[kenavi]

Who fired first isn't the issue. It is more like who provoked who first.

Trying to crystallize a complex dispute. Lincoln refrained from being the first to fire on fellow Americans to settle the dispute, the South didn't. For me, that's a red line that should prevent Americans from honoring the Confederacy, even those who argue that slavery is entitled to the benefit of a relativist morality.

[TexConfederate1861]

You are entitled to your opinion, but I disagree. Lincoln was a consummate politician, and he knew just how far to push the South.