Second Vermont Republic
Encyclopedia
Second Vermont Republic (SVR) is a secession
ist group within the U.S. state of Vermont
which seeks to return to the formerly independent status of the Vermont Republic
(1777–91). It describes itself as "a nonviolent citizens' network and think tank opposed to the tyranny of Corporate America and the U.S. government, and committed to the peaceful return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic and more broadly the dissolution of the Union." The organization was founded in 2003 by Thomas Naylor
, a former Duke University
economics professor who published the book The Vermont Manifesto that same year.
, who in the past served on the Advisory Board of Second Vermont Republic, co-authored with Bill Mares OUT! The Vermont Secession Book, a tongue-in-cheek scenario for secession that begins with the exploding of bridges connecting Vermont with its neighboring states. In 2010 Vermont alternative weekly Seven Days
wrote that Bryan had "turned his back on secession."
In 1989, Bryan, with John McClaughry, president of Vermont's Institute for Liberty and Community and who, during the administration of Ronald Reagan
, was Senior Policy Advisor in the White House
Office of Policy Development, authored
a call for the restructuring of Vermont democracy in their book The Vermont Papers, Recreating Democracy on a Human Scale. In it they propose replacing the structure of Vermont towns with decentralized shire
s that maintain more local decision-making akin to British county councils. The ideas put forth in this book were not reliant upon, nor called for, Vermont's separation from the federal union. In a September, 2006 Los Angeles Times
story about Second Vermont Republic, John McClaughry said, "This really is a good-natured cult. Intellectually, they've got some horsepower, but mostly this is the whole left-wing litany, seen through an interesting prism." Secession, said McClaughry, "is not going to happen, and no one believes it is going to happen." However, in June 2007 Bryan stated that "the cachet of secession would make the new republic a magnet" and "People would obviously relish coming to the Republic of Vermont, the Switzerland of North America."
The "independence" flag adopted by the Second Vermont Republic is similar in design to the Green Mountain Boys
regimental flag flown by those who supported creation of the first Vermont Republic
.
In January 2005 the Second Vermont Republic claimed it had 125 card-carrying members.
Members of the Second Vermont Republic subscribe to eight principles: political Independence, human scale, sustainability, economic solidarity, power sharing, equal opportunity, tension reduction and mutuality.
The Second Vermont Republic hosted a "radical consultation" in Middlebury, Vermont in November 2004 which resulted in the creation of the Middlebury Declaration and the establishment of the Middlebury Institute
. In April 2005 members of Second Vermont Republic started the Vermont Commons quarterly publication. In November 2006 its representatives attended the First North American Secessionist Convention in Burlington, Vermont which brought together secessionists from a broad political spectrum. The convention issued the Burlington Declaration.
In May 2008 Feral House
published Thomas Naylor's book Secession: How Vermont and all the Other States Can Save Themselves from the Empire. Author Kirkpatrick Sale
wrote the foreword. Professor Walter E. Williams
of George Mason University
writes it is a "serious examination of our God given right of self governance and that right’s implication for secession. Dr. Naylor has made a persuasive case of the identical response to today’s ‘train of abuses’ that led the Founders to secede from King George’s tyranny."
magazine article about the campaigns quoted Naylor as describing the Second Vermont Republic as "left-libertarian, anti-big government, anti-empire, antiwar, with small is beautiful as our guiding philosophy." It quoted Gubnatorial secessionist candidate Dennis Steele's statement that his first act of office would be bringing Vermont National Guard members home from overseas military deployments. A separate Time magazine article features Vermont as one of the "Top 10 Aspiring Nations."
Gubernatorial candidate Dennis Steele received .8 percent of votes cast for that office; Lieutenant Governor candidate Peter Garritano received 4.7 percent. Both ran as independents.
(SPLC), revealed that some advisory board members had affiliations with Neo-Confederate
groups, such as the League of the South
(LOS), resulting in internal and public controversy.
