Parting company is an option

A fortnight ago, in "Let's Do Some Detective Work," I provided unassailable evidence that Congress had vastly exceeded powers delegated to it by our Constitution.

In last week's column, "Getting Back Our Liberties," I argued that liberties lost are seldom regained, but there was an outside chance to regain them if enough liberty-minded Americans were to pursue Free State Project's proposal to set up New Hampshire as a free state.

Free State Project intends to get 20,000 or so Americans to move to New Hampshire and, through a peaceful political process, reduce burdensome taxation and regulation, reform state and local law, end federal mandates, and attempt to restore constitutional federalism as envisioned by the nation's founders.

Since there was only a remote possibility we could successfully negotiate with Congress, the courts and the White House to obey the U.S. Constitution, I speculated that liberty could only be realized by a unilateral declaration of independence – namely, part company. Quite a few readers criticized the idea, calling secession unconstitutional. Let's look at it.

On March 2, 1861, after seven states had seceded and two days before Abraham Lincoln's inauguration, Sen. James R. Doolittle of Wisconsin proposed a constitutional amendment that said, "No State or any part thereof, heretofore admitted or hereafter admitted into the Union, shall have the power to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the United States."

Several months earlier, Reps. Daniel E. Sickles of New York, Thomas B. Florence of Pennsylvania and Otis S. Ferry of Connecticut proposed a constitutional amendment to prohibit secession. Here's my no-brainer question: Would there have been any point to offering these amendments if secession were already unconstitutional? I'm guessing, no.

But there's more evidence. The ratification documents of Virginia, New York and Rhode Island explicitly said that they held the right to resume powers delegated should the federal government become abusive of those powers.

There's more evidence. At the 1787 constitutional convention, a proposal was made to allow the federal government to suppress a seceding state. James Madison, the father of our Constitution, rejected it, saying: "A Union of the States containing such an ingredient seemed to provide for its own destruction. The use of force against a State would look more like a declaration of war than an infliction of punishment and would probably be considered by the party attacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by which it might be bound."

Professor Thomas DiLorenzo, in his revised "The Real Lincoln," provides abundant evidence in the forms of quotations from our Founders and numerous newspaper accounts that prove that Americans always took the right of secession for granted. Plus, secession was not an idea that had its origins in the South. Infuriated by Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the first secessionist movement started in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and other New England states.

Every single bit of evidence shows that states have a right to secede. There's absolutely nothing in the Constitution that prohibits secession. What stops secession is the brute force of a mighty federal government, as witnessed by the costly War of 1861. Only one thing good came out of that war: It eliminated slavery. It's had a devastating legacy for future generations of Americans, in that since the issue of secession was brutally settled, the federal government is free to run roughshod over the safeguards envisioned by the Framers, namely the Ninth and 10th Amendments.

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Dr. Walter E. Williams is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Here's my no-brainer question: Would there have been any point to offering these amendments if secession were already unconstitutional? I'm guessing, no.

Not true. The point of offering such an amendment could simply be to clarify a point under dispute. For example, the proposed Hatch-Eagleton Amendment stated simply:

A right to abortion is not secured by this Constitution. The Congress and the several states shall have the concurrent power to restrict and prohibit abortions: provided, that a law of a state which is more restrictive than a law of congress shall govern.

Many would argue, including some who support abortion rights, that a right to abortion is already not secured by the Constitution. Why reapeat something that's already true? To eliminate any disagreement over the matter.

IMO, we are way past the debate about clarifying what's in the Constitution. There are maybe, at most 20 to 25 people in Washington DC who give a rat's ass about the Constitution. When all three branches of government willfully ignore language as clear as "Congress shall make no law..." or "...shall not be infringed," passing another amendment would be a joke. The Supreme Court would just say that the government has a "complelling interest" and then that amendment becomes meaningless. At this point, I don't think anything short of another civil war have any impact on changing the course we are on.

Secession is not an option. Absolution is, when the citizenry gets fed up with a central government that bankrupts the country and has no authority or resources to continue. Need examples? Soviet Union, Argentina, any number of third world countries. The election of 2000 showed the distinction between the unsatisfied and the satisfied with our socialist system. Don't expect the red area to continue unqualified support if we have a monetary crisis such as the Great Depression.

The problem is, after decades of being dumbed down by a politically-inspired public "education" system, many Americans are too complacent (and greedy and selfish) to care about the fundamentals of liberty and freedom.

In the 1840’s, the French author Alexis d’Tocqueville wrote the classic “Democracy in America.” He was curious as to why the young American Republic had become so dynamic. His travels and observations convinced him that “America is great because her people are good. If they cease to be good, America will no longer be great.”

