Ron Paul Defends Growing Secession Movement

Ron Paul: Secession is right, Civil War maybe not

November 20, 2012

National Constitution Center - Outgoing Republican U.S. representative Ron Paul has waded into the secession debate, saying that states have the right to leave the Union, and that the Civil War may not have been “right.”

The libertarian politician made the comments on his official House website.

The latest secession controversy was started by a series of petitions on a White House website called We the People. They asked the Obama administration to comment on the possible secession of Texas, Louisiana, and other states after the president defeated Mitt Romney earlier this month.

The Texas petition received about 115,000 online signatures as of Tuesday morning, with a number of people not living in Texas signing up.

Paul’s comments were picked up on political websites on Monday night.

“While I wouldn’t hold my breath on Texas actually seceding, I believe these petitions raise a lot of worthwhile questions about the nature of our union,” Paul said.

“Many think the question of secession was settled by our Civil War. On the contrary; the principles of self-governance and voluntary association are at the core of our founding.  Clearly Thomas Jefferson believed secession was proper, albeit as a last resort,” he added.

“Keep in mind that the first and third paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence expressly contemplate the dissolution of a political union when the underlying government becomes tyrannical. Do we have a ‘government without limitation of powers’ yet? The Federal government kept the Union together through violence and force in the Civil War, but did might really make right?” Paul added.

Legally, there is little evidence that any secessionist movement would have a chance of winning a legal challenge.

Constitution Daily contributor Lyle Denniston outlined the issue last week for us.

“No state, however frustrated some of its citizens may be with the present state of government in America, is going to be able to leave the Union and go its own way. That is one of the most firmly settled issues on the meaning of the Constitution,” Denniston said.

The issue was settled by the Supreme Court in the case of Texas v. White in 1869, and the only theoretical path to secession would be the passage of a constitutional amendment.

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia confirmed that opinion in 2006, when he responded to a letter from a screenwriter, who was writing a fictional story about Maine dumping the U.S. to join Canada.

“To begin with, the answer is clear. If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede. (Hence, in the Pledge of Allegiance, “one Nation, indivisible.”) Secondly, I find it difficult to envision who the parties to this lawsuit might be. Is the State suing the United States for a declaratory judgment? But the United States cannot be sued without its consent, and it has not consented to this sort of suit,” Scalia said.

Paul didn’t bring up the issue of slavery in the Civil War on his official House website, but he has discussed it in the past.

In 2007, Paul told “Meet The Press” said that the North should have bought the slaves living in the South and freed them, rather than pursue a war.

“Every other country in the world got rid of slavery without a Civil War,” Paul told Tim Russert.

In another undated video on YouTube, Paul told an audience that slavery was an important factor in the Civil War, but not the biggest reason the conflict was fought.

“It really wasn’t the issue of why the war was fought in my estimation,” he said.

Paul said that Abraham Lincoln, like Alexander Hamilton, believed that central government should benefit the industrial base in the North, along with a central banking system.

“When they saw this opportunity, they used the issue of slavery to precipitate the war and literally cancel out the whole concept of individual choice,” he said.

Ron Paul Defends Growing Secession Movement

Retiring Congressman notes principle is “deeply American”

November19, 2012

Prisonplanet.com - In his weekly update, released today, Congressman Ron Paul defends those who have signed petitions in all 50 states advocating secession from the federal government, referring to the principle as “deeply American”.

Echoing comments he made back in 2009, Paul notes:

 “This country was born through secession. Some thought it was treasonous to secede from England, but those “traitors” became our country’s greatest patriots.”

“…the principles of self-government and voluntary association are at the core of our founding….There is nothing treasonous or unpatriotic about wanting a federal government that is more responsive to the people it represents.” the Congressman adds.

Explaining that the recent election only served to further entrench the political status quo, Paul urges:

“…our own federal government is vastly overstepping its constitutional bounds with no signs of reform.”

He reminds Americans that:

“the first and third paragraph of the Declaration of Independence expressly contemplate the dissolution of a political union when the underlying government becomes tyrannical.”

Though he says he is not holding his breath that any state will actually secede, the congressman stresses that:

“If the possibility of secession is completely off the table there is nothing to stop the federal government from continuing to encroach on our liberties, and no recourse for those who are sick and tired of it.”

“If a people cannot secede from an oppressive government they cannot truly be considered free.” Paul adds.

In a separate development, Paul announced in an interview with The Hill Sunday that although he is retiring from Congress, he has no intention of scaling back his speaking schedule and his ongoing campaign for liberty.

“I’m excited about spending more time on college campuses, not less. College campuses will still be on my agenda. That’s where the action is.” Paul said.

As we noted last week, several detractors have claimed that American citizens who signed the secession petitions are effectively advocating a new civil war, and can rightfully be stripped of their firearms.
Some even argued that any American advocating secession should be stripped of their citizenship and deported.

As we described at length in our editorial, Secessionists do not want to be part of a separate country, they wish to use the terms of the Declaration of Independence to peacefully reconstitute through the states and restore the Republic.