Was George Washington a traitor for trying to dismantle the British Empire?
Was Sam Houston a traitor for trying to dismantle Mexico?
The South was not trying to overthrow the U.S. government, they were trying to declare independence just like George Washington and Sam Houston.
My loyalty is to God, my family and friends, then Texas, and then to the U.S. If Texas were ever to secede again, even if I did not agree with Texas, I would choose Texas over the U.S. Federal Government.
Robert E. Lee is the perfect example. He did not want to fight for the South. He did not support slavery. He agonized over who to fight for when Lincoln offered him command of the Union forces and he ultimately decided he could not make war on his family or countrymen of Virginia. People also do not realize that had Lincoln let South Carolina and the other deep South states secede, Virginia likely would have stayed in the Union. Virginia only joined the South after the War started because they believed in a state's right to secede and they did not want northern troops marching through Virginia to infringe on such right.
Other than the results of war and violence, secession is a very open question. To this day, it is not banned under the Constitution. You'll notice the northern states still did not ban it by amendment after the civil war. It is clear under our federal system, before the civil war, the founding fathers intended to federal government and states to be co-sovereigns. If you polled the founding fathers and Americans themselves prior to 1861, you would have a very mixed answers on whether states had the right to secede, although I would guess the states' right of secession would get over 50% of such a poll.
However, back to my main point, I have no family that has ever lived in the North. All of my ancestors lived in Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana or Texas. The history of the North is not my history or the history of my people. Being from San Antonio, I have more in common with Mexican culture than I do the maple drinkers up in New Hampshire. I do know that northerners/yankees look down on and despise Texas and the South. They vote against the South and have politically suppressed the south in various ways. When was the last time we had a conservative, white southern supreme court justice? Nixon tried to appoint one and the north would not allow it. As a white, conservative southerner, no matter how great of a lawyer I was, I know that I would NEVER be allowed to be on the Supreme Court. In short, I do not consider yankees, specifically white ones, to be my brothers or countrymen.
If I were to ever side with them over my family or state, I would be a disloyal traitor to my fellow Texans. Why on God's green earth would I ever side with THEIR government over Texas?
I question the morals and priorities of anyone who would betray their family and friends and the place they live to side with a federal government of people from thousands of miles away.
