[Bubba Ho-Tep]

When more & more of the posterity of their former allies & compatriots, instead turned to insult; many considered the moral bond from the great joint venture to be dissolved.

What insult? And are you saying that they dissolved the union, raised an army and started a war because their feelings were hurt?

[Ohioan]

The "insult" from those who came together on the basis of mutual respect among men of honorable purpose, betraying that commitment. The Constitution from Preamble to conclusion, was premised upon mutual respect among sovereign partners, who came together for the common benefit of themselves & their posterity, down through the generations.

Robert E. Lee's father & uncle, were very much a part of that commitment. Daniel Webster certainly understood it, in supporting the compromise of 1850 (see Daniel Webster Address).

Sadly, the compromise, so eloquently supported by Webster, did not stop the endless sniping against the honorable intentions of the Southern partners. It is not the subjects of that sniping that are as important as the breach of the essential mutual respect, which made the American compact possible.