Placeholder Image

字幕列表 影片播放

  • 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.

Can Texas Secede from the Union?

字幕與單字

單字即點即查 點擊單字可以查詢單字解釋

B1 中級

德州能脫離聯邦嗎? (Can Texas Secede from the Union?)

  • 25 3
    picnic 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
影片單字