Declaration Project

Declarations to Secede from the United States, 1860-1861

Editor’s Note: From carefully wrought, grievance-filled declarations of causes, to concise cut-and-dried ordinances to secede, to (in the case of Tennessee) a full-fledged declaration of independence, in 1861 and 1862 the 13 Southern states issued a variety of official pronouncements  to declare that they were making a formal and final break from the United States and […]

Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia, 1965)

Editor’s Note:  Not all Declarations of Independence are created equal.  Some lead to the enfranchisement of the great majority of a society, and others only advance the interests of a relatively small number within a populace. Even our vaunted July 4, 1776 declaration, while overwhelmingly supported by white Americans (especially white male Americans), could be […]