
been to act in concert with the party in Pennsylvania
and New York, as the most certain way of succeeding
in the elections ; and for that purpose to concede some-
thing of our principles to secure their co-operation.
The effect has been to detach Virginia, in great
measure, from the south. "^^
The elections of 1845 wiped out the Whig ma-
jority in the House of Delegates and returned only
one Whig to Congress.^^ The political union between
the east and the west was almost as perfect as it
had been in 1835, when the Democrats had carried
everything. The Assembly of 1845-46 elected Isaac
Pennybacker, the choice of the west, to succeed Rives
in the United States Senate.*^**
The opposition of the Calhoun men to war with
Mexico brought a breach in the administration party
and general readjustments in Virginia politics, which
manifested themselves in the hotly contested elections
of 1847 for United States senators to succeed Penny-
backer*^* and Archer. The Whigs wanted to re-elect
"Hiidson, Journalism in U, S., 238; "Calhoun Correspond-
ence," in Am, Hist Asso, Rept, (1899), II7 637, 650, 652.
"/&iV/., 663.
"^The previous Congress contained six Whig representatives
from Virginia.
'^ Journal, House of Del,, 1845-46, 20. Pennybacker received
87 votes; all others 43.
"Pennybacker had died a short time after his election.
236 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Archer; the administration party favored Governor
Wm. Smith, and the Calhoun men favored R. M. T.
Hunter. On the first ballot Archer received 57 votes,
Smith 50, and Hunter 19. After much balloting the
eastern Whigs united with the eastern Democrats and
elected Hunter.*'^ To succeed Pennybacker the Whigs
desired G. W. Summers, the administration ' party
James McDowell, and the Calhoun men J. M. Mason,
all residents of the west. The first ballots gave much the
same vote as the first ballots in the other contest, but
the same elements which had elected Hunter eventually
united to elect Mason.*® The election of Hunter and
Mason marks the first triumph of Calhoun in Virginia
politics. Henceforth the sentiment for a united South
gradually gained ground. McDowell, whose great am-
bition was to reach the United States Senate, attributed
his defeat on this occasion to his enthusiasm over the
war with Mexico and to his stand for abolition in the
slavery debate of 1831-32.*^*^
This readjustment and the general opposition to
the war with Mexico again threatened the Democratic
rule in the state. The Whigs gained in the east and
held their own in the west. The elections of 1847
resulted in a tie on joint ballot in the Assembly and in
the election of six Whigs to Congress, four of whom
came from east of the Blue Ridge.*^ But the termina-
" Journal, House of Del., 1846-47, 84-86.
^Ibid,, 94-100.
'^Washington and Lee Hisi. Papers, Now 5, p. 145; Niles
Register, LXXII, 144.
^Ibid., LXXII, 160, a8o, 386.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 237
tion of the war with Mexico and the agitation over the
extension of the slave territory, which followed, drove
the eastern leaders into closer affiliation with the
Democratic party, enabling it to recover and retain
control until the Civil War.
The instability of party organization made the
presidential election of 1848 uncertain. The eastern
Whigs made an effort to retain in control the Calhoun
element of the Democratic party, with which they
had been co-operating during the war with Mexico.
Taylor's record as a slave-holder and a non-partisan
made him popular in eastern Virginia. Accordingly
the administration Democrats made a special effort to
increase their strength in the west.®^ In this effort
they were aided materially by the fact that Cass had
intermarried with a family of large and influential
connections in northwestern Virginia. This was pos-
sibly the determining factor in enabling Cass to carry
the state. The majority given him was only 1,473,®^
and the larger part of his vote came from the
western counties. The tendency to divide the state
politically into two sections, the western to be Demo-
cratic, the eastern to be Whig, was more marked in
this election than in preceding contests.
During the early years of the period for which the
political narrative has been given in this chapter, the
subject of banks was a source of political and sec-
tional strife. The west desired the incorporation of
additional independent state banks ; the east desired an
^Richmond Enquirer, June 16, 1848; ibid., July 21, 1848.
•* Miles Register, LXXV, 108.
238 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
increase in the capital stock of the banks already exist-
ing and the establishment of branch banks. To support
its claims the west argued that independent banks were
necessary to aid internal improvements, to supply the
necessary banking facilities, and to prevent monop-
oly.®* The east argued that banks were not a panacea
for all commercial and industrial evils ; that the moun-
tains could not be leveled by the use of paper currency,
and that the Bank of Virginia at Richmond should be
encouraged to take the place of the United States Bank
in maintaining a stable currency and a wholesome
restraint upon the other banks. It prevailed in the
Whig Assembly of 1834-35; its banking capital was
increased; and a number of branch banks were estab-
lished in the eastern cities.®*
When the Democrats came to power in 1835 they
did not at first depart from the policy of their prede-
cessors on the subject of banking. The eastern dele-
gates were again able to unite and defeat the demands
of the west for independent state banks. But the panic
of 1837, the discussion over specie payment, and the
inability of the west to procure such institutions for
itself brought hostile feelings on the part of the Demo-
** Journal, House of Del., 1833-34, Doc No. 23.
"^In 1834 Virginia had four state banks with an aggregate
capital of $6,145,000. The Bank of Virginia, located at Richmond
and incorporated in 1804, had a capital of $3,245,000; the Farm-
ers' Bank, located at Richmond and incorporated in 18 12, had
$2,000,000 capital; the Northwestern Bank, located at Wheeling
and incorporated in 1817, had $360,000 capital; and the Bank of
the Valley, located at Winchester and incorporated in 18x7, had
$600,000 capital. See Journal, House of Del., 1834-35, i44«
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 239
cratic assemblies, which were largely composed of
delegates from the west, toward state banks. Accord-
ingly the representatives from west of the Blue Ridge
united to strike the eastern monopoly; the banks and
branch banks were subjected to rigorous investiga-
tions; talk of abandoning them entirely was current;
requests for further increases in their capital stock
were denied; they were required to pay specie on a
fixed date or close their doors; and they were for-
bidden to declare dividends so long as specie was re-
fused.®*^
The Whig legislatures following 1838 were, how-
ever, more friendly to the state banks. New banks were
incorporated in the west; issues of smaller denomina-
tion than five dollars were authorized; requests for
investigations were refused; state bank notes were
made a legal tender in the payment of taxes and state
debts ; the acts of the Democratic assemblies, declaring
bank charters forfeited and imposing other penalties,
were repealed ; and schemes to incorporate a state bank
with twenty million dollars capital stock and with
power to aid in the construction of works of internal
improvement met with favor.®® With the establish-
ment of the Independent Treasury and the failure to
recharter a national bank, the subject of banking
ceased to be of importance.
The subject of internal improvements was an im-
^Niles Register, LIII ; Journal, House of Del,, 1837-38, Doc.
No. 43.
•• See Acts of Assembly of 1840-41 ; Niles Register, LIV, 3 ;
LVI, 149; Tyler, Letters and Times of the Tylers, II, 28.
240 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
portant one from a sectional standpoint during this
period. The James River and Kanawha Company
received the fostering care of the Whig Assembly of
1834-35. Loans were made to it; an effort was made
to use all the income from the internal improvement
fund in its behalf; and petitions from Democratic
strongholds for the incorporation of companies which
might jeopardize its interests were denied.®^ This
policy aroused opposition in districts remote from the
James and Kanawha rivers and thus contributed to
the Whig defeat of 1835.
The internal improvement policies pursued by the
Democratic legislatures from 1835 to 1838 were de-
termined largely by a desire to conserve party interests.
The James River and Kanawha Canal Company re-
ceived little attention and less material assistance, and
greater interest was given to the construction of rail-
roads and turnpikes. During this period sixteen turn-
pike companies were incorporated to carry on works in
the west;®® $200,000 was appropriated to the Lynch-
burg and Tennessee Railroad ; the Baltimore and Ohio
Company was again denied the privilege of construct-
ing its lines through the Whig counties of central
Virginia but was promised an appropriation of $1,-
368,520 provided they were constructed through the
northwest, a Democratic stronghold; and almost two
millions were appropriated to aid in the construction of
railroads intended to connect the eastern towns and
"Journal, House of Del, 1834-35, 103, 181.
**Only a few internal improvement companies had been in-
corporated in the west before this time.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 241
cities.®' It is not without significance that practically
all the appropriations to internal improvement com-
panies were made to promote works located in sections
strongly Democratic.
The hard times following 1837 i^ade it impossible
for either party to pursue an aggressive internal im-
provement policy. But a return to good times and
the expiration of the charters to the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad Company and the James River and
Kanawha Canal Company brought the subject before
the Whig Assembly of 1844-45. Already a largely
attended convention, held at Lewisburg, had revised
the project of connecting the James and the Kanawha
by a continuous canal ;''^ and their scheme again
found favor with the Assembly. But the Democratic
majority in the Senate made it impossible to pro-
cure an appropriation for that purpose. On the
other hand, the numerous petitions from the north-
west praying that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Company be permitted to construct its lines by way
of Clarksburg and Parkersburg to the Ohio were
rejected. Instead, the western terminus was fixed
at Wheeling and the appropriations authorized by
Democratic assemblies were declared void because of
failures to comply with stipulated conditions.*^*
•See Fourth Biennial Report of the Board of Public Works,
502; Acts of 1836-37 and 1837-38; Niles Register, LII, 115;
UII, 352.
^Journal, House of Del, 1844-45, Doc. No. 7; Kanawha Re-
publican, August 13 and 27, 1844.
"^Journal, House of Del., 1844-45, Docs. Nos. 13 and 22;
ibid,, 1845-46, Doc No. 14; Acts of 1844-45, February 19.
242 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
The Democratic legislatures following 1845 com-
pletely reversed the policies and acts of the Whigs.
They appropriated to the James River and Kanawha
Company, it is true, but the appropriations were to be
used to construct a canal no farther than Buchanan, a
town in the Valley. Thence railroads were to be con-
structed to the Tennessee border and to the Ohio River.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company had re-
fused to accept the restrictions imposed by the Assem-
bly of 1844-45 and continued to fight for the privi-
lege to strike the Ohio at a point farther south than
Wheeling. The citizens of the northwest, except
those in the Panhandle, generally favored the company
in its fight and held numerous mass-meetings to memo-
rialize the Assembly in its behalf.''^ Some of these
meetings favored disunion in case the request of the
company was not granted.'^* The fact that it was a
large Democratic constituency which spoke and that it
was the Whig policy to keep the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad as far north as possible made it necessary to
conciliate the northwest. Accordingly the Act of
1845 was amended, and the company was permitted
to construct its lines to a point near Fairmont, thence
by Grave, or Fishing Creek, to the Ohio, provided,
however, that it should build a lateral line to Wheel-
ing. Later an independent company, which soon
became a part of the Baltimore and Ohio Company,
^Niles Register, LXVIII, 68, 254; Journal, House of Del.,
1845-46, Docs. Nos. I, i2f and 22; ibid,, 1846-47, Docs, Nos. i
and 13.
" Some of these meetings were attended by more than one
thousand delegates.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-SO 243
was incorporated to build a road from Grafton to
Parkersburg over practically the same route that the
Baltimore and Ohio Company had desired for its main
lineJ*
The Democratic legislatures from 1847 ^^ ^850
were very liberal in appropriations for works of in-
ternal improvements, which were frequently made,
however, to secure party unity and strength. Ardent
pro-slavery men, such as Wise and Hunter, desired
to conciliate the west by granting many of its requests.
More than two millions were appropriated to the Vir-
ginia and Tennessee Railroad ; and other lines, both in
the east and the west, received actual or promised aid.
More turnpike companies, with power to construct
roads in western Virgina, were incorporated during
these years than had been incorporated during the
period of Democratic rule from 1835 to 1838.''^
Liberality to the west aroused opposition in the
extreme east. Speaking of the appropriations which
the west was receiving the Norfolk Herald said :
Laying aside all other considerations and looking only to
the future commercial elevation of Norfolk, her annexation to
North Carolina is certainly a consummation devoutly to be
wished; for while North Carolina has the ability to build up
Norfolk and would take a pride in doing it — ^it is not now in
the power of Virginia to make her of much greater commer-
cial importance than she now is.*^
"Acts of Assembly of 1850-51, 69.
"See Forty-first Report of the Board of Public Works, 302;
Niles Register, LXXIV, 206.
"^Richmond Whig, April 17, 1849.
244 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 1776-1861
The most important sectional issue in Virginia
during this period, however, was that which arose out
of the movement for a united slave-holding South.
Although the Virginia congressmen united to oppose
the Wilmot Proviso, the abolition of the slave trade,
and abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia,''^
leading citizens of western Virginia were at the same
time trying to devise means to rid that portion of the
state of negro slavery. Dr. Henry Ruffner, Samuel
McDowell Moore, John Letcher, and others came for-
ward with a scheme which proposed gradual emanci-
pation, by which all the slaves in the state were
eventually to be confined to counties east of the Blue
Ridge. This scheme was first debated in the Franklin
Society at Lexington in 1847. It then took form in
a pamphlet entitled, An Address to the People of
West Virginia by a Slave-Holder of West Virginia?^
The purpose of the pamphlet was to show that slavery
is injurious to the public welfare and "that it may be
gradually abolished without detriment to the rights
and interests of slave-holders." Like the contemporary
writings of Cassius M. Clay and Thomas F. Marshall,
both of Kentucky, it contained elaborate comparisons
wherein the slave-holding were pitted against the non-
slaveholding states to prove that slavery was an eco-
nomic evil.
""Journal, Hou^ of Del,, 1848-49, 171, 174; *Wrf., 1849-S0,
147, 220, 221 ; Niles Register, LXXV, 73.
"Dr. Ruffner, president of Washington and Lee, was the
author of this pamphlet. It is commonly spoken of as the
"Ruffner pamphlet."
- PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD, 1834-50 245
Of the movement Dr. Ruffner at a later time said :
No one, so far as I remember, took the abolitionist ground
that slaveholding is a sin and ought for that reason to be
abolished. With us it was merely a question of expediency
and was argued with special reference to the interest of West
Virginia.
Of his pamphlet's reception he said :
When the scheme was circulated by mail and otherwise
through West Virginia, we soon perceived that most of the
editors and publishers in the Valley would not embark with
us on an enterprise of doubtful success. They objected to our
movement as ill-timed while northern abolitionism was raging.
.... West of the AUeghenies the pamphlet was better re-
ceived; but in East Virginia some papers denounced it as
abolitionist."
The movement for an extension of slave territory
took quite a different form in eastern Virginia. While
various plans for limiting and restricting slave terri-
tory were being discussed in Congress and elsewhere
many citizens of that section engaged in talk of seces-
sion and the formation of a southern confederacy. In
1850 the Assembly, imder the control of the east,
passed resolutions which recommended that the state
send delegates to the proposed Nashville Convention
and that the people assemble in district conventions to
elect delegates, intrusted with sovereign power, to a
general convention of the southern states.®^ Of the
conditions there the Richmond Enquirer said :
The two great political parties have ceased to exist in the
southern states so far as the present slavery issue is concerned.
^Kanawha Valley Star, August 3, 1858.
'^National Intelligencer (weekly), February 16, 1850.
246 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 1776-1861
United they will prepare, consult, combine for prompt and de-
cisive action. With united voices, we are compelled to make
a few exceptions, but they will, we hope, soon cease to be so
counted** — ^with united voices they proclaim in the language
of the Virginia resolutions, passed a few days since, "the
preservation of the Union if we can, the preservation of our
own rights if we cannot." This is the temper of the South;
this is the temper becoming the inheritors of rights acquired
for freemen by the blood of freemen. "Thus far shalt thou
come and no farther," or else the proud waves of northern
aggression shall float the wreck of the Constitution,
The only Union we love is a confederacy of equals; for as
equals we entered the Union; we will remain in it on no other
condition. This is the deliberate conclusion of the Southern
people. There is no hesitancy, no reservation, no escape.**
When the Nashville Convention met, Judge Beverly
Tucker, professor of constitutional and common law
at W^illiam and Mary, addressed it in behalf of dis-
union and the formation of a southern confederacy.®^
For the first time the masses of the east united with
their leaders to defend negro slavery as an economic
good and to assert their constitutional right to carry
slave property into any and all territory. Numerous
southern rights associations were organized, and many
counties held mass-meetings to encourage the call of a
southern convention and the formation of a southern
confederacy.®*
"^ Many Whigs in the east did not support this extreme view.
See Richmond fVhig, February 14, 1850.
" Quoted in the National Intelligencer (weekly), February
16, 1850.
"Petersburg Intelligencert July 27, 1850. See also National
Intelligencer, August 3, 1850.
'^Richmond Whig, May 17, 1850; ibid,, January 15 and 29,
1850; ibid., February i, 1850.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD. 1834-50 247
As the danger of secession became imminent west-
em Virginia took practically the same stand it had
taken when Nullification was at its zenith. Had seces-
sion come in 1850, there can be little doubt that this
part of Virginia was then ready to take the same step
it took in 1861. The union sentiment there in 1850
can be determined from a few quotations from the
leading newspapers. The Harrisonburg Republican
believed that "the best possible means .... for
security to the peculiar institutions of the South are to
be found in the Constitution of the United States."®*^
"The proposed southern convention we look upon,"
said the editor of the Leesburg Washingtonian, "as a
dangerous movement fraught with more serious
danger to the prosperity of our glorious Union than
almost anything now agitating our country."
"It would be mainly composed of 'Hotspurs' of
the South, from whose hasty and rash action nothing
but evil can result."®®
The editor of the Kanawha (Kanawha County)
Republican asked: "What good has resulted to the
State or the Union from all the resolutions upon fed-
eral relations passed by our legislature from '98 to
the present time?" and added, "Had the time and
attention devoted to the affairs of the General Grov-
emment .... been devoted to devise means of
developing the resources of the state and educating
the people, we would not say that she would not
now occupy the first rank among the states of the
^Harrisonburg Republican, February 16, 1850.
■• Quoted in' the National Intelligencer, March 2, 1850.
248 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Union," and the Martinsburg Gazette asked those
who contemplated secession to "go to the battle fields
of Bunker Hill, of Bennington, of Saratoga, and
of Yorktown, to visit the blood stained plains of
Brandywine, to stand before the tomb of Washington,
to call up the spirit of the Marions, Sumters, and
Pinckneys, and listen to the united voice of all, saying
in the tones of thunder, 'Liberty and Union.' "®^
Many western counties held mass-meetings, in
which party lines were broken down, to protest against
secession and to indorse the action of those who op-
posed it. Many such assemblies met on the anniversary
of Washington's birthday and quoted copiously, in the
resolutions passed, from his farewell address.®® Citi-
zens of Mason County resolved,
.That, as a portion of the people of the 14th congressional dis-
trict, a part of West Augusta, on whose mountains Washington
contemplated, if driven to extremities, to make his last stand
and plant his last banner in defense of the liberties of his
country, we are prepared in conformity with the parting advice
of that same Washington to stand by the Union; and living
in the line between slaveholding and non-slaveholding states,
which makes it certain that in the event of the dissolution of
the Union, we shall be placed in the position of borderers ex-
posed to the feuds and interminable broils, which such a
position would inevitably entail upon us, a regard for the
safety of our firesides, not less than the high impulses of
patriotism, the glorious recollection of the past, and the high
anticipations of the future, will induce us to adhere unswerv-
ingly to this resolution."
•'Sec National Intelligencer (weekly), March a, 1850.
^Ihid., February 16, 1850; ibid,, March 2, 1850.
^Ibid,, March 19, 1850.
PARTIES IN WHIG PERIOD. 1834-SO 249
The patriotic devotion of the west to the Union did
much to produce moderation in the east in 1850. Cal-
houn's agent, Mr. Cralle, who made a visit to the west
to determine its sentiments, wrote as follows: "Mc-
Dowell .... reflects but too faithfully the sentiment
of the west generally."®^ Mr. Ruffin, of the Albe-
marle Southern Rights Association, opposed Virginia's
sending delegates to the proposed Nashville Conven-
tion, because "the recommendation of the Legislature
had not been responded to by a single county west of
the Blue Ridge except Jefferson."®^ "Beyond the
mountains," said the Richmond Whig, "both parties
have but one voice. The Parkersburg Gazette, the
Kanawha Republican, the Lewisburg Chronicle, the
Harrisonburg Republican, and the Martinsburg Re-
publican are strongly opposed to it.®^ The latter
paper. Democrat, observes 'this move has not origi-
nated with the people, and to say the least of it ... .
it is an imprudent step.' "®^
When the compromise of 1850 was agreed upon
most eastern Democrats united with the Whigs to
observe the short truce which it declared. Judge
Tucker's speech before the Nashville Convention was
severely criticized f^ the Richmond Enquirer vied with
""Calhoun Correspondence," Am, Hist. Asso, Rept, (1899),
II, 1200, 1201.
*^ Richmond Whig, May 17, 1850.
""The Nashville Convention.
'^ Richmond Whig, January 39, 1850.
*^ Petersburg Intelligencer, July 27, 1850; National Intelli-
gencer, August 3, 1850.
250 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the Richmond Whig in its professions of devotion to
the Union ;*^ with only one or two dissenting voices
the Assembly of 1850-51 disapproved the movement in
South Carolina for a southern convention, and, while
it acknowledged that "a diversity of opinion existed
in Virginia on the compromise measures, yet it deemed
it a duty to tell South Carolina that the people were
unwilling to take any step to destroy the integrity of
the Union."»«
^Richmond Enquirer, March 37, 1851.
'^Ibid.; Acts of Assembly of 1850-51, 201.
CHAPTER VIII
THE REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51
During the two decades following 1830, population
and wealth increased rapidly in western Virginia. The
construction of turnpikes and railroads in the trans-
AUeghany and the projection of still more of such im-
provements attracted thither immigrants and aroused
the interest of speculators in her cheap lands and rich
natural resources. Eastern and English capitalists
purchased large tracts of land there and encouraged
settlers to purchase and occupy them.^ So intense was
the land craze at times during this period that associa-
tions, similar to those organized in Wisconsin and else-
where at the same time, were formed to prevent land
buyers from overbidding each other and to treat those
who offended their regulations to tar and feathers and
rail rides.^ Meanwhile capitalists from the middle
and New England states established small manufac-
tories in the trans-AUeghany, and immigrants from
those states either found employment therein or be-
came teachers and farmers. By 1850 the value of the
lands in the transmontane country had risen until it
amounted to only $15,000,000 less than the cash value
of the lands east of the Blue Ridge.^
^National Intelligencer, June 2, 1835; Niles Register, XLVII,
234; LXXIII, 71; LXXIV, 228.
^Ibid., LXII, 387.
•DeBow, Review, XIII, 194.
251
252 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
During these years several colonies of Germans
found homes along the Little Kanawha, in the North-
western Panhandle, and in Doddridge and Randolph
counties.* So important an element did the Germans
become in the trans-AUeghany population that resolu-
tions were introduced in the constitutional convention
of 1850-51 to have its documents printed in their
language.*^ The census of 1830 gave the counties east
of the Blue Ridge 57,012 white inhabitants more than
those to the west; but the census of 1840 showed
2,172 more whites in the west than in the east, and the
census of 1850 raised this majority to 90,392.
The following from the Richmond Enquirer shows
that the east was not wholly ignorant of the changes
which were taking place in the west and of its own
declining power:
The section below Tide-water, which was once populous, is
in many places almost deserted. The property and wealth are
shifting to other divisions. The section beyond the Alleghany,
once the resort of the wolf and the bear, is fast filling up with
an industrious, high-souled, thriving population whose wealth
is rapidly accumulating and whose rich resources are being
daily more and more developed *
Under these Qpnditions the west, especially the
trans-AUeghany, naturally continued its fight for a
greater share in the government. So long as the east
^Va. Advocate, August 30, 1843; Kanawha Republican, Sep-
tember 9, 1843 ; Parkersburg Gaeette, August 23, 1843- The largest
and most important of these settlements was the Santa Clara in
Doddridge County. *
* Journal, 100, 106, no.
•July 22, 1845. See also DeBow, Review, XII, 35.
