Why Choose Separation Movements and the Freeing of Upstate New York?
There has been much talk in the last couple of years about national divorce and broader secessionist movements to make states into fully independent countries or to break off parts of states and have them join other ones. Many are familiar with the concept of Texit (Texas secessionist movement), but how many are aware that the rural eastern counties of Oregon have been attempting to leave their state and join neighboring Idaho (the Greater Idaho project)? What about NHExit (New Hampshire, which is home to the Free State Project, also has a secessionist movement)? The fact of the matter is that it is the people that have the right to determine which government rules (or does not rule) over them, and imaginary lines on a map do not need to be permanent. Nations, states, provinces, counties, and any other subnational division can, and should, be changed to reflect the will of the people who live in those areas. If the United States of America needs to be restructured into two hundred states, so be it.
Yet, in many regards, Americans have lost touch with their history and no longer understand the concept of the colonial secessionist movement that broke them free from the chains of Great Britain to form the very country that they live in today. But, because of the American Civil War and the forced return of the Confederate States of America to the Union, secession has become a dirty word and something that supposedly only white supremacists and far-right extremists desire. However, in reality, secession is the only true way for individuals and collective communities to leave their abusive relationships and become free to embark on the journey toward as much freedom as possible. If secession, which was also advocated for by New England states that were opposed to the War of 1812, were truly racist, perhaps we should give the entirety of the United States back to the United Kingdom and hand over our tax dollars to the monarchy once again. We never should have left that country. But, I am sure that if Donald Trump were to win the 2024 presidential election, the same people crying that secession is racist would change their tune and be happy to separate from Washington, D.C. at that point so that they would not have to put up with a leader that they do not want.
One separation movement that makes a lot of sense is the Divide New York State into Autonomous Regions project, which would allow the rural Upstate New York to choose its political policies and destiny outside of the rule of New York City. This plan would permit the fifty-three counties north of the New York City suburbs to have their own governor, legislature, and court system, while the City and its suburbs would be divided to form two new regions with their own governments (there would be three regions total).
Although this plan, which is currently in the legislature as Assembly bill A07385 and Senate bill S3093, would retain the overall state government for the purposes of meeting the requirements under the United States Constitution, dealing with federal programs (such as Social Security), administering courts of appeals, distributing and maintaining statewide pensions, and a few other minor policies; New Amsterdam (upstate counties) would be free to implement any other policies or eliminate those that are not conducive to the well-being of the residents outside of the New York City metropolitan area. New York City would get to keep its money and not have to send it up to subsidize the failing economy of New Amsterdam (which has been destroyed because of policies from the centralized government run by New York City), and the fifty-three counties would be free to loosen regulations, reduce taxation, and draw in businesses to the region through more friendly market policies. Upstate New York would finally be free from the burdens of unfunded mandates and other taxes and regulations that hinder economic success, and it would be given fair representation without the majority party (concentrated in a small geographic area) ramming down unwanted policies across the entire state.
The borders with this plan have been redrawn based on political necessity, and the Montauk Region, which was originally Westchester and Rockland Counties on the mainland and Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, would now include the conservative Staten Island (Richmond County), which has wanted to secede from New York City for some years now. The four remaining boroughs of the City would be included in the New York Region. With this current arrangement, New Amsterdam would only have about 35.3% of the population (7,132,579 out of the state’s 20,201,249 people, as of 2020) but 95.6% of the land area (116,629 out of New York’s 122,057 square kilometers, not including water). With a population density comparable to Tennessee, it makes you wonder how a land full of forests, mountains, lakes, rivers, farms, and small towns would be subjugated to an urban political majority in the downstate area of the state. Yet, it is.
Opponents would say, well, that is democracy for you. The majority of the people in the current boundaries of the state say that you must comply with the rules and regulations, so that is just too bad for you rural rednecks. Well, that is the point. We do not want the current boundaries that were drawn years ago, and we want new ones so that we can have new governance. If you were to poll people in Upstate New York, it is a guarantee that an overwhelming majority of them would want to separate from New York City and its suburbs, but unfortunately, this would not make out well for the politicians. Since politicians only care about their own self-interests and not those of their constituents (despite what they claim), this movement has not gained much traction, as very few of the state legislators have cosponsored the bills. This is another case where the people want one thing, but the corrupt politicians (of both parties) will do the opposite.
Alternatively, there is another plan where New Amsterdam would fully secede from New York State and join the United States as a new state along with Puerto Rico (states fifty-one and fifty-two), but the idea of Puerto Rico becoming a state has largely fizzled out, even in the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden. Additionally, it would be an uphill battle to get Congress to agree to Upstate New York statehood, however, pairing the liberal-leaning Puerto Rico with the conservative-leaning New Amsterdam for admittance would balance out the power in Congress and not give an advantage to either political party (historically, this type of pairing has been seen as a good compromise).
While the spirit of the Declaration of Independence is on the side of those who desire freedom and the choice of who governs over them, there will always be forces to coerce people into remaining under their current political arrangements. Since the states formed the United States voluntarily, they can at any time leave under the same concept, and similarly, counties should have that same freedom to secede from their respective states and form new states or countries. Borders do not need to remain static, and as easily as they were arbitrarily drawn, they can be redrawn to fit new generations of people and their desires for governance. Do not fall for the trap that the United States and its subnational entities are part of perpetual unions that can never be broken or altered. That would fall contrary to the concept of what our founding fathers fought for.
Thank you for reading, and if you would like to support the Divide NYS movement, please visit the website. If you cannot give financially or volunteer, spreading the word about the movement would be helpful. Or, if you would like to assist with some of the other national secessionist movements, feel free to find the one closest to you.