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Free State Project

February 15, 2024

The Free State Project (FSP) is an American political migration movement founded in 2001 to recruit at least 20,000 libertarians to move to a single low-population state (New Hampshire was selected in 2003) in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas.[1][2] The New Hampshire Union Leader reports that the Free State Project is not a political party but a nonprofit organization.[3]

Free State Project
FormationSeptember 1, 2001; 22 years ago (2001-09-01)
Headquarters373 South Willow St #161, Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.
Websitefsp.org

Participants of the FSP signed a statement of intent declaring that they intended to move to New Hampshire within five years of the drive reaching 20,000 participants. This statement of intent was intended to function as a form of assurance contract. As of February 3, 2016, 20,000 people have signed this statement of intent,[4] completing the original goal, and 1,909 people are listed as "early movers" to New Hampshire on the FSP website, saying they had made their move prior to the 20,000-participant trigger.[5] In the 2017–2018 term of the 400-member New Hampshire House of Representatives, 17 seats were held by Free Staters.[6]

The FSP is a social movement generally based upon decentralized decision making. The group hosts various events, but most of FSP's activities depend upon volunteers and no formal plan dictates to participants or movers what their actions should be in New Hampshire.

As of May 2022, approximately 6,232 participants have moved to New Hampshire for the Free State Project.[7]

Intent edit

The FSP 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.[8]

"Life, liberty, and property" are rights that were enumerated in the October 1774 Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress[9] and in Article 12 of the New Hampshire Constitution.[10]

To become a participant of the Free State Project, a person is asked to agree to the Statement of Intent (SOI):

I hereby state my solemn intent to move to the State of New Hampshire within 5 years after 20,000 Participants have signed up. Once there, I will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of individuals' life, liberty, and property.

The FSP is open to people with a minimum age of 18. United States citizenship is not required. People who promote violence, racial hatred, or bigotry are not welcome in the FSP.[11]

History edit

The Free State Project was founded in 2001 by Jason Sorens, then a Ph.D. student at Yale University.[12] 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, calling people to respond to him with interest.[13] Sorens soon published a follow-up article[14] backing away from secession, "and it never played a role in the FSP’s philosophy from then on."[15] Sorens has stated that the movement continues an American tradition of political migration, which includes groups such as Mormon settlers in Utah, Amish religious communities,[16] and the "Jamestown Seventy",[17] an earlier effort to influence the politics of a particular state through deliberate migration.[18]

The organization began without a specific state in mind. A systematic review started by narrowing potential 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 the total national spending by the Libertarian Party in that year, $5.2 million. Hawaii and Rhode Island were eliminated from this list because of their propensity for centralized government.[19]

In September 2003, a vote was held, and participants voted using the minimax Condorcet method to choose the state that they were to move to.[20][21] New Hampshire was the winner, with Wyoming coming in second by a 57% to 43% margin.[20][22] Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Vermont were also on the list.[16] New Hampshire was chosen because the perceived individualist culture of the state was thought to resonate well with libertarian ideals.[23]

In 2004, following the selection of New Hampshire, a splinter group[citation needed] called the Free Town Project[under discussion] formed to move to the small town of Grafton and advocate for legal changes there.[24] Grafton's appeal as a favorable destination was due to its absence of zoning laws and a very low property tax rate.[25] Additionally, it was the home of John Babiarz, a prominent member of the Libertarian Party who had twice run for Governor.[26] Though no records were kept of the number of Free Town Project participants who moved to Grafton, the town's population grew from 1,138 in 2000 to 1,340 in 2010.[25] Project participants fashioned homes out of yurts, recreational vehicles, trailers, tents, and shipping containers. The changes they voted in included a 30% reduction in the town's budget, denying funding to the county's senior-citizens council.[26]

