The Secession Convention reconvened on May 6 at the State House. By the afternoon a committee had drafted a secession resolution and it was put to a vote. It passed 65 to 5.
"Enough votes have been cast to take us out of the Union," Chairman David Walker told the delegates. "Now since we must go, let us all go together, let the wires carry the news to all the world that Arkansas stands as a unit against coercion."
One by one the delegates changed their votes, except for Isaac Murphy of Madison County. "I have cast my vote after mature reflection, and have duly considered the consequences, and I cannot conscientiously change it," Murphy told the convention. "I therefore vote no!"
It is said that the other delegates "menaced" Murphy after this declaration, until unexpectedly a bouquet of roses landed at his feet, hurled by Mrs. Frederick Trapnall, a highly respected Little Rock widow. Mrs. Trapnall's gesture apparently calmed the crowd. At any rate Murphy remained present for the duration of the convention, for his name is recorded in the subsequent proceedings.
Though Rector had led the fight for secession, its realization would adversely affect him. When drafting the new Confederate constitution, his enemies among the Unionists and the Family conspired to have the office of governor come up for re-election in 1862, rather than 1864 as was the case for all other constitutional officers. Rector would soon compound his political problems with his bungled management of the war effort.
Next: The Civil War and Rector's Fall
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