[" It was regarded as a confession of despair and an abandonment of the ground upon which we had seceded from the old Union. We had insisted that Congress had no right to interfere with slavery, and upon the coming into power of the party who it was known would assume and exercise that power, we seceded"]

Well JakeO, I think the answer to that question you've been searching for is right here. It was a matter of principle. For a few individuals, there may have been other reasons but for the most part, it was not the right of the Organization of states, either Union or a Confederacy to demand or command the citizens to do something with their property. It's unfortunate that the property was slaves, but that's the way it was.

Pam