Cascadia (independence movement)

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"The Doug" is the most common flag design for Cascadia.^[1]

Cascadia (commonly called the Republic of Cascadia as a full name) is a proposed name for the independent sovereign state that would be formed by the union of British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington. Other suggested boundary lines also include Idaho (all or parts), Northern California, parts of Alaska, and parts of the Yukon. This type of "federation" would require secession from both the United States and Canada.^[2] The boundaries of this proposed republic would incorporate those of the existing province and states.^[2]

At the maximum extent, Cascadia would be home to more than 15 million people and would boast an economy that generates more than $450 billion worth of goods and services annually, which would place Cascadia in the top 20 economies of the world.^[2]

[edit] History

Thomas Jefferson was the first to suggest the "Republic of the Pacific".^[3]

After Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark into the Pacific Northwest in 1803, Jefferson envisioned the establishment of an independent nation in the western portion of North America which he dubbed the "Republic of the Pacific".^[4] Jefferson's original idea has since been embraced by a number of different groups with generally similar aims.^[5]

Elements among the region's population sought to secede from the United States and form their own country from the very beginning of Oregon's statehood.^[5] While the Southern states seceded to form the Confederacy, some Oregonians saw it as a perfect opportunity to establish their own country. The American government launched a successful information campaign by associating the movement with the Knights of the Golden Circle, which was a pro-Confederate, pro-slavery organization.^[5]

At the same time, other movements inside of Cascadia, such as the Klamath, Trinity, and Jackson movements, all sought to wrench certain areas of Cascadia free from U.S. control.^[5] These too failed, largely by being put down through various uses of force.^[5]

After attempts in the mid 19th Century at forming a State of Jefferson prior to becoming Oregon and then again in the 1930s, citizens attempted what is the best known of such movements in the region. The movement was created to draw attention to the area by proposing that Southern Oregon and Northern California form a separate state.^[6] As this is historically a depressed area, many locals placed the blame on the state governments in Salem and Sacramento. For that reason, a flag bearing two X's and a gold pan was adopted. The two X's represented the so-called "double crosses" from Sacramento and Salem.^[7]

In 1956, groups from Cave Junction, Oregon and Dunsmuir, California threatened to tear Southern Oregon and Northern California from their respective state rulers to form the State of Shasta.^[8]

In recent years dissatisfaction with a wide range of issues has led to a renewed interest in the idea of an independent Cascadia. In September 2001, the Cascadian National Party was launched with a full political platform. Three days later, the September 11th attack occurred, and support for the movement faltered.^[9]

In 2005, borrowing heavily from the Cascadian National Party platform, the Cascadian Independence Project was created. Currently it remains the only organization seriously promoting the idea of Cascadian Independence.^[10]

[edit] Boundaries

The boundary often proposed for an independent Cascadia.

There are many disputed borders for Cascadia. The most common border is simply to include the states of Oregon, Washington, and the province of British Columbia. [1] Some maps simply include the states of Oregon and Washington, excluding BC from the map. Some groups have sought to extend the interpretation of Cascadia to embrace parts of Northern California, Idaho and Alaska. Some borders make Cascadia into a federation, combining counties into new states (which includes the State of Jefferson). Other proposed states would include a State of Trinity, State of Jackson, State of Klamath, State of Shasta and State of Pacifica.^[5]

Different definitions of Pacific Northwest and related terms. The green outline is the "Cascadia bioregion," which is what the common border of Cascadia is designed from.

A further delineation of the proposed Cascadian boundaries would necessarily include the complete watershed of the Columbia river, therefore naturally including the territories of what is now Idaho, western Montana, and part of Wyoming, Utah, and very northern Nevada. Some argue that the inclusion of the Columbia watershed is vital to the integrity of Cascadia and the health of its ecosystem.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Motivation

Political motivations for the secession and autonomy movements deal mostly with perceived shared Cascadian political culture, values, language dialect, history and interests, with which the eastern federal governments are accused of ignoring and being out of touch.^[5] These connections go back to the Oregon Territory, and further to the Oregon Country, the land most commonly associated with Cascadia were united as a single political unit, though split between two countries.^[2]

The region is already served by several cooperative organizations and interstate or international agencies, especially in forestry and fishery management and emergency preparedness – the whole region being prone to earthquakes (see Cascadia subduction zone). These organizations are thought by some to be precursors of a bioregional democracy, perhaps along the 'Republic' lines.^[5]

[edit] References in popular culture

"Be The Evergreen Revolution" bumper sticker, supporting the separation of Cascadia from the United States and Canada.

