Secession
Videos
March 2024: 25 PERCENT Of Americans Want To SECEDE, Civil War Fears CONTINUE
Russia Says Any US State That Wants To Leave The US Can Join Russia
Local Secession Movements: From Staten Island to the South
May 2024 13th Oregon county votes to secede and join Idaho
Jan 2024 Texas Supreme Court refuses to allow petition for independence referendum to be on the March primary ballot
Opinion: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz and the dangerous rhetoric of a national divorce
Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for a national divorce between Republican and Democratic states
Dec 1, 2023 TEXIT Progress: Secession Question Expected To Appear on 2024 Texas Primary Ballot
Secession - A Legal Solution to Big Federal Government?
Date Posted: Thursday 04-Feb-2010
[Over time, the US Federal government has grown in size and power way beyond its limitations as provided to them by the people via the Constitution. Our Founding Fathers warned of this and yet, so long as economic times were good, we the people allowed this to happen.
According to some lawyers, it is still legal for the individual states to reject the power of the federal government and secede from The Union. This topic is discussed more and more frequently as the power-hungry and greedy national government gallops down the highway of destruction. There are some on political sites, upset with the current administration and its direction, who have declared "I'll move to the first state which secedes." Is that the answer?
February 3, 2010
Timothy N. Baldwin
One of my most highly esteemed colleagues, Edwin Vieira, wrote a recent article entitled, “A Dissenting Opinion On ‘Secession’,” to which I feel compelled to respond, for a couple of reasons: (1) many people (including me) highly respect Vieira’s opinion and analysis, as he has proven himself to be an extremely intelligent person and favorable to the cause of freedom; and (2) the matter of freedom is too crucial not to be publically debated. Truth being the ultimate objective, I claim the same liberty as Emer De Vattel in his renowned exposition, The Law of Nations: “My pen lies under no restraint, and I am incapable of prostituting it to flattery. I was born in a country of which liberty is the soul, the treasure, and the fundamental law.” Emer De Vattel, The Law of Nations, (Indianapolis, IN, Liberty Fund, 2008), 20.
Given the weight and importance of this subject, I must admit that the briefness of this article and the articles to follow (in parts) will not allow me to expound all of the principles confirming the right of a state to secede, for to do so would require me to write volumes. However, the principles, rationale, history, authoritative sources and conclusions contained herein should be sufficient to rebut the anti-secessionist claim and to inspire the reader to study for himself or herself this crucial matter.
The Crux of the Matter
Allow me to restate what the issue really is regarding the matter of secession, for the truth of the matter will only be revealed through a precise restatement of the deciding issue. Secession is a question the true character and nature of our union. The most articulated opponents of secession and state sovereignty have advocated their position this way:
“The federal laws are the supreme laws of the land, unless they violate the constitution. If they violate the constitution, they are void and null. So, who is to determine if those laws violate the constitution? Answer: the US Supreme Court--they are the final arbiter. No other political department (state or federal) has the unilateral power to contradict what the supreme court has determined to be constitutional. This includes the matter of state sovereignty and the limits of the same (e.g. secession). Since the supreme court possesses this power, this automatically means that the states do not have the power to do any act contrary to the federal law until the supreme court rules that the law is unconstitutional.”
Thus, the issue comes down to what is the nature of our union and consequently, what is an individual state’s right to exercise its sovereign powers to unmake a constitution for that body-politic, which was formed for the protection of that particular society’s interest and freedom. Is this state sovereignty controlled by the federal supreme court or not?
....snip
Proponents of Secession throughout the United States’ History
Let us be clear on this: some of the most well-recognized intelligent and articulate statesmen and patriots throughout America’s history have advocated the right of States to secede from the union, both under the Articles of Confederation and United States Constitution. Alexander Hamilton admits this in Federalist Paper 22: “[t]he doctrine of [secession] itself has had respectable advocates.” Likewise, Justice Joseph Story notes that the principles of secession represent the opinions “of a large body of statesmen and jurists in different parts of the Union.” Joseph Story, Nature of the Constitution – Whether A Compact, Book 3, Chapter 3, Section 319. Astute constitutional scholars hold the position of the states’ right to secede similar to the following: “It is not to be understood, that [the Union’s] interposition [on the states] would be justifiable, if the people of a state should determine to retire from the Union.” William Rawle, A View of the Constitution of the United States of America, 296.
Some will try to paint advocates for states’ rights as loony, nutty, irrational or otherwise enemies to the union, but the truth is, some of the most highly-respected, intelligent, articulate, and educated men in America have fought and died defending this principle and corresponding right, and did so in attempts to preserve those principles upon which the union was formed to begin with. For those who would impugn their character deserve little or no respect and simply desire to rid the United States of this highly regarded and well-accepted principle of political maxim and truth. (As a side, their attitude proves that the federally-controlled education system has done a great job at distorting history and issues!)
The Relevance of Secession
For the first time in generations, the matter of secession is once again being publically debated, but perhaps not enough; for the principles underlying the positions for or against secession will create the means of redress against tyranny. As I have written about before, there are candidates throughout these states who are running their campaign on state sovereignty and the tenth amendment. This matter is more alive than it has been in a long time, so the people need to be informed properly.
...snip
What will be seen throughout these articles is that the states never waived their power and right to secede from the union. To the contrary, you will see that the states actually and expressly stated in their ratification documents that they could recall the powers granted at any time at their will. We will see that the nature and character of the union is not one nation formed by one mass body of people, but is union formed by the assent of sovereign states by means of a federal compact. We will see that the federal supreme court does not possess the power to change the nature and character of the compact, nor does it possess the power to limit the states’ sovereignty retained in the tenth amendment.
We will see that the individual state’s right to resist federal tyranny is not conditioned upon the approval of three fourths of the states or federal supreme court. We will see that a state has the power and yes, the duty to protect its sovereignty and the powers granted to it by the people of that state. In the end, we will see the proof that evinces the intent of the ratifiers of the constitution to retain the right to secede from the union.
Source Url: http://www.newswithviews.com/Timothy/baldwin115.htm
Readers' Comments
Date Posted: Thursday 04-Feb-2010
Hi Sands,
A good friend of mine, Gordon Frisch, who is the research editor for the International Harry Schultz letter sent me an article some months ago that I've just not got around to posting... about moves inside the USA at secession.
I think its a great idea... but... given your country's history... your biggest internal conflict was fought over just this issue - the Civil War. (Forget the slaves, the real issue as I see it was: Seccession - the southern states had every legal right to secede when it suited them).
But... given your country and your ability to still make a difference... I think it is a path well worth pursuing. Anything is worth doing... to try to save your country from the madness that's going on.