[jeffersondem]

“All parties knew that secession wasn’t an enumerated privilege.
All parties knew that any attempt at unilateral secession would be met with resistance, thus no unilateral secession could be ever considered “amicable” or peaceful.
The southern states seceded anyway and seized federal properties in provocative and belligerent fashion.
The north defended itself and the fight was on.
The north prevailed.
SCOTUS declared unilateral secession unconstitutional.”

I have to say this is the most succinct, plausible, and compelling case for Lincoln's war that I have ever read. If scholars were to work for the next 150 years it is doubtful they could improve on this justification for Lincoln's decision to kill 600,000 people.

And each statement is either wrong or irrelevant - save one: the north prevailed.

[rockrr]

Responsibility and blame for the loss of those lives lies squarely on the shoulders of jeff davis and the slavers.

Sine qua non