Compilation of Articles on The Second Vermont Republic (The Many Nations of North America)

The Second Vermont Republic

Scattered recollections from the short life and long death of the Vermont Republic.

Excerpts from Captain ‘Landshark’s history of the North American War, Eight Years: a Continent in Fragments

‘…the war was not just a matter of armies fighting against each other. During the war, a number of guerrilla movements emerged; the communists in Michigan, the fascist Neo-Klan in the ICMAG and the socialist Liberation Army of Vermont. Although many of these organisations managed to seize territory and indeed set up ‘states’ for short durations, they were largely the puppets of foreign powers, and none survived the war. Their main significance was a sign of the flagging trust of the American people in their governments; as the war dragged on, many sought refuge in extremist groups, thus intensifying the crisis… The Vermont Revolution is generally considered to have begun with the January Offensive, when revolutionary cells across Vermont began an attack on towns across Vermont, ending with the fall of over 60% of the state to the so-called Liberation Army of Vermont, who proclaimed the SecondVermontRepublic after the fall of Montpelier. However, this ignores the fact that tensions had been rising in Vermont for some time; guerrilla attacks by LAV cells had been reported since early April the previous year, and protests had been ongoing in most of Vermont against the New England war since at least August. Therefore, it is useful to see the Revolution as not a sudden event but an evolutionary process’

Recollections of Corporal John Lancaster of the First Battle of Montpelier, taken from an interview with The New York Times

‘It was the 22nd of January, two weeks after the start of the revolution. We rode into town on horses, each of us armed to teeth. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking; it’s the twentieth century, who needs horses, right? Well, let me tell you, they were invaluable in the war. When you’re living up in the cold frozen mountains with no petrol and no spare parts, a horse is the only way of getting round quickly. Plus, if you get hungry, you can eat them. Anyway, we rode into town; we got into a firefight with a small platoon on the outskirts, but nothing compared to what some people experienced. New England honestly never expected the revolution until too late, and they paid the price. We pretty much managed to steamroll the opposition; sure, we had technology from 30 years ago and a platoon to match, but they didn’t stand a chance no matter what. A lot of them were local Vermont boys, and they sure as hell didn’t want to fire on us just so King Ed got a few more tubs of maple syrup. Half of them defected as soon as they saw us. Once we got to the State House, they’d pretty much given up. Governor Douglas came out peacefully, but a few of the Whig deputies put up a fight. I remember one of them had kept a gun under one of the chairs in anticipation of just this; he took out two of us before he went down. Otherwise, though, things went amazingly well. Governor Douglas resigned at gunpoint, and General Dean went up to his office. There, I got to see something I’ll never forget; I got to see General Dean sign the Constitution of the Republic of Vermont, and I’ll swear a tear went down his face. God bless Vermont’

Excerpts from http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_general_election%2C_1998

Translated from the French Wikipedia.

The Vermont general election of 1998 was the only election in the short lived Republic of Vermont, following its declaration of independence from the Kingdom of New England. It was held on the 2nd of February, 1998. At the time of the election, the Liberation Army of Vermont only controlled 60% of the state, even though it claimed all of Vermont, and thus only half of Vermont’s population were able to vote in relative safety. Fighting still continues along the borders of the breakaway state even as voting commenced, and long afterwards. The election was a focus of controversy amongst New England loyalists, with the former dominant party, the New England Whig Party, boycotting the elections.

General election

Howard Dean, President of the Republic of Vermont, had gained his position after the forced resignation of Vermont Governor Jim Douglas eleven days before, following the capture of Vermont in the First Battle of Montpelier and the proclamation of the Republic of Vermont. With no primary opposition and with widespread popular support, Dean was re-elected unanimously.

In the new unicameral Vermont House of Representatives, however, matters were different. Although party groupings did not exist until after the election, many candidates ran on pro or anti-Dean lines, with a large groundswell of anti-Dean sentiment in Bennington. Pro-Dean candidates formed the Socialist Party after the election, while anti-Dean candidates formed the Liberal Party. This proved the primary partisan divide during the life of the Republic of Vermont.

The election was not without controversy; Dean’s unanimous re-election was alleged to be due to Liberation Army intimidation of other candidates, while some candidates made allegations of vote-rigging in favour of the Socialist Party.

Overall results

((I can't do tables on this, so yeah, it's kinda screwed up. VERY screwed up. Just use your imagination!))

