Federal government Quote by John Sergeant Wise

“I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence. --February 22, 1861”

— Abraham Lincoln

Without Virginia, as we must all acknowledge--without her Patrick Henry among the people, her Lees and Jefferson in the forum, and her Washington in…

— Robert Charles Winthrop

On the eve of the Civil War, James Parton could write that 'the political history of the United States, for the last thirty years,…

— James Parton

“The Confederate States of America in 1861 was legally an independent government. The Southern states seceded by popular conventions of the people of each…

— Brion T. McClanahan

I had not got over the prejudice against Lincoln with which my personal contact with him in 1858 imbued me.

— Henry Villard

Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be justified upon the basis that the States are Sovereign. There was a…

— Jefferson Davis

The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates.

— Alexandre Dumas

Secession is a deeply American principle. This country was born through secession.

— Ron Paul

“By July 13, 1861, the Confederate forces in western Virginia had been eliminated by Union forces led by the “Young Napoleon,” George B. McClellan.…

— Charles River Editors

“Lincoln replied:"There is a difference between secession against the Constitution and in favor of the Constitution.”

— Clint Johnson

“As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of this tragic event in the American past, democracy is no longer being threatened by secession, slavery, or…

— John Fea

From our nation's founding to the Civil Rights movement, Virginians have always stood up to fight for their most foundational right - a voice…

— Abigail Spanberger