More from the link that has been repeatedly cited: http://bessel.org/slavecw.htm excerpt from "First Message of Governor Isham Harris to the Tennessee Assembly EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, NASHVILLE, January 7, 1861 This provision of the Constitution has been spurned and trampled under foot by these "highe...

Suppose one were to play devil's advocate with the "perpetual union" term. So we originally sign on to the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union", then we later replace that and sign on to the "Constitution for the United States of America". Since we removed the "perpetual union" clause fro...

Very well put. I can't help but grouse when I see people place all of their Civil War eggs in the slavery basket. So many people simply refuse to recognize that the war was fought over much larger issues, some of which were simple greed and power. "States rights" often gets construed to mean just "t...

You are correct about Sumter being a success for Lincoln from a PR perspective, of course. I was referring to the fact that Lincoln's response in calling up troops, which was obviously a prelude to invasion, led directly to the collapse of pro-Union sentiment in the upper south and the secession of ...

Political power and money were the motivations for fighting the American Civil War. Of course this should be painfully obvious, since every war in recorded history can be boiled down to either or both of these reasons. Slavery was not the disease, it was the primary symptom of the disease. Secretary...