8. In the secession conventions a few of the speakers denounced disunion as bad and ruinous. In the convention of Georgia, Alexander H. Stephens delivered a powerful oration in which he defended the theory of secession, but urged that the measure was impolitic, unwise, disastrous.
Confederation of the South.
9. On the 4th of February, 1861, delegates from six of the seceded States assembled at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new government, called the Confederate States of America. On the 8th, the government was organized by the election of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, as provisional President, and Alexander H. Stephens, as Vice-president. A few days previous a peace conference met at Washington, and proposed certain amendments to the Constitution. But Congress gave little heed; and the conference adjourned.
10. The country seemed on the verge of ruin. The army was on remote frontiers—the fleet in distant seas. With the exception of Forts Sumter, Moultrie, Pickens, and Monroe, all the important posts in the seceded States had been seized by the Confederate authorities. Early in January, the President sent the Star of the West to reinforce Fort Sumter. But the ship was fired on, and not allowed to land.
Review Questions.—Part V.
CHAPTER XXIX.
- 1. Give an account of the inauguration of the first President, and of the organization of his Cabinet.
- 2. Outline the important measures of Washington's first and of his second Administration.
- 3. Tell about the troubles with the Miami Indians.
- 4. What difficulty with Great Britain arose during the second Administration, and how was it adjusted?