In order to fully understand what I'm about to uncover, we have to look at two very key events, both happening a full 3 years after the War. This is going to get detailed, though I hope not to get bogged down.
These events are the UNLAWFUL passage of the 13th & 14th Amendments to the US Constitution, in 1868. Let me explain...
First, let me break down both Amendments for those not fully aware of what they did.
The 13th is the "legal" document that freed the slaves. "Legal", that is, as apposed to the Emancipation Proclamation, which was not a legal document, nor a proposal for one. This Amendment is illegal, as described below.
The 14th was the punishment for the Confederates. Among other things, making it so no Confederate could ever hold public office or be a part of the gov't. of the US. This Amendment is illegal in a couple of ways. FIRST it it EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN by the 9th Article in the Constitution, as it is an EX POST FACTO law. Which, in simple terms means, if you do something that is not against the law, and a law is eventually passed, making that act illegal, the law is forbidden from going back and punishing you for committing the act before the law went into affect. Since the Federal Gov't. could not prove secession was an illegal act, the Confederates were illegally punished by an ex post facto law.
A FEDERAL Judge actually used this Amendment AGAINST the U.S. in the case of Jefferson Davis. It was a classic case of double jeopardy.This Amendment punished him and, the Judge argued, he could not be punished for the same "offense" twice. That's why he was released and never charged with a crime. Look it up.
The second way it is illegal is described below and also applies to the 13th as well.
Now you ask, "what do you mean UNLAWFUL passage of the 13th & 14th Amendments?"
Here goes...
First let's understand that the US Constitution REQUIRES that 2/3 of the states need to vote in favor of a proposed amendment for its passage. This did not happen as the US existed. Nowhere close. Of the remaining 22 states left in the Union, 15 was the magic number for either one to pass. Only 6 states voted FOR their passage, falling short 9 states for legal passage.
Since this was during the beginning of the "Reconstruction" Era, the Fed flexed its muscle a whole lot.
The United States judged the Confederate States to be "Non States", and therefor NOT a part of the United States, since March 1861; Thereby unwittingly RECOGNIZING the Confederate States as having been a SEPARATE Country.
Re-Read that last sentence. No further documentation needed. Look it up.
The United States forced the Confederate States to perform the function AS a State, ALSO EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN by the Constitution, and made it a REQUIREMENT of these "Non States" to vote in favor of the passage of these two Amendments, in order to be re-admitted to the Union, for which they had just fought a War to get out of!! This would be the equivalent of requiring Canada, for example, to vote for an amendment for the purpose of admission to the US.
So, let's recap...
The US couldn't get the required votes to pass either of the proposed Amendments.
The US declared the Southern States to be "Non States" and therefor NOT part of the US since March, 1861.
As a requirement for re-admission to the United States, these "Non States" are required to perform the function AS a State, even though they didn't want to be in the United States.
ALL of which WAS and still IS ILLEGAL.
As completely incredible as all this sounds, it is ABSOLUTELY TRUE.
P.S. If the Confederacy existed then, as judged to be the case by the US, and that Government has never been dissolved, therefor, The Confederate States of America STILL exists to this day.
