I believe Alexander Stephens made a case for secession based on Jefferson's opinions about states and local governments being the first word before the central government - which is the same Jeffersonian reasoning Calhoun used for his nullification theory. Stephens' position put him firmly in opposition to Davis and his supporters, many of whom felt Stephens was not suited for vice president because he did not support a confederacy. Lincoln, on the other hand, supported a strong central government and a union - the country had grown past what Jefferson was talking about. That's where he agreed with Jackson more than Jefferson. One thing the Confederacy did - and Davis explained it at GREAT length in his post-war tome - was hark back to the original organization of the country before the Supreme Court was considered the final word on what was constitutional and what was not. And, with a fast forward to Ft Sumter - Lincoln, from his view of the Constitution, said he would protect federal property and leave the states alone, and Davis, from his view of the same Constitution, said any property within the state was the state's...we have the predestination of Ft Sumter once somebody fired a shot.