[Kalamata]

>>OIFVeteran wrote: "Question for you. What do you believe President Buchanan’s response (constitutionally) should have been to South Carolina’s declaration of secession?"

I am from Pennsylvania, and I understand that Buchanan's hand was in the pockets of the steel industry protectionists (aka, the crony capitalists.) But if Buchanan HAD been a patriot, he would have said something like this:

"The powers of secession and nullification were retained by the states in the constitutional and ratificational conventions to constrain the overreaching lust for power by those who seek to divide us and rule over us, rather than represent us."

We were warned early on about those seeking to usurp power by dividing us.

"'Divide and govern' is a maxim consecrated by the experience of ages, and should be familiar in its use to every politician as the knife he carries in his pocket." [Philiip Freneau, "Rules for Changing a Limited Republican Government into an Unlimited Hereditary One." National Gazette, 1792]

BTW, I read that statement by Freneau on Free Republic many, many years ago. At the time, I never dreamed I would one day be saying this: Lincoln was 'The Great Divider!'

Mr. Kalamata

[OIFVeteran]

Thank you for your reply. The statement you have him make talks about people dividing and ruling over us, rather than represent us. I think that gets to the heart of the matter. Many in the North felt that the slavocracy had ruled over the entire country for most of it's history. They had even enforced a gag rule in congress in 1836 that tabled any petitions for the abolition of slavery.

This procedure for the "gagging" of abolition petitions was made into a formal resolution by the House on May 26, 1836: "All petitions, memorials, resolutions, propositions, or papers, relating in any way, or to any extent whatsoever, to the subject of slavery or the abolition of slavery, shall, without being either printed or referred, be laid on the table and … no further action whatever shall be had thereon."

So much for the constitutional right to petition the government for the redress of grievances.