11 American Nations Episode 13: Secession Pt 1

In this episode we begin a discussion of the Ratification of the US Constitution and the Appalachian/borderlander resistance to it. Their reasons included personal freedom, democracy, and corruption- which we will see was a huge issue even in 1790. We'll even discuss Alexander Hamilton and his help in founding the Federal Reserve. Finally, we'll discuss the parallels between events in the 1790's and now. Below is an excerpt.

After a summer of $5 billion dollars of damage to cities across the country- various groups have achieved their desired political outcomes. And they did so largely without fear of intervention from state or federal forces. With the exception of Portland or Seattle, this is largely because these groups sought to act out without seizing territory. Yes, they may own the streets at night or for weekends at a time, but the threat of them seizing a city or town was not lasting in the eyes of the establishment. Instead, the motivations to riot seemed largely financial. It was advantageous to riot and then loot local stores. And this only resulted in economic damage in certain cities- it wasn’t a threat to the system as a whole. But, like the borderlanders, the groups responsible for the unrest continually demand more change and more concessions, viewing their success up until this point as weakness in the federal government. And just like the borderlanders, they run the risk of learning that apathy and weakness are not the same thing. At some point, and invisible red line will be crossed and federal forces will respond.