Some thoughts to ponder
What is the present Supreme Law of the Land?
Article VI, Clause 2 (U.S) Constitution
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
How are treaties ratified?
Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 (U.S) Constitution
He [the President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur …
How did Texas become a state of the United States of America?
Yale Law School, The Avalon Project | The Treaty of Annexation – Texas; April 12, 1844
Note: There is nothing specific to the cancellation of a treaty but historical practice comes into play. The Supreme Court has made clear that when the constitutional text is silent or ambiguous, it is appropriate to consider longstanding governmental practice in discerning the Constitution’s distribution of authority between Congress and the President. When Texas joined the CSA, the Treaty of Annexation of 12 April 1844 became null and void.
Abraham Lincoln was elected to the US presidency | 6 November 1860
Texas State Library and Archives Commission | An Ordinance: To dissolve the union between the State of Texas and the other States, united under the compact styled “The Constitution of the United States of America.” Adopted in Convention, at Austin City, the first day of February, A.D. 1861.
TEXIT version 1.0
Texas secedes from the union to join the CSA | 2 March 1861
President Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office | 4 March 1861
Sam Houston
The Cherokee and Chief Oo-loo-te-ka were profound influences in (the Raven) Sam Houston’s life. They informed the way he looked at the world, crafting his cunning and molding his grasp of military strategy. They also shaped his voice, and this is nowhere more obvious than in the winter of 1861.
The Raven had been good luck to Andrew Jackson in 1812; the Raven had been good luck for Texas in 1836. But the Raven had no intention of lending his luck or his loyalty to what he perceived to be the flawed, doomed cause of disunion.
“Let me tell you what is coming. Your fathers and husbands, your sons and brothers, will be herded at the point of a bayonet. You may, after the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, as a bare possibility, win Southern independence…but I doubt it. I tell you that, while I believe with you in the doctrine of states rights, the north is determined o preserve this Union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche; and what I fear is, they will overwhelm the South.” Texas President Sam Houston addressing constituents in Galveston on February 18, 1861 Source of the three preceding paragraphs: Texas Obscurities, pages 107-108
Gov. Sam Houston resigned from office because he refused to swear allegiance to the CSA | 16 Mar 1861
Timeline
The CSA fired the first shot of the Civil War | 12 April 1861
American Historical Association: The Indissoluble Union | 20 November 1860
President Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation | 1 January 1863
CSA Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant | 9 April 1865
Texas slaves were emancipated | 19 June 1865
The Civil War officially ended | 20 August 1866
The State of Texas Starts Over
The U.S. Supreme Court opines that states do not have the right to unilaterally secede from the United States: Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (1868) | 12 April 1869
The Texas Convention, dominated by Republicans, ratified the new state constitution | January 1870
The Texas Legislature ratifies the 14th and the 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution | February 1870
Texas was formally readmitted to the Union by President Grant | 30 March 1870
Historical Note: “Edmund Davis, serving as the governor put in place by Reconstruction, enforced the ideas of Reconstruction. He used the militia (composed of blacks) to enforce order at the polls, centralized the public-school system, and supported higher taxes. Ultimately, Davis’ actions led to the undoing of the Republican party in Texas following Reconstruction. Additionally, during this time, African Americans were able to gain representation through the Republican party, and some even served as Texas State Representatives — such as Mitchell Kendall from New Town. However, starting in 1871, Republicans began to lose elections to Democrats, and in the 1873 election, Richard Coke won the governorship as a Democrat. This marked the end of Republican control in Texas and showed the strong response of Texas Democrats to the Republicans and Reconstruction.
In August 1875, Texans called for a new state constitution, in order to “redeem” the state from Republican Reconstruction efforts. Seventy-five of the ninety delegates to the constitutional convention were Democrats. The new constitution, completed by November, reflected the “redeemer’s” views and replaced the Reconstruction Era’s centralized, activist, and expensive government. The new state constitution effectively gave more power to local governments. It officially went into effect on April 18, 1876, wiping away the last vestiges of Reconstruction, Republican control, and military rule.”
