Secession, State, and Liberty

Front Cover
David Gordon
Routledge, Sep 29, 2017 - Political Science - 344 pages
The political impulse to secede - to attempt to separate from central government control - is a conspicuous feature of the post-cold war world. It is alive and growing in Canada, Russia, China, Italy, Belgium, Britain, and even the United States Yet secession remains one of the least studied and least understood of all historical and political phenomena. The contributors to this volume have filled this gap with wide-ranging investigations - rooted in history, political philosophy, ethics, and economic theory - of secessionist movements in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
 

Contents

1 The Secession Tradition in America
1
2 When Is Political Divorce Justified?
35
3 The Ethics of Secession
65
Decomposing the NationState
79
The Last Best Bulwark of Our Liberties
89
6 Republicanism Federalism and Secession in the South 1790 to 1865
99
New England Secession Movements Prior to the War Between the States
135
8 Was the Union Armys Invasion of the Confederate States a Lawful Act? An Analysis of President Lincolns Legal Arguments Against Secession
155
10 A Secessionists View of Quebecs Options
225
Evidence of the Substitution of Arbitration for Litigation
243
Appendix A The Declaration of Independence
287
Appendix B The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
291
Appendix C The Constitution of the United States
299
Appendix D The Constitution of the Confederate States of America
317
About the Authors
331
Index
333

9 The Economic and Political Rationale for European Secessionism
191

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