I’ll Take My Stand: Defending the Causes of Southern Secession by Jeb Smith

If you were to search the topic of the “American Civil War” you would find thousands of books and articles ranging from biographies on politicians and soldiers, detailed examinations of battles, the minutiae of a slave’s daily life and of course, the cause of the war. 

As a youngster it was always the battles and soldiers that intrigued me. I would sit on the floor of my room for hours recreating every battle with my blue and gray plastic soldiers. Of course, growing up in New York I was indoctrinated to believe that the Southern people were evil monsters who only wanted to spread slavery and that Abraham Lincoln was our savior. Hence, every battle on the floor of my room was won by the good guys in blue. 

I have always been an avid reader of history and as I got older my understanding of the complexities of history became clearer. Nothing was ever black or white. My natural inquisitiveness led me to study the cause of the conflicts I was reading about which led me to unending areas of research. The American Civil War, or as I now know it, the War of Northern Aggression, was one of those areas. To understand the “Civil War” one must understand the founding of our Republic. Without this understanding you will be unable to truly understand why the war happened and its consequences on our system of government. 

This is why “I’ll Take My Stand: Defending the Causes of Southern Secession”, the latest book by Jeb Smith is so important. 

“I’ll Take my Stand” is Mr. Smith’s follow up to his book “Defending Dixie’s Land: What Every American Should Know about the South and the Civil War” and expands on his research and improves his arguments on the causes of the war. It is rare for today’s historians and authors to actually research a topic and present facts not opinion.

The book lays out a brief, but clear and concise, timeline of the history of our Republic. The founders understood that the States were united together to form a union of sovereign entities and not as a consolidated “Nation.” Smith uses the writings of the founders themselves to hammer home this understanding. 

Like a good attorney, Smith then lays out the case Southerners were using for their disagreements with the Federal Government. Their whole premise was based on the understanding that the States were part of a Voluntary Union of sovereigns. If today’s readers of history do not understand this foundational principle of our system of government, it will be impossible to correctly interpret the events leading to the war and its tragic aftermath.

Smith methodically explains the reasoning behind the calls for secession from the union. He also points out that there was no overwhelming consensus among the Southern States to leave the union. In fact, he shows that many in the South had no desire at all to secede. 

Historians and political pundits have discussed, for generations, the numerous reasons for secession. However, one reason that trumps them all is slavery. The issue of slavery and secession has been so ingrained in the consciousness of the people that it is hard to have an educated discussion on why slavery was a reason, but not the only or even main reason, for some of the Southern States to decide to leave the Union. 

Smith takes the time in a concise fashion to explain some of those varied reasons. One particularly key issue was tariffs. The South was primarily an agrarian society and depended on the idea of free trade. The North was the industrial center and relied less on tariffs but more on manufacturing. To protect its industries the North needed tariffs on foreign goods whereas the  South depended on exporting its agriculture. Many Southern politicians believed that the northern states were protecting their constituents at the expense of their own and this led Smith to explain the distinct cultural and religious identities of the regions. 

In a rare discussion of these differences, he points out the South’s more Christian, patriarchal, and aristocratic society compared to the more secular, materialistic and deist one of the North. 

Another reason that he covers that is often overlooked was that many in the South were very reluctant to leave the Union. It was not until Lincoln called for troops to prevent the few Southern States from leaving that the sentiment for secession became overwhelming.

The book covers many other topics that lend themselves to the defense of the Southern States. 

One may think that this book is just another of the many thousands already published on the subject. They would be greatly mistaken. This book is a needed breath of fresh air that gives a brief history of our Republic that today’s students are sorely lacking. Smith sums it up with the hard truth: “Before the Civil War, the primary goal in American society was local self-governance. Afterward, we became a commercial empire dominated by elite bankers, industrialists, and other NYC-type Wall Street interests…The government controls us, not vice versa.”

This book is also a wake up call to all those who want to learn the truth about our Republic. If I could go back in time to my room with the knowledge I have gained from this book, the boys in Gray would win more of those battles!