And as James Madison said, "An inference from the doctrine that a single state has a right to secede at will from the rest, is that the rest would have an equal right to secede from it; in other words, to turn it, against its will, out of its union with them." Is he right?
As for slavery, everyone admits that it was horrible and a black mark (no pun intended) on our history. But again, as Dr. Williams has noted, he is much better off today because his ancestors were brought here as slaves than he would be if they had been left in Africa.
Then given the conditions in much of Africa today, would Dr. Williams or you advocate reintroducing slavery as a way of saving all those poor wretches in Darfur or the Congo or Rwanda from their miseries?
The states created the Union, not vice versa. They joined it by their consent (along with the Federal government's but only if they applied.) There is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits secession. Thus, any state can legally secede any time. All of them could if they chose to.
Then given the conditions in much of Africa today, would Dr. Williams or you advocate reintroducing slavery as a way of saving all those poor wretches in Darfur or the Congo or Rwanda from their miseries?
Of course not, and don't be silly. But let's stop dwelling on slavery. And if we can find a way to help the oppressed of Congo or Rwanda to escape their misery, that is a good thing. We don't want to simply change their slave masters, but lift them out of the slavery they're in.
Do you dispute Dr. Williams's observation? Would he be better off if he were in Congo or Rwanda or Kenya or whichever tyrannical African satrapy than he is in America?
ping
Each state does indeed have that right.