President

Candidate Howard Dean Party N/A Vote Percentage 100%

Vermont General Assembly

Socialist Party 79 Liberal Party 61 Independents 10 Other 0

Total 150

Excerpts from the Constitution of the Second Vermont Republic (based on the Constitution of the First Vermont Republic)

CHAPTER I A DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE SECOND VERMONT REPUBLIC I. THAT all men are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent and unalienable rights, amongst which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. II. That private property ought to be subservient to public uses, when necessity requires it; nevertheless, whenever any particular man's property is taken for the use of the public, the owner ought to receive an equivalent in money. […]

VI. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation or community; and not for the particular emolument or advantage of any single man, family or set of men, who are a part only of that community; and that the community hath an indubitable, unalienable and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish, government, in such manner as shall be, by that community, judged most conducive to the public weal. VII. That those who are employed in the legislative and executive business of the State, may be restrained from oppression, the people have a right, at such periods as they may think proper, to reduce their public officers to a private station, and supply the vacancies by certain and regular elections. VIII. That all elections ought to be free; and that all freemen. having a sufficient, evident, common interest with, and attachment to the community, have a right to elect officers, or be elected into office. IX. That every member of society hath a right to be protected in the enjoyment of life, liberty and property, and therefore, is bound to contribute his proportion towards the expense of that protection, and yield his personal service, when necessary, or an equivalent thereto; but no part of a man's property can be justly taken from him, or applied to public uses, without his own consent, or that of his legal representatives; nor can any man who is conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms, be justly compelled thereto, if he will pay such equivalent; nor are the people bound by any law' but such as they have, in like manner, assented to, for their common good. […] CHAPTER II PLAN OR FRAME OF GOVERNMENT SECTION I. THE REPUBLIC of VERMONT, shall be governed, hereafter, by a President, Council, and an Assembly of the Representatives of the Freemen of the same, in manner and form following. SECTION II. The supreme legislative power shall be vested in a House of Representatives of the Republic of Vermont. SECTION III. The supreme executive power shall be vested in a President and Council. SECTION IV. Courts of justice shall be established in every county in this State.

Excerpts from a speech by Joseph Menzies (L) to the Vermont General Assembly during the debate on the Health Care Bill, 5th of July, 1998

‘…we do not oppose the Second Vermont Republic. If we did, we would have joined the Whigs and boycotted the election. The great divide that separates us from our brethren on the other side of this chamber is not whether we are pro or anti-Vermont, but firmly rests in the hands of the person and ideology of President Dean. We, the Liberal Party of Vermont, have been summoned from many causes. We are not bound by the ideology of the Socialist Party. But one thing is clear: we all stood for election as independent candidates, on the principle that we would preserve individual liberty, whether economic or social, from the menace of socialist tyranny. And so, we have come together as one great party, united by our commitment to a free Vermont, both from New England and from those within who would seek to oppress us. The time has come to say something of the forgotten class-the middle class-those people who are constantly in danger of being ground between the upper and the lower millstones of the class war; the middle class who represent the background of this new and great nation. This great middle class has elected us here today, and we shall not fail them’

Excerpt from the Burlington Free Press, 14th of July, 1998

Land Redistribution Bill Passed

Bernie Sanders' controversial Land Redistribution Bill was passed through the Vermont House of Representatives yesterday 77-73, after an emotional three-hour debate. Five Socialist representatives crossed the floor to vote against the bill, with the balance of power falling to independents Matthew Taylor, Jill Maybourne and Wayne Egan. The bill will give the Secretary for the Interior power to redistribute private land to help the rural poor. However, this proposal has been highly criticised, with Liberal representative Jim Jeffords calling it 'an insult to freedom and to the principles which Vermonters are dying to defend.'

