by
remaining a border state and thus being extremely important to the Union
as a buffer, Virginia would have the necessary position of influence
and could therefore secure concessions from the North. Underscoring
the disadvantages of the Confederacy, this author pointed out that the
South did not have enough money and most of the fiscal burden would
fall on Virginia, the most populous of the slave states. Also, the Confederacy
would probably have a clause requiring the perpetual existence of slavery
for membership, something that Virginia may not necessarily have wanted
to support considering the differences in her economy from that of the
Cotton States. In a rather unexpected argument, Mr. Stuart asserted
in the convention that the formation of a Southern Confederacy would
actually end slavery.20 He explained that there were, in
fact, many Northerners who supported the right of the South to hold
slaves and that, by breaking off from them, the South would incite them
to fight against slavery. Thus, the whole world would then be against
this institution, held dear only by Southerners, and so it would be
impossible to sustain it. These arguments, alerting Virginians to the
problems and complications that would result from disunion, were some
of the strongest reasons given against the secession of Virginia. Certainly,
if Virginians truly believed that their rights would be better secured
within the Union, they would never secede from it.
Some Virginians, rather than railing against secession, merely encouraged
their statesmen to sanction slow, deliberate action. They thought it
better to wait until they were certain of the action that would be best
for Virginia and until there was a legitimate reason to destroy their
ties with the Union. These middle-of-the-road arguments had perhaps
the greatest impact on the politicians of Virginia as demonstrated by
the fact that their state did, in fact, wait the longest of any slave
state to leave the Union. For instance, following Lincoln's election
in November, one