New Hampshire joined an increasingly lengthy list of states that have launched their own secession movements this week.
The New Hampshire Independence Movement, or NHEXIT, said it rejects the overreach of the federal government and is committed to making New Hampshire a "free, independent and prosperous nation," in an announcement this week.
"There are 2.5 million unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. and they are responsible for dragging the nation to the brink of bankruptcy. Not only that, but they are siphoning money out of taxpayers' wallets every year, trampling on the rights of New Hampshire citizens," Carla Gericke, the organization's leader, said in a statement. "We must take back our government and work to guarantee the protection of the rights and basic necessities of New Hampshire residents."
Several other states have also launched their own independence movements. While Texas's TEXIT political push might be the most well-known, California, Alaska, Louisiana, and Florida have similar movements pushing for secession from the United States.
The map shows the states that have secessionist movements within the United States.Gericke, the New Hampshire movement's leader, was born in South Africa before immigrating to the United States, becoming a lawyer and joining the Free State Project, a group in New Hampshire working against big government and for personal and economic freedom.
Gericke previously told Newsweek that secession is "an idea whose time has come and a reflection of the frustration everyone on the political spectrum is feeling."
Across the country, states have unique reasons for wanting out of the union, but a dislike of big government is key in many movements.
Daniel Miller, president of the pro-independence Texas Nationalist Movement, previously told Newsweek he supports all other states in their right to secede from the country.
"100 percent, but it's not that I support their seceding, it's that I support their right to have the discussion and have the vote and if that's what they want to do as a people then do so," Miller said.
Some state movements have more support than others. In Alaska, 36 percent of residents expressed their support for the state becoming a fully independent nation in a recent YouGov poll.
Occasionally, lawmakers have promoted the possibility of a coming secession due to escalating tensions between Republicans and Democrats.
Last year, House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene said there could be a "national divorce" between Republican and Democratic states. This could see powers taken away from the federal government and set at the state level.
Across the United States, 23 percent of Americans support their state leaving the union, with 51 percent saying they're opposed.
Is Secession Realistic?While the support for independent state movements has grown in recent years, Professor William Hall said the legal feasibility is not well-founded.
"Under the Fourteenth Amendment Citizenship Clause, the language implies that a state has no right to sever the bond between a U.S. citizen and that national government through secession or otherwise," Hall, a political science professor at Webster University, told Newsweek.
Legally, one's U.S. citizenship would not terminate even if living in a country that seceded from the union, he said. That means you'd still have to pay taxes, making the ideals behind secession somewhat mute.
"The act of secession is basically defined as the breaking away from a territory or group in power to form a separate political entity," Hall said.
"The justification for secessionist movements in the United States have most often been rooted in a belief in an interpretation of the Declaration of Independence, referencing the right of the people to abolish the government, when the government, according to some interpretations, fails to meet its obligations to the people."
A person casts their ballot in the New Hampshire Primary at Londonderry High School on January 23, 2024, in Londonderry, New Hampshire. New Hampshire has launched a secession movement. A person casts their ballot in the New Hampshire Primary at Londonderry High School on January 23, 2024, in Londonderry, New Hampshire. New Hampshire has launched a secession movement. Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesRetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue
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