1860 TEXAS LEGISLATIVE MANUSCRIPT OPPOSING SECESSION

“…the South has no reason to desire a dissolution of the Union.”

Autograph document written by Benjamin Holland Epperson. [Austin, Texas], January 1860. Two pages, 8 x 12½ in., docketed on the verso.

An important manuscript document from the final year before the American Civil War, recording a series of joint resolutions drafted by Texas legislator Benjamin Holland Epperson in response to the actions of the South Carolina Legislature. Written while Epperson served in the Texas Legislature, the document outlines a striking set of political positions rejecting several of the constitutional arguments then being advanced by Southern secessionists.

The resolutions read in part:

“That we dissent from the doctrine that a state has the constitutional right to secede from the Union at its pleasure.”

“That we dissent from the doctrine that a state has the right to annul a law of the federal government, or to finally decide upon the constitutionality of the same.”

“That there is not at the present time any existing cause to justify a dissolution of the Union.”

“That the Constitution of the United States as found and honestly interpreted, and the laws faithfully and impartially executed are the best guarantee of the rights of the South, and so long as this is done, the South has no reason to desire a dissolution of the Union.”

“That we deem it inexpedient to send deputies to a convention of slaveholding states as recommended by the Legislature of South Carolina.”

“That the Governor be required to cause a copy of these resolutions to be transmitted to the Governor of South Carolina.”

The document captures a remarkable moment in Texas political history. Drafted in January 1860, it reflects a faction within Texas politics that resisted the immediate calls for secession then gaining momentum across the South. The resolutions directly challenge two of the central constitutional doctrines invoked by secessionists, the claimed right of unilateral secession and the theory of nullification, while asserting that the existing constitutional order remained the best safeguard of Southern interests.

This position is particularly notable given the broader political climate of the time. The Texas Legislature was dominated by Democrats, including Epperson, and Southern Democratic leaders widely supported states’ rights doctrines and the expansion of slavery into new territories. Yet this document argues explicitly against secession and even rejects the proposal, advanced by South Carolina, to convene a convention of slaveholding states to coordinate a Southern response to growing sectional tensions.

The historical context lends the manuscript particular poignancy. Within months of its composition, the national crisis deepened following the election of Abraham Lincoln. By early 1861, Texas reversed the position expressed here, adopting its Texas Ordinance of Secession and becoming the seventh state to leave the Union. What had been articulated in this document as a principled defense of the Union was overtaken by the accelerating tide of secessionist sentiment.

A rare and revealing glimpse into the contested political debates within Texas on the eve of the Civil War.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate]  [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] 

Tear at top of document. Ink stains to recto left.