[SkateDC] Former Republics of the United States Skate Series

[George Marinkovich]

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...  


...but that's another story.  For the purposes of this story we had better begin here...

A long time ago In the area that today comprises the United States there were five independent republics that through annexation subsequently became present-day states or parts of present-day states.

Whether that's a fascinating bit of news or not, it was the germ of an idea (based on a suggestion by Carl) to skate the streets named after those states that comprise the Former Republics of the United States.  We will be doing so starting on this Sunday's Intermediate Skate (8/16/09).  

The series will only start next Sunday because, as one might expect, especially when one of the states is as big as Texas (a whole 'nother country as they say), it's not possible to comfortably skate all of them in a single skate.

Therefore the series will be broken up into two
 bits:

Part I (8/16/09):  The Republics of Vermont, Hawaii, West Florida, and California; and

Part II (at a date to be determined):  The Republic of Texas

The rest of this post is filled with minutiae that will likely not be of much interest to anyone.  You've been warned.

Cheers,
George

Part I will cover the Vermont Republic with Vermont and its source states New York and New Hampshire; the Hawaiian Republic with Hawaii; the West Florida Republic with its namesake Florida (the source states of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi being deferred to Part II); and the Republic of California with California.

Part II will cover the Republic of Texas with Texas, and include at least two of the three source states of the West Florida Republic, namely Louisiana and Alabama.  I would like to include the last source state of the West Florida Republic, but that's Mississippi and it
 appears a long way off in unfamiliar (to me) territory in Anacostia and the Part II skate is already getting to be a long one.  If anyone has any ideas of how to
 include Mississippi, I'd like to hear them.

The Republics in the order of their annexation:

The Republic of Vermont 
Independence: January 15, 1777
Admitted to Union: March 4, 1791
"Following controversy between the holders of the New York grants and the New Hampshire grants, Ethan Allen and his militia of "Green Mountain Boys" conducted what might be called a low-level guerrilla war against British sympathizers associated with the crown colony of New York."

They seem to have taken this independent republic pretty seriously to judge from this poem:

"Come York or come Hampshire, come traitors or knaves,
If ye rule o'er our land ye shall rule o'er our graves;
Our vow is recorded–our banner unfurled,
In the name of Vermont we defy all the world!"
-- John Greenleaf Whittier's The Song of the Vermonters, 1779

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Republic

The Republic of West
 Florida
Republic of West Florida established: September 23, 1810
Annexation by U.S.: October 27, 1810
"The United States and Spain held long, inconclusive negotiations on the status of West Florida. In the meantime, American settlers established a foothold in the area and resisted Spanish control. British settlers, who had remained, also resented Spanish rule, leading to a rebellion in 1810 and the establishment for exactly 90 days of the Republic of West Florida."

Despite its name, none of present-day Florida lay within the borders of the Republic of West Florida.  It was instead composed of parts in the southernmost regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_West_Florida

Republic of Texas
Independence: March 2, 1836
Annexation: December 29, 1845
"The Republic of Texas was a sovereign nation in North America between the United States and Mexico that
 existed from 1836 to 1846."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas

Republic of California
Independence from Mexico: June 14, 1846
Annexation by the United States of America: July 9, 1846
"The California Republic, also called the Bear Flag Republic, was a government proclaimed by settlers on June 14, 1846, in Sonoma in the then-Mexican province of California. Declared during the Mexican-American War, the republic lasted less than a month."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Republic

The Republic of Hawaii
Established: July 4, 1894
Annexed by the US: July 4, 1898
"The Republic of Hawai'i was the formal name of the government that controlled Hawai'i from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic," following the overthrow of Queen Lili'uokalani.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Hawaii