By Andrew Sheeler
The Civil War ended 159 years ago, but the language used by the secessionists who started it lives on today, most recently in a statement from Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
In a statement issued last week, Abbott said that “the federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the states” and announced that he was deploying the Texas National Guard and other state public safety personnel to “secure the Texas border.”
It’s the word “compact” that draws concern from some, as that is how seven of the 11 seceding states (including Texas) referred to the Constitution in their ordinances of secession, according to Civil War historian Stephen West on Bluesky.
It wasn’t just West that noticed that. The Hill’s Nick Robertson wrote about Abbott’s language choice as well, in an article discussing how GOP governors were rallying around him.
Read more at: Sacramento Bee
The Hill contributed to this report.