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==Republic of Texas (19th century)==
==Republic of Texas (19th century)==
Texas gained its [[Texas Revolution|independence from Mexico]] in 1835, spurred on primarily by American settlers in the former Mexican territory against the government of [[Antonio López de Santa Anna|Santa Anna]] .<ref name="speffer">{{Cite thesis |type=PhD |title=Tenuous legitimacy: The administrative state, the antigovernment movement, and the stability of the United States constitutional democracy |author= Shelly L Peffer |year=2008 |publisher= Cleveland State University |docket=3316905 }}</ref> However, after the [[Battle of San Jacinto|final engagement at San Jacinto]] in 1836, there have been two different visions as to the future of Texas: one as a state of the United States and the other as an independent republic. [[Sam Houston]] promoted the first as the felt that the newly independent country, lacking hard currency and still facing threats from Mexico could not survive on its own.<ref name="speffer"/><ref name="pburka">{{cite journal |last1= Burka |first1= Paul |year=2009 |month=June |title= The Secret of My Secession: Rick Perry is not the first Lone Star politician to embrace the myth of Texan autonomy. Let's hope he's the last. |journal=Texas Monthly }}</ref> The other was promoted by second Texas president [[Mirabeau B. Lamar]], who felt that it was Texas’s destiny to be a nation that extended from the [[Louisiana]] border to the Pacific Ocean. For this reason, Lamar is considered to be the father of Texas nationalism.<ref name="pburka"/> However, the Republic under Lamar incurred large scale debt, suffered from a poor economy and inadequate defenses with led to the negotiation and annexation of Texas into the United States in 1845.<ref name="speffer"/><ref name="alang">{{cite journal |last1= Lang |first1= Andrew F |month= June |year=2009 |title="Upon the Altar of Our Country": Confederate Identity, Nationalism, and Morale in Harrison County, Texas, 1860-1865 |journal=Civil War History |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=278–306 }}</ref> While the short existence of the Republic of Texas gave the area experience with a national identity which has never left, it never completely solidified.<ref name="pburka"/><ref name="alang"/><ref name="langdiss">{{Cite thesis |type=PhD |chapter= |title="Victory is our only road to peace": Texas, wartime morale, and Confederatenationalism, 1860--1865 |last= Lang |first= Andrew F |year=2008|publisher= University of North Texas |docket=1458660}}</ref> However, only sixteen years after annexation, the population of Texas wanted to leave the union.<ref name="speffer"/>
Texas gained its [[Texas Revolution|independence from Mexico]] in 1835, spurred on primarily by American settlers in the former Mexican territory against the government of [[Antonio López de Santa Anna|Santa Anna]] .<ref name="speffer">{{Cite thesis |type=PhD |title=Tenuous legitimacy: The administrative state, the antigovernment movement, and the stability of the United States constitutional democracy |author= Shelly L Peffer |year=2008 |publisher= Cleveland State University |docket=3316905 }}</ref> However, after the [[Battle of San Jacinto|final engagement at San Jacinto]] in 1836, there have been two different visions as to the future of Texas: one as a state of the United States and the other as an independent republic. [[Sam Houston]] promoted the first as he felt that the newly independent country, lacking hard currency and still facing threats from Mexico could not survive on its own.<ref name="speffer"/><ref name="pburka">{{cite journal |last1= Burka |first1= Paul |year=2009 |month=June |title= The Secret of My Secession: Rick Perry is not the first Lone Star politician to embrace the myth of Texan autonomy. Let's hope he's the last. |journal=Texas Monthly }}</ref> The other was promoted by second Texas president [[Mirabeau B. Lamar]], who felt that it was Texas’s destiny to be a nation that extended from the [[Louisiana]] border to the Pacific Ocean. For this reason, Lamar is considered to be the father of Texas nationalism.<ref name="pburka"/> However, the Republic under Lamar incurred large scale debt, suffered from a poor economy and inadequate defenses with led to the negotiation and annexation of Texas into the United States in 1845.<ref name="speffer"/><ref name="alang">{{cite journal |last1= Lang |first1= Andrew F |month= June |year=2009 |title="Upon the Altar of Our Country": Confederate Identity, Nationalism, and Morale in Harrison County, Texas, 1860-1865 |journal=Civil War History |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=278–306 }}</ref> While the short existence of the Republic of Texas gave the area experience with a national identity which has never left, it never completely solidified.<ref name="pburka"/><ref name="alang"/><ref name="langdiss">{{Cite thesis |type=PhD |chapter= |title="Victory is our only road to peace": Texas, wartime morale, and Confederatenationalism, 1860--1865 |last= Lang |first= Andrew F |year=2008|publisher= University of North Texas |docket=1458660}}</ref> However, only sixteen years after annexation, the population of Texas wanted to leave the union.<ref name="speffer"/>


