re: was Jefferson Davis guilty of treason?

"But it seems to me their actions were treasonable but nothing in the laws at the time could have convicted them of such. Does this make any sense?"

In my humble opinion, I think you're both onto something important ... and not making sense.


In our system, something has to be prohibited by law to subject you to punishment by the government, AND the government may not pass a law after your conduct and then say you violated the law. This is a big deal! What I think you've hit upon is an important distinction between law and morality. Secessionists may well have been, on balance, immoral because their cause was so bound up with the continuation of slavery, but this alone does not make their conduct treasonous or illegal. Similarly, the Federals may have acted morally to preserve the union and (eventually) to end slavery, but this does not mean that the north was legally correct in ignoring the South's duly enacted acts of secession. Thanks for your thoughtful post in a good thread!