In reaction, SVR co-founder Thomas Naylor told The Vermont Guardian that the organization has no direct link to LOS, except a link on the SVR website, and that SVR is not racist. He told a radio audience: "The SPLC is a well-known McCarthy
-style group of mercenaries who routinely engage in ideological smear campaigns on behalf of their wealthy techno-fascist clowns. It’s all about money, power, and greed." In June 2008 Naylor denounced the SPLC exposé of Second Vermont Republic as a "CIA witchhunt." However, in July 2008 Naylor asked the League of the South to consider several "actions aimed at eliminating once and for all any perception that the LOS is a racist organization." In 2009 SPLC
wrote that Naylor agreed to share the stage with what it labeled as "Neo-Confederate" scholars at an Abbeville Institute secessionist conference called “State Nullification, Secession and the Human Scale of Political Order.”
In April 2007 SVR advisory board member Frank Bryan and Vermont Commons publisher Ian Baldwin authored an op-ed piece for the Washington Post, "The Once and Future Republic of Vermont." A month later in his column at the Vermont Secretary of State
's website, Vermont State Archivist Gregory Sanford countered several quotes in a "news release by two Vermont supporters of secession." A reading of the Bryan and Baldwin opinion piece shows that they are the same, word for word, as the "news release." Sanford held that each of quotes was "based on historical facts of dubious reputation," illustrating the point by "juxtaposing italicized quotes from the press release with quotes from historical documents." Sanford said his point "is neither to argue with our current secessionists nor denigrate the beliefs of the authors of the press release." Rather it was to argue "the importance of having accessible public records to evaluate the rhetoric of public figures."
Frank Bryan criticized the 2010 secessionist electoral candidates for running for statewide offices instead of local offices to establish a record. “They want to go to the top immediately with candidates who really don’t have a lot of experience in governing.” Naylor disagreed, saying “Dennis Steele has done more for the Vermont independence movement in the last six months than anyone has done in the last seven years. The only way you could have that platform is by running for governor.”
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
ist group within the U.S. state of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
which seeks to return to the formerly independent status of the Vermont Republic
Vermont Republic
The term Vermont Republic has been used by later historians for the government of what became modern Vermont from 1777 to 1791. In July 1777 delegates from 28 towns met and declared independence from jurisdictions and land claims of British colonies in New Hampshire and New York. They also...
(1777–91). It describes itself as "a nonviolent citizens' network and think tank opposed to the tyranny of Corporate America and the U.S. government, and committed to the peaceful return of Vermont to its status as an independent republic and more broadly the dissolution of the Union." The organization was founded in 2003 by Thomas Naylor
Thomas Naylor
Thomas Naylor, born May 30, 1936, in Jackson, Mississippi, is a Professor Emeritus of Economics at Duke University, the author of thirty books, and a founder of the Second Vermont Republic...
, a former Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
economics professor who published the book The Vermont Manifesto that same year.
History
In 1987, University of Vermont professor Frank M. BryanFrank M. Bryan
Frank M. Bryan is the John G. McCullough Professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont. He is a noted local scholar, author and humorist, having written and co-written over ten books and numerous articles....
, who in the past served on the Advisory Board of Second Vermont Republic, co-authored with Bill Mares OUT! The Vermont Secession Book, a tongue-in-cheek scenario for secession that begins with the exploding of bridges connecting Vermont with its neighboring states. In 2010 Vermont alternative weekly Seven Days
Seven Days (newspaper)
Seven Days is an alternative weekly newspaper that is distributed every Wednesday in Vermont. Seven Days is published by Da Capo Publishing, Inc., and owned by Pamela Polston and Paula Routly. It is distributed free of charge throughout the following areas: Burlington, Middlebury, Montpelier,...
wrote that Bryan had "turned his back on secession."
In 1989, Bryan, with John McClaughry, president of Vermont's Institute for Liberty and Community and who, during the administration of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, was Senior Policy Advisor in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
Office of Policy Development, authored
a call for the restructuring of Vermont democracy in their book The Vermont Papers, Recreating Democracy on a Human Scale. In it they propose replacing the structure of Vermont towns with decentralized shire
Shire
A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...
s that maintain more local decision-making akin to British county councils. The ideas put forth in this book were not reliant upon, nor called for, Vermont's separation from the federal union. In a September, 2006 Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
story about Second Vermont Republic, John McClaughry said, "This really is a good-natured cult. Intellectually, they've got some horsepower, but mostly this is the whole left-wing litany, seen through an interesting prism." Secession, said McClaughry, "is not going to happen, and no one believes it is going to happen." However, in June 2007 Bryan stated that "the cachet of secession would make the new republic a magnet" and "People would obviously relish coming to the Republic of Vermont, the Switzerland of North America."
