American Civil War Blog

American Civil War Blog

Discussions and comments are encouraged on this NEW American Civil War Blog, where - North, South, Border States - all views and viewpoints are welcome! Scroll down and pick a subject and make your voice heard. What caused the Civil War? Tell everyone the answer! Who was the greatest Civil War general? Stake your claim here!

What Caused the Civil War? From Slavery to States' Rights to Southern Secession

What Caused the Civil War? Slavery? States' Rights? Secession?

Foreward

Was President Abraham Lincoln moot or silent about "What caused the Civil War? No. However, one will never hear the Abraham Lincoln admirer quote Lincoln (aka Honest Abe or Father Abraham) on what he literally stated regarding "What caused the Civil War." Why does the Lincoln fanatic always insist on quoting anything, everything and anyone else? Simple. Because the truth doesn't adhere to the person's view of Lincoln. Regarding the Lincoln worshipper, just ask one question: Why doesn't said person quote President Lincoln on what he literally said and wrote relating to "What caused the Civil War"? The Lincoln lover will always quote one or two Southern documents, out of context, in order to support and purport flawed views and ideologies. And why do they intentionally avoid Lincoln's very own documents, letters, and speeches? Because everything indicts Lincoln. Remember, Lincoln, as commander-in-chief, went to war, the bloodiest war in America's history and without the consent of Congress, so Lincoln is accountable and his words must be considered. Whether it be referred to as a war, rebellion or conflict, the reader will examine Lincoln's very own words regarding "What caused the Civil War."

Introduction

Regarding "What caused the Civil War," the President of the United States -- as commander-in-chief and chief executive -- declared that the sole cause of the Civil War was secession. Lincoln never stated that slavery caused the Civil War. Lincoln chose war to suppress what he deemed a rebellion in the Southern states. If the South embraced and espoused slavery and if the South stated that the institution, alone, justified war, it was ultimately the President of the United States, possessing absolute responsibility and duty as chief executive for the nation, who, to the contrary, declared war on the Southern states because of secession. As President, Lincoln declared that the South was guilty only of rebellion, and, without the consent of Congress and contrary to pleas from the Supreme Court, Lincoln raised an army and subsequently invaded the Southern states. Moreover, the decision to declare war or to suppress a rebellion, and to state what caused the Civil War, was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln himself; and he stated his position for war clearly. (See also: Civil War Causes, Southern States Secede, and Secession of the South History and President Lincoln, What Caused the Civil War, Slavery, South and States' Rights, and Southern Secession.)

Prior to April 15, 1861, seven Southern states, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, had seceded from the Union. On April 15, 1861, Lincoln stated in his Call For Troops that the only cause of the Civil War was secession in the Southern states, and that troops were being called upon in order to "suppress the rebellion" and force the states back into the Union. Just 2 days after Lincoln's Call for Troops to raise an army and invade the South, Virginia seceded (April 17), followed by Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee. Kentucky, meanwhile, refused to recruit a single soldier for Lincoln's "wicked cause," and Maryland, a free state, was invaded by U.S. troops and placed under martial law, while Delaware, though of divided loyalty, did not attempt it. In Missouri, on October 31, 1861, a pro-CSA remnant of the General Assembly met and passed an ordinance of secession.

 

Lincoln, moreover, never stated publicly or in any document that abolishing the institution of slavery was why he called upon the troops, or to free the slaves was the cause of the Civil War. The Southern states had seceded, and Lincoln was now determined to suppress it. According to the president, secession was the cause of the Civil War.

 

The Five Civilized Tribes even aligned themselves with the Confederacy, and the Cherokee Nation in its formal declaration to unite with the Southern states leveled, among many, the following blistering accusations against Lincoln and the Union: “But in the Northern States the Cherokee people saw with alarm a violated Constitution, all civil liberty put in peril, and all the rules of civilized warfare and the dictates of common humanity and decency unhesitatingly disregarded. In States which still adhered to the Union a military despotism has displaced the civil power and the laws became silent amid arms. Free speech and almost free thought became a crime. The right to the writ of habeas corpus, guaranteed by the Constitution, disappeared at the nod of a Secretary of State or a general of the lowest grade. The mandate of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was set at naught by the military power, and this outrage on common right approved by a President sworn to support the Constitution. …Lincoln sent armies into Southern States to aid in subjugating a people struggling for freedom, to burn, to plunder, and to commit the basest of outrages on women; while the heels of armed tyranny trod upon the necks of Maryland and Missouri, and men of the highest character and position were incarcerated upon suspicion and without process of law in jails, in forts, and in prison-ships, and even women were imprisoned by the arbitrary order of a President and Cabinet ministers; while the press ceased to be free.” See also What Caused the Civil War? Slavery? States' Rights? Secession?

