Historian explores how Civil War Northerners reconciled treason with leniency
Tuesday, July 1, 2014 - 06:00
in Mathematics & Economics
The U.S. Constitution defines treason as levying war against the government and aiding and abetting its enemies. By that definition, every Confederate soldier in the Civil War—as well as every political leader —was a traitor, according to William A. Blair, Liberal Arts Research Professor of History at Penn State. Yet no one was executed for treason, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis was not even tried for the crime.