Chapter 89: Profiles of Congressional Leaders (1858-1861)

With few exceptions the men who will determine the fate of the Union are already present as the 35^th Congress convenes.

Stephen Douglas stands at the center of the action after passage of his 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, which triggers a backlash throughout the North, the re-emergence of Abraham Lincoln on the political stage, and the founding of the Republican Party, with its platform opposing any further expansion of slavery. Along with Lewis Cass, Douglas’ espousal of “popular sovereignty” – as opposed to the prior 30’36” hard line boundary – sets off the race in Kansas between the Pro-Slavery Southerners and the Free Staters in the North.

The Kansas battle features two hard men who leave their seats in Congress to join the fight. One is Missouri Senator David Rice Atchison, ex-President Pro Tem, who vows to “kill every God-damned abolitionist in the district.” The other is Congressman James Henry Lane who deplores all blacks, slave or free, and intends to secure the territory for white men and white labor. Together they symbolize the growing hatred throughout the 1850’s between the North and South.

This divide is exploited by political descendants of John C. Calhoun. These are the Southern Fire-eaters who clamber for secession. Most have already been present by the time Buchanan takes office, including Rhett, Yancey, Hammond, Keitt, Quitman, Mason and Yulee. They applaud Preston Brook’s caning of Charles Sumner in 1856 and exploit the Harpers Ferry Raid to further their cause.

They are joined in 1859 by two newcomers known particularly for their violent tempers. One is the Texan, Louis T. Wigfall, who fights multiple duels (including one against Brooks), and is remembered for his comment before fleeing the U.S. in 1865 — “I wish to live in no country where the man who blacks my boots or curries my horse is my equal.” The other is Virginian Roger Pryor, a fierce states rights backer who chooses to own no slaves, but initiates multiple brawls in the House. The prospect of a Republican victory in 1860 tilts more and more Southerners in the direction of these secessionists.

Still they continue to be met by powerful Southerners who have long pledged their loyalty to the Union.

In the upper south they include the venerable Whig John J. Crittenden of Kentucky and John Bell of Tennessee, a one-time Jackson loyalist, then a Whig, and now a Know-Nothing. Together with Northern Whigs, Edward Everett and Robert Winthrop, they form the Constitutional Union Party in 1860 and lobby for compromise right up to the opening bombardment of Ft. Sumter.

Flat out opposition to secession comes from the so-called “Black Republican” radicals. They are led by Thaddeus Stevens, serving his third term in the House, living with his African-American housekeeper, and known for his acerbic wit and tongue. He is joined by several others. One is Edwin Stanton, currently serving as Buchanan’s Attorney General and later as Lincoln’s Secretary of War. Then come two fierce abolitionist Senators, Massachusetts’ Henry Wilson and Maine’s Hannibal Hamlin.

In the end, the final call on breaking away will belong to the leaders of the lower South.

As always, Georgia looks to follow two Whigs, Congressmen Alexander Stephens and Senator Robert Toombs, along with ex-House Speaker, Howell Cobb – with Cobb especially pivotal as a life-long Democrat and Treasury Secretary serving in Buchanan’s cabinet. When Cobb resigns in 1860, he single-handedly jars moderates in the direction of disunion.

In Florida, Senator Stephen Mallory moves closer to Fire-Eater David Yulee. Alabama’s two Senators, Clement Clay and Ben Fitzpatrick, begin to waver, although neither yet share William Yancey’s secessionist fervor. In the Creole State of Louisiana, moderate Senators John Slidell and Judah Benjamin find themselves scheming against Douglas’ “popsov” policy and his nomination.

Then comes Mississippi which is represented in the Senate by two very popular and powerful men, Albert Gallatin Brown and Jefferson Davis. They are loyal Democrats who hope to save the Union, but also ferocious proponents of states’ rights and the expansion of slavery. It will be Davis, Mexican War hero and Secretary of War under Pierce, who assumes the mantle of leadership, when he reluctantly accepts the call to serve as President of the Confederacy in February 1861. Two months later he will order the attack on Ft. Sumter after negotiations for peace go nowhere and a federal fleet is on its way to defend the fort.

Once the Confederate States are formed, the shape of the 37^th Congress shifts dramatically as Southerners vanish, either by announcing their withdrawal, simply failing to appear, or in several cases, being formally expelled. The only exception here is Tennessee Senator Andrew Johnson, whose loyalty to the Union will lead to his fateful Vice-Presidency selection in 1864.

Southerners Who Exit The Senate In 1861 After Secession

Jefferson Davis

Alexander Stephens

John Bell

Thaddeus Stevens

Edwin Stanton

Hannibal Hamlin

See Appendix for more details.