By calling the legally seceded States a "rebellion" one then can justify rounding up and arresting said opponents without establishing who is right.
Merriam-Webster defines a rebellion as "open, armed, and usually unsuccessful defiance of or resistance to an established government." That is an accurate description of the southern actions.
71 posted on 01/01/2005 2:57:48 PM PST by Non-Sequitur
(Jefferson Davis - the first 'selected, not elected' president.)