congressman laurence m. keitt of south carolina supported states rights during the civil war.
who supported states rights during the civil war?
congressman laurence m. keitt of south carolina
contemporary historians overwhelmingly agree that secession was motivated by slavery. there were numerous causes for secession, but preservation and expansion of slavery was easily the most important of them. the confusion may come from blending the causes of secession with the causes of the war—which are separate but related issues. (lincoln did not enter a military conflict to free the slaves but to put down a rebellion.) according to historian kenneth m. stampp, each side supported states' rights or federal power only when it was convenient to do so. stampp also cited confederate vice president alexander stephens's "a constitutional view of the late war between the states" as an example of a southern leader who said that slavery was the "cornerstone of the confederacy" when the war began and then said that the war was not about slavery but states' rights after southern defeat. according to stampp, stephens became one of the most ardent defenders of the 'lost cause' theory.
lost cause of the confederacy
in 1980, republican presidential candidate ronald reagan announced that he supported states rights. lee atwater, who served reagan's chief strategist in the southern states, claimed that by 1968, a vast majority of southern whites had learned to accept that racial slurs like "nigger" were offensive and that mentioning "states rights" and reasons for its justification had now become the best way to appeal to southern white voters. with reagan's success at the national level, the republican party moved sharply to the right, with the shrinkage of the liberal rockefeller republican element that had emphasized their support for civil rights.
southern democrats