The Ruffner Pamphlet was an economic argument for the gradual emancipation of slaves in western Virginia put forth in 1847 by Henry Ruffner, president of Washington College in Lexington. Ruffner was no William Lloyd Garrison; like the congressman and University of Virginia professor George Tucker, he opposed slavery for practical, not moral, reasons and made sure to emphasize that “we do not censure our Eastern brethren for opposing this measure so far as their part of the State is concerned.” And oppose it they did, successfully, for the whole state. John Letcher, then the editor of the Lexington Valley Star, was one of a number of politicians who signed on to Ruffner’s idea. Although he had always opposed abolition, he wanted to stick up for western Virginia in its fight for more economic and political power. Such a move made sense at the time but came back to haunt him during his 1858 run for governor. The Democrats ran a spirited primary opponent against him, but his recent and bellicose statements against the Republican Party, made while he served in Congress, helped him win the primary and then the governorship. He took office just weeks after John Brown was hanged.
Further Reading:
F. N. Boney, John Letcher of Virginia: The Story of Virginia’s Civil War Governor (1966)
This Vignette Provided By
Brendan Wolfe, associate editor of Encyclopedia Virginia.