==Secession from the US in the 19th century==
==Secession from the US in the 19th century==

Revision as of 04:10, 4 April 2013

The flag of Texas

Texas secession movements principally focus on the secession of Texas during the Civil War and the activities of organizations which have existed since the 1990s. The idea of state secession is not explicitly addressed in the United States Constitution and the issue was both publicly debated and threatened from after the Revolutionary War up until the Civil War. Texas is unique among the 48 continental states as it is the only one of the latter to have indisputably been a sovereign state prior to joining the United States; Hawaii is the only other US state to have previously shared that status. This history has affected the state’s politics and identity from the 19th century to the present, including its standing in the Confederacy in the Civil War to education and even tourism in the 20th century. Modern secession efforts have existed in the state at least since the 1990s, focusing first on the Republic of Texas organization founded by Richard Lance McLaren and later on the Texas Nationalist Movement headed by Dennis Miller.

Idea of secession in the United States

Discussion about the right of U.S. states to secede from the union was brought up by various factions in the country from shortly after the Revolutionary War until the Civil War. The United States Constitution does not specifically provide for the right to secede but it does not prohibit secession either. The secession argument relies on the claim that the states were independent and sovereign before the ratification of the Constitution and are able to reclaim that independence. Each of the colonies originated by separate grants from the British Crown and had evolved relatively distinct political and cultural institutions. There is considerable evidence that loyalty to state trumped that to the United States in the early years. Support for secession rights is found in Article VII, where the ratification of only nine of thirteen states was needed, allowing one or more to remain outside. Other evidence is that the Declaration of Independence speaks of the colonies as “Free and Independent States.” Arguments against secession have included that James Wilson argued at the Constitutional Convention that the colonies separated in union from the British, rather than individually. It is possible to interpret the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause as weighing against a right of secession, but the Republican Guarantee Clause can be interpreted to indicate that the federal government has no right to keep a state from leaving as long as it maintains a republican form of government.[1] Significant elements of the country have demanded secession since almost the beginning, starting with New England in 1803, because of the Louisiana Purchase, followed by a larger one in 1815 from the same region. The question remained open in the decades before the Civil War. In 1825 Alexis de Tocqueville observed "If today one of these same states wanted to withdraw its name from the contract, it would be quite difficult to prove that it could not do so. To combat it, the federal government would have no evident support in either force or right." However, Joseph Story wrote in 1830 in Commentaries on the Constitution that the document foreclosed the right of secession.[1] However, on the eve of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln argued that states were not sovereign before the Constitution but instead they were created by it.[1]

Republic of Texas (19th century)

Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1835, spurred on primarily by American settlers in the former Mexican territory against the government of Santa Anna .[2] However, after the final engagement at San Jacinto in 1836, there have been two different visions as to the future of Texas: one as a state of the United States and the other as an independent republic. Sam Houston promoted the first as he felt that the newly independent country, lacking hard currency and still facing threats from Mexico could not survive on its own.[2][3] The other was promoted by second Texas president Mirabeau B. Lamar, who felt that it was Texas’s destiny to be a nation that extended from the Louisiana border to the Pacific Ocean. For this reason, Lamar is considered to be the father of Texas nationalism.[3] However, the Republic under Lamar incurred large scale debt, suffered from a poor economy and inadequate defenses with led to the negotiation and annexation of Texas into the United States in 1845.[2][4] While the short existence of the Republic of Texas gave the area experience with a national identity which has never left, it never completely solidified.[3][4][5] However, only sixteen years after annexation, the population of Texas wanted to leave the union.[2]

Secession from the US in the 19th century

Main articles: History of Texas, Texas Revolution, and Texas in the Civil War

The history of Texas in the Civil War has distinctions from the rest of the South, in part because of its history of being independent previously. Much of Texas’s dissatisfaction was not only tied to opposition to Lincoln and his view of state’s rights (which they also viewed as a transgression of the annexation agreement), but also because they did not feel that Washington had lived up to promises of inclusion into the country as part of annexation.[4][5] In 1861, Sam Houston still strongly supported remaining in the United States primarily for economic and military reasons.[3] However, those promoting secession used not only elements from U.S. history such as the American Revolution and the Constitution, but also the Texas Revolution and elements from the history of the Republic of Texas.[4]