Excerpt from an editorial in the Boston Globe, 14th of July, 1998

'The communists in Vermont have always been working towards tyranny in their illegitimate republic, and yesterday's shameful display confirms it. Goodbye to objectivity, goodbye to free enterprise, goodbye to liberty when an arbitrary government of thieves and cut-throats has the power to control the lives of its citizens as it sees fit. This war to preserve our union has taken on new impetus. The communists in Vermont have created a corrupt dictatorship, in which the arbitrary rule of 'President' Dean cannot be challenged. The abortion of an election witnessed in the captured territories earlier this year, in which not one person was permitted to stand against Dean, is living proof that if we fail in our cause, the people of Vermont will be forever condemned to slavery'

Recollections of Corporal ‘Rowmaster’, New York Third Partisan Brigade, of the 9th of September, 1998

‘…I was on a supply run into Vermont; New England had occupied most of southern New York at this point, so we figured the enemy of my enemy is my friend, y’know? Besides, Vermont was under a pretty heavy blockade, so every gun they got had to come from us or the goddamn Quebecois, even if they didn’t announce it. Y’see, even if the Quebecois were ‘allied’ with New England, they still wanted to slow them down, so they could take as much of New York as possible. Goddamn them all. Anyway, once I got into Montpelier, I went straight to Governor Dean’s office; you know, comparing reconnaissance and all that. Once I got there, though, he was just staring at the wall, ashen-faced. I asked him what was wrong. He looked up at me. ‘We lost at Burlington. Five thousand good Vermonters, gunned down like cattle. And they won’t be the last, either’ I didn’t understand. I mean, New York has millions; a few thousand is a tragedy, but tragedies like that happen all the time. But Vermont was a small state, and they controlled a small part of it; five thousand men were probably all they could field at short notice. Burlington completely broke their army; once they lost there, they lost everywhere. They only lost a year later, but Burlington was the bell tolling.

Excerpts from Captain ‘Landshark’s history of the North American War, Eight Years: a Continent in Fragments

‘The fall of Quebec to Commonwealth forces on the 23rd of September, 1998, had major consequences for the ongoing North Eastern War. Without Quebec invading from the north, New York was able to mount a major offensive against the occupying New England forces, aided by Commonwealth forces free from their Quebecois commitments. At the same time, the Quebecois forces in New York at the time were suddenly cut off; in the confusion, many switched sides and attacked New England, later playing a major role in the pivotal Battle of Boston… The fall of Quebec had one advantage for New England, however; without resupply from Quebec, the Vermont separatists lost their major source of logistics, due to the New England blockade. Had their armed forces been in ready condition, they would have been able to exploit the New York invasion to their benefit; unfortunately, the loss of the Battle of Burlington twelve days before left them unable to launch a convincing counter offensive against New England forces. For the next eleven months, the Liberation Army of Vermont lead a guerrilla campaign against the encircling New England forces, but were unable to stop the encroaching tide. By the end, Montpelier was effectively surrounded. It is interesting to speculate what might have happened had Governor Dean delayed in attacking Burlington by just a few weeks; but alternate history is never a profitable exercise.’

Recollections of Captain John Lancaster of the Battle of Montpelier, 14th of August, 1999

‘Nineteen months; that was all we got. Sure, you can round it up to two years, but even then we got snuffed out before we ever got a chance. But still, I’ll never regret what I did. We were fighting the good fight, long after everyone else on the continent had lost every principle they had and started tearing into each other with rusty hooks. We had a two-party system, a free and fair election, and we even began on the land redistribution programs. We could have made things better. It’s a shame we never got the chance. We fought street to street; unfortunately, there aren’t all that many streets in Montpelier, so we were stuffed before long. Quebecois support might have saved us, but they were too busy looting Connecticut to help. Fascist frogs. Governor Dean was killed when a team of New England commandoes stormed the State House; they say he died screaming, but I’ll never believe that. Once we heard, we decided we needed to get out of town as soon as possible. Before that, though, we got ambushed. We took cover, but we were outgunned and outmanned. That’s when I did something I’ll regret forever; I tried to make a break for it. Even as my comrades died fighting, I abandoned them to grisly deaths. God, it still gives me nightmares. Anyway, I got hit while I was running; one went through my left shoulder, two went through my left leg and kept going, because by the time they’d finished there wasn’t much left of it. I was unconscious before I hit the ground. By the time I woke up, it was as if the Second Vermont Republic, my home, had never existed’.

Royal Proclamation of King Edward the First of New England, issued on the 3rd of March, 2000

‘The last of the Vermont Communists have been crushed, with an air raid on their last stronghold in the Green Mountains. With this strike, the last of the civil war that has so troubled Vermont has been extinguished. Democracy has at last returned to Vermont. Even as we fight against the New York war of aggression, we must never forget the sacrifices made in war. Today, as peace at last returns to the beautiful Green Mountain State, it can be safely said they did not die in vain. Let us forget the horrors of the last few years, and move on to a brighter future, together as brothers in the Kingdom of New England.’