TEXIT version 2.0
State Representative Kyle Biedermann proposed the Texas Independence Referendum Act HB1359. “the bill provides for the establishment of a committee to begin working on a transitional plan which would address all of the issues related to decoupling from the federal government.”
Learn about the Texas Nationalist Movement here: https://tnm.me/about
Pro-Texit Video: Daniel Miller, President of the Texas Nationalist Movement promotes TEXIT v 2.0 and, in this brief video, explains his legal justifications.
Anti-Texit Video: Can Texas Secede from the Union?
Constitutional Authority
US Constitution
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
Texas State Constitution
That the general, great and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare: Sec. 1. FREEDOM AND SOVEREIGNTY OF STATE. Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the States. (Feb. 15, 1876.) Sec. 2. INHERENT POLITICAL POWER; REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT. All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient. (Feb. 15, 1876.)
On the Topic of Sovereignty
From the time of the American Revolution, throughout the post-revolutionary confederacy, to this day in history, all the member states of the United States of America have been, are, and will continue to be sovereign states. I point to the name of our country: The United States.
What is a state?
[A] State is a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government. State is is the organization while the government is the particular group of people, the administrative bureaucracy that controls the state apparatus at a given time. Political Science Review, une 28, 2020
The state is a form of human association distinguished from other social groups by its purpose, the establishment of order and security; its methods, the laws and their enforcement; its territory, the area of jurisdiction or geographic boundaries; and finally by its sovereignty. The state consists, most broadly, of the agreement of the individuals on the means whereby disputes are settled in the form of laws. In such countries as the United States, Australia, Nigeria, Mexico, and Brazil, the term state (or a cognate) also refers to political units that are not sovereign themselves but subject to the authority of the larger state, or federal union. | Encyclopedia Britannica: state sovereign political entity
In common parlance State is a country considered as an organized Political community by one government . Some times, a republic or federations forming part of a country are also called states where as they can’t be termed as states in political sense. Anyhow when we used the term state in the field of international relation , it has the symbolic sense of signifying the existence of an independent sovereign entity. | Study Lecture Notes: What is State, Meaning & Definition of State
QUESTIONS
- What form of government? If TEXIT does not alter our state constitution, Article 1, Section 2.
- How do we segregate and/or set aside federal tax obligations?
- How much will our TxDot budget increase to fund federal highways?
- How would we enforce our southern border with Mexico?
- What will be the state taxation system? Income tax? Property tax?
- If Texas becomes an independent nation, what treaties will we pursue with our nearest neighboring country? Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico will no longer be neighboring states; they would be states of a foreign country.
- What about the maintenance of the intercoastal Canal? How do we fund it? Will we have an independent Coast Guard?
- What will be the cost of our own air traffic control system?
- Regarding prisons, what will be the cost to purchase and manage federal prisons presently now in Texas? Would they be closed and abandoned?
- How long will it take to fully implement a department of naturalization and immigration? How much will it cost?
- Would we not craft a new constitution? Is one in development now? Is this not something that would follow the creation and adoption of a new Constitution?
- The BIG question, will TEXIT No. 2 lead to a second Civil War as did TEXIT No. 1? How would we defend ourselves against the United States of America?
- If we TEXIT as a whole, we will still have Tarrant, Dallas, Travis, and Bexar counties to live with. Has anyone considered cutting out of the present state a couple of new states that exclude the aforementioned counties?
- BEFORE and well ahead of TEXIT, there must be limitations of political contributions to be only from INDIVIDUALS residing within the State of Texas.
- Pipelines, interstate now, international after TEXIT. Import-export taxation? All interconnections between TEXIT and the USA fall into total federal control, no longer interstate commerce.
To be amended…
John White
Rockwall, Texas
John N. White 