What did the South Fight For? Pt.2

Hey! Thanks for checking out my History Page! I hope you found the first blog post helpful! Today we will continue with the question, "What did the South fight for?" looking at two more sections of this topic.

Why Secession?
First of all, what is secession? What does it mean to secede? Here’s a definition that seems comprehensible to me.

According to the Declaration of Independence (A secession document), governments,

“derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,” and, “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.” Also, “when a long train of abuses and usurpations… evinces a design to reduce the people under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Simply this: When your government becomes corrupt, you have the right to revolt (or breakaway) from that government and restore the rightful government to power. This was the mindset of the Patriots, and this was the mindset of the Confederate Patriots. Thus, each state took a vote and acted accordingly. Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri’s secession votes were crashed by invaders sent by none other than Abraham Lincoln. Otherwise, there would have been fourteen seceded states instead of eleven.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Their reason for leaving the Union was clear: Abraham Lincoln had said he was in sympathy with the money loving Union factory owners and would pass and uphold laws to protect their interests while passing and upholding unlawful taxations (without representation) on the Southern states. He wasn’t interested in the good of the WHOLE country, only a portion of it. And so, South Carolina seceded.

When a President makes it clear that he is only interested in caring for part of a country and not the whole, he is not a leader, but a tyrant, seeking his own agenda and not the good of the people. He encouraged the division of the people, which brings us to our next question…

Who Declared War on Whom? Many people believe the “Civil War” began at Fort Sumter on April 12th, 1861. But this is not the case. The war began on May 6th, nearly a month later, when Abraham Lincoln declared it on the south. He called for troops from each of the un-seceded states to march on the “rebellious” states.

The response he got from the two remaining Southern states was not what he had anticipated. Virginia seceded. North Carolina Gov. Zebulun Vance replied, “You will get no troops from North Carolina,” and his state seceded on May 20th.

Abraham Lincoln, by asking these states and the northern states for a coercive force, encouraged further division between the North and South. His actions were reminiscent of a certain King, less than 90 years prior, King George III of England. He encouraged his soldiers to fight British Colonists over what? Money and Power. Lincoln encouraged conflict between the Northern and Southern citizens over what? Money (Tariffs) and Power (Strong Federal Government). But in the History books, King George’s name is spoken with distaste and dishonor, while Abraham Lincoln’s is spoken with high praise and honor, though undeserved.

(Just a side note:  both Abraham Lincoln and King George offered slaves their freedom in return for helping to put down the “rebellions”. While some did just that, the majority of the slaves loved their masters and their families too much to take up arms against them. Not advocating slavery. Just stating a fact :) )

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