The Case of Texas
Is Texas a nation?
The Nation
What makes a nation, and the evidence that Texans are one: the founding record, nearly a decade as an independent republic among the nations of the world, and the identity Texans carry today.
- Texas Is a NationWhat separates a nation from a state or a government, and the evidence in the founding record, the Republic, and Texas law today that Texans are one.
- The Republic Among NationsBetween 1836 and 1845 the Republic of Texas was recognized by foreign governments, made treaties, and kept diplomats abroad. It entered the Union by the act of two governments, not one.
Do Texans have the right to decide?
Self-Government
The Texas Constitution's own words on the right to alter, reform, or abolish government, why Texas v. White does not reach a vote of the people, how other peoples have decided by referendum, and what international law says about self-determination.
- The Right to Alter, Reform or AbolishArticle 1, Sections 1 and 2 of the Texas Constitution call Texas a free and independent State and reserve to the people the right to alter, reform or abolish their government. That language runs through the Texas founding documents and every Texas constitution but one. Here is what the clause establishes and what it leaves open.
- Texas v. White, ExplainedThe 1869 Supreme Court case over Texas's federal bonds is the decision most often cited against Texas independence. What the Court decided, what Chief Justice Chase only wrote, and why the case does not reach a decision by the people of Texas.
- How Independence Referendums WorkScotland, Quebec, the United Kingdom, and Montenegro each put their future to a vote. The official records show who wrote the question, what margin counted, how many people voted, and what happened next.
- Self-Determination in International LawWhat the UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Canada's Supreme Court, and the International Court of Justice actually say about the right of peoples to decide their political status, quoted exactly, with what each source leaves open.
Could Texas stand on its own?
The Economy
The economic capacity of Texas in official numbers, each with its source: output, population, trade, energy, state finances, and the balance between what Texans pay Washington and what comes back.
How We Work
Every claim in this research is sourced, and every source is listed at the end of the piece, so a reader can check the evidence and reach a conclusion of their own.
TNM Education states its position and argues it from the record. It does not support or oppose any candidate or party, and it does not ask anyone to contact a legislator about a bill.