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 253
had had a large white population and paid taxes on
greater land values than the west, it could consistently
refuse the latter's claim; but, when the balance was
turned, a further refusal could be defended only on the
very dangerous ground that slave property, because of
its peculiar character, was entitled to a greater voice
in the government than free white inhabitants J
As has been seen, the constitution of 1830 gave
the Assembly power "after the year 1841, and at
intervals thereafter of not less than ten years, ....
two-thirds of each house concurring, to make reappor-
tionments of Delegates and Senators throughout the
Commonwealth." In view of its great growth in
wealth and population, the west fully expected the
Assembly of 1841-42 to reapportion representation
on a more equitable basis. Immediately prior to the
meeting of that Assembly there was scarcely a western
print which did not repeatedly publish editorials con-
demning that arrangement whereby the west with a
total white population of 271,000 had only ten
senators and fifty-six delegates and the east with only
269,000 had nineteen senators and seventy-eight dele-
gates,® and that apportionment whereby 44,097 voters
residing east of the Blue Ridge were entitled to four-
teen congressmen and 42,270® west thereof were given
only seven. Some of the numerous memorials from
the western counties threatened that —
^Journal, House of Del,, 1841-42, Doc. No. 8.
•Niles Register, LXII, 387.
* Journal, House of Del,, 1841-42, Doc. No. 8, p. 14.
254 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
if the remedial action of the General Assembly should be
withheld, if our appeal to your honorable body is destined to
bring us to the melancholy that we are without relief in the
mode provided in the G>nstitution ; that our eastern brethren
"feeling power have forgotten right," we shall then be prepared
to hold solemn council with our fellow citizens sharing with us
our political degradation."
A Special committee of the Assembly of 1841-42
reported for a reapportionment of representation on
the suffrage basis,*^ that is, on the qualified voters of
the state ; but a minority report made by eastern mem-
bers advocated the mixed basis, on the ground that
"persons and property are alike subjects of legislation
and entitled to like protection/'^^ To the great dis-
appointment of the western delegates, who manifested
their feelings by placing in the Journal of the House
of Delegates a protest signed by fifty of their number,
the matter was postponed indefinitely.** The western
delegates then tried to force the call of a constitutional
convention but were again defeated by a sectional vote.
Defeat only redoubled the determination of the
westerners. When news of the action of the Assem-
bly reached them, a large public meeting composed of
delegates from ten counties in the northwest assem-
bled at Clarksburg. By a series of resolutions it ex-
pressed surprise at the refusal of the legislators to
^Journal, House of Del., 1841-42, Doc. No. 8; Kanawha Re-
publican, December 4, 1841 ; Richmond Enquirer, January 6, 18,
22, and March i, 1842.
^Ihid., January 2y, 1842.
^Ihid.
^Jbid,, March 10, 1842; Niles Register, LXII, 32, 80, 87. The
vote was: ayes 68, noes 56.
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 255
exercise their constitutional power to reapportion
representation and asked that a poll be taken in the
trans-AUeghany to determine the sense of the people
on calling a constitutional convention.** Talk of dis-
membemient was current, and the separation of Maine
from Massachusetts was looked to as a precedent.
Some deemed it impossible, however, to secure the
admission of western Virginia as a separate state as
long as Tyler was President. It was currently re-
ported that he had exercised diligence in sending
federal troops to aid the governor of Rhode Island in
putting down insurrection there, because he expected
soon to be called upon to render a similar service to his
native state.* ^ The editor of the Kanawha Repub-
lican thought the advantages of separate statehood to
West Virginians were many and insisted that Virginia
should not oppose the scheme, because two additional
senators would thereby be added to the South from
the new state, "Appalachia."*®
A public meeting at Charleston, Kanawha County,
appointed a committee of correspondence and called
upon the people of the western counties to send dele-
gates to a convention to meet at Lewisburg. This
meeting suggested also that the west should unite
politically; that it should, independently "of the Rich-
mond Junto, of the Lowland Whigs, of the Demo-
cratic leaders," place a ticket in the field for state
^* Kanawha Republican, May 7, 1842.
^Ihid., June 18, 1842.
» Ihid.
256 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
officers; and that James McDowell should be named
by the west as its candidate for governor.^''
The proposed Lewisburg Convention met August i,
1842. Twenty counties were represented by about
eighty delegates. A state ticket was not placed in the
field, but animated addresses were made, and resolu-
tions were adopted asking the Assembly to pass a bill,
submitting to a vote of the people the question of a
constitutional convention to equalize representation on
the white basis.*®
But by a strictly sectional vote the Assembly of
1842-43 again defeated a proposal to call a constitu-
tional convention. With this defeat the west ceased
to make a united fight for reform ; western Whigs and
Democrats engaged in mutual recriminations ; and the
reform movement ceased to excite alarm in the east.
The breach in the camp of the reformers was due
largely to the political acumen of eastern leaders.
When talk of dismemberment and a united west was
at its height, Ritchie gave the following warning to
his henchmen in the west :
We beg leave to recommend to our republican friends in
that region to put down every use that may be made of the
question [representation], as a political engine. Some design-
ing men may stir it up for party effect — ^and as a friend from
the Valley writes us "these men may employ it as a fire-brand
with which they expect to divide the members of the Demo-
cratic party in the two great divisions of the state, and at
length to divert their attention from the great issues which are
^''Kanawha Republican, Junb 4, 1842; ibid., June 18, 1842.
^Ibid*, August 6, 13, 1842.
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 257
now placed before the country in connection with national
politics.""
When reapportionment again became an issue in
the west, in 1845, Ritchie and other eastern leaders
espoused the cause of reform,^^ but took great care to
keep control of the movement. They deemed it better
for their own political well-being to control affairs than
to permit the voters of the west to unite into an organ-
ization independent of either national party. Accord-
ingly the "Tenth Legion" of the Valley was conciliated
by making James McDowell governor, and the north-
west, the other Democratic stronghold, by electing
Isaac Pennybacker to the United States Senate. As
has been seen in a previous chapter, these sections were
also favored at this time by appropriations to work of
internal improvement and acts incorporating internal
improvement companies.
After the alliance between the eastern and western
Democrats the national parties in the west found it
more difficult to act in harmony. The Whigs of the
Great Kanawha Valley attributed their political vas-
salage and inability to secure appropriations to works
of internal improvement to the fact that the Demo-
cratic strongholds of the Valley and the northwest
persisted in voting with the Richmond Junto. Conse-
quently they refused to vote for a constitutional con-
vention, when it was favored by Democrats or when
there was danger of the Democrats making political
capital of it. Both the bill of 1846-47 and of 1847-48
^ Ibid.f August 6f 1842, quoting the Enquirer,
^Richmond Enquirer, July 22, 1845.
2S8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
to take the sense of the people on the call of a consti-
tutional convention received only a few votes from
the western Whigs. ^^
Believing that reform was inevitable and confident
of ability to direct it, the constitutional convention
movement soon became popular with the eastern lead-
ers. They did not desire a change in representation
but believed that an extension of suffrage and reforms
in the judicial and executive departments- of the
state government were necessary to remedy existing
abuses. 22 Under that ruling whereby persons were
permitted to vote in any county where they owned a
freehold worth twenty-five dollars, it had become
customary for residents of eastern cities to purchase
small tracts in the surrounding counties and to control
their politics. In important and close contests resi-
dents of Richmond frequently collected at Cold Harbor
and controlled the choice of delegates from Hanover
County. It is said that by similar means Richmond
also controlled the choice of delegates from Henrico
and Chesterfield counties; Fredricksburg, those in
Stafford and Spottsylvania ; Alexandria, those in Fair-
fax ; and Norfolk City, those in Norfolk and Princess
Anne counties.^® Besides, the indefiniteness of the
constitutional provision regulating suffrage occasioned
frequent and long-drawn-out contested elections, mak-
^ Journal, House of Del,, 1846-47, 114, 115; ibid., 1847-48, 378.
" See Governor Floyd's message to the Assembly {Journal,
House of Del,, 1849-50, 20).
"Chandler, "Hist, of Suffrage in Va.," Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity Studies, XIX, 312.
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 259
ing a more definite law on the subject almost impera-
tive.2*
Moreover, the eastern Whigs, being a minority
and, as such, having no control over the election
machinery, favored an extension of suffrage. They
frequently attributed Democratic successes to fraudu-
lent votes and the efforts of corrupt election officials.
In an important election in Hampshire County they
alleged that 295 votes had been cast by men who had
contracted for small holdings, paid no money on them,
and surrendered their titles to them as soon as the
election was over. The Richmond Whig insisted that
an extension of suffrage meant increased strength for
the minority party. ^^
Although actuated by different and in some cases
conflicting interests the eastern leaders, regardless of
party, were always able to unite in an effort to control
the movement for a convention.^® Had the west,
which desired the white basis for its organization, been
willing to accept the mixed basis instead, it could have
had a constitutional convention in 1846.^''^ But a
majority of the western delegates then preferred no
convention to one organized on any other than the
white basis, while many eastern delegates declared
that, rather than accept such a basis, they would move
** Journals of the House of Delegates for the sessions from
1830 to 1850 devote much space to contested elections.
^Richmond Whig, May 22, 1849; ibid., February 8, 1850.
^Ibid,, May 21, 1850; ibid,, March 19, 1850.
^Journal, House of Del., 1845-46, 143-44; Richmond Enquirer,
January 31, 1846; ibid., February 20, 1846,
26o SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861 .
for the dismemberment of the state. ^® The next legis-
latures contained majorities favorable to a convention,
but they could not agree on a basis for its organiza-
tion.2»
At length the lack of harmony which prevailed in
the west enabled the eastern leaders to have their way.^^
Some of the western delegates held out to the last for
the white basis for its organization, but the convention
bill, which finally passed in 1850, provided for the
election of its members on the mixed basis. The pro-
posed convention was to consist of one hundred and
thirty-five members to be elected one each from every
13,151 white inhabitants and every $7,000.24 taxes
paid into the state treasury.^^ This apportionment
gave the east 76 delegates and the west 59. Had an
apportionment been made on the white basis, the east
would have received 61 delegates and the west 74.
When the convention bill was submitted to the
people for ratification the trans-AUeghany made a
desperate effort to defeat it, 29 of its 43 counties giving
majorities against it. It is significant that no county
in the Valley voted against it and every eastern county
except two gave majorities for it. In the east the
voters were urged to support the bill on the ground
that the west could not control the jM"oposed conven-
tion and that it was then a good time to secure needed
reforms and to settle the basis question.^^ The Valley
'^Richmond Enquirer, February 20, 1846.
^ Ibid., January 30, 1847; ibid., January 21, 1848.
^ Jbid», December 4, 14, 21, 28, 1849.
"Acts of Assembly of 1849-50, 9 ff.
'^Richmond Enquirer, April 18, 1850,
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 261
favored the convention because it had nothing to lose
by either the white or mixed basis, had hopes of con-
trolling it and an earnest desire for reform. Almost
three-fourths of all the votes cast were given for the
bill.88
The election for delegates to the convention took
place in August, 1850, and the issue in practically
every case was the basis of representation. Henry A.
Wise, of Accomac County, was the only candidate who
secured an election from a district east of the Blue
Ridge as a white-basis delegate. This distinction
brought him great popularity in the west and the ill-
will of his eastern associates, who branded him "the
modem Jack Cade."®* Although many western coun-
ties had given majorities for a convention to be
organized on the mixed basis, each and every one of
the western districts now elected white-basis men to
the convention.
The convention, which is known as the "Reform
Convention of 1850-51,'' met at Richmond in October,
1850, but adjourned after a few days to await the
census of that year. It reassembled January 6, 1851,
and remained in continuous session until August i.
The basis of representation occupied almost the
entire time from the middle of February to the
middle of May. The committee appointed to deter-
mine the proper basis was unable to agree, twelve of
its members holding to one basis and twelve to another.
"Complete returns for this vote are not available.
*^ Richmond Whig, June 1, 1850. Wise was for a constitu-
tional guarantee to prevent the excessive taxation of slave property.
262 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1 776-1861
Accordingly the delegates from each section submitted
propositions. That proposed by the western delegates
provided for a House of Delegates of one hundred
and fifty-six members to be elected biennially and a
Senate of fifty members to be chosen for four years ;
both houses were to be elected on the mixed basis;
and, in 1862 and every ten years thereafter, a re-
apportionment was to be made on that basis. The
plan proposed by the eastern delegates provided for a
House of Delegates of one hundred and fifty-six
delegates and a Senate of thirty-six ; both houses were
to be elected on the suffrage basis; and the reappor-
tionments were to be made on that basis m 1855 and
every ten years thereafter. ^'^
It soon became evident that neither of these plans
nor modifications thereof -could be carried. The west
did not have votes enough to carry the suffrage basis ;
and the east did not dare to force the mixed basis,
because of a fear that the western delegates would
withdraw from the convention and begin anew a
movement for dismemberment.®* Indeed, it was
feared that Governor-elect Joseph Johnson, of Har-
rison County, the first and only governor of Virginia
elected before the Civil War from the trans- Alle-
ghany, and other leaders from his section were plan-
ning to withdraw from the convention and to move
for the division of the state, unless their desires were
granted.®'^
'^Journal, Constitutional Convention of 1850-51,^ See
Appendix.
^Richmond Whig, April 9, 1851. "Ibid,, April 9, 1851.
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 263
Accordingly various plans of compromise were
suggested. John Minor Botts, of Richmond, proposed
that for the purpose of representation the constitution
should recognize two grand divisions, one east and the
other west of the Blue Ridge, and that equal repre-
sentation in both houses should be given to each.^®
This plan provided also for an ad valorem system of
taxation to be levied upon every species of property,
except such as might be exempt by a two-thirds vote
of each house of the legislature. But Botts was forced
to withdraw his plan to await the action of his con-
stituents, who were then taking a poll on the basis
question. Then George W. Summers, of Kanawha
County, came forward with a proposition from the
westerners, which provided that a constitution be
adopted without any mention of the basis of repre-
sentation and that a poll be taken to allow the people
to decide between the suffrage and mixed basis.^®
This p'an was rejected by the eastern members.
It now seemed certain that the mixed basis would
carry, but protests and petitions began to pour in from
the west in such numbers that the eastern delegates
were again reminded of the danger which such action
meant to the integrity of the state.^^ Accordingly
attempts at compromise were again resorted to, but a
comparison of the plans submitted shows that neither
side conceded anything. Indeed the western delegates
^ Ibid,, April 22, 1851 ; Journal, Constitutional Convention of
1850-51, Appendix.
'* Ibid,, Appendix.
^Richmond Whig, May 27, 185 1.
264 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
became more vehement than ever, and asserted them-
selves by a series of caucus resolutions, which declined
any compromise, and which did not eventually provide
for the suffrage basis or a vote of the people on the
basis question.
To avert the impending danger of dismemberment
Mr. Martin, of Henry County, a mixed-basis man,
moved that a committee of eight, four from the west
and four from the east, be elected by the convention
to provide a compromise.*^ This proposition carried,
and on May 15, the committee thus chosen reported in
favor of a House of Delegates of one hundred and
fifty members, eighty-two from the west and sixty-
eight from the east, and a Senate of fifty, thirty from
the east and twenty from the west. It also provided
for a reapportionment in 1865 and for submitting
both the mixed and suffrage basis to a vote of the
people, should the Assembly at that time fail to agree.
This plan was also rejected : ayes 55, noes 54.*^
The proceedings now became more uncertain.
Plan after plan of compromise was submitted, but
each received only a passing notice and was in turn
rejected. Finally Mr. Chilton came forward with a
modification of the report of the Committee of Eight.
The number provided therein for each house was to
^Journal, 206. The members of the committee were G. W.
Summers, of Kanawha; Wm. Martin, of Henry; G. A. Wingfield,
of Campbell ; Wm. Lucas, of Jeflferson ; L. C. H. Finney, of
Accomac ; A F. Caperton, of Monroe ; Samuel Chilton, of Fauquier ;
and John Letcher, of Rockbridge.
** Journal, Constitutional Convention of 1850-51, Appendix.
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 265
remain unchanged; but, should the legislature in 1865
fail to reapportion representation, the governor was
required to submit to the vote of the people four
propositions, viz., (i) the suffrage basis, (2) the
mixed basis, (3) the white population basis, and
(4) the taxation basis. This plan was carried in
the committee of the whole: ayes 55, noes 48,
and was accepted by the convention with the follow-
ing modifications, thus becoming a part of the con-
stitution: should the legislature of 1865 ^^^^ ^^ agree
on a reapportionment, each house was required to
submit a plan to the governor, who should cause a
vote to be taken thereon ; should the legislature neither
apportion representation nor propose plans, the gov-
ernor was required to submit the following proposi-
tions to the voters: (i) the suffrage basis, (2) the
mixed basis, (3) the taxation basis for the Senate and
the suffrage basis for the House ; and should none of
these propositions receive a majority of the vot-^s cast,
the two having the largest number were to be again
submitted. The number of delegates was also in-
creased from one hundred and fifty to one hundred
and. fifty-two, each section being granted one*® addi-
tional.
The questions which arose in connection with
suffrage, internal improvements, and the manner of
electing the chief executive, the judges, and the county
officials also occasioned sectional differences. The
western delegates desired an extension of suffrage to
every white man of the age of twenty-one and up-
^•Poore, Charters and Constitutions, II, 19^5.
266 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ward.** While many, if not most of the eastern dele-
gates favored a similar extension, some desired a
small property qualification, and still others the free-
hold system as it existed prior to 1830.**^ The western
delegates also favored electing the Board of Public
Works, the governor, judges, and county officials by
popular vote.*® The eastern delegates did not oppose
this manner of election for the governor*^ and county
officials but opposed it for the Board of Public Works
and judges. The convention settled these matters by
extending suffrage to "every white male citizen of the
commonwealth of the age of twenty-one years" with
the usual exception of paupers, etc., and the members
of the Board of Public Works, the governor, judges,
and county officials were made elective by the voters.
Of the secondary issues, however, the most im-
portant from a sectional standpoint were those which
arose in connection with taxation and appropriations.
The chief motive, on the part of the eastern delegates,
for refusing the white basis was the fear that the west
would use its political power thus gained to impose
taxes upon slave property to be used in the construc-
tion of works of internal improvements. For the pur-
pose of raising revenue and making appropriations
** Journal, Constitutional Convention of 1850-51, 46, 310.
^Ihid,, 254; Richmond Whig, June 21, 1850; ibid,, July 30,
1850.
^Ibid,, July 30, 1850.
*^Mr. Watts, of Norfolk County, proposed to divide the state
into two gubernatorial districts, one east, the other west of the
Blue Ridge, and to elect the governor alternately from them
^Joumalf Constitutional Convention of 1850-5 1, 29s).
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 267
W. O. Goode, of Mecklenburg, proposed that the
House of Delegates and the Senate be divided into
two chambers each, one composed of members from
east of the Blue Ridge, the other of members from
west thereof, and that all revenue bills should require
a majority of each chamber for passage.*® The east-
em members insisted that all property taxes should be
ad valorem and that no one species should be taxed
higher than another, but they were unwilling that
slaves under twelve years of age should be taxed at all.
Summers moved to strike the word "years" from the
resolution exempting them and to insert instead
"slaves shall be taxed at an ad valorem rate not to
exceed that on land." This amendment was defeated
by a strictly sectional vote: ayes 48, noes 61.*®
In the west the provisions of the new constitution
regulating taxation were its most objectionable fea-
tures. When representation, suffrage, and general re-
form ceased to be issues there, as they did shortly
after 1850, the subject of taxation became the chief
source of difference between the east and the west.
The constitution provided for an ad valorem tax on
all property according to its value, but negro slaves
under twelve years of age were exempt, and slaves
twelve years old and upward were to be taxed per
capita at not more than the tax on land worth three
hundred dollars. But a capitation tax*^^ equal to the
«/Wrf., 106. *»/Wd., 328.
""One-half of the capitation tax was to be appropriated to
purposes of education in the primary free schools. It was an
effort to impose the expense of these institutions on the west
which desired them most.
268 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
tax levied on land valued at $200 was to be levied
upon every white male twenty-one years of age,
and the legislature was given power, which it later
exercised, to levy taxes on incomes, salaries, and
licenses.*^^ The inhabitants of the west did not object
to the ad valorem system of taxation, but they never
became reconciled to that arrangement whereby the
small farmer paid taxes on his calves and colts and the
plantation-owner paid nothing on his young negroes
and only a small amount on his prime field hands. As
slaves continued to increase in value during the years
immediately preceding the Civil War the discrimina-
tion became more noticeable and more objectionable.*^^
The debates of the Reform Convention*^* repeated
so many of the arguments made in 1829-30 that it is
not necessary again to go into them in detail. There
are, however, striking points of difference between the
arguments produced on the two occasions. The re-
formers of 1850-51 made less use of the Bill of Rights
and the precepts of the fathers; they made the in-
creasing wealth and population of the west their chief
plea for a greater voice in the government; the west-
erners were now able to meet the charge of radicalism
with the countercharge that some of the eastern dele-
**Poore, Charters and Constitutions, II, 1928; Richtnond
Times, July 27, 1851.
'^Wheeling Intelligencer, May 3, i860.
"The newspapers furnish the chief source of information for
these debates. The debate on representation may be had in volume
form and many of the individual speeches were published in
pamphlet form.
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 269
gates were "self-styled infinite radicals" bent on secur-
ing their own interests at the sacrifice of political
principles and theories f^ they now appealed to
sentiments of patriotism instead of to metaphysical
abstractions as in 1829-30; their speeches abound in
denunciations of abolitionists and of promises of fidel-
ity to Virginia and her "peculiar institutions" should
political equality be extended to them ; but most of the
westerners sounded a note of warning when the mixed
basis was mentioned and when it was proposed to dis-
criminate in favor of slave property as a subject of
taxation.
Can it be expected [said Willey of Monongalia County]
that men will ardently and cordially support negro slavery
when by so doing they are virtually cherishing the property
which is making slaves of themselves? What will be the result?
It is impossible that the morbid, pseudo-philanthropic spirit of
northern abolitionism should ever find a resting-place in Vir-
ginia. But will not hostility to slavery be engendered by the
incorporation of such a principle into the Constitution? Your
slaves, by this principle, drive us from the common place of
equal rights, and usurp our place. Will the spirit of free men
endure it? Never! Either the principle must be abolished, or
you will excite a species of political abolition against property
itself. You will compel us to assume an attitude of antagonism
towards you, or towards the slave, and like the man driven to
the wall, we shall be forced to destroy our assailants to save
our own liberty.
The eastern leaders in this debate made even less
effort than Leigh and Upshur had, in 1829-30, to
follow Jeffersonian principles; they now stood out
■*WiUey, Speech, 5.
270 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
unequivocally for the rights of the minority in gov-
ernment ; to them "the majority of the community" of
the Bill of Rights had come to mean a political major-
ity composed of a majority of the interests of both
property and persons ; in brief, the philosophy of Cal-
houn had displaced that of Jefferson. Although the
eastern delegates frequently complained that their
patience was being worn beyond endurance by the
efforts of their western brethren to get possession of
the purse strings of the commonwealth, their argu-
ments are characterized by a spirit of conciliation and
a feeling of fear for the future integrity of the com-
monwealth.
The constitution passed the convention without
division;*^** but, when it was submitted to the people
for ratification, voices were raised against it in the east.
Its objectionable feature was the compromise plan of
representation, which involved a practical surrender
of the mixed basis. When the plan had been agreed
upon, a little more than two months before the conven-
tion adjourned, mass-meetings were held in the eastern
counties to condemn it and to move for dismember-
ment in case the convention refused to reconsider its
action.** But the eastern delegates who had voted for
the compromise remained firm, notwithstanding the
fact that they were branded as "base Judeans" and
*'vile traitors."**'' There is no doubt that the east felt
as intensely over the compromise of 1851 as the west
^Journal, Constitutional Convention of iSschsi, 419.
'^Richmond Whig, May 30, 1851 ; ibid., June 5 and 17, 1851.
" Ibid,t June 17 and 27, 1851.
REFORM CONVENTION OF 1850-51 271
had over that of 1830. But the constitutional pro-
visions regulating the taxation of s'ave property,
agreed upon in the last days of the convention, con-
ciliated the east somewhat, and the new constitution
was ratified by an overwhelming majority, 75,784 votes
being cast for ratification to 11,063 ^^^ rejection.**®
The quiet which followed the convention was occa-
sionally interrupted by incidents which proved that
neither the east nor the west trusted each other. The
eastern prints frequently contained letters suggesting
the dismemberment of the state as the only thing which
would prevent the east from becoming the political
appendage of the west.**® Shortly after Governor
Johnson's second inauguration an incident occurred
which showed the mutual distrust of the sections upon
the subject of negro slavery and the negro. In compli-
ance with the request of numerous petitions Governor
Johnson commuted to deportation the sentence of a
negro, Jordon Hatcher, condemned to be hanged. This
act called forth a large crowd which gathered in the
governor's yard at Richmond, to vilify him and to
denounce his official action. The incident aroused the
west, and a resolution was immediately introduced in
the Assembly to remove the state capital from Rich-
mond.*^ The western prints, now exulting in their
"The vote for rejection came principally from the east, but
even there only five counties gave majorities for it. All those
to whom suffrage had been extended voted for ratification regard-
less of sectional feelings.
