• While Lincoln felt the Constitution for the united States prohibited him from interfering with “slavery [involuntary servitude] where it already exists,” he had no problem “collect[ing] the duties and imposts” of the odious and onerous Morrill protective tariff, which raised costs on  southern agriculture for the benefit of northern industry and internal improvements (corporate, Republican welfare).

• Lincoln claimed credit for the proposed Corwin Amendment (forbidding Congress to pass any legislation (including proposing a constitutional Amendment) concerning slavery in any State).

• Lincoln expressed his sentiment that the power of the federal government is superior to that of the States: “The Union is much older than the Constitution.”

• Lincoln used the word “Union” (which is a union of sovereign States under a federal system, with a central government whose powers are strictly limited by a respected Constitution) 21 times but not once used the word “nation” (in which a central government, with almost limitless power, treats its constituent states as mere enclaves, provinces, or sub-divisions of its greater self).

• Livingston writes, “The Soviet Union had one of the most centralized governments in history, yet was blown to peacefully dissolve itself.”

• James Ostrowski describes the “(imaginary) Amendment XI” that Lincoln must have found in the Constitution for the united States for it reflects the actions Lincoln took in his effort to “preserve the Union” (establish a nation):

  • Section 1. Notwithstanding the Guarantee Clause and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, no state may ever secede from the Union for any reason, except by an amendment pursuant to Article V.
  • Section 2. If any State attempts to secede without authorization, the Federal Government shall invade such State with sufficient military force to suppress the attempted secession.
  • Section 3. The Federal Government may require the militias of all states to join in the use of force against the seceding State.
  • Section 4. After suppressing said secession, the Federal Government shall rule said State by martial law until such time as said State shall accept permanent federal supremacy and alter its constitution to forbid future secessions.
  • Section 5. After suppressing said secession, the Federal Government shall force said State to ratify a new constitutional amendment which gives the Federal Government the right to police the states whenever it believes those states are violating the rights of their citizens.
  • Section 6. The President may, of his own authority, suspend the operation of the Bill of Rights and the writ of habeas corpus, in a seceding or loyal state, if in his sole judgement, such is necessary to preserve the Union.

  Ostrowski, asks, “Would the Constitution have been rarified if it contained such an amendment?  Would that amendment have been ratified at any time between 1788 and 1861?

       [updated 1/25/2025]

       Army of the united States Major Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter, South Carolina reports that his command is running out of food and water, and may soon have to be abandoned.

       [restored 1/25/2025]