In 1861, a popular referendum voted to secede, making Texas the seventh and last to do so.[3][5] Some wanted to restore the Republic of Texas, but an identity with the Confederacy was embraced. This led to the replacement of Texas themes for the most part with those of the Confederacy, including religious justification given in sermons, often demanded by petitioners.[4] The transference to the Stars and Bars was in the hope of achieving the inclusion denied by Washington.[5] However, that shift was never complete. Clayton E. Jewett wrote in Texas in the Confederacy: An Experiment in Nation Building that its identity remained somewhat separate from the rest of the Confederacy. James Marten wrote in Texas Divided: Loyalty and Dissent in the Lone Star State, 1856-1874 that it battled between loyalty to the Confederacy and dissent and its ambivalence may have been enough to assure Southern defeat.[5]

During the war, Texas was spared most of the actual fighting, with only Galveston seeing any military engagement with Union forces. However, the war did take a serious toll in the way of chronic shortages, absence of men at home to run the economy, military setbacks and fear of invasion.[5] Although Lincoln recognized Texas’s history as an independent nation, his definition of the Union meant that Texas forever ceded this to be subject to the Constitution.[1]

Post Civil War to the 1990s

After the end of the Civil War, Texans maintained a “rebel” or Confederate identity instead of a completely Texas one as a way of still defying the North.[4] After the Civil War, it provided a haven for others in the Confederacy leaving devastation.[6] From that time to the present, a “Lost Cause” mythology has continued in Texas and other areas of the South.[7] However, for the most part, overt discussion of the right of states to seceded was ended, replaced by another mythology based on the indivisibility of the territory.[1] This did not end Texas’s identity as at least somewhat different from the rest of the United States. Unlike the other southern states, Texas began emphasizing its cowboy heritage and connection with the U.S. Southwest, even influencing the rest of the U.S. identity in the 20th century.[8] For many Texans, the history of the Republic of Texas is considered a time of independence and self-determination often in contract to interference by the federal government in Washington. Texas requires a course in the state’s history in the seventh grade where these ideas can also be found.[9]

In the 1990s, Texas began to use the slogan “Texas. It’s Like a Whole Other Country” especially in domestic ads for tourism, and still can be seen today.[9] However, public imagination remains split on the visions of Texas as state and nation that Houston and Lamar had in the 19th century. The two can appear as a conflict between rural and urban Texans but the Lamar vision can be found in the cities as well.[3] Texas did not join in festivities for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War as it was thought that the commemoration would have reopened old unhealed wounds.[6]

1990s to present

Republic of Texas organization

There have been efforts to promote Texas secession in the state at least since the 1990s.[10] At this time, Richard Lance McLaren founded the Republic of Texas organization based on his property called the Davis Mountains Resort in Jeff Davis County, becoming the most active and influential secession group at the time. Essentially the organization claimed that the United States annexed Texas illegally and considered it to be held captive. The organization held itself out as an alternative government, based on the principle of very limited powers.[2] McLaren had both supporters and enemies. His supporters generally believed that globalization was a threat to constitutional rights and against Christian principles.[11] Tactics of the group included filing liens against properties, disavowing state and federal authorities and opening an “embassy.” McLaren’s legal filings were so numerous that the county clerk gave them a separate cabinet.[11] The Republic of Texas listed grievances with the US government, such as accusing it of a corrupt judicial system, paganism, creating illegal treaties and illegitimate agencies. It also stated that the US government has set itself above the people and exercises its global influences unlawfully against the Constitution. The Republic of Texas placed a lot of emphasis on the Branch Davidian incident in Waco as an example of all that is wrong with the US government.[2]

In the summer of 1996, injunctions and other court proceedings against McLaren were well underway. In July of that year, McLaren held a press conference a block away from the state courthouse in Austin stating that he refused to appear because he did not recognize the legitimacy of the court.[2] McLaren was jailed for a month by a federal judge for failing to show in court. After his release, McLaren’s rhetoric grew stronger.[11][12][13] In March 1997, he wrote to the federal government to claim 93 trillion dollars in reparations to Texas for the Civil War.[11] By this time, the Republic of Texas organization had fractured into three factions. When two of McLaren’s group were arrested, McLaren took two hostages and holed up with armed supporters on his property, leading to a standoff with Texas Department of Public Safety .[2][11] However, the siege ended with McLaren and twelve other giving up without violence.[11] In November of that year, McLaren was convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to 99 years in prison.[2]

As of 2003, there were three groups that claimed to be the Republic of Texas with different web sites, but without McLaren named as a leader.[2]

