Constitutional Basis
When the United States Constitution replaced the Articles, nothing in it specifically stated that the Union is perpetual. Even after the Civil War, which had been fought by the North to confirm the inviolability of the Union, some still questioned whether any such inviolability survived after the Constitution replaced the Articles. The United States Supreme Court ruled on the issue in the 1869 Texas v. White case. In that case, the court ruled that the drafters intended the perpetuity of the Union to survive:
| “ | By, the Union was solemnly declared to "be perpetual." And when these Articles were found to be inadequate to the exigencies of the country, the Constitution was ordained "to form a more perfect Union." It is difficult to convey the idea of indissoluble unity more clearly than by these words. What can be indissoluble if a perpetual Union, made more perfect, is not? | ” |
Read more about this topic: Perpetual Union
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