TOPIC: The secession of 15 states from the Soviet Union in 1991 was the greatest peaceful revolution in modern history. Secession and decentralist movements are firmly entrenched throughout Europe. Discourse of secession and state interposition to federal tyranny is now mainstream in America on the left and right. Are we witnessing a paradigm shift away from runaway centralization? Join us for a thoughtful discussion of secession and the prospects for decentralization in the United States.

FORMAT AND COST: Lectures and Discussion Saturday, November 10 beginning at 9 am, break for lunch and ending at 4:30. Conference fee is $95 includes lunch, coffee, and cost of speakers. For those arriving Friday evening there will be a “meet and greet the speakers” gathering in the Bond Room for an informal discussion of the topic–add $25 to Conference fee.

ROOMS AND LOCATION: Rooms at the conference rate of $99 are reserved at Double Tree Dallas/Fort Worth Airport North, 4441 West John Carpenter Freeway, Irving Texas. Call 972-929-8181 and mention Abbeville Institute. Cutoff date for the conference rate is October 18, 2018.

REGISTRATION: You may register online by clicking the link below, or register by mail with check for conference fee payable to Abbeville Institute, P.O. Box 10, McClellanville, SC 29458. Inquiries: [email protected]

Register Now Join us today for this thoughtful discussion.

SPEAKERS

Michael Boldin, Executive Director, Tenth Amendment Center

Jeff Deist, President, Mises Institute

Donald Livingston, Prof. Philosophy Emeritus, Emory University and President, Abbeville Institute

Allen Mendenhall, Executive director of the Blackstone & Burke Center for Law & Liberty at Faulkner University Law School.

Kirkpatrick Sale, Director of the Middlebury Institute (for the study of secession and decentralization) and author of Human Scale Revisited: A New Look at the Classic Case for a Decentralist Future (2017)

Dan Fisher, former Oklahoma State Representative and candidate for governor.

Marcus Ruiz Evans, Founder of the California Secession Movement “Calexit.”

SCHEDULE

SESSION I    9:00-12:00 (All events held in the Bond Room)

“Revival of Secession Discourse in the United States” Donald Livingston

“A Most Valuable, A Most Sacred Right” Kirkpatrick Sale

“Decentralization and the Knowledge Problem” Allen Mendenhall

LUNCH 12:00-1:30 Guest Speaker: “Why California Secession Can Strengthen Genuine Federalism in America”  Marcus Ruiz Evans

SESSION II   1:30-4:30

“State of the Nullification Movement” Michael Boldin

“The Role of the Executive in Asserting State Sovereignty” Dan Fisher

“A Small Revolution” Jeff Deist

UNABLE TO ATTEND? Consider making a tax-deductible gift to help fund the conference. The gift can be sent on line or by mail. See “Registration” above. We also accept donations for student scholarships.

Register Now Join us today for this thoughtful discussion.