Secession in the News - Again

Click the link to read the entire Congress.org article - and a h/t to The Maritime Sentry for first linking to this story:

The political message underlying last week's Hawaii celebration outside the White House was clear: The island state wants out of the union.

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Hawaii isn't the only state whose citizens believe the U.S. is occupying it unfairly. Secession movements persist to this day in border states like Texas, Vermont, Alaska, and parts of New York.

The Supreme Court ruled in the years following the Civil War that it is illegal for states to secede from the union, but that hasn't stopped people from trying it.

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Vermont's push for independence stems from opposition to war policies that began under President Bush, while Texan secessionists complained last year about having to pay for the health care overhaul.

The motivation differs slightly in Alaska and Hawaii, which have always had a secessionist impulse driven by their distances from Washington and local cultures.

"The idea is, 'We're so remote from the mainland that we should really be doing things our way,'" Paul Starobin, author of "After America: Narratives for the Next Global Age," said.