Florida
as its own Nation
A Study
in Florida’s Sustainability
as an Independent Nation
An Educational Project of
the Florida League of the South
![](florid1.gif)
Florida’s first state seal pattern as it
appeared on
Florida’s Ordinance of Secession 10 January 1861 |
In
the wake of the Second North American Secession
Convention, held October 3-4, 2007 in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, self-government has become a hot topic across
the country. Today, there are secessionist movements
from Vermont to California – from Alaska to Dixie.
The
people are now crying out for a return to local control.
Even
though the government established by the Articles of
Confederation, agreed to in 1778 was styled "The United
States of America," it was a joint venture by the new
sovereign States for common purposes. The powers of
government remained firmly lodged in the legislatures of
the 13 States.
Moreover,
while the Articles of Confederation may have appeared to
be weak as an instrument of national union, there were
good reasons why they went no further. In each of the
newly sovereign States the people had just adopted
constitutions for the governance of their State. Their
desire for self-government was forcefully and simply
expressed by a soldier who had been in the battle of
Concord and Lexington, when he was later interviewed by
John Adams. When asked "What was the matter, what did
you mean going into the fight?" The soldier responded,
“What we meant in going for those red-coats, was this:
We had always governed ourselves and always meant to.
They didn't mean we should.”
After
successfully fighting to preserve the broad right of
self-government, which they had enjoyed since the
founding of Jamestown, the people of each State were not
about to give up the power to govern themselves to any
other legislative body. Unfortunately, the servant
government they created as a result of their sacrifice
so many years ago has today become an oppressive master.
In a poll
conducted by CNN in 2006 a startling 78% of Americans
said that the Washington based government is “broken”.
The poll also concludes that over 21 million Americans
believe the system cannot be fixed. What would lead
Americans, including our fellow Floridians, to have such
a pessimistic outlook on Washington’s government? A
confiscatory federal taxation system enforced through
threats of prison or death certainly is no favorite
among our people. Even a change to the so-called “Fair
Tax” would do nothing to curb a bloated and out of
control government. The money our state collects from us
through various taxes and surrenders to the federal
government is used to enslave us with little or no
benefit to our state. As an example, in the year 2003,
for every dollar the State of Florida sent to the
federal government, she received one dollar in return.
On a personal level, that is almost $6000 for the
18,000,000 million plus citizens in our Great State.
Therefore, we Floridians together, put our hard earned
money into one collective pot and allow the political
suits in a faraway place to send it back. However, we
only receive if we beg; and then our money must be spent
where we are told, as if we had not the intelligence to
provide for our own States’ needs. Is this freedom?
We say no
thank you. Let us keep our money and spend it as we
Floridians see fit.
Florida
and other Southern states continually have their
conservative votes diluted by liberal “Blue States”
forcing the tyranny of the majority upon us in such
fields as abortion, gun control, legal and illegal
immigration and foreign policy to name just a few.
Think about this: since the ratification of the 17th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Florida has had no
representation in Washington, DC. Through its embassy in
Washington, DC, the Congolese Republic actually has more
representation than the State of Florida, which has
become nothing more than a taxable province used to
facilitate the feeding of Washington’s foreign and
domestic boondoggles.
The
corruption and intrusions of the federal government are
legion and it would take volumes to outline here.
However, there is no need. Seventy eight percent of
Americans already know the system is broken.
At one
time, we lived under a system of federal government in
which there were three safeguards to our liberty. This
tripod of security included nullification, interposition
and secession. Somewhere along the path of the
Washington government becoming broken, nullification and
interposition were lost. The only tool left in our
defense is secession. However, can we as Floridians
survive as an independent nation? How do we rank
compared to other nations of the earth?
We have
already demonstrated from the example of 2003 that we
can live happily without federal tax dollars. In 2006,
Florida had a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 713.5
billion dollars. Compared to the approximately 192
nations of the earth this would place Florida very
favorably at around #19 on the list. This would place
Florida above such Western nations as the Netherlands,
Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and even the insanely rich
nation of Saudi Arabia. Florida’s economic strength
would make for a viable independent nation.
In land
mass Florida is approximately 53,927 sq. miles. This
makes Florida larger than the sovereign Western nations
of Austria, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands,
Switzerland or Belgium to name a few. Size is obviously
not a limiting factor to Florida’s independence.
Our
population of approximately 18.1 million is larger than
that of many sovereign Western nations to include the
Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and
Norway. Compare Iceland’s population of only 312, 851
and you can see that sovereignty and safety don’t depend
on a large population.
As for
national security, Florida military historian, Robert
Hawk points out that Florida has one of the largest
Guard organizations in the US and has all the necessary
units to perform as an independent army. The Florida
army Guard contains infantry, artillery, cavalry, air
defense, engineer, communications, military intelligence
and Special Forces as well as troop-carrying and
reconnaissance helicopter units. The Florida Air Guard
contains air-to-air combat aircraft as well as medium
lift transport, which can operate out of any of the
state’s 27 military airfields.
If
Florida felt the need to increase the size of her
military her large population pool would give her a
military of dramatic proportions. If Florida were to
follow the model of the US military with an active duty
force of only 4.76 troops per 1000 citizens, Florida
would boast an active armed force of over 86,000
personnel, larger than such Western nations as
Australia, Canada, Belgium and Finland. If Florida were
to follow the Swiss model with an active duty force of
47.90 troops per 1000 citizens she would have the 6th
largest army in the world with only Communist China, the
US, India, North Korea and Russia having a larger active
duty force.
When it
comes to industry, most people only think of Florida in
terms of tourism and citrus fruits. Florida however has
a strong, skilled and competent manufacturing workforce.
Florida supports overt 16,000 manufacturing
establishments producing computer and electronic
products, transportation equipment, fabricated metal
products, food, machinery, nonmetallic mineral products,
chemicals, furniture and related products and plastic
and rubber products just to name a few.
Florida
is rich in natural and agricultural resources, which
would aid her in self-sustainability. Florida produces
25% of the world’s phosphate. Ninety Percent of
phosphate use is geared towards the manufacture of
fertilizer for the production of food and fiber
products. Phosphate is also important in livestock feed
supplements as well as vitamins, soft drinks,
toothpaste, film, light bulbs, bone china,
flame-resistant fabrics and optical glass. Florida also
leads the continent in the production of masonry cement,
peat output, sand, crushed stone and clays.
With
Florida’s year-round growing seasons and over 42,500
working farms, she is able to produce over 280 crops,
which account for an 87.6 billion dollar impact on the
economy. Florida conducts agricultural trade with over
100 countries worldwide which generates around 1.3
billion dollars in cash receipts annually. Florida
raises over 952,000 head of beef calves a year. Our
livestock industry including beef, poultry, eggs and
milk accounted for record gross receipts of over 1.5
billion dollars in 2004. Florida could not only easily
feed herself as an independent nation; she is helping
feed the world.
Florida’s aerospace and aviation industry is defined by
the 1,800 related companies employing over 83,000
workers. Florida hosts nearly 1/3rd
of worldwide commercial space activity. Florida’s
defense industry is one of the largest in the US with
its firms building everything from satellites and next
generation air defense systems to body armor and armored
vehicles.
As you
can see, Florida possesses the critical resources that
are necessary to prosper as an independent republic.
Reinstating our separation from that leviathan federal
government unquestionably opens the door to greater
liberty and prosperity for the people of Florida.
The
only question remaining is –
what are we waiting for?
|