Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Road Tax

Vermont

Early in America’s history Vermont sought secession. Resentment came from colonial land disputes between New York and New Hampshire. When the territory was awarded to New York, the state sought to legally undo all of the land claims in the area, to the anger of people already living there.

When they got no support for statehood from the Continental Congress, they seceded and formed the Vermont Republic. Unfortunately for them, Britain saw them as a chink in the American rebels’ armor and marched on them. Vermont was in negotiations to join Canada when the rest of America won the war.

Despite a rather cowardly history of the movement, there is a revived independence movement. The Second Vermont Republic wants to secede from the union and form its own nation. They are even running candidates in the 2010 election on the secessionist platform.

You know there are serious when they have bumper stickers.

The State of Superior

The state of Superior

The Upper Peninsula was added to the state of Michigan to settle the war with Ohio over the port city of Toledo. Initially Michigan assumed the area was a wasteland of no use. But, like an awkward teenager entering puberty, the more they explored the peninsula the more they liked it. The peninsula was filled with lumber and minerals and soon was filled with people exploiting its wealth.

But the Upper Peninsula was geographically isolated. The only way to get there from Lower Michigan was taking a ship or ferry through dangerous waters. One bad storm or screw up by the captain and you’re dead and memorialized in a Gordon Lightfoot song.

Admittedly, he makes death on the Great Lakes sound damn good.

With such geographic isolation it stands to reason there would be resentment. But the problem seemed to be solved in 1958 with the completion of the Mackinac Bridge. It was the largest suspension bridge in the world at that time and connected the Upper and Lower Peninsulas with a four lane highway.

Early conceptual drawing of bridge (actual bridge less whimsical due to budget constraints)

But rather than bridge the divide, the increased contact with the “Trolls” living below the bridge made the “Yoopers” in the Upper Peninsula even more spiteful of their downstate neighbors. Some Yoopers spouted phrases like “Bomb the bridge!” and “Build a trapdoor in the northbound lanes.” Some Yoopers proposed a ballot initiative to form the state of Superior. Yooper secessionists collected over 20,000 signatures from 1983-1985, short of the 36,000 needed to put a referendum on the ballot.

McDonald Territory/Winneconne

McDonald Territory/Winneconne

Tourist towns don’t ask much from the state government. Keep the hotel taxes low, the road to town in good repair and promote them on state literature and they get along well. Forget the last step and by God they’ll secede.

In 1961, the Missouri State Highway Commission inadvertently forgot to add the small tourist town of Noel in McDonald County to their annual tourist literature. Rather than suggest a reprint or correction, the county seceded from Missouri. They formed their own militia, which mainly handed out tourist literature and visas to visiting tourists.

May I recommend  Diner? Kids eat free with the purchase of two adult entrees.

Winneconne, Wisconsin did the same thing in 1967 when the small village is not printed on state maps. The town Chamber of Commerce, evidently having little actual commerce to do, drew up secession papers and alerted the media. Secession lasted for exactly one day until governor agreed to distribute tourist literature for the town throughout the state.

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Conch Republic

The Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a tongue-in-cheek protest secession of the city of Key West from the United States on April 23, 1982. It has been maintained as a tourism booster for the city since. Since then, the term Conch Republic has been expanded to refer to "all of the Florida Keys, or, that geographic apportionment of land that falls within the legally defined boundaries of Monroe County Florida, northward to 'Skeeter's Last Chance Saloon' in Florida City, Dade County Florida, with Key West as the nation's capital and all territories north of Key West being referred to as 'The Northern Territories'."[4]

While the protest that sparked its creation, and others which have occurred periodically since then have been described by some as "tongue-in-cheek", they were motivated by frustrations over genuine concerns. The original protest event was motivated by a U.S. Border Patrol roadblock and checkpoint which greatly inconvenienced residents and was detrimental to tourism in the area.

Although the Conch Republic is not, and never was, a real secessionist movement, many in Key West continue to identify with the concerns that motivated the original protest against what they view as an "unresponsive" central government taking action without considering all of the implications. At least three related protests have taken place subsequent to the original incident.

The Conch Republic celebrates Independence Day every April 23 as part of a week-long festival of activities involving numerous businesses in Key West. The organization - a "Sovereign State of Mind," seeking only to bring more "Humor, Warmth, and Respect" to a world in sore need of all three according to its Secretary General, Peter Anderson - is a key tourism booster for the area.
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