[BenLurkin]

since southern representatives and Senators had quit the Congress, they were no longer there to oppose

Lincoln would have simply had them arrested, but those same Constitutional scholars probably would have found that to be okay as well.

[BroJoeK]

BroJoeK: "since southern representatives and Senators had quit the Congress, they were no longer there to oppose"

BenLurkin: "Lincoln would have simply had them arrested, but those same Constitutional scholars probably would have found that to be okay as well. "

Were any of the Southern Congressmen and Senators who remained arrested?

Defenders of the Southern Cause constantly complain that secession was both constitutional and legal.
But in 1861 both the President and Congress disagreed -- and why should they not disagree?

Lincoln argued at the time that entering and leaving the Union should require the same basic procedures -- application by the state and approval by Congress.
Since nothing like that happened, the President and Congress declared seceding states to be in a state of insurrection and rebellion.

And the key point is: when the South left Congress, they left no one there to defend their interests.
How then can they complain about the results?

[Non-Sequitur]

Lincoln would have simply had them arrested, but those same Constitutional scholars probably would have found that to be okay as well.

Jeff Davis would have had them shot...then arrested...then hung...and then maybe tried.