Position Paper - Secession

The Right of Secession

The League of the South's goal is good government for the Southern people.  We believe secession is the best way to restore good government to the South. Since 1861 the republican system of government established by the Founders has been steadily eroded.  Today that government has become the cruel master rather than the obedient servant of the citizens of the several states.  We see no way of reforming the corruption within the present system; therefore, the League of the South shall seek to spread acceptance of the idea of secession among the people of the South.

We believe in the Jeffersonian principle that free people may change their government if over a long period of time it refuses to protect their lives, liberty, and property.  As the present government of the United States has violated the original compact of 1789 and no longer offers its citizens such protection, we believe that the time has come for the Southern states to consider the merits of secession.  The League of the South does not advocate the overthrow of the government of the United States; rather, we wish to leave peaceably and form our own nation or nations, as the people of the South shall freely decide.

Secession is neither premature, impractical, nor illegal. The time is right for separation and the establishment of local self-rule.  Secession is already being seriously debated in several western states and in Canada.  The recent break-up of the Soviet Empire has hastened such movements all across Eastern Europe. There is even a serious national separatist movement in Scotland.

The South is clearly lagging behind in the drive for self-determination, undoubtedly because many Southerners believe secession is illegal because the Southern States were forced to renounce and repeal their secession ordinances under the duress of military occupation during the Reconstruction era.  However, the right of secession is nothing more than the right of sovereign states to recall the powers they delegated to the federal government when they ratified the constitution.  This right cannot be renounced because the right to liberty and self-determination is an inalienable right given by God.  Therefore, secession is not illegal or unconstitutional. Secession is still a practical alternative to the further dissolution and chaos of a virtually ungovernable union. We must act boldly and take advantage of a Providential cultural and political climate.  If we hesitate, we lose.

If the thirteen states of the old Confederacy were a nation, its GNP would place it among the top five or six nations of the world.  Its laws would better reflect the natural conservatism and Christian roots of the Southern people.  Our laws on gun control, abortion, school prayer, and immigration would without question be different. We could establish a confederation of states and make the provisions of the Tenth Amendment a reality. We could follow George Washington's sage advice about "entangling alliances."   We could leave the United Nations and oppose the Bush-Clinton New World Order.  We could stop foreign aid.  We could once again reward merit.  We could get government out of our children's education.  In a word, we could again seize control of our own destiny.

In order to make secession work, we must be tough-minded and willing to stand up to the forces of tyranny that are loose in the land.  We must not cast ourselves as victims, for victims are perceived as helpless and thus dependent for their salvation on the goodwill of others.  Rather, we must build a strong organization that is able to give form to our vision: the establishment of a Southern Nation or nations grounded firmly in the hallowed traditions and virtuous principles of our forebears.  If you agree with our general position, we invite you to join us.