[DesertRhino]

You know what else bone maker? After the Civil War, the states of the confederacy were readmitted to the union in 1868. That’s a tacit recognition that indeed, they had left. If it was impossible that they had ever left legally, there would need to be no process to re-admit them to the union. Think about it

[Bonemaker]

Thanks for info. I’m wasn’t familiar with that formality.

[Political Junkie Too]

Don't you think "readmitted" may be a little misleading here?

I know that articles refer to the states as being readmitted (or restored to their former positions), but they had preconditions to be met. They had to ratify the 13th and 14th amendments first.

So, to use your logic, if they were out of the union, then how can they ratify any amendments to the United States constitution to be restored, unless they never really left the union?

-PJ