Quote Originally Posted by R2Dawg View Post
That period was a little more complicated than that; I'm not a historian but this country was founded on states rights. After losing the war with much loss and humiliation, Abe and others after sought to bring the country together as one. The reconstruction period was tough and maybe not handled well at times. The confederate statue thing was also an attempt to bring the country together as one and move on.

The flag will get changed which I am for at this point. Flag doesn't really mean anything except now penalizing MS sports and schools and students, etc.
States Rights was a component, but by no means was it even the dominant belief among the founders. The American experiment in governance was unlike anything else at the time, and to a degree still is. The intent was to strike a balance between the will of the people, the rights of the states, and centralized national government. The founders attempted to create a structure with the "states" the primary focus via the Articles of Confederation. It failed miserably and was abandoned after only 7 years. The Constitution delineates powers, but clearly places the Federal Government above the states via Article VI, and only cedes power to states as decided by the Federal Government. Of course - that was not without controversy, or without challenges by the States. Almost immediately, states tested the power of the Federal government - whether it was the Alien and Sedition Acts or the debates between early republicans vs. federalists, or Nullification. The Constitution binds the States and the Federal government together - but ultimately the Fed wins out most of the time because the Constitution is built to allow that to happen.