The Fives: Land of Lakotah not the first to look for a split from the U.S.

By Todd Williams, Journal staff | Tuesday, July 29, 2008

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Talk of secession can be serious business, just ask  Russell Means. The recent development with the proclaimed Republic of Lakotah seeking further separation from the Union seems like an unusual step to address some real problems.

And of course, the nation's most remarkable test came from the secession attempt by the South just before the Civil War.

Still, not all secession attempts are created equal, and many carry nowhere near the gravity of the aforementioned.

The truth is, most talk of secession within the boundaries of the U.S. is about joining with a different state than about creating one's own country.

And it isn't that uncommon. In California alone, there have been more than 25 attempts to divide the state since it became a state in 1850. In fact, secession attempts have been mounted in more than 40 states.

Here's a quick look at some of my favorites.

The Conch Republic

Perhaps as much of a marketing ploy than a true desire to split from the rest of the Sunshine State, a group of Key West residents went to the effort to issue a public decree to the desk of President Reagan their desire to secede.

the name of their new independent republic: The Conch Republic.

A U.S. Border Patrol roadblock and checkpoint that inconvenienced residents and hampered tourism in the area spurred residents in Key West to declare their independence on April 23, 1982.

One of the most surreal moments in the brief history of The Conch Republic came in September of 1995 when the U.S. Army Reserve held training exercises in Key West simulating an invasion. The only problem was, they didn't tell any of the town folk about their plans.

Conch officials responded appropriately, fighting back by firing water cannons from fireboats and hitting people with stale bread, as well as protesting to the Department of Defense. Two days later, the Reserves apologized and submitted to a surrender ceremony.

Acting so Superior in the U.P.

For anyone who has ever been or lived there, Michigan is the most geographically divided of the Lower 48 and the two peninsulas have among the most divided personalities.

Some have called for the Upper Peninsula to secede from the United States, while others have proposed it become its own U.S. state, with a possible name being Superior (for Lake Superior).

While tongue-in-cheek, the U.P. division from the lower two-thirds of Michigan is real. Like South Dakota, the cultural and behavioral differences between residents on each side is significant.

For one, the U.P. has only about 3 percent of the state's population, but the U.P. accounts for a third of the land mass in Michigan. Meanwhile, U.P. residents tend to identify with pro sports teams from nearby Wisconsin (such as the Packers) than those in Michigan (the Lions). And who can blame them.

Meanwhile, for residents in parts of the U.P., the traveling distance to the Twin Cities in Minnesota is far closer than a trip to Detroit, which is akin to them to traveling to St. Louis.

The Kinney water party

BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Kinney, in Kinney, Minnesota, has decided to secede from the United States of America, and become a foreign country. Our area is large enough for it. We are twelve square blocks, three blocks wide and four blocks long. We will be similar to Monaco. It is much easier to get assistance as a foreign country, which we need badly, and there is no paper work to worry about. If necessary, we will be glad to declare war and lose. However, if this is a requirement, we would appreciate being able to surrender real quick, as our Mayor works as a nurse in a hospital, and most of our council members work in a nearby mine and cannot get much time off from work.

Thus began the Republic of Kinney.

The tiny northern Minnesota town, frustrated with the failure of repeated attempts to get help with a failing water system, proclaimed it's attempt to secede, noting it would be easier to receive aid if it were considered a foreign country. Mayor Mary Anderson declared war and lost immediately.

In the end, the PR paid off, but it took a while. The council sent the above resolution to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who never acknowledged it. But more than six months later, the Mesabi Daily News ran a story on the whole affair, and in a matter of days, David Brinkley was featuring it on the NBC Nightly News.

By the end of the year, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board had approved a grant that would address their water needs.

They'd rather be in Wyoming

If you think West River residents in South Dakota have a chip on their shoulder and feel they often get short shrift in political decisions of all sorts, just take a look to our southern neighbor in Nebraska.

Panhandle residents have long decried a series of decisions that have either inconvenienced or ignored their part of the state.

One of the most serious attempts came in the 1890s when farmers in the North Platte valley sought legislation that would encourage irrigation in their neck of the woods. When leaders in Lincoln ignored their request, Panhandle leaders look to secede from Nebraska and join Wyoming, which had favorable water law. Lawmakers soon passed legislation to placate the farmers and keep them in Nebraska.

Napping when they should have been mapping

In 1967, the village of Winneconne seceded from Wisconsin for one day to protest its omission from the new state highway map.

It began in 1967 when a salesman making a call noted he had a hard time finding the town because it wasn't on the map. It turned out that map makers had given the tiny burg a dot but no name.

Local Chamber officials had great fun with it, making it a tourism draw in itself.

Of course, being left off the map is something South Dakota residents know about. A decade or two ago, Rand McNally left the entire state out of its U.S. Road Atlas, simply adjoining parts of the Rushmore State to adjoining states.

Maybe secession wouldn't be that bad of an idea, after all.