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| Title | Correspondence from Arthur H. Harris to George Carroll Harris, January 13, 1861 |
| Description | This nine-page letter written from Arthur H. Harris in Monroe, Louisiana, to his brother George Carroll Harris in Nashville is a conscious political treatise. The author is advocating and justifiying the secession of Louisiana at the upcoming convention on January 23 and then the joining of the state with sister states in a confederacy. He notes the South's disproportionate contribution to the nation's wealth and the disrespect shown their institutions. Secession is his answer, and violence will follow. |
| Historical note | The Louisiana secession convention met in Baton Rouge on January 23, 1861. On January 26, 1861, by a delgation vote of 112 to 7, Louisiana became the sixth state to secede from the Union. Arthur H. Harris was a lawyer by trade. He would be elected Attorney General in 1873 and would be murdered soon after by opposition radicals. |
| Date | 1861 January 13 |
| Creator | Harris, Arthur H., 1832-1886 |
| Place | Monroe (La.) |
| Transcript | [Page 1] “Monroe La Jany 13th 1861 My dear George Your letter dated at the birth of the new year reached me last night & being already in your debt I have concluded to occupy a portion of this rainy Sunday in the discharge of the obligation. Your previous letter contained some remarks upon governmental affairs which I had determined to make the basis of a long letter to you. But business has delayed me & as all the letters I received become the property of the little Boys as soon as they are brought into the House. Of course I am not now able to put my hand on the one above alluded to. Our state convention is to meet on the 23rd of this month & as sure as the sun will rise on that day, just so sure will his beams fall upon the Pelican Flag of Louisiana floating from the dome of her Capitol. The Election of Delegates took place on the 7th inst & the question came before the people in a manner which has praised the adroitness & electioneering tact of many old politicians. The question of Union was never touched. All parties agreed that Louisiana ought to secede but differed as to time & manner one said. We must cooperate first with our” [Page 2] “sister states of the south & then secede. The other said we must secede first & then unite with our sister states in a government. I took sides with the latter believing that it was the only praticable way of getting out of the difficulty. All this talk about further guaranties I believe to be a ruse practised by our Northern foes to inspire us with delusive hopes, create divisions amongst us. Lull us into repose by promising us that degrees of security which it is as much beyond their power as it is averse to their inclination to afford. Delaying our action & the assertion of our right & finally when it is too late for us to resist successfully. They mean to defy our power & laugh at our credulity. These are reasons which have principally directed my decision upon the merits of the case. But there are others which appear to me to have equal weight upon the legal branch of the question. For instance, When the states signed the Constitution, each one for herself delegated to the Federal Government the right to declare war, to make peace, to concluded treaties, to coin money, to regulate taxation, make postal arrangements &c. Now each one of these enumerated rights is a separate & distinct attribute of sovereignty, without which no state nor Nation can be soverign. De facto.” [Page 3] “et de jure. It follows then that none of the states can take any step that will have the force of sovereign sanction so long as those delegated attributes of their sovereignty remain with the Federal Government. Their rights are of the very essence of sovereignty. Without them there is no sovereignty. How then can it be that a large party can prepare to convene the states for purposes of cooperation while they remain in the Union (an act which itself is prohibited by the very constitution under which they desire to work). While they are powerless to effect any good. While the edged tools of their sovereignty are deposited elsewhere. They propose to bind up a Southern Confederacy without having the power in their hands indispensable even to a good beginning if such a measure. They are carpenters who propose to build us a log cabin without the use of the axe, the handsaw, & hammer. Let them trade first. That is my doctrine. Let them resume to themselves the power which originally they had but which now abides with the Federal Government & then, clothed with all their power. Let them march to a common center. With the constitution on one hand & the sword in the other. They will then be in condition to dictate the terms of adjustment & not until then. Now as to the practicability of this doctrine of cooperation. First – South Carolina” [Page 4] “Florida & Mississippi have already seceded. Alabama, Georgia & Texas will soon follow their example. Now does it not strike you as nonsensical for Louisiana to refuse by her convention to stand by them & still put up a pitiful prayer for cooperation? Will they not say to her that they can only treat with her as a soveriegn State? Can she with any justice demand a voice in a convention of Soveriegn states until she becomes soveriegn herself by the withdrawal of her allegiance to the government of the United States? – The fact