America’s Civil War. Was it a fight over slavery? Generations have been taught this as settled history. But what does the evidence say?

Jeb Smith’s meticulously researched I'll Take My Stand defends the South’s case for secession. It examines the historical record through the words of the people who lived it, their declarations, speeches, letters, constitutions, and political debates, arguing that the South saw itself defending the Union, the Founding Fathers’ constitution established, preserving state sovereignty, limited government, and consent of the governed from the dangerous expansion of federal authority under Abraham Lincoln.

I'll Take My Stand is a compelling examination of America's most enduring historical debate. It challenges assumptions, provokes discussion, and exposes what few modern historians dare to explore. History is never as simple as it is taught.

What People are Saying About I'll Take My Stand

Jeb Smith is a courageous historian who puts the professionals to shame. He follows the sources and instead of moralistic, self-righteous preening, he seeks to understand the past and the people involved. He's also a Northerner, which makes his defense of the South and the Southern tradition much more interesting. This book must be included in your library.

-Brion McClanahan P.H.D in History from the University of South Carolina

In I'LL TAKE MY STAND, Jeb Smith has written an outstanding book about the true causes of Southern secession--something modern establishment historians, in general, have been totally unable to grasp. Using a plethora of primary sources, he effectively debunks the “It was all about slavery” crowd, which is incapable of dealing with his insights and depth of knowledge and understanding. The fact that he is a Vermonter is especially gratifying to me, because I had just about given up on finding an unbiased Northern historian. I found his chapter on Southern Christendom vs. Northern Deism particularly illuminating.

-Dr. Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. is a professor and military historian who has authored more than forty books, including It Wasn’t About Slavery: Exposing the Great Lie of the Civil War

Jeb Smith’s “I’ll Take My Stand: Defending the Causes of Southern Secession” shows conclusively that the South seceded in order to resist the efforts of the radical centralizers who sought the revolutionary transformation of the compact between the States that established our country. It is a magnificent defense of Southern culture.

—Dr. David Gordon holds a PhD in History from UCLA and is a Senior Fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute

Nearly every decade since The War there has been an excellent defense of the South published. This is one of the best ever. The writer is a New Englander who came to the South’s defense just by honest research and reading of history.

-Clyde Wilson is a distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at the University of South Carolina

The reasons for the Southern states seceding from the Union were not only numerous and complicated but have been publicly suppressed by the U.S. Federal Government. Yet this has neither daunted nor deterred Jeb Smith from extensively examining as well as intelligently explaining why the people of the South chose secession. In doing so, Smith has cemented his status as an authoritative historian of Southern history, while, simultaneously, shaming mainstream historians who dare not do what he has done. I’ll take My Stand: Defending the Causes of Southern Secession is highly recommended for both the serious historian and lay-person who wish to truly understand a pivotal moment in American history. This is a book for the cultured amongst us.

—Dr. Marcus Papadopoulos is a British Historian, Author, and Television Analyst

There was no Civil War in the US in 1861. A civil war means that two contending parties WISH to rule the entire nation. There were civil wars in Russia in 1917 and in Spain in 1936. What occurred in 1861 was a war of secession. The South wanted to secede, not to rule the North at all. The right of secession stems from that of Free Association. No one should be compelled to associate with anyone else against his will. This war was fought over the right to secede, not slavery, which existed in THE North, too, at this time. Jeb Smith tells this tale with verve, accuracy and sophistication. I highly recommend I’ll Take my Stand- Defending the Causes of Southern Secession.

—Dr. Walter E. Block is the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics at Loyola University, New Orleans

Jeb Smith delivers a systematic and evidence-driven challenge to the dominant modern narrative of the Civil War’s origins. Drawing on primary sources, contemporary documents, and a careful regional analysis, Smith argues that Southern secession stemmed primarily from the defense of a decentralized constitutional republic, states’ rights, and limited government rather than from a singular commitment to preserve slavery...The result is a coherent, carefully argued case that the Civil War arose from a fundamental clash over the nature of the American Union itself: a voluntary compact of states versus a consolidated nation under majority rule...Readers seeking a clear, source-based alternative to the single-cause orthodoxy will find it well worth their time. Smith’s central observation remains as pertinent as ever: “the winners write the histories.”

— Ryan Sahlberg is a retired Marine Corps infantry officer, a history graduate from The Citadel, and the owner and operator of Manifest History

It is rare for today’s historians and authors to actually research a topic and present facts not opinion ... .like a good attorney, Smith 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...One may think that this book is just another of the many thousands all ready published on the subject. They would be greatly mistaken. This book is a needed breathe of fresh air that gives a brief history of our Republic that today’s students are sorely lacking. This book is a wake up call to all those who want to learn the truth about our Republic.

—Rick Montes M.A. in History at Western Connecticut State University and Adjunct Professor of History. Montes is the author of the United States as a Confederation and the relevance of the Tenth Amendment

I’ll Take My Stand: Defending the Causes of Southern Secession is an excellent source to properly understand the modern fairy tale version of “government-approved” history. I urge anyone who would like to learn more facts “your teacher didn’t tell you” to get a copy.

—John M. Taylor, author of Union At All Costs: From Confederation to Consolidation

The Confederate states left to protect self-government and a decentralized Union, and Lincoln forced the war over tariffs and money rather than slavery. Smith draws on a wide range of sources — including state resolutions, newspapers, and quotations from Jefferson, Madison, and Lincoln — to make the case that the pre-war republic was a compact of sovereign states, dismantled by force. Combative and confidently written, its central idea challenges mainstream historians’ views on the Civil War.

—George Levrier-Jones is a London‐based historian, and founder of History Is Now Magazine