What Caused the Civil War, aka Causes of the Civil War

What Caused the Civil War?

The most controversial question regarding the conflict that claimed more than 620,000 Americans is: what caused the Civil War?

The Civil War caused more than 620,000 deaths, which was 2% of the U.S. population. The conflict produced more deaths than all previous U.S. wars combined. Even a brief introduction to the U.S. Civil War will prompt the student to ask, why was the Civil War fought? There are, however, two dominant positions: 1) slavery caused the Civil War, or 2) states' rights caused the Civil War.

In law, in debate, and in history we should view every subject in context and strive to examine as many facts as possible before arriving at any conclusion. When there are numerous facts available, it is prudent to avoid one or two documents or statements to support one's bias. Speculation and conjecture should be avoided, while the witnesses and their respective testimonies should be admitted and examined.
 

A quick overview is to reference the question to its era and participants. On one hand, we have the position that slavery was the only cause of the Civil War. On the other hand, we have the position that states' rights caused the Civil War. The argument for states' rights, as derived from the Tenth Amendment, includes the right for the state to secede from the Union. Secession was a direct challenge of state government verses national government. The Tenth Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution, was ratified on December 15, 1791, and it states that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
 

The major participants during the Civil War were the state governments, the national government, and the president, so we will begin by discussing and defining the roles and responsibilities of each participant.
 

Who is the final arbiter when there are differences, disagreements, and conflicts between state governments and federal government?
 

The United States Supreme Court is the final arbiter in interpreting the U.S. Constitution and which law or government action violated it.
 

The Constitution established the Supreme Court as the highest court in the United States. The authority of the Court originates from Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

One of the Supreme Court’s most important responsibilities is to decide cases that raise questions of constitutional interpretation. The Court decides if a law or government action violates the Constitution. This is known as judicial review and enables the Court to invalidate both federal and state laws when they conflict with the Constitution. Since the Supreme Court stands as the ultimate authority in constitutional interpretation, its decisions can be changed only by another Supreme Court decision or by a constitutional amendment.

Judicial review puts the Supreme Court in a pivotal role in the American political system, making it the referee in disputes among various branches of the Federal, as well as state governments, and as the ultimate authority for many of the most important issues in the country.
 

The Supreme Court exercises complete authority over the federal courts, but it has only limited power over state courts. The Court has the final word on cases heard by federal courts, and it writes procedures that these courts must follow. All federal courts must abide by the Supreme Court’s interpretation of federal laws and the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court’s interpretations of federal law and the Constitution also apply to the state courts, but the Court cannot interpret state law or issues arising under state constitutions, and it does not supervise state court operations. See also What Caused the Civil War?

Five Civilized Tribes and the American Civil War

Five Civilized Tribes and the American Civil War

For the Five Civilized Tribes the Civil War proved a disastrous experience. The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Seminole, and Creek had only begun to repair the damage done by intratribal factionalism before and during Indian Removal (1830-39) and to fashion a hospitable existence in Indian Territory, when the war came upon them and revived old disagreements. Indeed, it can be argued that no group in the nation suffered more in the Civil War than the Indians of Oklahoma. An argument can also be applied to the fate of the North Carolina Cherokee.

Torpedo Alley

Torpedo Alley

During the Civil War, the Monitor and Merrimack (Virginia) slugged it out in this region. In World Wars I and II, German U-boats hunted and destroyed ships off the Outer Banks. This was "Torpedo Alley," where Germans enjoyed their "Great American Turkey Shoot." From January through July 1942, German U-boats sank 397 ships filled with food, supplies, and oil in U.S. Atlantic waters and killed 5,000 people--a majority of whom were civilians and merchant marines. The U.S. concentrated initial naval efforts in the Pacific. Only one ship was sent to patrol the United States' southeast coast. To protect American lives and vital supplies bound for England, Churchill sent a flotilla of anti-submarine craft to patrol Atlantic shipping lanes. One particular ship, the H.M.T. Bedfordshire*, was torpedoed by a U-boat 40 miles off Cape Lookout on May 11, 1942. All hands were lost. The bodies of four sailors washed ashore on Ocracoke. Donating their services and land for this British Cemetery, the people of Ocracoke took care of the dead. This plot of land has been forever ceded to England and is maintained by the Ocracoke Coast Guard. A ceremony honoring these men, with representatives of the British Royal Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, is held at the location each year in May.

