Texas Secession Movements
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Texas secession movements, also known as the Texas Independence movement or Texit, refers to both the secession of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
as well as activities of modern organizations supporting such efforts to secede from the United States and become an independent
sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...
. The
U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constituti ...
does not specifically address the secession of states, and the issue was a topic of debate after the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
until the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, when the Supreme Court ruled in ''
Texas v. White ''Texas v. White'', 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 700 (1869), was a case argued before the Supreme Court of the U.S. in 1869. The case's notable political dispute involved a claim by the Reconstruction era government of Texas that U.S. bonds owned by Texas ...
'' that states strictly cannot unilaterally secede except through revolution or the expressed consent of the other states. Texas was formerly called the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
, a sovereign state for nine years prior to the
Texas annexation The Republic of Texas was annexation, annexed into the United States and Admission to the Union, admitted to the Union as the List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union, 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas Texas ...
by the United States. Accordingly, its sovereignty was not recognized by
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
although Texas defeated the Mexican forces in the
Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...
, and authorities in Texas did not actually control all of its claimed territory. Modern secession efforts have existed in the state at least since the 1990s and focused first on the Republic of Texas organization which ultimately splintered into several organizations, including the Texas Nationalist Movement. Recent discussions between
Texas Republican Party The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the Texas affiliate of the Republican Party in the United States. It is currently chaired by Abraham George, who succeeded Matt Rinaldi in 2024. The party is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and is legall ...
representatives renewed talks of secession after the decision of the Supreme Court in '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', which declined to hear the case regarding attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election due to lack of
standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the ...
.


Secession in the United States

Discussion about the right of U.S. states to secede from the union began shortly after the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. The United States Constitution does not address secession. Each of the colonies originated by separate grants from the
British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
and had evolved relatively distinct political and cultural institutions prior to national independence. Craig S. Lerner has written that the Constitution's
Supremacy Clause The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States ( Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the "supreme Law of the Land", and th ...
weighs against a right of secession, but that the Republican Guarantee Clause can be interpreted to indicate that the federal government has no right to keep a state from leaving as long as it maintains a republican form of government. The question remained open in the decades before the Civil War. In 1825,
Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...
observed, "If today one of these same states wanted to withdraw its name from the contract, it would be quite difficult to prove that it could not do so. To combat it, the federal government would have no evident support in either force or right." However,
Joseph Story Joseph Story (September18, 1779September10, 1845) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1812 to 1845. He is most remembered for his opinions in ''Martin ...
wrote in 1830 in Commentaries on the Constitution that the document foreclosed the right of secession. On the eve of the Civil War, President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
argued that states were not sovereign before the Constitution but instead they were created by it. Current
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
precedent, in ''
Texas v. White ''Texas v. White'', 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 700 (1869), was a case argued before the Supreme Court of the U.S. in 1869. The case's notable political dispute involved a claim by the Reconstruction era government of Texas that U.S. bonds owned by Texas ...
,'' holds that the states cannot secede from the union by an act of the state. More recently, in 2006, Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...
stated, "If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede."


Republic of Texas (19th century)

Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836, spurred on primarily by American settlers in the former Mexican territory against the government of Santa Anna. After the final engagement at San Jacinto in 1836, there were two different visions of the future of Texas: one as a state of the United States and the other as an independent republic.
Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
promoted the first, as he felt that the newly independent country, lacking hard currency and still facing threats from Mexico, could not survive on its own. The other was promoted by second Texas president Mirabeau B. Lamar, who felt that it was Texas's destiny to be a nation that extended from the
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
border to the Pacific Ocean. For this reason, Lamar is considered the father of Texas nationalism. The Republic under Lamar incurred large-scale debt, and suffered from a poor economy and inadequate defenses, which led to the annexation of Texas into the United States in 1845. Since then, the state's time as an independent nation has been the basis of a lasting sense of national identity.


