But, the fact lost here is that the South did not rebel, but secceeded,
and the north forced the first hand by attempting to resupply the fort in
Charleston during discussions with the South and SC; this attempted
resupply action was against agreements it [Lincoln] had made with SC.
By the laws, and legal understandings of the time, seccission was legal.
In the words of Jefferson Davis.."...all we want is to be left alone." Not
exactly words of a 'rebel', who wishes to change or overthrow a
government, neither of which the South aspired to do.
M. Westbrook
--- "Harold S. Forsythe" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> On the face of it, this is not really very convincing. I lived in Los
> Angeles in
> 1965 when the National Guard occupied the central parts of the
> city, supplementing inadequate police power (The LA or Watts
> "Riot", "Uprising," etc.) Now, these chiefly white soldiers were
> from out of town. Would this then have been a justification to take
> up arms against them?
> This whole business of "invasion" and "home" requires a
> prerequisite of political thinking: the South or Virginia as home,
> rather than the United States. Thus, white Unionists in western
> Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and the Ozark Plateau were being
> "defended" by Confederate troops, whereas northern Virginia and
> southern Louisiana were being "invaded" by troops from
> Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin.
> At the risk of contradiction, I assume that every rebelling regional
> group in history imagined that they were fighting for their
> independence from forces at least alien, if not downright tyrannical.
> But such notions do not arise naturally or without effort, they are
> cultivated and spread by a leadership group that expects, and
> usually achieves leadership of the new nation.
>
> Date sent: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 00:59:14 -0800
> From: Maitland Westbrook <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Gods and Generals
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Send reply to: Discussion of research and writing about
> Virginia history
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > Per Shelby Foote:
> >
> > Union Soldier coming upon wounded Confederate laying on the
> battlefield:
> > "Why are you fighting us?!?!?"
> >
> > Confederate's Reply: "Because you are here."
> >
> > M. Westbrook, III
> >
> >
> > --- [log in to unmask] wrote:
> > > How about the fact that their homes were being invaded, with all
> that
> > > that entails. People don't need much more motivation than that to
> take
> > > up arms, whether they owned slaves or not.
> > >
> > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the
> > > instructions
> > > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________
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>
> Harold S. Forsythe
> Assistant Professor History
> Director: Black Studies
> Fairfield University
> Fairfield, CT 06430-5195
> (203) 254-4000 x2379
>
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