Women in Uniform: Female Soldiers of the Civil War

Women in Uniform: The Female Soldier

Woman Soldiers in the American Civil War

Introduction by The Civil War Society's Encyclopedia of the Civil War

In the last few years, historians have become more and more aware of what was previously thought to be a limited phenomenon in the Civil War: the incidence of women disguising themselves as men and enlisting in the army, for any number of reasons. 

 

There were numerous women openly serving with the armies on both sides, but recognized as female; the Union forces, more so than the Confederates, had in their ranks vivandieres, women who marched alongside the men, often going into battle with them, to provide medical assistance, carry water and ammunition down the line, and to carry messages between troops and their commanders. In addition, women such as Captain Sally Tompkins, who ran a hospital in Richmond for the Confederacy and was rewarded with a salaried rank in the Southern army, and Bridget Divers, who served openly in her husband's company of the First Michigan Cavalry, were tireless fighters in their own ways for the aims of their nations and flags.

But as time goes by, more stories are coming to the surface of women who left home disguised as men and passed through the haphazard enlistment process without being detected for what they really were. With few exceptions, these women served gallantly for all or part of the war; some of them, revealed to be women when they fell ill or were wounded, were either honorably discharged or summarily dismissed, depending on the mood of whatever general caught them or had to deal with them. Some of them even drew veterans' pensions in the years following the war.

Their reasons for serving were as different and varied as the women themselves. Sarah Emma Edmonds, a young Canadian girl, ran away from home to avoid an arranged marriage; she impersonated a male bookseller in the United States for a time, then enlisted in the Union army as Frank Thompson. She served with the Second Michigan Infantry until a bout of malaria made her fear she would be caught in her masquerade; she deserted, but was legally cleared of that desertion long after she had been married and had become a mother. See also Women in Uniform: The Female Soldier.

President Barak Obama Responds to Southern Secession, States Rights, Constitution, Supreme Court, and Civil War

Secession, States Rights, Constitution, Supreme Court, and the Civil War

Secession, States' Rights and Constitution: Our States Remain United

Obama Administration responds to secession: "Our States Remain United."

 

Introduction

 

President Barak Obama responds to Southern states

In 2012, individuals from 8 U.S. States filed petitions on petitions.whitehouse.gov requesting that Washington allow their respective State the right to "Peacefully withdrawal from the United States of America and create its own government." The official position of the White House is to respond to any and all petitions that have at least 25,000 signatures. The White House officially responded in 2013 to the petitions from the following States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In its official response, there are stark comparisons to 150 years ago when Abraham Lincoln addressed the Southern states on Secession. See also: President Lincoln on Secession and States' Rights and President Abraham Lincoln in his own words from Civil Rights to Secession.

PostNet Customer Gone Postal!

PostNet on Highland Village Reviews: The Highlands of Flower Mound

PostNet, The Highlands of Flower Mound, TX

(aka PostNet, Highland Village location)

"PostNet error allegedly costs customer $500 so the customer went postal"
 

PostNet franchises offer from shipping services – UPS, FedEx, and US Postal Service – to a variety of printing services, copy and finishing services, digital services, notary and fax services, office supplies to mailbox rentals, according to its website, postnet.com.

But its Flower Mound, TX, location (PostNet #744, The Highlands of Flower Mound), adjacent the Shops at Highland Village, allegedly cost one Highland Village resident $500 for a clear and unmistakable error.

"PostNet (6101 Long Prairie Rd #744) cost us $500 with its error and the owner refuses to take any responsibility. The location is totally inept and incompetent at shipping and documentation, and its employees have been very rude to us. Never again will we tolerate such disrespect from this so-called locally owned business," alleges a former customer from neighboring Highland Village. Continue to page for more details.