Introduction It may seem odd today, but the phrase “the United States of America are” was in common usage when referring to our nation. While seemingly nonsensical by today’s understanding of the United States, the use of the plural form reflected the general belief that the Constitution of the United States of America linked otherwise independent, sovereign states. The belief that the American Union was a bonding not of individuals, but of independent states, was ultimently the legal basis for the succession of North Carolina in 1861, the purported formation of the Confederated States of America, and the resulting Civil War. After years of bloodshed and terror, this understanding of the Union was repudiated on the battlefields and in the courts, and with “United States are” became the United States is.” No better place is the change reflected than in 1868 North Carolina State Constitution’s clear statement in Article I, Section Four that North Carolina shall always be a part of the Union and its citizens shall always be Americans. While this idea is taken for granted in modern times, recent rhetoric throughout the states, including our own, once again suggests that the United States of America may not be an everlasting union. As we approach the 150th anniversary of the framing of the 1868 North Carolina Constitution, we must appreciate the blood and treasure that has been lost to allow this simple idea of enduring national unity to stand today and in perpetuity. The Historical Idea of Succession While it may seem ludicrous today, prior to the Civil War, the right of a state to secede from the Union was seen by many scholars as a legitimate exercise of state sovereignty well precedented in our nation’s history and inher... ... middle of paper ... .... While the Governor’s veto of the bill prevented it from becoming law, its adoption by a majority of both houses of state government reflect a growing trend towards the legitimacy of the federal government. As we approach the 150th anniversary of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, let us commemorate the Article I, Section Four’s prohibition of secession. While there is little reason to believe that North Carolina will ever dare try to separate itself from the United States of America, it is important to remember to blood and treasure lost to make this so certain. Despite the wide range of differences between each state, whether political or cultural, we must remember that we are far better off united. Regardless of current rhetoric, because of Section Four, “the United States of America are” will never take the place of “the United States of America is.”
In the book, Apostles of Disunion, author Charles B. Dew opens the first chapter with a question the Immigration and Naturalization service has on an exam they administer to prospective new American citizens: “The Civil War was fought over what important issue”(4). Dew respond by noting that “according to the INS, you are correct if you offer either of the following answers: ‘slavery or states’ rights’” (4). Although this book provides more evidence and documentation that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there are a few places where states’ rights are specifically noted. In presenting the findings of his extensive research, Dew provides compelling documentation that would allow the reader to conclude that slavery was indeed the cause for both secession and the Civil War.
In The article “Slavery, the Constitutional, and the Origins of the Civil War”, Paul Finkelman discusses some of the events that he believes lead the United States to have a Civil War. He discusses how both the North and the South territories of the Untied States did not see eye to eye when it came to ab...
In, “Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War,” Charles B. Dew analyzes the public letters and speeches of white, southern commissioners in order to successfully prove that the Civil War was fought over slavery. By analyzing the public letters and speeches, Dew offers a compelling argument proving that slavery along with the ideology of white supremacy were primary causes of the Civil War. Dew is not only the Ephraim Williams Professor of American History at Williams College, but he is also a successful author who has received various awards including the Elloit Rudwick Prize and the Fletcher Pratt Award. In fact, two of Dew’s books, Tredegar Iron Works and Apostles of Disunion and Ironmaker to
...mfortable and stubborn, resisting the change that was coming about in the country. The North being so eager to expand and industrialize the country and establish their independency from the British. Somewhere along the road, the states stopped working toward a common goal and became more concerned with their own well-being. With each attempt made to keep the states united, they were only building up more harsh feeling toward each other. Even with all the ill feelings between the regions because of their sectionalism, the South succeeding from the union and a war being fought within our own nation, our people against our people, the United States managed to struggle through the sectionalism of 19th century and remain one nation, united.
The late 1800’s was a watershed moment for the United States, during which time the Industrial Revolution and the desire for expansion brought about through Manifest Destiny, began to run parallel. Following the end of the Spanish-American war, the United States found itself with a wealth of new territory ceded to it from the dying Spanish empire. The issue of what to do with these new lands became a source of debate all the way up to the U.S. Congress. Men like Albert J. Beveridge, a Senator from Indiana, advocated the annexation, but not necessarily the incorporation of these new l...
