17% of North Carolinians would want to secede (again)

According to a YouGov survey, 17% of North Carolinians would very much like to secede from the Union. This wouldn't be the state's first (or even second) taste of secession -- neither tended to end well, if we're being honest. 

But it should be noted that N.C.'s percentage is below the national average from this survey.

The idea of states leaving the American union has attracted substantial attention in recent months amid near unprecedented tensions between Democrats and Republicans, which surged following the 2020 presidential election. In February 2023, House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia sparked controversy and debate by calling for a "national divorce" between "red states and blue states."

The YouGov survey found that 23 percent of adults want their state to become independent, with 51 percent opposed and 27 percent unsure. The poll was conducted between February 2 and 5.

The Old North State falls squarely in the middle of the pack. Alaska, Texas and California are the most prone to want to secede at 36, 31 and 29 percent, respectively. The most "pro-union" states are Minnesota, Ohio, Massachussets and Rhode Island at 13% (MN) and 14%.

Come up with a better name, Colorado

Voters in some northeast Colorado counties recently cast their votes to secede from the state and form a new state: "Northern Colorado."

"The nation's newest state, if rural Colorado residents had their way, would be about the size of Vermont but with the population of a small town spread across miles of farmland," wrote the Associated Press. "There wouldn't be civil unions for gay couples, legal recreational marijuana, new renewable energy standards, or limits on ammunition magazines.

"After all, those were some of the reasons five counties on the state's Eastern Plains voted on Election Day to approve the creation of a 51st state in the first place."

As the AP article goes on to say, the vote doesn't officially mean a whole heck of a lot; it was more of a symbolic gesture than anything, spurred by a population that feels like the leaders in the capital have lost touch with their needs.

This is not a new concept; not by a long stretch. In fact, here in North Carolina (well, in an area that USED to be part of North Carolina), we have seen a new state rise up out of frustration, only to dissolve into the annals of history. And though it was never officially recognized by Washington, the short-lived State of Franklin did, in fact, live. (And it still kinda-sorta lives today, thanks to entities like the State of Franklin Bank, based in Johnson City, Tennessee.)

In fact, Franklin (or "Frankland") was a pioneer (pun intended) in the whole "let's secede out of frustration" thing. When it was founded in 1784, Franklin leaders had hopes that it would become the 14th state. It even had a capital (Jonesborough) and a Congress. From Wikipedia:

Franklin was never admitted into the union. The extra-legal state existed for only about four and a half years, ostensibly as a republic, after which North Carolina re-assumed full control of the area.
The creation of Franklin is novel, in that it resulted from both a cession (an offering from North Carolina to Congress) and a secession (seceding from North Carolina, when its offer to Congress was not acted upon, and the original cession was rescinded).

In fact, if any new state ever had a chance to make it, it was probably Franklin. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be, and the territory of Franklin became part of a real, honest-to-God new state: Tennessee.




So sorry to dash your hopes, Colorado -- excuse me, NORTHERN Colorado. Speaking of ... couldn't you have come up with a better name? I understand a lot of the good names (Franklin, Jefferson) are taken, but you can do better than that.

After all, as Will Truman recently wrote, this new state "wouldn’t, however, have any good postal initials, since NC is taken."

Darn tootin.'

(Click here to read our sister blog's take on the idea of North Carolina counties seceding.)


Images from Wikipedia.

The Republic of Ocracoke?

For such a small place, the island of Ocracoke is probably one of the most talked-about locales on this blog. This is due to a variety of reasons: it's beauty; it's "remote-yet-still-accessible" nature; it's language. Ocracoke is one of those quintessential North Carolina places; it's a treasure -- a special place to many Carolinians and "foreigners" alike.

I can't recall where I first heard the term, but recently I heard the island referred to as the "Republic of Ocracoke," and I wanted to follow up to see if this is a commonly-accepted term.

Some quick research (ie, "Google Search") does show some mentions of the term "Republic of Ocracoke," though not a ton.

This travelogue from 2008 makes a mention of the term. Along with some glowing reviews of the flora and fauna of the island is this paragraph [bolded for emphasis]:

The other local news is that Ocracoke’s oldest resident, Mrs. Belle Bryant, has just passed away.  An African American woman, born in the year the Wright brothers launched their plane at Kitty Hawk, she lived her entire life on Ocracoke and died at the age of one hundred and four.  She remembered her grandmother as a slave in the Antebellum South.  There are no African Americans living on the island now.  A number of mexicans have recently moved in as a new minority to work in the modest island construction industry.  Such is the odd human balance that currently exists in the Republic of Ocracoke!  

 Another piece is this from the Ocracoke Current that is more of a civic-minded writing:

Everyone on Ocracoke has a voice that is heard. We resist change until a clear consensus is apparent.  The microphone gets turned up a notch for people who have lived here the longest, and even further for those with deep roots on the island. Yet native Ocracokers often are overlooked and misunderstood.
This page is intended to be a resource to enhance civic involvement.  We want to increase understanding of the mission and scope of the many organizations, committees, boards, non-profits and government entities that make things happen on Ocracoke.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations!  OcracokeCurrent encourages you to check out the links, see what raises your blood pressure or makes your heart beat faster, and contact the people involved.
Democracy is not available to everyone, and we are lucky enough to have it, here on the republic of Ocracoke.

Has this phrase been around for a while, or is it fairly new? Does anyone know the genesis?

Not surprisingly, most anytime an area is segmented and presented as a separate "republic" or "state" (see the State of Franklin, for instance), it is typically because of a disconnect or downright mistrust of the preceived heavy-handed government. I wonder if this is the case with the Republic of Ocracoke -- or is it just more of a state of mind, or even a marketing campaign? If it's the latter, perhaps it's time for a flag or a snarky motto?



(Image from Wikipedia)

What if East Carolina really WAS a state?

It was hard not to chuckle at this Onion article last week. (Note: This is a sarcastic -- as in NOT REAL -- publication.)

At a press conference Monday, Jaguars quarterback and East Carolina University alum David Garrard indicated through certain statements to reporters that "East Carolina" is one of the 50 United States. "I can say without hesitation that it is definitely my favorite of all the Carolinas," said the former ECU Pirate, who, when pressed, identified the imaginary commonwealth's capital as Greenville and its state bird as the red-necked grebe.

Garrard is "quoted" as saying that he feels pride in crossing the border between North and East Carolina and that Barrack Obama carried the fictional E.C. in the last presidential election, proving that it is a progressive state.

I thought about this for a second: what if E.C. really was its own state? Of course, this has been tried before, to no success, way out west. Oh, and no one really even remembers that.