When appeals to shared justice fail, separation becomes necessary, not chosen.

Evidence

We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. — Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, 39

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the course’s broader theme of judging law by stated foundational values rather than power alone.