Free State Project

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Free State Project

Logo of the Free State Project
Motto "Liberty in Our Lifetime"
Formation September 1, 2001
Headquarters Keene, New Hampshire, United States
Membership 9,000+
Official languages English
President Varrin Swearingen
Website freestateproject.org

The Free State Project (FSP) is an internet-based political movement, founded in 2001, to get at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideals. Those who join the Free State Project sign a statement of intent to move to New Hampshire within five years of the group reaching 20,000 members. However, many FSP members choose to simply move to New Hampshire as soon as they can, rather than wait for the goal of 20,000 members to be reached. Those who move to New Hampshire in advance of the FSP reaching 20,000 members are referred to as "early movers".

As of March 20, 2009, there are 9161 members and 678 early movers already living in New Hampshire.[1]

The movement achieved a victory in 2006 when one of its members, Joel Winters, was elected to the New Hampshire state legislature. Winters ran as a Democrat.[2] In 2008, six Free Staters were elected to the N.H. House, including Winters, according to group members.[3]

Many project members also belong to the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance.[4]

Contents

[edit] Stances and Mission Statement

The organization identifies itself as supporting free markets and constitutional federalism. The organization's mission statement, adopted in 2005, states:

The Free State Project is an agreement among 20,000 pro-liberty activists to move to New Hampshire, where they will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property. The success of the Project would likely entail reductions in taxation and regulation, reforms at all levels of government to expand individual rights and free markets, and a restoration of constitutional federalism, demonstrating the benefits of liberty to the rest of the nation and the world."[5]

[edit] History

The Free State Project was founded in 2001 by Jason Sorens, then a Ph.D. student at Yale University.[6] Sorens published an article in The Libertarian Enterprise highlighting the failure of libertarians to elect any candidate to federal office, and outlining his ideas for a secessionist movement, and calling people to respond to him with interest.[7] The organization since then come to emphasize secessionism much less strongly, with Sorens publishing a note in the journal to this effect in 2004.[8] Sorens has stated that the movement continues an American tradition of political migration, which includes groups such as Mormon settlers in Utah and Amish religious communities.[9]

[edit] Process of choosing a state

The group originally was founded without a specific state in mind. A systematic review started by narrowing potential target states to those with a population of less than 1.5 million, and those where the combined spending in 2000 by the Democratic and Republican parties was less than $5.2 million, the total national spending by the Libertarian party in that year. Hawaii and Rhode Island were eliminated from this list due to their propensity for centralized government.[10]

A ballot in September of 2003 was held to choose a state to focus the movement's efforts on. The ballot used the innovative Condorcet method to choose the target state.[11] New Hampshire was the winner, with Wyoming coming in second (in a 55 to 45 margin)[11]. Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Vermont, and the Dakotas were also on the list.[9]

The state of New Hampshire was chosen by the movement because the existing individualist culture of New Hampshire was thought to resonate well with Libertarian ideals.[2] The movement, however, has drawn criticism from New Hampshire residents, mostly Democrats and those in towns with spending problems, concerned about population pressure and backlash to increased taxation. Republicans, on the other hand, have responded more favorably to the project, due to their agreement on small government and individual rights.[12]

[edit] Annual events

The Free State Project is the official organizer of two annual events in New Hampshire; The New Hampshire Liberty Forum, and Porcupine Freedom Festival (Porcfest), respectively. The New Hampshire Liberty Forum is a convention-style event that takes place in a hotel each winter, and hosts a wide variety of speakers, dinners and various events. Porcfest is a week-long summer festival that takes place in a campground, and is designed to be a more laid-back event than the Liberty Forum.

[edit] Sub-groups

A group of Free State Project members also formed the Free Town Project. This group sparked a minor panic in Grafton, New Hampshire after rumors began circulating that the group was planning on taking over the town, and trolls on the internet, masquerading as Free Staters made inflammatory statements.[13] For a time it was unclear if any Free Stater would be relocating to Grafton, but there are now about 70 there, and after the initial uncertainty they have established a comfortable relationship with their hosts and neighbors.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Free State Project: Membership Statistics, Retrieved Feb. 28, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Sarah Schweitzer, "Free State Project cheers on one of its own in Winters", The Boston Globe, Nov. 16th, 2006.
  3. ^ RidleyReport, "Ron Paul Republican wins seat in New Hampshire House," Freestateblogs.net, February 15, 2009.
  4. ^ Travis Andersen, "Some state lawmakers fighting federal stimulus", Associated Press, Mar. 2nd, 2009.
  5. ^ Free State Project Mission Statement
  6. ^ Larry Clow, "the Free State turns two", The Wire, Oct. 5, 2005.
  7. ^ Sorens, Jason, "Announcement: The Free State Project", The Libertarian Enterprise, No. 131, Jul. 23, 2001.
  8. ^ Sorens, Jason, "Note from the author", The Libertarian Enterprise, Special, Jul. 2, 2004.
  9. ^ a b Joanna Walters, "Free staters pick New Hampshire to liberate for sex, guns and drugs", guardian.co.uk, October 1, 2003.
  10. ^ Joseph Spear, "An Experiment in Civic Engagement: The Free State Project", Oklahoma Policy Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1.
  11. ^ a b Pete Camp, "Free State Project Picks New Hampshire", Up & Coming Magazine, Oct. 08, 2003.
  12. ^ Meredith Goldstein, "Free State Project pushes limits of liberty in N.H.", Boston Globe, Oct. 19th, 2003.
  13. ^ Beverley Wang, "Free State ad campaign targeting unhappy Connecticut homeowners", Associated Press, Dec. 10, 2004.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_State_Project"
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