But after voting to remain in the Union after South Carolina seceded:
On May 1, 1861, the North Carolina legislature voted that counties should elect delegates who would determine whether North Carolina would remain in the Union. On May 20, the delegates, convening in Raleigh, voted unanimously that the state would no longer be a part of the United States of America.
Although the vote was unanimous, it was not enthusiastic. Only two months earlier, a majority of North Carolinians had been Unionists. But after the firing on Fort Sumter, Governor John W. Ellis received a telegram from Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s secretary of war, asking for two regiments of troops for immediate military service. War was now a reality, and southern Unionists were forced to choose sides.
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Abraham Lincoln and the Corwin Amendment
Most serious historical overviews of the Civil War contain at least a brief mention of the Corwin Amendment, the last-ditch compromise effort to protect slavery where it existed by enshrining it in the Constitution. They also do so tepidly and seldom acknowledge it as anything more than a historical footnote.
Yet for a brief moment in March 1861, it was at the center stage of the secession crisis – the sole realized product of months of desperate compromise attempts in the lame duck winter Congress of 1860-61. It passed the requisite two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate only hours prior to Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration in March 1861, and went out to the states for ratification a week later. Its text is eerily simplistic, not to mention morally unsettling given what it sought to attain:
“No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.”
The amendment failed to lure back the secessionists or even attain ratification, being overcome by the Civil War and largely forgotten.
Since the Corwin amendment made slavery a state issue, why would the South have to fight a war to preserve it?
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It should also be premised, that the Virginia Convention, as a body, was not in favor of secession. It was prevalently under the influence of statesmen of the school known as the “Clay-Whig.” One of the few original secessionists told me that at first there were but twenty-five members of that opinion, and that they gained no accessions, until they were given them by the usurpations of the Lincoln party. The Convention assembled with a fixed determination to preserve the Union, if forbearance and prudence could do it consistently with the rights of the States. Such, as is well known, were, in the main, Colonel Baldwin‘s views and purposes.
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That much as Virginia disapproved it, if Mr. Lincoln would only adhere faithfully to the Constitution and the laws, she would support him just as faithfully as though he were the man of her choice, and would wield her whole moral force to keep the border States in the Union, and to bring back the seven seceded States. But that while much difference of opinion existed on the question, whether the right of secession was a constitutional one, all Virginians were unanimous in believing that no right existed in the Federal Government to coerce a State by force of arms, because it was expressly withheld by the Constitution; that the State of Virginia was unanimously resolved not to acquiesce in the usurpation of that power, as had been declared by unanimous joint resolution of her present Legislature, and by the sovereign Convention now sitting, according to the traditionary principles of the State; that if Virginia remained in the Union, the other border States would follow her example, while, if she were driven out, they would probably go with her, and the whole South would be united in irreconcilable hostility to his. Government; and that the friends of peace desired to have a guarantee that his policy towards the seven seceded States would be pacific, and would regard their rights as States; without which guarantee the Convention could not keep the people in theUnion,. even if they would.
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North Carolina voted to remain in the Union. The second vote to secede was made when the governor was illegally directed to raise troops to attack the seceding states. The facts no longer matter as this war is now used for political purposes to divide us. Both sides have made up their minds so let me address the topic of slavery. Slavery is wrong. Period. No one can argue that a man or woman can be the property of another man or woman.
Does slavery still exist in the world? Obviously everyone knows that it does. So why is this issue not addressed?
We also need to define slavery. Are you enslaved if you owe money to someone or some institution? Are you enslaved if your country owes money to another country or institution? As I write this article, each taxpayer’s share of the US debt is $819,000. This is a number that 99% of the people could never pay if (when) the note becomes due. Why was our Revolutionary War fought? George Washington’s gave his reason as paying taxes without any representation. Any time or money taken without any corresponding compensation or representation was slavery in his mind. You cannot be free if even 1% of your time is forfeited or pledged to another man or woman. Do you believe a taxpayer who pays 50% of his earnings to government (directly and indirectly) is free? Do we have any representation in government? If we truly had representative government, would we have the crushing debt and its corresponding chains?
If people want to look back at the causes of the War of Northern Aggression, at least do your homework instead of history written by the victors. I suggest we all look at modern day slavery and act with Sacred honor. I have no doubt that our next Revolution will be viewed by our ancestors as a war against tyranny, taxation and representation.
David DeGerolamo
Few will question the lie that states articles of secession mentioned Slavery when it is easy to look them up and read them. Not North Carolina. I covered this in my daughter’s home school this year. We went to the NC History Museum and read the articles. When you knowingly and openly lie about history you clearly have a dishonest agenda.
Nope, it was all about economics and trading. Lincoln hired on two Marxists who were thrown out of Germny for trying to overthrow the government of that day, so Lincoln hired them on as consultants working for the U.S. government , illegaly of course to alter the direction in which way the war was heading. remember Lincoln and his troops were getting there Butts kicked in the beginning and he couldn’t stand the loss. so the thug in the White house hired on more thugs to alter the direction of the war and change it to a slavery Marxist issue which was a win for the North even though the North had more slaves then the South, and to this day the thugs are still here.