Northwest Territorial Imperative
Northwest Territorial Imperative | |
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The proposed flag of the Northwest American Republic.[1] | |
The Northwest Territorial Imperative (often shortened to the Northwest Imperative) was a
From this idea, Harold Covington founded the organization the Northwest Front in the 1990's, which is now inactive.[5] Harold Covington died at the age of 68 on July 14, 2018, and his death marked the end of the Northwest Front organization and website.[6]
Several reasons have been given as to why activists have chosen to turn this area into a future white homeland: it is farther removed from Black, Jewish and other minority locations than other areas of the United States are; it is geographically remote, making it harder for the federal government to uproot activists; its "wide open spaces" appeal to those who believe in the right to hunt and fish without any government regulations; and it would also give them access to seaports and Canada.[7]
The formation of such a "White homeland" also involves the expulsion, euphemized as the "repatriation", of all non-Whites from the territory.[8] The project is variously called "Northwest Imperative", "White American Bastion",[9] "White Aryan Republic",[7] "White Aryan Bastion",[10][11] "White Christian Republic", or the "10% solution" by its promoters.[12] White supremacist leaders Robert E. Miles, Robert Jay Mathews and Richard Butler were originally the main promoters of the idea.[4][8][9]
The territory which is proposed by the Northwest Territorial Imperative overlaps with the territory of the
History
The Oregon black exclusion laws of 1844, an attempt to expel all African Americans from the state, are cited as an early example of such a racist project in the region.[3] White supremacist journalist Derek Stenzel, the Portland-based editor of Northwestern Initiative, emphasized that the 1859 constitution of Oregon explicitly stated that "no free negro, mulatto or Chinaman" could reside, vote, hold contract, or make business in the state. In his view, the Northwest Imperative project would be in line with the "high racist ideals" of the original settlers.[4]
The primary proponents of a separatist white homeland in America were
A secondary supporter was Robert Jay Mathews (1953–1984), who lived in Metaline Falls, Washington, and advocated further colonization of the area. Fearing the "extinction of the white race", he endorsed the creation of a "White American Bastion" in the Pacific Northwest. In 1983, he delivered a speech before the National Alliance, a white supremacist organization which was led by William Luther Pierce, calling the "yeoman farmers and independent truckers" to rally behind his project. Mathews received the only standing ovation at the conference.[9]
Support
The idea has been endorsed by various organizations including White Aryan Resistance, Wotansvolk, the White Order of Thule, Aryan Nations and Northwestern Imperative.[4]
The defunct Oregon-based white power skinhead organization Volksfront advocated for the Imperative, and Harold Covington founded the Northwest Front to promote white migration to the region.[18]
The Northwest Territorial Imperative was the motivation for Randy Weaver and his family to move to Idaho in the early 1980s; they were later involved in the Ruby Ridge incident.[3]
See also
- political migrationmovement that covers a similar geographic area
- Die Trying, a Jack Reacher novel featuring a militia trying to implement the Northwest Territorial Imperative
- The Base – a paramilitary group that wants to, among other goals, establish a white ethnostate in the Pacific Northwest
- The Order – a paramilitary group that engaged in domestic terrorism to establish a white territorial imperative in the Pacific Northwest
- Volkstaat – proposal for self-determination for Afrikaner/Boer minority in South Africa
References
- ^ "Northwest American Republic". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ Antifa, Rose City. "The Northwest Front". rosecityantifa.org. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
- ^ a b c d e Medina et al. 2018, p. 1011.
- ^ a b c d e f Gardell 2003, pp. 112–113.
- ^ Michel, Casey (2015-07-07). "Want to Meet America's Worst Racists? Come to the Northwest". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
- ^ "Harold Covington, founder of white separatist group, dies at 64". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
- ^ a b Marks 1996, p. 164.
- ^ a b c Buck 2009, pp. 114–115.
- ^ a b c Balleck 2014, pp. 122–123.
- ^ McFarland & Gottfried 2002, pp. 128–129.
- ^ a b Aho 2015, p. 138.
- ^ Marks 1996, p. 205.
- ^ )
- S2CID 146719801.
- ^ Background Report on Racist and Far Right Organizing in the Pacific Northwest. Atlanta: Center for Democratic Renewal. 1988. Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
- ^ Dobratz & Shanks-Meile 1997, p. 100.
- ^ Marks 1996, p. 78.
- ^ Michael 2010, pp. 159–160.
- ISSN 0144-333X.
Bibliography
- Aho, James (2015). Far-Right Fantasy: A Sociology of American Religion and Politics. Routledge. ISBN 9781317334071.
- Balleck, Barry J. (2014). Allegiance to Liberty: The Changing Face of Patriots, Militias, and Political Violence in America. Praeger. ISBN 978-1440830952.
- Buck, Christopher (2009). Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America's World Role. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313359590.
- Dobratz, Betty A.; Shanks-Meile, Stephanie L. (1997). "White power, white pride!": the white separatist movement in the United States. Twayne Publishers.
- ISBN 9780822330592.
- Marks, Kathy (1996). Faces of Right Wing Extremism. Branden Books. ISBN 9780828320160.
- McFarland, Michael; Gottfried, Glenn (2002). "The Chosen Ones: A Mythic Analysis of the Theological and Political Self-Justification of Christian Identity". Journal for the Study of Religion. 15 (1): 125–145. JSTOR 24764349.
- Michael, George (2010). "Blueprints and Fantasies: A Review and Analysis of Extremist Fiction". Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. 33 (2): 149–170. S2CID 146791309.
- Medina, Richard M.; Nicolosi, Emily; Brewer, Simon; Linke, Andrew M. (2018). "Geographies of Organized Hate in America: A Regional Analysis". Annals of the American Association of Geographers. 108 (4): 1006–1021. S2CID 134492071.