The “Constitution of the United States” has not been in effect since April
12, 1861. That is a fact.
By R.E. Sutherland
Published in The Edgefield SC Advertiser March 2002
When the Civil War was declared in 1861, President Lincoln began the
horrific invasion of the South against all constitutional privileges to
withdraw from the Federation. This fact is fully documented and explained
by a Canadian author, Charles Adams, who wrote the book, When in the
Course of Human Events.
Let us be very clear – the Civil War was fought for States’ Rights and
against Northern levied unfair tariffs. Karl Marx, communist and author of
"The Communist Manifesto" wrote, "North and the South is a tariff war. The
war is further, not for any principle, does not touch the question of
slavery, and in fact turns on the Northern lust for sovereignty."
What happened to the Constitution in 1861? The first action taken by
Lincoln and his henchmen was to throw editors into jail if they dared to
disagree with his tactics, thereby creating his own propaganda machine.
This same machine is in effect today via our school textbooks, the press
and media, the public school teachers, and all other federal agencies.
Adams says, "Lincoln was not interested in having Congress take up the
issues raised about secession and the Fort Sumter affair. By the time
Congress convened, he had the army fully mobilized and had plans to invade
the South. Public discussion, free speech, and a free press were strangled
by Lincoln. He became master of the lives of men captured from the
Confederacy, and he was fully prepared to hang them, especially those
seized on Confederate ships – they were pirates under the law as he saw
it. Lincoln was thus an imperial magistrate, with full despotic powers,
and his rightful master, the Congress, was not allowed to say anything or
decide the issues."
Lincoln suspended the right of habeas corpus which was one of the most
important developments in law begun by the Magna Carta. A British
journalist wrote about Lincoln’s rise to dictator by saying, "There is no
Parliamentary [congressional] authority whatever for what has been done.
It has been done simply on Mr. Lincoln’s fiat. At his simple bidding,
acting by no authority but his own pleasure, in plain defiance of the
provisions of the Constitution, the Habeas Corpus Act has been suspended,
the press muzzled, and judges prevented by armed men from enforcing on the
citizens’ behalf the laws to which they and the President alike have
sworn."
Adams wrote, "The Supreme Court made a valiant effort to check this reign
of tyranny. In the case of Ex Parte Merryman (1861), a citizen of
Maryland, John Merryman was arrested at night in his home and imprisoned
at Fort McHenry under the orders of General George Cadwallader, commander
of the fort. From his military prison, Merryman petitioned for a writ of
habeas corpus to Chief Justice Robert B. Taney, whose circuit included
Maryland. Taney granted the writ and set a date for a hearing, but neither
the general nor Merryman showed up. Instead, the general sent a letter to
the Chief Justice explaining his actions and citing the decree of
President Lincoln suspending the writ, which meant that Merryman could
languish in prison forever, if the general so decided, with no right to a
trial or an inquiry into whatever charges the general decided to make."
Adams records, "In response to the general’s letter, Chief Justice Taney
ordered federal marshal Washington Bonifant to bring the general before
the court on the next day along with the prisoner. Bonifant went to Fort
McHenry, but the soldiers refused to admit him. The marshal had legal
authority to summon a posse to arrest General Cadwallader and bring him
into court, but this would have produced an armed conflict and bloodshed.
Taney had no other recourse but to write his opinion and send a copy to
President Lincoln who ignored the writ; Merryman remained in prison.
". . . Taney wrote a blistering opinion, today a great classic in
constitutional law, holding that the arrest was unlawful and violated the
Constitution and that only Congress can suspend the writ of habeas corpus.
If Lincoln’s actions were allowed to stand, said the Chief Justice, then
‘the people of the United States are no longer living under a Government
of laws, but every citizen holds life, liberty and property at the will
and pleasure of the army officer in whose military district he may happen
to be found.’
"Lincoln not only ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling, he then wrote out a
standing order for the arrest of the Chief Justice, who was then in his
eighties. The arrest was never made. But one wonders how Lincoln, who
justified the war on the South because of his duty to enforce the law,
could in good conscience turn around and flout the Supreme Court and its
court orders and rulings on the Constitution, which he was bound to obey.
. . Taney’s opinion irritated Lincoln, especially when the Chief Justice
had a copy served on the president."
The end of the Civil War did not restore the Constitution of the United
States. The Northern congressional leaders insisted that the Southern
states had been captured, and therefore should be treated accordingly. One
outstanding example of this activity happened in North Carolina. The
elected Governor of North Carolina was removed from his position and a
Northern-selected general was set into that position. A leading expert for
this event is John Ainsworth who resides in North Carolina and is trying
to educate the state’s citizens about who is actually in charge of their
state government.
The Reconstruction Acts were exactly what they are called. They
permanently removed the constitutional rights of the Southern states.*
When cases concerning constitutional issues are presented to the state and
federal supreme courts, there appears to be a smoke-and-mirrors game. The
citizen states what is written in the constitution, the justices agree.
"Yes, it does say that." Then the justices go about making up whatever law
they want to obey. They are not bound to the Constitution of the United
States because it is not in force. The same thing is happening with state
constitutions.
Herein lies the future for the United States of America. Our elected
officials are not tethered to the constitutional precepts that everyone
assumes are in effect. There is no constitutional law. At this point in
history, the Constitution of the United States has been missing in action
since April 12, 1861.
– [email protected]
* Ed: Permanent, Reb? But before we get to Nelson Waller’s comments on
that school of thought, let us wish you success in this fall’s contest for
the North Carolina governorship! Here’s Nelson:
From: [email protected]
On this matter of the South having "lost" . . . Folks, I beg you to
remember to put our cause and our record in the most positive light at all
times. This is not hype or P.R., much less dishonesty; it’s the first sign
of mental health. Personally, I don’t necessarily think it’s even true
that the South lost. An unjust law is null and void ab initio. Does an
illegitimate "victory" indeed stand – especially as its facade of
respectability unravels day by day, hour by hour? A letter [that] made the
rounds last week . . . was roundly applauded despite its having (in my
opinion) mostly said, "Yes, we lost, we lost, we lost, and we all know it,
and it’s pitiful, and we wish the liberal PeeCees would please allow us
occasional enjoyment of our C-flag and other shopworn cultural tokens."
Folks, these people are wild animals that want to eat us for dinner. They
understand one thing only – raw political power – and just spit at our
attempts at negotiation and diplomacy and ’umbleness. You don’t tame a
lion by sticking your head in his mouth, you do it with whips and gunshots
or you are, as they say in the vulgar tongue, dead meat.
These are the very simple facts of the case. You who think sticking your
head in the beast’s mouth will work if you give it one more try, don’t
expect me to stand near. It’s been good to know you. |><| ><>
The First Freedom
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~ ARM CPR CSA KKK ~
~ CS Cavalry ~
Chaplain in Chief Joe Johnson
P.O. Box 1166
Malvern, Arkansas 72104-4248
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