- Monday, 04 February 1861, at 12:00
The Peace Conference of 1861
In February 1861, following the inauguration of Lincoln and the secession of seven states from the Union, a convention of 131 politicians from the remaining states met in Washington, D. C., at the Willard Hotel. They aimed to prevent civil war, and the secession of further states, by proposing an amendment to the Constitution that would protect the existence and practice of slavery, within certain parameters, by enshrining them in constitutional law. An amendment was eventually agreed and recommended to Congress, where it was not passed.
The Convention
The main session of the Conference.
To see the full record of a committee, click on the corresponding committee on the map below.
Session 12798: 1861-02-04 12:00:00
The Conference elected a temporary Chairman and Secretary, organized itself, decided not to admit reporters, and appointed a committee on rules and organization to report rules for the governance of the Conference. Delegates appeared from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.
Membership (at session start):
None
No imported or exported documents
Resources (2):
Resource Collections (0):
None
Resource Items (2):
None
Summary of events in this session:
Individuals:
0 0 0 0
List of people joining the committee
List of people leaving the committee
List of people elected to a position
Documents:
0 0 0
List of proposals created
List of proposals amended
List of proposals copied
List of proposals imported
List of proposals to be voted on
List of proposals debated
Decisions:
List of proposals adopted
List of proposals rejected
List of proposals dropped
List of proposals referred
List of postpone debate voted on
List of other proposals voted on
Procedure:
List of procedural motion
List of motions debated
Events (108)
Icon key
Person joining a committee
Person leaving a committee
Person elected to a position
A new document introduced
An amendment proposed
A document introduced from another committee
A revision of another document begun
Amendment imported from another committee
Proposal Debated
Drop a proposal
Refer a proposal
Adopt a proposal
Other vote (continue debate)
Reject a proposal
Postpone debate on a proposal
Procedural motion introduced
Procedural Motion Debated
Procedural motion with sub-decisions