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That cool cat up there is “Wild Bill” Langer, voting in the 1940 election that would send Mr. Langer to Washington. \u00a0 \u00a0Nothing was ever easy for William Langer: when he got to Washington, Congress refused to seat him. \u00a0They cited a history of lawbreaking, bribery, an attempt to secede from the United States,\u00a0felonies, and general ethical shortcomings as reasons why he was unfit to be a Senator.<\/p>\n
Wait, back up a bit: \u00a0sedition<\/a>? \u00a0Yup, as you’ll hear in my Dakota Datebook for today<\/a>, Langer decided nobody was going to remove him <\/em>from office, so he called out the National Guard and proclaimed that North Dakota had declared independence. \u00a0 His intentions are a bit clearer when you combine the two; just signing a Declaration of Independence for political reasons isn’t all that remarkable. \u00a0 However, Langer claimed he called in the National Guard because of protestors around the capitol grounds. \u00a0His executive order, however, covered the entire state<\/em>. \u00a0 When the leaders of a developing nation, fearing a coup through the courts, call out the military, declare martial law, and issue a declaration of independence, the international news starts to declare either fascism or rebellion.<\/p>\n In Langer’s case, all was forgotten the next day. \u00a0 Even the Congressional records of his Senate hearings only briefly cover his Declaration of Independence. \u00a0The biography The Dakota Maverick<\/a><\/em> barely mentions the event. \u00a0It’s almost like people would rather forget that Langer got that close to really following through on his intentions.<\/p>\n Whenever the U.S. has been heavily divided politically, the secessionists come out of the woodwork. \u00a0There are currently a number of active secessionist movements<\/a> operating in the U.S., from Hawaiian royalty<\/a> to white supremacists<\/a> to Native Americans<\/a>. \u00a0Some of it is honest interest in establishing an independent nation, but much of it is rhetoric to emphasize how important a policy or stance is to the group. \u00a0 They believe in their position so much they are willing to leave the United States to prove how important it is.<\/p>\n
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This is pretty clearly more about making a point than creating a functioning nation; \u00a0Martin knew it, and when the national news started calling his motion sedition, he downplayed it as rhetoric. \u00a0 Martin’s archives at the State Historical Society are almost 100% letters of support from around the U.S., thanking him for pushing his opinion through a secessionist statement, because people stood up and paid attention.<\/p>\n