[DoodleDawg]

If it is a voluntary union of sovereign states then don’t those same sovereign states have the right to decide who they want to unite with? Can’t the 49 states turn the 50th out of the union at any time they want, regardless of the wishes of that state?

[Hieronymus]

Can’t the 49 states turn the 50th out of the union at any time they want, regardless of the wishes of that state?

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I’d argue no, my logic doesn’t seem capable of getting that out of the Constitution, but the electoral map of 1868 seems to refute my argument. Take a look. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas weren’t allowed to vote for president. The governing principle of the time seems to have been not logic but what was convenient for the Republican party.