Abraham Lincoln - The Paradox

For me Abraham Lincoln and his role in the "War Between the States" has become a bit of a problem. Do not get me wrong, I think that he was a good man and in fact I have come to believe that he was the right man at the right time, placed in power providentially as all leaders are. I agree wholeheartedly that the abolition of slavery was paramount. I can find no one with which to disagree on this point.
But the “Civil War” was not initially or primarily about slavery, it was about state’s rights. So where I run into a problem is in the question, “was President Lincoln acting within his power and within the reach of the Constitution?” And whether he was or not, “did he do the right thing by fighting to keep the Union together?” Many southern colonies were worried about the issue of state’s rights when the Constitution was waiting to be ratified. They were worried that the Constitution threatened their way-of-life. The northern states that had already ratified the document enticed the south by saying that if they ratified the Constitution and it was not working for them, the southern colonies could then secede from the Union.
I believe with all of my heart that the southern colonies had the right to secede. But I praise the Lord that a man like Lincoln had the courage to fight to hold this great nation together. I shudder to think how things might have turned out had the hand of the Almighty not reached down and saved this great nation.
Do I fear that a precedent was set, that the commander-in-chief can supersede the Constitution at will? No, we have not seen that in this way since. Have we seen presidents who have tried to get around the Constitution, yes, we have one now, but the voters, the people, will rise up and our system of checks and balances will succeed. God bless the United States of America.

Robert E. Lee - Virginian First?

I have come to have great respect for the leadership and the man Robert E. Lee. So many Americans are quick to judge the man because he led the southern army during the War Between the States, but there is so much more to the General Lee. He was a God-fearing Christian who was apposed to slavery. He believed in a gradual emancipation, but emancipation none-the-less. So why did he fight for the south? He was loyal to his state or “country” of Virginia. Virginians all the way back to Washington and Jefferson were devoted to Virginia first. Our Virginian forefathers thought of her as a country, their mother country. Yes, other colonists thought of their particular states as individual countries as well, but like Massachusetts citizens, Virginians had a certain zest for being a born and bred member of their “country”. This carried on and when Lee was asked by Lincoln to lead the Union forces, Lee put Virginia before the United States. So let me now ask, if Virginia had not seceded and had stayed with the Union, would Robert E. Lee have still been loyal to his state? Since he was apposed to slavery and still fought for Virginia, was he so much for states rights, as was the Confederacy or would he have fought to preserve the Union as, in this instance, would have been the desire of his beloved Virginia?