During the 1800’s, if the states are sovereign then they have the right to secede from the Union (A...
The South argued that protecting the integrity of “States’ Rights” served as the primary justification for the Civil War. However, the idea of states rights is rooted in greed – in the effort to maintain or grow economic power. “States Rights” is defined as rights...
Nullification is a precursor to secession in the United States as it is also for civil wars. However, in contrast, the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions did not suggest that states should secede from the union. Under the direct vigilance and radical views of Calhoun, he suggested that states should and could secede from the union if they deem a law was unconstitutional. Calhoun’s reputation as a “Cast Iron” proved fittingly as compromises were reached for the proposed Tariffs. The southern states contribution to the financial welfare of the union as a result of slavery was undoubtedly substantial, but as history unfolded, it was not a just means to financial stability. His views of constitutional propriety was for the “privileges of minority” rather than for the “rights of the minority.” [2]
A controversial issue during 1860 to 1877 was state’s rights and federal power. The North and South were divided over this issue. The North composed of free states and an industrial economy while the South was made up of slave states and an agricultural economy. The South did not like federal authority over the issue of slavery; therefore, they supported the radical state rights’ ideology. South Carolina seceded from the Union because it believed that since states made up the Union, it could leave when it chooses to. The government argued against the South saying that they had no right to leave the Union because the Union was not made up of just states but people. However, the South counteracted this argument with the case that the 10th amendment “declared that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by its states, were reserved to the states.” (Doc A) However, the government still believed that secession from the Union was unjust and decided that a new change surrounding state’s rights was necessary. As a result, when the Union won in the Civil War, a resolution was made, where the state’s lost their power and the federal government gained power. U...
The opposing argument serves as a perfect gateway to the topic of relationship between Federal and State government. In the United States, the Supremacy Clause serves...
Roark, J.L., Johnson, M.P., Cohen, P.C., Stage, S., Lawson, A., Hartmann, S.M. (2009). The american promise: A history of the united states (4th ed.), The New West and Free North 1840-1860, The slave south, 1820-1860, The house divided 1846-1861 (Vol. 1, pp. 279-354).
The United States is trying to move toward a new cultural change in the government where the ideals of North states are overarching the needs of the Southern states. This trend is not favorable for South Carolina because the North does not have the knowledge of what the South needs to succeed. The North is doing whatever it needs to improve its situation without considering the implications of excluding the South from the plans of the future. The South cannot compete with the North trying to unconstitutional take advantage of the South due to their governmental size. The South cannot compete with the Northern supremacy in the government because they are trying to oppress Southern ideas. South Carolina does not have to keep taking the changes that the government is implementing because the North is not helping the South. South Carolina can seced...
As the country began to grow and expand we continued to see disagreements between the North and South; the Missouri Territory applied for statehood the South wanted them admitted as a slave state and the North as a free state. Henry Clay eventually came up with the Missouri Compromise, making Missouri a slave state and making Maine it’s own state entering the union as a free state. After this compromise any state admitted to the union south of the 36° 30’ latitude would be a slave state and a state north of it would be free. The country was very much sectionalized during this time. Thomas Jefferson felt this was a threat to the Union. In 1821, he wrote, ”All, I fear, do not see the speck on our horizon which is to burst on us as a tornado, sooner or later. The line of division lately marked out between the different portions of our confederacy is such...
The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.
The tensions developed over the interpretations of state versus federal powers as enumerated by the U.S. Constitution and the crisis over slavery are the reasons for people of Georgia secession. The people of Georgia decided to secede as a result of political close down with the Government of United States for many reasons. For a decade people of Georgia have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against their non-slave-holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery. The people of Georgia complaint that the Non-slave-holding Confederate States have tried to weaken their security, to disturb their domestic peace and tranquility, and persistently refused to comply with their express constitutional obligations to them in reference to that property, and by the use of their power in the Federal Government have striven to deprive them of an equal enjoyment of the common Territories of