If the 2^nd Trump Administration is a 2025 Confederacy, how do we resolve our disagreements without risking another Civil War?

Potential Solutions

How do we resolve our policy differences peacefully?  We seem to have forgotten how to compromise or collaborate on solutions to our problems – instead we either avoid the problems (aka “kick the can down the road”) or fight vehemently with one another, solving nothing. Many fear we are at risk of another Civil War or a dictatorial government to suppress dissent.

One idea is to educate Americans about the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution.   It made sedition illegal in the USA since the civil war and declared that insurrectionists will be prosecuted for taking up arms against the federal government.  Trump pardoned people convicted of sedition, so this is an open issue when it should not be debatable.

Some politicians are talking about requiring our military and government employees to take an oath to reaffirm their commitment to the US Constitution (not to any President) or be removed from their position.

Another potential solution is to hold an Article V Constitutional Convention which would work to resolve these disagreements with our Constitution and revise it into a 21^st Century governing document for America.  

Join In.  Suggest solutions.

What do you think?  What could solve our 2025 American Confederacy issue in the United States and keep us from a Civil War or repressive government?  Remember, comments must stay on topic and not be defamatory of anyone.  Solutions to problems is what this UNSTUCK Blog seeks.

Additional information is provided below to guide this discussion – Current situation, Historical and Constitutional context.  Given the increased influence of religion in our country at the present time, there is also information on religious perspectives on government.

Current Situation

About 25% of Americans are so dissatisfied with the American government that they feel the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capital was justified.  And the 2^nd Trump administration is aggressively doing things that resemble a Confederacy:

• Trump has pardoned the January 6^th rioters and members of armed militia groups convicted of sedition – even though those individuals had due process and were convicted by a jury of their peers. 
• Trump and Congress have recently changed gun laws to allow access to bump stocks, which make some guns into machine guns.  
• Pete Hegseth, Department of Defense, is reinstating names of Confederate generals on military facilities and battleships. 
• Trump has sent 2000 California National Guard and 700 Marines to the City of Los Angeles to put down an “insurrection” without requests from California’s Governor or the City of Los Angeles Mayor as they believe LAPD has the recent protests under control.
• The Department of Justice under Bondi is seeking vengeance against specific liberal people for opposing Trump, rather than focusing on identifying who has broken laws and apprehending law breakers.

Americans are more divided today than we were during the American Civil War (1861-1865). While slavery was the number one issue dividing Americans in the 1860s, today our divisions are over conservative vs liberal policies of how to govern our nation and our people. 

Conservatives want limited federal government, focused mainly on the Department of Defense, with less federal taxation and more government power residing with state Governors, Legislatures and Courts. Conservatives use the 10^th Amendment to the Constitution to support this policy perspective.

In contrast, Liberals want a strong federal government, focused on protecting human rights due to America’s history of discriminatory treatment of indigenous peoples, black slaves, women, Asian Americans during WWII and Latinos and other religious and ethnic minorities requesting asylum in the US. Liberals use many of the Amendments to the US Constitution to support this policy perspective.

Given the passions these political disagreements engender and the percentage of Americans believing that they can violently attack our government institutions, America’s domestic tranquility is at a tipping point.

History

Eleven states seceded from the United States from 1860 to 1861 forming the Confederate States of America, which began the American Civil War.  Over 600,000 Americans were killed in that war between the US Government and the Confederacy – 360,000 Union soldiers and 260,000 Confederate soldiers.  

The eleven Confederate states were Arkansas, North & South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Virginia.

Following the Civil War, the US Congress passed the 13^th and 14^th Amendment to the US Constitution which officially freed and granted civil rights to formerly enslaved people, but these Amendments also established three important new provisions to our Constitution:

Fourteen Amendment, Section 2: Established penalties for states that infringe on the right to vote of its citizens.  States can lose representation in the US Congress by the same percentage as the percentage of people that they have disenfranchised.

Fourteen Amendment, Section 3: Established that any person engaging in insurrection or rebellion against the US government, after previously taking an oath to defend the US Constitution, loses the right to be a Senator or Representative, President or Vice President or hold any office, civil or military under the United States.

Fourteenth Amendment, Section 4: Established the validity of public debt of the United States, which shall not be questioned, and disapproves any debt to fund insurrection or rebellion against the United States.

The Civil War and the 13^th Amendment freed the slaves, and the 14^th Amendment was passed to protect these new citizens and the United States government against future insurrections.  However, for over 100 years until the Civil Rights Act of 1968, black citizens were continually discriminated against, and their freedoms infringed upon.  

Many Southerners today continue to idolize their Southern heritage including the Confederate flag and statues of Confederate generals.  Some people refer to this movement as American Nationalism, others refer to it as the 2025 Confederacy.

US Constitution

The States Rights argument of Conservatives is supported by the 10^th Amendment to the Constitution: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The powers of the Federal Government to protect citizens from State actions that are discriminatory is supported by the many Amendments to the Constitution.  For the complete text of the US Constitutional Amendments go tohttps://billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/handout-d-united-states-constitution-amendments-1-27?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjYKjBhB5EiwAiFdSfvWDA0Y0A0ISVcftEgLiGhJ9r2l11nk4-6XIjewY7faKjlou_gGdhRoC97gQAvD_BwE  Refer to Amendments I, IV, V, VI, IX, XIII, XIV, XV, XIX, XXIV and XXVI in particular.

Bible

According to Bible Concordances, there are 2344 verses with the word “King” in them, 6 that have the word “govern”, 5 that have the word “slave” and none (0) that have the word “rights” (or human rights or civil rights). Thousands of years ago, the concept of democracy had not yet been developed, let alone the idea of people having civil rights.  The world back then was governed by Kings who dominated people without their consent.  Slavery is not endorsed by the Bible, as the Israelites were slaves in Egypt and demanded that they be set free.  Freedom is only in 4 Bible verses, showing that at that time, people did not hold many freedoms.