Secession from the U.S., 1861

The history of Texas in the Civil War has distinctions from the rest of the South, in part because of its history of being independent previously. Much of Texas's dissatisfaction was not only tied to opposition to Lincoln and his view of
states' rights In United States, American politics of the United States, political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments of the United States, state governments rather than the federal government of the United States, ...
(which they also viewed as a transgression of the annexation agreement), but also because they did not feel that Washington had lived up to promises of inclusion into the country as part of annexation. In 1861, Sam Houston still strongly supported remaining in the United States primarily for economic and military reasons. However, those promoting secession used not only elements from U.S. history such as the American Revolution and the Constitution, but also the Texas Revolution and elements from the history of the Republic of Texas. On February 1, 1861, delegates to a special convention to consider secession voted 166 to 8 to adopt an ordinance of secession which cited the institution of slavery as the primary cause of secession. The ordinance was ratified by a popular referendum on February 23, making Texas the seventh and last state of the Lower South to do so. Some wanted to restore the Republic of Texas, but an identity with the Confederacy was embraced. This led to the replacement of Texas themes for the most part with those of the Confederacy, including religious justification given in sermons, often demanded by petitioners. The transference to the Stars and Bars was in the hope of achieving the inclusion perceived by some to be denied by Washington. However, that shift was never complete. Clayton E. Jewett wrote in ''Texas in the Confederacy: An Experiment in Nation Building'' that its identity remained somewhat separate from the rest of the Confederacy. James Marten wrote in ''Texas Divided: Loyalty and Dissent in the Lone Star State, 1856–1874'' that it battled between loyalty to the Confederacy and dissent and its ambivalence may have been enough to assure Southern defeat. During the war, Texas was spared most of the actual fighting, with only
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
seeing any military engagement with Union forces. However, the war did take a serious toll in the way of chronic shortages, absence of men at home to run the economy, military setbacks and fear of invasion. Although Lincoln recognized Texas's history as an independent nation, his definition of the Union meant that Texas forever ceded this to be subject to the Constitution.


From the Civil War to the 1990s

After the end of the Civil War, Texans maintained a "rebel" or Confederate identity instead of a completely Texan one as a way of still defying the United States. After the Civil War, it provided a haven for others in the Confederacy leaving claimed devastation. From that time to the present, a "Lost Cause" mythology has continued in Texas and other areas of the South. However, for the most part, overt discussion of the right of states to secede ended, replaced by another mythology based on the indivisibility of the territory. This did not end Texas's identity as at least somewhat different from the rest of the United States. Unlike southern states, Texas began emphasizing its cowboy heritage and connection with the U.S. Southwest, even influencing the rest of the U.S. identity in the 20th century. For many Texans, the history of the Republic of Texas is considered a time of independence and self-determination often in contrast to interference by the federal government in Washington. Texas requires a course in the state's history in the seventh grade where these ideas can also be found. In the 1990s, Texas began to use the slogan "Texas. It's Like a Whole Other Country" especially in domestic ads for tourism, and still can be seen today. However, public imagination remains split on the visions of Texas as state and nation that Houston and Lamar had in the 19th century. The two can appear as a conflict between rural and urban Texans but the Lamar vision can be found in the cities as well. Texas did not join in festivities for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War as it was thought that the commemoration would have reopened old unhealed wounds.


1990s to present

There have been efforts to promote Texas secession in the state at least since the 1990s. At this time, Richard Lance McLaren founded the Republic of Texas organization based on his property within the Davis Mountains Resort in Jeff Davis County, becoming the most active and influential secession group at the time. Essentially the organization claimed that the United States annexed Texas illegally and considered it to be held captive. The organization held itself out as an alternative government, based on the principle of very limited powers. McLaren had both supporters and enemies. His supporters generally believed that globalization was a threat to constitutional rights and against Christian principles. Tactics of the group included filing liens against properties, disavowing state and federal authorities, and opening an "embassy". McLaren's legal filings were so numerous that the county clerk gave them a separate cabinet. Members of the Republic of Texas group listed grievances with the U.S. government, such as accusing the government of a corrupt judicial system, paganism, and of creating illegal treaties and illegitimate agencies. Members of the group also stated that the U.S. government had set itself above the people and had exercised its global influences unlawfully against the Constitution. The Republic of Texas members placed emphasis on the Branch Davidian incident near Waco as an example of all that was wrong with the U.S. government. In the summer of 1996, injunctions and other court proceedings against McLaren were well underway. In July of that year, McLaren held a press conference a block away from the state courthouse in
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
stating that he refused to appear because he did not recognize the legitimacy of the court. McLaren was jailed for a month by a federal judge for failing to show in court. After his release, McLaren's rhetoric grew stronger.


