Is Becoming Finland the Way Out of Our Polarized Mess?

By |2020-06-08T16:07:10-05:00June 8th, 2020|Categories: American Republic, Books, Civil Society, John Horvat, Politics, Secession|

American Secession: The Looming Threat of a National Breakup, F.H. Buckley (184 pages, Encounter Books, 2020) In polarized America, many believe that the sad state of the Union has reached the point of a serious threat of secession. It is a topic of great affliction for those who do not wish to see the nation [...]

The Forgotten Corners of Alexander Stephens’ “Cornerstone Speech”

By |2020-12-03T14:23:49-06:00August 12th, 2019|Categories: American Republic, Civil War, Equality, Government, History, Politics, Secession, Slavery, South, War|

History is complex, messy, and unyielding to our dearest wishes for easy categorization. That Alexander Stephens understood the Confederacy through its cornerstone of slavery is plainly true and explained in his own words. But the “Cornerstone Speech” goes further, planting the other corners of the Confederate state in concerns over federalism and sovereignty. Anxious onlookers [...]

Leaving the Union: Could a State Successfully Secede Today?

By |2020-12-19T10:16:59-06:00November 14th, 2016|Categories: American Republic, Constitution, Constitutional Convention, History, Secession, South|

There is no section of the U.S. Constitution that would preclude states from putting referendums for secession on the ballot, and if duly approved, for such states then to depart legally from the Union. The U.S. Constitution is the world’s oldest existing governing body of laws. It was then that our founding fathers met in their [...]

The Right to Secede

By |2023-11-02T05:58:32-05:00December 3rd, 2012|Categories: American Republic, Constitution, Joseph Sobran, Secession|

How can the federal government be prevented from usurping powers that the Constitution doesn’t grant to it? It’s an alarming fact that few Americans ask this question anymore. Our ultimate defense against the federal government is the right of secession. Yes, most people assume that the Civil War settled that. But superior force proves nothing. [...]

The Idea That Will Not Die: Secession

By |2014-08-15T17:37:27-05:00November 28th, 2012|Categories: Lee Cheek, Politics, Sean Busick, Secession|

As the recent petitions to the White House confirm, secession is an idea that never goes away. The verb “secede” is derived from the Latin “secessio,” meaning any act of withdrawal. Originally introduced in the seventeenth century as a concept of ecclesiastical discourse and political theory, secession assumes the existence of the modern state, as [...]

Secession, the Humane Scale of Politics, and American Identity

By |2015-04-13T23:57:21-05:00November 26th, 2012|Categories: Politics, Secession|Tags: |

There are currently 50 petitions for secession from the United States, one from each state, that have been registered with the federal government. It goes without saying that not one of them has any prospect of being acted upon. It is therefore tempting to dismiss these petitions as expressions of sour grapes on the part [...]

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