Editor’s note: Revolution, secession, and independence have been part of Texas’ storied history. On March 2, 1836, a declaration of independence was unanimously approved at its convention of elected delegates, and Texas made its formal break with Mexico. In 1845, after an attempt as an independent republic, Texas became part of the United States. In 1861, it became the last state to vote to secede during the Civil War. Just about ever since, some among its populace have sought to again become an independent republic. In modern times these have included the Texas Nationalist Movement (texnat.org), the Grassroots Texans Network, and the Republic of Texas.
In terms of declarations associated with modern movements, they are hard to come by — or at least, they don’t appear to remain online for long.
We don’t know precisely who avowed at one time the declaration we are posting here, and the declaration to which we provide a link. Nor do we do know precisely whose views (if any) these declarations represent at present. A fairly sizable number in Texas, however, continue seeking a modern independent Texas republic.
TexasSecede.com had a link to its Declaration at http://democracyisnotfreedom.com/usdeclaration.asp
This link can no longer be accessed.
Here is a link to a version that appeared on a blogspot on Oct. 3 2009, and that declares Texas “to be a free nation independent of all others”:
http://accesstoinfo.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-occupation-government.html
We also captured in 2014 the ‘Redeclaration of Independence and Friendship,’ but this too is no longer available. A different version is at this link:
And here is the version we captured:
December 13, 1995
Redeclaration of Independence and Friendship
We Texans, wishing to resurrect and reawaken the dormant government of the historical Republic of Texas, in order to regain the freedom that many Texans fought and died for, do hereby redeclare its status as a free and independent nation, as proclaimed in its 1836 Declaration of Independence, and its policy of neutrality and friendship towards the nations of the world. We call this the Historical Republic of Texas (HRT) to distinguish it from various factions claiming to represent the Republic of Texas (RT). Even those factions claiming to resurrect the RT under its 1836 Constitution are not legitimate, as far as we have seen, because they have added unconstitutional requirements to their citizenship oaths, showing their true agendas of establishing a militant theocracy in direct violation of the Constitution. It is indeed this very collusion of Church and State which the RT revolted against, as clearly stated in its Declaration of Independence. We are thus the only group of Texans correctly reviving the RT under its 1836 Constitution, as our citizenship declarations do not require anything not required by the Constitution. This means that we are the only possible legitimate government which is a resumption of the original government of the RT from where it left off in 1845 when they abandoned their posts to allow the US to illegally annex the RT. It also means that our citizens are the only legitimate citizens of the HRT since the earlier citizens died or abandoned their citizenship; those who were tricked by the other factions into signing invalid citizenship oaths are not true citizens of the HRT unless they join us properly. Our first new citizens signed up and began reviving the HRT on 9/2/2005, and elected our first new Representatives and Senators 9/5/2005 on the first Monday in September as specified by the Constitution, so we count 9/2/2005 as the start of the revival of the HRT and the effective date of this redeclaration, even though it was not printed in this form until later.
This redeclaration therefore is not a secession of any kind; the RT already seceded from Mexico in 1836 and was never legally part of the US. The so-called “State of Texas” is a fraud, but since it fooled so many people for so long, most people don’t realize that. We thus find ourselves in the strange position of being occupied by a country whose people really believe that their country is the legitimate government, not realizing that we are the only currently legitimate government (based on history) of the entire area within the 1845 borders of the RT. So our interim goal is a peace treaty with the US under which our rights are respected instead of violated. Under such a treaty, the people of Texas will each be able to choose individually whether to be governed by the US, the RT, or both. Thus, we are not “taking over”, we are not actually changing or abolishing the US or any de facto State government, we are providing an alternative government and giving everyone freedom of choice. Those who wish to remain US citizens and continue supporting the US government may continue to do so. We just want a libertarian government for ourselves and whoever else wants it; we don’t want to impose it upon anyone else who doesn’t want it. This is the most practical and considerate way for us to reclaim our freedom and our nation – one person at a time. We are not violent criminals or terrorists; we are peaceful, responsible Texans exercising our rights as recognized by US, Texas, international, and common law. Thus, there is no need to oppose us, as even our complete success would not harm anyone. We are willing to work together with others who share our goal and our libertarian principles using peaceful means.
Our fundamental law is the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP): Do not initiate force or fraud against anyone else’s person or property. In other words, except for self-defense, don’t harm others, don’t harm or steal their property, don’t break your word, don’t try to coerce anyone by threatening to do any of these things, and don’t encourage anyone to do any of these things. This is the supreme natural law for all sentient beings, and also the fundamental principle on which America and the RT were founded. Liberty is freedom from violations of NAP, it is the condition achieved when everyone abides by NAP. This liberty is the inherent right of all people, it is our birthright, regardless of where it comes from.
Declarations and Constitutions and governments do not grant rights to the individual, they only recognize rights that individuals already have. Individuals delegate rights and powers to governments, not the other way around. In the final analysis, governments don’t have any inherent rights of their own; they’re just voluntary organizations formed and governed by contracts with their individual members. The sole legitimate purpose and power of government is to help protect the rights of the people under NAP. We therefore hereby revive the HRT for this purpose, to help protect the rights of HRT citizens under NAP.
This Declaration is not being signed because some of us want to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal.
That is of course further evidence that we need this Declaration.
(Further info on efforts to make Texas independent: A link to TexasSecession.org, which wants Texas “to become an independent republic once more,” now will direct you to FreedomTexas.org)
Further reading:
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/30/149094135/lone-star-state-of-mind-could-texas-go-it-alone
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/11/13/white-house-flooded-with-secession-petitions-after-obama-re-election
Source of image:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_Secession_Flag,_Variant_2.svg