Movements


Davis Mountains standoff

In March 1997, McLaren wrote to the federal government to claim 93 trillion dollars in reparations to Texas for the Civil War. By this time, the Republic of Texas organization had fractured into three factions. When two of McLaren's groups were arrested, McLaren took two hostages and holed up with armed supporters on his property, leading to a standoff with
Texas Department of Public Safety Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wi ...
. The siege ended on May 4, 1997, with McLaren and four others giving up without violence, while two others from the group, Mike Matson and Richard Keyes, fled the hideout armed with handguns and deer hunting rifles. The following day, the fugitives, with the troopers in hot pursuit, fired at a Black Hawk helicopter and searching dogs in the
Davis Mountains The Davis Mountains, originally known as Limpia Mountains, are a range of mountains in West Texas, United States, located near Fort Davis, Texas, Fort Davis, after which they are named. The fort was named for then-United States Secretary of War ...
; Matson was killed by return fire, while Keyes managed to slip away. He was eventually caught in September at New Waverly, north of Houston. In November of that year, McLaren was convicted of kidnapping and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. McLaren was also convicted of federal mail fraud and bank fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. He is imprisoned at the William P. Clements Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, near Amarillo, Texas, and is scheduled for release on June 15, 2041. As of 2003, there were three groups that claimed to be the Republic of Texas with different web sites, but without McLaren named as a leader.


Texas Nationalist Movement

The Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM), headed by Daniel Miller, evolved from one of the factions of the old Republic of Texas in 2005. However, the organization has disassociated itself from the Republic of Texas and the tactics of McLaren, instead opting for more political rather than confrontational or violent solution. The group has county-level groups in most parts of the state. According to its website, the objective of the Texas Nationalist Movement is "the complete, total and unencumbered political, cultural and economic independence of Texas". Unlike its predecessor, TNM claims to work peaceably with the current political system, and to reject use of force to achieve its goals. TNM is an unincorporated association under the laws of the State of Texas. The organization focuses on political support and advocacy, and education surrounding the issue of secession. It seeks to have the
Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...
call for a state-wide referendum on the issue, similar to the Scottish Independence vote of 2014. In January 2013, members of the TNM rallied at the state capital in Austin to promote the resolution, resulting in one mention of secession by one lawmaker on the opening day of the legislative session. In May 2016, the Texas GOP narrowly rejected bringing a resolution for secession to a floor vote at the 2016 Texas Republican Convention. However, in 2020, the
Republican Party of Texas The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the Texas affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the United States. It is currently chaired by Abraham George (politician), Abraham George, who succeeded Matt Rinaldi in 2024 ...
included a plank in its party platform (with 93% approval) stating that the federal government has impaired Texas' right to self-government, that any legislation infringing upon the
Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Tenth Amendment (Amendment X) to the United States Constitution, a part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. It expresses the principle of federalism, whereby the federal government and the individual states share pow ...
"should be ignored, opposed, refused, and nullified", and that Texas retains the right to secede if any future Congress or President change the current political system from a constitutional republic to something else. In June 2022, it voted to include a further secessionist plank in its party platform, calling for the
Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...
to approve a referendum on whether Texas should secede from the Union on the 2023 statewide ballot. In 2015, a representative from the Texas Nationalist Movement attended a separatist conference in Russia. Public record show that the conference was almost entirely paid for by the Kremlin's "National Charitable Foundation". During Russia's 2016 interference operations in the U.S., a fake Russian Facebook page, dubbed "Heart of Texas," claimed it was passing information about supporters along to the Texas Nationalist Movement. In 2024, the TNM declared its support for secessionist groups in Northern Mexico. In 2024, Miller submitted over 140,000 signatures from petitions signed in support of secession. Miller said of the rising support for secession:
If you look at where support is for this issue right now, in this lifecycle of an independence movement, we're outperforming
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
, we're outperforming
Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...
and we're outperforming Catalan — and we're outperforming everyone at every stage of the process.


