Was the Union Army’s Invasion of the Confederate States a Lawful Act?

LewRockwell.com (Where else?) ^ | July 29, 2002 | James Ostrowski

[SengirV]

I am a resident of Virginia, and as such I believe I am due some reparations from the federal government for actions perpetrated against my state one hundred years before I was born.

Of course I was born and raised in Pennsylvania for the first 18 years, and have lived in Deleware and Houston for many more. Well, I'm also only a third generation American, so no one in my Family History was even in the US before 1900. BUT DAMMIT I WANT MY REPARATIONS!!!!

And if I don't hear anything about it , I will deduct then on my next federal income tax.

[mrs9x]

Look, it doesn't really matter whether the use of force against the South was legal...besides, the U.S. Constitution allows for the President to use the militia in case of insurrection (Article II, Section 8).

Besides, it was probably better in the long run economically for the south to lose the war. If the country had been split in two, the free trade zone of the former United States would have been destroyed, and goods would have cost more.

[Non-Sequitur]

All the King George cheerleaders around here make me sick!!

Bloody awful, if you ask me.

[Between the Lines]

I don't hate southrons. What I don't like is their failure to accept responsibility for their actions

These things were not the actions of men today but the actions of men long ago dead and returned to dust.

And while I will be the first to admit that there is venom coming from the Union side, it is nowhere near the level directed at us from the southron side.

Your #1 post insured that they would.

[Non-Sequitur]

I'm sorry but you're not entitled. Fourteenth Amendment, Section 4:

But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

[wimpycat]

When you come down to it, this is a meaningless argument. Who the hell cares whether or not it was a lawful act? Was secession lawful? Who cares? The Southern states seceded, period. Was sending US troops into the South lawful? Who cares? They did it, period. It took them four long years of bloody combat and an even longer and painful "Reconstruction" to restore the union, but it was done, and now it's over.

I'm glad we had the Civil War. I think it needed to happen. I think many things were decided that couldn't be decided any other way (although the struggle between states' rights vs. federal rights continues). And I'm glad it's over. And I'm glad we're one country.

For those non-Southerners who enjoy rubbing it in, keep in mind that it wasn't so much the war, but it was Reconstruction that left such a bitter taste in the mouths of many Southerners. As for the war, we fought fair and square and we lost. Fair enough. But Reconstruction is a different matter, just as invasion is a whole different animal than occupation.

Study what happened during Reconstruction if you want to know why the South is so touchy.

And I think this whole "southron" business is dumb. I'm a Southerner. People from the South are Southerners.

[TexConfederate1861]

No....it had been moved to chat for some reason....

[TexConfederate1861]

If we didn't know the difference, We would be SHOOTING at you instead of merely debating.

[andy_card]

If we didn't know the difference, We would be SHOOTING at you instead of merely debating.

Don't make me come down and burn a swath of land from your front door to the sea. :0

[ml/nj]

How about an answer?

To what? A question about King George?

Now there's a revered figure! At least the English learned their lesson and mostly let their other colonies go in peace.

ML/NJ

[TexConfederate1861]

You may say what you wish, but I would put my School District in Texas up against one in say, Philidelphia, or New York any day!

And yes, plenty have been written, but most well after the Yankee School Teachers had invaded the South during Reconstruction, and indoctrinated the schoolchildren with the Official history of the "Glorious Union" and "The Great Emanicpator" (spit!)

Slowly, but surely, through hard work, groups like the UDC, and SCV are teaching the truth of OUR "Glorious Cause", and it is starting to make headway....

[TexConfederate1861]

Oh..I wish you would.....I would LOVE to see you try that...remember, you "bluebellies" tried at LEAST 3 times to invade Texas, and got your BUTTS kicked every time.

We beat Mexico, and I am quite sure we could handle you!


But then again, if we secede again, it will be at the ballot box. Face it, you Yankees need the South as much as we need you!

[Non-Sequitur]

At least the English learned their lesson and mostly let their other colonies go in peace.

Not all, but most of them did. And the key to it was that they separated by mutual agreement. In the case of the Civil War that wasn't attempted.

[Ditto]

Why are you so full of hate for Southrons?

Poor baby. Does he hate you? Or maybe he's just telling the truth about the Civil War and punching holes in the Lost Cause Myths that so many seem to have accepted as fact.

[Mark17]

You don't hang out on these posts much. A lot of the more fanatic ones prefer 'southron'.

You are right, I don't, because they are stupid. Come to think of it, Seq, I don't see you hanging out on any other threads either. Do you have any opinions about anything else under the sun besides this? I don't know if southerners want to be called southron, but I went to a yankee catholic school in North Dakota, and we learned how to spell. It is not in my Random House College Dictionary, so maybe that is why I never heard it before.

[muleboy]

Had Lincoln done nothing and waited until a puppet government of Maryland used armed force to effect the return of the District of Columbia he would be regarded as the worst of Presidents.

You sell the tides of history short. Though Lincoln was certainly in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" position, He sought that post and most certainly knew the probable consequences.

A peaceful secession, including Maryland, would have probably precipitated a natural reversion of the Confederate capitol to D.C. and an even more natural reversion of the Yankee capitol to New York, where it properly belonged all along. Damn Thomas Jefferson and his deal making with Hamilton.

And as if it needed restating, Lincoln IS regarded as one of the worst Presidents by any rational student of history.

[kali_player]

To quote my father, "Winners never have to explain themselves".

[andy_card]

Your "glorious cause" died out a hundred and forty years ago. Get over it. Your ancestors fought for slavery. Its great if you can accept that and still hold pride in them, but don't try to turn it into some great struggle for freedom. Because it wasn't.

I would put my School District in Texas up against one in say, Philidelphia, or New York any day!

Fine. I live in Fairfax County, Virginia, which has the best public schools in the nation. Not that I attended them, or anything...

[andy_card]

A peaceful secession, including Maryland, would have probably precipitated a natural reversion of the Confederate capitol to D.C. and an even more natural reversion of the Yankee capitol to New York, where it properly belonged all along. Damn Thomas Jefferson and his deal making with Hamilton.

And slavery would have been abolished in the CSA in 1986.

[andy_card]

Face it, you Yankees need the South as much as we need you!

I have nothing against the South. My problem is with those who glorify rebellion.

We beat Mexico, and I am quite sure we could handle you!

Congratulations. We did too, in 1846 and 1912.