With respect to the possibility of secession by mutual agreement, we are left in much the same position that Americans in the first seven decades of the Union occupied with respect to unilateral secession: We must struggle to interpret the sounds of the Constitution’s silence.
That conclusion in turn suggests that no court will likely answer the question—except perhaps in the way that the Supreme Court in Texas v. White gave its retroactive approval to the verdict of the Civil War battlefield.
Nothing prohibits them from leaving. They just can’t form a confederation.
I’m not a Constitutional Scholar, but when I was in school, I was taught that both California and Texas had the right to secede from the union. This right was incorporated into the treaty between the California Republic and the US when California joined the union. Texas is in a similar situation as the only other nation to voluntarily join the US.
That being said, I think it would be a stupid idea.
Ummm, didn’t we settle this question, oh, around 144 years ago?
Article V authorizes a Constitutional Convention. No result of the convention becomes law unless 3/4ths of the sates ratify it. Anyone care to guess whether or not 3/4th of the states in this country are more conservative (well, republican) or more liberal communist?
A few states tried this a while back.
It ended rather badly.
Dixie ping
Meaning, the States have a right to secede.
I think far too many forget our history, not just in Texas, but also in the United States.
See tagline.
Indeed it does:
Amendment 10 - The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
We have a nation here. It is going through problems right now. And it bothers me some of the tactics that are being used in reaction to those problems.
I live in California. California has problems. And because of those problems many of my fellow citizens moved out of the state. I don’t want people to take this personally, but isn’t that cutting and running? Is that how we turn things around? Hell no.
When people run from problems, those problems flourish. And when one state goes south, it affects other states.
Right now we have talk of states pulling out of the union. Is that really what we have come to? Is that really the future we see for our beloved nation, surrendering vast areas of our nation to our enemies?
Whatever happened to preaching our values to the American Citizen and winning them back over? Whatever happened to telling the public education system it isn’t going to propagandize our children on our tax dollars? Whatever happened to telling the government that it isn’t going to get away with flood groups like ACORN with our tax dollars so they can carry out political activity? Whatever happened to demanding, not asking that our rights be respected?
What bothers me, is that we are backing ourselves into a corner by choice, making smaller the base of our operations. Is that really what our goal should be?
Folks, our founding fathers didn’t pick one state and defend it. They worked within the full thirteen colonies and defended the whole rather than surrender to a superior force?
What is the cut and run stuff? What is the secession stuff?
Surrender? No way...
This question was answered on a Palm Sunday back in 1865...and the South suffered a cruel occupation reconstruction because of it.
I think were any State to actually Secede, the citizenry would find it a VERY expensive post-partum.
secession ping
Any thoughtful person is going to realize they have a better chance of reforming our government than trying to establish a new nation. Any state that successfully seceded would immediately become a haven for every enemy of the U.S.
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
The short answer is no.
If Texas can, then I’m moving there and no, I don’t think I’m kidding!!