1. Thomas R.R. Cobb Delivered his speech in Milledgeville on November 12, 1860 and the night before in Athens. Thomas was a very well educated man and served as a longtime clerk on the Georgia Supreme Court. He wrote many books on Georgia Laws and Supreme Court Manuals. He also wrote a book called Law of Negro Slavery which highlighted his practice of restraint, control and puritanical Christianity views. Clearly he was a secessionist being a faithful Georgia man however his speech isn’t all fire and war. He promoted control rebellion with specific reasons as to why secession is a viable option. In his speech he focuses on the effort of the northern states and frequently condemns Personal Liberty Laws.
“The parties are all dead, let them be buried and with them let us bury all the political and personal animosities which they have engendered and as brothers, as friends, as Georgia’s sons, let us come and take council together, how we shall avenge her wrongs, promote her prosperity and preserve her honor.”
“The exclusion of half the states of the union has been decreed and we are called upon to record the fiat. Will you do it men of Georgia?”
2. Robert Toombs was a faithful Georgia man and an avid secessionist. His eloquence and passion allowed him to win over many antebellum Georgians with the speech he gave on November 13th, 1860 in Milledgeville. He served as a Georgia congress representative in 1846 the on the Senate in 1851; clearly a politically seasoned man. He starts his basic speech with a straight up call to action.
“We have not sought this conflict; we have sought too long avoid it; our forbearance has been construed into weakness, our magnanimity into fear until the vindication of our manhood, as well as the defense of our rights is required at our hands. The door of conciliation and compromise is finally closed by our adversaries and it remains only to us to meet the conflict with dignity and firmness of men worthy of freedom.”
The continues his speech with the unfair treatment of the south as if it were some African country being exploited by more industrialized countries and then left with nothing but barren land and derision. He talks about how the north is more favored than the south and says so in his next quote.
“Thus stands the account between the North and the South. Under its ordinary and most favorable action, bounties and protection to every interest and every pursuit in the North, to the extent of at least fifty millions per annum, besides the expenditure among them, thus making the treasury a perpetual fertilizing stream to them and their industry and a suction pump to drain away our substance and parch up our lands.”
3. Alexander Stephens was a Georgian representative in The United States House of Representatives before and after the civil war and served as the Vice President of the Confederate States of America during the war. He was very good friends with Robert Toombs and it threw him for quite a loop when Stephens gave a unionist speech. These first two quotes from his speech was one that really stood out to me being the he just stated what he thought so plainly and gives this situation a different feel. He is telling his fellow Georgians that nationalism is more important than having a southerner in office. He is playing the “you should know better” card and trying to make it seem like he is putting trust into these men.
“My countrymen, I tell you frankly, candidly, and earnestly, that I do not think that they ought. In my judgment, the election of no man, constitutionally chosen to that high office, is sufficient cause to justify any State to separate from the Union. It ought to stand by and aid still in maintaining the Constitution of the country.”
“I trust, my countrymen, you will be still and silent. I am addressing your good sense. I am giving you my views, in a calm and dispassionate manner, and if any of you differ with me, you can on some other occasion give your views, as I am doing now, and let reason and true patriotism decided between us. In my judgment, I say, under such circumstances, there would be no possible disgrace for a Southern man to hold office. No man will be suffered to be appointed, I have no doubt, who is not true to the Constitution, if Southern Senators are true to their trusts, as I cannot permit myself to doubt that they will be.”
4. Benjamin Hill was a unionist who gave his speech November 16, 1860. Hill was a U.S. Representative, U.S. senator, and a confederate senator from Hillsboro. He also ran for governor against Joseph Brown but was unsuccessful. He was also known as “the peerless orator” due to his eloquence and verbosity. A quote that really stuck out to me was this next one because it seemed to me like he was saying as Georgians they should not get mad at the Union for these recent “aggressions” since they happen so frequently they should not be talking about secession since that is a part of their everyday life.
“We owe it to our Constitution, to our country, to our peace, to our posterity, to our dignity, to our self-respect as Union men and Southern men, to have a cessation of these aggressions and an end to these disturbances. I do not think we should wait for any further violation of the Constitution. The Constitution has already been violated and even defiled. These violations are repeated every day. We must resist, and to attempt to resist and not do so effectively – even to the full extent of the evil – will be to bring shame on ourselves, our State, and our cause”
5. Henry Benning gave his secessionist speech on Monday evening of November 19th, 1860. Benning was a jack of all trades, he was a lawyer, legislature, and a judge on the Georgia Supreme Court; man knew his way around the legal system, clearly. Fort Benning is actually named after him. His speech was very compelling and started off strange, it certainly got my attention more so than the others and was probably a breath of fresh air compared to the “wait it out” political views of the unionists. Bennings strong use of comparisons really makes his speech so much more entertaining and persuading. I almost feel compelled to secede after reading it. But this quote shows it more so that the injustices that the south has faced are more ugly, like a disease.
“I say that a separation from the North would be a complete remedy for the disease – a complete remedy for both diseases, a remedy not merely to prevent abolition, but also to heal the fugitive slave ulcer”
6. Joseph E. Brown, governor of Georgia at the time sent out a letter on the 7th of December, 1860. Being a slave holder he strongly supported secession and with this letter he inflated popular vote from 51% to 58% to secede. He starts out his letter with three propositions, three questions attempting to justify secession in the common mind. He was basically asking “are you sure this is what you want?” to the common people. Then he goes on basically double checking the reasons why they should secede and if they are justifiable or not. However my favorite quote, which is toward the end is this next one. He just states so plainly how he feels and does not apologize for what he says, well he is the governor so he doesn’t really have to.
“My honest convictions are, that we can never again live in peace with the Northern abolitionists” He then ends his speech with this next quote after persuading the audience that they should not be fighting each other but their common “enemy”. “My fervent prayer is, that the God of our fathers may inspire the Convention with wisdom, and so direct their counsels as to protect our rights and preserve our liberties to the latest generation.” Finally, which one of these do you find the most persuasive argument? Explain why?
I find Thomas Cobb’s speech the most mesmerizing and compelling out of all of these. Like the book described in Thomas’s short bio before the speech one listener declared that is was the best speech he had ever heard and that he should definitely deliver it in Milledgeville. Since Thomas was already a man familiar with politics and slavery due to his books that he had written before I believe he was more than qualified to make a speech such as he did. I found it compelling, heartfelt and genuine. Because of it was a speech given so genuinely and so desirously I honestly felt like seceding after reading it.
Because he started out very humble saying he is a common man then slowly eased into Lincoln being elected and if that is grounds for secession then talks about the constitution and condemns the Personal Liberty Laws and goes into four points of secession and what really are the grounds for it. Lastly he ends his speech thwarting the Fugitive Law of the Federal Government. I believe it was a well-planned, well invoked speech that got the point across clearly to the common man which was important back then since they took a popular vote on secession, 166 – 130 favored secession so clearly they got the point somehow.