"*For example see Richmond Whig, March 12, 1852.
'^Journal, House of Del,, 1852, 448, 576. The vote in the
House for removal was: noes 35, ayes 88.
272 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776- 1861
newly won victory, threatened to turn "the sleeping
lions of the northwest" upon the eastern aristocrats,
to which threat the Richmond Whig replied that
there were not a few in the east "who would like to
see [Governor] Johnson pack for the northwest"*^
'^Richmond Whig, May 11, 1852.
CHAPTER IX
SECTIONALISM IN EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH,
1830-61
The sectional contest in educational policy was a
gradual growth. It was the vote of the west which
caused the state to establish the free-school system of
1796, called the "Aldermanic System/'^ and fourteen
years later to create a permanent literary fund. In
1 81 6 the west had insisted that the total income from
the "Literary Fund" should be used to establish free
schools, and, in 18 19, it had consented to an annual
appropriation of $15,000 to the proposed university
only on condition that a system of free schools should
be established later. ^
In the reform movement of the later '20's the sub-
ject of education was but a secondary issue. In the
Assembly of 1828-29, and again in the constitutional
convention of 1829-30 Alexander Campbell, founder
of the Christian church and of Bethany College, made
fruitless efforts to secure a more efficient free-school
system.® By a sectional vote, strikingly similar to the
^This was the first material result of the movement initiated
by Jefferson in 1779 for free schools. Under this plan each
county was to be divided into districts and education was to be
free to all whites (Shepherd, Statutes at Large, II, 3).
'At this time $45,000 was appropriated annually for the edu-
cation of the poor white children.
'Acts of 1828-29, 13; Kanawha Republican, May 28, 1842.
See also an article entitled "The Public School System,'' by Dr.
W. H. Ruffner, in the Richmond Enquirer, May 12, 1876.
273
274 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
popular vote of 1828, on the bill to provide for the call
of a constitutional convention, the House of Delegates
of 1830-31 rejected a bill to increase the annual
appropriation to the primary schools for the poor.*
When foreign immigration began to come in
large numbers and when the population began to con-
tain a large sprinkling of New Englanders, the free
common schools became a subject of great concern in
the west. The primary schools for the poor, main-
tained by the $45,000 annual appropriation from the
Literary Fund, furnished the basis for a more com-
prehensive free-school system. The comparative
absence of social distinctions and the dearth of good
private schools made it convenient as well as necessary
for all classes, at all desirous of attending any school,
to attend the schools for the poor whites and to co-
operate in the movement to change them into free
common schools.*^ Accordingly the west continued to
oppose the demands of the State University and the
numerous colleges and academies for a greater partici-
pation in the benefits of the Literary Fund and insisted
that the increased revenue should go to the free schools
for the education of the poor. It even defeated an
attempt to establish a chair of agriculture and an ex-
periment station at the University and tried to cut in
half the University appropriation for running expenses.
It also bitterly opposed the establishment of state
military schools and insisted that the revenue from the
^Journal, House of Del,, 1830-31, 283.
^Richmond Enquirer, May 12, 1876; Report of U» S. Com, of
Education (189^1900), I, 4331 434*
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 275
sale of forfeited lands, the chief source of income for
the Literary Fund, should be returned to the counties
in which the lands lay, to be used for the use of the
local schools.®
In the '40's when the ill feeling between the east
and west was very intense, the young men of the west
refused to attend the University and the state military
schools, even when they were given appointments and
the state offered to bear a part of their expenses. Out
of a total enrolment of 112 residents of Virginia
attending the University in 1841-42 only 12 came
from counties west of the Blue Ridge.'' By 1845 the
total enrolment from Virginia in the University had
risen to 134, but the number from west of the Blue
Ridge had increased by only 2. In 1839 there were
twice as many residents of western Virginia attending
colleges in Ohio and Pennsylvania as were enrolled in
the institutions of eastern Virginia. The number
attending Marietta College (Ohio) alone was 15.®
In 1838 Governor Campbell, a resident of south-
western Virginia, aroused many citizens of the state
to an interest in behalf of the common schools. By
statistics he showed that illiteracy was increasing.® A
remarkable series of educational conventions fol-owed.
* Kanawha Republican, December 25, 1841 ; Journal, House of
Del., 1839-40, 26 J 206; ibid., 1845-46, 164. Most of the for-
feited lands lay in the western counties.
^ Ibid., 1842-43, Docs. Nos. i and 6. The Kanawha Repub-
lican put the number at nine, January 25, 1842; House Journal,
1847-48, Doc No. 46.
* Catalogue of Marietta College, 1838-39,
* Journal, House of Del., 1837-38, 9; ibid., 1838-39, Doc.
No. I.
276 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
The first and most important of these assemblies
was held in Clarksburg, now the county seat of Harri-
son Cotmty, West Virginia. It met September 8-9,
1 84 1, and was attended by one hundred and thirty
delegates from the northwest and the Valley. Among
those attending the convention were educational work-
ers from Ohio and Pennsylvania. Rousing addresses
were made; elaborate plans for a free-school system
were submitted ; and enthusiastic communications were
read from many of the most prominent citizens of the
west.^®
A communication from Judge E. S. Duncan was
typical. He denounced that policy which denied the
west federal aid for internal improvements and educa-
tion, when the east had no intention of granting state
aid.
A splendid university has been endowed [said he] acces-
sible only to the sons of the wealthy planters of the eastern
part of the state and to the southern states. I have heard of
only two students attending it from the northwest. The re-
sources of the Literary Fund are flittered away in the endow-
ment of an institution whose tendencies are essentially aristo^
cratic and beneficial only to the very rich, and for the sup-
port of the primary schools intended for the very poor
The men of small farms are left to their own means for the
education of their children. They cannot send them to the
University, and they are prohibited, if they would, from join-
ing in the scramble for the annual donation to the poor
[which is scattered in the] ostentatious manner of a nabob,
who throws small change among the paupers and cries, ''catch
who can,""
^Report of the U, S, Com. of Ed. (1899-1900), I, 43s;
Journal, House of Deh, 1841-42, Doc No. 7.
^Ibid,, Doc. No. 7; Kanawha Republican, May 21, 1842.
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 277
The convention prepared an elaborate memorial to
the Assembly and passed resolutions favoring the estab-
lishment of state free schools. The following resolu-
tion shows the importance and nature of some of the
subjects considered :
Resolved, as th€ opinion of this committee, That the money
deposited with the state by the depositary act of Congress, to-
gether with the proceeds of the public lands to which Virginia
may be entitled, by the late act of Congress, depositing the pro-
ceeds of the same among the states and territories, ought to be
invested in some permanent interest bearing fund and pledged
by the Legislature to the support of internal improvements and
common schools.^
The sentiment of the resolutions adopted alarmed
Ritchie, of the Richmond Enquirer, to such an extent
that he expressed to Calhoun fear that the friends of
education would weaken the Democratic party in Vir-
ginia.^*
The Clarksburg Convention was followed by nu-
merous others of a similar nature. The most important
were the conventions which met in Lexington and
Richmond in October, 1842. Dr. Henry Ruffner,
president of Washington College (now Washington
and Lee University), was the moving spirit in the Lex-
ington meeting, and submitted there "the mpst valuable
document on general education issued in Virginia since
the early days of Thomas Jefferson, viz., an elaborate
"Journal, House of Del., 1841-42, Doc No. 7.
*" "Calhoun Correspondence," in Am, Hi^ Asso, Rept, (1899),
II, 839. The Democrats were opposed to receiving Virginia's share
of the deposits and defeated resolutions for that purpose in the
Assembly.
278 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
plan for the organization of an entire educational
system of public instruction."^* The Richmond
Convention was an effort to arouse interest in the
movement in the east and was controlled largely by
westerners.
The Assembly responded to the educational move-
ment by a bill, which, however, the conservatives
caused to disappear from sight after its second reading.
Other conventions followed, and the Assembly of
1845-46 was forced to enact a law giving to each
county the authority, provided the voters desired it,
to establish public free schools.^** This act, however,
was little improvement upon that of 1796. No regu-
lar state aid was given; free schools were optional;
and they always encountered strong opposition even
in the west, where there were enough of those who
adhered to the private school and academy to cause
endless trouble.^*
Education was a subject of minor consideration in
the constitutional convention of 1850-51. The west-
ern delegates desired a system of common free schools
maintained by the state, and a large number of them
voted for a resolution to withdraw the annual appro-
priation from the University." The committee on
education, controlled by western delegates, desired to
^^ Report U, S. Com, of Ed, (i899-i90o)» If 437. The plan
is given in full in the same report, p. 381.
"Acts of 1845-44.
^*Star of the Kanawha Valley, February 8, 1850.
^"^ Journal, Constitutional Convention of 1850-51, 384, 385.
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 279
make it obligatory upon the legislature to provide by
law for popular education, but its report to that effect
was voted down by the eastern delegates.^®
When the Kansas trouble and the Dred Scott deci-
sion caused negro slavery again to become an issue
between the North and the South, and when the latter
section began to move for its intellectual, industrial,
and commercial independence, Virginia led in the
movement for an educational independence. Her lead-
ers sought to make the University the intellectual
center of the South, whence should emanate the ortho-
dox teachings on the nature of the federal government.
The public press was full of editorials and articles to
show that the South had for more than a century been
contributing largely of its means to support northern
educational institutions; that her textbooks were
written by northerners, who were unfriendly to her
social and political institutions; and that her teachers
were "Yankees."^®
The southern commercial conventions repeatedly
called attention to these facts,^^ and in 1856 and 1857
educational conventions, composed largely of college
men, met in Richmond to remedy the situation. They
passed resolutions favorable to making the University
the intellectual center and to fostering the academies
and colleges as preparatory institutions thereto. The
^Ibid,, 253, See also Appendix.
^Kanawha Valley Star, June 25, 1856; Cincinnati Enquirer,
June 5, 1856.
» DeBow, Review, XV, 268, 373 ; XVI, 638.
28o SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 1776-1861
system of primary education as it then existed was
condemned.*^
Under the influence of this movement the Uni-
versity of Virginia became the most prominent and
important educational center in the South, and indeed,
in the whole country. Its attendance rose from less
than two hundred in 1848 to almost seven hundred in
1858.^^ The following editorials from a western print
of strong pro-southern sentiments show the feeling
which prevailed even in some parts of western Vir-
ginia :
In the last ten or twelve years Virginia has made rapid
strides in the cause of education. In the session of 1846-47
the University had only one hundred and sixty-three students;
now upwards of six hundred annually attend lectures at that
seat of learning Albemarle County is becoming the cen-
ter of educational attraction, not only for Virginia but for the
whole South. The University and preparatory schools in Albe-
marle now number annually one thousand students who are
all being instructed in like manner, who are all being impressed
with similar thoughts, with like principles, who are united by
a common devotion to Southern rights, to Southern institutions,
to Southern manners and Southern chivalry. In a word, the
'^ House Documents of Virginia Legislature of 1857-^5^, Doc.
No. I.
"In 1859 there were enrolled in the University of Viiiginia
624 students, only 8 of whom came from the free states. The en-
rolment by states was as follows: Virginia, 370; Alabama, $2;
South Carolina, 35 ; Mississippi, 25 ; Louisiana, 25 ; North Caro-
lina, 21; Georgia, 20; Maryland, 15; Kentucky, 14; Tennessee,
11; Texas, 9; District of Columbia, 7 1 Missouri, 7; Florida, 2;
Pennsylvania, 3 ; New York, 2 ; Delaware, i ; Ohio, i ; Arkansas, i ;
Iowa, I ; Peru 2 {House Documents [1858-59], Part II, Doc
No. 12).
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 281
University is shaping and molding the minds of the educated
youth of Virginia and the entire South; it is uniting the young
men of the South together and making them more and more
attached to her peculiar institutions."
On the subject of teachers and teaching the same
print said :
Virginia has, however, in the last ten years undergone a
great change in respect to her school teachers and to school
teaching. .... A few years ago when Virginia was filled with
indifferent Yankee school teachers, you could scarcely find a
school master who occupied an influential position in society.
Now, through means of the University, the Military Institute,
and other Virginia colleges the profession of teaching has be-
come one of the most important, lucrative, and respectable of
pursuits. The first young men in the state in point of talent,
^ucation and respectability have turned their attention to the
subject of teaching.
And this happy change has been going on so rapidly that,
at the present tin^ in East Virginia, it is almost impossible
for one to get employment as a school teacher unless he was
-native born, raised and educated in Virginia. And this truly
Virginian and Southern feeling prevails nearly to the same
extent in the Valley of Virginia, and we hope the day is not
far distant when it will prevail over every portion of the entire
Commonwealth, and that no person will be employed to teach
and instruct Virginia youths unless he be of the "Manor bom.**
.... And here we will add that the influence exerted in the
trans-Alleghany by Yankee teachers is entirely too great, and
that it behooves every true Virginian to correct this evil. No
education is better than bad education; no morals are better
than bad morals.*
In spite of these occasional protests by ardent pro-
southern men the Yankee school teachers held their
^Kanawha Valley Star, July 12, 1859.
*^lbid., December 2, 1856.
282 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
own in the trans-AUeghany, which never co-operated
in the movement to make the University the intel-
lectual center of Virginia and of the South. E. W.
Newton, editor of the most important newspaper pub-
lished in the trans-AUeghany before the Civil War, the
Kanawha Republican, and himself a former Vermont
school teacher, pleaded earnestly and continuously
the cause of the common free school and denounced
the system whereby illiteracy was allowed to increase
among the masses. It is significant that, when the
total enrolment of the University had risen to 645
in 1857, and that from Virginia alone to 333, there
were only 13 students enrolled from those counties
now forming West Virginia.^** In 1859 the total en-
rolment of Virginians at the University had risen to
370 only 17 of whom came from what is now West
Virginia.^® When dismemberment came, one of the
charges brought by the westerners against the east was
that they had been denied common free schools, and
that their taxes had been taken to maintain a Univer-
, sity for aristocrats.^'^
Far more important factors than even the differ-
ences between the sections over education, in shaping
the antagonistic pro-southern and pro-Union senti-
ment in Virginia, were the struggles between the
churches and the subsequent contest between the vari-
ous church organizations over the subject of negro
slavery. Because of the political movements which
* Documents of the Assembly of 18 57-58 ^ Doc. No. 12, p. 112.
^Documents of the Assembly of 1859-60, Part II, Doc. No. 12.
^ Wheeling Intelligencer, May 3, i860.
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 283
combined with them the importance of these factors
have been minimized, but a carefut study of any sec-
tion of the Border, during the year« immediately pre-
ceding the Civil War, must convince one that they were
potent.
The contest within the Methodist church and
between the separate church organizations which arose
therefrom was the most important. The struggle in
the other churches, although important, will not here
be followed.
The northern and western portions of Virginia lay
divided among the Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburg,
and Ohio annual conferences of the Methodist church.
Each of these conferences comprised both slave and
free territory, and each forbade its ministers to own
negro slaves. The laws of the slave states prohibiting
manumissions made it difficult in some cases for
ministers residing therein to avoid becoming slave-
owners, because they might come into possession of
negroes either by marriage or inheritance and the
laws of both Maryland and Virginia prohibited their
manumission. When a minister thus became a slave-
owner, his services were thereby rendered undesirable
to congregations in the free states, and not infre-
quently to congregations in Virginia west of the Blue
Ridge. Cases involving the possession of negro slaves
by the traveling ministers had come up in the local
conferences, and had arrayed the slave-holding and
the non-slaveholding portions of their membership
against each other.
In 1840 members of the Baltimore Annual Con-
284 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
ference residing in Virginia petitioned the General
Conference for permission to join the Virginia Annual
Conference.^® They set forth that, while they were
subject to the civil law of Virginia which forbade
emancipation, they were ecclesiastically under the Balti-
more Conference, which refused slave-owners election
to elders' orders or to the itinerary ministry, and asked
for an interpretation of the church law on the subject.
The General Conference directed "that the ownership
of slave property in states or territories where the laws
did not admit of emancipation* or permit the liberated
slave to enjoy freedom constituted no legal barrier to
the election or ordination of ministers to the various
grades of office known to the Methodist Episcopal
church," thus practically nullifying the laws of the
local annual conferences. It also refused the request
of the petitioners for annexation to the Virginia Con-
ference.^*
The Baltimore Conference, however, refused to
abide by this decision, and suspended one of its travel-
ing ministers, Mr. Harding, who had become a slave-
owner by marriage. Through Dr. W. A. Smith of the
Virginia Conference, an ardent pro-southern man,
Harding appealed to the General Conference of 1844
for reinstatement. The Baltimore Conference, through
one of its ablest ministers, John A. Collins, fought the
appeal. Both sides claimed to represent the true posi-
^ Journal of the General Conference of 1840, 168. The Gen-
eral Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church met every four
years.
»/6id., 167.
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 285
tion of the Methodist Episcopal church on the subject
of negro slavery, and the debate waged between Smith
and Collins depicted clearly the differences between the
northern and southern sympathizers in the Border*^
Dr. Smith argued that the highest church law, that
of the General Conference, permitted Harding to own
negro slaves ; that the action of the Baltimore Confer-
ence in suspending him was "ultra-abolitionist;" that
there was danger of the church becoming embroiled in
the political discussions of the day; that abolitionists
had killed colonization and gradual emancipation; and
finally that "slavery is a great evil but beyond our
control, yet not necessarily a sin. We must then
quietly submit to a necessity, which we cannot control
or remedy, endeavoring to carry the gospel of salvation
to both master and slave."^^
Collins, who imdoubtedly spoke the sentiment of
the northern portion of the Border, said : "We are just
where we always were, standing as a breakwater to
pro-slavery in the South and the waVes of abolition in
the North." He admitted that abolition had killed
colonization and gradual emancipation, but denied the
justice of the contention of the South regarding the
relation of church officials and ministers to negro
slavery. The following statement from his argument
voiced a sentiment not unpopular in Maryland and
western Virginia: "We will not combine with the
enemies of the African either in the North or in
^Debates of the General Conference, 1844.
«/Wrf., 28.
286 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the South, .... abolition shall not make us pro-
slavery."®^
The case was decided against Harding,^® and the
General Conference passed to a consideration of the
charges preferred against Bishop James O. Andrew,
of Georgia, who, it was alleged by some of the Nfew
England conferences, had become a slave-owner. This
involved a contest on a larger scale, and resulted in the
division of the church into two churches, the Methodist
Episcopal and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
But before adjournment the conference accepted a
"Plan of Separation" which the northern church later
officially and the southern church practically repudi-
ated.
"The Plan," as it is commonly called, provided that
"should the annual conferences in the slave-holding
states find it necessary to unite in a distinct ecclesias-
tical connection," the following rule "shall be ob-
served" with regard to the northern boundary :
All the societies, stations^, and conferences adhering to the
church in the South, by a vote of the majority of the mem-
bers of said societies, stations and conferences, shall remain
under the unmolested care of the Southern Church, and the
Methodist Episcopal Church shall in no wise attempt to organ-
ize churches or societies within the limits of the church South.
This rule was to be reciprocal, and provision was
also made that it should apply only to societies, stations,
and conferences bordering on the line of division, and
not to "interior charges," which in all cases were left
''Debates of the General Conference, 1844, 33-39.
"Journal of the General Conference of 1844, 34,
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 287
to the jurisdiction of that church in whose territory
they should be situated.^^
The original line of separation between the two
churches, in Virginia, lay through the Chesapeake Bay
from the Atlantic to the mouth of the Rappahannock
River ; thence following that stream to its source, and
continuing to the Blue Ridge Mountains, it ran along
their crest to a point southwest of Lynchburg; thence
it turned almost due west to the source of the Big
Sandy River, which it followed to the Ohio.®**
It was only natural for each church to try to hold
all the territory and membership which it could secure
along this line. But the southern church, true to the
spirit of aggressiveness which then characterized its
membership, soon began a campaign for members and
territory in the whole slave-holding Border. The
northern church was active on the defensive. It
assured the Methodists in the Border that the "Disci-
pline will remain as it is on the subject of negro slav-
ery;"^® the southern church was accused of secession;
and interior stations and circuits, north of the line of
separation, and where only a minority had adhered to
the northern church, were promised ministers to con-
duct their services and legal aid to enable them to
retain the church property. ^^
^Ihid,, 135.
»/W(/., 93.
** Richmond Christian Advocate, August 21, 1845. The Dis-
cipline permitted members of the Methodist Episcopal church to
own negro slaves.
*^ Ibid,, August 25, 1845.
288 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Both churches sent agents into the Border to dis-
tribute literature and to organize their respective ad-
herents. In both the Valley and the trans-Alleghany
it was necessary for the southern church to take aggres-
sive action to place its contentions before the people
before they should be called upon to vote upon the
question of adherence. Prior to 1844 the church mem-
bership in these sections had received its literature
from Pittsburg, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and it
was consequently out of sympathetic touch with the
South and southern sentiment. Of the situation one of
the southern agents said : '1 find that as soon as I cross
the Blue Ridge .... the southern papers do not cir-
culate there, or only to a very limited extent."'®
The voting to choose between adherence to the
northern or southern branches of the Methodist
church occurred almost simultaneously in the belt of
territory north of the line of separation. In many
instances the voting was not restricted to the stations
and circuits along the line of separation, as provided
by the Plan, but votes were taken in "interior" stations
and circuits. As a rule the minorities in such places
refused to join their brethren in adhering to the
southern church, and the northern conferences, true to
the unofficial promises made by their members,
continued to send regular ministers to them. This
condition precipitated a bitter contest for church mem-
bership and church property.
The effect of these clashes of authority and con-
flicting views was demoralizing in the extreme. In
'^Richfnond Christian Advocate, August 21, 1845.
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 289
some instances two pastors tried to hold services in the
same church at the same time ; ministers of the north-
em church were forced to leave the state for fear of
being summarily dealt with; church property was
mutilated and destroyed ; Bibles were torn and soiled ;
and church entrances were, in some instances, guarded
with shot guns. Frequently those defeated in the vot-
ing to adhere to the northern or southern church re-
fused to abide by the decision of the majority, claiming
that it had not been fairly and accurately ascertained.
A house-to-house canvass usually followed in which
most conflicting results were obtained. In some of
these contests members of the same family and near
relatives were arrayed s^inst each other.**
Resort was finally had to the courts. The grand
jury of Accomac County presented the Christian Ad-
vocate and Journal of Baltimore as an "incendiary
sheet tending to excite slaves to insurrection," and took
steps to prohibit its circulation. The grand jury of
P.arkersburg, Wood County, presented the Western
Christian Advocate of Cincinnati on a similar charge
and took similar precautions.^^ Important suits in-
volving the possession of church property arose in
Parkersburg, Wood County, Charleston and Maiden,
Kanawha County, Harrisonburg, Rockingham County,
and Salem and Rectortown, Fauquier County. In the
** Pittsburg Christian Advocate, February 11, 1846; tWd.,
March 11, 1S46; manuscripts in the Parkersburg church case, T,
A, Cook V. L. P, Neal; pamphlet, the Harrisonburg church cases,
Sites V. Harrison, and Plecker v. Harrison,
^Matlack, Anti-Slavery Struggle and Triumph of ^ the M, E.
Church, 185.
290 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
local courts the Methodist Episcopal church won al-
most invariably. But when the case went to the Su-
preme Court, which was composed largely of judges
who resided east of the Blue Ridge, the decisions of
the local courts were reversed.^* The local courts
based their decision upon "a fair interpretation of the
Plan of Separation" and insisted that the original line
between the churches must be accepted and that only
such stations and circuits as bordered on that line had
a right to choose whether or not they should adhere to
the northern or southern church. The Supreme Court
passed over the fact that the property in dispute be-
longed to "interior" societies and sustained the claims
of the southern church on the ground that the realty
and property in dispute had been deeded to local socie-
ties and not to the Methodist Episcopal church as a
sect.*^
The General Conference of the Methodist Epis-
copal church of 1848 received numerous petitions from
its adherents in western Virginia asking that they be
not forced to affiliate with another church ; that minis-
ters be sent to them ; and that an annual conference of
the Methodist Episcopal church be erected on slave
territory within Virginia., Accordingly the General
Conference organized the Western Virginia Annual
Conference and entered upon a renewed effort to gain
territory and membership within Virginia; a large
force of ministers and agents was sent into the dis-
puted territory to organize conferences and circuits;
resolutions of sympathy were adopted for those who
"13 GratU, 310. ^13 Graft, 309.
