Conflicting Visions of America

Originally published at the Alabama Gazette.

“The contest is really for empire on the side of the North, and for independence on that of the South, and in this respect we recognize an exact analogy between the North and the Government of George III, and the South and the Thirteen Revolted Provinces. These opinions may be wrong but they are the general opinions of the English nation.”

London Times, November 7, 1861

The modern world reflects how Lincoln’s consolidation of power has produced the fruits of empire identified in the 1861 London Times and predicted by Alexander Stephens, Raphael Semmes, Robert E. Lee, Lord Acton, Jefferson Davis, and others. American interventionism permeates the world in contravention of the warnings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams.

There is a lack of evidence that America was to be a “proposition nation” or to militarily dominate the world in juxtaposition with the nebulous concept of “American exceptionalism.” Absent most of the limitations of Europe and Great Britain, America provided opportunities for the advancement of individual liberty and property rights. This attracted many settlers, e.g., English Cavaliers who escaped Oliver Cromwell’s tyrannical regime; Scots-Irish who fled the border country and Northern Ireland to escape economic oppression and violence; Huguenots who escaped religious persecution in France, and other settlers seeking a better life in America.

From the outset there were conflicting notions as to what America should be. The Southern mentality was predominantly “live and let live” and was generally devoid of dictating how others should live. Many Northerners shared this belief; the New England Puritans were the exception. Patrick Henry noted this and Maryland-born Admiral Raphael Semmes echoed Henry’s observations. Henry observed the New England “Yankees” whom Southerners had consented to join a compact (constitution) with, while amiable when in the minority, were likely to trample on Southern rights once they attained numerical superiority. In Memoirs of Service Afloat, Semmes claimed the goal of the “Puritan Yankee” was to remake the world in his own image. Matters worsened after many lost their religion and morphed into Universalists, Unitarians, and Transcendentalists.

Jefferson Davis stated: “I love the Union and the Constitution, but I would rather leave the Union with the Constitution than remain in the Union without it.” The Constitution’s blueprint for federalism was a bold experiment. Article 1, Section 8 enumerates the powers delegated to the Federal Government with all other powers left to the States or the people. Davis understood Lincoln’s goals – expand central authority, diminish States Rights, enrich political allies, and plant the seeds of empire. The Republican Party’s corporatist agenda caused many in both North and South to mirror Davis’ concerns.

Many believed that Lincoln and the Radical Republicans sought to create an empire that would ultimately surpass the British Empire. For what other reasons than centralization, control, and avarice would Lincoln send armies to invade, destroy, and subjugate the South? Lincoln allegedly referenced a fear of bankers – supposedly international bankers, e.g., the Rothschilds – yet bankers routinely finance both sides of wars. Furthermore, Lincoln advocated a national bank, a cornerstone of a planned economy. Lincoln repeatedly said he did not invade the South to destroy slavery. Financial remuneration of slaveholders would have accomplished that and spared the senseless destruction of the Southern States. Slavery could and should have ended peacefully as in most other “civilized” countries.

By crushing States Rights, Lincoln diminished the very mechanism that checked centralized power. Ironically, Lincoln defended self-government in a January 1848 speech to Congress. However, concerning the South, he abandoned this belief and advocated government by force. The fact Lincoln was in the back pocket of industrial and banking interests most assuredly swayed his opinion. In modern times, we have witnessed “industrialists” and their political puppets offshore thousands of American jobs via pseudo-free trade agreements.

The invasion, destruction, and occupation of the Southern States severely damaged the traditional Christian South, leading to schisms within various denominations. According to multiple people close to him, Lincoln lacked true Christian beliefs; however, as Edgar Lee Masters claimed, he used the facade of “Christian morality” for political purposes. Union victory ultimately made everyone subservient to Lincoln’s god—centralized governmental power.

Lincoln and the centralizers won and they continue to win. As times get worse and freedoms continue to diminish, Jefferson Davis’ prediction will be put to the test: “Our situation illustrates the American idea that governments rest on the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish them whenever they become destructive of the ends for which they were established.” The present opposing views of America are mostly derived from the “Lincolnian” forced Union under which we live. “Consensual Government” has become passé; however, as Davis said, at some point it “is bound to reassert itself.”

The views expressed at AbbevilleInstitute.org are not necessarily those of the Abbeville Institute.

John M. Taylor

John M. Taylor, from Alexander City, Alabama, worked for over thirty years at Russell Corporation (subsequently Fruit of the Loom), primarily in transportation and logistics. In his second career, Taylor is presently Library Director at Adelia M. Russell Library in Alexander City. He holds a B.S. Degree in Transportation from Auburn University and an MLIS from the University of Alabama. Taylor is married with two sons and two grandchildren. Inspired by his late Mother, who dearly loved the South and knew one of his Confederate ancestors, Taylor has been a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans since 1989, where he edited both local and State newsletters; this includes eleven years as Editor of Alabama Confederate. He is a member of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars (MOSB), the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), and has supported the Ludwig von Mises Institute since 1993. Taylor’s book, Union At All Costs: From Confederation to Consolidation (Booklocker Publishing), was first released in January 2017.

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