The Hypocrisy Of The Union (Northern) Position

From SLMN Blog:

15 July 2010The hypocrisy of the Union position


It was Lincoln's contention that the States of the South never left the Union and that it is in fact impossible to ever leave the Union without the permission of the other States and the Congress. Lincoln claimed the Southern States were in rebellion against the US and he acted according to this belief by prosecuting a war against the South.



Others of Lincoln's Republican Party, especially after the War, claimed that the Southern States were outside the Union and had to meet certain conditions to be re-admitted to it. They were forced to pass controversial laws and amendments to the Constitution that were even opposed by many Northerners. In 1870, five years after the War was over, Georgia became the last Confederate State to be re-admitted under these Congressionally-imposed terms to the Union.



So which is it? Were the Southern States outside the Union from 1861 to 1865 as Congressional Republicans claimed in forcing all sorts of legislation upon them as requirements to re-join the Union? Or were the Southern States within the Union the entire time and simply in rebellion against the US government as Lincoln claimed? The two are not mutually possibly. Either Lincoln or the Congress were wrong. Any yet Lincoln prosecuted his war based upon his beliefs and ended up getting 600,000 people killed. And Congress forced legislation and Constitutional amendments based upon its belief. Such is the hypocrisy of the Union position. In the end it comes down to force. The Union government could use the strength of its military to mandate membership in their government and they could force whatever requirements they wished upon the conquered South.