New California Declares Independence in an Attempt to Become the 51st State

Founders of New California Tom Reed and Robert Paul Preston have proposed to divide California into two states, as they have deemed California to be a “failed state” that is “governed by a tyranny.” During a small ceremony on Monday in Marysville, California, the founders took a step towards statehood and read their own Declaration of Independence, stating that the large state was “ungovernable” due to its high taxes and “mono party politics.” If New California were to successfully secede and form its own state, the new state would take over most of rural current-day California, leaving the coastal urban areas to themselves.

According to their website, the need for New California arises from an attempt to “throw off the bonds of tyranny,” and to initiate New California statehood under a “governance system as modeled by the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Bill of Rights.” The founders believe that the citizens of current-day California are not being led by a government that follows California and U.S. Constitution and that the Constitution has been rendered useless due to alterations and amendments that have been made over the last 137 years.

The leaders of New California have referenced the Admission to the Union Clause of the United States Constitution, a clause oftentimes called the New States Clause, as justification towards their pursuit. The clause, which is found in Article IV, Section 3, Clause 1, states that a consensus must be reached by the state legislatures of California as well as Congress. However, according to the New California representatives, the process could take 10 to 18 months before they are ready to work with the current state’s legislature.

This is not the first time there has been an attempt to divide California. Past proposals have included an effort to create six states and to combine parts of California and Oregon to create the state of Jefferson. You can read about them here.