Texas Nationalist Movement

The Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM), headed by Daniel Miller, evolved from one of the factions of the old Republic of Texas in the late 1990s to early 2000s.[14][15] However, the organization strives to disassociate itself from the Republic of Texas and the tactics of McLaren, instead opting for more political rather than confrontational or violent solution.[14] Until about 2009, the group was dismissed by most news organizations in Texas and elsewhere, lumped in with other anti-government and anti-income tax protestors. Since that time, the organization’s membership has significantly increased as it gained visibility from the prominence of the Tea Party movement and after Texas governor Rick Perry’s comments in response to a large crowd chanting “Secede, secede!” Miller reports that membership rose again in 2012, especially a couple of weeks before the November presidential election, increasing 400 percent from then until early 2013, with web traffic up 9000 percent, but did not give specific numbers.[16] TNM claims over 250,000 Texas have sign a form affirming the organization’s goals, but admits that not all these are dues-paying members but include members from former separatist groups exempted from the dues requirement.[15][17][18] The group has county-level groups in most parts of the state.[19]

According to its website, the objective of the Texas Nationalist Movement is “the complete, total and unencumbered political, cultural and economic independence of Texas.”[18] Miller believes that all Texans have thought about secession at one point or another, even if they will not admit it.[14] TNM points to the state constitution of Texas which states that Texans have the right “to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.”[10] Miller has stated that although the media tried to portray them as right-wing, white and Christian, he insists that it is neither left or right wing. He also distinguishes it from the Tea Party in that while the Tea Party demonstrates frustration with Washington, TNM is focused on the “solution” of Texas Independence. TNM believes that the United States is split between
“… those that esteem the principles of Karl Marx…” and those that “ esteem the principles of Thomas Jefferson…” and that Texas is on the side of Thomas Jefferson.[20][21]

Unlike its predecessor, TNM works with the current political system, and is an unincorporated association of the laws of the State of Texas.[15] The Question and Answers section of the web site says that the organization “rejects the initiation of force to achieve our goal of Texas independence. Any change brought about by the initiation of force cannot last.”[15] It is possible to compare its tactics to those of contemporary secessionist movement such as those of the former Soviet Republics .[7] Miller points to the more than thirty countries which have separated in the 20th century and on to note that secession does not have to end in war.[14] Although they have been accused of promoting a white supremacist and Christian agenda, the web site explicitly states that it does not exclude anyone based on race, color or creed and accepts anyone that believes in its mission, vision and principles.[15]

It works to accomplish its goals through three areas: political, cultural and economic. The political strategy is based on finding those who would support Texas independence, including political candidates, pushing for a state-wide referendum and work to keep the current government accountable to the United States Constitution. Cultural strategies revolve around preservation and education efforts and economic goals including promoting the state economy.[15] The organization has promoted a draft resolution to be put to a vote in the state congress. It cites federal violations of Texas’ state Constitution and the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment as justification for consideration of independence. The resolution calls for a “non-binding and advisory only” vote by citizens at the next regularly-scheduled constitutional amendment election, and that both state and federal officials receive a report of that vote for their consideration. The resolution is necessary because the state constitution does not provide for such an initiative, so it needs to be authorized by the state.[19] In January 2013, members of the TNM rallied at the state capital in Austin to promote the resolution, resulting in one mention of secession by one lawmaker on the opening day of the legislative session.[10]

Other discussions of secession starting in 2012

The rise of membership of the Texas Nationalist Movement came in conjunction with other secession related news events which were not part of that organization’s activities. In 2009, during a political rally the possibility of secession was addressed by Rick Perry, sparking a controversy among Texans.[22] During the rally, many in the crowd began to chant “secede, secede” to which Perry remarked "If Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that."[14][22]

After Perry's comments received considerable attention and news coverage, Rasmussen Reports issued a poll and found that about 1 in 3 of those surveyed believed that Texas has the right to secede from the United States, although only 18% would support secession and 75% would oppose secession.[23] In another poll, 60% of Texans surveyed opposed becoming an independent nation. However, 48% of Texas Republicans surveyed supported it.[24][25] The reaction from outside the state was also strongly split, including those who wanted to get rid of Texas.[22]

After the 2012, presidential election, bumper stickers and signs saying “secede” began appearing in Texas.[16] The election also triggered a wave of petitions on the White House “We the People” website. While the Texas petition was not first to appear, it overtook those of the other states with over 125,000 signatures, well above the 25,000 to trigger a response.[10][26] The petition stated that secession would protect the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government" and defend Texans from "blatant abuses to their rights"[27] The Texas secession petition was followed by one allowing Austin to secede from Texas and stay part of the union.[27] The White House issued a 476-word response rejecting the idea.[10] Although the Texas National Movement did not initiate or support the petitions, stating that a state’s right to secede is not based on federal action, the organization did comment on the phenomenon. Organization president Daniel Miller stated that one reason for the popularity of the secession petitions is that the “union has fundamentally changed.”[21] After the rejection of the petition, the organization also issued a response likening the rejection to actions by dictators and consider it further proof of the need for Texas independence.[28] The petition drive also prompted another comment by a Texas government spokesman, who stated that "Gov. Perry believes in the greatness of our union, and nothing should be done to change it, but he also shares the frustrations many Americans have with our federal government."[26]

