Reply To: Did the states REALLY have the right to secede?

#14881
ronmicle
Member

Virginia and I think another state (maybe New York?) made it explicit that they reserved the right to leave the Union if they felt that the federal government had overstepped its bounds. I think there is a gray area in the Constitution in that it allows the federal government to respond to rebellion, but does not explicitly forbid secession. I would argue that secession is permitted by virtue of the 9th and 10th amendments.