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Can Texas Secede from the Union?
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History of the Union Jack
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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, and 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 over 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 get 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 as 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.
Politics
- The Union (Germany) or CDU/CSU, the partnership of the German political parties the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union
- The Union (Italy), a former coalition of political parties in Italy
Political entities
- The European Union, a political and economic union of 27 member states primarily in Europe
- The Soviet Union, a federal socialist state that spanned much of Europe and Asia from 1922 to 1991
- The Indian Union, a federal parliamentary republic located in South Asia consisting of 28 states and 8 union territories
- Union Government (India), government empowered by the constitution of India as the central legislative, executive, and judicial authority
- The United Kingdom, a country that includes Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and many islands within the British Isles
- The Act of Union 1707, which united the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain
- The Act of Union 1800, which united the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom
- The United States, a country primarily located in North America comprising 50 states and several territories, districts, and possessions
- Union (American Civil War), the federal government of the United States and the states loyal to it during the American Civil War (1861–1865)
Film
- The Union (2011 film), a 2011 documentary film by Cameron Crowe
- The Union (upcoming film), an upcoming film starring Mark Wahlberg
- The Union: The Business Behind Getting High, a 2007 documentary about the Canadian marijuana industry
- A fictional company in the 2010 science fiction film Repo Men
Books and newspapers
- The Union (James Bond), a fictional criminal organization in three Raymond Benson novels
- The Union (Marvel Team), a Marvel Comics UK superhero team and Marvel comic book series
- The Union (newspaper), a newspaper in Grass Valley, California, United States
- The Union or Ohio Enterprise, a newspaper for African Americans established in Cincinnati, Ohio by Wendell Dabney
Music
- The Union (Elton John and Leon Russell album), 2010
- The Union (band), an English rock band formed in 2009
- The Union (The Union album), their 2010 album
- The Union (The Glorious Sons album), a 2014 rock album
Other uses
- Cambridge Union, a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England
- Oxford Union, a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, drawn primarily from the University of Oxford
- The Union (professional wrestling), a stable of wrestlers in the late 1990s
- International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, a global scientific organization headquartered in Paris
- Informal neologism for a labour union
See also
- Union (disambiguation)
- All pages with titles beginning with The Union
- All pages with titles containing The Union
- Acts of Union 1707, law creating the Kingdom of Great Britain
- Acts of Union 1801, law creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Perpetual Union, legal concept that binds the various U.S. states together as one nation