“This is a completely different from an insurrection which revolts against a legitimate government proceeding from the consent of the governed.”
Actually, the whole point of the rebellion was that those in the South no longer gave consent to be governed!
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
I have a measure of sympathy for the idea that one doesn’t split off just because one has lost an election. But if the big cities on the coast reach a point where all of the US is expected to live IAW “San Francisco values” - and we are not far from that now! - then I can fully understand saying, “This government no longer represents me and will never represent me - so we are leaving!”
Which is EXACTLY what the American Revolution was about! And if Texas ever decides to leave the Union, I’ll hope Arizona joins them.
In 2018, in the vote for Senate, California gave 10 million votes split between 2 Democrats. No Republican was in the running. In the House, 10 of 53 seat went to Republicans. Democrats won a 3.5 million margin in California House races (65% - 33% split). Hard not to conclude that without California, the rest of the US would be in good shape!
That is a claim by those who wish to oversimplify the tension between the two sides. The election was just the final straw. The South had become the milk cow for the Northern oriented government in Washington DC, and that government had been deriving between 75-85% of all it's revenue from import taxes paid for goods bought with Southern exports. In other words, the Southern exports were paying 75-85% of all the taxes used to fund the Federal Government.
That was bad enough, but the bulk of all the revenue collected was also spent in the North. The South was paying the vast majority of the bills, and those who weren't paying them were collecting the vast majority of the benefits. The situation is pretty well summed up in this statement by Robert Rhett.
Additionally they had grown weary of hearing about what horrible people they were from the Liberal activists in the North.
Which is EXACTLY what the American Revolution was about! And if Texas ever decides to leave the Union, I’ll hope Arizona joins them.
In 2018, in the vote for Senate, California gave 10 million votes split between 2 Democrats. No Republican was in the running. In the House, 10 of 53 seat went to Republicans. Democrats won a 3.5 million margin in California House races (65% - 33% split). Hard not to conclude that without California, the rest of the US would be in good shape!
Yes, we are in a similar situation. California and New York effectively dominate national politics, and they invariably push for legislation that damages the rest of us, and often which we see as wrong or immoral.
I first starting feeling sympathy for the South when I realized that we are now experiencing something similar. These liberal states are forcing us to go in directions that are against our wishes. I do not approve of legalized abortion. (except for conditions in which the woman's life is endangered) I do not approve of homosexual "marriage". I do not approve of excessive government spending. I do not approve of unfettered immigration, legal or illegal.
I do not approve of countless things which states like New York and California are dragging us toward, and I foresee one day that we may very well need some form of escape from these lunatics.
And that is how I started feeling some empathy for what happened to the South.