Secesh
Cadet
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2005
- Location
- Georgia, C.S.A.
Lincoln & the U.S. Army: Traitors?
I have come across an interesting constitutional argument made by Jefferson Davis that I have never heard brought up before (please forgive me if it has) which I will take even further:
If, as Lincoln claimed, the States that seceded from the U.S.A. could not secede and remained in the U.S.A., then he (as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army of the United States) and every U.S. Army soldier that participated in the invasion of these States could be considered as having committed treason as defined in the U.S. Constitution by levying war against States of the United States (note that Article III, Section 3, Clause 1 uses the term "them", not "it", when describing the United States).
Here are Davis' own words in a letter to J.L. Power of June 20, 1885:
"Ignorance and artifice have combined so to misrepresent the matter of official oaths in the United States that it may be well to give the question more than a passing notice. When the "sovereign, independent States of America" formed a constitutional compact of union it was provided in the sixth article thereof that the officers "of the United States and of the several States shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution," and by the law of June 1, 1789, the form of the required oath was prescribed as follows: 'I, A B, do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States'.
That was the oath. The obligation was to support the Constitution. It created no new obligation, for the citizen already owed allegiance to his respective State, and through her to the Union of which she was a member. The conclusion is unavoidable that those that did not support, but did not violate the Constitution, were they who broke their official oaths. The General Government had only the powers delegated to it by the States. The power to coerce a State was not given, but emphatically refused. Therefore, to invade a State, to overthrow its government by force of arms, was a palpable violation of the Constitution, which officers had sworn to support, and thus to levy war against States which the Federal officers claimed to be, notwithstanding their ordinances of secession, still in the Union, was the treason defined in the third section of the third article of the Constitution, the only treason recognized by the fundamental law of the United States."
Documentation:
U.S Constitution, Article II, Section1, Clause 8:
"Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States'."
From the oath of all U.S. Army noncommissioned officers and privates, approved by Act of Congress on September 29, 1789 (unchanged until 1950):
"I, A.B., do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will support the constitution of the United States."
From the oath of all U.S. Army officers, enacted July 2, 1862:
"And I do further swear (or affirm) that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God"
U.S. Constitution, Article III, Section 3, Clause 1:
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."
In conclusion, I believe he makes a strong argument that shows another case of the hypocrisy of Lincoln whom, out of ignorance (doubtful) or by design, was determined to ignore the U.S. Constitution and establish the dominance of the General Government over the States forever.
(I have put on my fire-resistant suit, so flame away, gentlemen!)
I have come across an interesting constitutional argument made by Jefferson Davis that I have never heard brought up before (please forgive me if it has) which I will take even further:
If, as Lincoln claimed, the States that seceded from the U.S.A. could not secede and remained in the U.S.A., then he (as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army of the United States) and every U.S. Army soldier that participated in the invasion of these States could be considered as having committed treason as defined in the U.S. Constitution by levying war against States of the United States (note that Article III, Section 3, Clause 1 uses the term "them", not "it", when describing the United States).
Here are Davis' own words in a letter to J.L. Power of June 20, 1885:
"Ignorance and artifice have combined so to misrepresent the matter of official oaths in the United States that it may be well to give the question more than a passing notice. When the "sovereign, independent States of America" formed a constitutional compact of union it was provided in the sixth article thereof that the officers "of the United States and of the several States shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution," and by the law of June 1, 1789, the form of the required oath was prescribed as follows: 'I, A B, do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States'.
That was the oath. The obligation was to support the Constitution. It created no new obligation, for the citizen already owed allegiance to his respective State, and through her to the Union of which she was a member. The conclusion is unavoidable that those that did not support, but did not violate the Constitution, were they who broke their official oaths. The General Government had only the powers delegated to it by the States. The power to coerce a State was not given, but emphatically refused. Therefore, to invade a State, to overthrow its government by force of arms, was a palpable violation of the Constitution, which officers had sworn to support, and thus to levy war against States which the Federal officers claimed to be, notwithstanding their ordinances of secession, still in the Union, was the treason defined in the third section of the third article of the Constitution, the only treason recognized by the fundamental law of the United States."
Documentation:
U.S Constitution, Article II, Section1, Clause 8:
"Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States'."
From the oath of all U.S. Army noncommissioned officers and privates, approved by Act of Congress on September 29, 1789 (unchanged until 1950):
"I, A.B., do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will support the constitution of the United States."
From the oath of all U.S. Army officers, enacted July 2, 1862:
"And I do further swear (or affirm) that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God"
U.S. Constitution, Article III, Section 3, Clause 1:
"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."
In conclusion, I believe he makes a strong argument that shows another case of the hypocrisy of Lincoln whom, out of ignorance (doubtful) or by design, was determined to ignore the U.S. Constitution and establish the dominance of the General Government over the States forever.
(I have put on my fire-resistant suit, so flame away, gentlemen!)
Bringing the