Green Mountain Boys
The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in the 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants...
regimental flag flown by those who supported creation of the first Vermont Republic
Vermont Republic
The term Vermont Republic has been used by later historians for the government of what became modern Vermont from 1777 to 1791. In July 1777 delegates from 28 towns met and declared independence from jurisdictions and land claims of British colonies in New Hampshire and New York. They also...
.
In January 2005 the Second Vermont Republic claimed it had 125 card-carrying members.
Members of the Second Vermont Republic subscribe to eight principles: political Independence, human scale, sustainability, economic solidarity, power sharing, equal opportunity, tension reduction and mutuality.
The Second Vermont Republic hosted a "radical consultation" in Middlebury, Vermont in November 2004 which resulted in the creation of the Middlebury Declaration and the establishment of the Middlebury Institute
Middlebury Institute
The Middlebury Institute for the study of separatism, secession, and self-determination is a political think tank and activist organization founded in 2005...
. In April 2005 members of Second Vermont Republic started the Vermont Commons quarterly publication. In November 2006 its representatives attended the First North American Secessionist Convention in Burlington, Vermont which brought together secessionists from a broad political spectrum. The convention issued the Burlington Declaration.
In May 2008 Feral House
Feral House
Feral House is a book publisher owned and operated by Adam Parfrey. The publisher itself describes the books it sells as "pure information", and says the topics of the books are "forbidden"....
published Thomas Naylor's book Secession: How Vermont and all the Other States Can Save Themselves from the Empire. Author Kirkpatrick Sale
Kirkpatrick Sale
Kirkpatrick Sale is an independent scholar and author who has written prolifically about political decentralism, environmentalism, luddism and technology...
wrote the foreword. Professor Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams, is an American economist, commentator, and academic. He is the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, as well as a syndicated columnist and author known for his libertarian views.- Early life and education :Williams family during childhood...
of George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
writes it is a "serious examination of our God given right of self governance and that right’s implication for secession. Dr. Naylor has made a persuasive case of the identical response to today’s ‘train of abuses’ that led the Founders to secede from King George’s tyranny."
Political campaigns
In January 2010 nine Vermonters announced they were planning to run for governor, lieutenant governor and seven seats in the state Senate on a Vermont secession platform. Lieutenant Governor candidate Peter Garritano said the idea to run came during a meeting two months before with Thomas Naylor. A TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine article about the campaigns quoted Naylor as describing the Second Vermont Republic as "left-libertarian, anti-big government, anti-empire, antiwar, with small is beautiful as our guiding philosophy." It quoted Gubnatorial secessionist candidate Dennis Steele's statement that his first act of office would be bringing Vermont National Guard members home from overseas military deployments. A separate Time magazine article features Vermont as one of the "Top 10 Aspiring Nations."
Gubernatorial candidate Dennis Steele received .8 percent of votes cast for that office; Lieutenant Governor candidate Peter Garritano received 4.7 percent. Both ran as independents.
Controversies
In early 2007 an anonymously written blog, using material published by the Southern Poverty Law CenterSouthern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
(SPLC), revealed that some advisory board members had affiliations with Neo-Confederate
Neo-confederate
Neo-Confederate is a term used by some academics and political activists to describe the views of various groups and individuals who have a positive belief system concerning the historical experience of the Confederate States of America, the Southern secession, and the Southern United...
groups, such as the League of the South
League of the South
The League of the South is a Southern nationalist organization, headquartered in Killen, Alabama, which states that its ultimate goal is "a free and independent Southern republic." The group defines the Southern United States as the states that made up the former Confederacy...
(LOS), resulting in internal and public controversy.
In reaction, SVR co-founder Thomas Naylor told The Vermont Guardian that the organization has no direct link to LOS, except a link on the SVR website, and that SVR is not racist. He told a radio audience: "The SPLC is a well-known McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
-style group of mercenaries who routinely engage in ideological smear campaigns on behalf of their wealthy techno-fascist clowns. It’s all about money, power, and greed." In June 2008 Naylor denounced the SPLC exposé of Second Vermont Republic as a "CIA witchhunt." However, in July 2008 Naylor asked the League of the South to consider several "actions aimed at eliminating once and for all any perception that the LOS is a racist organization." In 2009 SPLC
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
wrote that Naylor agreed to share the stage with what it labeled as "Neo-Confederate" scholars at an Abbeville Institute secessionist conference called “State Nullification, Secession and the Human Scale of Political Order.”
