Is Secession Treason?
By Albert Bledsoe
Price: $11.95
http://astore.amazon.com/souhernewvie-20/detail/1932490809
General
Robert E. Lee uttered to Albert Bledsoe these important words: "You have a great
work to do; we all look to you for our vindication". The "work" Lee was
referring to was in essence a Confederate political bible, that would clarify
and explain the principles of self-determination upon which the Secession from
the United States of America was based. Bledsoe was truly inspired to write a
most deftly argued book defending the South's "unthinkable" action. This
treatise, originally called Is Davis a Traitor?, is finally returned to print in
a new edition, with a new preface and index. Albert Taylor Bledsoe (1809-1877)
could be characterized as a traditionalist, an "unreconstructed Southerner", a
fighter for various causes and a firm believer in the dangers of modernism and
foreign influence. Yet he was no stooge working for the Southern "Brahmins"- he
was an intelligent man of letters, soldier and educator, clergyman and lawyer,
friend of wealthy men, social investigator, and seasoned traveler. Because of
his intellectual perspicacity, and his connections to important leaders in the
South, he became an apologist for the Southern Confederacy, and the pre-war
Southern "mentality". Is Secession Treason? represents the pinnacle of Bledsoe's
work. The centerpiece of his position is the critical distinction between the
words "constitution" and "compact". Drawing from the texts of numerous political
and philosophical documents, he presents ample justification for the assertion
that the union of former colonies in the 1780s was voluntary and not perpetual,
and their inherent independence was not taken away by their acceding to the
"compact" that joined them. Limitation on the power of the central authority
over the states was actually a key factor in the minds of the participants
attending the Constitutional Convention, as the author so ably proves. In the
pursuit of honesty and openness, Bledsoe strives to present both sides of the
debate, and states with great clarity and force the positions of Webster,
Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton, Calhoun and many others. After careful reflection
and analysis, he arrives at two powerful conclusions: Secession was allowed
under the Constitution, and the military attack by the Federal government on the
Confederacy was illegal. So well-reasoned were his arguments, that his book
proved to be a source of material for the defense of Jefferson Davis, President
of the Southern Confederacy, from charges of treason. Despite Albert Bledsoe's
unwavering devotion to his beloved homeland, one could say that his treatise is
more of a fair and balanced treatment of Secession, than many recently published
works covering the same subject. Paul Dennis Sporer has edited other books that
contribute to the understanding of the complex social and political dynamics of
the American Civil War period, such as End of an Era, by John Sergeant Wise,
Half a Century, by Jane Swisshelm, and Tupelo by James Hill Aughey.
