Two separate issues. There are States rights issues that have nothing to do with racism. For example, take a look at what is occurring. Would you call people occupying that six blocks of Seattle racists because they believe they are exercising their rights as they understand the Constitution?
That is not to say that there have not been similar instances of racists who wish to hide behind that same freedom.
The question worth considering (both then and now) is what is the highest priority? A United states, or a free dissolution whenever any group of people take over any area, be it a few city blocks or an entire state? Remember, that had been talk in California of that state becoming its own nation since it has one of the largest economies.
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zantax
24
And? Doesnât change what each side was fighting for. The north didnât fight to free the slaves, that is revisionist history just as much as saying the south didnât fight for slavery.
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Sigh. I have. And why did they believe they had the right to secede? The First Amendment. Why did some who did not own slave, and were even against it, side with the South? The First Amendment.
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Well said. The South felt they had the right to both. Everyone is in agreement they had no right to slavery. Did they have the right to secede?
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zantax
27
Yes, they did. Consent of the governed. No way the states would have ever ratified the constitution if they thought otherwise.
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This thread is such trash. âStateâs Rightsâ. The right to do what? What rights were being taken away from the states. Oh, yea. THE RIGHT TO OWN SLAVES. Who cares about black rights, itâs all about the slave stateâs rights. What a load. If it were states enslaving white Christians against their will, you wouldnât be here trying to rationalize it.
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zantax
29
How am I trying to rationalize anything. I clearly said the south fought for slavery, not states rights.
They didnât have the right to secede to enslave Americans either. Boo hoo.
We already did this thread.
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There was also the financial issue. The North wanted tariffs on any goods other than their own, which did hurt the South. One location growing richer and more powerful while the other grows poorer and less powerful has ever been a traditional instigator of war. In the South was the issue of feeling they were being brow-beaten by the North. Whether this feeling was justified can be debated. In either case, it still does not justify slavery.
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zantax
33
They either had a right to secede or they didnât, No good reason required.
No they did not have a right to enslave AMERICAN CITIZENS. Thatâs what their secession meant. Slavery of AMERICAN CITIZENS. It was thr Northâs obligation under law to protect AMERICAN CITIZENS from slavery.
JayJay
35
That was in the 1830s and was resolved through negotiation.
Wasnât even mentioned as a cause of secession.
Nothing in the Constitution allows for secession. The Supreme Court has ruled as such. What the South was attempting to do was illegal without the consent of the states as a whole.
Whether they had the right is irrelevant.
zantax
38
That they tried to do it in an illegal manner doesnât mean they didnât have a right to do it legally.
Had you read them there is no way you could lead your OP with this:
Hope it travels a different direction. I am not after political parties lining up pointing fingers. Rather, how do we feel, today, about States Rights, about the First Amendment covering the abolition and institution of a new government.
And, of course the irony of erasing the names of historical people who tried to do just that.
How do we feel about the United States, and those who try to separate from it? Should we, as a nation, be seriously considering this option, and if so, the ways (and the costs) of doing so?
Have you read the rest of what I wrote? And others? In all the years of slavery, no one went to war until secession.
So we agree that the South illegally tried to secede from the nation. Perhaps they should have thought of legal pathways before jumping to illegal methods?