From the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860 to the meeting of the Secession Convention in January 1861, Mississippians participated in a debate over the wisdom of secession. South Carolina left the Union on December 20, 1860, so the sense of urgency in Mississippi became even more strongly felt.
As the only mass medium of the day, newspapers carried the burden of arguing the merits of secession for readers throughout the state. At least three of the thirty newspapers being published at the time took strong anti-secession positions. Their writings help historians understand the depth of anti-secession sentiments, whether they were strictly pro-Union or were advocates of delaying secession until all Southern states seceded en masse. The anti-secessionist newspaper writings also demonstrate a strong degree of courage since they were far outnumbered by pro-secession organs and were frequently attacked for their views.
Though the secessionists prevailed and Mississippi left the Union, the anti-secessionist newspapers proved to be prescient in their forecasts of doom. They had predicted civil war, and war came. They had predicted economic hardships for Mississippians, and the hardships came. They sensed that the secession decision was a defining moment for the state, and indeed it was.
Dr. Kittrell Rushing or Dr. David Sachsman 311 Frist Hall Communication Department The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403-2598 http://www.utc.edu/commdept/conference/
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