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 291
had been deprived of the possession of church prop-
erty; and the Plan of Separation was repudiated.^^
This event was soon followed by the organization
of the Western Virginia Annual Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South/* Both churches
now engaged in mutual recriminations, but interest in
church propagandism soon ceased. It was not revived
until the North and the South were again arrayed on
the subject of the extension of negro slavery into Kan-
sas. During the years 1854 and 1855 propagandism
was at red heat in western Virginia. The southern
church adopted the policy: "Carry everything up to
the Mason and Dixon line." New corps of ministers
and agents were sent into the Border to carry on this
work. They there met agents of the northern church,
and some of the joint discussions which followed were
marked by all that vituperation and bitterness which
usually characterize religious controversies. In many
instances the inhabitants deserted their fields of labor
to attend the "politico-religio** gatherings ; a large por-
tion of the public prints was given up to a discussion
of the differences between the churches; and in some
instances ministers were again forced to leave the
country.**^
It was at this period that the struggle between the
churches did much to crystallize public opinion and to
determine subsequent affiliations with either the North
or the South. The adherents of the northern church
^Journal of the General Conference of 1848, 17, 73, 116, 164.
^This conference was organized in 1850.
* Pamphlet by Wesley Smith, Defense of the M, E, Church, i.
292 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
now renewed their oft*repeated accusation of secession
on the part of the southern church and took the com-
paratively new ground of champions of the Union. In
this role they foreshadowed their policy in the Civil
War. In reply to a speech made in Harrison County
(now West Virginia) by Rev. Kelley of Kentucky,
Rev. Wesley Smith used the following language :
Are you prepared for a dissolution of the American Union?
If you are not, then speak out in thunder tones and tell these
disunionists that they shall not divide the church of the land
by the line which separates the slave states from the free!
Tell them that the Methodist Episcopal church shall exist on
slave territory to the end of time, and that as a Heaven ap-
pointed instrumentality we shall aid in preserving the
integrity of the Union.
That the existence of the American Methodist church, in
the slave states as well as in the free, is the surest guarantee
for the preservation of this confederacy. We have a con-
stantly increasing fleet of the line of battle ships cc»nmencing
with the Baltimore Annual Conference on the seaboard and
embracing Western Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Kansas,**
and to these we expect to add an additional ship on slave ter-
ritory every four years.*'
It was only natural for the intense sectional rivalry
between the churches to manifest itself in things purely
political. The Virginia constitution of 185 1 digressed
from the general and fundamental to give the Assem-
bly power to secure to societies and congregations the
possession of church property. In the first guber-
natorial contest decided by a vote of the people, that of
ff
^ These annual conferences, except that in West Virginia, were
organized in 1853.
• Pamphlet by Wesley Smith, Defense of the M, E, Church,
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 293
1 85 1, George W. Summers, the Whig candidate, was a
resident of the trans- Alleghany, as was his opponent,
Joseph Johnson. Summers was accused by the Demo-
cratic prints of being friendly to the Methodist Episco-
pal church and in this way of being affiliated with
the abolitionists. Rumor went the rounds that he had
permitted members of that sect to erect a church on
his farm in Kanawha Coimty where abolitionism was
preached.^® In the gubernatorial campaign of 1855,
Mr. Wise, who relied for his election upon the Demo-
cratic vote of the northwest, the Methodist Episcopal
stronghold, denied having ever accused the Methodist
preachers of introducing Know-Nothingism into Vir-
ginia.^® On the other hand, the Know-Nothing prints
attacked the Methodists on the charge of popery.
Their church government by bishops was compared to
that of the pope and cardinals. This attack, together
with the fact that many members of the Methodist
Episcopal church in the northwest were foreigners,
Irish and German, tended to keep some of them in the
Democratic party .*^^
In the General Conference of 1856 the members of
the Methodist Episcopal church in the Border made a
determined stand against the abolitionists. At this
time the New England conferences made an effort so
to amend the Discipline of the church as to make slave-
^ Richmond Whig, December 2, 1851.
^Kanawha Valley Star, March 21, 1856.
••/Wrf., March 28, iSss ; Hambleton, Life of Henry A, Wise,
107.
294 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
holding a disqualification for membership.*^^ Under
the leadership of John A. Collins, of the Baltimore
Conference, the delegates from the Border asked that
the plighted faith of 1844 be kept. The arguments for
and against this change show that the Border and the
North had drifted almost as far apart in 1856 as had
the extreme North and South in 1844. The northern
conferences now denounced slave-holding and any rec-
ognition of it as a sin and accordingly refused to com-
promise. On the other hand, Gordon Battelle, of the
West Virginia Conference, claimed that negro slavery
was a national and civic institution with which the
church had nothing to do,*^ and Collins assured the
northerners that there was but one reason why the
Baltimore Conference had not gone with the South in
1844, viz., "It did not concur with the sentiment of the
South which proclaimed slavery a Divine institu-
tion."»8
By the co-operation of the conferences in the mid-
dle an4 western states the Border conferences were
victorious in 1856, and the Discipline remained un-
changed.*^* But the abolitionists scored victory oh
another line, which was ultimately of much importance
in shaping the anti-slavery sentiment even in the
Border. By their influence the editorial staff of the
various church papers and periodicals was almost com-
*^ Journal of the General Conference of 1856.
•"Matlack, Anti^Slavery Struggle and Triumph of the M, E.
Church, 222,
'^Ihid., 252,
^Journal of the General Conference of 1856,
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 295
pletely changed.**** The conservative editors, who since
1844 had acted on a policy of conciliation and for the
extension of the church in the Border, were displaced
by the election of young abolitionist editors, and a
resolution removing the church censorship on anti-
slavery publications was adopted.
Under these changed conditions the church press,
even in portions of the Border, soon became decidedly
anti-slavery. Much of the Sunday-school literature
used there pictured "rum-selling, cheating, and slave-
owning" as temptations which the young must shun.**®
The church periodicals published letters from corre-
spondents in which "the stench, the suffocation, and
the death of slave society" were described.**'^
The change in the attitude of the northern church
press and its frequent attacks upon southern society
and institutions called forth scathing answers from
both the political and church organs of pro-southern
sentiment and caused the stump and the pulpit alike to
engage in excited utterances of theological dogma and
political harangue. In many cases it would have been
difficult to tell whether or not a given newspaper or
periodical was a church or party organ. Whole issues
of the trans- Alleghany and Valley newspapers were
practically given up to articles and editorials written
" Six of the twelve editors elected in 1856 had voted for the
proposition to make slave-holding a disqualification for member-
ship in the church (Matlack, Anti-Slavery Struggle, 296).
^Sunday School Advocate, November 14, 1857; Kanawha Val-
ley Star, January 12, 1858.
'^Pittsburg Christian Advocate, August 21, 1857; Kanawha
Valley Star, September i, 1857.
296 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776^1861
to prove that the Methodist Episcopal church "is an
abolitionist, anti-slavery, anti-South, and anti-Virginia
institution," and that "it is more of a political than a
religious organization."**® Many mass-meetings were
held to protest against the dissemination of sentiments
"derogatory and dangerous to our institutions." The
resolutions passed by a meeting at Boothsville, Marion
County, are here given as typical of those passed by
other gatherings and of the sentiment which prevailed
among the pro-southern sympathizers in western Vir-
ginia.
1. Resolved, That, as the fimi friends of the National G>n-
stitution, we pledge ourselves to oppose with manly firmness
every attempt of northern abolitionists and of their coadjutors
who are vainly seeking to conceal their dark purposes by fraud
and disguise, to beguile our people into an alliance with Black
Republicanism.
2. That the present position of the northern division of the
Methodist Episcopal Church on the slavery question, the action
of its general and annual conferences, the course taken by its
editors and clergy, prove it to be as thoroughly abolitionist as
any party organization in the country.
3. That we ask as a special favor of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church and any other church that may consider this country
a part of their moral vineyard for the future to send among
us only such ministers as have wisdom and grace enough to
enable them to preach the gospel without meddling with our
civil institutions."
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, took ad-
vantage of the anti-abolition sentiment in western Vir-
** Kanawha Valley Star, October 20, 1857; ibid,, December 8,
1857.
^Ihid., September 15, 1857.
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 297
ginia to push its demand for "everything up to the
Mason and Dixon line." Joint discussions, sometimes
nine or ten hours in duration, were held in the Valley
and elsewhere between ministers of the northern and
southern church. Those friendly to the southern
organization now frequently called attention to the oft-
repeated prophecy, made in 1844 and 1845, ^^^^ the
northern church would ultimately show its true char-
acter as an abolitionist institution.®^ At the same time
an effort was made to drive the northern church liter-
ature out of western Virginia, a Book and Tract
Society being incorporated for that purpose.®^
In the General Conference of i860 the northern
ministers overcame the opposition of those from the
Border, who continued to "battle for the old-fashioned
anti-slavery Methodism," and amended the Discipline
on the subject of slavery.®^ This action disrupted the
Baltimore Conference, the larger number of whose
ministers met immediately at Staunton, Virginia, and
passed resolutions declaring the bond which united
them to the northern church sundered and established
themselves as a separate and independent church.®*
The minority refused to abide by the action at
Staunton, and continued to adhere to the northern
church, claiming all the time to be the legal Baltimore
Conference. Thus was occasioned another series of
^Ibid,, March 9, 1859.
^Ibid., November 16, 1858.
*^ Journal of the General Conference of i860, 202, 404.
^ S^ Graft., 428. This organization maintained a separate and
independent existence down to 1866 when it affiliated with the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
298 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
suits for possession of church property. These suits
pended during the Civil War and down into the recon-
struction period.**
It is significant that the West Virginia Conference
of the Methodist Episcopal church did not follow the
action of the Baltimore Conference in repudiating the
changes in the church Discipline on the subject of
negro slavery and in establishing a separate and inde-
pendent church. Its loyalty to the northern church
finds a possible explanation in the fact that the south-
ern church had in the period from 1854 to i860, when
anti-abolition was its shibboleth, extended its Western
Virginia Annual Conference over practically the whole
trans-AUeghany area. Although the membership of the
northern church in that section greatly outnumbered
that of the southern, congregations, adhering to the
southern church, existed, in 1858, in a large part of
the trans-AUeghany. Indeed, that church had made a
much better showing there than in the Valley or the
Northern Neck. Consequently those few persons in
the West Virginia Conference, who desired to leave the
northern church because of its action in i860 on the
subject of negro slavery, found an organized church
to their liking awaiting them.**^
The oft-repeated statement, made even to this day
by many of the older residents of northern West Vir-
•*32 Grattf 422 ff. ; 3 West Virginia, 102, 310.
"^ There can be no doubt that the Christian church, of ^ich
Alexander Campbell was the founder, received in^ its member-
ship a large number of those who did not sympathize with the
Methodist Episcopal church.
EDUCATION AND THE CHURCH 299
ginia, that "the members of the Methodist Episcopal
church made West Virginia" is only partly true. In-
deed, ministers of that church were prominent in many
of the mass-meetings which opposed secession, and
Gordon Battelle, one of the ablest preachers of that
sect in the northwest, was prominent and influential in
the conventions, which attempted to reorganize the
government of Virginia and eventually brought about
the dismemberment of the state and the admission of
West Virginia. But the influence of other church con-
troversies, the political and educational movements of
the times, together with the natural antipathy between
the sections, are factors which were of equal impor-
tance in bringing about the dismemberment of Vir-
ginia. That the struggle between the Methodist
churches was a potent factor must be conceded.
CHAPTER X
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES FROM 1851 TO 1861
The years immediately following 1851 marked a
brief period of political accord. In local politics the
constitution of that year produced much the same effect
as the compromise of the previous year had produced
in national politics. Sectional controversies in the As-
sembly sank into insignificance; Joseph Johnson, the
first governor of Virginia to be elected by a vote of the
people, was selected from the trans-AUeghany ; J. M.
Mason, of the Valley, and R. M. T. Hunter, of the
Tidewater, were elected to the United States Senate
with little opposition; the state selected a practically
solid Democratic delegation to Congress; and Demo-
crats and Whigs vied with each other in their pro-
fessions of devotion to the Compromise of 1850.
The co-operation of the east in- the banking legisla-
tion and in the internal improvement schemes desired
by the west contributed to political accord. Immedi-
ately following the adoption of the new constitution
the Assembly incorporated ten independent banks in
towns west of the Blue Ridge.^ True to former
Democratic policies, the James River and Kanawha
Canal Company was neglected;^ but large appropria-
tions were made to the Virginia and Tennessee Rail-
^Acts of Assembly of 1851-52; National Intelligencer (weekly),
June 10, 1852.
'The James River and Kanawha Company was refused an ap-
propriation to extend its works beyond Covington in the Valley.
300
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-^1 301
road, and the scheme of connecting the western ter-
minus of the James River Canal with the Ohio River by
railroad was undertalcen at state expense.^ From 1850
to 1854 more turnpikes and railroad companies were in-
corporated with the privilege of constructing works of
internal improvement in the west than in all the years
preceding.* Very liberal appropriations were also made
to the western turnpike companies, and this caused an
acquiescence by the westerners in the more generous
appropriations made to the various railroad companies
operating east of the mountains. Speaking of what
had formerly been the most disaffected section of the
state, Governor Joseph Johnson, himself a resident of
the trans-AUeghany section, was able to say, in his
message to the Assembly of 1855 :
The northwestern portion of the state is most happily
situated. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad terminating at
Wheeling and Parkersburg places it within sixteen hours of
Baltimore and still nearer to Alexandria. The Hampshire and
Loudoun road,^ .... the Northwestern Turnpike . from Win-
chester to Parkersburg, and the Staunton and Parkersburg turn-
pike connecting those points, together with the network of
turniHkes not macadamized, afford all the facilities for travel
and transportation the most fastidious could desire It
may truly be said that she wants little and asks less.'
*The Covington and Ohio Railroad was incorporated to con-
nect the James and Kanawha river navigation (Thirty-ninth An-
nual Report of the Board of Public Works, Doc. No. 17). See also
Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Annual Reports of the
James River and Kanawha Company; DeBow, Review, XIII, 525,
641.
*See Acts of Assembly of 1850-51; 1852-53; 1853-54.
* House Documents, No. i, of the Assembly of 1855-56.
302 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
With the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad nearing
completion the same statement could have been made
of the southwest. The only dissatisfaction on accoimt
of inadequate communications existed in the old Whig
strongholds along the Kanawha Valley, but the pro-
posed Covington and Ohio Railroad was intended for
relief there.
But forces were at work to terminate this brief
period of activity in internal improvement and of
political harmony. They first manifested themselves
in national politics, when the Democratic state conven-
tion of 1852 refused to incorporate into its platform a
plank declaring the Compromise of 1850 to be a per-
manent settlement of the questions therein embraced
and adopted instead a plank declaring the doctrines
of 1798 to be the fundamental principles of the Demo-
cratic party.® This action alienated many former
Whigs as well as some Democrats, who desired to end
the sectional agitation over negro slavery and to rele-
gate the discussion of federal relations to the back-
ground. It was, however, an effort of the party leaders
to keep the Democratic party from disintegration
and to divert the trend of political discussion from
negro slavery. Of the inconsistency of the conven-
tion's action the Lynchburg Virginian (Whig) said:
The men who united in the adoption of this declaration
know perfectly well they stand to each other direct antipodes in
their construction of the resolutions of 'gS-'gg, the one party
maintaining that they assert the right of secession at pleasure,
and without accountability to the federal government; and the
* National Intelligencer, April 8, 1852.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 303
other contending that they point out no other redress of griev-
ances to the separate states, than the provisions of the Con-
stitution, and the final appeal to arms. There were men in
that body who believed that the right to quit the Union exists
at all times with the states, to be exercised at their discretion;
there were others who deny all such right and hold that seces-
sion is treason/
The action of the Democratic representatives in
Congress, in refusing to vote for a resolution declar-
ing the Compromise of 1850 to be final, drove others
from their party.® But the Democrats were able to
carry the state for Pierce by a good majority,® and
by the aid of a gerrymander they elected, in 1853, a
solid delegation to Congress.^^
In the election of 1855 ^^^ Whigs revived under
the name Know-Nothings, or Americans, who had
become a powerful organization at the North during
the discussions over the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. The
Know-Nothings, like their predecessors, were sectional
in strength, drawing their chief support from areas
which had formerly been Whig. If any differences
existed in the sectional strength of the two parties the
Know-Nothings were more popular in the east than
the Whigs had been. The slogan "Put only Ameri-
cans on watch tonight" appealed to many east Virgin-
"* National Intelligencer (weekly), April 10, 1852, quoting the
Virginian.
* Seven out of thirteen Democrats from Virginia voted against
the resolution (ibid., April 8 and 17, 1852).
•Pierce's majority was 15,281 {Whig Almanac, 1852, p. 53).
"^NaHonal Intelligencer, May 26 and 31, 1853; ibid,, June 4,
1853.
304 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
lans, wjio attributed their waning power in national
councils to the foreign immigrants at the North. ^*
Before the new organization had become powerful
politically even the Democratic press of the east looked
with favor upon it.
Know-Nothingism is partly right [said the Richmond En-
quirer], American citizenship ought not to be made dirt cheap.
The sovereignty of this republic is in the people; and every
vagabond adventurer escaping from the jails and packed off
from the poor houses of Europe, is not fit for sovereign citi-
zenship in this country the moment his dirty rags and stinking
carcass touch our shores."
Besides, the old-line Whigs concurred in the apparent
effort of the Know-Nothings to put down the agita-
tion of negro slavery.^'
The factors tending to preserve the former Demo-
cratic strongholds intact were equally effective. Al-
though the inhabitants of the west contained a large
intersprinkling of English families of old standing,
there were many among them in whose veins ran
Scotch-Irish, German, and Irish blood, who almost
invariably continued to be Democrats.^* It is sig-
nificant that this was the period when Irish laborers
came to Virginia in largest numbers and found homes
on the cheap lands along the western railroads.^*^ Al-
"Wise, Seven Decades of the Union, 245; Wise, Wise, 175.
"December 12, 1854.
"Tyler, Letters and Times of the Tylers, II, 5x6.
"Koerner, Das deutsche Element in den Vereinigten Staaten,
403.
"This is the period when the Irish settlements were made in
Lewis and neighboring counties.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 305
though the westerners were intensely Protestant, the
anti-Catholic plank of the Know-Nothing party did
not appeal to them. They continued to cherish the
principles of the Declaration of Rights and Jefferson's
Statute for Religious Liberty, each of which their
ancestors had been instrumental in making effective.
The prevailing tariff, though moderate, furthermore
was objectionable to those voters, in both the east and
the west, who desired cheap iron to be us«d in the con-
struction of railroads.^® Besides, the Democratic
strongholds of the state at this time were engaged in
a political "log-rolling," which had already brought
good returns in the way of internal improvements and
now held out flattering inducements of better things
to come. Thus the northern Democrats of the west
and the pro-southern Democrats of the east found it to
their mutual advantage to co-operate in efforts to carry
elections.^'''
In the gubernatorial election of 1855 Henry A.
Wise, of Accomac County, was the Democratic nomi-
nee and Thomas S. Flournoy, of Halifax, the Know-
Nothing. Flournoy secured his nomination at a
conference of party leaders, but Wise was nominated
by a state convention. Most of the eastern leaders
opposed him, but his record in the constitutional con-
vention of 1850-51 on the questions of internal im-
provements, representation, and education made him
popular with the voters of the west. Prior to the
^Nationad Intelligencer (tri-weekly), January 12, 1856; De
Bow, Review, XVIII, 117.
^''Kanawha Valley 5" tor, February 10, 1857.
3o6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
meeting of the state convention everything pointed to
the nomination of Shelton F. Leake, who had a large
following in the Piedmont and the Valley; but, when
the trans-AUeghany delegation arrived, it was almost
a unit for Wise. The trans-AUeghany and the Tide-
water delegates united to secure his nomination.
The canvass was a heated one and had an impor-
tant bearing upon later developments. ^ By his brilliant
oratory and winning personality, Wise, an ardent pro-
southern man, gained an influence over the young lead-
ers, especially those of the west, and was able thereby
to neutralize the conservative influences of such men
as John Letcher, William Smith, and Leake, who
opposed his nomination and continued to oppose his
pro-southern policy.^® It is significant that Wise's
majority of 10,180 came almost wholly from west of
the Blue Ridge^® and that he made his chief fight
against the Know-Nothings on the ground that they
were abolitionists.^^
Wise's administration was characterized by a con-
tinuous struggle between the conservative and radical
wings of the Democratic party. Under the leadership
of Hunter, who had become less enthusiastic for the
South after the death of Calhoun, and Letcher, the
conservatives tried to keep the subject of negro slavery
in the background and refused to encourage the idea,
which gradually became more prevalent in the east,
"Hambleton, Va. Politics, 1855, and Life of Wise, 60 ff.
*• Wise's majority east of the Blue Ridge was only 955 {Whig
Almanac, 1856, 56).
^Star of the Kanawha Valley, April 25, 1855.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 307
that dismemberment and civil war were inevitable.
Under the leadership of Wise, of the surviving nuUi-
fiers and seceders of 1832, and of a corps of young
politicians the radicals set about to make the Demo-
cratic party pro-southern and pro-slavery and at the
same time to retain Wise's leadership in the west. For
this purpose a large number of Democratic newspapers
were established throughout the state, and the test of
a true Democrat was made devotion to the South and
her institutions. The leaders thus hoped to enlist a
united Virginia in the programme then making for
a united, self-sufficing, pro-slavery South.
For a brief period after the election of 1855 the
differences within the administration party remained
beneath the surface. The west saw in Wise "the
champion of the Union-loving, indomitable Democracy
of Virginia"^^ and remained loyal to him. Had he
desired it, Virginia would have given him her undi-
vided vote for the presidential nomination in 1856.^^
A united party under his leadership gave Buchanan the
largest majority yet given by Virginia to any Demo-
cratic candidate for the presidency,^* and under the
'^Kanawha Valley Star, April 30, 1856.
"Most of the western counties passed resolutions indorsing
Wise for the presidency in 1856 as did some of the eastern
counties; but he had no following in other states and declined the
vote of Virginia on the ground that no man from the South could
be elected. Wise's influence was largely instrumental in securing
the nomination of Buchanan (Tyler, Letters and Times of the
Tylers, II, 520-26; Kanawha Valley Star, February 13, 20, 27,
1857).
"Buchanan's majority was 25,548 (Tribune Almanac, 1857, 5i)«
308 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
slogan "anti-abolitionism" the Democrats were able,
in 1857, to carry every congressional district in the
state.**
But internal changes were so rapid and diverse
during these years that permanent political union
between the east and the west was rendered impossible.
The east sent delegates who took a prominent part in
the southern commercial conventions,**^ forerunners of
the southern Confederacy, and the sentiment there for
southern independence daily became stronger. Ed-
mund Ruffin and other industrial leaders now joined
the politicians in the assertion that Virginia must have
more slaves and better slave markets if she were to
regain her fallen fortunes.** These leaders also con-
demned emancipation and colonization and favored
the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton consti-
tution. The eastern press frequently denounced the
abolitionist tendencies of the west, those coimties con-
taining abolitionist colonies*^ and periodicals*® favor-
able to abolition being threatened with "a long and
"^In the congressional contest of 1857 John S. Carlisle, who
had been elected as a Know-Nothing by the old Whig counties of
the Kanawha Valley, was defeated (Kanawha Valley Star, June 2,
1857).
•DeBow, Review, XXIV, 570-84; XXVII, 94, 205, 219, 360,
468.
»Ibid., XXVI, 418-647.
"The Eli Thayer colony was located in Wayne County, the
Valley Mills colony in Wood County. There were few counties
along the Ohio and in the northwest which did not contain abo-
litionist settlements.
