[Cobra Scott]

When I own a piece of property, it is both my property and a part of my town, county, state, and country. So the land is mine and also a part of my country. I can't unilaterally decide that my property is a part of the Bahamas because I like their tax structure better, a part of the UK because I think the US is illegitimate, or a part of Syria if I decided that the Islamofascists were right. And you can't have a modern nation or a civilization if every property owner is given that sort of sovereignty.

Oops, what about property siezed from southerners? Slaves = property until the 13th amendment.

Its long and complicated, and you cannot justify any of it except in the context of the times. You cannot justify Lincoln's "profiteering" in the Council Bluffs land issue in the context of today, because such action would surely result in impeachment.

[Question_Assumptions]

Oops, what about property siezed from southerners? Slaves = property until the 13th amendment.

I address that in a later post. I think that slave owners could certainly have made a "taking" case that they deserved just compensation for the property that the Federal government seized from them.

Its long and complicated, and you cannot justify any of it except in the context of the times. You cannot justify Lincoln's "profiteering" in the Council Bluffs land issue in the context of today, because such action would surely result in impeachment.

Please note that I do not see this as a 100% right and 100% wrong issue. The North did things that I think were wrong and the South did things that I think were right. And I think that trying to frame this as a "One Side 100% Right and One Side 100% Wrong" issue isn't helpful.