Then let me try again. The claim was made by you that in his 1848 speech Lincoln was supporting secession when it is obvious he was not. Secession and rebellion are not synonymous, one is a legal course of action and the other is not.
The South did secede peacefully- Lincoln made it hell, which you seem to think is a sacred right.
All governments have the right to suppress rebellion and the U.S. is no different. The power to do so is contained in Article I, Section 8. But any hell that may have fallen on the South was the result of their choosing war to further their aims. No hostile acts had been taken towards the South prior to their bombardment of Sumter. War was their choice, hell was their reward for that choice.
Jefferson said rebellion from time to time, including blood shed, would be useful and necessary to restrain the power of government. I hope we both pray that our current state of affairs does not come to that. But if you think that is more “sacred” than peaceful secession I could be wrong.
As Lincoln pointed out any people any where have the right to rebel. It is not my place to pass judgement on their motivations any more than it would be their place to pass judgement on mine.
Can we at least agree on that?
We can.
“legal course of action “
What legal doctrine would that be? Please be specific. Please also state the legal process by which a State may seceed from the United States and your legal reference for the process. You keep saying there is one, yet, you’ve never defined it.
I guess calling brave and noble Confederate Troops "Rebs" both during and after the war, not withstanding...Hence forth you must refer to Confederate Soldiers as "Secs" not "Rebs". :)