With all the sesesh talk on the forum lately, I cut and pasted from an old thread I posted a couple years ago.
Does anyone remember the last act of secession to occur in the United States? In the overall scheme of things, it happened only recently 150 miles from Elk County.
On April 9, 1961, McDonald County in southwest Missouri notified the capitol at Jefferson City the county was seceding from the state. At first, citizens in the sparsely settled area drafted a petition to the state government asking McDonald County be given back to the Indians. But then they determined secession was their best recourse.
Residents of McDonald County (which incidentally has an Elk River) were hopping mad at the state believing they were in danger of losing their livelihood. These people were not militia types but were dedicated in what they were doing. Most everyone, however, believed they were joking. That is, until the situation got out of hand and the federal government decided to step in.
About fifty agitators met in Noel, Missouri, and created a provisional entity out of the county land area renaming it McDonald Territory. They elected Z.L. McGowan president of the provisional territorial government.
The provisional government discussed asking Arkansas to annex the territory. An idea seemingly welcomed by Orval Faubus, Arkansas governor. However, no one could tell if Faubus was serious or only wanted to rankle the Missouri government. Also discussed was joining with next door Delaware County, Oklahoma, to ask for admission to the union as the 51st state. Delaware County apparently went along for the publicity.
By April 11, 1961, McDonald Territory began issuing passports and national identity cards to its citizens.
Quickly after that, the provisional government set up a process to issue visas to non-citizens. They then made visas a requirement for getting into the new Territory.
A 300-man territorial border patrol was set up checking motorists coming into the territory. People who were not Territorial citizens or did not have the necessary visas were provided with one. This made big news and I recall watching the story on the NBC nightly news. A news clip showed a highway into McDonald Territory with a typical border guard house and an up and down movable barrier to stop traffic. Cars were backed up at highway entrances. I also recall shotguns were carried by the guards. These events caused a sensation and the secession became international news.
Next the provisional government began printing its own 2 cent postage stamps [US postage was 2 cents at the time]. They also started minting their own wooden coins.
Next the provisional government asked the United Nations for $4 billion in aid.
At this point the federal government stepped in and advised the foolishness had to stop. The state of Missouri followed by issuing a proclamation rejecting the secession.
********
So why were these folks so agitated?
Trouble began when McDonald County with its principal but tiny towns of Noel, Pineville, and Southwest City were left off a family vacation guide printed on the back of the official 1961 Missouri state highway map. The area had very little population but was an Ozark mountain resort area with river rafting a popular attraction.
After McDonald County complained to the Missouri highway department about the omission, the department refused to apologize for any error. The department then added insult to injury by saying the omission was actually intentional because the area was just not developed enough to justify inclusion on an official map. Inhabitants became outraged at this intentional slight since tourism was their principal income. Additionally, Pineville thought itself important enough in its own right because it had been the shooting location for the 20th Century Fox 1938 motion picture, Jesse James, starring Henry Fonda and Randolph Scott. It still uses that event in advertising.
Wheels were set in motion for secession and the events that were to follow.
McDonald County and its main towns were back on the map the following year.
Believe it or not, the only reason I remember anything about that was because it was on a current events pop quiz given by my history teacher, Earl Knorr. He demanded that we see the news and read the newspaper every day and he was known for his pop quizzes.
For some reason, the even has always stuck in my mind.
I wonder if they still have teachers like that?
We would hope so, but I doubt it, don't you? I remember having to have a current event to recite every Friday morning, in grade school and we would scan the Wichita Beacon ( as it was known then) for something really interesting.
I still love to read the newspapers.
I found this interesting! I live in McDonald County LOL :) Guess that is part of what people meant when we said we were buyin here and people said "those people in McDonald county are kind of different" lol. I'm gonna have to research this some more :)
Pineville still has Jesse James Days every summer and they show the movie as part of the celebration and campgrounds and canoe trips are still big business although the drought two years ago bout put everybody under cause the rivers were drying up before it finally rained.
