A most provocative argument, Steve! (You sure you don't have TOO much time on your hands?)

Rights VS Slavery…Slavery VS Rights…you could go on forever!

Defending the War over the issue of rights makes a good argument, but you still have a whole race of folk held under bondage by another, through...Rights!

You can crunch the numbers of how few Confederate Soldiers owned, or were going to own slaves afterwards, it will not change anything…the South was going to secede to keep the right to have slavery. The North was not going to let the South split, and watch the South risk dividing again, and again…

“If the United States submits to a division now, it will not stop, but will go on until we reap the fate of Mexico, which is eternal war” Gen. William T. Sherman

A real consern.

Texas made it real clear that they were not going to stand by and let the “Non-slave- holding States” determine the path that Texas was going to take, I see the word Slavery mentioned numerous times in it’s declaration, a mistrust had clearly developed between the Slave holding states, and the non-slave holding States:

“In all the non-slave-holding States, in violation of that good faith and comity which should exist between entirely distinct nations, the people have formed themselves into a great sectional party, now strong enough in numbers to control the affairs of each of those States, based upon the unnatural feeling of hostility to these Southern States and their beneficent and patriarchal system of African slavery, proclaiming the debasing doctrine of the equality of all men, irrespective of race or color--a doctrine at war with nature, in opposition to the experience of mankind, and in violation of the plainest revelations of the Divine Law. They demand the abolition of negro slavery throughout the confederacy, the recognition of political equality between the white and the negro races, and avow their determination to press on their crusade against us, so long as a negro slave remains in these States.”

So, instead of pulling their power and voice in the Government as it was set up to do then and now, they pulled out. With no real dissenting voice to stop the Lincoln government, the Republicans could do what they wanted, even trample on the Constitution…which they did very well!

I sound harsh towards the South, and I don’t intend to, but there are NO innocents here, both sides paid dearly for failing to better work things out.

States Rights sounds like a great thing, but there are hidden dangers lurking in the back-ground, every bit as much as too much control in too few hands. You don’t want me at the helm, determining what is every ones rights… my opinions will NOT please everyone, and the thought of Jamie & Joe eating watermelon in their underwear…well, that may be more info than I wish to contemplate!

(A weird shuddering sensation just crept over me!)

Kevin Dally