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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC05021.01 |
| From Archive Folder | Unassociated Civil War Documents 1861 |
| Title | William M. Peyton to William Cabell Rives discussing Virginia's secession |
| Date | 15 May 1861 |
| Author | Peyton, William M. (William Madison) (1805-1868) |
| Recipient | Rives, William Cabell |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Colonel Peyton discusses Virginia's recent secession from the Union, stating "I think Virginia would have acted more wisely ... if, with her prestige as the great head of the slave states, she had planted her foot upon the opening lid of this Pandora's box, and taken a position of armed neutrality." Outlines the events that provoked Virginia's secession. Discussing the Constitution of 1787, declares "It came to us baptized in the blood of the Revolution ... It goes from us besmeared, and begrimed, and defiled by immersion in the dirty pools of abolitionism ..." Referring to President Abraham Lincoln and the impending war, states "He has read history to poor advantage ... Nothing short of a total upheaval of society need be looked for; a social and political earthquake ..." Accompanied by a printed version of this letter (refer to GLC05021.02). |
| Subjects | Secession Neutrality African American History Slavery Civil War Military History Government and Civics Revolutionary War US Constitution Abolition President Politics |
| People | Peyton, William M. (William Madison) (1805-1868) Rives, William Cabell (1793-1868) Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) |
| Place written | New York, New York |
| Theme | The American Civil War; Slavery & Abolition; Government & Politics; The Presidency |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | Rives served as a United States Representative from Virginia 1823-1830, as Senator 1831-1844, and as a member of the 1861 Washington D.C. peace convention, held to formulate an attempt to prevent the Civil War. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Related documents | William M. Peyton to William Cabell Rives discussing Virginia's secession [printed letter] |