Other discussions of secession starting in 2012

The rise of membership in the Texas Nationalist Movement coincided with other secession-related news events not part of that organization. Governor
Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...
, at a political rally in 2009, addressed the possibility of secession. During the rally, many in the crowd began to chant "secede, secede", to which Perry remarked, "If Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that?" Perry subsequently clarified that the comment was tongue in cheek and that he does not support secession. His remarks sparked controversy and harsh criticism from government officials and pundits, such as Jeff Macke and Joe Weisental. After Perry's comments received news coverage,
Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...
found that about 1 in 3 of those it polled believed that Texas has the right to secede from the United States, although only 18% would support secession and 75% would oppose secession. In another poll, 60% of Texans surveyed opposed becoming an independent nation. However, 48% of Texas Republicans surveyed supported it. The reaction from outside the state was also strongly split, including those who wanted to get rid of Texas. After US president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
won the
2012 US presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were elected to a second term. They defeated the Republican tick ...
, bumper stickers and signs saying "secede" started to appear in Texas. The election also triggered a wave of petitions on the White House "We the People" website. While the Texas petition was not first to appear, it overtook those of the other states with over 125,000 signatures, well above the 25,000 required to trigger a response. The petition stated that secession would "protect the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government" and defend Texans from "blatant abuses to their rights" The Texas secession petition was followed by one allowing Austin to secede from Texas and stay part of the union. The White House issued a 476-word response rejecting the idea. In June 2016, when a 52–48 majority in the U.K. voted to leave the European Union (EU) using the hashtag #Brexit on social media, there was renewed interest that Texas formalize efforts to secede from the U.S., using the hashtag #Texit.


Texas Republican Party platform and 2020s referendum proposals

In December 2020, when the Supreme Court refused to hear Texas's lawsuit in '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', the chair of the Texas GOP, Allen West, suggested that Texas and other like-minded states could leave the Union. On January 26, 2021, the Texas Independence Referendum Act (HB 1359), a bill to provide for a nonbinding statewide referendum on secession, was filed by Texas House member Kyle Biedermann. The bill was referred to the State Affairs committee but it was never given a hearing or voted on by the committee before the end of the session. In June 2022, the
Republican Party of Texas The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the Texas affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the United States. It is currently chaired by Abraham George (politician), Abraham George, who succeeded Matt Rinaldi in 2024 ...
released their Report of the Permanent 2022 Platform & Resolutions Committee which urges the legislature to introduce a referendum in 2023 to secede from the United States. In March 2023, state representative Bryan Slaton introduced a bill that would add a referendum on independence to the 2024 US election ballot. In December 2023, the Texas Nationalist Movement claimed that it collected enough signatures under the petition to include a question on secession on the ballot in 2024. It was clarified that even if the proposition passes, it would be non-binding. Similar secession movements in other states, particularly the states of the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
, have been described as being associated with their support of former US president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
for the 2022 US elections. The Standoff at Eagle Pass has increased support for secession.


