The Union soldiers in that battle actually fought against self-determination; it was the Confederates who fought for the right of their people to govern themselves.
Actually, Lincoln never said the South wasn't fighting for its view of self-determination. He always spoke very precisely. He said the struggle was over whether a government of, by and for the people "could long endure."
Fairly obviously any such government that can be broken up by any significantly-sized minority that comes along will not "long endure."
While the southern people had a right to contend that "the people" in question were the people of the individual states, unionists had an equal right to contend that "the people" were the people of the United States.
RE: While the southern people had a right to contend that “the people” in question were the people of the individual states, unionists had an equal right to contend that “the people” were the people of the United States.
Yes, but what was the INTENT of the framers and those who RATIFIED the constitution?
If we do not appeal to that, then all we can do is appeal to whoever has the most weapons.
As I wrote above, In Federalist Paper 39, James Madison, the father of the Constitution, cleared up what “the people” meant, saying the proposed Constitution would be subject to ratification by the people, “not as individuals composing one entire nation, but as composing the distinct and independent States to which they respectively belong.”
In a word, states were sovereign; the federal government was a creation, an agent, a servant of the states.
On the eve of the War of 1861, even unionist politicians saw secession as a right of states. Maryland Rep. Jacob M. Kunkel said, “Any attempt to preserve the Union between the States of this Confederacy by force would be impractical, and destructive of republican liberty.” The northern Democratic and Republican parties favored allowing the South to secede in peace.
Just about every major Northern newspaper editorialized in favor of the South’s right to secede. New York Tribune (Feb. 5, 1860): “If tyranny and despotism justified the Revolution of 1776, then we do not see why it would not justify the secession of Five Millions of Southrons from the Federal Union in 1861.”
Detroit Free Press (Feb. 19, 1861): “An attempt to subjugate the seceded States, even if successful could produce nothing but evil — evil unmitigated in character and appalling in content.”
The New York Times (March 21, 1861): “There is growing sentiment throughout the North in favor of letting the Gulf States go.”