The Limits of Political Consensus and Definitions of Insurrection

The insurrectionist label for an event may be heavily contested due to political disagreement and lack of broad national consensus. Relying on consensus to define an insurrection may render the term meaningless, as historically, even significant events like the Civil War have been politically contested and lacked a clear consensus. Therefore, the absence of consensus should not preclude an event from being labeled as an insurrection.