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Justice Chase: Jefferson Davis refused to request a pardon because he wanted a public trial to prove that the Constitution provided for secession. S. Chase, Supreme Court Justice, said "we better not. A trial might conclude that the north invaded a sovereign nation." He may not have be Chief Justice at this time.
As I am sure you are aware, if the Constitution does not specify something it is a State right. Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Since secession is not covered by the Constitution no one can show you the procedure to secede. No one has shown me what stops a state from seceding. Since secession is not covered in the Constitution it is reserved as a state right, therefore it is up to the state to decide how to implement its' right, not the Constitution to tell the state how to secede. Most, if not all, the states that agreed to the creation of the Federal govt. and the Constitution did so with a clause to the effect the power of government could be taken back by the people. New York, in her resolutions of ratification, declared -- "That the powers of government may be resumed by the people, whensoever it shall become necessary to their happiness:
Thank you for your post.
Regards
John
With the Supremacy Clause already in place in the Constitution the 10th Amendment hardly gives states the right to secede. Even if it did, can you show me where it's mentioned in the Declarations by the states that separated? I'm not even sure that the term secession was even used. IMO, if it were clear that states had a right to separate, it would be clearly written into the Constitution. The only way out I see is through the Amendment process and with, I believe a 3/4 favorable vote of ALL the states. The southern states did not try any of this, they just up and left, making it seem as though our Union, our United States, is nothing more than a loose collection of states.
Chase's opinion was that Davis had already been punished for his actions, thus any other trial would be unconstitutional. Not to mention the fact that Davis would have to be tried in Virginia or possibly in Alabama and with a jury full of Virginians or Alabamians.
Though post-war 1869, the case of White v. Texas ruled against the legality of secession. It's the only Supreme Court case to make such a judgment. The fact that is was post Civil War is probably moot, as nothing had changed in the Constitution from 1860-1869, save for the 13th and 14th Amendments. Since Salmon Chase was Chief Justice at this time, it seems that would run counter to what you are trying to say.
Last edited on Wed Apr 19th, 2006 02:41 pm by