The Founding Fathers were rebels.
The Declaration of Independence was treason and was their death warrant, if Britain prevailed.
If Britain had prevailed then their actions would certainly have been punished. They most likely would have died a traitors death, I don't think that anyone believes otherwise. Which is even more evidence of how lenient the treatment that the South receieved for her rebellion was.
And the Supreme Court does not enter into it. They are not infallible, and they never have been in our history. How many troops does the Chief Justice have?
The Court has the force of law and the Constitution. If it has those then it shouldn't need any troops. Not to those who respect either one.
NS you can call them rebels or secessionists. Both are true and both are accurate. They seceeded from the British Empire and knew they were doing so.
As far as the treatment of the South from the North, I don’t agree with you. Lincoln, and Johnson and Grant understood that without a quick healing, there would have been a guerilla war in the South for years.
And quite frankly, the destruction that the North visited upon civilian centers and private property in the South that was not miitarily engaged in the Rebellion was criminal. So the South suffered quite enough to be “punished”. The South did not rise again for almost one hundred years.
The Court and its decisions have no force except in the willingness of men to respects its decisions. You are correct on that point.
But failing that, they can enforce nothing, nor can they prevents the bonds that connect people from being severed.
The people in Washington DC who form our government do not have unlimited license to rule us just by virtue of being elected or appointed legally.
In history there is many a time when the existing authority is challenged over the right to govern.
The outcome is predicated on the level of the determination of either side to prevail in the struggle, and the amount of resources committed to victory.
The victory of the colonists was never a foregone conclusion. That makes their struggle and victory all the more remarkable. In my opinion, it was providential.