15. At First, Not All Of Mississippi’s Counties Agreed With Secession And Newton Knight Sympathized After They Changed Their Mind
In order to officially secede from the Union, all the Confederate States had to write a Secession Ordinance. However, in order to complete this, the majority of the counties in the state had to agree to secession. Furthermore, the elected officials for each county had to sign the ordinance in agreement. In 1861, Jones County elected a politician who did not agree with secession, John H. Powell. Many residents of Jones County, including some of Newton’s family and friends but not Newton because he lived in the neighboring county, believed Powell would help so Mississippi did not secede from the Union. However, due to pressure after voting against secession in the first ballot, Powell changed his vote for the second ballot.
Because of Powell changing his vote to secession in the second ballot, many residents of Jones County were angry. However, interestingly, it was Newton who sympathized with Powell. Even though Newton was against the institution of slavery and secession, he was quick to support Powell in an interview several years after the Civil War ended. In the interview, Newton stated that people did not realize all the pressure Powell was under to change his vote. Unlike many others, Newton understood the pressures that Powell and other elected county representatives faced. Moreover, for Newton, this pressure was just another reason to secede from the Confederate Army.