The Mississippi Secession Convention

During the 1860 election, Abraham Lincoln has been elected for the presidency which has resulted in the secession of the state of Mississippi. There was some opposition to whether seceding was the right choice to make within the state of Mississippi because it would eventually result in a war. The state of Mississippi was unsure if they should wait on other Southern states to secede from the Union or start the movement themselves. With Mississippi being aware that they would not be able to stop Abraham Lincoln from hindering slavery resulted in the delegates pushing for immediate secession of the state of Mississippi. The delegates of the Mississippi Secession Convention were pro- secession because they felt strongly on their belief that they should protect the institution of slavery. The delegates of the Mississippi Secession Convention mostly consisted of wealthy men that held prestigious jobs. The delegates in the convention were wealthy because they were either big time farmers or they owned an abundance of slaves. The Mississippi Secession Convention was mainly held to pass the ordinance for secession and helping form a new government for the state of Mississippi. The convention consisted of two groups which were the secessionists and the anti- secessionists or the …show more content…
Smith states, “Few Mississippians were against the idea of secession; almost everyone believed it was the proper step for the state to take now that Lincoln had been elected. The only debate was whether Mississippi should secede by itself or wait for other Southern states” (Smith, pg. 18). The very few people that were opposed to secession were only opposed to it because they knew that they were rushing into a state of war. Also, with the knowledge of the people that opposed to secession knowing that it was going to happen they decided to attempt to slow down or delay the process rather than jump straight into