United States Secession Petitions
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Part of a series on 2012 United States Presidential Election. [View Related Entries]
Overview
United States Secession Petitions refers to a series of requests filed on the United States government’s “We the People” website for several states to secede from the Union following the reelection of United States president Barack Obama in November of 2012.
Background
On November 7th, 2012, following Barack Obama's victory in the United States presidential election, a petition was filed on the White House's “We the People”[1] website asking for the Obama administration to “peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government” (shown below). Within seven days, the petition received over 33,000 signatures. According to the site’s “Terms of Participation” page,[19] the White House will issue a response to the petition if it reaches 25,000 signatures within 30 days.
Notable Developments
Additional Petitions
On November 9th, a second petition[2] was created calling for the White House to grant the state of Texas secession from the United States, which received over 100,000 signatures within five days. The same day, a petitition[10] was created to grant a pizza party to the rest of the United States of America if the State of Missouri successfully seceded from the union. Also on November 12th, a counter-petition[6] was submitted to “deport everyone that signed a petition to withdraw their state from the United States of America,” receiving over 17,000 signatures within 48 hours. A similar petition[17] for the city of Austin Texas to withdraw from the state of Texas was submitted the same day. By November 14th, petitions to secede had been filed on the White House website for each of the United States 50 states.
Media Coverage
On November 10th, the political blog Red Alert Politics[8] published an article reporting that 15 states had issued White House petitions asking for permission to secede. On November 12th, Gawker[3]published an article by staff writer Neetzan Zimmerman, which noted that unilateral secession had been previously ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court. The same day, Yahoo News[9] reported that 20 states had filed secession petitions. On November 13th, The Daily Show mocked the petitions with a clip from the 1971 musical film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in which the character Willy Wonka apathetically pleads "stop, don't, comeback" (shown below).
On November 14th, the news site WND[11] published an article reporting that there were a total of 40 state petitions to secede and The Daily Caller[12] noted that over 675,000 site members of We The People had signed petitions. The same day, the U.S. politics blog America Blog[15] published a post titled “Let the South Secede,” noting the disproportionate amount of federal money received by Southern states that traditionally vote Republican (see also: Jesusland).
Governor Reactions
On November 13th, The Dallas Morning News[13] published an article reporting that Texas Governor Rick Perry did not support the secession petition and that he "believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be done to change it." The same day, the governors of Tennessee and Alabama both rejected the secession petitions. On the following day, The Times-Picayune[14] quoted Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal saying the state's petition to secede was "silly."
Online Reaction
On Reddit
On November 13th, Redditor magicclubpresident submitted a post titled "A Helpful Chart to Put the Texas Secession Petition in Perspective" to the /r/texas[5] subreddit, which featured a a pie chart showing the amount of Texans who signed the petition compared to those who didn't (shown below, left). The same day, Redditor haydennt submitted a post titled "ELI5: what will happen if Tennessee or Texas secede" to the /r/explainitlikeimfive[18] subreddit, which received over 1,000 up votes and 820 comments within 24 hours. Also on November 13th, Redditor skinnymojo submitted a post to the /r/PoliticalHumor[7] subreddit, featuring a photoshopped image of "Faux Nooz" reporting that Glenn Beck was elected president of a new country made up of the seceded states (shown below, right).
Search Interest
Search queries for the keywords "secession united states" saw a significant increase following the United States presidential election in November of 2012.
External References
[1] Whitehouse.gov – Peacefully grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government
[2] Whitehouse.gov – Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America
[3] Gawker – We the People Petitions Filed in Nineteen States Seeking Permission to Secede from the Union
[4] Politico – Rick Perry Says no to Texas Secession
[5] Reddit – A Helpful Chart to Put the Texas Secession
[6] Whitehouse.gov – Deport Everyone that Signed a petition to withdraw their state from the united states of america
[7] Reddit – 20 states secede
[8] Red Alert Politics – Americans in 15 states issue White House petitions asking permission to secede
[9] Yahoo News – Secession petitions filed in 20 states
[10] Whitehouse.gov – Justice for Missouri Secession
[11] WND – Secession Madness! Now 40 States Join Petition Fray
[12] The Daily Caller – White House secede petitions reach 675,000 signatures
[13] The Dallas Morning News – Rick Perrys Office Says He Believes in the Greatness of our Union
[14] Nola – Governor Bobby Jindal calld Louisiana Secession Petition Silly
[15] America Blog – Let the South Secede
[16] Al.com – Gov Robert Bentley – no secession for Alabama
[17] Whithouse.gov – Peacefully grant the city of Austin Texas to withdraw from the state of Texas
[18] Reddit – EL15 – what will happen if teneesee or texas secede
[19] Whitehouse.gov – Terms of Participation
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