Opinion polling


Alternative question wording


Along with other conservative states


If Hillary Clinton had won the 2016 election


In fiction

The secession of Texas from the United States or the continued existence of the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
has featured in some works of fiction, often set during a Second American Revolution or a Second American Civil War and, occasionally, in tandem with
American Civil War alternate histories American Civil War alternate histories are alternate history fiction that focuses on the Civil War ending differently or not occurring. The American Civil War is a popular point of divergence in English-language alternate history fiction. The ...
: *The second edition of The People's Almanac posits the question of what would have happened had the Confederacy won the Civil War. The Almanac uses the assumptions of author
MacKinlay Kantor MacKinlay Kantor (February 4, 1904 – October 11, 1977), born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 novels, several set during the American Civil War, and was awarded the ...
from his book If the South Had Won the Civil War. According to Kantor, Texas would initially remain with the Confederacy but would have significant economic ties with the Union due to its export of cattle. It would therefore declare its independence in 1878 (annexing Indian Territory—now Oklahoma—in the process); both the Union and the Confederacy "were more relieved than upset" at the move. Texas would abolish slavery in 1885 (the same year as the Confederacy). Movements in the Confederacy toward "Consolidation"—reunion of the three countries—would result in their combined entry into both World Wars I and II, and ultimately at the reunion on December 20, 1960, exactly 100 years after South Carolina originally seceded from the Union in response to a Soviet nuclear threat from
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
.The People's Almanac #2, David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace, pp. 393-395. * In the '' Settling Accounts'' tetralogy of
Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his ...
's ''Southern Victory Series'', set in an alternate reality where the Confederacy won the ' War of Secession' (1861–1862). Texas secedes from the Confederacy in 1944 during the Second Great War when it was clear that the CSA under Freedom Party rule and the presidency of Jake Featherston would ultimately lose. Under the presidency of former Freedom Party governor
Wright Patman John William Wright Patman (August 6, 1893 – March 7, 1976) was an American politician. First elected in 1928, Patman served 24 consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives for Texas's 1st congressional district from 1929 to ...
, the Republic of Texas signs an armistice and collaborates with the United States, arresting and trying Confederate concentration camp guards for
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
and allowing the U.S. state of Houston to be recreated. It is unclear if Texan independence continues beyond 1944. * The '' Crosstime Traffic'' novel '' The Disunited States of America'' is largely set in an alternate reality where the ratification of the
Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...
resulted in the dissolution of the United States in the 1800s and a frequent series of minor wars between the smaller successor states. Texas is mentioned as a prominent oil-producing republic. * In '' The Difference Engine'' by
William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...
and
Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...
, Charles Babbage successfully develops an analytical engine in 1824, resulting in the early arrival of the
Information Age The Information Age is a historical period that began in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rapid shift from traditional industries, as established during the Industrial Revolution, to an economy centered on information technology ...
and the ascendency of the British Empire as a world power. Due to British interference in North American affairs chiefly to prevent the rise of the United States as a world power, the Republic of Texas remains an independent state by 1855, with
Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
appearing as the president-in-exile, having fled the country following a coup and the establishment of a military junta. * In ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...
'' by
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...
, the Republic of Texas is mentioned as being a successor state to the theonomic Republic of Gilead at a history symposium in Nunavut in 2195. In the sequel ''
The Testaments ''The Testaments'' is a 2019 novel by Margaret Atwood. It is the sequel to ''The Handmaid's Tale'' (1985). The novel is set 15 years after the events of ''The Handmaid's Tale''. It is narrated by Aunt Lydia, a character from the previous novel; A ...
'', it was revealed that Texas declared independence shortly after the establishment of Gilead. A stalemated secessionist war cements Texan independence but enforces Texan neutrality in Gileadian affairs. In Season 4 of ''The Handmaid's Tale'' television series, the Republic of Texas is mentioned as a potential refuge for a group of escaped Handmaids. * In '' Russian Amerika'' by Stony Compton, the Republic of Texas is mentioned as being one of many rump states that comprised the former United States and Canada in an alternate reality where a Civil War which broke out in the 1850s resulted in a Confederate victory. * In the '' Sliders'' episode "The Good, the Bad and the Wealthy", Texas had declared independence during the American Civil War, enveloping the former U.S. state of California. In 1996,
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
served as Texian President and gunfighting was legal. * In the 2006 television series ''Jericho''—created by Stephen Chbosky, Josh Schaer, and Jonathan E. Steinberg—the Independent Republic of Texas is mentioned and credited with saving the United States after a series of nuclear attacks. * In '' Underground Airlines'' by Ben H. Winters, the assassination of President-elect
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
in 1861 resulted in the adoption of a modified version of the Crittenden Compromise and the continued practice of slavery into the twenty-first century in the so-called 'Hard Four' States (Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana). The state's growing abolitionist Black and Hispanic populations led Texas to declare independence from the United States during the presidency of
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
, starting a fifteen-year-long 'Texas War' ending in stalemate. The status of Texas as either a U.S. state or an independent republic remained ambiguous thereafter.


See also

*
Secession in the United States In the context of the United States, secession primarily refers to the voluntary withdrawal of one or more states from the Union that constitutes the United States; but may loosely refer to leaving a state or territory to form a separate terri ...
*
Hawaiian sovereignty movement The Hawaiian sovereignty movement () is a grassroots political and cultural campaign to reestablish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom of Hawaii out of a desire for sovereignty, self-determination, and self-governance. Some group ...
*
Partition and secession in California California, the most populous state in the United States and third largest in area after Alaska and Texas, has been the subject of more than 220 proposals to divide it into multiple states since its admission to the Union in 1850, including a ...
*
Quebec sovereignty movement The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: ''mouvement souverainiste du Québec'', ) is a political movement advocating for Quebec's independence from Canada. Proponents argue that Quebecers form a distinct nation with a unique culture, language, ...


References


External links


Daughters of the Republic Library

Seceder.com: Texas secession's viability

Slate: The Republic of Texas
Article published in 1997.
''Still true today: 'The Republic of Texas is no more
- an article by Ralph H. Brock published in the
Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...
in 1997 that debunks Republic of Texas claims
Texas Nationalist Movement website, not affiliated with Republic of Texas organization


Terrorism Knowledge Base profile of Republic of Texas


Republic of Texas (ROT)
(archived fro
the original
on 2007-09-30)


Texas Convention Pro-Continuation of 1861


RoT statement to U.S. District Court in Austin

RoT declaration filed with the Swiss Federal Council

RoT cease fire against the state government
{{Secession in the United States Politics of Texas Separatism in the United States Secession crisis of 1860–61