Some Southern property was seized after the ACW mainly due to back taxes and was sold to the highest bidder. What if instead of that it was sold to Union war vets at a discount?
Some Union troops did move south and become landowners for a while after the ACW. They got flack from the KKK and White League and almost none of them lasted long as landowners.
Even more animosity between Southerners and "carpetbaggers." Likely somewhat worse post-war relations between the North and the South in general.
True, but the South is unable to actually do much about it.
They can't at a national level, but all sorts of nasty stuff can always happen behind the scenes. And that sort of thing can turn into a snowball effect easily.
Even more animosity between Southerners and "carpetbaggers." Likely somewhat worse post-war relations between the North and the South in general.
A nuisance, nothing more. The South has NO ARMY and the longer they cause trouble the longer they are under occupation. If necessary seize even more land from members of the KKKK and other terrorist organizations by passing a law that all property is forfeit if you are found guilty of being in such an organization.
This is very likely to turn into a Reconstruction-era nightmare. The South is just too damn big to police effectively. Also that would be unconstitutional, plunging things into an even further mess.
The original land would be seized for lack of back taxes the other would be for commiting the crime of belonging to a terrorist orginization. The government IS allowed to seize property as penalty for an actual crime. What would be unconstitutional would be seizing it for no reason at all.
You have to have committed a crime or be in conspiracy to commit a particular crime in order to be charged with anything. Simply belonging to a group, no matter what group, cannot be criminalized. That's the unconstitutional part I was referring to.
Bending the constitution here would set a controversial and extremely dangerous precedent.
Tell that to members of Al Qaeda or La Costra Nostra. Being a member of a criminal orginization is in and of itself a crime.
Being a member of a criminal orginization is in and of itself a crime.
I assume you're referring to military operations outside the US. See, blowing up US citizens in countries like Yemen is one of those "tricky constitutional issues." The military basically does it by regarding the targets as enemy forces in an overseas war. If this was happening domestically the situation would be very different.
And how many times do I have to tell you that it's not?
La Costra Nostra AKA The Mafia is NOT entirely an overseas organization.
What's your point? I can guarantee you any arrested members are caught in stings or informed on, and charged with something other than "being in the mafia."
Some Southern property was seized after the ACW mainly due to back taxes and was sold to the highest bidder. What if instead of that it was sold to Union war vets at a discount?
Look this is a really dumb idea. There were roughly 6.5 million whites in the South and 4 million slaves. Now unless you can persuade 2.5 million Northerners to move south white "Southerners" are going to make up the majority of the population. Now in OTL there was relatively little anti-Union guerilla warfare and most white southerners accepted the re-imposition of Union control.
If you start confiscating land en masse and handing it out to Yankee's you are going to stop dead any reconciliation among the general population and create a large body of disposed men with the sympathy of the majority population and nothing to loose. That's a text book recipe for quagmire. The only way the United States would be able to crush the endemic guerilla warfare that such a stupid policy would cause would be so extreme that it would in many respects cease to be the USA as we recognise it.
I personally believe that this sort of policy would be the best way to create an independent South post Fort Sumter. Because by 1870, 1880 the North is going to get tired of endless bushwhacking and ambushes of federal troops in the South and the continuous erosion of democracy and pull out.
Land WAS confiscated OTL and sold by the government. The only difference is who it is being sold to. The government is seizing no more land than OTL except for those who would fight this policy. Those who didn't get their lands seized OTL and don't join in terrorist activities keep in TTL.
I'm aware of that but there is a massive difference between Johnny Southerner having his farm confiscated and it being sold to Billy Southerner and it being given to Tim Yankee.
Scenario 1 (OTL) you split the die-hards off the moderates (Billy Southerner) who just want to live in peace and create a body of "native southerners" who have no desire to return to the status quo ante-bellum (they'd lose their new farm).
Scenario 2 Johnny Southerner has nothing to loose, Billy Southerner is afraid that he could lose his farm as well in a miscarriage of justice and everyone hates Tim Yankee.