<p>“To this day, you have people insisting that the secession was about states’ rights. They don’t like it when someone points out which states’ right was by far the most important one in the decision to secede.”</p>
<p>The truth was that they wanted FEDERAL rights. They wanted the FEDERAL government to enforce the Dred Scott decision, VIOLATING state’s rights by invading northern states and returning their property to them. They wanted the FEDERAL government to open FEDERAL lands to slavery, and they wanted FEDERAL law to protect slaveholders in those FEDERAL territories.</p>