yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Can Texas Secede from the Union?


3m read
·Nov 7, 2024

Can Texas secede from the Union? America's second most populated and second largest state is always first to remind you that it was once an independent nation: The Republic of Texas. Unlike California's three-week, almost accidental flirt with independence (and a hideous flag), the Republic of Texas was a real country with its own presidents, laws, and currency for a decade from 1836 until 1846, when it joined the Union to become the 28th state, thankfully evening out the number of stars.

This happy marriage led pretty much immediately to the Mexican-American War over the question of how big Texas was. America, as the victor, got to decide the answer: very big. While Texas gave up its complete independence to join the Union, it didn't give up its independent streak—and filed for divorce, along with several other states, a scant 15 years later. This domestic dispute was settled not with flowers but with force, something that many are still grumbly about today.

But history aside, in modern times, could Texas still be a real country? In other words: could Texas succeed if it secedes? In terms of population, an independent Texas would be the world's 46th largest country with 26 million citizens. And those citizens would make Texas the 13th largest economy. So the New Texas Republic would be comparable to Australia, except in the size department.

But what about the federal money that goes to Texas? Those interstate highways don't build themselves, you know. For a majority of states, independence would be a financial problem. Mississippi, for example, gets two dollars from Washington for every one it sends in taxes, so an independent Magnolia Republic would be bankrupt almost instantly. But not Texas, which gives more money to the federal government in taxes than it gets back. There's no reason why independent Texas couldn't keep those highways paved and give its citizens a small happy-Texapendency-day tax cut. So from a financial perspective: The New Texas Republic gets a check.

Now the question is, can Texas legally secede? And the answer is... no... not at all. Despite popular belief, even by politicians who should know better, the Texas Constitution does not include a get-out-of-The-Union-free clause, no matter how much Texans, or citizens of other states, wish that it did. However, the Texas Constitution does have a weird clause that allows it to divide itself into five states without the approval of Congress.

So Texas could, any moment, explode into the states perhaps named North Texas, South Texas, East Texas, West Texas, and Austin—which would quintuple its power in the Senate—but not necessarily help it gain independence, because there is no legal process for a state to exit the Union. Though the Constitution is mute on the issue, secession has come before the Supreme Court, and shockingly, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that states can't leave the United States.

But the legal question is, weirdly, sort of moot. After all, the First Texas Republic didn't pop into existence out of nowhere—Texas was originally a State of Mexico, which didn't allow Texas to leave, but leave Texas did anyway, though under less than harmonious circumstances. While it's hard to imagine war between the New Texas Republic and the United States, it isn't hard to imagine who would win that fight.

Texas does have its own military, but seriously, nobody beats America in the war business. So the only way Texas is leaving is if it can convince the United States to change its laws to let it leave. Which only has a chance of being discussed seriously if a majority of Texans want independence, which isn't remotely the case. So while a New Texas Republic is interesting to think about—particularly for some non-Texans, as of now it's a long way from becoming a reality.

More Articles

View All
Rube Goldberg WITH FIRE TORNADO! - Smarter Every Day 17
[Music] Hey it’s me, Destin. Welcome to Smarter Every Day. So a few years ago, I messed up and put a video of me playing with my chicken on the Internet, and now everybody says “Hey, aren’t you the chicken man?” His head stays rock solid in one position.…
BRA GUN??? -- Mind Blow #17
A bra gun holster? An electromagnet plus balls equals woooo! Vsauce, Kevin here. This is Mind Blow. Touch screens are okay, but how about touching a force field? Using infrared sensors, this multi-touch system allows a traditional monitor to be manipulat…
Are we about to see a DROP in Real Estate Prices?
What’s up you guys? It’s Graham here. So, it’s no surprise the economy is doing better; stocks are higher than ever, and real estate has been going up steadily since 2011. It’s also no surprise that much of that recent momentum was largely fueled by extre…
Inside The $100,000,000 Empire Of Dhar Mann
What’s up, you guys? It’s Graham here, and today I’d like to introduce you to one of the most successful entrepreneurs you probably didn’t expect, Darman. At the age of 30, after nearly having to move back in with his parents, he developed a series of mot…
Intermediate value theorem example | Existence theorems | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy
Let F be a continuous function on the closed interval from -2 to 1, where F of -2 is equal to 3 and F of 1 is equal to 6. Which of the following is guaranteed by the intermediate value theorem? So before I even look at this, what do we know about the int…
How I Boarded a US NAVY NUCLEAR SUBMARINE in the Arctic (ICEX 2020) - Smarter Every Day 237
This is awesome! Hey, it’s me Destin. Welcome back to Smarter Every Day. This video is unlike anything I’ve ever had the opportunity to do. It’s incredible. What you just saw was filmed in March of 2020. That was me on a sled on my way to a US nuclear sub…