Secession.
Would it all go so smoothly? He doubted that, but Saints had always been good at planning, administering, and improvising.
They’d get the job done.
“Of course,” one congressman said, “Washington will just ignore the resolution and the vote. You know that. And that’s when we turn up the heat.”
This would definitely be a fight of political wills. They’d quietly polled Utah and discovered that nearly 70 percent favored secession, a percentage that had remained unchanged over the past five years. That information had been used to quietly secure legislative support, which had been surprisingly easy to lock down.
People were ready to go it on their own.
But there was still the reality that the United States of America would not go away without a fight.
“We have a plan ready. Utah will immediately default on all federal obligations,” one of his colleagues said. “The enforcement of all federal laws and regulations will be suspended. Federal officials will be asked to leave. Nothing Washington says will be respected. We’ll take a hands-off approach. After the vote on secession by the people, all of us will walk away from Congress, no longer members. I imagine even our wayward, gentile Senate brother will join us, once he sees the support back home.”
He smiled at the thought of that. He and his fellow senator had spoken little during the past six years. “It’s a bold move. But necessary. While all of this is playing out, I’ll pressure the church to reassure everyone.”
“Washington wouldn’t dare send troops,” another of the congressmen said. “They can’t risk somebody getting hurt. That would be an international PR disaster.”
And history would work in their favor.
Over the course of a few weeks in 1989, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland all seceded from their communist regimes with little to no violence. The Soviet union never invaded, nor pressed the point militarily. It simply let them go. Only in Romania, where both sides had wanted a fight, had bloodshed occurred. The United States could ill afford to conduct itself differently. Invading Utah made no sense.
“No,” he said. “They’ll turn to the courts.”
Which was precisely where he wanted them.
The United States of America would file suit against what it would still label the state of Utah, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the state from enforcing any portion of its secessionist legislation. The argument would be that, under Texas v. White, the state of Utah had no constitutional right to secede. Since a state was a party to that suit, under Article III of the Constitution, the Supreme Court possessed original jurisdiction. That meant the matter would be heard in a matter of weeks, if not days considering the implications. The last thing the federal government would want is time for more secessionist sentiment to spread.
But it would.
Texas, Hawaii, Alaska, Vermont, and Montana would quickly follow Utah’s lead. This movement would be national.
And he’d add the final ingredient.
Startling new evidence.
Enough to win both the legal and the PR battle.
Words from the founders themselves.
“The lawyers are ready,” he said. “I just met with them yesterday. And I’m closing in on the final piece. It’s merely a matter of hours or days.”
What encouraged him was the package that had arrived just before he left his Georgetown residence. A copy of notes, written by James Madison, hidden away at Montpelier, found last night by Stephanie Nelle, every word of which confirmed what he knew to be true.
Secession was legal.
One sentence in particular drove the point home.
The document would be given to Gen. Washington to hold and utilize as he deemed appropriate. The desire being that its existence need not be revealed unless necessary to secure the ratification of a State, or to later sanction the withdrawal of a State from the association.
How much clearer could it be?
Nelle had promised the originals when she had written assurance that Rowan’s interest in her department had ended. He needed those, but he needed the actual document the founders signed that Saturday in September 1787 even more. Thankfully, the answer as to its location lay with the church, not the government.
He stared again at the magnificent temple, the first one built by Saints on the eastern seaboard. The first, after the Salt Lake temple, to feature six spires. The tallest worldwide. One of five that featured the angel Moroni holding the golden plates. Its seven floors represented the six days of creation and the day of rest, and beautiful stained glass ran the height of the towers, reds and oranges yielding to blues and violets, all representing the unbroken progress toward the divine. So appropriate, with what was about to happen.