Secession

[White Trash]

Yes/yes.

Sovereign entities that join together in a political union voluntarily should have a right to leave said union if so desired.

[White Trash]

Sovereign entities that join together in a political union voluntarily should have a right to leave said union if so desired.

For the sake of the argument, let's accept this premise: how then would the thirty-five states (i.e. everyone outside the original 13 colonies, Texas, and Vermont) that never existed as sovereign entities, but were in fact formed from federal territory by act of federal legislation? If, say, Virginia were to secede from the Union, would she take with her the lands she ceded to the central government in 1781? Does this right only apply to states (and if so, why), or can I unilaterally declare my house the independent People's Republic of Trumansylvania if I so choose?

Considering that those states that have never existed as sovereign entities still had to ratify a state constitution and conducted a referendum on statehood, they still possess some level of sovereignty and still made the conscious decision to voluntarily join the federal union. And this right applies uniquely to state because it is the state government that underwent this process to bind itself to the federal government. Counties and municipal governments do no such thing.

[White Trash]

Sovereign entities that join together in a political union voluntarily should have a right to leave said union if so desired.

For the sake of the argument, let's accept this premise: how then would the thirty-five states (i.e. everyone outside the original 13 colonies, Texas, and Vermont) that never existed as sovereign entities, but were in fact formed from federal territory by act of federal legislation? If, say, Virginia were to secede from the Union, would she take with her the lands she ceded to the central government in 1781? Does this right only apply to states (and if so, why), or can I unilaterally declare my house the independent People's Republic of Trumansylvania if I so choose?

Considering that those states that have never existed as sovereign entities still had to ratify a state constitution and conducted a referendum on statehood, they still possess some level of sovereignty and still made the conscious decision to voluntarily join the federal union. And this right applies uniquely to state because it is the state government that underwent this process to bind itself to the federal government. Counties and municipal governments do no such thing.

In that case, do counties and municipalities have the right to secede from their respective states?

The counties do not draft a constitution and hold a referendum to join the state, so no.

[White Trash]

Sovereign entities that join together in a political union voluntarily should have a right to leave said union if so desired.

For the sake of the argument, let's accept this premise: how then would the thirty-five states (i.e. everyone outside the original 13 colonies, Texas, and Vermont) that never existed as sovereign entities, but were in fact formed from federal territory by act of federal legislation? If, say, Virginia were to secede from the Union, would she take with her the lands she ceded to the central government in 1781? Does this right only apply to states (and if so, why), or can I unilaterally declare my house the independent People's Republic of Trumansylvania if I so choose?

Considering that those states that have never existed as sovereign entities still had to ratify a state constitution and conducted a referendum on statehood, they still possess some level of sovereignty and still made the conscious decision to voluntarily join the federal union. And this right applies uniquely to state because it is the state government that underwent this process to bind itself to the federal government. Counties and municipal governments do no such thing.

In that case, do counties and municipalities have the right to secede from their respective states?

The counties do not draft a constitution and hold a referendum to join the state, so no.

But what if the county in question runs the risk of seeing slavery outlawed owing to the antislavery votes of the rest of the state? :’(

While the county may have legitimate grievances against the state on a particular issue, counties are created for the sole purpose of being administrative districts of a state. They possess no sovereignty except that which is granted to them by the state. This different from the relationship that states and the federal government have as states have powers that exist entirely independent of the federal government.