Cascadia (independence movement)

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Cascadia is a proposed name for the independent sovereign state that would be formed by the union of the Canadian province of British Columbia and the states of Washington and Oregon (and sometimes all or parts of Idaho and Northern California) in the United States, were they ever to successfully secede from their respective federal governments in Ottawa and Washington D.C..^[2] The boundaries of this Cascadia would incorporate those of the existing province and states.^[2]

Cascadia is home to more than 15 million people and boasts 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

After Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark into the Pacific Northwest in 1803, Jefferson envisioned the establishment of an independent nation in the Western of the North American continent which he dubbed the "Republic of the Pacific".^{[citation needed]} Jefferson's original idea has since been embraced by a number of different groups with generally similar aims.^[3]

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.^[3] While the Southern states broke away to form the Confederacy, some Oregonians saw it as a perfect opportunity to do the same and give new life to Jefferson's original idea, by trying to establish a country under Jefferson's name: the "Republic of the Pacific". The American government launched a successful propaganda attack to destroy the movement by trying to associate the Pacific movement with a group called the Knights of the Golden Circle, which was a pro-Confederate, pro-slavery organization.^[3]

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.^[3] These too failed, largely by being put down through various uses of force.^[3]

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. ^[4] As this is historically a depressed area, many locals placed the blame on the governments of 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.^[5]

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. ^[6]

[edit] Boundaries

Some groups have sought to extend the interpretation of "Cascadia" to embrace parts of Northern California, Idaho and Alaska, while others are more closely aligned with such related concepts as the State of Jefferson, State of Trinity, State of Jackson, State of Klamath, State of Shasta and Pacifica.^[3]

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.^[3] 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.^[3]

[edit] References in pop culture

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.

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.^[7]

[edit] References

1. ^ http://cascadia-bioregion.tripod.com/cascadianflag/
2. ^ ^{a b c d} What is Cascadia? Cascadian Independence Project. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} History. Cascadian Independence Project. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
4. ^ A Jefferson State of Mind. VIA Magazine Online. Retrieved 09 June 2007
5. ^ Jefferson Public Radio "State of Jefferson"
6. ^ Jefferson Public Radio "State of Jefferson"
7. ^ Fish Brewing Co. of Olympia, Washington. Retrieved 09 June 2007.

[edit] See also

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

[edit] External links

• 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.
• Cascadia: Independence Now! A tongue-in-cheek site promoting Cascadian independence.
• Cascadia Rising News and information about the Cascadia region.de:Kaskadien

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