historian said:
KaiBear said:
historian said:
Talk about conspiracy theories!
There is no evidence of such manipulation.
Of course there is.
Just one exampleā¦ā¦..
By refusing to give up possession of the fort to the newly sovereign stateā¦..its dozens of cannons threatened all the shipping in the harbor.
The critically important port was effectively at risk of being indefinitely closed to all shipping.
And risk of such a closer was an intolerable economic threat to South Carolina and the entire region.
Lincoln knew this which is why he publicly announced his intention to te enforce the existing garrison of the fort.
That's a circular argument. The Confederacy was not a newly sovereign state. No other state had even recognized them & none in Europe ever did. Declaring themselves a new nation didn't make it a reality. They had to win a war to make it happen. The U.S. became a new nation with the Declaration of Independence but that only became official with victory a few years later. We were helped by recognition & an alliance with France.
What's more, most of the Confederate officers were guilty of treason, as defined by the constitution, from Robert E. Lee on down.
1. At least you actually that the Southern States were engaged in the exact same movement for independence that they had attempted in 1776.
"the Southern states only claimed the right to go their own way their policy would be defensive; the North, which denied this right & was determined to keep them in the Union by force, had to take the offensive. A formidable task confronted the aggressors."-Winston Churchill
2. Unlike the British empire....secession is NOT illegal per the U.S. Constitution.
"With what pretense of fairness, it is said, can you Americans object to the secession of the Southern States when your nation was founded on secession from the British Empire?" ~ Cornhill Magazine (London) 1861.
3. Lincoln could have evacuated Ft. Sumter if he wanted to...and it seems like that was exactly what Seward was telling various Southern Congressmen and Senators that he was going to do.
Nothing in the Constitution demands the Commander in Chief hold any specific Fort....
4. If Robert E. Lee was could have been convicted of treason you can be sure the North would have tried...but they could not do it.
Because State secession is NOT treason per the U.S. Constitution.
"If you bring these (Confederate) leaders to trial it will condemn the North,"
Justice Chase had warned his former cabinet colleagues in July, "for by the Constitution secession is not rebellion." As for the rebel chieftain, the authorities would have done better not to apprehend him. "Mr. Lincoln wanted Jefferson Davis to escape, and he was right. His capture was a mistake. His trial will be a greater one.
We cannot convict him of treason. Secession is settled. Let it stay settled."~ Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase (Burke Davis, "The Long Surrender", 1985,; Shelby Foote, "The Civil War," V3, p. 1035)
