[lentulusgracchus]

Secession could not have been proven to be treasonous......

And the political damage to the Black Republicans would have been fantastic.

Like I said -- that's the sort of thing that CJ Chase cared about. That's why he was on the Court, IMHO -- and not just "on the Court", but Chief Justice, the position that steers the opinions and the docket, as a political cadre and back-catcher on the bench.

[4CJ]

Like I said -- that's the sort of thing that CJ Chase cared about. That's why he was on the Court, IMHO -- and not just "on the Court", but Chief Justice, the position that steers the opinions and the docket, as a political cadre and back-catcher on the bench.

As a MEMBER of the administation that waged war on the Confederate States, Chase should have been the LAST person to rule on the legality of his own administrations actions.

[Non-Sequitur]

And the political damage to the Black Republicans would have been fantastic.

That is possible in the long run. So perhaps the Black Republicans inadvertently saved themselves by passing the 14th Amendment.