• Two novels by Ernest Callenbach, Ecotopia (1975) and Ecotopia Emerging (1981), are fictional portrayals of the secession of the region from the United States. Callenbach's novels include Washington, Oregon, and the northern half of California in the new country (with the dividing line between northern and southern California drawn roughly through Santa Barbara and Bakersfield). Seriatim was a short-lived magazine published in El Cerrito, California in the late 1970s which also promoted the secession of the region along the lines portrayed by Callenbach.

• Joel Garreau's Nine Nations of North America (1981) has the region as one of his nine 'nations', which he named Ecotopia after the Callenbach novel.

• Predating these is a proposal made by Eric Hoffer in The Temper Of Our Time (1967) for "a pilot state made up of a slice of northern California and a slice of southern Oregon" in which "the main purpose of life would be for people to learn and grow." Hoffer feared that as meaningful work was automated away through technology, rootlessness would become a societal problem unless channeled in other directions such as education and personal growth, and proposed this region for his pilot state in part because it had good potential for work restoring ravaged soils and forests, work which would result in "the simultaneous reclamation of natural and human resources".

• In the Crimson Skies universe, the nation of Pacifica is formed out of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

• The Fish Brewing Company of Olympia, Washington puts, "Brewed in the Republic of Cascadia" on their organic ale.^[11]

[edit] See also

• Oregon boundary dispute
• Alaska boundary dispute
• Alaskan Independence Party
• State of Lincoln
• State of Jefferson
• Secession
• Northwest Territorial Imperative

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Abraham, Kera. "A Free Cascadia." Eugene Weekly. 9 September 2006.
• Fleming, Thomas. "America's Crackup." National Review, 7/28/1997, Vol. 49, Issue 14
• Gauk, Matthew. "Welcome to the Evergreen Revolution." The Martlet, 9 November 2006.
• Henkel, William B. "Cascadia: A state of (various) mind(s)." Chicago Review, 1993, Vol. 39, Issue 3/4
• Jannsson, David. Divided we Stand, United We Fall (2006) - Counterpunch, 20 December 2006
• Ketcham, Christopher. "Most Likely to Secede - Interviews with a few prominent figures who actively promote self governance." Good Magazine, January 2008.
• Nussbaum, Paul. "Coming together to Ponder Pulling Apart." Philadelphia Inquirer, November 2006.
• Overby, Peter. "We're outta here." Common Cause Magazine, Win92, Vol. 18, Issue 4
• Phillips, James D. "Western Regionalism: Views on Cascadia." United States Law Journal, 2004, Vol. 30, p333-339, 7p
• Powell, Mark W. "The Americas: British Columbia's future may not lie with 'Old Canada'." Wall Street Journal. Jun 9, 1995. pg. A11
• Will, Gudrun. "Cascadia Rising." Vancouver Review, 2006.
• Woodward, Steve. "Welcome to Cascadia" The Oregonian, 14 November 2004.
• "Welcome to Cascadia." The Economist, 5/21/94, Vol. 331, Issue 7864

[edit] External links

• Cascadian Independence Project One of the primary groups promoting the idea of Cascadian independence.
• Legality of Secession from the American Secession Project.
• Cascadian English Cascadians discuss their own regional dialect, and Chinook Jargon, Cascadia's original trade language.
• AltaColumbia A comprehensive list of Cascadian autonomy and secessionist movements and groups.
• Cascadia Related Links A list of websites related, both directly and indirectly, to Cascadia.
• The Republic of Cascadia A tongue-in-cheek site promoting Cascadian independence.
• Cascadia Rising News and information about the Cascadia region.