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Slave Rebels and Abolitionists: The Black Atlantic and the Coming of the Civil War

Slave Rebels and Abolitionists: The Black Atlantic and the Coming of the Civil War edward b. rugemer On November 12, 1860, the Georgia jurist Thomas Cobb delivered a forceful address to his state's legislature advocating secession from the United States. The previous week had seen the election of Abraham Lincoln, and Cobb drew attention to a particular phrase in the preamble to the Constitution that he believed Lincoln's election had undermined. The states had adopted the Constitution, in part, "to ensure domestic tranquility," but in light of the radical abolitionism that he believed Lincoln represented, Cobb argued that the Union could no longer hold. He asked his audience to recall "the trembling hand of a loved wife, as she whispered her fears from the incendiary and the assassin." Cobb was quick to assure his listeners that he did not personally fear violence from the "happy and contented" slaves, but he did fear danger from the "emissaries of Northern Abolitionists." These men had been seen throughout the southern states, and they just might instigate rebellion. Cobb reminded the legislature that only the president had the power to call upon the armed forces to suppress insurrections. Could white southerners trust a "Black Republican Abolitionist" to use this power if necessary? Cobb did not think http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Journal of the Civil War Era University of North Carolina Press

Slave Rebels and Abolitionists: The Black Atlantic and the Coming of the Civil War

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Publisher
University of North Carolina Press
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Copyright @ The University of North Carolina Press
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2159-9807
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Abstract

edward b. rugemer On November 12, 1860, the Georgia jurist Thomas Cobb delivered a forceful address to his state's legislature advocating secession from the United States. The previous week had seen the election of Abraham Lincoln, and Cobb drew attention to a particular phrase in the preamble to the Constitution that he believed Lincoln's election had undermined. The states had adopted the Constitution, in part, "to ensure domestic tranquility," but in light of the radical abolitionism that he believed Lincoln represented, Cobb argued that the Union could no longer hold. He asked his audience to recall "the trembling hand of a loved wife, as she whispered her fears from the incendiary and the assassin." Cobb was quick to assure his listeners that he did not personally fear violence from the "happy and contented" slaves, but he did fear danger from the "emissaries of Northern Abolitionists." These men had been seen throughout the southern states, and they just might instigate rebellion. Cobb reminded the legislature that only the president had the power to call upon the armed forces to suppress insurrections. Could white southerners trust a "Black Republican Abolitionist" to use this power if necessary? Cobb did not think

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The Journal of the Civil War Era – University of North Carolina Press

Published: May 19, 2012

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