Disunion and Restoration in Tennessee / Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Political Science, Columbia University

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Disunion and Restoration in Tennessee, by John Randolph Neal
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in the
Faculty of Political Science
Columbia University
NEW YORK
The Knickerbocker Press
1899
The vote of Tennessee in the presidential election of 1860 shows conclusively that at that time a majority of her citizens did not hold disunion sentiments. Her electoral vote was cast for John Bell and Edward Everett, who represented, as their platform expressed it, “no political principle other than the Constitution of the country, the Union of the States, and the enforcement of the laws.”
The first step toward secession was not the result of popular initiative, but was mainly due to the efforts of the Governor of the State, Isham G. Harris. Governor Harris had entered public life just after the rupture between Andrew Jackson and Hugh Lawson White, which had resulted in the formation, in Tennessee, of the Whig party. For thirty years the Whigs and Democrats contended for the control of the State. They were so equally matched that victory often turned upon the individual strength of the candidate. This resulted in the development of a class of public men who possessed, in a high degree, the usually divergent abilities of public speakers and party leaders. From this school of practical politics were graduated James K. Polk, Cave Johnson, Felix Grundy, John Bell, and Andrew Johnson.
The contest between the Whigs and Democrats, which was at first merely a personal quarrel, soon ripened into a division along true party lines. The Democrats, after the death of Andrew Jackson, joined the national Democratic party in its struggle for the perpetuation and extension of slavery. The Whigs on the other hand shared in the broad policies and national aspirations of the national Whig party.