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No, secession was neither forbidden nor illegal (use link below for authoritative source information). Virginia was one of 2 nation/states that made the ability to withdraw from the Union a condition of ratification of the Constitution. Those against southern states legally seceding promoted that the Southern states were trying to take down the Union, hence "rebellion" was the term used to permit the use of Federal troops to invade Virginia and other seceeding states. It was after the Civil War that law/laaws were amended or added requiring permission of the Federal Government to secede from the Union.

Source:

Online Entomology Dictionary, Legality of Secession.

Sources for the article:

"Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention," p.45.

2. "Federalist" No. 84.

3. "Federalist" No. 6.

4. "Federalist" No. 8.

5. "Farewell Address."

6. "Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution," vol. 18, p.295.

7. "Federalist" No. 84.

8. Jonathan Elliot, "The Debates of the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution." Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1876, vol. II, p.232-233.

9. Clyde N. Wilson, forward to St. George Tucker, "View of the Constitution of the United States, with Selected Writings." Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1999, p.vii.

10. ibid.

11. ibid., p.136.

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Continue Learning about U.S. History

How did President Lincoln handle the issue of secession in his 1861 inaugural address?

President Abraham Lincoln spent a good portion of his 1861 inaugural address on the issue of secession. That part of his speech took the form of a detailed legal brief denying the constitutionality of secession. His words dovetailed the illegality of secession with his oath as president to hold, occupy and posses the property and places belonging to the US government. He equated secession with anarchy.


What state voted last to leave the Union During the Southern secession of 1861?

Tennessee was the last state to vote to leave the Union during the Southern secession in 1861. The state officially seceded on June 8, 1861, following a statewide referendum. Tennessee's decision came after the initial wave of secession by other Southern states, reflecting a more divided sentiment within the state itself.


Did Abraham Lincoln believe that secession was legal or illegal?

No, when the first states seceded, both President Buchanan and President-Elect Lincoln announced that they could not legally do that.


The US had how many states before the secession when 11 Southern states withdrew to form the Confederacy?

Before the secession, the United States had 34 states. The 11 Southern states that withdrew to form the Confederacy were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. This secession occurred in the lead-up to the Civil War, which began in 1861.


Was TX a union or confederate state in the civil war?

The state of Texas declared its secession from the United States on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States of America on March 2, 1861

Related Questions

Abraham Lincoln thought secession was?

As illegal and a violation of the US Constitution.


What voters of which state rejected secession on June 11 1861?

West Virginia rejected secession on June 11, 1861.


When did Texas approve secession?

1861


Did most southerners believe secession was illegal?

no most of the southerners did not believe secession was illegal


Was secession constitutional in 1861?

In 1861, the legality of secession was a contentious issue. Some argued that states had the right to secede from the Union, while others believed that the Constitution did not allow for secession. Ultimately, the Civil War settled the question, with the Union victory establishing that secession was not constitutional.


What year did Tennessee secede from the Union?

Tennessee was the last of the eleven Southern states to declare secession from the Union as a substantial portion of the population were against secession. Tennessee seceded from the United States on June 8, 1861.


How did President Lincoln handle the issue of secession in his 1861 inaugural address?

President Abraham Lincoln spent a good portion of his 1861 inaugural address on the issue of secession. That part of his speech took the form of a detailed legal brief denying the constitutionality of secession. His words dovetailed the illegality of secession with his oath as president to hold, occupy and posses the property and places belonging to the US government. He equated secession with anarchy.


Did the South have the right to secede from the Union?

According to most Constitutional scholars, states in the United States cannot secede after they receive statehood. In 1861, there was a clear dispute about this. In the Confederacy, they wrote their constitution based mostly on the US Constitution. Their constitution clearly states that secession is illegal.


What were the dates of secession for each southern state?

1860 1861 1862


Where was the movement toward secession in the winter of 1860-1861?

South Carolina


First president to be elected by secession?

No President of the US can be said to have been "elected by secession", unless possibly Washington himself, if the states ratifying the 1787 Constitution are considered thereby to have "seceded" form the old Confederation, but this is a very questionable notion. Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederate States after their secession in 1861, but was of course never President of the US.


What was the compromise that might have prevented secession introduced in Congress in 1861 by a Senator from Kentucky?

The Crittenden Plan or Crittenden Compromise was introduced in 1861 and if had passed in congress it might have prevented secession. The Kentucky senator who introduced it was John Crittenden.