The speeches to the Georgia Legislature by Stephens, Toombs, T.R.R. Cobb, Herschel Johnson, Henry Benning, and Gov. Joe Brown, were published in a single volume, "Secession Debated," edited by William Freehling and Craig Simpson (https://bookshop.org/books/secession-debated-georgia-s-showdown-in-1860/9780195079456). The Toombs, and Stephens speeches, and Gov. Joe Brown's letter, along with the "Cornerstone" speech, can be found here:
"He [Stephens] could continue to oppose secession by building a coalition of Unionists. Or he could accept secession as the will of the Georgia people and do his part in helping the state move forward. Ultimately, Stephens chose loyalty to his state over maintaining his own political positions. As much as he believed secession to be a major mistake, Stephens could not sit idly by and not help Georgia navigate its self-made crisis. Stephens's unwavering commitment to slavery and white supremacy enabled him to abandon his pre-secession unionism and to embrace post-secession Confederate nationalism." (p. 31)
Some late (sorry) information:
The speeches to the Georgia Legislature by Stephens, Toombs, T.R.R. Cobb, Herschel Johnson, Henry Benning, and Gov. Joe Brown, were published in a single volume, "Secession Debated," edited by William Freehling and Craig Simpson (https://bookshop.org/books/secession-debated-georgia-s-showdown-in-1860/9780195079456). The Toombs, and Stephens speeches, and Gov. Joe Brown's letter, along with the "Cornerstone" speech, can be found here:
http://www.civilwarcauses.org/
As always, I really appreciate your post. I’m looking forward to reading this book!
Does the book go into how/why Stephens changed his thinking?
It does.
"He [Stephens] could continue to oppose secession by building a coalition of Unionists. Or he could accept secession as the will of the Georgia people and do his part in helping the state move forward. Ultimately, Stephens chose loyalty to his state over maintaining his own political positions. As much as he believed secession to be a major mistake, Stephens could not sit idly by and not help Georgia navigate its self-made crisis. Stephens's unwavering commitment to slavery and white supremacy enabled him to abandon his pre-secession unionism and to embrace post-secession Confederate nationalism." (p. 31)
Hope that helps.
Thanks. That roughly agrees with (my memory of) the Stephens bio that I skim-read many years ago
May have been Thomas E. Schott's biography, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for a history of Stephens.
https://www.amazon.com/Alexander-H-Stephens-Georgia-Biography/dp/0807121061
Fascinating. I had not ever heard of Stephen's earlier position as a somewhat more moderate voice thanks for this insight.
Glad to hear you found it interesting. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for the review.
You are very welcome.
Just ordered the book.
Does it get into the audience(s) of the speech as it was given in person and subsequently published or reported on?
It does indeed.