"I could be wrong since I have not researched it but I think that after the hostilities of 1861 to 1865 that the states in rebellion did not have any problem in renouncing slavery as a prerequsite to coming back in to the Union fold."
FC

With that kind of thinking I suppose that the german Jews willing went to Auschwitz. Did they have a realistic and freewill choice?

If we had to be "readmitted to the Union", what was our status before we met the conditions for readmittance? Were we Territories?

I wonder what would have happened if the southern states had chosen to remain independent rather than rejoin the Union? Lincoln promised us readmittance without conditions, but the southern delegates were refused their seats in Dec. 1865.

What would the United States have done, had we chosen to remain outside the union of the glorious United States?

Could we have freely chosen to NOT rejoin the Union and gone ahead, like we wanted to do in the first place when we seceeded and declare our independence to form a NEW nation. Could we have reformed the Confederacy without slaves? Could we have written our own laws?

Or since We were already OCCUPIED. If we hadn't rejoined, would we still be occupied today with puppet state governments?

Was the partitions for readmittance past by a legislative act, or a vote of the general population? Were those Legislatures duely elected by the people, or were they bought with promises of 40 acres and a mule, or a bottle of whiskey, and the disenfranchisment of the majority of the white voters?

I am just curious. Please give me your opinion on these questions.