Carol (aka Nana02) also mentioned she had lived in McDonald County at Pineville for the past 25 years. She spent her childhood in Longton.
Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie is buried nearby Southwest City in a cemetery on the Oklahoma side.
General Watie was the highest ranking Cherokee to serve the CSA.
He was not only the highest ranking Cherokee; he was the highest ranking Indian to serve for the South.
He is buried in Delaware County, Oklahoma, which was named after the Delaware Tribe.
Indians fighting on both sides during the Civil War does not seem to be a familiar topic to many people.
There's a Robert Divine buried in Howard Cemetery who served
in the Cherokee Regiment I.T., CSA commanded by General Stand Watie.
This info was from a Devine in Tennessee.
Were they recruited to fight in similar ways that the blacks were? I know in some cases slaves went because the black owner/soldier took them with them, and some were told they could earn their freedom if they fought for the south. I'm not being judgemental, I just find the history interesting.
Sure (true) history is interesting. The Confederate army consisted of many races
and it was integrated. A black man told me that his Confederate grandfather
fought for the Constitution as a slave. The grandfather wanted to keep the country
as right as it should be.
If he was still a slave, I suspect he didn't have a choice. But then again, there were free blacks at that time too, and also blacks who owned slaves themselves. You do know that for a long time in order to vote you had to be a white male Protestant land owner at least 21 years old? That's where "free, white and 21" came from.
As much as I appreciate how it all finally turned out, the framers of our constitution were a bunch of elitists too. They kept a lot of people down, because they thought they knew better. You have to plow through the Madison Papers to get a real sense of it. Some states added the ability to read as part of the voting regs. too. Thank goodness that has all changed over the years.
Most of the Cherokees and others fought for the Confederacy because they hated the US government.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 22, 2009, 06:09:16 PM
ople down, because they thought they knew better. You have to plow through the Madison Papers to get a real sense of it. Some states added the ability to read as part of the voting regs. too. Thank goodness that has all changed over the years.
Actually i personally believe we would be better off if only property owners were allowed to vote, or lets go with taxpayors. Give everyone 1 vote then, For every 1000 in taxes you pay out every year, and that means you have to write a check to the irs on april15 not get a refund, then you get a extra vote for every 1000 dollars. That would make it so that the politicians would have to knuckle down and not cater to the entitlement vote.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 22, 2009, 06:09:16 PM
If he was still a slave, I suspect he didn't have a choice.
Not true, they did have a choice. They were offered freedom to fight for the confederacy. They were not forced. IN fact Nathan Bedford was commander of one of the largest black regiments in the confederacy. HIS men volenteered. They earned their freedom and stayed in the south and on the plantations. Your going to find that if the truth were ever to be taught in the school system that the whole concept of slavery was a boogie man in the war. Common sense dictates that because it wasn't ever brought up til the north started losing the war in 1863-1864. Lincoln had to turn the northerners back onto his side again cause they were against the war about that time, and to do so he had to find a cause. So he chose slavery. INteresting since he owned slaves and never freed them. Whats more interesting is Robert E Lee never owned slaves and when he married his wife, he released all of her families slaves before the war. He was a abolitionist.
Slavery was coming to a end anyway. The south was growing and becoming more powerful and the feds decided to suck more money out of the south, and the south just said enough was enough. States rights is the only reason the south went to war.
Yes, some black slaves were offered their freedom if they fought for the south, that is correct. Uh, if that political side was never taught, then why do I know about it? Politics was a big deal then too. I know a number of presidents did own slaves at one time or another, but I didn't think Lincoln or his wife did.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 23, 2009, 01:31:30 PM
Yes, some black slaves were offered their freedom if they fought for the south, that is correct. Uh, if that political side was never taught, then why do I know about it? Politics was a big deal then too. I know a number of presidents did own slaves at one time or another, but I didn't think Lincoln or his wife did.
