In 1861, a VA Senator Spoke to Skeptical Constituents about Secession.
Life on the Civil War Research Trail
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26m
By mid-January 1861, five states had seceded from the Union. In Virginia, State Senator John Herbert Claiborne faced constituents divided over whether their state should leave or stay. An ardent secessionist with pro-slavery sentiments, Claiborne made this argument to renounce Virginia's allegiance.
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