In April 2007 SVR advisory board member Frank Bryan and Vermont Commons publisher Ian Baldwin authored an op-ed piece for the Washington Post, "The Once and Future Republic of Vermont." A month later in his column at the Vermont Secretary of State
Secretary of State of Vermont
The Office of the Secretary of State of Vermont is located at 128 State Street.The Secretary of State of Vermont is one of five cabinet-level constitutional officers in the U.S. state of Vermont which are elected every two years. The Office of the Secretary of State is located at 128 State St. in...
's website, Vermont State Archivist Gregory Sanford countered several quotes in a "news release by two Vermont supporters of secession." A reading of the Bryan and Baldwin opinion piece shows that they are the same, word for word, as the "news release." Sanford held that each of quotes was "based on historical facts of dubious reputation," illustrating the point by "juxtaposing italicized quotes from the press release with quotes from historical documents." Sanford said his point "is neither to argue with our current secessionists nor denigrate the beliefs of the authors of the press release." Rather it was to argue "the importance of having accessible public records to evaluate the rhetoric of public figures."
Frank Bryan criticized the 2010 secessionist electoral candidates for running for statewide offices instead of local offices to establish a record. “They want to go to the top immediately with candidates who really don’t have a lot of experience in governing.” Naylor disagreed, saying “Dennis Steele has done more for the Vermont independence movement in the last six months than anyone has done in the last seven years. The only way you could have that platform is by running for governor.”
See also
- Vermont RepublicVermont RepublicThe term Vermont Republic has been used by later historians for the government of what became modern Vermont from 1777 to 1791. In July 1777 delegates from 28 towns met and declared independence from jurisdictions and land claims of British colonies in New Hampshire and New York. They also...
- Flag of the Vermont Republic
- History of VermontHistory of VermontThe history of Vermont begins more than 10,500 years before the present day.-Early history:Vermont was covered with shallow seas periodically from the Cambrian to Devonian periods. Most of the sedimentary rocks laid down in these seas were deformed by mountain-building. Fossils, however, are...
- Politics of VermontPolitics of VermontAs a small state, Vermont federal politics has been, since the latter half of the 20th century, aimed at obtaining financial support from the federal government in exchange for voting support in Congress...
- Killington, Vermont secession movementKillington, Vermont secession movementAt the 2004 and 2005 Town Meetings, the citizens of the ski resort community of Killington, Vermont voted in favor of pursuing secession from Vermont and admission into the state of New Hampshire, which lies 25 miles to the east.-Adherents' claims:...
- Free State ProjectFree State ProjectThe Free State Project is a political movement, founded in 2001, to recruit at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas....
External links
- Second Vermont Republic home page
- Vermont Commons, the journal of Vermont Independence (See also: Vermont Commons YouTube.Com videos.)
- 200 Towns Vermont Secession Campaign
- A Vision of a Nation No Longer in the U.S.,The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, October 18, 2007. - Myths and Documents by Vermont State Archivist, Gregory Sanford.
- Free Vermont, Bill KauffmanBill KauffmanBill Kauffman is an American political writer generally aligned with the paleoconservative movement. He was born in Batavia, New York, and currently resides in Elba, New York, with his wife and daughter....
, The American ConservativeThe American ConservativeThe American Conservative is a monthly U.S. opinion magazine published by Ron Unz. Its first editor was Scott McConnell, his successors being Kara Hopkins and the present incumbent, Daniel McCarthy....
, December 19, 2005. - Frank Bryan: The Case for Vermont's Secession, VermontCommons web site, April 22, 2005.
- The Rise of a Green Tea Party, CounterPunchCounterpunchCounterpunch can refer to:* Counterpunch , a punch in boxing* CounterPunch, a bi-weekly political newsletter* Counterpunch , a type of punch used in traditional typography* Punch-Counterpunch, a Transformers character...
- North Meets South: Vermont Secessionists Meet with Racist League of the South - Southern Poverty Law CenterSouthern Poverty Law CenterThe Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
article. - Yankee Secessionist Back in Cahoots with Neo-Confederates - Southern Poverty Law CenterSouthern Poverty Law CenterThe Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
article.