FWIW, here's a bit of FYI for those who care to ponder over some of the points I tried to make in my post that appears above.
One of the "States' Rights" issues that existed for many years prior to "The War of Northern Aggression" was that many of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal states wanted to have their coastal fortifications manned by their own state militias [state-level military forces that today would be somewhat similar to our National Guard] instead of Federal Military Armies.
In fact, there was a member of our 14th POTUS, Franklin Pierce's (D-NH; served as POTUS from 1853 to 1857) cabinet who actually pushed very enthusiastically for his proposal to have such a plan as this enacted into law by Congress.
That person was Pierce's Secretary of War Jefferson Davis.
This was the same Jefferson Davis who later became a Democrat US Senator from Mississippi as well as the first (and only) President of the Confederate States of America.
Had his proposal actually been enacted into law, would there then NOT have been the bombardment of Charleston, SC's harbor fortification that lit the spark and created the subsequent events that led to our so-called "War Between the States"?
Possibly so, but, OTOH, even if that landmark historical event had never occurred (given the very divisive national social and political atmosphere that existed back then) there probably would have been some other event that would have led to a similar armed conflict that, in many cases, we're still trying to rectify the various outcome(s) with which our nation has never really fully resolved.
One of the "States' Rights" issues that existed for many years prior to "The War of Northern Aggression" was that many of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal states wanted to have their coastal fortifications manned by their own state militias [state-level military forces that today would be somewhat similar to our National Guard] instead of Federal Military Armies.
In fact, there was a member of our 14th POTUS, Franklin Pierce's (D-NH; served as POTUS from 1853 to 1857) cabinet who actually pushed very enthusiastically for his proposal to have such a plan as this enacted into law by Congress.
That person was Pierce's Secretary of War Jefferson Davis.
This was the same Jefferson Davis who later became a Democrat US Senator from Mississippi as well as the first (and only) President of the Confederate States of America.
Had his proposal actually been enacted into law, would there then NOT have been the bombardment of Charleston, SC's harbor fortification that lit the spark and created the subsequent events that led to our so-called "War Between the States"?
Possibly so, but, OTOH, even if that landmark historical event had never occurred (given the very divisive national social and political atmosphere that existed back then) there probably would have been some other event that would have led to a similar armed conflict that, in many cases, we're still trying to rectify the various outcome(s) with which our nation has never really fully resolved.
