But it did not BELONG to them. We had some friends over for dinner tonight. I didn' appropriate his wallet or her purse or claim their car merely because it was in MY territory. The South had no claim to the property so they stole it.
Here is another scenario: You make an agreement to sell your house to a friend, (Contract for Deed, as we call it in Texas). Your friend defaults on his obligations, so you EVICT him, and take BACK your property, by revoking that contract. Your friend can CLAIM he owns it all day long, but he doesn’t.