Perpetual Union

E47300

Perpetual Union refers to the foundational concept in early U.S. constitutional history that the American states formed an enduring, indivisible political union.


Statements (46)
Predicate Object
instanceOf constitutional doctrine
legal concept
political theory
appliesTo United States of America
associatedWithDocument Articles of Confederation
continuityClaim the Union created by the Articles continued under the Constitution
contrastedWith compact theory of the Union
doctrine of state secession
coreIdea no state may unilaterally secede from the Union
the American states formed an enduring political union
the Union of the states is indissoluble
debatedDuring American Civil War era
ratification of the United States Constitution
developedBy Second Continental Congress
field American political history
constitutional law
federalism studies
fullTitleContext Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
geographicScope United States
hasOriginIn United States
historicalPeriod American Revolutionary era
early U.S. constitutional history
influencedBy American Revolution
Continental Congress political thought
interpretedBy U.S. Supreme Court
interpretedInCase Texas v. White
invokedBy Abraham Lincoln
invokedIn Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address
languageOfTerm English
legalBasisFor continuity of the United States government
indivisibility of the Union
legalStatus foundational principle of U.S. constitutional order
normativeClaim the Union is meant to be perpetual unless lawfully altered by all states
phraseAppearsIn full title of the Articles of Confederation
politicalFunction justify federal supremacy over attempts at secession
limit claims of state sovereignty to dissolve the Union
precedes United States Constitution
relatedConcept Unionism in the United States
federalism in the United States
indestructible Union
national sovereignty
secession
state sovereignty
supportsPosition secession is unconstitutional
the Union predates the Constitution of 1787
timeOfFormulation late 18th century

Referenced by (1)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Articles of Confederation
fullTitleIncludes

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