Lee was fighting for STATES RIGHTS.
Rights that the states were promised when they joined the union.
Slavery was just a vehicle.
Imagine if the Federal government forced them to do something else, besides get rid of their slaves?
Like buy health care.
“Lee was fighting for STATES RIGHTS.”
States don’t have rights, they have powers. Lee fought for only his state of Virginia and yet only commanded the Army of Northern Virginia.
States don’t have state citizens, we are all American citizens, we have the rights.
One of them is freedom.
Slavery was the cause of the Civil War, that “vehicle” killed 700,000+ to get it stopped.
Lee was a decent general, so was Rommel. Of the 383 Confederate generals, arguably Longstreet was better. Where are his statues?
Yes or take your guns
Except the Union had not forced anything.
The democrats (under the Al Gore of his time - Breckenridge) left the Union upon their first wiff of loss of power to Republicans.
The Republicans were a brand new party, formed in opposition to the horrific Kansas-Nebraska act. This act repealed the Missouri compromise of 30-40 years earlier. It was proposed by Douglas (D) - it allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to vote if they were to be free or slave.
The end result was ten years of bloody strife in Kansas as both sides fought for supremacy.
Breckenridge allowed the Republicans to win in 1860 by SPLITTING THE DEMOCRAT PARTY between himself and Douglas. A United party may have very well won the Presidency.
The democrats lost the House, but retained control of the Senate by ONE seat, and the Judiciary (by virtue of having been in control for decades).
So rather than tough out a split government for four years due to their idiotic election policy.
Breckenridge led his followers into secession. And from there into total defeat.
Breckenridge did get himself appointed to the Senate - via Kentucky - after he lost the Presidency. He tried to lead Kentucky into rebellion also, but failed.
Eventually, the Senate grew tired of his treachery and expelled the lout for treason !
See the Senate web site.
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/expulsion_cases/038Breckinridge_expulsion.htm
“Response of the Senate
A brief discussion followed, in which Lyman Trumbull (R-IL) inquired of Breckinridge’s Kentucky colleague, Democrat Lazarus Powell, whether it was true that Breckinridge had become a general in the Confederate army. After first trying to avoid a direct answer, Powell finally confirmed that Trumbull’s information was correct. Because Breckinridge had accepted a prominent military position in the Confederacy, Trumbull asked that the resolution be amended to state:
Whereas John C. Breckinridge, a member of this body from the State of Kentucky, has joined the enemies of his country, and is now in arms against the Government he had sworn to support:
Therefore, Resolved, That the said John C. Breckinridge, the traitor, be, and he is hereby, expelled from the Senate.
That same day, the Senate voted 36 to 0 to pass the resolution as amended and expel Breckinridge.”