Yesterday, we discussed why South Carolina felt they were justified in seceding from the Union. They argued that they had made an agreement with all the other states, but the other states were breaking the agreement to follow the Constitution. Because some parties were not keeping their agreement, South Carolina was no longer obligated to be part of the Union because they were allowed to be a "free, independent state."
Today, we expanded on this concept by comparing the views from the Constitution and the New Orleans Newspaper. The Constitution required the president to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution." The New Orleans Newspaper attacked Republicans and President Lincoln by saying that they only worked to demolish slavery and control the government, giving the Lower South reason to secede. Lincoln believed that the states could not secede, because he needed to spread his concept of "Liberty to all." The Constitution did not give the states a right to secede, because a government would not include ways for its territories to end the rule of the government. I agree with Lincoln about this because South Carolina and all the other states signed the Constitution. Their agreement to become part of the Union cannot be cancelled just because their state's vote was the minority. This disagreement over the right to secede added to the conflict brewing in the US.
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