Quote Originally Posted by Sttrongbow View Post
Jeffersonian states rights haven't existed since 1861. And if you want to blame anyone for it, blame SC. If they hadn't attacked Fort Sumpter, the course of the matter might have gone very differently indeed.
That's a strange thing to say, considering that the Jeffersonian rights of states is exactly why South Carolina attacked Fort Sumpter. The fact that Americans today (myself included) have a moral problem with slavery does not change the fact that the Constitution did guarantee the extradition of escaped slaves back to their state of origin. So why should South Carolina be blamed for taking offense at the usurpation of their rights under the Constitution?

Furthermore, just as we can ask what would have happened if South Carolina had not attacked Fort Sumter, we can also ask what would have happened if Major Robert Anderson had not gone against orders and secretly moved his men from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter without the knowledge of his superiors in Washington. Rather than delaying a Rebel attack -- which was ostensibly his goal -- he provoked it by moving to stronger fortifications. Even then, the government of South Carolina gave Washington several months to evacuate Fort Sumter before the attack, but President Lincoln refused to remove the troops because he did not respect South Carolina's right to secede. It's also possible that he was daring South Carolina to make a move.

Blaming South Carolina for the loss of state's rights is like blaming the U.S. Marine Corps for Vietnam being communist.