He was tried and hanged by the state of Virginia. The Confederate traitors were not tried or hanged because Lincoln had ordered his subordinates to "let 'em up easy." Once the war was over and the enemy surrendered, Lincoln's policy was for reconciliation, not punishment. The point was made, the issue settled and trying and punishing the leaders was unnecessary and, Lincoln believed, counterproductive.alexjack said:Why was he hanged for leading an armed insurrection while the leaders of the Confederacy were not?
It would have been, but Virginia got to him first. That's still the case over here. The jurisdiction where the crime is committed has first crack at the criminal. States only cede jurisdiction to the Feds if the Feds have a better shot at a conviction or can get a stiffer penalty than is available in the states.alexjack said:The state of Virginia? Wasn't Brown's crime a Federal one then?
A bit later the 14th amendment passed and its Section 3 imposed punishment for traitors. Chase held that putting Davis on trial would be double jeopardy. Soon after Johnson pardoned everyone. So passed the opportunity.Kirk\ said:Actually Lincoln had nothing to do with Davis not being tried for treason. Definitely see pages 601 and 602
"Jefferson Davis American' William Cooper Vintage Civil War Library.
P.601
President Johnson was inundated with Southerners asking for clemency vs Northeners seeking vengeance. The US Congress in the Spring of 1866 demanded to know why Davis wasn't tried and had to wait four months for a reply.
"US Attorney General James Speed along with specially appointed counsel decided that the case would have to be tried in Virginia ,where Davis actually commanded a war against the United States." Both Speed and private counsel were if the opinion that Davis could not be tried out of Virginia due to constitutional issue's.
Speed made a very reasonable calculation that a jury in Richmond would convict Davis and in fact declare the ACW illegal. Also see P.602 and 603 the presiding federal judge in Virginia : Judge Underwood would not try Davis by himself. The case would be tried by the local Federal District Court which would be Judge Underwood and the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court Justice Salomon P. Chase. Chief Justice Chase in a letter to President Johnson in October of 1865 stated that it would not be right for any Supreme Court justice to try a case in an area under martial law.
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Brown et.al were tried for treason against the State of Virginia. The feds realizing that a trial would be one big can of political worms, deferred to VA.alexjack said:The state of Virginia? Wasn't Brown's crime a Federal one then?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason_laws_in_the_United_Statesalexjack said:So it was possible to commit treason against an individual State? I'm surprised that a 'State' was allowed laws that sanctioned that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason_laws_in_the_United_States#cite_note-5In the United States, there are both federal and state laws prohibiting treason.[1] It was defined in Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution. Most state constitutions include similar definitions of treason, specifically limited to levying war against the state, "adhering to the enemies" of the state, or aiding the enemies of the state, and requiring two witnesses or a confession in open court.[2] Fewer than thirty people have ever been charged with treason under these laws.[3]
Constitutionally, citizens of the United States owe allegiance to at least two sovereigns. One is the United States, and the other is their state. They can therefore potentially commit treason against either, or against both.[4] At least fourteen people have been charged with treason against various states; at least six were convicted, five of whom were executed. Only one person has ever been executed for treason against the federal government: William Bruce Mumford, who was convicted of treason and hanged in 1862 for tearing down a United States flag during the American Civil War.[5]
John Brown is definitely viewed negatively by the Lost Cause crowd. A white man is willing to fight and die to protect black people from slavery. A scary notion then and now.I do find it ironic that of everyone involved a John Brown was not only hanged, but has suffered from a poor reputation ever since. Was he really just a madman? Some of his contemporaries didn’t think he was (Frederick Douglass, for instance.) I wonder whether he is still viewed by the Lost Cause perspective.
Not sure how one can be disloyal to a state because they won't fight for slavery. No one fought against a state in the ACW. One either was neutral, or fought on behalf of the Confederacy or the Union.'Constitutionally, citizens of the United States owe allegiance to at least two sovereigns. One is the United States, and the other is their state. They can therefore potentially commit treason against either, or against both.'
So you could say Robert E Lee found himself between a rock and a hard place. Loyalty to one was treachery to the other no matter which way he went.
A lot of State Constitutions have traitor provisions.If the legislature of a state decided that the state would follow a course of political/civil/military action and a citizen of that state acted against it, doesn't US law say that that citizen is a traitor to that state?
Not aware of any federal statutory or case law on that issue.If the legislature of a state decided that the state would follow a course of political/civil/military action and a citizen of that state acted against it, doesn't US law say that that citizen is a traitor to that state?
There is no need. The Feds do not regulate treason.Not aware of any federal statutory or case law on that issue.
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