Vermont Secession Movement Gains Traction

I saw that. Unfortunately I don't own any cold weather clothing..... I'm willing to save for that though.

American revolutions
Recent efforts in the United States

Examples of both local and state secession movements can be cited over the last 25 years. Some secessionist movements to create new states have failed, others are ongoing.

There was an attempt by Staten Island to break away from New York City in the late 1980s and early 1990s (See: City of Greater New York). Around the same time, there was a similar movement to separate Northeast Philadelphia from the rest of the city of Philadelphia. San Fernando Valley lost a vote to separate from Los Angeles in 2002 but has seen increased attention to its infrastructure needs (See: San Fernando Valley secession movement). Several towns in Vermont including Killington recently explored a secession request to allow them to join New Hampshire over claims that they are not getting adequate return of state resources from their state tax contributions.

Advocates in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with off and on intensity, have called for it to become a separate 51st state. Others wanted the peninsula, Minnesota and Wisconsin to combine into the North Star Republic. Similarly some in the Little Egypt region of Illinois want to separate due to what they consider Chicagoan control over the legislature and economy. The mock 1982 secessionist protest by the Conch Republic in the Florida Keys resulted in an ongoing source of local pride and tourist amusement.

The Republic of Texas has been quite fractious and one faction generated national publicity for its illegal antics in the late 1990s. There have been repeated attempts to form a Republic of Cascadia. The Hawaiian sovereignty movement has a number of active groupings which have won some concessions from the State of Hawaii. Founded in the 1983, The Creator's Rights Party seeks to have one or more states secede in order to implement "God's plan for government" and is fielding political candidates in 2007 around the United States.

Efforts to organize a continental secession movement have been initiated since 2004 by members of Second Vermont Republic, working with noted decentralist author Kirkpatrick Sale Their second "radical consultation" in November of 2004 resulted in a statement of intent called The Middlebury Declaration. It also gave rise to the Middlebury Institute, which documents the development of this movement.

In November 2006 the same group sponsored the First North American Secessionist Convention which attracted 40 participants from 16 secessionist organizations and was (erroneously) described as the first gathering of secessionists since the Civil War. Delegates included a broad spectrum from libertarians to socialists to greens to Christian conservatives to indigenous peoples activists. Groups represented included Alaskan Independence Party, Cascadia Independence Project, Hawaiʻi Nation, The Second Maine Militia, The Free State Project, the Republic of New Hampshire, the League of the South, Christian Exodus, the Second Vermont Republic and the United Republic of Texas. Delegates created a statement of principles of secession which they presented as the Burlington Declaration. [1] The Second North American Secessionist Convention is planned for October, 2007, in Chattanooga, Tennesee.

History of American revolutions

According to some secession theorists, the American Revolution, in which Thirteen Colonies successfully fought for independence from the British Crown was a secession, as opposed to a revolution. Revolutions seek to replace current governments, while secession movements merely seek separation from current governments. According to this view, the independence movements of Latin American countries were also examples of secession (from Spain). Other positions emphasize the colonial nature of British rule, and the previous restrictions on participation by colonists in the government.

Northeast United States and the Hartford Convention

Opposed to the War of 1812, Federalists from the north-eastern U.S. informally convened the Hartford Convention in 1814 at which there was some discussion of secession from the nation. The war ended soon afterwards, and revelations about the secession discussions politically destroyed the Federalists.

South Carolina

During the presidential term of Andrew Jackson, South Carolina had its own semi-secession movement due to the "Tariffs of Abomination" which threatened both South Carolina's economy and the Union. Andrew Jackson also threatened to send Federal Troops to put down the movement and to hang the leader of the secessionists from the highest tree in South Carolina. Also due to this, Jackson's vice president, John C. Calhoun, who supported the movement and wrote the essay "The South Carolina Exposition And Protest", became the first US vice-president to resign.

Confederate States of America

One of the most famous unsuccessful secession movements was the case of the Southern states of the United States. Eleven states declared their secession from the United States, joining together to form the Confederate States of America. These eleven states were Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida This secession movement brought about the American Civil War. The position of the Union was that the Confederacy was not a sovereign nation but instead a collection of states in revolt.

West Virginia

The counties making up what is now West Virginia seceded from the state of Virginia (which had joined the Confederacy) and became the 35th state of the U.S. during the course of the war.

Texas secession from Mexico

The Republic of Texas successfully seceded from Mexico in 1836. In 1845 Texas joined the United States as a full-fledged state. Mexico refused to recognize Texas independence and warned the U.S. that annexation meant war. The Mexican-American War followed in 1846.