Repost. If you want to talk about the Civil War in terms of states’ rights, you must also ask: States’ rights to do what?

Sometime when you're bored, read the Confederate Constitution. To my surprise, it's very very similar to the US Constitution. Being written later, the Bill of Rights (e.g. the one about bearing arms) are regular articles instead of amendments - but worded very similarly. Various little differences, of course - housekeeping in a lot of cases. What is markedly not similar? Lots and lots of details about slavery. If you're going to secede, it wouldn't make sense to not make any changes. Well, locking in slavery was the main thing they changed. The US constitution kind of danced around slaver and never called it by that name - the Confederate version uses straightforward language to define and preserve it. It blows away all the lofty gaslighting afterward about "preserving our cherished way of life" or "states rights". The disagreement was, as it always was, about slavery.

I’ve actually never read the Confederate Constitution — interesting stuff and great observations 👍

What many pro-Confederate sympathizers don’t realize is that the Civil War was indeed about slavery from the very beginning — not because the Union wanted it to be (they initially fought only to preserve the Union), but because the *Confederacy* wanted it to be.

Even in their time they used wishy-washy propaganda about “states’ rights” to make their cause seem palatable, but it was always about the discrete issue of slavery.

They would have never taken such a drastic step as secession or killed so many in the process in the defense of abstract principles.

Don’t think I’ve met you before but welcome to the stream! 🙏

to secede from the union