The “S” word appears again

Headline from a recent World Net Daily article: “Think outside the box: Lawmaker floats secession idea to challenge President-elect Trump.” This legislator was in New York and proposed to persuade “several nearby states” to join. Honestly, if they want to do it, I wouldn’t mind. I just hope they take California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota with them.

Talk of a “national divorce” comes up from time to time, although it has not reached tsunami proportions since 1860. Vivek Ramaswamy said some interesting things about this during the Republican primaries. And he was not the first. Marjorie Taylor Greene mentioned this a couple of years ago, and I’ve seen some popular conservative commentators bring it up (though not defend it—yet). Since Trump won, leftists don’t mention it, but conservatives certainly don’t. But Democrats have raised this issue before (after the 2016 election, of course) and appear to be raising it again. And they are not going to do anything other than raise this issue. But if they want to leave…

Any mention of “secession” (and, let’s face it, “national divorce” means someone is initiating a secession) often evokes calls for “treason,” “traitor,” “unpatriotism,” and “southern redneck” among a certain class of people, depending on who is offering it and who is listening. I’m sure that’s racist too, because that’s how it is in America now. Well, that is if someone on the right suggests it. Based on the current source (New York), it is clearly not racist.

“Secession” immediately conjures up the terrible American “Civil War” of 1861-1865, an event that was truly a national disaster and left a bad taste in our mouths about “secession.” I want to make it clear that I am NOT advocating secession in this article. What I want to point out here is simply that secession is something that, up until the War Between the States, had quite an impressive history in America. And it wasn’t just Southerners who believed in this concept. Now the left has raised this issue, and I feel that as a historian I can write about it. Let’s take a look at this. Just in case…

1. Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson, of course, argued that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are gifts bestowed upon “all men” by their “Creator” (not government). It is true that governments exist to “secure” (protect) these rights, not to grant them, and that the only source of government power is the “consent of the governed.” Therefore, “whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, the people have the right to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.” Now, of course, “Prudence does require that governments long established should not be changed for easy and temporary reasons.” However, “when a long train of abuses and usurpations, invariably pursuing the same object, reveals a design to subject them to absolute despotism, it is their right, their duty, to overthrow such government, and provide a new guard for their future safety.” Their “right” and their “duty”. So, the American colonists left the British Empire. Just like Texas seceded from Mexico rather than live under a corrupt and tyrannical military dictatorship. The American Revolution was an act of secession. It’s somehow difficult to condemn this.

2. Jefferson’s inaugural address, 1800. “If any State in the Union declares that it prefers separation… to continuation of the union… I will not hesitate to say, “Let us secede…” This was not the case. He didn’t just “go away if you like,” he offered a few olive branches, but the point was that Jefferson believed that secession was certainly better than war or an unnatural union in which the states were forced to submit to the national government as they and they did it. disagree j. Obviously, no states seceded during Jefferson’s administration, but the fact that he mentioned it indicates that there was some talk about it. Indeed, some malcontents in California spoke of “secession” when Donald Trump was elected in 2016.

3. Abraham Lincoln. In 1848, because of the Mexican War, Lincoln made the following statement to Congress:

“Any people anywhere, being inclined and in power, has the right to rise up, overthrow the existing government and form a new one that suits them better. This is the most valuable and most sacred right – the right that we hope and believe is the liberation of the world. This right is not limited to cases where the whole people of an existing government may decide to exercise it. Any part of such people who can make a revolution and make the part of the territory they inhabit their property. Moreover, the majority of any section of such people can make a revolution by suppressing a minority mixed with them or located near them, which may oppose their movement.”

It is interesting that Mr. Lincoln, when he became President and the Southern States actually did what he said in 1848, they could do by declaring, “I believe that, subject to universal law and the Constitution, the Union of these States is eternal”, that is, separation is illegal. And this is the view that most Americans have held ever since. The North won the war and this was generally considered the best outcome, although this view is not generally accepted.

This is a small sample of early American views on secession. I could and can go into more detail on this topic in future articles. Again, I’m certainly not advocating for this to happen now. But the idea has a venerable tradition in American history. Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are not small fry. I think most of us hope that doesn’t happen. But if New York wants to leave, then Jefferson and Lincoln…

And I will say this: I personally would not want to participate in a bloody civil war to keep New York and California in our Union.

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