State Secession: Who Will Be The Enemies Of Secession?

The secessionist movement is growing exponentially in the United States. Secessionist organizations are operating at various levels of activity in Texas, Vermont, New Hampshire, Alaska and Hawaii. Many more have passed 10th Amendment resolutions. But there are several states that are taking secession quite seriously. Texas and New Hampshire come to mind first.

Abraham Lincoln set the precedent for the issue of secession in the War of Northern Aggression. The Confederate States of America was formed by Southern states who simply wished to part company with a government that they perceived was hostile to their interests. They did not want war, they wanted a peaceful separation which was their right.

Lincoln would have none of it. And the ensuing war cost over 600,000 American lives on both sides of the conflict. Lincoln and the Union did not settle a legal point, however. They simply won a war.

There is nothing whatsoever in the US Constitution that either authorizes or prevents any state of the Union from secession. It doesn’t have to. Under the 10th Amendment, powers not specifically delegated to the United States are reserved to the states and to the people. That includes secession.

But in today’s America, there will be stiff resistance to state secession. Right now, secessionist movements are actively spreading the word about the reasons secession is a viable solution for liberty. The “powers that be” are not threatened quite yet. “Tea Parties” and grass-roots political movements today are a dime a dozen. The threat level, in a nod to the Homeland Security bunch, is Yellow.

So, once the movement gains undeniable traction in one particular state, who will begin to resist? Who will actively fight secession? Here is the short list.

1. Washington (gee ya think?). State secession would be considered a worldwide loss of face. Sure, the Soviet Union fell apart by secession. But we’re dadgum America! A state secession inside America will be intolerable to Washington. Then consider the loss of revenue to Washington if a state like Texas seceded.

2. The Media. This will be an irresistible story for the Main Stream Media…kind of like a hurricane or terrorist attack. But the MSM will oppose secession every way they can. The reasons for this are the close ties that the MSM has to the regimes in Washington and in state capitols. The built-in bias of stories will be anti-secession with few exceptions. Remember Ron Paul’s 2008 Presidential candidacy. He was ignored a lot, and ridiculed a lot more.

3. Department of Homeland Security. Don’t think that these guys won’t evaluate secessionist leaders and writers as potential terrorists. I didn’t say it would be right…I’m just saying it will happen. Expect the IRS to help them.

4. FBI, CIA, and all the other spy agencies. Expect spooks to infiltrate the secessionist movements, looking for potential crazies that they can prosecute as terrorists. Expect spooks to target the leaders and try to bring them down. Expect the spooks to do “sting operations,” trying to bait people into committing crimes. Remember Waco. Remember Rick McLaren of the Republic of Texas movement, who is mouldering in the prison today at Huntsville, Texas.

5. Banks. ALL banks will oppose a gold standard and the prohibition of fractional reserve banking. They have lots of money and their very existence is threatened by secession. The lobbying will be mind-boggling.

6. State politicians. Many state politicians consider statewide elected office as the farm system for higher office. Plus elected officeholders would likely have to run for election in a new sovereign nation. They might not like that.

7. Big corporations. Business, government and banking are woven together. Businesses domiciled in the seceding state would instantly have import/export issues that they might not have currently. In addition, any corporation domiciled in an American state, like Delaware or Nevada…would instantly be a foreign corporation.

9. People currently receiving government benefits. Think of all the government money that flows to individuals – Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, rent supports, college grants and loans, mortgage guarantees…these folks won’t want to lose their benefits.

10. Trial Lawyers and the legal system. This could go either way. Lawyers might look at secession as an opportunity in a new nation. But my suspicion is that they would not favor secession. They will also lobby heavily to influence a new legal system in the new nation.

I’m sure I’m leaving out somebody, but that will make for another article.

This short list will become much less important if the secession happens after a collapse of the American financial system or the collapse of the Federal Government. If Washington doesn’t have the resources to oppose any state’s secession, it might go much smoother when a state delivers its secession document to Washington.