3 ms·

There is nothing in the US constitution that actually allows secession. Some people try to imply a right to secede from the declaration of independence or from

by hristov 13y ago

There is nothing in the US constitution that actually allows secession. Some people try to imply a right to secede from the declaration of independence or from the history of the US (i.e., the revolutionary war) but there is not actual text in the US constitution that gives anyone the right to secede. If you disagree, please provide a quote.

ekianjo 13y ago
> There is nothing in the US constitution that actually allows secession True, but there is nothing that forbids it either explicitly. And I could argue that from the History of the US, of how they were formed, and the Declaration of Independence, Secession is very much considered to be a cultural Right. Even Lincoln said that: > Any people, anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right, a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world. This is further observed by foreign observers such as Tocqueville after the US were established: > The Union was formed by the voluntary agreement of the States; and in uniting together they have not forfeited their nationality, nor have they been reduced to the condition of one and the same people. If one of the States choose to withdraw from the compact, it would be difficult to disprove its right of doing so, and the Federal Government would have no means of maintaining its claims directly either by force or right.
- mpyne 13y ago
  The actual written Constitution has far more text about handling the cases of treason, rebellion, and domestic violence than it does about individual states seceding. And if you would read the Declaration of Independence you'd see that the "tyranny test" (such as one was ever conceived in American jurisprudence) is very strict indeed. Even from the first days of the American Revolutionary War we were claiming that the government deserved a great deal of "benefit of the doubt" and that it would take a very severe set of circumstances to cast off a government.
chrismcb 13y ago
There is nothing in the Constitution that forces a state to remain part of the United States. so... "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" Sounds like the gives the States the right to secede.
spc476 13y ago
You are correct that there is nothing in the US Constitution that allows secession. Nor anything that disallows it. And the last time it was seriously tested in the 1860s, the results were pretty horrible (it's still the worst war in terms of casualties the US has ever had).

by hristov 13y ago

ekianjo 13y ago

> There is nothing in the US constitution that actually allows secession True, but there is nothing that forbids it either explicitly. And I could argue that from the History of the US, of how they were formed, and the Declaration of Independence, Secession is very much considered to be a cultural Right. Even Lincoln said that: > Any people, anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right, a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world. This is further observed by foreign observers such as Tocqueville after the US were established: > The Union was formed by the voluntary agreement of the States; and in uniting together they have not forfeited their nationality, nor have they been reduced to the condition of one and the same people. If one of the States choose to withdraw from the compact, it would be difficult to disprove its right of doing so, and the Federal Government would have no means of maintaining its claims directly either by force or right.

mpyne 13y ago
The actual written Constitution has far more text about handling the cases of treason, rebellion, and domestic violence than it does about individual states seceding. And if you would read the Declaration of Independence you'd see that the "tyranny test" (such as one was ever conceived in American jurisprudence) is very strict indeed. Even from the first days of the American Revolutionary War we were claiming that the government deserved a great deal of "benefit of the doubt" and that it would take a very severe set of circumstances to cast off a government.

chrismcb 13y ago

There is nothing in the Constitution that forces a state to remain part of the United States. so... "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" Sounds like the gives the States the right to secede.

spc476 13y ago

You are correct that there is nothing in the US Constitution that allows secession. Nor anything that disallows it. And the last time it was seriously tested in the 1860s, the results were pretty horrible (it's still the worst war in terms of casualties the US has ever had).