Incorrect. While it's common to say that the rebel states were readmitted following reconstruction, that is inaccurate. Southern states did not reapply for statehood and they were not readmitted as states. If you read the Reconstruction Acts themselves, the make it clear that completing reconstruction itself allowed the Southern states' congressional delegations be readmitted to Congress. The Southern states themselves were not out of the Union for a single minute - before, after or during the rebellion.
Yes, indeed. The “seceded” states were always part of the United States.
Re-admittance to the Union was for congressional representation and elections (and the electoral college). Prior to a state’s re-admittance, residents were regarded as U.S. citizens, federal law was in force, federal officials collected tariffs and other taxes, residents were free to travel throughout the entire country, were afforded consular protection abroad, etc.
Limbaugh: "Secession" is "not the rantings of extreme kookism anymore," "some might say the civil war is already on"...
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201008050028