Disunited States of America
We just can't stop talking about Texas Secession. [Secession, previously on Cartophilia.]
This got me thinking about all of the other Secessionist Movements currently going on in this country. During the 2008 Presidential Election, there was some hubub surrounding Todd Palin (husband of the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin) and whether or not he was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party. Citizens of several other states still claim the right to revert to independent status. Vermont and California like to remind everyone that they were an independent republic before they became states, and Hawaii was an independent kingdom before annexation.
What if all these secessionist movements actually succeeded? What might a map of the United States look like?
I created this map based on the Wikipedia list of active autonomist and secessionist movements in the United States. (Click on map for larger view.)
- Southern Neo-Confederates dream that the South Shall Rise Again! But, the New Black Panther Party envisions a Republic of New Afrika in the southeastern "black belt".
- Marxist-Leninists in Minnesota have proposed a North Star Republic, made up of Minnnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Who gets the Mackinaw Bridge?
- Chicano Nationalists have proposed the creation of Aztlán as a homeland for Aztecan people, perhaps in combination with states of northern Mexico.
- A movement within the Lakota Sioux tribe is calling for a reassertion of sovereignty over thousands of square miles in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. The Republic of Lakotah would be completely surrounded by the remaining United States.
- The Republic of Cascadia is the dream of a group of environmentalists in the Pacific Northwest. This new nation would include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Northern California, British Columbia and the Alaskan panhandle. Proponents of this movement hope to counter what they see as "improper stewardship" of the land. Would this lead to an underground Lumberjack Liberation Front?
- The narrow strip of what will be left of the "United States" would run from New Jersey to San Francisco.
If these secessionist dreams come true, perhaps no one will be more pleased than Professor Igor Panarin, who has made a career in Russia predicting the disunion of the United States.
Also, previously in Cartophilia:
Labels: alternate history, secession, united states
posted by Cartophiliac @ Saturday, May 02, 2009
8 Comments
8 Comments:
This would be clearer if the proposed borders were shown on top of the existing US, rather than exploding the states. Using a transparency would also allow for overlapping claims.
This is fascinating - without trying to dismiss the seriousness of the issue, I already find myself debating which new country I'd choose to live in, since there are so many places in the U.S. that I have called home. (Texas isn't one of them, though.)
And I like the pulled apart display. Easier on the eyes for me, personally.
Have you ever thought of making prints of your maps?
I think the US Eastern Seaboard would cling together fiercely from Virginia to Boston. That's where the Federal core is, and I think that would be the last place to be divided.
@Neil - expolding the states was the metaphor I was going for there...
@paintandink - most of the maps on my site are not mine... except for my Quastolia maps and the United States of Football maps. The rest are usually scans or links to other people's work. I find it hard to imagine anyone would want to buy any of mine when they can buy yours! :-)
@Gavin - Norther Virginia perhaps. DC to Boston is closely tied together economicaly (and by rail!)
I'm not sure "California Republic lasted more than a few days" (long enough to give California its flag) the Mexican War. It was almost a comic opera incident. California did become a state, however, before going through a proper territorial period.
The secession discussion that occassionally appears in Cali is over the division of the north and southern parts of the state along the line of the Tehachapi Mountains (this was in discussion since Civil War days at least).
Lovely, I love teh idea of how u divided teh southwest, however I see Texas to become part of Aztlan as teh other states "conquered" it if u will, with help of Mexico, and then joining it, all due to Mexican influence in those southern parts of teh states, however I see teh Northwest as a more of a Canadian territory and a bit to teh east more likely to form a new republic.
Anyone who lumps Idaho in with CA, WA and OR doesn't know the people of this state at all. We're mostly conservative, and have little interest in aligning ourselves with the liberals in that area.
I would like to see a independent New York ("Hay!" to all my fellow New Yorkers, Upstate and Downstate all alike!)
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