The comments by Rick Perry in 2009 and the petition drive have sparked harsh criticism from both government officials and pundits such as Jeff Macke, Joe Weisental and others.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Lerner, Craig S (2004). "SAVING THE CONSTITUTION: LINCOLN, SECESSION, AND THE PRICE OF UNION". Michigan Law Review. 102 (6): 1263–1294. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Shelly L Peffer (2008). Tenuous legitimacy: The administrative state, the antigovernment movement, and the stability of the United States constitutional democracy (PhD). Cleveland State University. Docket 3316905.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Burka, Paul (2009). "The Secret of My Secession: Rick Perry is not the first Lone Star politician to embrace the myth of Texan autonomy. Let's hope he's the last". Texas Monthly. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e f Lang, Andrew F (2009). ""Upon the Altar of Our Country": Confederate Identity, Nationalism, and Morale in Harrison County, Texas, 1860-1865". Civil War History. 55 (2): 278–306. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lang, Andrew F (2008). "Victory is our only road to peace": Texas, wartime morale, and Confederatenationalism, 1860--1865 (PhD). University of North Texas. Docket 1458660.
  6. ^ a b Wheeler, Linda; Richardson, Sarah (2011). "Texas Passes on Secession Anniversary". Civil War Times. 50 (3): 15. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ a b Roberts, Timothy Mason (2012). "Secession as an International Phenomenon: From America's Civil War to Contemporary Separatist Movements". The Journal of Southern History. 78 (2): 467–469. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Seaton, Melynda (2006). Texas cowboy as myth: Visual representations from the late twentieth century (PhD). University of North Texas. Docket 1437067.
  9. ^ a b Sivek, Susan Currie (2008). Constructing Texan identity at "Texas Monthly" magazine (PhD). The University of Texas at Austin. Docket 3320365.
  10. ^ a b c d e Manny Fernandez (January 15, 2013). "White House Rejects Petitions to Secede, but Texans Fight On". New York Times. New York. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Patoski, Joe Nick (1997). "Out there". Texas Monthly. 25 (6): 98–99. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. ^ "Loan Star loser". Bankers News 5. 4. February 25, 1997. p. S2.
  13. ^ "Solicita Texas atestiguar independencia". Reforma (in Spanish). July 16, 1996. p. 16. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ a b c d e Nate Blakeslee (September 1, 2009). "Revolutionary Kind". Texas Monthly. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d e f "Questions About TNM". Texas Nationalist Movement. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Texas Nationalist Movement Claims Membership Has Skyrocketed 400 Percent". US News. Washington. December 4, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  17. ^ Candace Jackson (June 13, 2009). "Fighting to Secede --- From Texas to Hawaii, a range of groups are advocating secession". Wall Street Journal. p. W2.
  18. ^ a b "What we believe". Texas Nationalist Movement. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Texas Nationalist Movement to rally for independence on opening day of Legislature". Houston News. Houston. January 7, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  20. ^ Nick Wing (November 14, 2012). "Daniel Miller: Texas Wants To Secede Because Majority Of U.S. Esteems 'Principles Of Karl Marx'". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  21. ^ a b "Secessionist leader: Texas should separate from Marxist states". CBS News. New York. November 14, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  22. ^ a b c Wayne Slater (October 14, 2009). "Wayne Slater: Texas Gov. Rick Perry's secession talk triggered calls of 'good riddance'". McClatchy - Tribune Business News.
  23. ^ "In Texas, 31% Say State Has Right to Secede From U.S., But 75% Opt To Stay". Rasmussen Reports. 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-04-19. [dead link‍]
  24. ^ "Secession Divides Texas Republicans". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
  25. ^ "Daily Kos/Research 2000 Texas Poll". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2012-11-16.
  26. ^ a b c "EDITORIAL: Civil War proved that secession isn't a practical option". McClatchy - Tribune Business News. November 21, 2012.
  27. ^ a b Chuck Lindell (November 14, 2012). "Texas secession petition takes off". McClatchy - Tribune Business News.
  28. ^ "TNM's Official Response To White House". Texas Nationalist Movement. Retrieved 20 January 2013.

More information

Republic of Texas independence movement websites

Terrorism Knowledge Base profile of Republic of Texas

Texas Convention Pro-Continuation of 1861

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