Texas v. White

Texas v. White (1872) was a Supreme Court case that addressed whether a state could unilaterally secede from the United States. The Court ruled that the Union is perpetual, meaning states cannot break away on their own. In the case, Texas tried to assert ownership of U.S. bonds, claiming the state had seceded. The Court held that the bonds, once issued, were valid and that the federal government could not confiscate them because the Union’s existence is permanent, regardless of individual states’ actions. This decision reinforced the idea that the United States is a single, indivisible entity.