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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC00837 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to the 1860s |
| Title | Resolutions of the Southern Rights Vigilance Club |
| Date | November 1860 |
| Author | Ferrill, Julius A. (d. 1861) |
| Document Type | Miscellany |
| Content Description | Signed by Ferrill with over 25 others. Concerns their opposition to Abraham Lincoln and abolitionism. Resolves to "resist and prevent" Lincoln's inauguration (if elected), to offer their services to any seceding state, to resist anyone who would take office in Savannah under a Lincoln administration, and to join any organization dedicated to "protecting Slave property in the territories." Legal folio with six blank sheets. |
| Subjects | African American History Slavery Military History Confederate States of America Militia Fraternal Organization President Abolition Secession Government and Civics |
| People | Ferrill, Julius A. (d. 1861) Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) |
| Place written | Savannah, Georgia |
| Theme | Slavery & Abolition; The Presidency; Government & Politics |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945 |
| Additional Information | Ferrill died fighting for the Confederacy at Manassas the following year. In May, the Constitutional Union party, which consisted of conservative former Whigs, Know Nothings, and pro-Union Democrats nominated John Bell of Tennessee for President. This short-lived party denounced sectionalism and tried to rally support around a platform that supported the Constitution and Union. Meanwhile, the Republican party nominated Abraham Lincoln on the third ballot. The 1860 election revealed how divided the country had become. There were actually two separate sectional campaigns: one in the North, pitting Lincoln against Douglas, and one in the South between Breckinridge and Bell. Only Stephen Douglas mounted a truly national campaign. The Republicans did not campaign in the South and Lincoln's name did not appear on the ballot in ten states. Intense anti-Union feelings marked the campaign in the South, where groups like the Southern Rights Vigilance Club of Savannah, Georgia threatened secession in the event of Lincoln's election. In the final balloting, Lincoln won only 39.9 percent of the popular vote, but received 180 electoral college votes, 57 more than the combined total of his opponents. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Transcript | Show/hide |