The Secession Vote (CEC)

When Texas debated the question of secession, the loudest voices seemed to be wholeheartedly in favor of leaving the United States. A secession convention met in February 1861 and its delegates voted 166 to 8 in favor. Governor Sam Houston, who had so carefully piloted the state into the union wasn’t so sure that this group represented the will of the people. He demanded a statewide referendum with each county declaring their support, or opposition, to the revolutionary measure. When officials tallied the votes, the measure carried by a 3:1 margin although some point to irregularities in as many as a third of Texas counties. Even with this tampering, the vote would still have carried–overwhelmingly.

Secession failed, however, in most of the Red River counties, the Hill Country central Texas, and in Angelina County in deep East Texas.