5 Far-Right Groups Trying Hard to Secede from America
Secessionist
movements have grown from the same root: a small, culturally
homogenous, and conservative rural population that feels ignored.
October 10, 2013
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There’s nothing more American than seceding. At least, that's what
every secessionist movement would have you believe. Enchanted by the
opening lines of the Declaration of Independence, scores of small
movements have found it necessary to dissolve political bonds with their
state and federal legislatures, though none has successfully done so
since the creation of West Virginia in 1863.
The hundreds of
secessionist movements throughout U.S. history—over 200 in California
alone—have mostly grown from the same root: a small, culturally
homogenous, and usually conservative rural population that feels
ignored, if not outright antagonized, by its big city legislature. This
grievance sharpened in recent years as the ideological split over issues
like gay marriage and especially gun control became geographically
acute, and as vague anti-urban tendencies were focused by theories like
Agenda 21, which see city planning policies as masks for fascistic
attempts to confiscate resources and currencies.
The modern
secessionist movements are very much of a piece with this history, with
some crucial updates: their founders have morphed from hard-scrabble
eccentrics to successful businessmen, and the printed declarations of
separation have become Facebook pages and (woefully underfollowed)
Twitter accounts. Below are five current secessionist movements
currently kicking up dust in the overlooked section of their states.
1. The 51st State Movement (Colorado). In a sign of the new secessionist movements, the 51st State non-profit is run
by businessmen: President
Thomas L. Gilley, CEO of a dry beans distributor (“our beans speak for
themselves”) and Treasurer Jeffrey Hare, CEO for an IT security firm.
The men boast of their Colorado and farmer roots, a twin legacy they see
threatened by the encroaching liberalism of the rest of the state.
“People think this is a radical idea,” Hare
told the New York Times. “It’s really not. What we’re attempting to do is restore liberty.”
The
eleven rural counties of the 51st State have depopulated over the past
two decades, and though unemployment is low thanks to healthy oil and
agriculture markets, the counties receive few resources from Denver. The
movement was fired up when Colorado considered a slew of gun control
measures following the Aurora shootings last year. (Not surprisingly,
they cheered last month’s recall of two state legislators over the
issue.)
Save for the intro from the Declaration of Independence,
their website is matter-of-fact and utilitarian: there’s little
anti-government invective, but plenty on how to get involved, and on the
steps for legal separation: a ballot measure, then ratification by the
state legislature and amendment of the state constitution, and then by
Congress.
Currently, the 51st Movement remains something of a shot in the dark. The group’s hopeful hashtag—#51stStateInitiative—
has
exactly two mentions on Twitter. Hardly shocking for a rural movement, but not fortuitous for one that eventually demands recognition, either.
But
that’s not to say they’re not having an impact. Democratic Governor
John Hickenlooper has recently shown signs of being chastened by the
backlash from more conservative elements of his state. “There are enough
people that feel their views and their opinions aren’t being considered
that I think that’s a serious problem,” he said, showing that
secessionist movements might, ironically, be better at affecting change
within their legislators than at splitting from them.
2. Texas Nationalist Movement (Texas).Ignore Rick Perry’s infamous 2009 secessionist comment, which was
taken out of context from a longer answer to the Associated Press dismissing secessionism.
Do
not ignore the Republic of Texas, a choleric organization that briefly
flourished in the 1990s. The Republic was founded by Richard Lance
McLaren, who declared Texas illegally seized by the U.S. government and
demanded independence and eventually reparations to the tune of $93
trillion; he filed so many suits that the country clerk supposedly gave
his cases their own cabinet. Incensed by the Branch Dividian
conflagration in Waco, but also riven by internal disputes, the Republic
ended with McLaren holding two hostages in stand-off with Texas
authorities. He’s currently in prison until 2041.
The Texas
Nationalist Movement slowly grew out of the Republic of Texas, and
claims to work within existing legal and political structures to achieve
Texas independence. Like many secessionist movements, TNM argues that
its state’s annexation was illegitimate, giving its proposed separation a
gossamer of legal rationale. It recently hosted the
Come and Take It Festival, where it gathered signatures for a Let Texas Decide Petition that TNM hopes will make the ballot in 2014.
The group claims its
membership soared both after Perry’s comments and around the 2012 election—it now claims over 250,000 members—and its
political presence was affirmed at
the start of the 2013 legislative session, when the group scored a
meeting with Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and even got secession
mentioned on the floor of the Texas House. “Our economy is so vast and
diverse that if Texas were its own country — and no, don’t worry, that
isn’t something we’re going to do this session — but if we were, we’d be
the 14th-largest economy in the world,” boasted House Speaker Joe
Straus.
3. Alaska Independent Party (Alaska).
“Aren't most Alaskan Independence Party members a bunch of radicals and
kooks?” It’s a good question, especially as it was asked
by the Alaskan Independence Party itself.
“The party has its share of individualists, in the grand Alaskan
tradition,” A.I.P. responded. “No longer a fringe party, the A.I.P. is a
viable third party with a serious mission and qualified candidates for
elected offices.”
That grand Alaskan tradition includes “Old” Joe Volger, the founder and charismatic authority of the A.I.P., who
became politicized during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline, declaring that “the United States has made a colony of Alaska.”
