Beginning on December 20, 1860, and ending on February 1, 1861, seven Southern states held state conventions and voted to secede from the Union. On February 4, 1861, their delegates gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, and began the process of negotiating and creating a new nation "a confederacy" based on constitutionally guaranteed states rights and the defense of slavery and hoping to co-exist peacefully alongside the United States of America. Unfortunately, on April 12, Fort Sumter was fired upon and any chance of peace was lost.

Many know that the Civil War was an open conflict between the Union and the Confederacy, but know nothing or very little about the creation and governance of the Confederacy. The perception is that the Confederacy was a unified nation, that all the leaders were of one accord, and that it was just the might of the Union that finally crushed the rebellion. However, this is not true. There were political and personal problems from the outset, the Confederacy's constitution was based on the U.S. Constitution, and the leadership was at odds with itself throughout the war. This month's presentation will separate fact from fiction by looking at the secession of the lower southern States, the specific events that helped lead to secession, who met to form the new nation, and the powers of the Confederacy.

Making his third appearance with our Round Table is this month's speaker, David Wilkerson. He is a founding member of the Inland Empire Civil War Round Table. He received his B.A. and M.A. in History from the University of California, Riverside, and is currently the Senior Archivist with Johnson Controls, Inc. David is also an adjunct faculty instructor at Chapman University's Moreno Valley campus, lecturing about various elements of American history and Western Civilization.

We are glad to welcome David back, after an unfortunate cancellation of his presentation last year. This is a second chance for us to discover how the Confederacy was born.

Janet Whaley
Program Chair

 

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