Skip to content
Department of State Homepage State Library & Archives of Florida Services for Citizens Services for State Employees Services for Librarians Services for Archivists Services for Records Managers

Division of Library and Information Services : Research : Search Our Catalogs : Archives Catalog

State Archives of Florida Online Catalog

Magnifying glass over a document.

The Online Catalog allows searching and browsing of information about the Florida State Archives’ holdings of over 48,000 cubic feet of state and local government records and historical manuscripts. The catalog provides descriptions of over 3,400 collections and lists the contents of containers and folders in many of those collections. For assistance with accessing and using State Archives collections, call our Reference Staff at 850.245.6719 or email us at archives@dos.myflorida.com.


Search | Advanced Search  | Browse Indexes | Browse Collections  | FAQ

Details Page

Click on for detailed listing.
Record Group Number: 001000
Series/Collection Number: .S 1457
Creator: Florida Convention of the People
Title, Dates: Ordinances and resolutions, 1861-1862.
Amount: 1.00 v.
Medium Included:
Organization/Arrangement: Chronological.
Restrictions:
Terms Governing Use:
Biographical/Historical:     Pursuant to an Act of the Legislature approved November 30, 1860, Governor Madison S. Perry issued a proclamation calling an election on Saturday, December 22, 1860, for delegates to a Convention to address the issue of whether Florida had a right to withdraw from the Union.  The Secession Convention met on January 3, 1861 in Tallahassee.  John C. McGehee of Madison County was elected President.  The Convention passed the Ordinance of Secession on January 10, 1861, declaring Florida to be "a sovereign and independent nation."  The Convention ratified the Constitution adopted by the Confederate States of America on April 13 and adjourned sine die on April 27, 1861 unless convened by the president on or before December 25.
    Since the Convention generally approved of Governor Perry's actions it made no move to interfere with his administration; however, when Governor Milton took office in October of 1861 and reversed some policies of his predecessor, a move was started to reconvene the Convention.  President McGehee issued a proclamation on December 13 for the convention to meet on January 14, 1862, at Tallahassee.  McGehee expressed concern over two matters:  the state's finances and the powers of the Governor during wartime.  To remedy the later, the members appointed an Executive Council of four men to share the executive authority because they felt that the powers of a wartime executive should not be placed in the hands of one man.  The Convention adjourned sine die on January 27, 1862.
Summary:     The series contains the original handwritten ordinances and resolutions of the Florida Convention of the People (commonly referred to as the Secession Convention) from January 3 - March 1, 1861, April 18 - 27, 1861, and January 14 - 27, 1862.
    The volume contains all the ordinances and resolutions passed by the Convention, except for the Ordinance of Secession (No. 1) which can be found in Series 972.  A copy of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America is found after Ordinance 28 (the ordinance which ratifies it).
Finding Aids:
Additional Physical Form:
Reproduction Note:
Location of Originals/Duplicates:
Associated Materials:
Language Notes:
Ownership/Custodial History:
Publication Note:
General Note:
Electronic Records Access:
Subject Access Fields: Confederate States of America. Constitution.
Secession.
Ordinances. aat
Resolutions. aat
Florida Politics and government 1821-1865
Added Entries