[Non-Sequitur]

Not really. They simply made an ex post facto claim that they were after four long years of being unable to govern there.

In the imagination of southerners only. Being in rebellion doesn't change the legalities of the issue.

[GOPcapitalist]

In the imagination of southerners only.

No imagination at all. Southern home rule was a de facto reality in those years and its legal status unchallenged until after the fact.