How To Secede From The USA

How To Secede From The USA

By Russell D. Longcore

(Editor’s note: I’m going back into the archives and repeating some fundamental articles. There will be people new to this site that will not go into the Archives. This is one of those fundamentals to secessionist thought…and ACTION. This is an update of an article I wrote in 2010. I’ve learned some more things about secession since then.)

With the minor mention in the Main Stream Media over the last few weeks of secession votes in Scotland and Switzerland, I think this article may be of service to those who love freedom but hate Washington.

A reader recently pointed out to me that I’ve provided most of the possible reasons why any state should secede at DumpDC. But she said I haven’t given a step-by-step procedure on how secession should work. I started this process in my article entitled Secession The Hope For Humanity, but I’m fleshing it out here. This is not complete by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s a place to start a lively dialogue about the steps to secession.

You may think that this article is too simplistic, and omits important issues. Perhaps. But I submit that if secession is not made so simple that a child can understand it, it will not happen in your state. Its logic has to be made so unassailable that only a fool would resist it.

So, here it is, my friends:

How To Secede From The United States of America

1. Philosophy

Each individual must come to his or her own conclusion that secession is the only way to regain liberty, and each state must make its secession decision independent of any other state.

2. Initiation

Secession should be solemnly deliberated by the elected representatives and the state citizens. Secession should be initiated at the moment that any state reaches the point at which it will no longer accept the despotic tyranny and laws coming from the US Federal Government in Washington, DC. Or, secession should be initiated upon a collapse of the Dollar, or the declaration of martial law by Washington DC in the event of social upheaval.

There is no written, formal method for initiating and completing an act of secession. If history can be our guide, we see that the states of 1860 completed their secessions by specially-elected conventions or by referendum. But the secession could also be initiated by a Governor and the State Legislature in assembly.

It would be excellent if a seated Governor would lead his state into secession. The easiest way for a state to secede would be for the State Legislature to draft a Declaration of Secession document and an Ordinance of Secession document. Then the Legislature should take a roll call vote and pass a Joint Resolution of Secession in legislature assembled, and have the Governor sign the Resolution instantly upon its passage. This process should be done on live TV, with all proceedings televised and recorded. Allowing the world to view this process in non-edited real time would be one of the most exciting and historic TV broadcasts ever made. The eyes of the world would be fixed on the TV feed and little else would be reported or discussed on its programming. Hell, run commercials and make some money for the state. Why should the networks get this historic event for free?

If the Legislature and Governor refused to support secession, a petition initiative could garner enough signatures of registered voters to force a referendum. Each state has statutes about petition initiatives for referenda. The Texas Nationalist Movement is doing a petition initiative right now, with the intent of presenting the petitions to the Legislature on day one of the 2013 legislative session. Follow the law in your state.

If there was a statewide referendum on secession it could be a simply worded ballot question like: “Shall the citizens of the State of XXXX repeal the 1788 ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America by the State of XXXX, and shall the citizens of the State of XXXX resume all the rights and powers granted under said Constitution?” A simple “Yes” or “No” vote will suffice.

If that’s too flowery for you, here’s an even simpler question: “Shall the citizens of the State of XXXX secede from the United States of America?” A “Yes” or “No” vote will suffice.

A simple majority of votes would pass the referendum.

The referendum should only be done with paper ballots that will be counted by hand, no machines, no electronic voting. Further, the referendum should not be scheduled for only one single day, but over at least three days, preferably a weekend…to facilitate the greatest possible participation by registered voters. Polling places should be open from 6:00 am to 12:00 midnight on voting days. Finally, a photo ID should be required as verification of identity for eligibility to vote. This ain’t the American way of widespread voter fraud…this is the state’s rights secession way. It’s also my article, and I can write the rules any way I choose.

Another method of moving secession along in your state might be to organize on a county-by-county basis. The County Commission could either call for a countywide referendum on the question of secession, or could nominate a delegate to participate in a Secession Convention.

3. Secession Convention

Each state’s Secession Convention, formed to contemplate, design and complete the process of secession, should draft a Declaration of Secession.

Many of the seceding states of 1860 wrote and ratified a Declaration of Secession, also known as a “Declaration of Causes.” Each Declaration enumerated that particular state’s reasons for secession, in like manner to the 1776 Declaration of Independence sent to King George by the Colonists.