"The Wellshurg Herald and Wheeling Intelligencer were Re-
publican papers.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 309
peaceful period of rest in which to enjoy the pleasures
of negro worship." It is significant that the industrial
and political leaders of the east now resumed their
denunciations of "the political heresies brought from
France by Thomas Jefferson."^®
On the other hand, the west took little interest in
the southern commercial conventions, the one held at
Richmond being attended by only four delegates from
the trans-Alleghany. Frequent utterances, of which
the following is an example, were made there against
the southern programme: "A union of all parties at
the South for the defense of the South will produce a
union of all parties at the North for the destruction of
the South; and thus the two sections will be divided
politically and the Union severed."^^ A large number
of the inhabitants of the west continued to believe
slavery an economic evil and to entertain the idea that
it would be eventually abolished,*^ and the abolitionist
newspapers of the northwest now denounced it as an
"unmitigated curse to the soil of Virginia."^^ The
westerners generally opposed the admission of Kansas
under the Lecompton constitution, and the Wheeling
ArguSj a strong pro-southern paper, commented thus
upon the attitude of the eastern prints upon that issue :
''The Enquirer, the Examiner, and the Richmond
South have over the intense discussion over Kansas
and Governor Walker changed from the strictly
•DeBow, Review, XXIV, 584; ibid., XXVI, 415 «•
'^Kanawha Valley Star, July 14, 1857.
*^ Ibid,, September 23, 1857.
^Ibid,, May 26, 1857, quoting the Wheeling Intelligencer,
3IO SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
State-rights sentiment to the position of one defend-
ing the administration of Buchanan and the course of
the South."'® In the west the threats of the eastern
prints against the abolitionists were interpreted as
declarations from the party leaders of an intention to
retard the industrial development of the state by pre-
venting northern immigration thereto.
You know not [said the Guyandotte Union] the import of
such a threat. You know not what it awakens in the bosoms
of honest patriots ! Leave Guyandotte and Cattletsburg "to the
quiet and peaceful enjoyment of negro worship!" Oh I Ex-
aminer! Examiner! You know not how you sink the hearts of
this people. "Thou hast wounded the spirit that loved thee.""*
Although eastern and western Virginia were united
upon but one thing, namely, opposition to the move-
ment of the lower South for reopening the foreign
slave trade, many editors and politicians in both sec-
tions tried to create the impression that the state was
a unit politically. That their action was an incident in
a party programme there can be little doubt. The
ardent pro-southern newspapers, of which there were
a number established in the west after 1854, were loud-
est in such professions. In reply to an editorial com-
ment in the Richmond South to the effect that east
Virginia had, by her railroads and reforms, indoctri-
nated the west on the subject of negro slavery and thus
secured a united commonwealth, the editor of the
Kanawha Valley Star denied that the sentiment in
^ Ibid,, September 8, 1857, quoting the Argus.
** Kanawha Valley Star, October 13, 1857, quoting the Guyan-
dotte Union,
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 311
favor of negro slavery was more universal east of the
Blue Ridge than west of it. "The people of the west
are pro-slavery from principle," said he, "and we
venture the assertion that there are more abolitionists
east of the Blue Ridge than west of it."*' The trans-
montane editors were practically unanimous in their
belief that the changes, which the east had experienced
regarding negro slavery, had extended to the west.*®
The impression given by enthusiasts for the South
created a false impression in the east of what might
be expected of the west should the South decide to
secede. To the very last many eastern editors and
politicians continued to deny the rumors that the west
could not be depended upon to play its part in the pro-
gramme and cherished the delusion, "the union of
Virginia is accomplished."
The internal improvement legislation of Virginia
during Wise's administration was determined largely
by the programme for a united South. With those
striving for this end the completion of the Covington
and Ohio Railroad, to connect the James and the Ohio
civers, became a cherished scheme. The following
from the Richmond Enquirer furnished some idea of
the spirit which actuated them :
It will be observed that two-fifths of the whole trans-
All eghany region is wholly isolated, that it has no communica-
tion with the northern frontier except a precarious one up the
'^Kanawha Valley Star, August 31, 1858; ibid,, September 22,
1857.
"This is true only of those who edited Democratic news-
papers.
312 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Ohio and none with eastern Virginia. Yet this very region is
the seat of a large portion of the military strength of the
state, containing, as it does, a majority of the white popula-
tion. It is as if we had a citadel filled with men and outworks
feebly manned, with no connection from one to the other. The
Covington and Ohio Railroad passes through the heart of this
region and will when finished pour its strength either upon the
Seaboard by way of Staunton and Richmond or upon the north-
ern frontier by way of Staunton and Harper's Ferry."
That this programme had supporters in the west is
shown from the following from the Kanawha Valley
Star:
We now come to the protection of our own people from the
designs of our northern foes, .... the gradual preparation of
Virginia for the great future struggle that every revolving year
is hastening upon her. The struggle whose issue will be "State
Rights and Constitutional Union" or a union of power un-
tempered by law, unchecked by constitutional guarantees, ruled
only by a fickle, irresponsible, fanatical majority."
But it was not alone for the purpose of defense
that the friends of the Covington and Ohio Railroad
desired its completion. They hoped by this means to
tap the granary of the Union, the Northwest, to divert
the mineral resources of the mountains to Richmond or
Norfolk, thereby creating a rival commercial city to
New York and Philadelphia, and thus to aid in the
programme of a self-sufficing and united common-
wealth.
There were, however, many sectional interests
'^ Richmond Enquirer, August 10, 1855; DeBow, Review,
XIX, 445.
*^ Kanawha Valley Star, February 24, 1857. For similar state-
ments see Speech of R. G, Morris (pamphlet).
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 313
which opposed the completion of the Covington and
Ohio Railroad. In the first place the James River and
Kanawha Canal Company claimed a prior right to con-
struct a railroad or a canal over the route designated
for it. Many residents of the James River Valley and
the southeast claimed that the proposed road would in-
evitably divert trade from Virginia to Baltimore by
way of the Shenandoah, and proposed instead a rail-
road from some point on the Virginia and Tennessee
Railroad to pass to the Ohio by way of the New and
Kanawha rivers.*® The inhabitants of the northwest
and the southwest, now enjoying the benefits of the
Baltimore and Ohio and the Virginia and Tennessee
railroads respectively, did not wish to tax themselves
to tunnel the AUeghanies. In the Assembly of 1855-56
the delegates from these sections voted against an
appropriation to complete the proposed railroad.*^
These clashes of sectional interest, the financial panic
of 1857, and the decline of Virginia's credit, due to
the large appropriations made to the various internal
improvement companies, rendered it impossible to
prosecute work on the central line of improvements.
Meanwhile the inhabitants of the Kanawha Valley
became interested in securing the improved navigation
of the Kanawha River. The proposed Covington and
Ohio Railroad was to leave the Kanawha near Charles-
ton and pass thence to the mouth of the Big Sandy
^speech of Joseph Segar at the Internal Improvement Con-
vention at White Sulphur Springs (pamphlet), 8.
^Journal, House of Del., 1855-56, 486; Kanawha Valley Star,
April 6, 1856.
314 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
River by the most direct line. Because of the ready fa-
cilities afforded by the steamboat, the coal companies,
of which there were a score or more doing business in
or near Charleston, and the salt manufacturers desired
to retain and even to improve the water navigation of
the Kanawha.** As the Kanawha River was the only
portion of the James River and Kanawha Canal Com-
pany's works which then paid more than the expenses
of operating, the westerners insisted that the additional
expenditures made upon that work should be made on
the Kanawha River; the sluices and dams there were
condemned as obstructions rather than aids to naviga-
tion; many suits, which the western juries almost in-
variably decided in favor of the plaintiff, were brought
to recover damages from the James River and Kana-
wha Canal Company for sunken coal and salt barges ;
indeed, some shippers refused "to pay tribute," resort-
ing to various devices to cheat the toll-gatherers ;*^ and
the public prints of the Kanawha Valley contained fre-
quent editorial articles accusing the east of retarding
the development of the west and impeaching the north-
west and southwest on the charge of political log-
rolling.*^ On this subject one editor said : "But there
is one other very important reason why central trans-
AUeghany is so far behind in railroads, etc., etc. It is
because the parties of this part of Virginia have in
• ** Twenty-first Annual Report of the James River and Kana-
wha Co,, 71-85.
** Twentieth, Twenty-Hrst, Twenty-second, and Twenty-third
Annual Reports of the James River and Kanawha Co,
^Kanawha Valley Star, February 10, 1857; ibid,, November
24, 1857.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 315
years past been in direct opposition to the dominant
party in the state."^^
The movement in the Kanawha Valley led to the
creation of the "Kanawha Board," which was nothing
more than a subcommittee of the board of directors of
the James River and Kanawha Canal Company In-
trusted with the improvements on the Kanawha River.
But the hard times and the opposition of those inter-
ested in the Covington and Ohio Railroad and in the
improvements on the James River made it impossible
for the local board to negotiate loans and forced it to
disband without accomplishing anything.^**
The return of good times and the enactment of
laws imposing heavy taxes restored Virginia's credit
and revived interest in internal improvements. This
interest was heightened by the fact that the relations
between the North and the South were daily becoming
more strained. The split which had occurred in the
Democratic party intensified the general belief in the
South that dismemberment of the Union was inevitable
and increased the disposition to prepare for it. The
Assembly of 1857-58, for example, made liberal
appropriations for completing the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad and incorporated numerous companies
to build branch lines thereto. At the same time
** Ibid., March 23, 1858. This was an ardent pro-southern
paper and many of its editorials were written for the purpose of
allying eastern with western Virginia and increasing the strength
of the Democrat party.
*■ Twenty-fourth, Twenty-fifth, and Twenty-sixth Annual
Reports of the lames River and Kanawha Co,; Kanawha Valley
Star, November 24, 1859.
3i6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
William Ballard Preston was sent to France as agent
of Virginia to negotiate for the establishment of a
steamship line between Norfolk and Nantes.** Com-
menting upon the plans of the political leaders the
Kanawha Valley Star said: "It is in the power
of this legislature in five years to build up cities and
fleets, and an immense commerce both home and
foreign."*''
But Virginia was not united in this her last great
effort to develop her resources, to unite her people, and
to provide an adequate defense. The conservative
counties of the northwest and the southwest continued
to vote against the appropriations for the central line
of improvements.*® Still more decided opposition
came from those interested in the completion of a con-
tinuous waterway from the James to the Kanawha. As
the necessity for union between the east and the west
became more apparent, the scheme for a continuous
waterway to the Ohio had been revived, receiving the
support of Wise and others, who had formerly favored
a railroad to the Ohio.** The James River Canal was
denominated "a gaping wound in the heart of the
^The Assembly of 1857-58 appropriated $800,000 and that of
1859-60, $2,500,000. Almost one half-million of the appropriation
of 1859-60 was used to grade the roadbed on which the Chesapeake
and Ohio Railroad now nins from Charleston, West Virginia, to
Huntington.
*' January 19, 1858.
^Practically all the counties of both the northwest and the
southwest voted against the appropriations of 1857-58 and 1859-60
(Kanawha Valley Star, April 6, 1858; ibid,, April 16, x86o).
^Ibid., January 19, 1858; Wise, Wise, 221.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 317
•Commonwealth," and completion of the work was
urged on the ground that a continuous canal would
afford the only means whereby heavy freight, such as
lumber, building-stone, and coal could be transported
to the sea.*^^
As a result of this agitation the Assembly of 1859-
60 guaranteed the debt of the James River and Kana-
wha Canal Company and vested the entire control of
its management in the stockholders. It also authorized
the company to borrow $2,500,000 to be used in con-
tinuing the canal.*^
This action of the Assembly and the general revival
of interest in a continuous canal from the James to
the Ohio was in part the outcome of the movement for
a steamship line between Virginia and France and of
negotiations which Charles J. Faulkner, minister of
the United States to France, had been conducting with
certain French parties for the purchase by them of the
rights and privileges of the James River and Kanawha
Company. The Bellot family of Bordeaux and several
other parties associated with them had become inter-
ested in the "Swan Lands,"*^^ which the Assembly had
relieved from the penalty of forfeiture and vested in
John Peter Dumas to hold in trust for the heirs and
^Twenty-fourth Annual Report of the James River and Ka^
nawha Co., 449 ff. ; Kanawha Valley Star, January 19, 1859. In
1858 those interested in tl\,e construction of a continuous canal
published An Appeal in which its merits were fully set forth.
"^The Assembly had appropriated only $2,500,000 for the con-
struction of the Covington and Ohio Railroad.
"These lands included several thousand acres of the best coal
and timber lands in central West Virginia.
3l8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
creditors of Colonel Swan, an officer of the American
Revolutionary Army. In 1859 M. Bellot and the direct-
ors of the James River and Kanawha Canal Company
entered into an agreement providing for the sale of the
company's property to certain French parties and for
the creation of a new company to be called "The Vir-
ginia Canal Company," to have a capital stock of not
less than twenty millions. The new company was to
have a charter similar to that of the James River and
Kanawha Company and was to complete a continuous
waterway from the Kanawha to the Ohio within a
specified time. A ship line was also to be established
between Virginia and France.*^®
These negotiations pended during the year i860
and were encouraged by those striving for a tmited
Virginia friendly to the South. After the election of
Lincoln and the renewal of the secession movement
many Virginians, especially those residing in the west,
opposed carrying the southern programme for seces-
sion and the formation of a confederacy into practice,
but Governor Wise made the French negotiations a
prominent reason for calling into extra session the As-
sembly, which took the initial step to secession on the
part of Virginia. The public press and politicians in
possession of party secrets held out flattering promises
to the west, provided she should remain loyal to the
programme for a united South, and, when the leaders
were hesitating between secession and loyalty to the
■ Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the James River and Kana-
wha Co., 760 ff. : Forty-Arst Report of the Board of Public Works,
41 ff. ; House Documents, No. 17, Assembly of 1859-60.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 319
Union, the Assembly passed an act incorporating "The
Virginia Canal Company" whereby the task of con-
necting the James and the Kanawha by a continuous
canal was intrusted largely to the French persons in-
terested.*^*
Thus the Civil War found the question of internal
improvements a paramount one in the Kanawha Val-
ley. Inaccessibility to markets, the fruitless results
from public expenditures, the log-rolling of sectional
political interests, and a lack of sympathy with features
of the southern programme produced dissatisfaction
with the east and eastern leaders. Had the James and
Kanawha been connected commercially, the dismem-
berment of Virginia by a line passing along the top of
the AUeghanies would have been rendered difficult if
not impossible.
During the last years of Wise's administration the
political differences between the east and the west
were more pronounced than the social, industrial, and
commercial differences. The gap between the radical
and conservative Democrats, confined as these factions
were chiefly to the east and the west respectively, be-
came daily wider and the opposition of the anti-
administration parties, also sectional, became more
bitter.
In the gubernatorial contest of 1859 each wing of
the Democratic party had its candidate. 'Wise and
the radicals favored the nomination of John W. Brock-
enbrough, an eastern man of strong pro-southern
^Twenty-sixth AnniMl Report of the James River and Kana-
wha Co,; Acts of Assembly of 1861.
320 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
sympathy but well and favorably known in the west,
where he had presided for years as judge of the west-
em district of Virginia. The Enquirer, now edited
by Wise's favorite son, O. Jennings, and the younger
politicians and editors were loud in their praise of
Judge Brockenbrough. On the other hand, the con-
servatives, led by Hunter, favored the nomination of
"honest John" Letcher, the political idol of the Tenth
Legion, the Democratic stronghold of the Valley.
The Letcher boom was launched in Washington
at a meeting of the Democratic congressmen from
Virginia*^* and was meant to be a direct attack upon
the radical policy of Wise and his followers. For this
reason and because of the general belief that its out-
come would determine whether or not Wise or Hunter
should receive the vote of Virginia for the presidential
nomination of i860, it attracted much interest both
locally and nationally.**
The contest between Brockenbrough and Letcher
for the gubernatorial nomination marked a decided
departure from the previous political contests in the
state and was characterized by incidents of much sub-
sequent political importance. Despite the fact that
Virginians of all sections had persistently and con-
sistently condemned northern politicians for bringing
the question of negro slavery into politics, it now be-
came the leading political issue within their own state.
The eastern prints, especially the Richmond Enquirer,
'^Kanawha Valley Star, October 12, 1858.
"ATew York Tribune, June 16, 1859; Richmond Whig, March
3, 1859.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 321
denounced Letcher as an abolitionist and a f reesoiler.*^^
"It was in the darkest hour," said the Enquirer, "when
the Wilmot proviso, the abolition of slavery in the
District of Columbia, and the abolition of the slave
trade between the states were paramount, that John
Letcher was found encouraging the abolition senti-
ments of the Ruffner Pamphlet."*^® In fact, the Ruff-
ner Pamphlet of 1847 ^^^ John Letcher's connection
with it became the main issues in the canvass. The
nature of the opposition to Letcher arrayed the western
newspapers in his defense*^® and called forth long
editorial articles and enthusiastic resolutions to defend
his course in favor of the abolition of negro slavery in
western Virginia.®^
Of the many incidents of political consequence
connected with the Brockenbrough-Letcher contest
the Wise-Clemens duel was possibly the most im-
portant. When the Virginia congressmen had agreed
upon Letcher, one of their niunber, for the guber-
natorial nomination, Sherrard Clemens, who rep-
resented the northwestern district, resolved to side-
track Brockenbrough. Accordingly he waited upon
him and succeeded in getting from him a statement to
"Richmond Whig, January 7, 1858; ibid., March 15, 1859;
Richmond Enquirer, November 2, 1858; Kanawha Valley Star, July
6, 1858; ibid., October 19, 26, 1858; ibid., November 9, 16, 1858.
'^ Richmond Enquirer, November 2, 1858,
"The Republican as well as many of the Whig papers were
favorable to his candidacy.
*^ Richmond Enquirer, November 26, 1858; Kanawha Valley
Star, November 16, 1858.
322 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
the effect that he was not a candidate for the office of
governor. Immediately Clemens wrote letters to the
Richmond Enquirer and other papers saying that
Brockenbrough had authorized him to withdraw his
name from the contest. This called forth a letter from
Judge Brockenbrough denying that he had authorized
Clemens to speak for him and again asserting that he
was not a candidate for the office of governor, but that
he would accept the honor, should it be offered him.
A caustic correspondence between Clemens and O.
Jennings Wise, of the Enquirer, the leader of the
Brockenbrough supporters, ensued ; the lie was passed ;
and a duel, in which Clemens received a wound almost
fatal, followed.®^
So intense was feeling in the northwest against the
Wise programme and eastern radicalism that Clemens'
constituents, with whom he was very popular, took up
the fight for him. The ardent pro-southerners made a
fruitless effort to prevent his renomination for election
to Congress, but they were unable to carry a single
county against him. Travelers who passed through
the northwest at this time believed that the feeling
against the Wises was so intense and the "gun-powder
popularity" of Clemens so great that he could have
been re-elected on an independent ticket.^^
In the light of subsequent history the Wise-Clem-
ens duel became doubly significant. It was Clemens,
*^ Richmond Enquirer, September 14, and following dates;
Kanawha Valley Star, September 21 and 30, 1858.
^Wheeling Intelligencer, February 18 and 19, 1859; ibid,, Janu-
ary 17, 1859.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 323
yet upon crutches, who, upon the adoption of the
ordinance of secession by Virginia, led the western
delegates to his rooms in the Ford Hotel, where the
first steps leading to the formation of West Virginia
were taken.
Letcher received the Democratic nomination for
governor, and William L. Goggin that of the opposi-
tion party. But the question of negro slavery con-
tinued to be the main issue in the contest between them.
The fact that Goggin was an eastern man and closely
identified with the slave-holding interests caused the
voters of that section to rally about him, whereas the
voters of the west rallied about Letcher for directly
opposite reasons. Following the cue of the Richmond
Whig the eastern prints repeated the charges of free-
soilism made against Letcher, quoting copiously from
the RuflFner Pamphlet; while Governor Wise and the
Richmond Enquirer gave him only a half-hearted sup-
port, both being at times accused of favoring Goggin.®*
On the other hand, the western prints, irrespective of
party affiliations in many cases, continued to defend
Letcher's position on the abolition question.
The following statement from the Richmond Whig
and the answer thereto are typical of the editorial
contests which took place between the eastern and
western writers at this time :
' We impeach him [Letcher] of seeking to divide this glorious
old Commonwealth into two distinct and hostile parties, and
we impeach him of trying to abolitionize the western half I We
^Kanawha Valley Star, May 24, 1859; Richmond Whig, March
24, April 22, May 25, 1859.
324 SECTIONAUSM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
impeach him of waning upon the foundoHon interests of the
state — upon the institution of slavery itself and of endeavoring
to exterminate it root and branch;
and the reply :
It is more particularly that part of the sentence which
speaks of slavery as ''the foundation interest of the state" that
we have singled out and it is to it in particular that we call
the attention of the white working men of western Virginia.
We ask them if they are disposed to enter into an opposition
contest upon this issue with John Letcher. Do they for this
reason also impeach John Letcher?**
Notwithstanding the effort of many party leaders
to fight the contest on national issues, both Letcher and
Goggin vied with each other in demonstrating to the
east their allegiance to negro slavery and the South
and in making the slavery question the paramount
issue of the campaign.®* But the record of each con-
demned him. By many Goggin was looked upon as
the protege of John Minor Botts of Richmond; his
vote against the admission of Texas stood against him ;
and his devotion to the Compromise of 1850 had
ceased to be a political virtue. But Letcher had only
recently repudiated his abolitionist record, and his
affiliation with the conservatives was regarded with
suspicion.**
Notwithstanding the fact that each candidate stood
upon a pro-slavery platform, there can be no doubt
that Letcher owed his election to his former utterances
*^ Wheeling Intelligencer, January 15, 1859.
^Richmond Whig, June 10, 1859; Wheeling Intelligencer, May
9, 1859; Parkersburg News, April 28, 1859.
^Kanawha Valley Star, May 24, 1859.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 325
in favor of abolition and to the anti-slavery sentiment
of the west. East of the Blue Ridge he carried only
two congressional districts, each of which was located
in a comparatively non-slaveholding portion of the
Piedmont. On the other hand, he lost only one con-
gressional district west of the Blue Ridge, that in the
southwest, which had long been largely slave holding.
The two congressional districts in the northwest, which
bordered on Ohio and Pennsylvania, gave him almost
4,500 majority in a total majority of 5,569.*''
The contest between Letcher and Goggin attracted
attention throughout the entire Union.*® Many north-
ern writers erroneously spoke of the result as a true
test of the relative anti- and pro-slavery strength of
Virginia and looked upon it as a probable indication
of what might be expected, should the ardent southern
sympathizers insist upon forming a southern confed-
eracy. But the zealous young Democratic editors, who
spoke for the southern programme in western Virginia,
refused to concede that negro slavery had been an
issue in the campaign and insisted that only southern
rights and political theories in general had been in-
volved.*® The eastern Democrats of the Wise type
would have been delighted with the defeat of Letcher,
while the Richmond Whig insisted that, inasmuch as
Buchanan had carried the state by almost 26,000, the
^Tribune Almanac (i860), 51; Richmond Enquirer, May 27,
1859.
^Richmond Whig, April 26, 1858; ibid., August 5, 1859, quot-
ing the National Era; Wheeling Intelligencer, March 24, 1859,
quoting the Ohio State Journal,
^Kanawha Valley Star, June 21, 1859.
326 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
1
result of this election was equivalent to a defeat for
the Democrats.''®
That both the cause and the significance of Letch-
er's election were understood in the east is shown from
the following editorial statements from the Richmond
Whig:
We repeat that Letcher owes his election to the tremendous
majority he received in the Northwest Free Soil counties, and
he owes his tremendous majorities in these counties to his anti-
slavery record By the vote of Virginia and Virginians
William L. Goggin is today the Governor elect of the state by
thousands. But the Yankeeism and Black Republicanism of
the Pan Handle and other portions of the Northwest have
carried John Letcher into the Gubernatorial chair, and we con-
gratulate the eastern Democracy upon their abolition allies and
the shameful triumph they have achieved."
In the following manner the Whig recommended
Letcher to the consideration of the Republican state
convention to be held in Wheeling in i860 for indorse-
ment as a suitable candidate for the presidential nom-
ination : "His majority comes from that neighborhood,
and his RuflFner antecedents entitle him to the consid-
eration of a convention proposed to be held where his
best friends reside/''^^
The gubernatorial election found the contest be-
tween Wise and Hunter for the support of Virginia
for the presidential nomination of the Democratic
party well under way. Letcher's victory was generally
regarded as a victory for Hunter also, but Wise's
'•June 3, 1859.
"^^ Richmond Whig, June 7, 1859.
