# Secession

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secession/145399>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 28, 2002, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secession/145399 "2002-12-28T20:41:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![LeprechaunPaul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@LeprechaunPaul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LeprechaunPaul)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secession/145399/1 "2002-12-28T20:41:30Z")

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Say I wanted to play around with C4, knock over a few mailboxes, and grow acres and acres of industrial hemp, how would I go about creating my own country so as to escape the jurisdiction of the good old USA? Not just protection from laws, but just to have a country of my own, what would one have to do? What has happened in previous cases of stupidity as such?

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**Author:** ![fauxpas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e480ec/32.png) [@fauxpas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fauxpas)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secession/145399/2 "2002-12-28T20:43:52Z")

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Well…a few years of jail, labor, and uh…oh yeah…payment…☹ sorry…if youve already done it, change your name or something else…

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**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secession/145399/3 "2002-12-28T21:04:14Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by LeprechaunPaul \*  
> \*\* Not just protection from laws, but just to have a country of my own, what would one have to do? What has happened in previous cases of stupidity as such? \*\*

Ultimately, simply make it more trouble than it’s worth to enforce those laws: having powerful armed forces is the classic and most usual method, but others include being more valuable as a sovereign nation (Switzerland) and not being worth the trouble (Iceland) [No offence meant to Icelanders - this is, essentially, also how Canada achieved and maintained sovereignity].

As far as what has happened before, look at any revolution or civil war - America itself, for starters.

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**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secession/145399/4 "2002-12-28T21:06:30Z")

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Search doesn’t work for me but I’ve posted the same question. IIRC, You don’t need any permission to create your own country, but the hard part is getting others to recognize your nation. Try google for:  
Micronesia (sp?)  
The Conch Republic  
and Micronations.  
Most are fake but there seem to be a few legit ones.

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**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secession/145399/5 "2002-12-28T21:07:05Z")

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You might start by checking out these examples:

[Sealand](http://www.sealandgov.com/)

[Operation Atlantis](http://libertariannation.org/a/n030h2.html)

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**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secession/145399/6 "2002-12-28T21:11:48Z")

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I forgot to mention, [here](http://go.to/footnotestohistory) is a ton of info (with a ton of pop-ups to match).