That was one regiment of black soldiers. Most of the black soldiers fought for the same ideals of the south. That is what isn't taught in the schools. These same blacks didn't fight for their freedom from slavery although a good many weren't slaves.
Lincoln owned slaves as did his wife. And slavery did not end with the emancipation proclamation. The proclamation was only for the south. The north still used and owned slaves long afterwards.
Would you care to share where you got your information? Thanks.
Steve, after the slaves were "freed," there were some who choose to stay right where they were. Not every slave owner was mean to them as is so often pictured. The ones who were happy where they were stayed put. If this wasn't taught, how would I have known about it years ago? In my own family, according to family history, one brother fought for the north and the other for the south... That must have made for some interesting dinner table conversation! I have a series of old books about the civil war, has lots of Brady photographs, I'll have to pull some out and take a look again.
Diane, I am especially interested in Lincoln owning slaves. As poor as he is purported to have been, how could he have afforded slaves to own and support slaves?
I just did a little internet searching, which isn't always accurate I know, but I found several articles that say no, neither he nor Mary Todd ever owned slaves. She grew up in a wealthy home that did have slaves, but she, Mary Todd, never did. There is a little legal piece that has to do with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. It tries to show that if he withdrew his signature, he in effect owned all the slaves who had been freed. That was just a technical issue. I could find nothing that said he ever owned slaves and I don't know how he could have, too poor. I know of nothing about him owning land which would have needed slave labor, and they didn't have household slaves to my knowledge. Maybe Steve can share his source.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 24, 2009, 12:23:40 PM
I just did a little internet searching, which isn't always accurate I know, but I found several articles that say no, neither he nor Mary Todd ever owned slaves. She grew up in a wealthy home that did have slaves, but she did not.
I didn't know lincoln was transgender... ;D
Oops! I'll fix that. ;D ;D ;D Told ya I couldn't type.
It wasn't wrong, but it wasn't clear either. So I rewrote it. Actually, Lincoln was accused by some of being a homosexual because of his living arrangements as a young man. I guess there will always be people trying to make everything look bad.
Grant had slaves. Grant said that good help was hard to find.
One, I think.
Diane- Most all slave owners cared for their slaves so don't believe all that
you learned about masters beating the slaves. After the war, it was the
northerners who separated the blacks and whites as they did not
want them together.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 24, 2009, 02:13:03 PM
So I rewrote it. Actually, Lincoln was accused by some of being a homosexual because of his living arrangements as a young man.
Really? I have heard lincoln called alot of things, but queer was never one of them. Guess, you learn something new everyday.
Quote from: Diane Amberg on May 18, 2009, 01:57:10 PM
Believe it or not, the only reason I remember anything about that was because it was on a current events pop quiz given by my history teacher, Earl Knorr. He demanded that we see the news and read the newspaper every day and he was known for his pop quizzes.
I've enjoyed reading this topic, considering that we still hear about secession even in today's politics, most recently with Gov. Rick Perry of Texas sharing some thoughts. I am especially interested in Diane's comments as I am involved in a research project leading up to the 50th anniversary of the McDonald County Secession attempt of 1961. I have been tracking newspapers that covered the story in 1961, and apparently this event made the AP wire several times, and small-town newspapers that needed filler material picked it up.
The only thing I could add to W. Gray's original post (which is quite good, BTW) is that the postage at that time was actually three cents for first class mail. I suspect that they made their labels/stamps say two cents to assist in it "not being in similitude" to current US postage. This came as part of an advisory given to well-known philatelist Herman Herst, Jr. in connection with the Shrub Oak Local Post of 1953, and there are indications that Walter Arndt, Postmaster General of the McDonald Territory may also have been a philatelist and may have taken this issue into consideration.
(http://www.qsl.net/kg0yh/mcdonald3.jpg)
If you are interested in seeing my research, the shortcut to my page is http://tinyurl.com/McD2011
I would be very interested in hearing of any further information about the McDonald County secession attempt itself, or of any information related to the McDonald Territory Private Dispatch (the official name of the local post they established for mail carriage outside of the territory). Thanks!
