William Freehling talked about two pivotal showdowns in Virginia, the most populous slave state in the south prior to the Civil War: the 1832 General Assembly debate over abolishing slavery that occurred in the wake of Nat Turner's 1831 slave insurrection and the 1861 Secession Convention's debate over whether to remain in the Union or join the Confederacy. Professor Freehling is the author of Showdown in Virginia: The 1861 Convention and the Fate of the Union (University of Virginia Press, 2010).

The 2010 Elizabeth Roller Bottimore Lecture, "Showdowns in Virginia: The Debates over Slavery and Secession, 1832 and 1861," was held at the University of Richmond.