There were a series of significant events which greatly affected States'
Rights, Secession, the Union, African Americans and accelerated the American Civil War. These historical events are commonly referred to as the "Causes of the
American Civil War" and are listed without significant order:
The
day after the firing on FortSumter, the
United States Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, directed that all United States Military Academy (West Point) cadets must take a "new oath of allegiance." Previously, each cadet had taken an "oath of allegiance to his respective State." Now, they were required to "swear feilty**
to the United States paramount to any other state, county or political entity." While the cadets were in full
uniform, the new oath was administered in the chapel in the presence of the Academy staff.
**feilty
is an old English word that is not in all dictionaries but is best equated to the modern word ‘fidelity’.
Robert E. Lee had rejected the offer to command the Union forces on the grounds that he could
not draw his sword against his beloved home state of Virginia.Lee stated that his "loyalty to Virginia ought to take
precedence over that which is due the Federal Government." He further proclaimed that he had no greater duty than to his native state of Virginia. Lee was a 4th generation Virginian, son of Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee (one of George Washington's favorite lieutenants), and Lee's wife, Mary Anne Custis, was the great granddaughter of
Martha Washington.
Today, most people view and identify themselves as Americans. During the 1800s, however, many identified and viewed themselves as North Carolinians, Virginians, Texans, Tennesseans, etc. Through the
ages, we, as a people, have evolved and placed a greater emphasis on national identity.
"I apprehend that if all living Union soldiers were summoned to the witness stand, every one of them would testify that it was the preservation of the American Union and
not the destruction of Southern slavery that induced him to volunteer at the call of his Country. As for the South, it is
enough to say that perhaps eighty percent of her armies were neither slave-holders, nor had the remotest interest in the institution...both
sides fought and suffered for liberty as bequeathed by the Fathers--the one for liberty in the union of the States, the other
for liberty in the independence of the States." Reminiscences of the Civil War, by John B. Gordon, Maj. Gen. CSA
(General Gordon was shot 5 times during the Battle of Antietam but did not die until January 9, 1904. Regarding General John Gordon, President Theodore
Roosevelt stated, "A more gallant, generous, and fearless gentleman and soldier has not been seen by our Country.")
"A great majority of the people were poor and had no interest
in slavery, present or prospective. But most of them had little mountain homes and, be it ever so humble, there is no place
like home...but when the Federal army occupied East Tennessee and threatened North Carolina..."Lt. Col. William W. Stringfield: Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina in the Great War 1861-'65, Vol., 3, p.
734.
No one has ever proven secession to be either constitutional or unconstitutional. The question never reached the United States Supreme
Court, which would be the only lawful arbiter. The outcome of the Civil War did decide that secession was not lawful AT THAT
TIME, in that it was tried and it failed to succeed. If it is tried again and this time the attempt is successful,
then it will be "lawful" for the time being. But in the end, only a court decision can decide the matter. It is pretty ambiguous.
(This excerpt is from a letter William C. Davis wrote to me and the caps and quotations are his). secede
secession
Jack is the senior consultant for 52 episodes of the History Channel's "Civil War
Journal" (A&E Television Networks). Davis has twice been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in History
and is the only three-time winner of the Jefferson Davis Award given for book-length works on Confederate history.
