The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-26
TAUGHT AT WEST POINT.
Doctrine OF Secession Set Forth I'm the
Standard Textbooks.
Minneapolis Tribune.

Minneapolis Tribune.
Discussion of General Lees moral re-
sponsibility for taking part in the rebellion
is provoked by the wish of the Virginia
LEGISLATURE to set his statue up in the sec
ond niche reserved for that State in the old
hall Of the House of Representatives. This
has led Charles Francis Adams to make an
interesting addition to his famous paper on
the Constitutional Ethics Of Secession"
In a footnote to the printed address he de-
clares that Lee, as a cadet at West Point.
was undoubtedly instructed by his teachers
that secession by State was constitutional
and lawful This would take much of the
sting out of the common argument Of mill
tary treason-that the officers of the army
and navy who went into the service of the
Confederacy after being educated by the
Nation and taking an oath to support the
Constitution were traitors in a special
sense.
General Lee was graduated In 1929, few
years before the Southern doctrine cul
minated In the South Carolina notification.
They who remember how the Southern idea
dominated the government at that time,
especially the army, may well believe that
the officers detailed to teach constitutional
law at the academy defended the right Of
secession; but Mr.. Adams makes out a
palmer case. The standard textbook of
the academy on American constitutional law
up to 1910 was Rawle's View of the Con-
stitution. Rawle was Philadelphia law
year; but his book taught the doctrine of
secession as a matter of course. Evidently
it vas not criticised or condemned. or 1t
Tn,
without a controversy that would have left
its mark on history. Here are some start
ling extracts from the book. made by the
Springfield Republican:
eff a faction should attempt to subvert
the government of a State for the purpose
of destroying its republican form, the pa
ternal power Of the Union could thus be
called forth to subdue it. Yet IT is not to be
understood that its interposition would be
justifiable If the people of a State should
determine to retire from the Union, whether
they adopted another or retained the same
form of government. page 2S9)
1.-The States, then, may wholly withdraw
from the Union; but while they continue
they must retain the character of repre-
sentative republics. page 300
1.-THE secession of State from the Union
depends on the will of the people of such
State. page 295)
1.-The people of a State may have some
reasons 10 complain In respect TO acts OF
the general government; they may In such
cases invest some of their own officers with
the power of negotiation, and may declare
an absolute secession in case OF their fail
ure. Still. however. the secession must in
such case be distinctly and peremptorily
declared to take place on that event: and
in such case, as In the case OF an uncondi-
tional secession. the previous ligament with
the Union would be legitimately and fairly
destroyed. But in either case conditional
or unconditional secession) the people is
the only moving power" page 296)
Really this throws new light upon the
moral responsibility OF the army officers
who entered the service of the Confederacy
All those who had attained any consider
able rank must have been graduated before
1910. IL they were taught the legal and con-
stitutional right OF secession from this ex-
trrordinary textbook, part OF their mill
tary education. IL Is hardly fair 10 call them
traitors for following the teaching I'm their
army service. We can hardly set up a con-
stitutional principle established by the vic
tory of the North in the civil war to gov
ern the moral responsibility OF acts done
before the war. The North learned the
lessons that secession was treason In four
strenuous years of fighting against IL so
thoroughly that IL can never be forgotten;
but IL appears that the North sat silent for
twenty thirty years before 1s40 and per-
mited the right of secession to be taught as
a dogma in the military academy IL seems
that we did not begin to put down the re-
bellion early enough.