NATIONAL DIVORCENo, Texas Can’t Legally Secede from the U.S., Popular Myth Notwithstanding
The theme of independence has recurred throughout the history of Texas, which was a republic from 1836–45. But the Civil War established that a state cannot secede. Texas seceded from the Union in January 1861, but even before Texas formally rejoined the nation on 30 March 1870, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that secession had never been legal, and that, even during the rebellion, Texas continued to be a state.
Editor’s note: Two weeks ago, after denouncing “Democrats’ traitorous America Last policies” and their “sick and disgusting woke culture,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) declared, “We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this.” Asked if her plan was realistic, Greene replied, “It’s something we should work towards because it’s kind of the vision that our founding fathers had for America, and I think it’s great.”
In any discussion of the break-up of the United States, the State of Texas, and the question of whether it can secede from the Union, play a prominent role. The modern Texas secession movement comprises activities of various organizations supporting secession from the United States with the goal of becoming an independent sovereign state.
But can Texas legally secede from the United States? The staff of the Texas Tribune says secession would be illegal.
Secession and independence have been perennial themes throughout the history of Texas, which broke away from Mexico in 1836 and was an independent republic before it was annexed by the United States in 1845.
In 2009, then-Gov. Rick Perry made national headlines for jokingly suggesting that Texas might secede.
In June 2022, the Texas State Republican Convention adopted a platform urging the Legislature to put a referendum before the people of Texas in November 2023 “to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.”
And on Monday, state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, filed a resolution seeking an election to allow Texas voters to decide whether to leave the United States.
Despite perennial talk of another secession, the law is clear that Texas may not leave the union.
The idea is most often raised by conservatives in the state who are angry over some kind of policy coming from the federal government — and the calls seem to become more frequent when a Democrat is occupying the White House. State Rep. Kyle Biedermann, R-Fredericksburg, filed a bill in 2021 to create a referendum election on whether Texans should create a joint legislative committee “to develop a plan for achieving Texas independence.”
“It is now time that the People of Texas are allowed the right to decide their own future,” he said in a statement announcing the legislation.
