The proclamations revealed how poorly Johnson fitted the historical moment. He had a weakness for principles, which, combined with his stubbornness, meant that once he had reasoned himself into a position, that position, intended to be an intellectual fortress, often became a prison. Since the Constitution did not give the Confederate states any right to leave the Union, he concluded that they had never been out of the Union at all. And if they had never been out of the Union, then they retained all their rights under the Constitution. And if they retained their rights, then they could
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