What if all of the deep South states voted on secession

[rob in cal]

     During the secession crisis of 1860-1861, none of the deep South states held referenda on whether the electorate in those states really wanted either secession or a convention to be held to consider secession.  Only in Texas was a referenda held after the convention had already approved secession.  By contrast, in the upper South states of North Carolina and Tennessee, secession was voted down in pre-Fort Sumter days, and in Virginia a convention was called but a majority of moderate to solid Unionists won seats, with Virginia only seceeding after Fort Sumter.
    In one deep South state, I believe either Georgia or Alabama, unionists failed by only about four votes in one convention from getting a requirement for a referendum to approve secession from passing.  Had a few of the deep South states actually voted directly on secession in a referendum, my guess is that perhaps some of them would have voted down secession before Fort Sumter, and thus the confederacy would have been much weaker looking and disjointed.  Lincoln could then try to wear down by peaceful means, this smaller and more patchwork Confederacy.  Meanwhile, in such a scenario, unionists in the Upper South would have been that much more strengthened.  Perhaps it was a sign of secessionists fears of their true weakness that outside of Texas, they resisted letting the voters decide this important issue.

[Jerseyrules]

Maybe west Virginia stays part of Virginia