Background
WATKINS, William Wirt was born on April 1, 1826 in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States, United States.
WATKINS, William Wirt was born on April 1, 1826 in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States, United States.
Little is known of his early life, save that he was raised in Boone County, Arkansas. He practiced law in Carrollton, Arkansas, during the 1850s, and he served in the Arkansas Senate from 1856 to 1860. In February 1861, he was a unionist delegate to the Arkansas secession convention.
He favored cooperation with the border slave states and, after the firing on Fort Sumter, voted for secession. Elected to the provisional Congress from Carroll County, he served on the Commerce and Inauguration Committees. He then returned to private life and resumed his law practice in Carrollton.
In 1866, he was elected to the Arkansas Senate, and he served in the state Senate from 1878 until 1882.
"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.
Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.