His words are prophetic and America's greatness is almost over the brink - as Walter Williams argues, it may too late to recover.

d’Tocqueville also wrote (to paraphrase) 'The American Republic will endure, until politicians learn they can bribe the people with their own money.'

Like hogs, the "people" have been led to the trough for far too long.

There's little to suggest that the same brutality wouldn't be encountered if secession were tried again, as one writer cautioned: If New Hampshire seceded, massive troops along with today's deadly modern military equipment would be on its soil before lunch.

That writer didn't have his brain engaged quite all the way. While the Federal response is no doubt accurately described the small problem of the opinion of the troops called upon is not explored.

I believe a second civl war is eminently possible but the sort of citizen called upon to enforce the imperial will is, to put it mildly, mostly from Red country.

A call to arms of the type imagined above may actually result in a taking of sides. Why wouldn't it?

The Constitution clearly says that all rights not prohibited are reserved for the states or the people.

And why would we have allowed into the union a state that reserved the right of succession?

I think we will have to have another war to resolve this.

The Constitution clearly says that all rights not prohibited are reserved for the states or the people.

It also does not enumarate those rights and simply because you claim a right does not mean you have it.

And why would we have allowed into the union a state that reserved the right of succession?

Why would that state have explicitly reserved that right if it was assumed to already exist in the Constitution.

I think we will have to have another war to resolve this.

You might find the HBO movie The Second Civil War interesting.

Legally? Probably. But it would make the evasion of the Constitution more obvious. Obvious enough, perhaps, that people will wake up and smell the judicial oligarchy.

The Supreme Court would just say that the government has a "complelling interest" and then that amendment becomes meaningless.

Possibly. It could also wake them up. I can always hope...

At this point, I don't think anything short of another civil war have any impact on changing the course we are on.

I suspect that any other civil war will end pretty much the same way. Why? Because the people who leave have the burden of persuading others to change the status quo.

I suspect that any other civil war will end pretty much the same way. Why? Because the people who leave have the burden of persuading others to change the status quo.

Was that a typo? The outcome of a civil war will depend on military facts. How many states want to secede, the military strength of both sides, etc.

It also does not enumarate those rights

The whole basis of the Constitution is that the powers of the Federal government are enumerated, not the states. In other words the states have the right unless prohibited by the Constitution. There is no other rational interpretation.

and simply because you claim a right does not mean you have it.

Yes you do. Unless prohibited by law (civil, criminal or Constitutional) you have the right.

Some states underscored their right of succession when they entered the union. For the Federal government to then accept them as states given that reservation implies acceptance of that right for all states.

Was that a typo? The outcome of a civil war will depend on military facts. How many states want to secede, the military strength of both sides, etc.

This isn't 1961. You'll need to convince states that destroying the United States is preferable to staying in it and given the massive death that any real modern war would produce, that's going to be a very tough sell. Having seen the power of the American military in the Gulf, for example, I can't imagine any large numbers of American soldiers being eager to fight each other without a much better cause than state's rights.

Having seen the power of the American military in the Gulf, for example, I can't imagine any large numbers of American soldiers being eager to fight each other without a much better cause than state's rights.

A lot more than state's rights are at issue. Free Republic posts have documented the horrific encroachments on all of our rights for years now. And the men who have been in the military are much more conservative than liberal. Only about 20% of them voted for Gore.

This could also turn out another way. The Constitution provides for a convention that could dissolve the union entirely.

Yes, but they are also Americans and you'd need to convince them that the United States was their enemy. They are trained to defend the United States and I don't see them acting to destroy it.

This could also turn out another way. The Constitution provides for a convention that could dissolve the union entirely.

And I have absolutely no faith that the product of a Constitutional Convention would be an improvement, even if the Union were dissolved. The problems with the United States are not a problem with the structure as written but with how it is implemented in practice. Any attempts to to fix what is wrong will likely fall victim to a political version of the second system effect.

The problems with the United States are not a problem with the structure as written but with how it is implemented in practice.

I agree, in other words, the government is violating the Constitution. So what must we do to get them to obey the law? It might take the threat of succession or a constitutional convention, but I'm guessing that it will take the threat of violence to get enough people to see the light.

Any attempts to fix what is wrong will likely fall victim to a political version of the second system effect.

Second-system syndrome: When one is designing the successor to a relatively small, elegant, and successful system, there is a tendency to become grandiose in one's success and design an elephantine feature-laden monstrosity.

Isn't that the very definition of what we have now in our federal government?

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