Basil, Whatever in the world did Jimmy Carter do to offend you? And, as to Bill Clinton, if you take his personal life off the table, what was his offense? His personal life was no more eggregious that that of other presidents and politicians, and less offensive than some. I was under the, perhaps mistaken, impression that President Grant was Ulysses S., not Hiram. As to your comments about the acceptance of the constitution by various states, I would submit that since the constitution is silent on secession, it's possibility was not entertained by those who wrote it. In any event, it became the supreme law of the land, as you contend in your condemnation of Lincoln, and was therefore to be followed by all the states. Even if you resort to the wording of the conditions of signing the constitution, the secession was not chosen by "the people" of the south, but by a handful of disgruntled politicos who were intent on power-grubbing, not on representing their constituents. Anne Anne Pemberton [log in to unmask] http://www.erols.com/stevepem http://www.erols.com/apembert http://www.educationalsynthesis.org To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html