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What was the secession convention?
For many southerners, the election of Abraham Lincoln in the fall of 1860 was equivalent to a declaration of war on the South. A few, including Texas' aging Governor Sam Houston, argued against secession. They proclaimed the benefits of mediation and compromise. Further, if Texas did separate from the Union, Houston reasoned, she would fare better as an independent republic than as a member of the Confederacy. Houston's views, however, carried little weight among the secessionists in the state, who were clearly in the majority. But by refusing to call the legislature into session, the increasingly unpopular Houston temporarily blocked his opponents from any official action. The secessionists countered Houston's maneuver by calling on the people of Texas to elect delegates to a Session Convention to meet in Austin. Their purpose was to consider what action Texas should take on the secession issue in light of the recent sequence of events. As a result, a total of 177 delegates were elected, representing two members from almost every county. The convention met on January 28, 1861. Four days later, on February 1, it's members voted by a margin of 166 to 8 to secede. They drafted and signed an Ordinance of Secession, which "repealed and annulled" the Texas annexation laws of 1845. The Ordinance of Secession was subsequently approved by popular vote in a statewide election. As planned, the convention reconvened after the popular election and adopted another ordinance uniting Texas with the Confederacy. Sam Houston subsequently refused to take the oath of allegiance to the newly organized Confederate government. Undaunted, the convention declared the governor's office vacant and administered the governor's oath of office to Edward Clark, who had previously served as lieutenant-governor. A few days before adjourning the fateful convention on March 25, the delegates ratified the Constitution of the Confederate States.
Who were the other three rivals with far more experience running against Abraham Lincoln for Republican Party nomination in 1860?
Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, and John Bell. The Democratic Party was in disarray in 1860 when they convened in Charleston, South Carolina to choose their presidential candidate. Southern elements insisted that the nominating convention make a strong statement supporting slavery in the territories. Western elements, however, opposed that stance and argued for an endorsement of popular sovereignty. The latter position prevailed and the Southern delegates walked out. The Northern Democrats later met in Baltimore, Maryland, and nominated Stephen A. Douglas. Following the violence in "Bleeding Kansas," Douglas had lost much support within the party; however, he had reclaimed his prominence by denouncing Buchanan and the Lecompton constitution in 1858. The Southern Democrats reconvened in Richmond, Virginia and nominated John C. Breckinridge; the platform pledged the protection of slavery in the territories. A moderate position was sought by the Constitutional Union Party, which nominated John Bell. The party, composed mostly of former Whigs, enjoyed some strength in the Border States, but lacked any semblance of vigor and was dubbed the "Old Gentlemen's Party."
