"Red Letter Local History Day:" Bluffton Movement, 31 July 1844

July 31, 1844 is another Local History Red Letter Day.

Serious talk of separating the Southern states from the Federal government began years before the actual break. In an address delivered from the Walterboro courthouse steps on June 12, 1828, Congressman for Beaufort and Colleton Districts Robert Barnwell Rhett demanded "immediate and unilateral state action" against any laws made by Congress that harmed a state's interest. If the harm was not remedied within a reasonable time, Rhett argued that a state should remove itself from the Union. This principle of secession would remain his clarion call until his death. He was an ardent supporter of slavery, vehemently opposed protective tariffs and bristled at the lukewarm response of the Democratic Party to Southern political complaints.

Sixteen years later the impassioned but ever sober Rhett found a receptive audience at a homecoming dinner held in his honor at Bluffton on July 31, 1844. It is said that 500 people showed up to hear his speech under an oak tree about limiting Federal powers: "If you value your rights you must resist." And thus was born the "Bluffton Movement" that many mark as the beginning of secessionist thought in South Carolina. This "Father of Secession" propelled the later creation of the Confederate States of America through his political actions and influence.

Others known as "Fire-Eaters" followed his lead and over the years more and more influential Southern White men began to consider secession as a viable option to their political, social and economic problems during the mid-19th century. Dr. John McCardell Jr. examined how this change in thought came about in his lecture "The Idea of a Southern Nation" delivered as part of the 2009 Beaufort Tricentennial Lecture Series. There were, however, some Southern White men who thought that the idea of secession was a terrible idea. Two such men, called Unionists, were James Louis Petigru and William John Grayson.

The Library has a lot of materials about the topic of Secession in the SCLENDS catalog and through the Hoopla Catalog if the ones on the flyers are not enough for you to get started exploring the topic of secession. A valid Beaufort County Library card is all that you need to get started.

Please note: The image of Robert Barnwell Rhett is from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present website.