alt.war.civil.usa

No matter which side one takes in the Civil War, there are facts that
are too clearly proven to be denied:

1. The Upper South states declined to join in the first wave of
secession; in fact, they initially rejected secession by substantial
vote margins.

2. The Deep South states seceded in a democratic manner and with the
support of a large majority of their citizens, as even James McPherson
has conceded. The Upper South states seceded in a democratic manner
as well, as McPherson has also acknowledged.

3. The Confederacy sent peace commissioners to Washington in an
effort to establish peaceful relations with the . Lincoln would
not even meet with them.

4. The Confederacy offered to pay compensation for all formerly
federal installations within its borders, and also offered to pay the
South's share of the national debt.

5. The Confederacy hoped to carry on large-scale trade with the .
Indeed, Jefferson Davis hoped the . would be the CSA's largest
trading partner.

6. No one died in battle until federal armies invaded the Southern
states.

7. Even after the attack on Fort Sumter, the Confederacy continued to
express its desire for peaceful coexistence with the North.

8. The American Patriots regarded the British attempt to force the
colonies back into the Empire as unjust and wrong. They also balked
at the label of "rebel."

9. The American Patriots argued that the citizens of the colonies had
the natural right to withdraw their respective colonies from the
British Empire and to form a nation of their own choosing.

10. The American Patriots argued that the principles of the colonies'
original charters supported the colonies' desire for independence,
., that the colonies' desire for independence was consistent with
the principles of their original charters.

11. The states of Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia
joined the Union because they believed it was illegal and immoral to
use force against the seceded states. These states *rejected*
concerns about slavery as a reason to secede--as mentioned above, they
rejected secession by substantial margins initially.

12. James Madison and other founding fathers made it clear that the
Union was not formed by the people acting as a whole or as one people,
but only as citizens of their respective states. That's why each
state had to hold its own ratification convention. The legislature of
a state had to approve the calling of a ratification convention in the
first place, in order for that state's citizenry to vote in any way on
ratification.

13. During the constitutional debates in Philadelphia, the framers
expressly rejected the idea that the federal government could use
force to compel the obedience of a state. James Madison himself spoke
against this idea.

14. The Confederate Constitution contained the same protection for
the basic rights of its citizens that the . Constitution did for
Union citizens, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and
freedom of religion.

15. The Confederate Constitution had safeguards against wasteful
government spending that the . Constitution did not and does not.
For example, many scholars, from both parties, have argued that the
President could do a better job of controlling spending if he had the
power of the line-item veto. The Confederate Constitution included a
provision that gave its president the line-item veto.

16. No federal property was seized in the South until a federal army
unit destroyed the guns at Fort Moultrie and occupied Fort Sumter.

These and other facts can be found fully documented in:

Some Surprising Facts About the Confederacy
/mikegriffith1/

The Southern Side of the Civil War
/mikegriffith1/

Mike Griffith
Civil War website
/mikegriffith1/