Hi David,

"I cannot completely agree with that assessment."

No problem :)

"While Slavery was a cause of the sectional divide which you correct point out, it was the failure of the United States Government to protect the rights of the southern citizens as granted under the Constitution, that generated the mistrust of the Federal Government among the southern people that caused them to look at secession and forming their own government for the protection of their own interests."

I agree that many Southern people came to mistrust the federal government. But in what way did the federal government fail to protect the rights of Southerners under the Constitution?

I believe they came to mistrust northerners, more than the federal government itself. In fact, the federal government had often protected Southern interests, as arguably most presidents had been from the South or friendly towards it (ie. Pierce and Buchanan), the South (and its friends) pretty much controlled the Senate, and the Supreme Court had been friendly to the South.

When Lincoln and the sectional Republican party took control of the executive, I believe the Deep South "saw the writing on the wall"---a northern-dominated government---and chose the path to secession.