Fact check: What are the legal requirements for a US state to secede from the Union?

1. Summary of the results

The legal status of state secession is clearly established through multiple sources: there are NO legal requirements or mechanisms for a US state to secede from the Union ^[1]. This was definitively settled by the Supreme Court case Texas v. White, which established that states enter an "indissoluble relation" with the Union upon joining ^[2]. Constitutional law experts, including Kermit Roosevelt from the University of Pennsylvania, unanimously agree that states cannot legally secede ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

While unilateral secession is unconstitutional, there are two theoretical paths that weren't addressed in the original question:

• Secession through revolution
• Secession through consent of all states ^[4]

The historical context is crucial here: The issue was violently settled during the Civil War, which established federal supremacy ^[1]. Even before that, during the Nullification Crisis, President Andrew Jackson declared secession attempts as "treason" ^[1].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself contains an implicit bias by assuming there are legal requirements for secession. This could be misleading because:

• It suggests there might be a legal pathway when there isn't one
• Any attempt at secession would likely be considered an insurrection that the federal government could legally suppress ^[3]
• The question overlooks the historical precedent set by the Civil War and subsequent Supreme Court rulings

The framing of the question might benefit groups promoting state sovereignty or separatist movements, but it's important to note that the legal consensus is unambiguous: unilateral secession is unconstitutional ^[3].