Republic of Texas (group)
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The Republic of Texas is a separatist group which claims that the annexation of Texas by the United States was illegal and that Texas remains an independent nation under occupation. They claimed to reinstate a provisional government on December 13th 1995. The group has an unknown amount of support among Texans as a whole but Texan pride or "nationalism" remains high throughout the population to this day as evidenced in common advertising practices that focus on this phenomena.
The group has had several conflicts with the United States government, mainly over the group's assertion that because the United States' government of Texas is illegal, it has no right to collect taxes.
In January of 2004, a man in jail in Aspen, Colorado claimed that the state of Colorado had no jurisdiction to extradite him to California on a probation warrant, on the grounds that he was a citizen of the Republic of Texas. He claimed that the sliver of land which contains Aspen was a part of the original Republic of Texas and, as such, he was not a citizen of the United States. His claim was rejected by the courts.
There has been some debate within the movement as to whether or not the original boundaries of the Republic still apply. In 1850, the newly recognized state of Texas ceded the land outside of the current boundaries of the state to the Federal government as a form of payment for debts incurred by the Republic prior to its annexation in 1845. It appears that today most movement members lay claim to the original boundaries of the Republic as they existed prior to annexation. The original Republic held treaties with the United States, the Netherlands, France, England and the short-lived Republic of the Yucatan.
The Republic of Texas movement has, at times, splintered into different groups but by 2003 had consolidated into one group recognizing the current "interim" government. This interim government claims authority from the original proclamations of 1995 and has set up a "seat of government" in the town of Overton. Most of the original personalities of the movement have disappeared from public view. Government finances have come from donations and the sale of some items such as an "Official Republic of Texas Passport."
The Republic of Texas movement maintains several websites including an official website of the interim government, an internet radio station (with some 1000 listeners tuned in at any given time) and a newspaper published bimonthly.
External links
- Republic of Texas separatist group websites (all connected with to the same organization.)
- the-republic-of-texas.org (http://www.the-republic-of-texas.org/)
- republic-of-texas.net (http://www.republic-of-texas.net/)
- texasrepublic.com (http://www.texasrepublic.com/)
- radiofreetexas.org (http://www.radiofreetexas.org/)
- Slate: The Republic of Texas (http://www.slate.com/id/1057) Article published in 1997.