" Wheeling Intelligencer^ June 10, 1859, quoting the Whig,
POLITICAL PARTIES, i8si-€i 327
devotion to the pro-southern programme and his radi-
calism had not yet sufficiently alienated his western
admirers to make smooth sailing for his opponent.
When the state convention met in i860, neither candi-
date was able to control it, so evenly were their forces
divided. Consequently no effort was made to instruct
for either Hunter or Wise, and the several congres-
sional districts were requested to choose between them
in their selection of delegates to the Charleston Con-
vention.''^
In the hotly contested canvass which followed
Hunter stood for Buchanan's administration, the ad-
mission of Kansas tmder the Lecompton constitution,
and the theory of state rights as expounded in 1798.
Although in favor of non-intervention on the part of
Congress to prevent slave property from being carried
into the territories, he thought this question should be
kept in the background as no issues were likely to arise
which would involve it. On the other hand, Wise had
repudiated both the Buchanan administration and the
admission of Kansas under the Lecompton constitu-
tion'^^ and insisted on the doctrine of southern rights
as opposed to state rights. He believed that the
Democratic platform should assert the constitutional
right of any owner to take his property, of whatever
description, into any and all territory. He had already
proposed to the Democratic governors of the southern
^Richmond Enquirer, February 28, i860; Tyler, Letters and
Times of the Tylers, II, 557.
^^Wise was not opposed ta.the non-mterventioii doctrine, but
he insisted that the Lecompton constitution did not represent the
wishes of the voters of Kansas.
328 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
states a conference to take measures to protect "the
honor and interest of the shareholding states."^*^ To
the surprise of many, Hunter received practically all
the delegates from west of the Blue Ridge together
with several of those from the east, who, under the
unit rule, cast the vote of Virginia for him to the last
in the Charleston Convention^*
Aside from his position on national questions there
were local issues which contributed to Wise's loss of
popularity in the west and to Hunter's success there.
The inhabitants of that section had gradually ceased
to look upon Wise as the patron of internal improve-
ments and common free schools and had come to see in
him what he boastfully considered himself, "A bold
man in place, having their confidence,"^^ and thus able
to effect a union of the southern people. The western
prints now frequently spoke of him as "bold without
discretion and generous without judgment."^® The
west hated Wise's mouthpiece, his son O. Jennings,
whose record as a duelist shocked even those who did
not hesitate to decide their differences on the "field of
honor." Besides, Wise's copious political letters, each
overflowing with vaunting ambition, were as con-
*• Tyler, Letters and Times of the Tylers, II, S3o-6o; Wise,
Wise, 236; Wise, Seven Decades, 246; Richmond Whig, July 9
and Sept. 30, 1859; Kanawha Valley Star, October 12, 19, 1858;
ibid,, July 12, 1859; House Doc, No. i, 1857-58.
"The Tenth Legion elected two delegates friendly to Douglas
(Richmond Enquirer, August 11, 13, i860).
"Tyler, Letters and Times of the Tylers, II, 521.
^Kanawha Valley Star, August 16, 1859.
^ POLITICAL PARTIES, i85i-€i 329
temptuously received by the westerners as by others/**
But strange as it may seem, the west repudiated Wise's
course in connection with the John Brown affair. Not-
withstanding the fact that many mass-meetings held
there indorsed his action in giving prompt relief to
Harper's Ferry and in taking precautions to prevent
similar attacks, a second thought convinced the in-
habitants that they had little to fear from "clandestine
raids," that Brown was a misguided fanatic, and that
Wise was seeking to make political capital out of the
whole affair and to complete the programme for a
united South.®^ Accordingly they opposed the reso-
lution to call a conference of the southern states®* and
the bill to establish a state armory and the bill to pro-
vide for the better organization of the state militia.®^
They also looked upon the proposed plan of boycotting
the North as suicidal, some counties passing resolu-
tions to condemn it, as well as the measures taken to
arm the state.®* That a lack of sympathy with this
"Tyler, Letters and Times of the Tylers, II, 551; New York
Herald, July 13, 1859; Richmond Enquirer, November 26, 1858;
Richmond Whig, August 16, 1859.
^Kanawha Valley Star, December 26 y 1859; ibid,, April 2,
i860; Richmond Enquirer, January 6, i860.
"The vote was: noes 90, ayes 42 {House Journal [1859-60],
413).
"For the purpose of defense the state was divided into five
military districts, but the two composed of the trans-AUeghany
and Valley counties, although more exposed and containing more
free white men, had very much smaller companies than those east
of the Blue Ridge {Richmond Enquirer, May 25, i860).
^Kanawha Valley Star, December 29, 1859; ihid,, April
16, i860; Wheeling Intelligencer, January 21, 23, i860.
330 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
programme marked the decline of Wise's influence and
popularity in the west the western prints furnish
abundant evidence.
In the presidential election of i860 Virginia had
four electoral tickets in the field, viz., two Democratic
tickets pledged to Breckenridge and Douglas respec-
tively, the Republican ticket, and the Constitutional
Union ticket. Her electoral vote went to the Consti-
tutional Union candidates, Bell receiving, however,
only about four hundred more popular votes than
Breckenridge.®* The accompanying map shows the
sectional character of the vote given each candidate.
The Douglas vote came chiefly from three sections,
namely, two counties of the Valley within the bounds
of the Tenth Legion, and the old Democratic counties,
Monongalia and Cabell, the one located in the north-
west, the other in the extreme southwest, but each
bordering upon free territory. The votes given Lin-
coln came almost wholly from the cotmties of the
northwest, the Pan Handle alone giving him almost
twelve hundred in a total vote of 1,929. A large part
of the other votes given him came from the Northern
Neck, from Loudoun, Alexandria, Fairfax, and Prince
William counties, and were given by New England
abolitionists who had recently settled there and were
making an effort to reclaim Virginia's worn-out lands
as well as to make them free territory. Breckenridge
received his chief support from the southwest, the
northwest, and a belt of cotmties extending through
•*Th€ popular vote was: Bell, 74,68 1 ; Breckenridge, 74,3^3;
Douglas, 16,290; and Lincoln, 1,929 (Tribune Almanac, 1861, 50).
o
00
o
C!
o
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u
jV
u
no
(/I
u
*^
C3
O
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o
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POLITICAL PARTIES, i85i-€i 331
the northeastern portion of the state, the old Demo-
cratic strongholds, which had been able to combine and
control Virginia politics ever since 1850. It is sig-
nificant that the Bell vote came chiefly from the belt
of former Whig counties extending from the Atlantic
Coast to the Ohio River by way of the James and the
Kanawha. A comparison of this map with that of the
Whig and Democratic counties in the Assembly of
1834-35 shows that a large number of the counties
which voted for Bell, in i860, were Whig at an earlier
date.
The Douglas Democrats stood for the doctrine of
popular sovereignty as advocated by their leader and
for the principles of 1798. They were devoted to the
Union and were, almost without exception, opposed to
the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton consti-
tution. They were unable to increase their ranks,
largely because of the fact that they represented no
sectional interest, because their leader was looked upon
as responsible for the renewal of the sectional struggle
between the North and the South, which was menacing
the Union, and because of the custom then so prevalent
in Virginia of adhering to party organization. It is
significant that the votes given Douglas came largely
from those counties where the local press broke the
chain of political custom by supporting him. In each
of the four counties carried by him, the local news-
papers favored his election, and the Richmond South,
which had formerly favored his nomination, but had
ceased to be published, was largely instrumental in
securing the very large vote given him in Richmond
332 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
City and Chesterfield County.®*^ Had the Democratic
press, which, as has been shown, was largely in the
hands of pro-southern editors, given Douglas better
support, thus removing the stigma of a breach of party
faith and bringing his candidacy to the attention of the
rural and non-slaveholding communities, there can be
little doubt that he would have received a larger vote
in the state. But, as it was, the Breckenridge Demo-
crats had both the press and the political organization,
which, at this time, were all-powerful in the state.
The Breckenridge Democrats professed to stand
unitedly upon the doctrines of 1798. That the con-
servative, or western, and the radical, or eastern, wings
of their party differed, however, in thqir respective
interpretations of those doctrines there can be no doubt.
They were yet divided by the same differences as had
existed in the party, when Letcher and Brockenbrough,
Himter and Wise had contended for its leadership.
Possible explanations of why the western wing did
not desert Breckenridge and support Douglas have
been attempted. In addition it should be said that, as
the representative of Henry Clay's old district in
Congress and as the reputed heir to much of the Great
Pacificator's conservatism, Breckenridge had long en-
joyed great popularity in western Virginia.®^
The supporters of Bell acted largely in the capacity
of an opposition party, and their total vote, when com-
* Richmond Cky gave Douglas 753 votes, Chesterfield County
588. Roger A. Prior, who had edited the Richmond South, had
now become joint editor of the Washington States and Union,
'^Kanawha Valley Star, July 2, 1856.
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 * 333
pared with that given Douglas and Breckenridge, was
no greater than their usual minority poll. So bitter
was their feeling against the Democrats, of whatever
type, that the Richmond Whig, their mouthpiece,
pledged the Whigs to "support Seward a thousand
times sooner than any Democrat, Northern or South-
ern, in the land."®^ Like the Breckenridge Democrats,
the opposition party was divided into an eastern and
western faction, both of which were, however, more
conservative than the eastern wing of the Brecken-
ridge party. The name applied to this new party,
"Constitutional Union," together with the fact that
it was the heir to the Whig traditions, is almost con-
clusive evidence that those who supported its candi-
dates were, regardless of location, sincere in their
devotion to the Union. But that the eastern and the
western wings of this party differed in their respective
interpretations of the term "constitutional union"
almost as widely as did those of the Breckenridge
Democrats in their interpretations of the doctrines
of 1798 is certain.
As is frequently the case in political contests, so in
this one: the party casting the smallest number of
votes was an important one. In less than one year
after this election took place more than one-half of the
voters in what is now West Virginia had become
Republicans. Consequently some space will be given
to a consideration of what the Republican party in
Virginia stood for in i860. The Republican platform,
adopted by a state convention which met at Wheeling,
" September 30, 1859.
334 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
May 2, i860, repudiated both the old parties. It
claimed that opposition was no longer necessary or
advisable and that the Democratic party, under the
leadership of Toombs, Yancey, and Davis, had ceased
to be the party of "Old Hickory" and had become a
"Southem-British-Antitariff-Disunion party." It al-
leged that the cotton-planters had made war upon the
manufacturing interests and that they were seeking to
drive manufacturers into the production of agricul-
tural products that slave capital might be maintained
more cheaply. It also alleged that slave capital had
encroached upon the personal rights of the free white
men of the west, the farmers and artisans there being
weighed down with capitation, income, license, and
various other forms of taxes to be used for the con-
struction of works of internal improvement in the
east in order that the products of slave labor might
find an easy market, while slave property was prac-
tically privileged, paying only $300,000 taxes annually
when it should pay $3,000,000; that the products of
slave labor, tobacco, com, wheat, and oats were ex-
empt from taxation, whereas the products of white
labor, cattle, hogs, sheep, and horses were taxed; that
whereas a negro slave under the age of twelve was
regarded as privileged property, and as such exempt
from taxation, colts, calves, lambs, and pigs were
listed; and that whereas the slave-owner paid only
$1.20 taxes annually on a slave valued at $1,200 or
more, the small merchant with a capital of $600 was
made to pay $60. This platform, as well as the vari-
ous resolutions adopted by the local conventions of
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 335
the Republicans, acknowledged the right of the slave-
owner, under the laws of Virginia, to the peaceful
possession of his property and pledged the Republicans
to respect that right.®® But when Francis H. Pierpoint
and other Republican leaders stumped ^he counties of
the northwest in behalf of their ticket, they carried
with them tax receipts which they offered as evidence
of the economic evils of negro slavery to western
Virginia.®® A casual study of the history of the
formation of the Republican party in western Virginia
will be sufficient to convince one that its origin was
due more largely to a conflict of economic interests
between the east and the west than to the existence in
the latter section of theories regarding the equality of
men or of feelings of love or even pity for the negro.
Neither the explanation of Mr. Rhodes, to the
effect that the election of Lincoln was a triumph of the
"noblest conservatism"®® nor the other explanation
more often given, and doubtless truer of the results
in the coimtry at large, that the election of i860 re-
suited in a triumph for the radicals of both sections,
those of the North being led by Lincoln and those of
the South by Breckenridge, explains the result of the
election of i860 in Virginia. This is true, notwith-
standing the fact that Virginia was in many respects
a microcosm of the nation at that time. When con-
sidered from any standpoint, the election in Virginia
•• Wheeling Intelligencer, May 3, i86o,
■• Ibid., April 7, 10, i860 ; ibid.. May 22, 24, 29, i860 ; ibid,,
September 6, i860.
*^ Rhodes, History of the United States, II, 502.
336 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
was a decided victory for conservatism. True, the
active germs of radicalism of much the same varieties
as had contested in the nation at large were present
in the handful of Republicans at the northwest and in
the pro-southern wing of the Breckenridge party, con-
fined for the most part to the east. But the Republican
party was small and the pro-southern wing of the
Democratic party was not a much greater factor than
it had been in the political contests immediately pre-
ceding the election of i860. That the western wing
of the Breckenridge party acted conservatively and out
of devotion to the Union there can be no doubt, be-
cause those counties of the northwest which gave
Breckenridge almost their entire vote had within less
than two years almost as many soldiers in the Union
army as they had polled votes in i860. That the vot-
ers in the other leading parties were actuated by a
devotion to the UnicMi and by conservatism will hardly
be questioned.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Union was a
subject of important consideration and the verdict of
each of the political parties was in favor of its preser-
vation, a close study of the election of i860 in Virginia
reveals another fact, namely, that state rights was a
subject of almost equal importance. 'The Constitu-
tional Union party defended the Union of the fathers,
the Breckenridge party the doctrines of 1798, and each
of the other parties insisted that the states had powers
which the federal government could not exercise.
That the east and the west differed in their respective
theories as to where the ultimate sovereignty resides
POLITICAL PARTIES, 1851-61 337
has been repeatedly shown in this study. Doubtless
the east believed the states sovereign and "in duty
boimd" to protect their rights and defend 'their terri-
tory. But the diversity of opinion as to the nature
of the federal government was so great even there and
the devotion to the Union so strong that the inhab-
itants of this section had never been able to agree upon
a means for protecting their rights. Some refused to
recognize that rights had been infringed in a given
case, others insisted on fighting in the Union, others
on the right of a state to nullify federal laws, and
still others on the constitutional right of peaceful seces-
sion. But, when it came to the question of defending
the state's territory, these differences of opinion im-
mediately crystallized and the east presented a united
front to defend the sovereignty of the state. On the
other hand, the inhabitants of the west had never
doubted the ultimate sovereignty of the federal Union.
Thus when it came to a choice of allying themselves
with the Union or the state in a contest to determine
the ultimate sovereign, they too did not hesitate as to
their course.
After Lincoln's election, the consequent secession
of the southern states, and the threatened resort to
force on the part of both the Union and the seceding
states the east and the west, each standing for their
respective theories regarding the nature of the federal
Union, struggled for control of the state with im-
exampled vigor. The west fought foB delay, opposing
the proposed extra session of the Assembly and a
constitutional convention, but the east held out and
338 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 177^1861
secured both. While these bodies deliberated, the
germ of radicalism in the handful of Republicans at
the northwest fed upon the discontent occasioned by
the conflicts between the churches, the inadequate
facilities for internal communication and education,
and the burden of unjust taxation and, throughout the
district already prepared by the Letcher-Goggin cam-
paign of 1859, grew into a formidable party organiza-
tion resolved to stand by the Union. On the other
hand, that germ of radicalism in the eastern wing of
the Breckenridge party, which had maintained a pre-
carious existence upon the movement for a united
South and the inspiration of Wise, Ruffin, and others,
was now resuscitated and developed into a well-organ-
ized party of much greater vitality than its eastern
prototypes of 1798, 1832, and 1850. Under the influ-
ence of later events it was impossible to prevent a clash
between these two parties ; but it is not the purpose of
this study to enter into a discussion of the conse-
quences, to show how the advocates of state sov-
ereignty carried Virginia out of the Union, and the
radicals of the northwest in turn dismembered the
"Mother of Commonwealths."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
There are no general or local histories of much
value for the study of that part of Virginia's history
treated in this monograph. It is necessary to rely
almost wholly upon state and federal public documents
and the newspapers. The principal sources used in
this study may be divided as follows :
I. GENERAL AND LOCAL HISTORIES OF VIRGINIA
1. Brown, Alexander. The Genesis of the United States, a
vols. Boston, 1890.
2. . The First Republic in America. Boston, 1898.
3. Bruce, PmLiP Alexander. Economic History of Virginia
in the Seventeenth Century. 2 vols. New York, 1896.
4^ , Social Life in Virginia in the Seventeenth Century.
Richmond, 1907.
5. Campbell, Charles. Introduction to the History of the
Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia. Richmond, 1847.
6. Doddridge, Rev. Joseph. Notes on the Settlement and
Indian Wars of the Western Part of Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Wellsburg, Va., 1824.
7. FooTE, William Henry. Sketches of Virginia, Historical
and Biographical. 2 vols. Philadelphia, 1850.
8. HowisoN, Robert Reid. A History of Virginia from Its Dis-
covery and Settlement by Europeans to the Present Time.
2 vols. Philadelphia, 1848.
9. Howe, Henry. Historical Collections of Virginia. Charles-
ton, S. C, 1852.
10. Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. Phila-
delphia (ed. 1801.)
II. Johnson, David E. A History of the Middle New River
Settlements and Contiguous Territory. Huntington, W. Va.,
1906.
339
340 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
12. Kercheval, Samttel. a Histoiy of the Valley of Viiginia.
Winchester, Va., 1833.
n. SPECIAL MONOGRAPHS, ARTICLES, AND WORKS
I. Adams, Hesbert Baxter. Thomas Jefferson and the Uni-
versity of Virginia, with Sketches of Other Colleges in Viiginia.
Washington, 1888.
3. Anderson, Frank Maloy. Virginia and Kentucky Resolu-
tions. Printed in the American Historical Review, Vol. V.
3. Chandler, J. A. C. Histoiy of Representation in A^rginia.
Printed in the Johns Hopkins University Studies, Vol. XIV.
4. . Histoiy of Suffrage in Virginia. Printed in the
Johns Hopkins University Studies, Vol. XIX.
5. Collins, Wingfield Hazlttt. Domestic Slave Trade in the
United States. New Yoik, 1904.
6. DoDD, William £. Chief Justice Maishall and Viiginia.
Printed in the American Historical Review, Vol. XU.
7. GoocH, — . — . Prize Essay on Agriculture. Printed in the
Lynchbuig Viiginian, July 4, 1833.
8. Grigsby, Hugh Blair. Viiginia Convention of 1829-30.
Richmond, 1854.
9. . The Vir^ia Convention of 1776. Richmond, 1855.
10. . Histoiy of the Federal Convention of 1788. Printed
in the Virginia Historical Collection (New Series), Vols. IX
and X.
11. Haseins, Charles H. The Yazoo Land Company, 1891.
Printed in the American Historical Association Papers, Vol.
IV, No. 4.
12. HxTLBERT, Archer Butler. The Old National Road. Co-
lumbus, Ohio, 190 1.
13. . Washington and the West New Yoik, 1905.
14. Hunt, Gaillard. James Madison and Religious Liberty.
Printed in the American Historical Association Report, 1901,
Vol. L
15. KuHN, Oscar. German and Swiss Settiements of Colonial
Pennsylvania. New York, 1901.
16. Parton, James. Thomas Jefferson a Reformer of Old Vir-
ginia. Printed in Atlantic Monthly, July, 1872.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 341
17. Philups, Ulrich B. Origin and Growth of Southern
Black Belts. 1906. Printed in American Historical Review,
Vol. XI.
18. Ruffner; W. H. The Public School System. Printed in
the Richmond Enquirer, May 12, 1876.
19. ScHUSiCHT, Hermann. History of the German Element in
Virginia. Baltimore, 1898-1900. Printed in the Annual
Report of the Society for the History of the Germans in Mary-
land.
20. Slaughter, Philip. The Virginia History of African Coloni-
zation. Richmond, 1855.
21. Stanwood, Edward. A History of the Presidency. Boston,
1906.
22. . American Tariff Controversies in the Nineteenth
Century. Boston and New York, 1903.
23. Tremain, Mary. Slavery in the District of Columbia. New
York, 1892.
24. WmsoR, Justin. The Westward Movement. Boston, 1897.
III. PAMPHLETS AND SPEECHES
It is impossible in every case to determine the date and place of
publication of pamphlets.
1. Brodnax, William H. Speech Delivered in the Slavery
Debate of 1831-32.
2. Dew, W. R. Review of the Debates on the Abolition of Slavery,
in the Legislature of Virginia, in the Winter of 1831 and 1832.
Richmond, 1832.
3. GooDE, William O. Speech in the Virginia Legislature of
1831-32. Richmond, 1832.
4. Harrison, Jesse Burton. Review of the Speech of Thomas
Marshall, in the House of Delegates of Virginia, on the Aboli-
tion of Slavery. 1832. Printed in the American Quarterly
Review (December, 1832), and in the African Repository
(March, 1833).
5. Johnson, Chapman. Oration on the Late Treaty with France.
Staunton, Va., 1804.
6. McDowell, James. Speech in the Legislature of 1831-32.
Richmond, 1832.
342 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
7. MoBSis, R. G. Speech on Jntemal Improvement Deliveied
at White Sulphur Springs, 1854.
8. RuTFNER, Henky. An Address to the People of Viiginia by a
Slaveholder of West lliginia. Reprinted, 1863, at Wheeling,
W.Va.
9. Segar, Joseph. Speech Delivered at White Sulphur Springs,
1854.
10. SiOTH, Wesley. Defense of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
To be found in the office of the Pittsbuig Christian Advocate,
Pittsburg, Pa.
11. WiLLEY, Waitman T. Speech Delivered in the Constitutional
Convention of 1850-51. Richmond, 185 1. In the Library
of the West Virginia University, Moigantown, W. Va.
IV, BIOGRAPHIES, MEMOIRS, AND LETTERS OF
CONTEMPORARIES
I. Adams, Chasles Francis. Memoirs of John Quincy Adams.
12 vols. Philadelphia, 1874-77.
3. Adams, Henry. Life of Albert Gallatin. Philadelphia,
1879.
3. . Writings of Albert Gallatin. 3 vols. Philadelphia,
1879.
4. . John Randolph. American Statesmen Series. Bos-
ton, 1883.
5. Calhoun, John Caldwell. Correspondence of John C.
Calhoun, edited by J. F. Jameson. Printed in the Report of
the American Historical Assodadon for 1899. 2 vols. Wash-
ington, 1901.
6. Cutler, Julia P. Life and Times of Ephraim Cuder. Cin-
cinnati, 1890.
7. Curtis, William E. The True Thomas Jefferson. Phila-
delphia, 1901.
8. Fo&D, Paxtl Leicester. The Writings of Thomas Jefferson.
10 vols. New York, 1892-99.
9. Ford, WoRTHiNGTON C. The Writings of George Washington.
14 vols.
10. Garland, Hugh A. Life of John Randolph of Roanoke.
2 vols. New York, 185 1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 343
11. Hambleton, James P. A Biographical Sketch of Henry A,
Wise with a History of the Political Campaign of 1855. Rich-
mond, 1856.
12. Hamilton, Stanislaus Murray. Writings of James Monroe.
7 vols. New York, 1898-1903.
13. Henry, William Wirt. Patrick Henry, Life, Correspondence,
and Speeches. 3 vols. New York, 1891.
14. Hunt, Gaillard. Life of James Madison. New York, 1902.
15. . Writings of James Madison. 7 vols. New York,
1900-1908.
16. Marshall, Thomas F. Speeches and Writings of T. F.
Marshall, edited by W. L. Barre. Cincinnati, 1858.
17. Randall, Henry Stephens. Life of Thomas JeflFerson.
3 vols. New York, 1858.
18. Randolph, John. Letters to a Young Friend. Philadelphia,
1834.
19. Rives, Wiluam Cabell. History of the Life and Times
of James Madison. 3 vols. Boston, 1866.
20. . The Journal of Thomas Walker.
21. Rowland, Kate Mason. The Life of George Mason, Includ-
ing His Speeches, Public Papers, and Correspondence, with
an Introduction by General Fitzhugh Lee. 2 vols. New York,
1892.
