Uh, Dude. Next time please refer to the actual Constitution, not the Confederate apologist rumor mill.
First, the Senate does not pass statues, BOTH houses do.
In fact, there was nothing in the Constitution that said that slavery must remain legal.
The South had to secede to save slavery.
Can you please point to where that definition of insurrection comes from? Because nothing in Article II, Section 8 says it has to be an Insurrection against a state, as opposed to the federal government.
In fact, the language says Congress had the power "to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections, and repel Invaders."
The "Militias" are the state militias. The "Laws of the Union" are federal laws, NOT state laws. "Invaders" are foreign countries. "Insurrection" includes insurrection against the United States. Nothing limits it to states.
Just in case there was any doubt in anyone's mind, this clause gave Congress the power to call up state militias to do the bidding of Congress when needed. So, if Congress called up the Militia for any reason, the governor of South Carolina could NOT say "no".
See what I wrote above. It is NOT illegal for Congress to call up the Militias to suppress Insurrection. Even if bad man Lincoln supports it. Sorry.
Originally Posted by ExNYer
Please don't create straw men here.
Of course it would require both the House and the Senate to pass a statute ending slavery in all states. But the issue wasn't on how expansion into new territories would affect the House because most of the population and representation was there already against the south.
The Senate therefore was the bulwark the south needed in the future to block any statutes outlawying slavery everywhere, and the election of Lincoln, with only 38%of the vote I might add, was feared to have pressaged that.
As for the legality of Lincoln's orders to raise militias in Virginia, etc. to invade the Carolinas, Texas, etc.....
I think Lincoln made those orders as "Commander and Chief." But regardless, the issue was the moral grounds, not the legality, and that's why Virginia and the second tier of states declared independence. It was only the fist tier of most southern states that declared independence because Lincoln was elected and therefore threatened to end their needed institution of slavery [which personally I have no problem with under the circumstances].
There were reasons why Madison, Washington, and Jefferson, not to mention Jackson, all wrote and said that freed slaves should never be made citizens. And I think those reasons were shared not only in the south, but in the north as well. Lincoln himself believed that making freed male slaves was a terrible idea until the very end of the war when he needed their votes for reconstruction.
And if you had lived in those times you would have agreed as well.
Afterall, remember that making freed male slaves citizens with voting rights meant that they could do somthing even white women couldn't do !!
The fact that you cannot see that, and that you impose your 21st century ideas on this issue just explains how bankrupt your parochial, politically-correct views on history really are.
Now about "insurrection."
What other definition could there possiblly be? LOL
Do you really believe that if a state legislature and Governor vote to secceed that such would be "an insurrection?"
How could somthing with the absolute force of law by all the appropriate authorities be
"an insurrection?"
Dude an insurrection is when a bunch of people get together somewhere outside of government and delare they're opposed to it and take up arms.
That's the definition of "an insurrection."