The Second Continental Congress proposes the Articles of Confederation–a constitution of liberty–to the States for ratification. Article II of which states, “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.”
NOTE: This includes the right of secession, which is not mentioned in the other 12 articles.
Postscript: A decade later, in framing of the Constitution for the united States, the Convention choose to remove “perpetual” from the Preamble, implying that the Union was to be voluntarily and peacefully entered into and exited out of.
[updated 1/21/2022]
Subsequent Events:
Authority:
unanimous Declaration, Paragraph 2
ccc-2point0.com/unanimous Declaration
References:
Joseph R. Stromberg, “Republicanism, Federalism, and Secession in the South, 1790 to 1865,” Secession, State and Liberty, David Gordon, ed., (New Brunswick, New Jersey and London: Transaction, 1998), 115.
Was the Union Army’s Invasion of the Confederate States a Lawful Act? by James Ostrowski
www.lewrockwell.com/ostrowski/ostrowski31.htm
Current U.s. National Debt:
