Is secession a serious threat?
Updated: November 16, 2012
SPRINGFIELD -- Nearly 10,000 people have signed petitions asking the White House to consider allowing the state of Illinois to secede from the U.S.
The petitions are part of a movement that started after Election Day, when President Barack Obama won a second term. There are petitions on the White House web site for all 50 states.
The last serious threat of a secession happened in the 1860's when the country was on the verge of Civil War. Fifteen southern states seceded because they felt slavery should be legal. That secession ended with the war in 1865.
Historians say the latest threat doesn't appear to have legs to actually succeed. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Curator James Cornelius told WCIA-3 News that the differences are too broad.
To even be considered by the White House, the petitions must have at least 25,000 signatures, and are due by mid-December.
The petitions are part of a movement that started after Election Day, when President Barack Obama won a second term. There are petitions on the White House web site for all 50 states.
The last serious threat of a secession happened in the 1860's when the country was on the verge of Civil War. Fifteen southern states seceded because they felt slavery should be legal. That secession ended with the war in 1865.
Historians say the latest threat doesn't appear to have legs to actually succeed. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Curator James Cornelius told WCIA-3 News that the differences are too broad.
To even be considered by the White House, the petitions must have at least 25,000 signatures, and are due by mid-December.
