ABSTRACT
On December 19, 1860 Cadet John Y. Wofford, having relinquished his appointment, asked permission to leave West Point immediately rather than await the Secretary of War's formal approval of his resignation. In retrospect, the mid-eighteen fifties appear to have constituted a vaguely defined but discernible watershed in the evolution of sectionalism at West Point. Sectionalism persisted at West Point despite the efforts of the authorities to play it down. The comments of contemporary observers disclose that the authorities were at least partially successful in their efforts to suppress sectionalism and encourage nationalism. That sectionalism at ante-bellum West Point followed so closely the path it took in the rest of the country is hardly surprising. Each congressional district, each territory, and the District of Columbia were represented by a cadet at the military academy. Sectionalism was operating to stack West Point and the regular army with men from a particular section.
