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New York City secession
New York City secession, the secession of New York City (and possibly neighboring areas) from New York State and/or the United States, has been proposed several times in history. These movements have been in some ways just extreme manifestations of the ordinary tensions between the city area and the government based in the economically and politically distinct Upstate New York region at Albany.
In the battle over the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1787-88, Governor George Clinton in Albany, wishing to preserve his independent power, led the local Anti-Federalists in opposition, with support for the Constitution coming from Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists, largely urbanites who saw opportunity in a stronger national union, and famously published as their manifesto the Federalist Papers in New York City newspapers. There was a real divide, and with the recent independence of Vermont, a real threat of secession of New York City and the southern counties to join the new Federal government. The leaders of Richmond County, which always had a somewhat ambiguous position, threatened to join New Jersey. With secession threatening to marginalize Governor Clinton and a lightly developed upstate, ratification was finally agreed and the divisional crisis passed.
In the period of national crisis immediately preceding the American Civil War, Democratic Mayor Fernando Wood, widely considered the most corrupt in the city's history, proposed the secession of the city as a sovereign city-state to be called the Free City of Tri-Insula (Tri-Insula meaning "three islands" in Latin), and incorporating Manhattan, Long Island and Staten Island. In an address to the city's Common Council on January 6, 1861, Mayor Wood expressed a Copperhead sympathy with the threatened seceding states and a desire to maintain profitable cotton shipping, confidence that the city-state would prosper on the import tariffs that then supplied 2/3 of the Federal revenues, and especially dissatisafaction with the state government at Albany. But the idea of leaving the United States proved too radical even in the turmoil of 1861 and was poorly received, especially after the Southern bombardment of Fort Sumter starting on April 12. The war, and especially conscription, was nevertheless often unpopular in the city, sparking the deadly New York Draft Riots.
In 1969, writer Norman Mailer and columnist Jimmy Breslin ran together on an independent ticket seeking the mayoralty and City Council Presidentship, challenging Mayor John Lindsay with an agenda to make New York City the 51st state. When questioned as to the name of the new state, they said the city deserved to keep "New York" and that upstate should be renamed "Buffalo", after its largest city.
On February 26, 2003, a bill was introduced by Astoria, Queens Councilman Peter Vallone, and sponsored by 20 of 51 City Council members, reviving the idea of a secession referendum in the context of the red state vs. blue state divide and opposition to the policies of Governor George Pataki. A committee report was written but otherwise little action was taken, and the bill was reintroduced with one additional sponsor on the same date in 2004. Although Vallone still supports the concept, he has not reintroduced the bill in 2005. Like Mayor Wood, Councilman Vallone has emphasized the fiscal benefits of secession, with revenue now derived not from tariffs, but from Wall Street.
See also
- Urban secession
- West Virginia - The only state to divide itself into two states.
- Province of Toronto - A proposal for the secession of Canada's most populous city.
External links and references
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