Today, many believe that they are the first generation of whatever they wish to call their attempts at changing the nation. Sorry, but the threat and actually doing an insurrection goes back before this nation was formed. Here are some of them. I'll try and use cites but some are just so obvious that
There is a fine line between an insurrection and a Revolution. That fine line is whether the Revolution succeeds or not. If it succeeds it's a Revolution. If it fails it's an insurrection. What we call the "Revolutionary War" could also have been called the "New World Insurrection" with large amounts of firing squads and hangings. Instead, since it was a successful Revolution, a new government and nation was created.
One of the uses of an insurrection is to threaten one and have the power to back the threat up.
Before the Civil War, there was a very lucrative industry in slave trading. Slave Owners would sell off their excess for a lot of money. In 1850, what would the cost of a 20 year old, strong Black Male have been? On the upwards of $1800 at auction. A dollar from 1850 would be worth $218 today. Do the math. There wasn't enough support to stop slavery in the Southern States but there was to block it in the Western States and Territories. So the Rich Southerners used the threat of an Insurrection and then worked with the southern population to make it more than just a threat. Lincoln made a huge mistake when he didn't arrest the Southern Federal Government in 1860. With the attack on Ft Sumter in 1861, the threat became a reality. It didn't need to happen. Lincoln had the tools in his tool box to prevent it. As a side note, slavery would not have survived in the South for another 25 years. Thrashers work far cheaper than field hands. I don't condone it but I do understand why the Slave Trade needed the West to survive.
The Insurrection act has been used 14 times since it was created from sending in troops into civil rights areas, quelling riots to natural disasters. Believe it or not, it could be used today for the 15th time and let the courts sort it all out. Wait, isn't that really what is happening?
There is a fine line between an insurrection and a Revolution. That fine line is whether the Revolution succeeds or not. If it succeeds it's a Revolution. If it fails it's an insurrection. What we call the "Revolutionary War" could also have been called the "New World Insurrection" with large amounts of firing squads and hangings. Instead, since it was a successful Revolution, a new government and nation was created.
Thomas Jefferson Signed the Insurrection Act in 1807 to Foil a Plot by Aaron Burr
President Jefferson stopped a takeover of a very large land grab by Aaron Burr. Imagine a King of the Louisiana purchase and Mexico with it's sights set on overthrowing of the newly formed United States of America. This is some sweet reading for anyone interested in the History of the United States of America. Unlike most others, Burr's plot was not a threat, it was the real deal and Jefferson had to get congress to pass that Insurrection Act to completely deal with it. Burr had failed even without the act but the next want to be dictator could have come along and, maybe, succeeded.One of the uses of an insurrection is to threaten one and have the power to back the threat up.
Before the Civil War, there was a very lucrative industry in slave trading. Slave Owners would sell off their excess for a lot of money. In 1850, what would the cost of a 20 year old, strong Black Male have been? On the upwards of $1800 at auction. A dollar from 1850 would be worth $218 today. Do the math. There wasn't enough support to stop slavery in the Southern States but there was to block it in the Western States and Territories. So the Rich Southerners used the threat of an Insurrection and then worked with the southern population to make it more than just a threat. Lincoln made a huge mistake when he didn't arrest the Southern Federal Government in 1860. With the attack on Ft Sumter in 1861, the threat became a reality. It didn't need to happen. Lincoln had the tools in his tool box to prevent it. As a side note, slavery would not have survived in the South for another 25 years. Thrashers work far cheaper than field hands. I don't condone it but I do understand why the Slave Trade needed the West to survive.
The Insurrection act has been used 14 times since it was created from sending in troops into civil rights areas, quelling riots to natural disasters. Believe it or not, it could be used today for the 15th time and let the courts sort it all out. Wait, isn't that really what is happening?
