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The Confederate
Classroom |
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December 1, 2005
Some background:
In order for us to fully understand
the reasons for our "Civil War," more properly known as the
War Between the States or the War for Southern Independence, and even
labeled by some of us as the War of Northern Aggression, we need to go
back a little and look at some of our history prior to that war.
Our original War for Independence,
erroneously called "The American Revolution," the one that started
back in 1775, was fought for many reasons. Government school history books
have told you that the war was fought over taxes--no taxation without
representation--and that was partly true. However, like most government
school histories, other important things were left out.
One other very important idea
that brought on the war was the idea of limited government, the idea that
government is only supposed to do certain specific things and everything
else is left to the people. The Americans that opposed British infringements
on their liberties eventually became willing to fight to preserve those
liberties. At that point, they still considered themselves to be English
subjects and they wanted their traditional rights as English subjects
preserved. They were not trying to start a revolution that would overthrow
all of society and those values that their culture believed in. They wanted
to preserve their cultures (many colonies differed culturally from each
other). They wanted to preserve their way of life, their families and
churches and their businesses. But in doing that they wanted their rights
as English subjects protected.
From a typical American colonial
point of view, taxes levied on them without their consent were not to
be tolerated. They were not tax rebels in the sense that they did not
want to pay any taxes at all on anything. Rather, what they wanted was
for the taxes they did pay to have been levied by their own colonial legislatures
and not the British Parliament. The majority of the colonies had originally
received charters from the King of England, not Parliament. Hence they
questioned the right of the British Parliament to tax them when they had
no representation in that body.
In 1765 the British Government
passed the Stamp Act. This required that many types of paper documents
in the colonies, such things as legal deeds, wills, licenses, and newspapers
all bear British revenue stamps, indicating that the Stamp Tax had been
paid.
One of those that strongly
opposed this was the Christian patriot, Patrick Henry of Virginia. Mr.
Henry proposed to the Virginia Legislature a list of seven resolutions
that were to state Virginia's position regarding the Stamp Act.
One of these stated that the
colony had the right, regarding its internal matters, to be governed only
by laws passed by its own legislature and then approved by the royal governor.
A similar argument to this will come up again in 1861. Another of Henry's
resolutions said that the "General Assembly of this colony shall
have the only and sole exclusive right and power to lay taxes and impositions
upon the inhabitants of this colony." And yet another of his resolutions
said that the colonies should not be required to obey laws that had not
been approved by their own colonial legislatures and the Stamp Act was
just such a law! A similar argument to this will also come up later, in
the 1820s.
A meeting held in New York
in 1765 summoned representatives from the different colonies to agree
to a joint statement of their grievances which was to be forwarded to
the British government. They complained that their "ancient chartered
rights" had been violated and that the only ones who could rightly
tax them were the legislatures of their original colonies.
So, from reading this, you
can gather that the colonists were not attempting to start a revolution
that overturned all of society as the later French Revolution tried to
do. They were not trying to overthrow the British government. They were
only trying to preserve their rights as English colonists to be governed
by their own colonial legislatures. Their aim was to limit the British
government to only that which it ought to be doing. They were not in favor
of the abolition of government (anarchy) but they were in favor of limiting
government to its legitimate sphere of activity and not allowing it to
do whatsoever it wanted to. And they wanted that concept of limited government
to be rightly applied in their individual colonies (later to be states).
Later on, Thomas Jefferson would say "That government is best which
governs least." Mr. Jefferson was correct.
Let's review:
1. Did the American colonists start out to promote a "revolution"
like the French Revolution in which all of society is completely changed?
2. What did the colonists consider themselves to be before the war broke
out?
3. Why did the colonists reject the idea of taxes levied on them by the
British Parliament?
4. Who did the colonists think ought to have the right to lay taxes on
them?
5. Tell in your own words what Patrick Henry's resolutions said.
6. Summarize the colonists' ideas about government.
7. What are your ideas about Thomas Jefferson's statement about government,
pro or con, and why?