Arguing
that a U.N. charter guaranteed territories a vote on independence,
something Alaska never technically held, Volger began a surprisingly
successful campaign for political prominence, eventually getting Wally
Hickel, Richard Nixon’s interior secretary, elected governor under the
A.I.P. ticket. Along the way, he made a name for himself as an eccentric
player in Alaskan politics, once proposing during a gubernatorial
debate to nuke the glaciers surrounding Juneau. (“There’s gold under
there!”) And when he wanted the U.N. to recognize Alaska, he sidled up
to the only nation willing to sponsor it—
the Republic of Iran. Volger was murdered by another secessionist before the recognition could take place.
Younger
members furthered his cause, favoring “infiltration” methods over
Volger’s more pugnacious style. Two members soon found a
willing figure in
the mayor they’d helped elect in Wasilla—Sarah Palin. Palin’s husband
Todd was a member of the A.I.P. for many years, and Palin
addressed the A.I.P annual convention in
2012, not long before John McCain chose her as his running mate,
endorsing their beliefs in a liberty-heavy rhetoric that would soon
become familiar to the rest of the nation.
The A.I.P. currently
endorses Bob Bird for Senate and Don Wright for the House of
Representatives, bragging that both men received 4% in their last
elections. Its website (which hasn’t been updated since 2010) promises
that in the event of secession, Alaska will not lose federal funds, its
military bases, or its McDonalds.
4. The State of Jefferson (Southern Oregon and Northern California).
In 1941 a group of residents from Southern Oregon and Northern
California rebelled from Salem and Sacramento and announced the State of
Jefferson, named after Thomas Jefferson for his role in drafting, wait
for it, the Declaration of Independence. (A local newspaper ran a
contest for the best proposed names and got “Mittelwestcoastia,"
"Orofino," and “Bonanza.”)
Feeling slighted by the big city and
big government concerns of its surrounding counties, members stationed
themselves in Yreka, CA, elected a governor, and created a flag with two
Xs marking the double-crosses of their state legislatures. They then
began seceding every Thursday, flying their rebel flag and distributing
articles of grievance to passing motorists on Highway 99, sometimes at
gunpoint. The group’s momentum was growing when the Pearl Harbor attack
occurred, knocking the nascent movement into the footnotes of history.
A
modern iteration of the State of Jefferson, flying the same flag,
considers this only a dream deferred. Two weeks ago, Modoc and Siskiyou
counties—representing about 50,000 residents between them—
voted unanimously to separate from California.
Unlike
many secessionist movements, which usually find nothing but scorn from
the rest of their state, Jefferson has a sympathetic ear further south.
Jeff Stone, a Republican on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors,
wants to create
South California,
a state that bundles 13 more conservative southern counties—home to 13
million people—and lets liberal Sacramento have the rest.
But
there’s a catch: Stone wants Northern California to keep the City of
Angels. "Los Angeles is purposely excluded because they have the same
liberal policies that Sacramento does,” Stone said, specifically citing
the plastic bag ban. “The last thing I want to do is create a state
that's a carbon copy of what we have now.”
A Facebook page called
California Rebellion supporting
Stone’s cause sprung up in 2011, howling at the state’s budget
shortfall and pledging to help Oakland police fight Occupy protesters.
(The page also seems to have been confused by a We the People petition
calling for a similar secession, accusing the White House of planting it
to distract from the real cause.) CR planned a large-scale gathering to
get the ball rolling, but unfortunately
scheduled it on September 29, 2012,
one week before the presidential election. The event was canceled and
never rescheduled. The page’s last post, which quoted the Buddha, was in
December 2012.
In all, Stone’s efforts don’t seem to have gained
much traction. As for California’s opinion on the matter, Governor Jerry
Brown’s office had a suggestion for Stone. "If you want to live in a
Republican state with very conservative right-wing laws, then there's a
place called Arizona,” a spokesman said.
5. A New State Initiative (Western Maryland).Founded
by a businessman, contemptuous of urban centers, and redolent of fringe
right-wing politics, the Western Maryland secessionist movement
features the best cross-section of modern secessionist characteristics.
Western
Maryland’s five counties are more rural and suburban than their eastern
counterparts, and represent a solid Republican block in an otherwise
blue state. The movement has
many of the same complaints as
its Colorado counterpart—high taxes, gun control laws, environmental
regulations—but adds a more fiery, Tea Party-esque flair heavy on
invocations of freedom and constitution references.
The driving force behind this is Scott Strzelczyk, a technology consultant who started the movement this summer
on Facebook (the
page is approaching 7,000 likes). Strzelczyk was once a Democrat, but
swung far right after Barack Obama’s election in 2008, when he began
speaking at Tea Party events and blogging on theories
like Agenda 21.
“If
you think you have a long list of grievances and it’s been going on for
decades, and you can’t get it resolved, ultimately this is what you
have to do,” says Strzelczyk
told the Washington Post. “Otherwise you are trapped.”
Whereas
other movements already have ballot measures in play, Strzelczyk hasn’t
yet devised a strategy, and is soliciting even the most basic services
online. But if nothing else, Strzelczyk and his followers hope to get
Martin O’Malley’s attention, as the 51st State Movement did
Hickenlooper’s.
“Best-case scenario: It works. Worst case: Nothing
changes,” one member said. “But if it doesn’t work, maybe they will
finally see that the populace really is fed up.”
