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To: Trod Upon

So you think he started the war for what purpose?


55 posted on 08/28/2013 10:26:11 PM PDT by DManA
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To: DManA

“So you think he started the war for what purpose?”

It’s easy enough to let Lincoln answer that himself:

Whereas the laws of the United States have been for some time past and now are opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by law:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia of the several States of the Union, to the a ggregate number of seventy-five thousand, in order to suppress said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed.

The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the State authorities through the War Department.

I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of popular government; and to redress wrongs already long enough endured.

I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places, and property which have been seized from the Union; and in every event the utmost care will be observed, consiste ntly with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, and destruction of peaceful citizens in any part of the country.

And I hereby command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to disperse and retire peacefully to their respective abodes within twenty days from date.

Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution, convene both Houses of Congress. Senators and Representatives are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective chambers, at twelve o’clock, on Thursday, the fourth day of July next, then and there to consider and determine such measures as, in their wisdom, the public safety and interest may seem to demand.


59 posted on 08/28/2013 10:38:07 PM PDT by Pelham (Deportation is the law. When it's not enforced you get California)
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To: DManA

I think most political decisions are anything but altruistic, despite the terms they may be couched in. My view is that Lincoln fought for much the same reasons King George tried to stop the colonies from breaking away. The wealth and power of the surviving union would have been greatly diminished had the agriculturally productive southern states been allowed to secede. It might have even resulted in eventual loss of western territories that came under southern influence. Also, how would northern industry have fared after losing the southern market to “friendlier” European suppliers? There were plenty of hard nosed reasons to commit to war, but claims that cause of human liberty was the motivating factor don’t really ring true to me. It is a good way to stir people up to fight though. Do a little digging on the Corwin Amendment if you’ve never heard of it before. It’s not the kind of thing that makes it into the PC hagiographies we’ve been fed on Lincoln for decades.


67 posted on 08/28/2013 11:04:45 PM PDT by Trod Upon (Every penny given to film and TV media companies goes right into enemy coffers. Starve them out!)
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