Although many students know that Texas seceded from the Union (unless they were dumbed down by government indoctrination), few are aware of how it was done.

1. First, after the election crisis of Lincoln (he was elected without a majority of the electoral college or population) a call went out for representatives.  In each county,meetings were held where delegates were elected. The use of county wide meetings had its origin in the ayunimentos of Spanish law. These county-wide meetings were legitmate ways to elect representatives. The reason it happened this way is that the Governor refused to issue the call for the election.

2. The delegates then met in Austin. In this meeting, they discussed the issues at hand. The newly elected President had issued a call for troops to invade the South. His call was concerning since he had not taken the oath of office, and Congress was out of session. So he acted unilaterally without the consent of Congress in his actions.

3. The elected body then identified their reasons for seeking secession. They laid out a series of actions by the Federal government where they failed to keep the agreements made with Texas or the people of Texas. These reasons were published so that the public was aware of what the reasons for seeking secession were. Secession was considered only after the courts and the Congress failed to protect the liberties and rights of Texans along with refusing to abide by the laws of the Constitution.

4. The delegates then voted to rescind the act of the Texas Congress that approved annexation. Since it occurred by an act of elected representatives, the logic was that an subsequent act of elected representatives could rescind the controversial act. The rescinding of annexation was approved.

5. Once annexation was rescinded, the delegates then voted on an approving an article of secession. The approval of this added strength to the action taken on rescinding annexation.

6. After the delegates approved secession and rescinded annexation, the approval of their actions was put to the citizens of Texas for their consideration. The delegates were not out to form a tyranny, but rather to allow the people have a say in government. They believed in government of the people, by the people and for the people. A date was set for the people to vote on their actions. When the vote occurred, their actions were validated and finalized. The vote was over 70% in favor of secession, which is a tremendous approval rating.

7. After the convention of delegates ended, the committees appointed by the delegates to oversee the transition of military bases and supplies back to Texas began its work by negotiating with the military base commanders. In Texas, the transition went smoothly, with no loss of life. The military commanders acted honorably and respected the authority of the Republic of Texas and turned the bases over to the rightful legal authority, since Texas had left the Union.

Some of the other Southern States took other routes in dealing with the secession issue. Even after the war, in the case of Texas v. White, the judge, (Salmon Chase) issuing the ruling on secession did not state that secession was illegal. He only took issue with validity of the secession in Texas. He refused to consider the undoing of annexation or the annexation issue at all. He only considered the article of secession. Since he did not deal with all the pertinent issues associated with the case the ruling is not the last word on the subject. The ruling in that case was ‘cherry-picked’ in order to provide some legitimacy for reconstruction. Many modern legal scholars cite the case as definitive, yet few have read through it and realize the many pertinent items that were not considered in the court ruling. To make matters worse, the judge’s son in law had been caught doing some blockade running to Texas during the war. The judge tried to cover up the matter, so his assessment of the situation was not impartial by any means. The judge should have recused himself, but refused to do so.

If you listen to modern legal scholars, they will tell you that secession is illegal, which it is not. They will cite Texas v. White like it was a Biblical truth, even though the ruling is filled with problems and was not unanimous. The Supreme Court needed something to prove the South was wrong and this kangaroo trial was used to legitimize the illegal occupation and reconstruction of the Southern nation.

Free Texas!

J Murrah

Culture, how secession occurred in Texas, Political Well Being, the legality of secession in Texas, the legality of Texas v. White, the question of secession

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