The Confederacy on Trial: The Piracy and Sequestration Cases of 1861.The Confederacy Confederacy, name commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union. on Trial: The Piracy and Sequestration sequestration In law, a writ authorizing a law-enforcement official to take into custody the property of a defendant in order to enforce a judgment or to preserve the property until a judgment is rendered. Cases of 1861. By Mark A. Weitz. Landmark Law Cases and American Society. (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas The University Press of Kansas is a publisher that represents the state universities in Kansas (Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University.). , c. 2005. Pp. xii, 219. Paper, $15.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-7006-1386-2; cloth, $35.00, ISBN 0-7006-1385-4.) In this work Mark A. Weitz looks at how the piracy and sequestration cases of 1861 played an often overlooked role in defining the Confederacy in both the North and the South. The cases stemmed from separate events in the Confederacy's efforts to preserve its existence. Shortly after Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter Fort Sumter, fortification, built 1829–60, on a shoal at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, S.C., and named for Gen. Thomas Sumter; scene of the opening engagement of the Civil War. Upon passing the Ordinance of Secession (Dec. , Jefferson Davis announced that he would issue letters of marque letters of marque pl.n. 1. A document issued by a nation allowing a private citizen to seize citizens or goods of another nation. 2. to Confederate privateers. In response, Abraham Lincoln declared that Confederate privateers would be treated as pirates, not as prisoners of war prisoners of war, in international law, persons captured by a belligerent while fighting in the military. International law includes rules on the treatment of prisoners of war but extends protection only to combatants. . The capture of the first privateers brought an interesting situation for northern courts as the prisoners' status would not only determine their fate but also have legal and diplomatic implications on the status of the Confederacy. Passage of the Alien Enemies Act by the Confederate Congress in August 1861 was an effort to prevent any fifth column from forming as the war progressed. The Sequestration Act, which came about in response to the Union's First Confiscation confiscation In law, the act of seizing property without compensation and submitting it to the public treasury. Illegal items such as narcotics or firearms, or profits from the sale of illegal items, may be confiscated by the police. Additionally, government action (e.g. Act, allowed the Confederate government to seize property (including debts) owned by enemy aliens. It also required Confederate citizens to divulge the whereabouts of such property. The act brought into question lawyer-client privilege, the issues of personal rights, and the constitutionality of the law itself. The sequestration cases brought to light the contradiction between what the Confederacy claimed to represent regarding states rights and the actions it felt compelled to take during wartime. While it would seem odd to link these cases together in one study, Weitz notes that "[t]he piracy and sequestration cases belong together not only because they provide insight into both the international definition of the Confederacy as well as its own self-image but also because they occur almost simultaneously, with each proceeding aware of the existence and progress of the other" (pp. 13-14). Weitz fleshes out the events surrounding the court cases by putting them in their historical context and discussing the significance they had at the time and by providing biographical information about the participants. Weitz has made excellent use of the extensive court records, newspaper accounts, and other primary documents, as well as secondary sources. The narrative style in which the work is presented makes the arguments and the issues accessible to both scholars and casual readers. Besides adding to the historiography historiography Writing of history, especially that based on the critical examination of sources and the synthesis of chosen particulars from those sources into a narrative that will stand the test of critical methods. of the American Civil War American Civil War or Civil War or War Between the States (1861–65) Conflict between the U.S. federal government and 11 Southern states that fought to secede from the Union. , The Confederacy on Trial: The Piracy and Sequestration Cases of 1861 also provides a new dimension to American legal history. Weitz defines the cases as legal landmarks in that they represented a developing moment in the American legal system as lawyers had to put aside patriotic feelings for professional integrity. North and South alike, the lawyers that stepped forward to provide the defense for the Confederate privateers or the Sequestration Act were prominent legal figures with much at stake in making a firm stand. Their role as advocates during the emotional first year of the Civil War cannot be overlooked. JOSEPH-JAMES AHERN American Philosphical Society Library |
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