New England State Question

[Wage]

I seem to remember from one of the Straight Dope book colelctions that Vermont seceeded from the Union in 1789 or so, and my question is was it ever re-instated officially, or do they still consider themselves a part of the Canadian Provinces?

[DrFidelius]

Funny, I seem to remember that Vermont had seceeded from New York and applied for statehood on its own behalf.

But I could be wrong; it's been a while since I cared enough about Vermont to read about its history.


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Dr. Fidelius, Charlatan
Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University
"You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reach through reason."

[astraeus]

So far as I know, Vermont has never seceded from the Union. It could not have done so, however, in 1789, as it wasn't a part of the Union then. Vermont was the 14th state, joining the original 13 in 1791.

The land that comprised Vermont at that time (roughly the same as now) was part of New York, but split off well before the Revolution. Vermont considered itself a separate country--the Republic of Vermont--and had its own Constitution. At one point, some Vermonters did try to rejoin the British Empire, with no success (obviously)--perhaps that's what Wage was referring to.

A good account of this can be found at the following URL: http://www.letmeshowyouvermont.com/republic.htm

-astraeus

[DSYoungEsq]

hmmm an interesting link, if poorly edited. Also, lacking references for some of its statements.

According to Compton's Online Encyclopedia, (article found here), the territory of what is now the state of Vermont was claimed under each of the colonial grants for Massachusetts, New York, and New Hampshire. In addition, although the colonial land-holders who had bought land grants from New Hampshire refused to acknowledge the authority of the colony of New York, they didn't declare themselves a seperate political entity until 1777, after the Declaration of Independence. Therefore, Vermont didn't strictly secede from any particular state: they simply decided that they were a seperate polity under the rule of no other state.

The most interesting part about all this is that most people know that Texas was a seperate country before being admitted to the Union, and some know that California had a short-lived existence as a declared country before accepting US ownership. But I haven't ever heard anyone mention that Vermont was a seperate country before admittance. Vermont on a par with Texas and California, I wonder if they'd ever brag about THAT.