 That week, on February 9, the state of Tennessee was to vote on whether or not to send delegates to a State Convention that would decide on secession.The General Assembly convened by Governor Isham Harris did not believe it had the authority to call a State Convention without a vote of the people.In February 1861, 54 percent of the state's voters voted against sending delegates to a secession convention, defeating the proposal for a State Convention by a vote of 69,675 to 57,798.