As a protest against the election of Abraham Lincoln, who had received not a single southern electoral vote, secession was a fact—to be reinforced, if necessary, by the sword. The senator from Mississippi [Jefferson Davis] rose. It was high noon. ...He was going home. ...By nature he was a moderate, with a deep devotion to the Union. ...he reserved secession as a last resort.
Shelby Foote Connected to the Carolinas
Source
No citation is recorded for this quotation.
- work
- The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 1: Fort Sumter to Perryville (1958)
- year
- 1958
no citation recorded
Cite this record
“As a protest against the election of Abraham Lincoln, who ha…” Shelby Foote. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-55F63A5A5F. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/55f63a5a5f
More from Shelby Foote
I learned to love my country, in two ways. I began to learn the geography of the South-the mountains, the rivers, the valleys. The other thing was the incredible heroism on both sides. It's hard to believe men were as brave as those men were. Somehow sense of honor was stronger than fear. God knows, they felt fear. I would really like it to be stressed that my work helped me to love my country. I hope my work does that for other people, learning both our virtues and our vices.
Any understanding of this nation has to be based, and I mean really based, on an understanding of the Civil War. I believe that firmly. It defined us. The Revolution did what it did. Our involvement in European wars, beginning with the First World War, did what it did. But the Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things. And it is very necessary, if you are going to understand the American character in the twentieth century, to learn about this enormous catastrophe of the mid-nineteenth century. It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads.
People make a grievous error thinking that a list of facts is the truth. Facts are just the bare bones out of which truth is made.