for the study of separatism, secession, and self-determination
127 East Mountain Road Cold Spring, N.Y. 10516
Director@MiddleburyInstitute.Org
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The Middlebury
Institute for the study of separatism, secession, and self-determination 127 East Mountain Road Cold Spring, N.Y. 10516 Director@MiddleburyInstitute.Org |
| INTRODUCTORY LETTER In answer to a growing swell of interest in realistic responses to the excesses of the present American empire, The Middlebury Institute has been launched by a group of activists and professionals to promote the serious study of separatism, secession, self-determination and similar devolutionary trends and developments, on both national and international scales. We believe that, of the options open to those who would dissent from the actions and institutions of a government grown too big and unwieldy and its handmaiden corporate sponsors grown too powerful and corrupt, the only comprehensive and practical one is some form of separatism. Exploring this option is not a step to be taken lightly, because there are established forces that will hamper and resist, and yet it is a legal and viable enterprise, squarely in the American tradition, and of a piece with the worldwide devolutionary current that has seen the breakup of European empires (including the Soviet) and the expansion of the United Nations from 51 to 193 nations in sixty years. Moreover, the accumulating signs point to a series of major crises that will seriously disrupt and may even destroy the American system in the near future. These include economic disruptions in the wake of global “peak oil” production before 2010, deterioration of the power of the dollar through mounting and uncontrollable national debt and trade imbalances, continued degradation of vital ecosystems on which the nation depends, climate change and severe weather causing widespread devastation of coastal areas, extended use of military force worldwide leading to increased terrorism and the reinstitution of the draft, judicial takeovers at the Federal level by right wing ideologues capable of altering fundamental legal rights, and terrorist attacks at facilities (nuclear plants, harbors, chemical factories) the government has been unable or unwilling to protect. Those who want to absent and cushion themselves from suchlike devastations would reasonably want to explore ways of removing their communities and regions from dangerous national political and economic mechanisms that are incapable of reform. It is for these reasons that The Middlebury Institute hopes to foster a national movement in the United States that will: * place secession on the national political agenda, * encourage secessionist and separatist movements here and abroad, * develop communication among such existing and future groups, * create a body of scholarship to examine and promote the ideas of separatism, * and work carefully and thoughtfully for the ultimate task, the peaceful dissolution of the American empire. To these ends we intend to issue regular papers treating with a broad range of secessionist issues, including the question of the constitutionality of secession in the U.S.; reports on the status of various secessionist movements in the U.S.; scenarios of federal responses to states opting to secede; the ethics of secession; the history of secession in America; the economic consequences of secession—a cost-benefit analysis; a history of worldwide secession and devolution developments of the past 20 years; case studies of individual foreign separatist movements of modern times; and excerpts from the considerable body of literature on separatism and secession. We will make many of these and other resources available on our website. We will facilitate networking among secessionists continentally and worldwide by sponsoring various gatherings of activists and scholars, sending out news releases, linking to news stories on our web site and keeping interested parties aware of developments through our email list. This is a long-haul project: the task is as immense as it is urgent, and we must go carefully, even as we go steadily. We will need your help: contact us, send us your email address, contribute what you can. Ultimately the Middlebury Institute will be what its constituents need and want, and we will serve the movement in any way we can. Spread the word. Join the action. Take the battlements. And keep in touch. Kirkpatrick Sale Thomas Naylor September 1, 2005 |
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To understand the impetus behind the movement, see: Middlebury Declaration that came out of a meeting of a Radical Consultation in Middlebury, Vermont, in November of 2004. First North American Secessionist Convention held November 3-5, 2006 in Burlington, Vermont. See the call, organizer report, news stories, videos. Burlington Declaration that came out of the First North American Secession Convention. Second North American Secessionist Convention held October 3-4, 2007 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. See the call, organizer reports, news reports, videos. Chattanooga Declaration that came out of the Second North Amerian Secession Convention. Middlebury Institute Papers I. Collapse of the American Empire II. The Case for American Secession III. October 2005 Vermont Convention Speech IV. Statement on Collegiality V. Minimal Rights and Freedoms of Individuals in a Sovereign State VI. From Little Acorns: The American Secession Movement Today VII. The Logic of Secession: Three Tines to a Trident VIII. Your Empire's Collapsing... IX. In Defense of Vermont’s Secession from the Union Related Articles
The Lessons of 9/11 Seeing Red and Seeing Blue Breakdown of Nations Small Is Powerful Things Fall Apart, Ready or Not Christopher Ketcham “Most Likely to Secede” Miscellaneous
Links
Seditionist and Sovereignty Movements in the USA Secessionist Movements Worldwide, Regularly Updated Wikipedia List Secessionist/Autonomist Movements Fourth World Review Current issue and archives Leopold Kohr Downloads Wisdom from author of Breakdown of Nations Jason Sorens PhD. writings on secession |
MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE NEWS
& UPDATES
July 2008: Zogby Poll Shows One in Five Americans Believe States Have the Right to Secede May 2008: New SECESSION Book Released! March 31: Third Secession Convention Announced for Nov. 14 - 16 in Manchester, New Hampshire VIDEO LINKS Check out Middlebury Institute YouTube Page "Divided We Stand Together" Secession Conference Fox News Report on Vermont Secession SECESSION VIDEO SITES Vermon Commons VTFREE Vermont Secession SecessionNow Republic of New Hampshire (See particularly "Common Sense") DixieNet.Org AUDIO LINKS Kirkpatrick Sale speech "The Logic of Secession" 43 min MP4 file October 5, 2007 at League of the South conference entitled "Southern Secession: Antidote to Empire and Tyranny" Christopher Ketcham Radio
Interview on Secession
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