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NOTE Section XIV

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Section 14.

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On general principles of law and reason, all the oaths which since the war have been given

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by southern men that they will obey the laws of Congress, support the Union, and the like,

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are of no validity.

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Such oaths are invalid not only because they were extorted by military power and threats

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of confiscation, and because they are in contravention of men's natural right to do as they please

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about Supporting the Government, but also because they were given to nobody.

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They were nominally given to the United States.

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But being nominally given to the United States, they were necessarily given to nobody, because

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on general principles of law and reason, there were no United States to whom the oaths could

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be given.

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That is to say, there was no open, authentic, avowed, legitimate association, corporation,

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or body of men known as the United States or as the people of the United States to whom

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these oaths could have been given.

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If anybody says there was such a corporation, let him state who were the individuals that

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composed it and how and when they became a corporation.

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Were Mr. A, Mr. B, and Mr. C members of it?

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If so, where are their signatures?

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Where the evidence of their membership?

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Where the record?

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Where the Open Authentic Proof

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There is none.

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Therefore, in law and reason, there was no such corporation.

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On general principles of law and reason, every corporation, association, or organized body

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of men, having a legitimate corporate existence and legitimate corporate rights, must consist

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of certain known individuals who can prove, by legitimate and reasonable evidence, their

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membership.

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But nothing of this kind can be proved in regard to the corporation or body of men who call

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themselves the United States.

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Not a man of them in all the northern states can prove by any legitimate evidence, such

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as is required to prove membership in other legal corporations, that he himself or any

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other man whom he can name is a member of any corporation or association called the

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United States, or the people of the United States, or consequently that there is any

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such corporation.

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And since no such corporation can be proved to exist, it cannot, of course, be proved

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that the oaths of southern men were given to any such corporation.

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The most that can be claimed is that the oaths were given to a secret band of robbers and

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murderers who called themselves the United States and extorted these oaths.

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But that certainly is not enough to prove that the oaths are of any obligation.