Sigh!!!
Which states' rights were being trampled on in late 1860/early 1861 when the majority of southern states seceded,well before Lincoln was inaugurated? If you are going to make such statements, you should be able to back them up with facts, rather than hyperbole.
I have asked this question many time of The South Will Rise Again boys. I have never received a coherent answer.
Republican National Platform Adopted at Chicago 1860 (excerpts)
Resolved, That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican electors of the United States, in Convention assembled, in discharge of the duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the following declarations:
3. That to the Union of the States this nation owes its unprecedented increase in population, its surprising development of material resources, its rapid augmentation of wealth, its happiness at home and its honor abroad.
12. That, while providing revenue for the support of the General Government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment of these imposts as to encourage the development of the industrial interest of the whole country; and we commend that policy of national exchanges which secures to the working men liberal wages, to agriculture remunerative prices, to mechanics and manufactures an adequate reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and independence.
15. That appropriations by Congress for River and Harbor improvements of a National character, required for the accommodation and security of an existing commerce, are authorized by the Constitution, and justified by the obligations of Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens.
16. That a Railroad to the Pacific Ocean is imperatively demanded by the interest of the whole country; that the Federal Government ought to render immediate and efficient aid in its construction; and that, as preliminary thereto, a daily Overland Mail should be promptly established.
The internal improvements were to be paid with by public funds. Many of these developments were subsidies for industry. The Republican Party wanted to continue support of protectionist laws to favor the country’s industry, which was primarily located in the Northeast.
Since US Customs tariff revenue supplied more than 90% of the government’s annual revenue, these government-sponsored improvements were underwritten with tariff dollars, which were being paid by those who were buying imported goods.
With Southern supplied goods paying for 70% of the imports that were taxed, Southern productivity was fundamental to Northern infrastructure improvements.
At that time, the average tariff was 18.84%. The previous year Justin Morrill, R-VT, had emerged as the Republican Party’s leading authority on tariffs. After the current Congress convened on December 5, 1859, word spread that Morrill was proposing raising tariffs to the 40% level. Many Southerners realized this would harm the Southern economy and bankrupt many farmers and planters.
The 1860 tariff plank enjoyed a central and prominent place in the party's platform. Delegates at the convention cheered at length for its openly protectionist message when the plank was adopted. Throughout the campaign Republicans carried banners making it known that a vote for them was a vote for protection.
Lincoln himself had already openly admitted his core protectionist beliefs and in February 1861 even pledged to make the tariff his top legislative priority.
The equal protection afforded all the states under the US Constitution was being ignored in favor of the protectionism and largess being given to the Northern states. That preferential treatment and the failure of Constitutional protections caused the secession, but war came for different reasons.
When the federal gov't attacks(civil war) some of the states. State rights are suspended "de facto"... The federal gov't before the civil war was a vassal of the states, after the civil war the states became a vassal of the federal gov't. To this day... What happened to the republic ?... We lost it.. and the acendancy of "democrats" was assured... us being a democracy and no longer a republic..
America has become a democracy thats why mobs rule in Washington D.C. and some think that is a good thing. Democrats know that and work for this democracy, most republicans still think america is a still a republic and mentally masterbate that lie. If republicans ever realize the truth the march to socialism will stop.
** Democracy is the road to socialism. Karl Marx
** Democracy is indispensable to socialism. The goal of socialism is communism. V.I. Lenin