22. Seward, Frederick W. William H. Seward, an Autobiog-
raphy. New York, 1891.
23. Smith, Margaret Vowell. Virginia, 1492-1892. A Brief
Review of the Discovery of the Continent of North America
with a History of the Executives of the Colony and Common-
wealth of Virginia. Washington, 1893.
24. Sparks, Jared. The Writings of George Washington. 12
vols. Boston, 1855.
25. Spotswood, Alexander. Ofl&dal Letters. Edited by R. A.
Brock and Printed in the Virginia Historical Collections. New
Series, Vols. I and II. Richmond, 1882-85.
26. Tyler, Lyon G. Letters and Times of the Tylers. 3 vols.
Richmond and Williamsburg, 1884-96.
27. Tyler, Moses Coit. Patrick Henry. American Statesmen
Series. Boston, 1887.
344 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
38. WntT, William. Sketch of the Life and Character of Patrick
Heniy. Ninth edition. Philadelphia, 1838.
29. Wise, Barton Haxall. Life of Heniy A. Wiac of Viiginia.
New York, 1899.
30. Wise, Henry Alexander. Seven Decades of the Union.
Richmond, 1881.
V. PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
A. OF THE UNITED STATES
1. Annals of Congress, 1 789-1834. 43 vols. 1834-56.
2. Census Reports of the United States, 1800-1890.
3. Commissioner of Education. Biennial Reports, 1893-1901.
4. The Congressional Globe, containing the debates and proceed-
ings of Congress, 1834-73. 108 vols.
5. Elliot, Jonathan. Debates in the Several State Conventions
on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution. 4 vols. Washing-
ton, 1845.
6. Journals of Congress. Secret Journals of the Continental
Congress and Journals, 1 789-1860.
7. PooRE, Benjamin Perley. Federal and State Constitutions,
Colonial Charters and Other Original Laws. 2 vols. Wash-
ington, 1873.
8. Register of Debates of Congress, 1825-37. 39 vols.
9. State Papers of the Federal Congress, 1 789-1860.
10. Wheaton, Reports of Decisions in the Supreme Court of the
United States, 1817-28. 12 vols. Notes by R. B. Curtis.
5th ed. Boston, 1870.
B. OF VIRGINIA
1. Board of Public Works. Annual and Biennial Reports.
1816-60.
2. Case Briefe in Church Law Suits. SUes v. Flecker and Flecker
V. Harrison, Pamphlets in the Department of Archives and
History, Charieston, W. Va.
3. Calendar of Viiginia State Papers, 1781- 1869. 11 vols. Rich-
mond, 1875.
4. Debates and Proceedings on the Resolutions of 1798. Rich-
mond, 1835.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 345
5. Grattan, Peachy R. Report of Cases Decided in the Supreme
Court of Appeals of Virginia, 1844-60. 15 vols. Richmond.
6. Documents of the House and Senate of the General Assembly
from 1 789-1860.
7. James River and Kanawha Company. Annual Reports,
1835-60.
8. Journals of the House of Delegates, 1 776-1861.
9. Journals of the House of Burgesses, 1761-76. Edited by
John Pendleton Kennedy. 4. vols. Richmond, 1905-7.
10. Journal of the Constitutional Convention of 1850-51.
11. Proceedings and Debates of the Virginia Constitutional Con-
vention of 1829-30. Richmond, 1830.
12. MuMFOSD, WnxiAM. Report of Cases Decided in the Supreme
Court of Appeals of Viiginia, 1810-21. 6 vols. New York
and Richmond.
C. OF WEST VIRGINIA
I. Hagan, J^hn Marshall. Report of Cases in the Supreme
Court of Appeals. 3 vols. Reprinted, Wheeling, 1899-1900.
VI. LAWS OF VIRGINIA
1. Acts of the General Assembly, 1776-1860.
2. Hening, William Waller. Statutes at Large, Being a Col-
lection of All the Laws of Virginia from the First Session of the
Legislature to 1792. 13 vols.
3. Revised Code of 1819. 2 vols.
4. Code of 1849. 2 vols. Richmond, 1849.
5. Shepherd, Samuel. The Statutes at Large of Virginia from
the October Session, 1792, to the December Session, 1806. 3
vols. Richmond, 1835.
VII. CHURCH HISTORIES, PAPERS, AND MONOGRAPHS
ON CHURCH HISTORY
1. Beale, G. W. Revised edition of Semple's Histoiy of the
Rise and Progress of the Baptists in Virginia. Richmond, 1894.
2. Debates in the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, 1844.
3. Journals of the General Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, 1832-60.
346 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
4. Matlack, Luaus C. The Anti-Slaveiy Strug^e and the
Triumph of the Methodist Episcopal Church. New York,
1881.
5. Meade, William. Old Churches, Ministers, and Families
of Virginia, a vols. Philadelphia, 1891.
6. Sehple, Robert B. History of the Rise and Progre^ of the
Baptists in Viiginia, Richmond, 1810.
Vni. MANUSCRIPTS
1. Biggs Papers, in the Draper Manuscripts. Historical Library,
Madison, Wis.
2. Land Books of Kanawha Coimty. In the office of the County
Clerk of Kanawha County, Charieston, W. Va.
3. File of papers in the Parkersburg Church case, T. A, Cook v.
L. P. Ned, In the office of the Circuit Clerk of Wood
County, Parkersburg, W. Va.
4. Pay-RoUs of the Members of the General Assembly of Virginia
before 1828. In the State Library at Richmond.
IX. MISCELLANEOUS
1. Bancroft, George. History of the United States. 10 vols.
Boston, 1857-74.
2. Elliott, W. M., and W. A. R. Nye. Virginia Directory and
Business Register for 1852. Richmond, 1852.
3. Hudson, Fkederick. History of Journalism in the United
States, 1690-1871. New York, 1873.
4. Maclay, William. Journal of William Maclay, United
States Senator from Pennsylvania. Edited by E. S. Maclay.
New York, 1890.
5. Martin, Joseph. A New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of
Virginia and the District of Columbia. Charlottesville, Va.,
1835.
6. Marietta College Catalogues, 1831-60.
7. Report of the Committee on Roads and Internal Improvements
Made to the General Assembly of 1831-32.
8. Tribune Almanac and Political Register, 1856-61. New
York. Published annually.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 347
9. Whig Almanacs and the United States Register, 1843-55. New
York. Published annually.
X. NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, AND PERIODICALS
A. FILES m THE STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY AT RICHMOND, VA.
1. Branch Papers. Vols. I and III. Publication of Randolph-
Macon College.
2. Richmond Compiler, 1832-34.
3. Richmond Enquirer, 1804-60.
The file in the Virginia library is not complete, but it may be made
practically complete when supplemented by the files in the Historical
Library at Madison, Wis., and those in the Department of Archives and
History, Charleston, W. Va.
4. Richmond Examiner, 1858-59.
5. Richmond South, a few numbers for 1858.
6. Richmond Times, 1850-60.
7. Richmond Whig, practically complete files 1830-60.
8. Viiginia Historical Magazine, Vols. I-Xllt.
9. The Virginia Magazine of History and Bibliography. Vols.
I-XIV.
10. William and Mary College Quarterly, Vols. I-XVII.
B. FILES IN THE OFFICE OF THE "RICHMOND CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE"
I. The Richmond Christian Advocate, 1850-60.
C. FILES IN THE STATE HISTORICAL LIBRARY, MADISON, WIS.
1. Alexandria Daily Gazette, July to December, 18 10.
2. Alexandria Herald, June, 181 1, to June, 1812; June, 1815, to
May, 1819; June, 182 1, to May, 1824; June, 1825, to May, 1826.
3. American Quarterly Review, for 183 1 and 1832.
4. Baltimore American and Conunercial Advertiser, January to
June, 1806; June to December, 1810; January to February,
1811; January to June, 18 14.
5. Hunt, Freeman. The Merchant's Magazine, 1839-60. 42
vols. Published at New York.
6. DeBow, J. P. B. Review and Industrial Resources, Statistics,
etc., 1846-61. 31 vols. Published at New Orleans.
348 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
7. Federal Intelligencer and Baltimore Daily Gazette, November
to December, 1794; July to December, 1795.
8 Federal Gazette and Baltimore Daily Advertiser, 1796; Janu-
aiy to June, 1797; August to December, 1799; 1801; Januaiy
to June, 1803; January to June, 1804; November to December,
1808.
9. Loudoun's Regbter, 1793; January to June, October to Decem-
ber, 1794.
xo. National Intelligencer. Practically complete files, including
daily, tri-weekly, and weekly, i8o2-<5i.
11. National Republican and Ohio Political Register, 1823 and
1824; 1835-30. Published at CindnnatL
12. Niles Weekly Register, September, 18x1, to June, 1849. 75
vols. Published at Baltimore.
13. The Palladium. August, 1798, to June, 1801. Frankfort, Ky.
14. The Southern Literary Messenger, 1834-60. 50 vols.
15. The Viiginia NorJiwestem Gazette, April, 1818, to October,
1820. Published at Wheeling, W. Va.
16. Viiginia Gazette, 1775; January to September, 1775. Pub-
lished at Williamsbuig, Va.
17. Viiginia Aigus, November, 1804, to December, 1807; Janu-
uary, 1808, to October, 181 1.
18. Washington and Lee Historical Papers, Nos. I-V inclusive.
19. Western Spy, July, 1814, to December, 1822. Published at
Cincinnati, Ohio.
D. FILES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY,
CHARLESTON, W. VA.
1. Kanawha Banner, 1830-33. Published at Chaileston, W. Va.
2. Kanawha Valley Star, 1855-61. Published at Charleston,
W.Va.
3. Kanawha Republican, 1841-44. Published at Chaileston,
W.Va.
This was possibly the best newspaper published in trans-AUeghany
Virginia prior to the Civil War. It continued to be published until
the Civil War.
4. Star of the Kanawha Valley, 1850-55. Published at Buffalo,
Va.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 349
5. Wheeling Intelligencer, 1851-61.
After 1856 this was a Republican newspaper.
E. FILES IN THE OFFICE OF THE "PASKESSBURG GAZETTE,"
FARKERSBURG, W. VA.
1. Parkersburg News, 1850-54.
2. Parkersbuig Gazette, 1856-61.
F. FILES IN THE OFFICE OF THE "PITTSBURG CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE"
I. The Pittsburg Christian Advocate, 1852-61.
G. FILES IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
1. Guyandotte Chronicle, 1856. Published at Guyandotte, W. Va.
2. Harrisonbuig Republican.
3. Wellsburg Herald, 1858-61.
This was a Republican newspaper published at Wellsburg, W. Va.
4. Wheeling Gazette, 1822 and 1823.
INDEX
INDEX
Abolitionists: unpopularity of,
225; danger to the Union, 226;
threatened by eastern prints,
310.
Adams, John, breach with Hamil-
ton, 75.
Adams, J. Q.: and Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal, 126; in
campaign of 1824, 127; interest
in Virginia politics, 132-33.
Agriculture: societies formed, 1 14;
opposed abolition, 225.
"Agricola," essays of, 211.
American system: opposed in
eastern Virginia, 1 15-16; atti-
tude of the west toward, 118;
opposition of east increases,
119-20; arguments against
tariff of 1824, 120; denounced
by the General Assembly, 121;
interest of western salt-makers
in, 121-22; tariff of 1828, 122;
influence of Virginia statesmen,
150; effect on internal improve-
ments, 1829-33, 175; devotion
of west to, 202; surrender by
Clay, 219.
Andrew, Bishop James O., a
slave-owner, 286.
Anti-Federalists: arguments of,
56-57; control Assembly of
1789-90, 59; loss of political
control, 60.
Archer, W. S.: arguments on
internal improvements, 176; or-
thodox Whig, 230.
Assumption of state debts, opposed
by Virginia, 62.
Augusta County, petition on aboli-
tion, 189.
Baltimore: market of the Valley,
16; commercial rival of Rich-
mond, 175.
Baltimore and Ohio R.R. Co.
See Railroads.
Banks: U.S. Bank favored in
eastern Virginia, 220; subject
of sectional strife, 237-40; in-
dependent banks incorporated,
300.
Bank of United States, desired by
Federalists, 91.
Barbour, James, U.S. senator and
friend of Adams, 127.
Barbour, J. S., position on Nulli-
fication, 210.
Barbour, P. P.: member of Con-
gress, loi; member of conven-
tion of 1829-30, 145; on repre-
sentation in convention, 160;
speech on internal improve-
ments, 176; candidate for vice-
presidency, 206; Democratic
leader, 222.
Battelle, Rev. Gordon, position of,
on negro slavery, 294.
Bell, John, candidate for presi-
dency, 330.
BiU of Rights: work of Mason, 28;
opposed by conservatives, 29;
attempt to amend, 148; text of
reformers, 149; little considered
in 1850, 268; popvdar in western
Virginia, 255.
Blackstone: effect of, upon young
men, 20; on rights of aliens, 71.
Board of Public Works: incorpo-
rated, 105; members made elect-
ive by popular vote, 266.
Bonus bill, favored by Federalists,
98-99.
353
354 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Border states: church contzo-
vcrsies in, 383; attitude toward
negro slavery, 385.
Botts, John Minor, member of
convention of 1850-51, 363.
Braxton, Carter, opposed to Bill
of Rights, 39.
Breckenridge, John C: candidate
for presidency, 330; position of
party in Virginia, 333.
Brockenbrough, John W., candi-
date for governor in 1859, 319.
Brodnax, W. H., on evil effects of
slavery, 194.
Brooks, Elisha, salt manufacturer,
84.
Brown, John, effect of Raid on
Virginui politics, 339.
Buffalo and New Orleans Turn-
pike: arguments pro and con,
175-77; bill for, defeated, 177.
Calhoun, J. C: author of Bonus
bill, 98; unpopular in Virginia in
1824,138; influence on Virginia
loulers, 1 50-5 1 ; letter on forma-
tion of Whiff party, 331; influ-
ence on Vii^nians, 325-39;
favored for presidency in 1844,
333; reconciled to Ritchie, 335;
opposition to war with Mexico,
336; triumph in Virginia poli-
tics, 336; displaced Jefferson
in east, 370.
Campbell, Alexander: speech on
Bill of Rights, 148-49; on
theories of government, 154-55;
efforts in behalf of free schoob,
373-
Cass, Lewis, popular in western
Virginia, 337.
Caucus, congressional, nominated
Crawford m 1834, 131.
Charles City County, abolition
petition, 190.
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Co.
See internal improvements.
Christian Advocate and Journal of
Baltimore, indicted, 389.
Churches, and negro slavery,
383-86.
Clarksburg: reform convention
of 1843, 354-55; educational
convention of 1841, 376.
Clay, Henry: remarks on aboli-
tion of entail, ^y, presidential
candidate in 1834, 138; candi-
date for presidency, 1833, 305;
popularity in west, 319; visits
m western Virginia, 330; letter
on formation of Whig party,
331; choice of west for presi-
dent, 337.
Clemens, Sherrard: in duel with O.
Jennings Wise, 321; popularity
in western Virginia, 333.
Collins, Rev. J. A.: opposition to
negro slavery, 284-85; changed
attitude toward slavery, 394.
Commerce, British restrictions of,
48-49; interest of the Tidewater
in, 48-49; activity in, 83.
Commercial conventions: interest
in education, 379; forerunners
of Confederacy, 36B; unpopular
in western Virginia, 309.
"Committee of Revbion of 1776,"
personnel and work of, 34.
Compromise of 1850: reception
in Virginia, 300; repudiated,
303.
Constitution of 1776, provbbns of,
39-30.
Constitution of 1830: provisions
of, 168; ratification of, 171-73;
opposition to, in trans-Alle-
ghany, 173-74; provisions for
Tuture representation, 353.
Constitution of 1851: provisions
of, 364-68; opposed by east,
370; church property, 293.
Constitutional convention (Vir-
ginia), 1776: personnel^ 35;
work of, 36-37.
INDEX
355
Convention, constitutional, 1829-
30: movement leading to, 137-
43; popular vote on, 144; diffi-
culty over basis of representa-
tion in, 144-45; personnel of,
145; national importance of,
146; met in Richmond, 147;
classification of delegates, 149-
5 1 ; compromise plans proposed,
163-66; sine die adjournment
proposed, 164.
Convention, constitutional, 1850-
51: bill passed, 260; first meet-
ing, 261; debates of, 268-70;
education discussed, 278.
Convention, federal, of 1787:
originated in Virginia, 45-51;
delegates to, 52; the "Virginia
Plan," 52.
Convention of 1788: personnel,
53; sectional interests repre-
sented, 53; debates, 54-57; dele-
gates from trans- Alleghany, 57-
58.
Constitution, federal: interest of
commerce in, 48-52; based on
the "Virginia Plan," 52; in-
terests and sections for and
against, 53; ratification of, 58.
Cotton, attempts to grow, in
Virginia, 114-15-
Cotton gin, effects of invention of,
no.
Coimty courts, members of, ap-
pointed, 139.
Courts: conflict between state and
federal, 103; Supreme Court of
Virginia, decision in church
cases, 290.
Crall^: editor of Petersburg Jeffer-
sonian, a Nullification paper,
210; visits of, to western Vir-
ginia in 1850, 249.
Crawford, W. H., candidate for
presidency, 127.
Cumberland Road: bill to estab-
lish, opposed in Virginia, 85;
thoroughfare for immigrants.
1 1 7-18; vote on bill of 1822,
122.
Davies Samuel, pioneer teacher,
16.
Dawson, John: Republican leader
in the trans- Alleghany, 71;
vote on Cumberland Road bill,
8s-
Declaration of Independence: in-
terior for, 26-27; conservatives
oppose, 27.
Democratic party: in 1834, 219;
control of Assembly of 1835 by,
223; candidates in election of
1836, 228; breach following
election of 1836, 228; in control
of Assembly in 1841, 232; bank
l^islation, 238; internal im-
provement legislation, 240;
strongholds, 257; convention of
1852, 302; successes of, in 1852,
303; conservatives and radicals,
306; successes in 1857, 308;
campaigns of 1859-60, 319 ff.
iDemocratic Republican party:
founded, 63; in campaign of
1798-99, 77; in control of
Virginia Assembly, 80.
Dew, Thomas R., essay on negro
slavery, 201.
Disestablishment. See Religious
liberty.
Dbmemberment of Union: de-
nounced in western Virginia,
309; regarded as inevitable, 315.
Dismemberment of Virginia: pro-
posed in 1796 and 1816, 94;
talked of in convention of 1829-
30^ 166; movement for, in western
Virginia, 167; talk of, in
1829-33, 177; slavery a cause
of, 198; discussed by John
l^ler, 205; threatened in 1842,
255; and Methodist Episcopal
church, 298-99; cause of, 338.
Dissenters: protests against cor-
ruption in church by, 17; per-
3S6 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA. 1776-1861
secuted, 31; for religious liberty,
3a; Hanover Presbytery, 32;
opposed to the general assess-
ment bill, 40.
Doddridge, Philip: member of
convention of 1829-30, 145;
for white basis, 147; contem-
plated leaving convention of
1829-30, 164.
Domestic slave trade: effects of,
in 1830, 187; extent of, 194.
Douglas, Stephen A.: candidate
for presidency, 330; position of
party in Virginia, 331.
Duncan, Judge E. S., remarks
upon university, 276.
Eaton, Major, president of Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal Co., 184.
Education: influence of Princeton
and Yale on, 16; founding of
Washington and Lee and Hamp-
den-Sidney, 16; "Aldermanic
Sjrstem," 273; free common
schoob, 274; conventions, 276;
legislation of 1846, 278.
Elections, congressional: of 181 7,
loi; of 1829 and 1831, 204; of
1833, 218.
Elections, presidential: of 1800-
1801, 78-80; of 1808, 88-90; of
1824-28, 127-36; map showing
vote of 1824 in, 132; vote in elec-
tion of 1828, 135; election of
1832, 205; of 1836, 227; of
1840, 231; of 1844, 234; oi
1848, 237; of i860, 330.
Embargo, opposed by "Quids"
and Federalists, 87-^88.
Enquirer, Richmond: favored
Crawford's candidacy in 1824,
129; opposed Calhoun, 233; on
preservation of the Unbn, 246,
249; on development of trans-
Alleghany, 252.
Entail and primogeniture, abol-
ished, 33.
Episcopal church: influence of.
in the Tidewater, 9; decline of,
1 7; opposed disestablishment, 32.
Era of good feeling, effect on
Virginia, 100.
Faulkner, C. J.: distrusted in
eastern \^rginia, 198; opposed
abolition, 226; minister to
France, 317.
Fauquier, Governor, influence of,
17.
Federalists: on the ratification of
the federal Constitution, 54-57;
Hamiltonian Federalists, 63;
strength in the northwest of,
64; losses of, in the trans-
Alleghany, 65; in 1798-99, 75-
76; successes by, in elections of
1799, 77; opposed Jefferson, 80;
opposed Louisiana Purchase,
81; opposition of, to commer-
cial restrictions, 86-88, con-
gressional election of 1809, 90;
congressional election of 1811,
91-92; opposed to second war
with Great Britain, 92; a strong
party in 1813, 93; death of the
party, 96-97.
Floumoy, Thos. S., Whig candi-
date for governor, 305.
Floyd, John: member of Con-
gress, 1 01; an expansionist,
116; governor of Virginia and
remarks on Turner insurrec-
tion, 188; message to Assembly
regarding Nullification, 215.
Force bill, effect of, on eastern
Virginia, 214-15.
France: war with, 65-68; peace
with, 75; W. B. Preston agent
to, 316; Franco- Virginia steam-
ship line, 317.
Free negroes, attempt to remove
from the state, 200.
French Revolution, influence of,
upon Virginia, 153-54-
Fugitive slaves, feeling in Western
Virginia on escape of, 109.
INDEX
357
Gallatin, Albert: influence of,
in the trans- Alleghany, 65; Re-
port of 1807, 85.
General assessment bill: proposed,
39; theme of general discussion,
40-41; opposed by Madison, 40.
General survey bill of 1824,
opposed by east, 124.
Genet, attack by, upon Washing-
ton, 64.
Germans: settlement of, in the
Valley, 13; in the trans-
Alleghany, 252; adhere to Demo-
cratic party, 293, 304.
Giles, W. B.: opposed the war
with France, 65-66; member
of convention of 1829-30, 145;
on theories of government, 152;
basis of representation, 153;
remarks of, on dismember-
ment, 166.
Gilmer, T. W.: strict construc-
tionist, 206; orthodox Whig,
230.
Goggin, Wm. L., candidate for
governor, 323-24.
Goode, W. O.: opposed to aboli-
tion, 190; speech of, against
abolition, 194; member of con-
ventbn of 1850-51, 267.
Gordon, Wm. F.: on guarantee
for protection of slave property,
159; plan of compromise in
convention of 1829-30, 163; on
Nullification, 210; a Demo-
crat, 229.
Governor's Council, unsatisfac-
tory, 139.
Graham, Archibald, letter of, on
Nullification, '214.
Grayson, William, an anti-Federal-
ist, 56, 57.
Grigsby, H. B.: on constitutional
convention of 1776, 25; person-
nel of convention of 1788, 57;
member of convention of 1829-
30» 1^5-
Hamilton, Alexander: secretary
of Treasury, 61 ; plans opposed
by Jefferson and Madison, 62-
63; war with France, 66.
Harrisburg Convention, of 1827,
Virginians in, 121.
Harding, Rev. John A., suspended
by Baltimore Conference, 284.
Harrison, Jesse Burton, essay of,
on negro slavery, 201.
Harrison, W. H., choice of west
for presidency, 227.
Harrisonburg Repiiblican, on se-
cession, 247.
Henry, Patrick: leader of the west,
17; member of House of Bur-
gesses, 18-19; for independence,
26; in the convention of 1776,
27; Bill of Rights, 28; alienate^
from Jefferson, 34; member of
Anglican church, 39; again
leader of the west, 50, 54; an
anti-Federalist, 56; a Federalist,
75-
Hunter, R. M. T.: influenced by
Calhoun, 151, 225; became
member of Democratic party,
229; favored Calhoun for presi-
dency, 233; elected to U.S.
Senate, 235-36; internal im-
provement policy, 243; re-
elected to U.S. Senate, 300; as
a conservative, 306; favored
Letcher for governor, 320; can-
didate for presidency, 326.
Impending Crisis (Helper's), popu-
lar in western Virginia, 186.
