Brag Bowling
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Brag is a native Virginian who grew up in Arlington. He graduated from the University of
Richmond with a BA in History and also has a JD Degree from the University of Richmond Law School. He served as a First Lieutenant in the US Army
for two years. He worked as a staff attorney in the Virginia General Assembly for 5 years before changing careers and going into real estate,
which is his present occupation. He has served the Sons of Confederate Veterans in a variety of positions including Commander of the Virginia
Division and Adjutant-in-Chief for the national SCV. He is the director of the Stephen D. Lee Institute.
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Did Lincoln have legal authority to call up 75000 troops for invasion and to blockade Southern ports?
Commentary by Bragdon Bowling, 4/21/2011
Modern historians often accuse the South of treason, even though they were exercising what most people at that time viewed as a legitimate
constitutional right, the states right of secession. At the same time they ignore actions by President Lincoln. The specific language of Article 3
Section 3 of the Constitution defining treason seems perfectly explicit.
Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
The Founding Fathers viewed the states as free, sovereign and independent entities. The Lincoln invasion of the South would seem to clearly fall
within the definition of treason as defined in that Article. Lincoln ’s actions stood as a bold repudiation of our Founding Fathers and constituted
the very essence of despotism as would have been seen through the eyes of Jefferson and Madison.
Lincoln ’s provocation at Ft. Sumter worked and
jumpstarted the nation into a fratricidal war.
On April 15, Lincoln called upon all remaining states to help raise 75,000 militia troops. Lincoln acted upon an obscure 1795 militia law which allowed
him to do this but required Congressional approval within 30 days. Lincoln missed that deadline by not calling Congress into emergency session until
July 4, 1861, 50 days later. While not unconstitutional, it was a clear violation of the law. Subsequent troop levies for the Army and Navy during
this time span were clearly unconstitutional since only Congress could levy troops. The nation was in crisis and Congress was not in session. Due to
tremendous opposition in Congress, Lincoln waited until July 4 before he summoned Congress. By July 4, Lincoln had the public support he wanted for
war and Congress rubber stamped Lincoln ’s prior acts.
Editor's Note: Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops prompted four more border states to secede in protest
of the intent to use force to prevent secession.
Virginia,
Tennessee,
North Carolina and Arkansas seceded in April and May of 1861. Virginia
governor John Letcher issued a proclamation April 17. North Carlina Gov.
John W. Ellis wrote:
"Your dispatch is received, and if genuine, which its extraordinary character leads me to doubt, I have to say in reply, that I regard the levy of
troops made by the administration for the purpose of subjugating the states of the South, as a violation of the Constitution, and as a gross
usurpation of power. I can be no party to this wicked violation of the laws of this country and to this war upon the liberties of a free people.
You can get no troops from North Carolina." ---N.C. Gov. John W. Ellis, April 15, 1861
Lincoln also had to deal with illegal shipping and smuggling. Wars cost money and the government was run on tariff revenue which basically was
collected and paid for by the South. In his first Inaugural Address, Lincoln
made it perfectly clear that he was willing to use military force to
continue collecting the tariffs, knowing that he would be doing this in the ports of another country. A blockade was instituted around the major
Southern ports. According to International law, blockades were not recognized without a Declaration of War which Lincoln never sought.
Lincoln acted ruthlessly with internal dissent caused by his war policies. Thousands of people were arrested nationwide and placed in confinement
without the writ of habeas corpus. Dissident northern newspapers were shut down, their editors often placed under arrest. The case of Ex Parte Merryman
decided by Justice Taney ruled that the Lincoln administration violated the constitution by suspending the writ of habeas corpus, something only
Congress could do. Lincoln ignored the ruling and even went so far as to have an arrest warrant issued for Justice Taney.
With a series of questionable, illegal and unconstitutional actions, Lincoln aggressively placed the North on a war footing. William Tecumseh Sherman
reputedly stated after an initial uninspired meeting with Lincoln that “he was unimpressed and sadly disappointed” and told his brother John Sherman,
an important Northern politician, that he “damned the politicians generally,” saying that you have got things in a “hell of a fix”. I don’t think
he meant his brother.
Brag is a native Virginian who grew up in Arlington. He graduated from the University of
Richmond with a BA in History and also has a JD Degree from the University of Richmond Law School. He served as a First Lieutenant in the US Army
for two years. He worked as a staff attorney in the Virginia General Assembly for 5 years before changing careers and going into real estate,
which is his present occupation. He has served the Sons of Confederate Veterans in a variety of positions including Commander of the Virginia
Division and Adjutant-in-Chief for the International Sons of Confederate Veterans.
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