The image attached is from a photo postcard from the 1950's, and yes,
Elk River still runs clear and true! The Noel post office is about two or three blocks from this bridge to the right of frame. Many of the McDonald Territory pieces are seen with postmarks from Noel, although their original purpose was to frank mail for private carriage outside of the "Territory."
(http://www.qsl.net/kg0yh/395.jpg)
A forum for McDonald Territory--amazing.
Thanks for providing this information and as I recall the event made the NBC nightly news for several nights back when I think it was only 15 minutes long.
I just had to post this. The information comes from the above web site set up in advance of the 50th year commemoration of the secession attempt.
Elected Officials of
McDonald Territory, Missouri
A Provisional Government
April 13, 1961
President, Z.L. McGowan
Vice-President, Dan M. Harmon
Secretary of State, Lee Aaron Bachler
Secretary of Treasury, Roslyn Gorske
Attorney General, Robert Yocum
Secretary of the Interior in Charge of Indian Affairs, Olin Armstrong
Secretary of Health, Dr. Adams (first name unknown)
Press Secretary to the President, Ralph Pogue
Postmaster General, Walter R. Arndt
Executive Vice-President in Charge of Grievances, Claude Wyatt
Quote from: W. Gray on May 18, 2009, 12:42:37 PM[redacted from original post]
With all the sesesh talk on the forum lately, I cut and pasted from an old thread I posted a couple years ago. ...
Quickly after that, the provisional government set up a process to issue visas to non-citizens. They then made visas a requirement for getting into the new Territory.
...
I just obtained this splendid piece of ephemera today! I still have not found one of the 1961 visas that W. Gray mentioned in the original post, but I obtained this souvenir visa that was issued to tourists in 1987, who visited the City of Noel, on Elk River. I understand it is in very close similitude to the ones the provisional government issued in the original secession attempt. Scans of front and back are included. Actual size is 3 1/2 X 2 1/2 inches. As an observation, I think the sentiment they express re: aggressors, is still a valid one. ;D
(http://www.qsl.net/kg0yh/mcvisa87front.jpg)
(http://www.qsl.net/kg0yh/mcvisa87back.jpg)
The signature of "Saint Nick" is obviously a pseudonym. I will continue looking for other items of ephemera from McDonald Territory, and [hoping I am not violating any forum rules by so stating] would welcome offers from anyone having such material for sale. Thanks.
Just as a clarification, I do not have any items.
I was living in Missouri (Independence) at the time and thought it was big news.
Updating the previous post to include newly found items from my further research. At least one provisional government official was appointed later, and was not included in the original list on April 12, 1961. Here is the updated listing as it now appears on my page:
Bob Nichols was the late appointment.
Elected Officials of McDonald Territory, Missouri
A Provisional Government April 12, 1961
President, Z.L. McGowan
Vice-President, Dan M. Harmon²
Secretary of State, Lee Aaron Bachler
Secretary of Labor, Bob Nichols
Secretary of Treasury, Roslyn Gorske *
Attorney General, Robert (Bob) E. Yocum
Secretary of the Interior in Charge of Indian Affairs, J. Olin Armstrong
Secretary of Health, Dr. J.S. Adams °
Press Secretary, Ralph "Windy" Pogue¹
Postmaster General, Walter R. Arndt
Executive Vice-President in Charge of Grievances, Claude D. "Butch" Wyatt, aka C.D. Wyatt
The actual page has photographs now of most of the McDonald Territory officials, if you are interested.
http://www.qsl.net/kg0yh/mcofficials.htm (http://www.qsl.net/kg0yh/mcofficials.htm)
From that site is what is described as a rough depiction of the 1961 Territorial Flag.
(http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad256/waldoegray/mcdonaldterritory.jpg)