Actually, I think there is a "burden of proof" on every poster on this list to back up unsubstantiated generalizations. I haven't seen a single reference to a secondary or primary source in your own messages. For example, please point me to the clause in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution that ensures the right of states to secede from the Union. Obviously if the matter is as clear cut as you say, it must have been explicitly spelled out there as a power of the states. Also, please explain to me how slavery was "not in Lincoln's agenda" before the war in light of the speeches made during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Was no reference made to slavery in these debates (the texts of which are easily viewed online)? Didn't Lincoln at the very least argue against slavery's extension? In fact, Lincoln asked some questions in these debates that certainly bear on the issue at hand. For instance, why is it that the supposedly states' rights South happily relied on FEDERAL power to recapture fugitive slaves? Wouldn't they consider it a violation of the sovereignty of non-slaveholding states? In a similar vein, where was the Southern outcry when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Dred Scott decision? Seems like the poor, overpowered South was doing pretty well in their quest for slavery extension by federal means. Perhaps a search for a different kind of empire? I have no interest in mythologizing Lincoln and he certainly had his warts. I especially don't care for some of his actions on basic rights of protest during the war. Of course, Jefferson Davis didn't do so well in that area, either. Gregg Gregg D. Kimball Director of Publications and Educational Services Library of Virginia 804/692-3722 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 9:03 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Gods and Generals Slavery was in the mix, but not in Lincoln's agenda - burden of proof is on you Prof. Reference Lincoln mythology as fact that he was the "Great Emancipator" is fallacy. He despised abolitionists and was a huge proponent of Re-colonization. He was a racist as any average white was in the day, and took the Southern's state's succession - a right that should have been ensured as the Articles of Confederation and Constitution were built on the right of States to leave the Union if they choose - Lincoln quashed this in favor or Empire. Tom McMahon To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html