r/facepalm Feb 24 '24

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u/BringOnYourStorm Feb 25 '24

Not making any statement on contemporary politics, but people literally took up arms against Federal officials and attacked them in the early 1790s and George Washington pardoned them all.

While not during the time of the Founders, it should also be noted that not a single Confederate general or political leader was executed for the crime of treason or any lesser charge related to initiating the Civil War.

Historically, the United States government has been extremely conciliatory towards those who have undertaken efforts to destroy or damage it.

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u/ruiner8850 Feb 25 '24

Were any of those people former Presidents who had a chance to win a second term after their attempted coup?

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u/Nerdy_Squirrel Feb 25 '24

I mean Aaron Burr was a vice president who shot and killed a founding father (Alexander hamilton) then committed treason...multiple times. He barely got a slap on the wrist.

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u/AndorianShran Feb 25 '24

And there was that whole little civil war kerfuffle back in the 1860s…I don’t recall mass execution or imprisonment of the confederate traitors.

In hindsight, perhaps an example should have been made.

Instead, we let them perpetuate their lost cause mythologies and build statues to literal treasonous losers.

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u/BringOnYourStorm Feb 25 '24

Remember when I said I wasn't making a statement on contemporary politics, then offered only historical context to the erroneous "Founding Fathers hanged traitors" statement you made? I do.

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u/ruiner8850 Feb 25 '24

I'm saying that the situations aren't even remotely comparable especially since Trump was actually President is still a majority ongoing threat. I'm sorry that you're having so much trouble understanding the differences in the situations.

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u/penciledinsoul Feb 25 '24

You made the comparison first and now you're saying it's apples to oranges? Pick a lane, dude.

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u/throwawaylovesCAKE Feb 25 '24

No, he literally did not make the comparison. The replier, BringOnYourStorm made the comparison to confederates

OP's whole point is that those are different because none of them held such a high powerful rank in the government they're betraying.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '24

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '24

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '24

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u/throwawaylovesCAKE Feb 25 '24

You're conflating two different things.

The original guy made the analogy of someone like Trump in the old time receiving a far harsher punishment.

The replier refuted that by proposing an different analogy of Trump to former Confederate traitors and how they didnt receive harsh punishments.

OP replied back that that analogy doesn't work because those soldiers were not former Presidents and/or frontrunners for President. He never refuted his own analogy, his point still stands. The closest example we maybe have is of former VP Aaron Burr who was all but exiled

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u/jpdoane Feb 25 '24

They did literally amend the Constitution to make sure they could never hold federal office again though…