Once the Declaration of Secession is prepared, the Chair of the Secession Convention or the Governor should see that signed original copies of the document are delivered to the Governors of all of the States that comprise the United States of America. The delivery of each Ordinance Of Secession to each Governor would make good TV.

As a mere gesture of courtesy and wry wit, copies of the Declaration of Secession should be sent by Federal Express (just for the irony) to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate. You must remember that states do not have to ask permission of Washington to secede. Their compact, the US Constitution, is not between DC and the states. The Constitution is between the several States.

4. Ordinance of Secession.

Then the seceding states must prepare an Ordinance of Secession. Here below is the simple, succinct wording of the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession of 1860:

AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the union between the State of South Carolina and other States united with her under the compact entitled “The Constitution of the United States of America.”

We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in convention assembled do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, That the ordinance adopted by us in convention on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, and also all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly of this State ratifying amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed; and that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of the “United States of America,” is hereby dissolved.

Done at Charleston the twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty.

That is the sum total of all the words necessary to complete the secession.

Once the Ordinance of Secession is prepared (televised live), the Chair of the Secession Convention or the Governor should see that signed original copies of the document are delivered to the Governors of all of the States that comprise the United States of America. The delivery of each Ordinance Of Secession to each Governor would also make good TV. What news organization would skip THIS story?

As a mere gesture of courtesy and wry wit, copies of the Ordinance of Secession should be sent by Federal Express (just for the irony) to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and the President of the Senate. You must remember that states do not have to ask permission of Washington to secede. Their compact, the US Constitution, is not between DC and the states. The Constitution is between the several States.

That is the process of secession from the United States of America. That was the easy part. Then the REAL WORK begins.

The first thing the new sovereign state should do is to form a Constitutional Convention, and create a new government. See how I would do it at The New Corporate Model of Governance.

Questions? Do I see questions?

Question: What if Washington files a Federal lawsuit or injunction in Federal Court to stop the state from seceding?
Answer:Once the state formally secedes, it is no longer subject to US Federal Court jurisdiction, is it? Is it not a sovereign nation after secession, just like any other nation of the world? So, the seceding state could answer any legal maneuver by rejecting the jurisdiction of the US Federal Courts. Remember, Washington doesn’t OWN your state. Washington was formed by the states to be an errand-boy for the states. Who runs who?

Question: What if Washington invades our state with military forces?
Answer: That is the reason that your state needs a well-trained state militia. And when I say “well-trained,” I do not mean trained to fight on a 3rd Generation battlefield (like WWII or Vietnam). I mean a militia trained to fight with guerilla warfare (4th Generation) tactics, with a heavy emphasis on the tactics of General Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War.

Question: What will we do for money?
Answer: The state must make sure that the free market determines what is money in the new nation. Any state that creates a new national money built upon the same system of debt, fractional reserve banking and fiat paper money is a state created by the same sociopathic criminals that ran the Federal Government, and perhaps even running your state government. The state/nation’s new Charter must prohibit a central bank and fractional reserve banking. The only thing that the national Charter should say about money is that (a) coins must show the weight and fineness, and that (b) the penalty for issuing counterfeit money or altering money is death.

Secession is little more than breaking up with your girlfriend or divorcing your spouse. It’s a lot like being a card player in a big card game, then folding your cards, cashing in your chips and leaving the game.

Isn’t the process of secession much like writing this short note to end a relationship?

Dear Washington: It’s over. We’re leaving. We ain’t asking your permission to leave. We ain’t asking for a legal divorce. We’re just ending this relationship right here and now. We’re rescinding the authority we gave you in the year we ratified the compact. Leave us alone. Goodbye.

In conclusion, try to envision yourself and your family in a new nation created by secession. All the people you meet are excited and breathless in their anticipation of the future. The general opinion of the populace is pure unbridled optimism. The new nation’s economy is booming, the money is backed by gold and silver, and there is no inflation. “Now Hiring” signs are in all the shop windows. The newspaper’s “Help Wanted” ads are packed full. People seeking liberty are POURING over the America border to settle in the new nation. Prices for goods and services are low, and the stores are loaded with goods. Manufacturers are streaming into the new nation to take advantage of the rare pro-business atmosphere. Wages are climbing steadily in manufacturing jobs as companies compete for the best and brightest for their employees. New businesses are being created at a fever pace. Residential and commercial construction is at a high level to meet the demand of the new residents.

All because one state recognized this historic opportunity and realized the dream of liberty through the process of state secession.

Secession is the hope for humanity. Who will be first?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.