[rockrr]

And George didn’t pussy-foot around trying to dance between the raindrops of unilateral secession vs. outright rebellion. He knew that if he lost his life was forfeit.

[muawiyah]

The Brits had learned centuries back that subtle nuances were just so much baloney

[BroJoeK]

Ten Undeniable Historical Truths of the US Civil War:

1. A Constitutional Right
   A "right of secession" is not listed in the US Constitution, but the Founders' Original Intent is clear and consistent -- secession is only authorized by mutual consent or from a material breech of contract.
   In Madison's words:
   
   "the compact being among individuals as imbodied into States, no State can at pleasure release itself therefrom, and set up for itself.
   The compact can only be dissolved by the consent of the other parties, or by usurpations or abuses of power justly having that effect.
   It will hardly be contended that there is anything in the terms or nature of the compact, authorizing a party to dissolve it at pleasure."
   
   
2. 1860 Election
   Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 was, in effect, engineered by Deep-South Fire-Eaters, who walked out of their Democrat Convention rather than accept the nomination of Senator Stephen Douglas for President.
   This turned the previous majority-Democrats, controlled by Southern slave-holders, into a regional party with no national appeal.
   It was an act of political suicide, which gave minority Republicans the majority of presidential electors.

3. Secession
   After the election in November 1860, Deep South slave-holders had neither "mutual consent" nor material breech-of-contract to justify declarations of secession.
   They therefore seceded "at pleasure" and wrote as their reasons concerns over a potential threat to slavery represented by the election of Abraham Lincoln.
   In the words of the South Carolina Declaration of Causes which Justify Secession:
   
   "A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery.
   He is to be entrusted with the administration of the common Government, because he has declared that that 'Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free,' and that the public mind must rest in the belief that slavery is in the course of ultimate extinction."
   
   
4. Rebellion & Declaration of War
   Simultaneous to, and sometimes even preceding formal declarations, from December 1860 on, secessionists began committing innumerable acts of increasing violence, rebellion and insurrection against Federal property and personnel.
   These culminated in the military assault on Fort Sumter in April 1861, and the Confederacy's formal Declaration of War on the United States on May 6, 1881.
   " ...by the acts and means aforesaid, war exists between the Confederate States and the Government of the United States, and the states and territories thereof,..."
   
   
5. No Northern Aggression
   Before its official Declaration of War, no Confederate soldier had been killed by any Union force.
   That was due to directions from President Lincoln that war could not come unless the Confederacy started it:
   "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, Is the momentous issue of civil war.
   The government will not assail you.
   You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.
   You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and defend' it.
   I am loth to close.
   We are not enemies, but friends.
   We must not be enemies."
   
   

6. Confederate Aggression
   In its War of Aggression against the United States, the Confederacy not only seized every possible Federal property within its borders, but also sent forces into every Union state and territory on its borders, and some well beyond.
   These Confederate forces seized and destroyed property in every Union space they occupied.

7. Death Toll
   Total Civil War loss of lives was almost unimaginable -- over 600,000 in a population of 30 million.
   However, enumerated civilian deaths were relatively few, a handful, certainly as compared to the tens of millions killed, for example, during WWII.
   So, when challenged to produce actual reports of civilians murdered by Northern or Southern troops, the highest estimates instead come from demographic studies suggesting that life expectancy during hard times resulted in more elderly deaths and fewer children born than would have been otherwise.
   This is hardly comparable to mass murders in other wars.

8. Treason
   The charge of "treason" against Confederate leaders should be set aside.
   "Treason" is a legal term, a crime of which every accused should be presumed innocent until proved guilty.
   And since no Confederate leader was even tried, much less convicted of Treason, we legally have to say, they didn't commit it.
   Yes, of course we can well recognize the Constitution's plain language on treason: "waging war against the United States", but all charges were dropped after the war, for obvious political reasons, and there is no reason -- zero, zip, nada -- for us to reopen or attempt to "try" the case.

9. Courage and Genius
   There is just no denying that Confederate soldiers fought courageously under often inspired leadership, and turned what could have been an easy Northern victory into a long hard slog.
   Confederates were nearly always outnumbered, outgunned and under-supplied.
   But they seldom lacked for courage or leadership, and that made up for lot.

10. Thank You, 'Johnny Reb'
    Even more to the point, we should never forget that same "rebel" courage and tactical genius has ever since provided the US military with much of its strongest backbone and brilliant leadership.
    For that the United States should say "thanks" to all the "Johnny Rebs" who died setting the example, and all those who lived on to father and grandfather much of our military today.
    We'd be far less without them, imho.