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to put down the Whiskey Rebellion with troops (first suspension of habeas corpus in America), he did so peacefully and rescinded the tariff that upset the rebels in the first place.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.
If secession is done legally, and if the seceding states don't go out and shoot up federal forts. Then it most certainly ends 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.
They fought several pitched battles with the British between April 1775 and July 1776. They raised an army, captured Fort Ticonderoga, invaded Canada, lost and later forced the British out of Boston, and battled for New York, all before declaring independence. Hardly peaceful actions.
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.
And they didn't secede either. Didn't even seriously threaten to secede.
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.
When Washington put down the Whiskey Rebellion it was by calling up 13,000 troops and sending them after the rebels. And interestingly enough Washington relied on the same piece of legislation to justify his actions as Lincoln used to call up the troops to put down the Southern rebellion, the Militia Act of 1792.
Oh, and it was a tax not a tariff. Tariffs are on imports, Washington's government was taxing domestically produced whiskey.
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.
Let me ask you this. Had the war cost 600,000 lives, but the South had emerged victorious, would you say it was worth the cost?
Also, Lincoln expected the war to last a month or two. He completely botched his assessment of its duration and cost.
There was a lot of that going around then.