January 16, 2006
Second Lesson
About our Constitution(s) Part One
After our War for Independence was over the country was, for thirteen
years, governed by the principles of the Articles of Confederation. Due
to the obvious bias of government school "history' texts, almost
everything you hear about the Articles of Confederation will be
negative, if you even hear about them at all. You will be told that they
were weak and ineffective and that we needed something that gave a
central govenment more "power." Undoubtedly that was the desire of some
like Alexander Hamilton--a strong central government dictating to the
states. But, was that the way it was intended to be?
Alexander Stephens, first vice-president of the Confederate States of
America has done some writing on this subject and has asked a couple
questions we need to consider.
Mr. Stephens asks where the authority resides as to who can make
constitutions or who can unmake them. He asks: "Is it the whole mass of
the people of the United States, territorially considered as one Nation,
or in the People of the States, severally and separately, each for
itself, untrammeled by any obligations or restrictions incurred or
imposed by any Articles of Union existing between them?...Who are the
parties to the Union? Are they the whole mass of the People, or are they
States?" These are important questions people in our day need to begin
to think about and have not ever been taught to think about. What Mr.
Stephens is basically asking is--when constitutions are made, is it
done, as many people today seem to think, by a simple "majority" of all
the people in the country, or is it done by the people through the
states in which they live and which represent them? In our history it
was done through the states.
In dealing with the Constitution, Mr. Stephens has noted that: "The
present is not the first Constitution of the United States. The Union
existed under and old Constitution." Here Mr. Stephens is referring to
the Articles of Confederation, which had many good points in them.
Mr. Stephens notes, rather strongly, that: "I proceed to assert, as a
matter of history, that the former 'Union' or 'the Union' under the
Articles of Confederation, the first Constitution, was a 'Union of
separate, distinct, Sovereign and Independent States...In other words,
that the thirteen States, formerly British Colonies, after they asserted
their Independence as Sovereign States, entered into 'a Union as
separate Sovereignties, and that it was a Union of States as
States...Each of these States entering into it did so as a distinct,
separate, Sovereign political body."
In fact, the Articles of Confederation start off with articles affirming
all this. Article 1 says: "The Style of this confederacy shall be 'The
United States of America'." Note that the writers of the Articles
considered the states to be a confederacy.
Article 2 states: "Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and
independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by
this confederation expressly delegated to the united states, in congress
assembled."
So the thirteen new states have entered into a confederacy, but each of
the states keeps its political independence and its freedom except in
certain very limited areas which all the states have agreed to delegate
to the congress. And please note, the word "delegate" does not mean to
surrender. It means that the states have agreed that, in certain areas,
they allow the congress to work for all the states. However, an area
that is only delegated is not surrendered and it can be reclaimed if the
need should arise.
So our first Constitution was really the Articles of Confederation. And
the Constitution we now have is, in actuality, our second Constitution.
Go back and reread what has been said about the principles mentioned in
regard to the Articles of Confederation--the freedom, independence and
sovereignty of each state in the Union, the very limited role given to
the congress in that it was only authorized to act in specific areas
allowed to it by the states. These are important concepts, almost
totally lost in our day, and understanding them will become even more
important as we proceed toward further study of the War of Northern
Aggression.
Questions
1. How many constitutions has this country actually had?
2. How long was this country governed by its first constitution?
3. If you have even heard about our first constitution, tell what you
have heard about it, not only from this lesson but from any other
sources you are aware of.
4. What arguments does Alexander Stephens lay out as to who can or can
not make a constitution?
5. What does he say about the states that entered into union under our
first constitution?
6. What are these states referred to as?
7. What does the term "delegate" really mean in regard to powers given
in a constitution?
Confederate Regimental History Links
http://www.tarleton.edu/~kjones/confeds.html
Constitution of the Confederate States of America
March 11, 1861
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/csa/csa.htmhttp://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/ofre.html
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion
http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/ofre.html