Texas has already gone down in history as a territorial unit leaving the union. The Lone Star State seceded from the United States as it joined the Confederate States of America in 1861 at the onset of the American Civil War. Yet, later, at the height of Reconstruction, the southern state was readmitted to the union.
A Texas state lawmaker, Kyle Biedermann, says he is planning to prepare a legislative initiative for a referendum in the state so that residents will decide whether to secede from the US.
“The federal government is out of control and does not represent the values of Texans. That is why I am committing to file legislation this session that will allow a referendum to give Texans a vote for the State of Texas to reassert its status as an independent nation”, Rep. Kyle Biedermann, R-Fredricksburg, tweeted in a statement.
Although the state’s legislative bodies are soon to be on a lengthy Christmas vacation, not resuming work until January, Biedermann is set to promote his plans without delay citing Article 1 Section 2 of the Texas Constitution which reads: “All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit”.
The politician from the Lone Star State goes on to stress that Texans’ faith “stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government” stressing the people living there “have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform, or abolish their government” in the way they consider to be expedient.
There have long been groups in the Texas political arena backing the idea of secession, like for instance, the Texas Nationalist Movement. The 87th Texas Legislature has seen a suite of such motions introduced to them in the past.
Aspirations to secede from the United States, with arguments justifying secession increasingly voiced, have been present in the country almost since its birth. Some have backed such an option as a constitutional right, while others cited a natural right of revolution. In the 1869 lawsuit Texas v. White, the US Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession ran contrary to the Constitution, while commenting that revolution or consent of the states could indeed underlie an effective secession.
The most notable attempts to this end took place in the years 1860 and 1861 as 11 southern states, including Texas, each declared secession from federal authorities, and joined together to form the Confederate States of America. The latter collapsed in 1865 after the defeat of Confederate forces by Union armies in the Civil War, and the breakaway states were later readmitted to the union.