Secession Explained: Donald Livingston on Greek Republics, Rome & the Future of American Federalism

About this sermon

What is secession—beyond the Civil War headlines? In this conversation, Prof. Donald Livingston (Abbeville Institute) breaks down secession as political self-government by a community that withdraws to rule itself. We cover the difference between republicanism vs. democracy, why scale matters for liberty, and how examples from Athens, Rome, the Swiss Confederation, the Dutch Republic, Rousseau, Hume, and the American Founders inform today’s debates. If you’ve heard Texas and others mentioned recently, this is your deeper, historical primer. 👉 Topics: secession, republicanism, federalism, city-states, states’ rights, moral tradition, rule of law, scale & governance, education for “to rule and be ruled,” Abbeville Institute. 🔔 Subscribe for more long-form history & political philosophy. 00:00 Intro 00:48 Guest intro: Prof. Donald Livingston & Abbeville Institute 01:22 What secession really means (self-government & withdrawal) 03:09 Democracy vs. republicanism: majority rule vs. rule of law 05:18 Why true republics must be small 06:01 Jury analogy & the right scale 08:28 What a republic must provide (security, justice, prosperity) 08:54 Athens as a model (~300k people) & cultural greatness 10:14 Small states, trade & alliances; Greek civilization of 1,500 city-states 11:53 Persians vs. Greeks; why scale ≠ destiny 12:50 Alexander’s conquests & loss of republican vitality 14:19 The Roman Republic’s expansion → monarchy 15:54 Medieval & Renaissance republics: Florence (~60k), Venice (~175k) 17:21 Longevity of Venice; “little” doesn’t mean weak 19:24 On monarchy vs. self-rule 20:01 Switzerland (since 1291) & survival among “big boys” 21:38 Education to rule and be ruled; Xenophon’s Anabasis 25:04 Foundations of Western civ: small republics + Christian inheritance 28:52 Why modern giant states? 19th-century “unifications” 29:23 The mosaic of Germany/Italy; property & limits on kings 32:13 Mortgaging future revenues (English innovation, 1693) 33:05 Swiss oath of 1291; resisting the Habsburgs (wild bear story!) 35:23 The Dutch Republic & the 80 Years’ War (independence in 1648) 36:16 Republicanism spreads via classical learning; Rousseau’s small republic 40:17 Hobbes’ Leviathan vs. small-scale liberty 41:04 Hume’s “perfect commonwealth”: federated small republics 43:21 American Founders read Hume: Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson & federal design 44:55 English republicans, debt finance & a blue-water empire 47:40 Wrap & what’s next Key takeaways Secession = self-government by a community that withdraws to form its own polity. Republicanism ≠ pure democracy: law sits above daily majorities. Scale matters: durable liberty needs human-sized polities where rulers and ruled know each other. History shows “small but networked” beats “huge but centralized”—think Greece, Switzerland, the Dutch. A workable model: federations that preserve local independence while pooling defense/trade. Guest & resources Abbeville Institute — learn more about the history of federalism & self-government: https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org Books mentioned: Rousseau’s Social Contract, Xenophon’s Anabasis, Hume’s “Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth.” https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/ for more blogs, podcasts, & videos on the topic #Secession #Republicanism #Federalism #DonaldLivingston #AbbevilleInstitute #StatesRights #PoliticalPhilosophy #USHistory #GreekHistory #CityStates #RuleOfLaw #americanfoundingfather 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.us for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium ▶️ 4. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium ▶️ 5. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010

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• Christian Living