Discussion of the Sesquicentennial and the impact of the Civil War on America today. by Mark Vogl
(libertarian)
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
As the American nation wrestles with the very role of government through a wide assortment of issues, from health care and global warming, to our involvement in wars in the middle east, a sagging national economy, and empowering of the United Nations, one can't help but wonder at the irony of historic coincidence. 2010 begins the celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War, or as it is some times called, the War for Southern Independence.
In East Texas, a group of historians are organizing one of the first Civil War Sesquicentennial Events. It will be held December 1 - 5, 2010. The event is titled THE ROAD TO SECESSION and will cover the period 1840 to 1860. The event will address the question: Why did the good and Christian people of the South feel compelled to leave the Union?
THE ROAD TO SECESSION is being held at Camp Gilmont, in Upshur County, Texas, a Christian camp of 400 acres. It will include both an academic symposium and a living history segment where school children and visitors will be able to meet and speak with historic personalities such as John Brown, Sam Houston, Abe Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, John C. Calhoun and many other of the period.
Issues such as terrorism, national economics, the role of the federal government, and the workings of American democracy will be looked at once again. Traveling back in time, talking about issues long since resolved may provide a different perspective on the issues our nation faces today.
Secession, though not specifically addressed in the Constitution, was generally assumed as a right of the individual states. The Tenth Amendment addressed the question of powers not specifically addressed in the Constitution. Secession was taught as a right of the state at the United States Military Academy at West Point in the years prior to the war.
In today's world, an active discussion and acknowledgment of the right of secession could go a long way towards restraining an ever expanding federal government. Were states more likely to seek secession as a remedy to the dictates from on high (whether they be by the Supreme Court, or the Legislative and Executive branches) policy calculations by the central government would have to consider the possibility of a state departing. Clearly, this would go a long way towards slowing "progress" and regaining the balance of powers initially created by the Founding Fathers.
THE ROAD TO SECESSION may be a timely event you should consider attending in 2010.
The ROAD TO SECESSION is being sponsored by the Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Army of the Trans Mississippi, Sons of Confederate Veterans. For more information concerning the event contact johnyreb43@yahoo.com
.
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The views expressed
in this article are those of Mark Vogl only and
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Mark Vogl is definitely worth listening to. The subject of the proper role of the Federal government to the States is even more timely now than it was in the 1860s. Here's hoping plenty of people get to attend THE ROAD TO SECESSION -- and would that everyone, attendee or no, pondered the subject carefully.
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