Oxford eagle., 1920-01-08
HISTORICAL SKETCH
OF OLE MISS
M;ss;ssappi's Part During the Civil
I War.


War.
!. We have. up to the present, time
.talked of the University before the
Civil War, and wei think it proper to
. spend few chapters discussing the
: .nart that the State played in the
war between the States. We shall
therefore in the following chapter
discuss the Causes that led up TO Sne
Secession Convention of MISSISSIPPI !
in 1861. We
The Causes of the Secession Conveh-
@ ton of 1861.
sss7s The Convention which met in jack
son on the ninth Of January, 1861
met for the purpose of determining
whether the state. of Mississippi
should remain in the Union and have
her most sacred rights trampled un-
der foot by hostile Government, or
whether she should separate hersei1
: from the Union and secure those
blessed rights when she had been
formerly guaranteed by the constitu-
.:tion of the United States. This con-
syention was composed, not of men
who would be easily swayed by the
excited passions of any angry popu-
lace, but of men who would be CON-
trolled by that which they thought
was the best course to pursure, re-
gardless of private interests or pop
ular feeling.
For several years prior to the call
ing of this convention sectionalism
had been intense. Cooperation be-
tween the two sections was unknown.
The North, beginning with the Mis-
souri, compromise, had brought every
measure proposed by the South. The
Missouri compromise provided that
slavery should not exist north of
thirty-six degrees and thirty seconds.
The South after bitter struggle, ac-
cepted this compromise in full faith.
When by the Mexican War, the vast
territory of California and New Mex
leo was acquired, the south expected
this to be slave territory as far up
as the extended line of compromise.
The admission of California as a
slave state was denied them. The
slavery question was left open in New
Mexico, but this country was of such
a nature that profitable enterprises
could not be carried on by slave
labor. AS compromise for this re-
fusal of slavery inCalifornia, the Fu
gitive Slave Law was passed. By
this law Federal officers were provid-
ed for the speedy capture and return
Of runaway slaves.
This compromise Of 1850 annulled
the Missouri compromise, for by the
admission of California as free
state, it had prohibited slavery below
thirty degrees and thirty seconds.
Later the famous Kansas-Nebraska
kiHi was introduced. / This provided
that the people Of each of those
states should decide FOR themselves,
before its admission as State, wheth-
er Slavery should exist within it's
borders or not. A bitter fight was
waged against this ball by the anti
slavery people of the North, who
thought that the purpose of the bill
was to secure the admission of Kan
sas. as slave state.
Partly as direct result of the pas
sage of the bill the Northern States
refused to carry out their contract in
regard to runaway slaves. This con-
tract was flagrantlY disregarded,
some states going so far as to make
it-a crime to attempt to carry out
this: agreement. By 1850, fourteen
Northern states had passed enact
ments nullifying the Fugitive Slave
Law.
In 1854 sectional feeling ran high
in Missouri. Both North and South
agreed to abide by the decision :,
the Supreme Court The Dred' oi
case was carried to Fthe "a Sou
Court. Dredd Scott, q ! supreme
b,,o,,ob+ into froo Tslave, had been
sued for his = territory and had
as handed -reedons The decision
Tancy down by Chief Justice
lie and concurredJin by seven Of
- associates, decided "that slave
was net a citizen of the United States;
but. that a slave wass property and
that under the Constitution all prop
efty must be protected; that the TAX
ing of slave into free territory did
net. free him, and that Congress had
no. right to prohibit slavery in the
Territories" Instead Of accepting the
decision as final as had been agreed,
twas flouted, denounced and utterly
disregarded by the Northern agita-