| − | The view in the North was that the southern states had no right to secede, and thus their declarations of secession were null and void. The South was still part of the United States, and the fighting by the South (as at Fort Sumter) constituted an insurrection or a "civil war."<ref>In ''[[Texas v. White]]'', 74 U.S. 700 (1869), the U.S. Supreme Court held by a 5-3 margin that secession was not allowed by the U.S. Constitution, and the southern ordinances of secession were "absolutely null." This opinion has been criticized, however, because it was written by Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who was a former member of President Lincoln's Cabinet during the Civil War, and hence had already been against secession.</ref> In the South, the view was that Lincoln was the aggressor in trying to fortify a northern position in South Carolina (Fort Sumter), and the resulting conflict was the "War of Northern Aggression" or "War Among the States." For a long time one could tell whether a stranger was from the northern part of the United States, or the southern part, simply by the name the person used for the conflict. In this course, we will use the name "Civil War." | + | The view in the North was that the southern states had no right to secede, and thus their declarations of secession were null and void. The South was still part of the United States, and the fighting by the South (as at Fort Sumter) constituted an insurrection or a "civil war."<ref>In ''Texas v. White'', 74 U.S. 700 (1869), the U.S. Supreme Court held by a 5-3 margin that secession was not allowed by the U.S. Constitution, and that the southern ordinances of secession were "absolutely null." This opinion has been criticized, however, because it was written by Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who was a former member of President Lincoln's Cabinet during the Civil War, and hence had already been against secession.</ref> In the South, the view was that Lincoln was the aggressor in trying to fortify a northern position in South Carolina (Fort Sumter), and the resulting conflict was the "War of Northern Aggression" or "War Among the States." For a long time one could tell whether a stranger was from the northern part of the United States, or the southern part, simply by the name the person used for the conflict. In this course, we will use the name "Civil War." |
| | The eleven states that had seceded formed the Confederate States of America, or simply the "Confederacy". It adopted its own constitution,<ref>The Confederate constitution was similar to the U.S. Constitution, but did have one advantage: the Confederate constitution gave its president the power of the "line-item veto," which enabled him to veto specific items of spending in legislation without vetoing the entire bill. The U.S. President does not have this power under the U.S. Constitution.</ref> elected its own president (Jefferson Davis), had its own capitol city (Montgomery, Alabama), and printed its own money. Its new national flag, the "Confederate Flag," remains controversial when used today. | | The eleven states that had seceded formed the Confederate States of America, or simply the "Confederacy". It adopted its own constitution,<ref>The Confederate constitution was similar to the U.S. Constitution, but did have one advantage: the Confederate constitution gave its president the power of the "line-item veto," which enabled him to veto specific items of spending in legislation without vetoing the entire bill. The U.S. President does not have this power under the U.S. Constitution.</ref> elected its own president (Jefferson Davis), had its own capitol city (Montgomery, Alabama), and printed its own money. Its new national flag, the "Confederate Flag," remains controversial when used today. |