Quote:
Originally Posted by John Mercier
Once a military officer swears an oath... that makes it treason.
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That's an interesting thing because back in those days the armed forces were much different. Many of the armed forces were decentralized militias that were under local not federal control per say.
Take Robert E Lee for instance, yes he was part of the union army early on in his career, but by the time he had become a confederate general he had tendered his resignation as a union officer and was a private citizen. Therefore, he was under no oath to defend the US Constitution but even if he was, the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery did not come into existence until 1865, the civil war was fought between 1861 and 1865 prior to this being in place.
Keep in mind the oath that all service members take, first and foremost... will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
In the case of this, the battle ensued over something that was not constitutional, therefore it could be argued that under the UCMJ orders to fight over and enforce some idea that had yet to be established could in theory be considered an unlawful order. Even if it comes from the president himself. Although it happens all too often today, the executive branch of government does not have the authority to make laws. While what Lincoln did was a noble cause I don't believe he had the jurisdiction to make the emancipation proclamation binding or federal law. Even at that the war was already well underway when that was put out in 1863.
It's a fascinating piece of history for sure.... and in the end the right thing happened. The means to get there is an unfortunate and disgraceful loss of lives. Hopefully that will never happen again.