Whoo! 2,009 post! (AKA: What is French? Debate)

[Weltall]

Wait wait wait, you think aboloshing slavery was stepping over state rights? How so? How exactly is it that stating you can't enslave other humans for no good reason, and stating this nation-wide, stepping over state rights? The national government SHOULD be able to step in and tell other states what they can and can't do in some extreme cases, because that's what it is THERE for (otherwise we might as well just exist as 50 allied nations and a couple outlands), and this was CERTAINLY one of those times.

The Constitution provided for the States of the Union to decide whether or not to allow slavery. The states that saw fit to continue the practice were completely within their legal right to do so, and while I'll hardly argue that slavery was anything but contemptable, the Federal Government WOULD have gone outside of its stated constitutional authority to effect a blanket ban on slavery. In a purely technical way, the South was right in that respect. However, the Confederacy STARTED the war without a solid pretext, they believed the Republican President would free the slaves (and in this, they were likely incorrect), and one must note that a few slave states did remain in the Union. When Lincoln DID emancipate the slaves, it was less an action of benevolence to the blacks and more a surefire way to make sure Britain and France did not recognize the Confederacy and aid it in war.