Martyrdom In Missouri Vol. 1 by Rev. W. M. Leftwich, D.D.
Martyrdom In Missouri Vol. 2 by Rev. W. M. Leftwich, D.D.
"Missouri will ever be conspicuous in the annals of history as the only State in the American Union to inaugurate and authorize a formal opposition to Christianity, as an institution, and legalize the persecution of ministers of the gospel, as a class."
The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis
"The object of this work has been from historical data to show that the Southern States had rightfully the power to withdraw from a Union into which they had, as sovereign communities, voluntarily entered; that the denial of that right was a violation of the letter and spirit of the compact between the States; and that the war waged by the Federal Government against the seceding States was in disregard of the limitations of the Constitution, and destructive of the principles of the Declaration of Independence." - Jefferson Davis
The Constitutional Right Of Secession In Political Theory And History by Andrei Kreptul
"The purpose of this article is to examine the legal aspects of secession, especially as it relates to the constitutional laws of sovereign states."
Secession, State, and Liberty - Edited by David Gordon
"Secession, then, is not a matter of 'battles long ago,' of interest only to Civil War buffs. As readers of Secession, State, and Liberty will I am confident agree, secession is a key issue of our age." - David Gordon
A Brief Enquiry Into The True Nature And Character Of Our Federal Government: Being A Review Of Judge Story's Commentaries On The Constitution Of The Unites States by Abel P. Upshur
"The book to which the following pages relate has been for several years before the public. It has been reviewed by some of the principal periodicals of the country, and recommended in the strongest terms to public favor. I have no disposition to detract from its merits as a valuable compendium of historical facts, or as presenting just views of the Constitution in many respects. My attention has been directed to its political principles alone, and my sole purpose has been to inquire into the correctness of those principles, so far as they relate to the true nature and character of our Federal Government." - Abel P. Upshur
Union and Liberty: The Political Philosophy of John C. Calhoun By John C. Calhoun
"These writings address such issues as states' rights and nullification, slavery, the growth of the Federal judicial power, and Calhoun's doctrine of the 'concurrent majority.' This selection presents twelve notable speeches, letters, and essays by Calhoun; among them are his famous Fort Hill Address and his two great treatises on government - 'A Disquisition on Government' and the 'Discourse on the Constitution and Government of the United States.'"
An Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United State by John Taylor [1814]
The major political treatise by Taylor, one of the Southern supporters of Jefferson, who opposed the centralization of power in the hands of the federal government. It was in large part a reply to John Adam’s Defence of the Constitution (1787).
Construction Construed and Constitutions Vindicated by John Taylor [1820]
Taylor defends a strict “states rights” interpretation of the U.S. Constitution and advocates limited republican government.
Tyranny Unmasked by John Taylor [1822]
John Taylor wrote Tyranny Unmasked not only to assault the protective tariff and the mercantilist policies of the times but also “to examine general principles in relation to commerce, political economy, and a free government.” As an early discussion of the principles of governmental power and their relationship to political economy and liberty, Tyranny Unmasked is an important primary source in the study of American history and political thought.
A VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE United States of America. BY WILLIAM RAWLE, LL.D. [1829]
This text was used at West Point prior to the war.
“The secession of a state from the Union depends on the will of the people of such state. The people alone as we have already seen, hold the power to alter their constitution. The Constitution of the United States is to a certain extent, incorporated into the constitutions or the several states by the act of the people. The state legislatures have only to perform certain organical operations in respect to it. To withdraw from the Union comes not within the general scope of their delegated authority. There must be an express provision to that effect inserted in the state constitutions. This is not at present the case with any of them, and it would perhaps be impolitic to confide it to them. A matter so momentous, ought not to be entrusted to those who would have it in their power to exercise it lightly and precipitately upon sudden dissatisfaction, or causeless jealousy, perhaps against the interests and the wishes of a majority of their constituents.” --CHAPTER XXXII. OF THE PERMANENCE OF THE UNION.
No Treason by Lysander Spooner [1867]
"The question of treason is distinct from that of slavery; and is the same that it would have been, if free States, instead of slave States, had seceded.
"On the part of the North, the war was carried on, not to liberate slaves, but by a government that had always perverted and violated the Constitution, to keep the slaves in bondage; and was still willing to do so, if the slaveholders could be thereby induced to stay in the Union.
"The principle, on which the war was waged by the North, was simply this: That men may rightfully be compelled to submit to, and support, a government that they do not want; and that resistance, on their part, makes them traitors and criminals." - Lysander Spooner
The Cotton Kingdom Volume I by Frederick Law Olmsted [1861]
The Cotton Kingdom Volume II by Frederick Law Olmsted [1861]
A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States by Frederick Law Olmsted [1856]
Published in 1861, just as the Southern states were storming out of the Union, it has been hailed ever since as singularly fair and authentic, an unparalleled account of America's "peculiar institution."
Noted Guerrillas, or, The warfare of the Border by John Newman Edwards [1877]
Full Title: Noted guerrillas, or, The warfare of the border : being a history of the lives and adventures of Quantrell, Bill Anderson, George Todd, Dave Poole, Fletcher Taylor, Peyton Long, Oll Shepherd, Arch Clements, John Maupin, Tuck and Woot Hill, Wm. Gregg, Thomas Maupin, the James brothers, the Younger brothers, Arthur McCoy, and numerous other well known guerrillas of the West (1877) by John Newman Edwards