is they will have nothing to do with her. Louisiana must go out on the 23rd inst. I would rather see her expose herself to danger by taking a manly part than see security in the path of the laggard. The fact is we are surrounded by dangers, but those which stare us immediately in the face tho’ they be sufficient to appal us for the moment are shorn of their tirrant when we peer into the future, not far distant, & behold the storm which is gathering to overwhelm us if we do not now push forward to some haven of safety. The contest must be fought out now & I should never die contented if I thought it would be written on my epitaph -- “here lies one who” [Page 5] “shrunk from his duty to his little ones. Because it required him to face danger & death & die at last. Bearing them to endure the worst of all calamities which he could have avoided” – Are we of the present day willing that our posterity should speak thus of us? Like you, I have been raised to entertain a sort of respectful & affectionate awe for the Union. Which for a long while has induced me to frown upon the bare idea of its dismemberment. But the time for Romance upon the subject of the Union has past. The history of her glories achieved as they have been in legislative halls & on the bloody fields of battle. Upon distant seas & in the halls of diplomacy. Will be read with admiration & wonder. As long as the English language exists. But we know that our posterity will not look into it with pleasure or pride if we fail to arrest the government in the onslaught which she is about to make upon the equality of the South in the Union. I fear we have already given just ground of complaint upon the part of those who are to follow us on the stage of life. For the last 10 years the administration of the government has cast 60 million annually. The South has uniformly contributed 40 million & the North 20 towards it. While” [Page 6] “in return the South has received 20 & the North 40 millions annually. Leaving a balance of 20 millions which we pay to the North annually for the privelege of living under the same government. Which they on the contrary instead of being glad to have such profitable brethren have waged a successful warfare upon the institution which is our life & existence. Again Mr. Debon has calculated that in allowing the North to manufacture a large portion of our raw material into fabric for our use we virtually allow his a loan of 100 millions of your capital annually. Now when we shall have cut loose our connection with him we shall have accomplished the two fold object of securing the permanency of our institutions on the one hand & keeping at home 120 millions annually for the benefit of armselars & not our enemies, on the other. Do you not think that posterity will thank us as much for the one as the other? That drain upon the profits of our industry has enriched the North heretofore. When it is withdrawn from them & scattered amongst ourselves. Can your imagination picture what a lovely & thriving nation the Southern Confederacy will be? Some have doubted the possibility of forming a Southern Confederacy. But I am satisfied it will be done & that speedily. Those States” [Page 7] “which have gone out have all appointed Delegates to a Southern Convention & invited all the other Southern states to unite with them in the formation of a Confederacy. So that the regret you seemed to feel at the prospect of our dividing “E uno multi” I think has not a sound basis. You say further you are “not for the Union as it is”, that in sentiment it is already dismembered & you think too that a renewal of the nuptial vow under the constitution will be sufficient. I fear that betrayed on your part some with want of information as to the material which goes to make up the voting people of the North. Man ought to recollect that those people have given themselves up to the very worst kind of fanaticism. That that is based upon & originates out of a religious prejudice and that they even teach their children as soon as they understand language to hate us & our institutions. & that their animosity against us is as firm & deeply seated in their bosoms as the attachment for the government has been in yours & mine. So long as they continue to enjoy peace & plenty at the expense of the South just so long will they continue to wage war upon & insult us. We cannot hope to change their public sentiment against us until they have been taught by starvation & suffering to appreciate the value of our institutions both to ourselves & to theirs.” [Page 8] “And yet, without that change what earthly security or guaranty could they give that would or ought to be relied upon by an outraged & gallant Southern people. The single fact that one of the Federal laws has been repudiated by them does not amount to much. That is only one of the manifestations of their deep seated hostility to us. It is the hostility itself which we have just cause to complain of & be alarmed at. Seeing that the people who entertain it have now the government under their control. According to the text from which the celebrated Dr. Palmer preached a secession sermon on Thanksgiving day “Shall the Throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?” I must send you that sermon when I can get a copy. It is grand. I believe that the only way to make friends of our enemies is to secede from them promptly & boldly say to them we will have no fellowship with them so long as that