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In fact, this very nation was a bunch of colonies that simply seceded from Great Britain.

Let's be accurate here. The colonists rebelled. They launched a revolt. They were well aware that their actions were not legal, they knew that they would have to fight for their independence, and were prepared to accept the consequences of their actions without whining. Oh, and they won. Another one of the differences between the Founding Fathers and the leaders of the Southern rebellion.

But there was a huge difference in that the Colonists were never allowed representation whereas the Southern politicians had controlled the federal government for all but a few years since the Founding. The Founders were not rebelling against a Nation created by the American People but a government which denied them the rights of Englishmen.

Robert E. Lee always called it a revolution. He fought, and he lost. Never once did he whine. When Colonel Porter Alexander wanted to disappear into the mountains to fight a guerilla war, he said no. We've been beaten. He settled down and lived his life in quiet dignity. Many of his soldiers followed his example. Lee was prepared to accept the consequences as well. He put on his best uniform before meeting Grant because he thought he could be Grant's prisoner.

What I don't understand is why you hold our forefathers in such esteem, but hold Lee in such contempt. Perhaps he committed the one sin America cannot abide. He lost.

But you can still be honorable in defeat as you are in victory.

Seceding and revolting, six of one, half a dozen of the other, right?

Wrong.

Secession is done peacefully, and may end in war, but a revolt is war first and foremost. The colonist demanded nicely to be separate from England, they didn't go sack British garrisons in New York and New Jersey prior to declaring independence.

When South Caroline and the New England states were going to secede, they held conferences and conventions, they didn't rush into the White House and perform a coup d'etat.

I hope this makes sense to you.

As for the Founders, all save Alexander Hamilton (another Whig statist) were at odds with Lincoln's philosophy. When Washington had to put down the Whiskey Rebellion with troops (first suspension of habeas corpus in America), he did so peacefully and rescinded the tariff that upset the rebels in the first place.

And guess who proposed the tax that started the uprising in the first place? Yep, Hamilton, Lincoln's hero. The difference between Lincoln and Washington is that Washington listened to the people and backed off, Lincoln did not.

And let me spell something out for those who don't realize the cost of the Civil War in human life. Adjusted for the current US population it would be the equivalent of 6 million dead Americans. Think about that when you see all the pissing and moaning over a couple thousand dead in Iraq.

Also, Lincoln expected the war to last a month or two. He completely botched his assessment of its duration and cost.