My Take On Secession

There have been two serious attempts at secession in the United States, one formed our Country and the other nearly destroyed it.

The first began in 1765 when The Kingdom of Great Britain crossed the line of taxation on her Colonies.  We were being treated like Cinderella before the Ball.  We had no voice in our own lives and were being overcharged for the privilege.  Independence was declared on July 4, 1776, and won on October 19, 1781 with the surrender of General Cornwallis.  Independence was not official until January 14, 1784, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Had we lost we would have remained a British Colony and those who fought for independence would have been tried as traitors.

The war of 1812 was fought for the most part to impress and establish our right to be an independent nation and to retain our sovereignty.

The second was the Civil War.  In 1848 there was a strong movement to disallow any more states or territories to add slavery.  Many believed that the Federal government should be able to deny slavery and that the states and territories should be able to decide the issue for themselves.  The political battles went on until 1860 with the election of Abraham Lincoln.  Seven “slave States” filed for secession and were joined by an additional four a short time later.  As with the American Revolution, this was considered a rebellion, and war began with the first shots being fired on April 12, 1861, and ending with the surrender of General Lee on April 9, 1865.

Had the war ended differently, there would now be twonations instead of one: the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.  Slavery would still have ended, just a few years later.

Over the years there have been many secession movements.  States have considered splitting; we could easily have a Northern and Southern California, a Northern and Southern Massachusetts.

“…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” (Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address)

There are approximately 312 million people in the United States.  A small percentage of them have signed petitions for secession.  There are, at this time, 40 States with petitions and the number of signatures is growing.  This didn’t happen when Obama won his first term in office, it happened when he won his second.  There are many questions as to the validity of the results.  Let’s face it, George Washington was the only President to get 100% and the voting was handled much differently.

Most of the petitions for secession are due to over control by the Federal Government.  The original framers of our Constitution set forth plans for the States to govern themselves and the Federal Government would only govern those issues applicable to all.

Although these petitions will never amount to secession they are a major statement.  They are not the result of anger by Conservatives but more by the fear that the United States is failing.  The Federal Government has spent the Citizens’ money like water, and why not it isn’t their money.  We gave them a blank check and now don’t know how to rescind the offer.  The Obama Administration has increased the deficit to $16 trillion over the past 4 years. This is not a deficit created by the States but by the Federal Government.  The States have their own deficits to contend with.  GM owes millions to the Federal government, the Federal Income tax Payers, not to the individual states unless they borrowed directly from those States.  The States don’t owe a debt to the Feds, the Feds borrowed the money on their own.

What these Petitions are pointing out is that the United States has become an overbearing yoke on the freedoms of its people.   That States want and deserve the rights to govern themselves.  That “We the People” means “We the People”

We know there was election fraud, not necessarily wide spread voter fraud, but fraud nonetheless.  Record voter turnout and fewer votes counted.

When people feel that they are disenfranchised, and are being taxed without representation, they must exercise their rights, disband the government and establish a new nation.

They are requesting a peaceful separation from the United States.  Just as Puerto Rico may be requesting a peaceful separation from or Statehood to the United States.

Those of us who are distressed and unhappy over the results of the election are not necessarily upset that Obama won but rather the manner in which it was done and his plans for our future.

Depending on the number of signatures received by the Petitions, it could be possible to allow a few States to secede and for those desiring secession to be allowed to immigrate to those states and those living in them to be allowed to immigrate to those states deciding to remain with the Union.  Even if any of these petitions were to reach Congress the votes required for approval would be almost impossible to achieve and would take years to work out the logistics.  By that time it is possible that the Federal Government will have readjusted to be more supportive of the Constitution and American citizens.

One can only hope!