Confederate Gen. Henry Benning & the One Reason Georgia Seceded

Pat Young

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Featured Book Reviewer
Joined
Jan 7, 2013
Location
Long Island, NY
The Sons of Confederate Veterans recently sent out a release stressing the importance of Henry Benning during the Civil War Era:

Henry Benning, [was] one of the most influential men in Georgia politics and a Confederate general after the outbreak of the War. Benning was a justice on the Georgia Supreme Court prior to the War and was an outspoken proponent of the constitutional view of States' Rights and a limited federal government. In fact, Benning wrote the majority opinion in the important case of "Paddleford v Savannah" in which he advanced the States' Rights doctrine that in all constitutional questions, the Georgia Supreme Court is "coordinate and co-equal" with the federal supreme court since the states created the federal government. Benning served admirably in the Confederate army during the War and continued to be a leading figure in Georgia after the war's end.

Benning played an important role in the secession crisis when he was sent by Georgia to represent the state at the Virginia secession convention. Benning spoke to the convention. In his speech, Benning discussed the reason Georgia had voted to leave the United States and help establish the Confederacy. The speech can be found here:

http://civilwarcauses.org/benningva.htm
 
Back
Top