American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1869-08-28
The Right of Secession

Hon. n. IL. stephens, OF Ge0rSla,
has published a letter in the Augusta
in which he replies
to an editorial in the New York
Tribune, crlticising his work upon
. The War Between the States,n and
advocates his doctrine of equality of
power between the several States of
the Union. In relation to the seces-
sion movement, he says:
What he, Mr.. Greedy, says about .
having been carried in the |
Southern States by a violent, sub F,
versive, bullying, terrorizing minori-
ty, overawimg and sitting a majority
of the people of these States, is
nothing but bald and naked asscr-
ton, which cannot be maintained
against the facts of history. The
question was as thoroughly discussed
as any ever was before the people.
Conventions were regularly called
by the duly constituted authorities
of the States, and members duly
elected thereto, according to law in
all the States, which seeded before
Mr.. Lincoln'S proclamation of war;
These elections were as ORDERLY as
elections usually are in any of the
States on great occasions. In these
conventions ordinances of secession
were passed by decided majorities.
1t is true that a large minority il all
these conventions, save one, aud in
all -.l--1s+r-t-v--s " ,TrTrv-,,~-aAt-. 1rcoH
sion as Il question of policy; very
few in any of them questioned the
right or doubted their duty to go
with the majority. But after Mr..
Lincoln's proclamation of war-after
his illegal and unconstitutional call
for troops-after his suspension of
the writ of habeas corpus, no people
on earth were ever more unanimous
i'll any cause than were the people of
the Southern States, in defence Of
what they deemed the great essen
tial principles of American institu-
tons! There was no one in ten
thousand of the people in at least ten
of the Southern States, whose heart
and soul were not thoroughly enlisted
in the cause! Nor did any people
on earth ever make greater or more
heroic sacrifices for its success, dur
ing four long years of devastation,
blood and carnage.
A majority of the people overawed
and terrorized by Il minority In
deed!
If so, what became of this MAORI
ty when the Confederate armies,
which stood between them and their
dellyerers, were overpowered |?
Where is this majority now, even
with the sweeping disfranchisement
which silences so many of the over
awning tyrantss Why has it not
been permitted to exercise the in
alienable right of sclfgovernment,
even with the reinforcement of the
enfranchlsed blacks? Why are so
many of these States, till day, held
under military rule, with their whole
populations "pinned to very bad
Government by Federal bayonets,
under the preteXt of their continued
disloyalty? This assertion, as to
the state of things in the beginning,
is utterly groumdless in fact, as it is
utterly inconsistent with the gratuit-
Gus assumptions on which the pres
ent preteXt is based.
Is it not amazing, Messrs Editors,
that Mr.. Greeley, in the face of the
facts for the last four years, to say
nothing of those of the war, when,
according to his showing, the Ad-
ministration at Washington, in rush
ing into it, were in "the wrong u
say to omit all mention of the wrongs
of the war, its immense sacrface of
blood and treasure, is it not amazing
i'll the highest degree that Mr.. Gree
ley, in the face of the facts of the
last four years only, should now re-
peat to us the principles of Ameri-
can Independence as his creed ?
Has not the Constitution of ten
States, as made and adopted by the
people thereof, founded on such prin-
ciplcS and organized in such form as
seemed to them most likely to effect
their safety and happiness, been
swept from existence by military
edictG Have not the people in these
ten States, including the arbitrarily
enfranchised blacks, been denied the
right to form new Constitutions,
"laying their foundations on such
principles and organizing its powers
in such form as to them shall seen
most likely to effect their safety and
happiness ~ Have they not beer
required and literally compelled tC
form such constitutions as seemed
most likely to effect the safety and
security of the dominant faction al
Washington?
Is this holding up to our gaze
these immutable and ever to be-rev
erenced principles of the Declaration
of Independence, at this time ant
under the present circumstances, in
tended only as mOekery added to in
suit, injury and outrage?