Dispatch: South Carolina, 1860:

The victory of Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 elections convinced South Carolina legislators that it was no longer in their state’s interest to remain in the Union. South Carolina declared its secession from the United States. Citing “an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding states to the institution of slavery,” South Carolina insisted that the Northern states had breached their constitutional obligation to enforce federal laws like the Fugitive Slave Act and had “united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States” who would “inaugurate a new policy, hostile to the South, and destructive of its beliefs and safety.” “We, therefore, the People of South Carolina . . . have solemnly declared that the Union heretofore existing between this State and the other States of North America, is dissolved.” Within months, a total of eleven slaveholding states declared their secession from the Union. And war came. The Union defeat of the Confederate army was nothing less than a defeat of secessionist theories of the Constitution. It also opened up the door to profound changes in the federal system during Reconstruction.

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1 comments (Latest Comment: 12/28/2023 18:22:23 by Will_in_Ca)

Good Morning.

On this Boxing Day, let us consider a long-running gift to these United States from a certain Southern Senator.
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1 comments (Latest Comment: 12/26/2023 16:49:53 by Will_in_Ca)

Good Morning!

Well - an annual event in a day or two, one of those usual seminal events where we mark the passage of time every year.

This year...well, it's pretty meh. I personally have not had a very good second half of 2023, after starting with such high hopes. Alas, all of them dashed.

But, we're not here to watch TriSec's navel-gazing. Let's dial up some Christmas tunes!
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7 comments (Latest Comment: 12/24/2023 20:19:40 by Raine)

This is what happens when the Republicans are in charge.
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9 comments (Latest Comment: 12/21/2023 23:59:37 by Raine)

Good Morning.

Military life is dangerous, as we all know. It is always possible to get killed in many ways, from actual combat to something as stupid as driving a military vehicle on a public way.

But sometimes - bizarre things happen.
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1 comments (Latest Comment: 12/19/2023 22:35:11 by BobR)