[OrthodoxPresbyterian]

I wish the rebs had followed that principle when the 1861 Greeneville convention of East Tennessee expressed the desire for the region to secede from the rest of the state and remain in the Union. Of course when Confederate lip service to noble ideals conflicted with power lust, principles lost.

As far as the Greeneville convention, you're certainly correct.

The Southern States enjoyed a Natural Right to Secede from the US Federal Government, and Greene County enjoyed a Natural Right to Secede from Tennessee and seek re-admission to the USA.

Obviously, it was morally wrong for Tennessee to deny Greene County's Natural Right of Secession, just as it was morally wrong for the US Federal Government to deny the Southern States' Natural Right of Secession.

Glad we're in complete agreement.

[Colonel Kangaroo]

I'll give you credit for being consistent. Most reb fans resort to the magical omnipotence of states' rights to limit secession to levels where the rebs had a majority.

The Greeneville convention didn't only speak for Greene County, but the whole of East Tennessee. The problem for the Confederates was that there was a vital railroad from the Deep South to Virginia running through the region. Also the region contained the CSA's only domestic copper source and an important percentage of southern food agriculture.