Internal improvements: interest of
the interior in, 22; means of
connecting east and west, 46-48;
Potomac and James River Canal
companies incorporated, 48; in-
terest following second war with
Great Britain, 93-94; national-
istic tendencies of the west, 97;
Virginia Asesmbly on, 98; by
federal government, 105; rights
3S8 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
of J'ames River Company pur-
ebred by state, 106; surveys on
upper Potomac, 107; interest in,
along tbe Potomac, 122; incor-
poration of Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal ComfMtny, 123;
sectional jealousies, 123-24; in-
terest in railroad building, 124-
25; opposition in the east to
Baltimore and Ohio Raihoad and
to Chesapeake and Ohio Canal,
125-26; surveys in the west,
126-27; influence on election of
1828, 132; activity in western
Virginia, 175 ff.; railroad vs.
canal, 179; James River and
Kanawha Company incorpo-
rated, 182; Jackson and Chesa-
peake and Ohio Canal, 184;
internal improvement l^;islation,
1833-50, 240-43; legislation
following 1850, 300; legislation
in Wise's administration, 311;
sectional jealousies, 313; Kana-
wha Board incorporated, 315;
appropriations in 1857-58, 315;
appropriations in 1859-60, 317;
Virginia Canal Company incor-
porated, 318; condition in west-
em Viiginia in i860, 319. See
also Raibroads.
Irish: settlement of, in Valley, 13;
adhere to Democratic party,
293» 304-
Jackson, Andrew: presidential
candidate, 128-30; internal im-
provement policy, 1829-33, 175J
veto of Maysville Turnpike bill,
177; popularity of, in western
Virginia, 178; hostility of, to
C. F. Mercer, 184; re-elected
president, 205; proclamation of,
209.
Jackson, George: a Federalist in
1788, 58; elected to Congress,
65.
Jackson, J. G.: Republican leader
in the trans- Alleghany, 71; vote
of, on Cumberland Road bill, 85.
James River Company. See In-
ternal improvements.
James River and Kanawha Com-
pany. See Internal improve-
ments.
Jay treaty, opposition to, 63.
JeflFerson, Thomas: in 1765, 20;
leader of reform movement, 30-
33; governor of Virginia, 35;
author of Notes on Virginia^ 36;
influenced land legislation, 43;
opposition of, to Hamilton, 62;
Virginia and Kentucky Reso-
lutions, 67; remarks of, on elec-
tion of 1799, 77-78; elected
president, 79; breach with
Randolph, 86; letter of, to
Samuel Kercheval, 95; on Mis-
souri Compromise, 108; mort-
gaged Monticello, 112; on tariff
of 1824, 120; favored constitu-
tional convention, 142; aboli-
tion doctrines of, 185; post nati
plan to abolish slavery, 191;
displaced by Calhoun, 270;
repudiated by east, 309.
Johnson, Chapman: oration of, on
purchase of Louisiana, 81;
member of convention of 1829-
30» 145-
Johnson, Joseph: favored Survey
Act, 134; governor of Virginia,
262; commuted sentence of
Jordon Hatcher, 271; re-elected
governor, 300; message of, in
i855» 301-
Johnson, R. M.: unpopular in
Virginia, 228; opposed for vice-
president in 1840, 231.
Kanawha Banner: on internal
improvements, 181; salt in-
dustry, 204.
Kanawha Republican: opposed
secession, 247; favored dismem-
berment, 255.
Kanawha Valley (Great): interest
of, in internal improvements
INDEX
359
178; dissatisfaction in, 302;
interest of, in river navigation,
314.
Know-Nothings: attacked Metho-
dists, 293; factor in politics, 303.
Land companies and grants: In-
diana and Vandalia companies,
43; Virginia's liberality to, 44;
retarded development of west, 45 ;
opposed to federal Constitution,
56; opposed Marshall's deci-
sions, 103.
Land Office, established in 1779,
44.
Leake, Shelton F., candidate for
governor, 306.
Lee, Richard Henry, friend to
Anglican church, 39.
Leesburg Washingtonian, on seces-
sion, 247.
Leigh, Benjamin Watkins: re-
marks of, on taxation, 141;
member of convention of 1829-
30, 145; for mixed basis, 147;
political theories, 151-52; con-
demned federal system of taxa-
tion, 155; compared general
suffrage with plagues, 162; sub-
mitted compromise in conven-
tion of 1829-30, 163; remarks
of, on dismemberment of Vir-
ginia, 166; elected to United
States Senate, 221; re-elected,
222; resigned, 224; orthodox
Whig, 230.
Letcher, John: indorsed Ruflfner
pamphlet, 244; candidate for
governor, 320; elected, 323.
Lewis, Joseph, Federalist member
of Congress, 80.
Lewisburg: convention of 1844,
241; convention of 1842, 256.
Lincoln, Abraham, candidate for
presidency, 330.
Literary Fund, use of income, 273;
appropriation to free schools,
274.
Loudoun County, and abolition,
189.
Loria, opinion of, on slavery, 186.
Louisiana, purchase of, 81 ; effect
on Virginia politics, 81-82.
Loyalists, location and members,
25-
Lynchburg Virginian: on seces-
sion, 211; opposed Calhoun,
226; remarks on Compromise
of 1850, 302.
Madison, James: leader of reforms,
38; and commerce, 49-50; a
Federalist, 58; opposition of, to
Hamilton, 62; Virginia and
Kentucky Resolutions, 67; Re-
port of 1799, 72, 78; hated by
Randolph, 86; elected president,
89 ; financial embarrassments of,
112; president of agricultural
society, 114; on the effect of
immigrations, 116; on tariff of
1824, 121; on negro slavery,
142; member of convention of
1829-30, 145; on white and
mixed basis, 147; conservative
attitud? of, in convention of
1829-^0, 165; abolition doc-
trines of, 185; reply of, to Dew,
202.
Madisonian: newspaper founded,
229; organ of third party, 231.
Marion County, Boothsville Reso-
lutions, 296.
Marshall, John: opposed dis-
establishment, 39; for ratifica-
tion of federal Constitution, 55;
leader of Federalist party, 75;
commissioner to view western
rivers, 98; member of conven-
tion of 1829-30, 145; sub-
mitted compromise in conven-
tion of 1829-30, 163; conserva-
tive attitude of, in convention of
1829-30, 165.
Marshall, Thomas: on industrial
decline of the east, 11 1; on
36o SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
negro slavery, 193, 196; resolu-
tion of, on Nullification, 216.
MarHn y. Hunter ^ Lessee, case of,
in state and f^eral Supreme
courts, 102-3.
Maryland: interest of, in com-
merce, 50; delegates of, in the
Annapolis Convention, 51.
Mason, Armbtead T.: defeated
for election to Congress, loi;
duel of, with J. M. McCarthy,
lOI.
Mason County, denounced seces-
sion, 248.
Mason, George: interested in
western lands, 21; leader in
convention of 1776, 27; author
of Bill of Rights, 28; retired to
private life, 30; opposed import
duties, 42; an anti-Federalist,
Mason, J. M.: elected to U.S.
Senate, 236; re-elected, 300.
Mason, John Y., influenced by
Calhoun, 151, 225.
Mavsville, Turnpike bill for, con-
sidered, defeated, 177.
McCuUough V. Maryland^ decision
in, unpopular, 104.
McGuffie, George, on Nullifica-
tion, 210.
McDowell, James: on slavery,
debate of 1831-32, 186; private
property in unborn slaves, 195;
speech of, on abolitbn, 197;
activity of, in election of 1832,
207; member of Union party,
209; remarks of, on re-election
of Leigh to United States Senate,
223; opposed to abolition, 226;
suggested as governor of western
Virginia, 255-56; governor of
Vh-ginia, 257.
Mercer, C. F.: for internal im-
provements by federal govern-
ment, 100; on industrial decline
of the east, iii; speech of, on
behalf of Survey Act, 133;
member of convention of 1829-
30, 145; friend of internal im-
provements, 177; defeated for
presidency of the Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal Co., 184; polit-
ical tour of western Virginia,
220.
Methodist Episcopal church: dis-
sentions of, over slavery, 282-86;
action of general conference of,
on negro slavery, 284; fight
of, for property and mem-
bra in Border, 287-89; law-
suits of, 289-90; western Vir-
ginia, annual conference or-
ganized, 290; abolitbnist agita-
tion, 293; periodicals of, favor
abolitionists, 294-95; negro
slavery and Discipline, 297.
Methodist Episcopal Church,
South: organization of, 286;
fight of, for property and mem-
bers in Border, 287-^; western
Virginia annual conference or-
ganized, 291; denounces aboli-
tionists, 295-97.
Mississippi River: free navigation
of, 49; report of Jay-Gardoqui
negotiations, 51.
Missouri Compromise, popular in
Virginia, 107-8.
Monroe, James: and commerce,
49; governor of Virginia, 80;
minister to England, 86; candi-
date for presidency in 1808, 89;
financial embarrassments of,
112; veto of, of internal im-
provement bill of 1822, 122;
Views on the Subject of Internal
Improvements,'* 124; on n^gro
slavery, 141; member of con-
vention of 1829-30, 145.
Moore, Samuel McDowell: speech
of, on abolition, 197; on Nulli-
fication, 213; indorsed Ruffner
pamphlet, 244.
Morgan, General Daniel, letter
of, to General Benjamin Biggs,
73.
INDEX
361
Nashville Convention: del^ates
sent to it, 245; opposition to,
249.
National Republicans, in congres-
sional elections of 1829 and 1831,
204.
Negro slavery: caused nrowth of
plantations, 7; in the Piedmont,
8; failure in the Valley, 14-15;
Methodists and Quakers op-
posed to, 41; introduced into
trans-Alleghany, 45-46; atti-
tude of west toward, in 1820,
108-9; retarded reforms, 140-
41; in western Virginia, 156; a
sectional issue, 185; increased
interest of east in, 187; abolition
movement of 1831, 189; moral
issues in debate of 1831-32, 196;
sectional feeling displayed in
debates of 1831-32, 198; in
District of Columbia, 224; a
sectional issue, 244-50; factor
in politics, 323.
New Englanders, for free schools,
274.
Newton, E. W.: editor of Kana-
wha Republican, 282; friend of
common free schools, 282.
Newton, Thomas, for tariff of
1820, 119.
New York, commercial rival of
Richmond, 175, 312.
Nicholas, George, favored religious
liberty, 39.
Niles, Hezekiah: remarks of, on
convention of 1829-30, 146; on
internal improvements, 181; the
American Sjrstem, 202.
Norfolk: a commercial center, 181;
control of local elections, 258;
rival commercial center, 312.
Norfolk Herald, remarks of, on
internal improvements, 243.
Northern Neck: location of, 11;
inhabitants of, 12; conservatism
of, 12-13; ^^^ the federal Con-
stitution, 55; fears of secession
of, from Virginia, 56; opposed
Marshairs decisions, 103.
Noies on Virginia, written by Jef-
ferson, 36.
Nullification: and bills for internal
improvements, 177; effects of
ordinance on, 209; position of
eastern Virginia toward, 209-10;
resolutions denouncing, 211-13;
letters regarding, 213-14; and
Resolutions of 1798, 216.
Page, John, defeated by Jefferson
for governorship, 35.
Parker, Judge R. E., elected to
United States Senate, 224.
Pennybacker, Isaac, elected to
United States Senate, 235, 257.
Philadelphia, commercial rival of
Richmond, 175, 312.
Piedmont: location and natural
features of, i; for revolt against
England, 24; opposed alien and
sedition laws, 67; wheat indus-
try of, 81-82; decline of popula-
tion in, 113; slaves and popula-
tion of, in 1828, 113; interest of,
in railroads, 181 ; opposition of,
to abolition, 189; vote of, on
abolition, 199; Nullification
sentiment of, 214.
Plantation: beginnings of, 6-7;
basis of society in east, 8; a self-
sufficing institution, 11; in the
Northern Neck, 12.
Pleasants, James: for local re-
forms, 142; member of State-
Rights party, 209.
Political parties, in colonial times,
22-23.
Polk, James K.: candidate for
vice-presidency in 1840, 231;
elected to presidency, 234.
Potomac Company. See Internal
improvements.
Powell, Leven, Federalist leader,
72.
362 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Preston, W. B.: on abolition of
slavery, 19 a; distrusted by
eastern Virginia, 198; amend-
ment of, for abolition defeated,
199; on formation of Whig
par^, 221; opposed abolition,
226; agent of Virginia in
France, 316.
Pryor, Roger A.: influenced by
Calhoun, 151; editor of Rich-
mond SofUky 33a.
"Quids": opposition party, 86;
personnel of, 87; congressional
election of 1809, 90; successes
of, in congressional election of
1811,91; defeat of the party, 93.
Railroads: Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company incorpo-
rated, 124; effect of, on internal
improvement policy, 175; en-
thusiasm for, in western Vir-
ginia, 179; taken up by east,
180; Staunton and Potomac
Railroad Company incorpo-
rated, 180; Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company's fight for
charter, 180; Lynchburg and
New River Railroad Co. incor-
porated, 181; Baltimore and
Ohb Raihoad Company's fight
for a new charter, 241-42;
Virginia and Tennessee Rail-
road, 243; influence of, on
southwest, 302; Covington and
Ohio Railroad, 311; route of
Covington and Ohio Railroad,
313-
Randolph, John: founder of
"Quid" party, 86; defeated for
re-election to Congress, 93; on
industrial decline of eastern
Virginia, 11 1; admirer of Ed-
mund Burke, 154; on Nullifi-
cation, 215.
Randolph, Thomas J., for aboli-
tion of slavery, 191.
Randolph, Thomas M., vote of, on
Cumberland Raibroad bill, 85.
Randolph, Peyton: conservative,
ao; friendly to federal Constitu-
tion, 55.
Reform movements: movement of
1765, 20-21; reforms of 1776,
30-34; reforms following peace
of 1783, 38-42; movement of
1816, 94; Jefferson and, 95;
folk>wing 1825, 138-43; op-
posed by the east, 143; following
1830, 252-60.
Religious liberty: Jefferson
b^ins movement, 31-33; Madi-
son's fight for, 39.
Representation: constitution of
1776, 30; increased, 33; for
election of senators, 1816, 96;
in 1828, 137; debate on proper
basis in convention of 1829-30,
149-62; provisions of constitu-
tion of 1830, 169; dissatisfac-
tion with, in west, 253-60; dis-
cussion of, in convention of 1850-
51, 261-65.
Republican party: in Virginia in
i860, 333; platform of, 334.
Resolutions of 1798: written by
Jefferson and Madison, 67; con-
tents of, 68; opposition to, in
Virginia, 68-70; vote on, 71.
Richmond: coal operators of, 86;
interest of, in internal improve-
ments, 104; commercial rivals
of, 175; for tariff of 1842, 232;
residents of, control county elec-
tions, 258; commercial conven-
tion of, 279; rival commercial
center, 312.
Richmond Enquirer: editorial on
negro slavery, 190; on secession,
211; desired a united Virginia,
311; opposition of, to Letcher,
321.
Richmond "Junto," unpopular in
west, 255.
Ritchie, Thomas: reform move-
ment of 1816, 96; opposed
Jackson in 1824, 130; for local
c
INDEX
363
reforms, 142; remarks of, on
convention of 1829-30, 146;
activity in election of 1832, 207;
member of Union party, 209;
influence of, in election of 1833,
218; Democratic leader, 222-23;
opposition of, to Calhoun, 233;
editor of the Vnion^ 235; rallies
the west, 256; friendly to re-
forms, 257; alarmed at free
school movement, 277.
Rives, W. C: opposed General
Survey Act, 133; activity of, in
election of 1832, 207; elected to
United States Senate, 209; mem-
ber of Union party, 209; mem-
ber of Democratic party, 219;
resigned place in United States
Senate, 221; Democratic leader,
222-23; re-elected to United
States Senate, 224; opposed
Van Buren's financial policy,
229; contest of, for re-election to
Senate, 230.
Roane, Judge Spencer, opposed
Marshall's decisions, 103.
Robinson, John: speaker of the
House of Burgesses, 1 7; scheme
for a public loan office, 1 7-18.
Royall, George, elected to House of
Representatives as member of
Union party, 218.
Ruffin, Edmund: began use of
marl, 114; pro-slavery tend-
encies, 187; pro-slavery leader,
308.
Ruffner, Dr. Henry: author of the
"RuflFner pamphlet," 244-^45;
interest of, in general education,
277.
Ruffner pamphlet: publication of,
by Franklin Society, 244; factor
in politics, 321.
Rumsey, James, inventor, 48.
Salt: beginning of manufacture of ,
in the trans- Alleghany, 83; duty
on, 203; difficulties in shipping,
314.
San Domingo, slave uprisings in,
64-71.
Scotch Irish, settlement of, in the
Valley, 13.
Secession: popular in eastern
Virginia in 1832, 209; feeling in
western Virginia, 210; attitude
of western Virginia in 1850, 247-
50-
Seddon, James A., influenced by
Calhoun, 151.
Sheffey, Daniel: Federalist leader,
88; for United States Bank, 91;
opposed to second war with
Great Britain, 92.
Slave trade: domestic, 112; oppo-
sition to, 310.
Smith, Dr. W. A., defended Rev.
Harding, 284.
Smith, Rev. Wesley, champion of
Union, 292.
South Carolina: course of, un-
popular in Virginia, 211-12;
acts of, praised, 215-16.
Squatter sovereignty, in western
Virginia, 43-
Stamp Act Resolutions, passed, 19.
Staunton Convention, of 181 6, 94-
95-
State rights: doctrine of, 68; issue
of, in election of i860, 2>2>^'
State-Rights party: formed, 209;
in control of eastern Virginia,
215-
Stevenson, Andrew: on Missouri
Compromise, 108; member of
Union party, 218; Democratic
leader, 222.
Stratton, John, member of Con-
gress, 80.
Suffrage: constitution of 1776 on,
29; voters in 1829, 137-38;
abuses in exercise of, 137; de-
bate in convention of 1829-30,
161-62; provisions of constitu-
tion of 1 85 1 concerning, 266.
364 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
Summers, Geo. W.: interest of,
in internal improvements, 180;
for abolition of slavery, 195;
distrusted by eastern Virginia,
198; opposed to abolition, 226;
member of convention of 1850-
51, 263; candidate for governor,
293-
Summers, Lewis, member of con-
vention of 1829-30, 145.
"Swan Lands," purchased by
French parties, 317.
Tariff: bill of 1820, 118; bill of
1824, 120; bill of 1828, 122;
effort to remove duty on salt in,
202; vote on bill of 1832, 204;
bill of 1842, 232.
Taxes, direct: and the federal
Constitution, 59; provisions of
constitution of 1851 on, 267.
Taylor, George Keith, opposed
resolutions of 1798, 68-69.
Taylor, John: talks dismember-
ment, 70; for Resolutions of
1798, 70; interest of, in agri-
culture, 114; friendly to J. Q.
Adams, 127.
Taylor, Robert B.: speech of, on
Bill of Rights, 148; forced to
resign from convention of 1829-
30» 165.
Tajrlor, William, letter of, on Nulli-
fication, 213.
Tazewell, L. W.: member of con-
vention of 1829-30, 145; as
governor opposed removal of
deposits, 221; a Democrat, 229.
"Tenth Legion": a factor in
Virginia politics, 224; in elec-
tion of 1836, 228; factor in
politics, 257.
Tidewater: extent of, i; indus-
trial, social, and political life of,
6; social distinction of, 8-9; in
the Revolution, 24; fear of slave
uprising in, 64; in presidential
election of 1808, 90; decline of,
111-12; opposition of, to aboli-
tion, 189; vote of, on abolition,
199; Nullification sentiment in,
214.
Tobacco: effect upon plantation
system, 7; migration of tobacco-
growers to lower South, 11-12;
effect of competition, of the
new West, 113.
Trans- AU^hany: location and
description of, 2-3; new lands
in, 21; development of, during
Revolutionary period, 42-43;
variety of elements in popula-
tion of, 45; no political and
economic unity in, 46; interest
of, in internal improvements,
47-48; opposed to Resolutions
of 1798, 72-74; industrial de-
velopment of, following 1795,
S3~^3i growth of population in,
84; lack of interest of, in
internal improvements, 85; in-
terest of, in federal improve-
ments, 105-6; negro slavery in,
108-9; industrial transforma-
tion of, 1 16-17; German and
New England settlements in,
117; center of discontent after
1830, 170-73; attitude of, on
internal improvements, 177;
vote of, on abolition of slavery,
199; internal development of,
after 1830, 251; church contro-
versies in, 288.
Tucker, Judge Beverly: speech
in Nashville Convention, 246;
Nashville speech criticized, 249.
Turner's, "Nat," Insurrection,
effect of, 188.
l^ler, John, Jr.: member of Con-
gress, loi; member of conven-
tion of 1829-30, 145; remark of,
on dismembo-ment of Virginia,
205; re-elected to United States
Senate, 217; resigned place in
United States Senate, 224; can-
didate for vice-presidency, 227;
nominated for vice-presidency.
INDEX
365
230; repudiated by Whigs, 231;
opposed to dismemberment, 255.
Union party: formed, 209; and
Nullification, 216; of South
Carolina, 219.
University of Virginia: movement
of, for a chair of agriculture,
225; interest of, in Literary
Fund, 274; unpopular in West-
ern Virginia, 275; opposition
to appropriation for, 278; in-
tellectual center of Soudi, 279;
enrolment of 1857 at, 282.
Upshur, Abel P. : member of con-
vention of 1829-30, 145; on
Bill of Rights, 151; on ^eories
of government, 152; on exten-
sion of slavery, 156; submitted
compromise in convention of
1829-30, 163.
Valley of Virginia: location and
subdivisions of, 1-2; settled by
Scotch-Irish and Germans, 13;
socially unlike the east, 14-15;
community settlements of, 14;
industrial life of, 14; theories of,
r^arding local government, 15;
material grievances of, in 1774,
21; for revolt from England, 24;
opposition of, to Resolutions of
1798, 72-74; wheat industry of,
81-82; in presidential election
of 1808, 90; interest of, in
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
125; negro slavery in, 156-57;
vote of, on abolition of slavery,
199.
Van Buren, Martin: candidate for
vice-presidency, 206; candidate
for presidency, 228; carried
Virginia in 1840, 231; candidacy
of, in 1844, 234.
Washington, George: interested in
western lands, 21; opposed dis-
establishment, 39; letter of, to
Arthur Lee regarding West, 47;
promoter of internal improve-
ments, 48; influence of, on con-
vention of 1788, 54; interested
in politics of 1798, 75.
Washington Glohe^ oppositbn of,
to Calhoim, 233.
Wheeling, western terminus of
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
241, 242.
Whig party: formed, 221; candi-
dates of, in election of 1836, 227;
breach following election of
1836, 228; successes of, in elec-
tions of 1838, 229; opposed
Tyler, 232; victory of, in 1844,
234; successes of, in 1847, 236;
Whigs and Calhoun, 237; bank-
ing legislation, 238; internal
improvement legislation, 240;
opposed to reform, 257; favored
an extension of suffrage, 259.
Whiskey Insurrection, political in-
fluence of, 64-65.
White, Hugh L., candidate for
presidency, 227.
Whigf Richmond: pleas of, for
union of Whigs, 223; denounced
secession in 1850, 249; opposi-
tion of, to Letcher, 323, 326;
Bell organ in i860, 333.
Willey, W. T., taxation of slave
jxroperty, 269.
Wilmot Proviso, opposition to, in
Virginia, 244.
Winchester Republican^ on rail-
roads, 179.
Wise, Henry A.: influenced by
Calhoun, 151, 225; internal im-
provement policy of, 243; mem-
ber of convention of 1850-51,
261; and the Methodists, 293;
candidate for governor, 305;
for united Virginia, 306-7; pop-
ularity in western Virginia, 307;
favored canal to the Ohio, 316;
interested in Franco-Virginian
steamship line, 318; candidate
for presidency, 326; unpopu-
366 SECTIONALISM IN VIRGINIA, 1776-1861
larity of, in western Virginia,
328.
Wise, O. Jennings, editor of Rich-
mond EnquireTf 330.
Woolens Bill, debate on, 122.
Wright, Benjamin, engineer, 182.
Wythe, George, proposed amend-
ment by, to federal Constitution,
59.
"Yankees": teachers, 279;
teachers opposed in eastern
Virginia, 281; influence of, in
western Virginia, 281.
Yoder, Jacob, commercial ven-
tures of, 47.
Zane, Ebenezar, settlement of, on
Wheeling island, 45; Federalist,
58.
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