The U.S. “civil war” of 1860-1865 was not a “civil war.” It was a coup d”etat against the existing U.S. government and economy.
1. Definition of coup d’etat
a. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coup%20d’%C3%A9tat
a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics, especially : the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group
b. https://www.britannica.com/topic/coup-detat
sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group. The chief prerequisite for a coup is control of all or part of the armed forces, the police, and other military elements. Unlike a revolution, which is usually achieved by large numbers of people working for basic social, economic, and political change, a coup is a change in power from the top that merely results in the abrupt replacement of leading government personnel.
c. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/coup-d-etat
a sudden and decisive action in politics, especially one resulting in a change of government illegally or by force.
Common in these definitions:
– sudden decisive exercise of force in politics, especially : the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group
sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group
sudden and decisive action in politics, especially one resulting in a change of government illegally or by force
– The U.S. “president” had no authority in the Constitution or in presidential mandate to force a war either on any constituent State or an international entity, for its refusal to “pay taxes.” The very Revolution of 1776 was based on a refusal to “pay taxes” without proper representation, and the taxes imposed by the federal government by the “president” of the coup d’etat, Abraham Lincoln, were many multiples larger than the taxes imposed by the British masons against the American Colonies. Thus, Lincoln’s “action” to invade the Southern States for any reason was illegal and had no precedent.
Small Group
It was the relatively small group, the federal component of the U.S. government, that orchestrated the coup d’etat of 1860. They started by placing their chosen “president,” Abraham Lincoln, as the northern and “federal” actor, and guided him to wage an illegal and unjust war against the Southern States to unlawfully and unjustly force them back under federal control, using the disguise of “preserving the union” – which the Southern States patently did not want and which was specifically identified as impossible in the voluntary union of states known as the Constitution, and for which Lincoln admitted he had no precedence, meaning it was illegal. Lincoln’s action and that of the forces orchestrating the U.S. coup d’etat 1860-1865 destroyed the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of the entire group of Southern States – as well as all Northern States, because the once relatively small and Constitutionally limited federal component had seized tremendous power over all states and thus had centralized power over the States into the U.S. federal government.
2. Hundreds of thousands of military men from every Northern State assisted the Southern States in their defense against the aggressor entity, which was the U.S. federal government controlled by the “Republicans.” Thus, the “civil war” was not a “war between the States.”
So the “civil war” was not a “war between the States” and therefore not a “civil war.” Given this fact and the observation that it was a small group that insinuated their will into the federal government against the will of the States, the conflict in the U.S. from 1860-1865 best fits the definition of coup d’etat.