sentiment or hostility exists against us. When our political ties are surrendered they will begin to feel the importance of being friendly & the silence of their once busy workshops will teach them the value of our friendship. Then they may make up their minds that we are a gallant people instead of a band of barbarians & respect us accordingly but not until then.” [Page 9] “—9— I am astonished to find that I have filled 8 pages upon the subject of secession. My apology for being so lengthy is that nowadays I find myself acting with men who have heretofore am against me in party line & it has occasioned some remark amongst my former political friends. Many of whom have not the patience to listen to the reasoning by which I arrive at my conclusions. Pa for instance. Talk to him about dissolving the Union & he gets to restless to listen. Gets downright mad. I think I could convince him I am right if he would divest himself of prejudice & listen for ½ hour. Louisiana is my home. What little interest I own is identified with her. Ohi is the native state of my brave little boys & if she now flashes in the pan I shall be outdone completely. But I have confidence in her. I look upon the great seal of Louisiana & there I find the representation of a Pelican hovering over her nest & finding her eager & trusting brood. She is the State of Louisiana hovering over, protecting & nourishing her children & may in present proud arms be buried with the romance of her early Spanish existence if she fails to do it nobly. I would rather she should be a cemetery of freemen than the home of a degenerate brow beaten race of slaves. I am afraid you are bored.” [Page 10] “But as old Grymes [?], the celebrated Civil lawyer once remarked in the Supreme Court in Norman when he was interrupted by the Chief Justice “may it please your Honor, I am informed that truth lies at the bottom of a well & can only be arrived at by boring” I have endeavored to be brief in the expression of my views & hope you may find them entertaining, if not instructive. Sallie & the Boys are well. The little rascals have been romping around me ever since I sat down here, pulling my hair, grabbing at my pipe, riding my foot, throwing the cat on me, mashing potatoes on my head & in fact making themselves particularly busy in giving me a variety of annoyance. Lawrence now has the foot tub for a Steam Boat plying between two points in the house designated on his schedule as De Thitty & Monroe, stopping at various intermediate points. His cargo being altogether imaginary consists principally of confectionaries. They are both growing very fast. I have been quite busy since about the middle of November. Having consented to accept the office of magistrate in Monroe my court has been crowded with business both of a Civil & Criminal nature. Tomorrow I am to hold a Community Court over a young man who killed an Irishman last week” [Page 11] “We heard from Waco last week. They were all well, but as usual rightly down in the mouth about short crop & short prices. We dont know when to look for them up. The last letter they got from you included the deepest sympathy with you on account of your matrimonial troubles. When I was down there I had to answer a good many questions from old Aunt Mary on that subject. Considering I didnt know any thing about it. She requested me to say to you when next I should write that she “thought it was all talk”. But I did not understand from her the reasoning by which she arrived at that conclusion. You must correspond with her in relation to it for further information. Sally unites with me in love to you & now Sir I will excuse you from reading further. Take a long breath & write me down. Your very Aff Bro Arthur |
| Collection name | George Carroll Harris Papers, 1836-1886 |
| Accession number | 206 |
| Subjects - LCSH |
Civil War in the West Civil War society United States - History - 1783-1865 United States - History - 1849-1877 United States History - Civil War, 1861-1865 |
| Subjects - TGM |
Civil Wars War |
| Owning Institution | Tennessee State Library and Archives |
| ID# | 34090 |
| Microfilm number | 1288 |
| Digital type | TEXT |
| Digital format | TIFF |
| Media Type | Correspondence |
| Copyright | No copyright - United States: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ |
| Ordering Information | To order a digital reproduction of this item, please send our order form at http://tsla.tnsosfiles.com/general/forms/ImagingOrder.pdf to Photo Orders, Tennessee State Library & Archives, 403 7th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37243-0312, or email to photoorders.tsla@tn.gov. Further ordering information can be found at the following location: http://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/ordering-images-and-microfilm-digitization . |
Description
| Title | 34090_1 |
| Media Type | Correspondence |
| Copyright | No copyright - United States: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ |
| Ordering Information | To order a digital reproduction of this item, please send our order form at http://tsla.tnsosfiles.com/general/forms/ImagingOrder.pdf to Photo Orders, Tennessee State Library & Archives, 403 7th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37243-0312, or email to photoorders.tsla@tn.gov. Further ordering information can be found at the following location: http://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/ordering-images-and-microfilm-digitization . |
