To: Johannes Pilch who wrote (348182 ) 1/28/2003 8:28:02 PM From: Lazarus_Long Read Replies (2) | Respond to The first union of the original 13 colonies was effected by the Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781. The articles established a confederation of sovereign states in a permanent union. The "permanence" lasted only until 1788, when 11 states withdrew from the confederation and ratified the new Constitution, which became effective on March 4, 1789. The founding fathers recognized the defects in the Articles of Confederation, learned from these defects, and scrapped the articles in favor of the "more perfect union" found in the Constitution. when New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia ratified the Constitution, they specifically stated that they reserved the right to resume the governmental powers granted to the United States. Their claim to the right of secession was understood and agreed to by the other ratifiers, including George Washington, who presided over the Constitutional Convention and was also a delegate from Virginia. In his book Life of Webster Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge writes, "It is safe to say that there was not a man in the country, from Washington and Hamilton to Clinton and Mason, who did not regard the new system as an experiment from which each and every State had a right to peaceably withdraw." A textbook used at West Point before the Civil War, A View of the Constitution, written by Judge William Rawle, states, "The secession of a State depends on the will of the people of such a State." civilwar.bluegrass.net False. Lincoln understood that no contract could be broken unilaterally. In Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the secession of Quebec – or any other province – can occur, as long as negotiators respect the basic constitutional principles of federalism, democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and the protection of minorities. law.ualberta.ca We know this much because he told us flatly.