In 2005, members of the Free Town Project were also briefly involved with Mentone, Texas. Mentone is in Loving County, at the time the least populous county in the United States.[27] Three men, Lawrence Pendarvis, Bobby Emory, and Don Duncan, claimed to have bought 126 acres (51 ha) of land and registered to vote there,[28] although the sheriff determined that the land was not sold to the group, as no deed had been filed at the county courthouse. He contacted the sellers, who said that the land had been sold to other buyers, after which the sheriff filed misdemeanor charges against the three men and threatened to arrest them if they returned.[27]

On 3 February 2016, the Free State Project announced via social media that 20,000 people had signed the Statement of Intent.[29] In a press conference later that day, then FSP president Carla Gericke officially announced that the move had been triggered and that signers were expected to follow up on their pledge.[30] This concluded the Free Town Project,[24][31] and the Free State Project organization changed focus from recruiting signers to encouraging them to move to New Hampshire, stating "we want 20,000 movers".[30]

Electoral activity edit

The Free State Project is not aligned with any political party and has no official position for or against any issues or candidates.[32] That said, however, the Free State Project is defined as a movement that seeks to relocate people of broadly libertarian ideals, specifically.[33] It receives its funding from individual donors interested in moving as part of the FSP or in attending one of their annual events.[34][35] The FSP is a tax-exempt nonprofit educational organization, falling under category 501(c)(3), so all donations since 20 July 2009 are tax-deductible.[36]

Several early movers have been elected to the 400-member New Hampshire House of Representatives. In 2006, Joel Winters became the first known Free Stater to be elected, running as a Democrat.[23] He was re-elected in 2008 but defeated in 2010.[37]

In 2010, twelve Free Staters were elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, all of them as Republicans.[38] In 2012, eleven more were elected.[39][40] In 2012, elected participants wrote and passed House Bill 418 which would require state agencies to consider open source software and data formats when making acquisitions;[41] However, the bill died in the NH State Senate.[42]

In 2014, eighteen Free Staters were elected.[43][44] In 2016, fifteen of thirty-two Free Stater candidates were elected.[45][46]

In 2017, there were seventeen Free Staters in the New Hampshire House of Representatives,[47] and, in 2021, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance, which ranks bills & elected representatives based on their adherence to what they see as libertarian principles, scored 150 representatives as "A−" or above rated representatives.[48] Participants of the FSP also engage with other like-minded activist groups such as Young Americans for Liberty[49] and Americans for Prosperity.[50]

In 2022, the Croydon school board president and her husband, members of the Free State Project, attempted to cut the school budget by half in a surprise but licit maneuver on the day of the vote, in a district with typically low attendance for votes. The plan that passed offered students online learning from a facilitator or $9,000 to go to an alternate public or private school. This plan was claimed to be an “adequate education” under the NH constitutional requirement. In response, local residents organized to overturn the budget. They needed more than half of the eligible voters to vote in a special election and a majority of those voters to vote for the fully-funded budget. The Free State Project school budget was overruled 377 to 2, with just under two thirds of the eligible voters motivated to go to the polls, and the original budget was restored.[51][52]

Annual events edit

The Free State Project organizes two annual events in New Hampshire:

Responses edit

Support edit

On February 17, 2006, economist Walter Block publicly expressed his support for the FSP and was quoted as saying:

You people are doing the Lord's work. The FSP is one of the freshest practical ideas for promoting liberty that has come out of the libertarian movement in the past few decades. May you succeed beyond your wildest dreams, and thus demonstrate in yet another empirical way the benefits and blessings of liberty.[58]

Jeffrey Tucker reflected about his experiences at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum in Nashua, saying in part: "If you are willing to look past mainstream media coverage of American politics, you can actually find exciting and interesting activities taking place that rise above lobbying, voting, graft and corruption".[59]

The project was endorsed by Ron Paul[60] and Gary Johnson.[61] In 2010, Lew Rockwell from the Mises Institute endorsed the project and referred to the city of Keene, New Hampshire as "the northern capital of libertarianism".[62] In 2011, Peter Schiff said he had considered moving to NH at one point.[63]

Some Republicans have responded more favorably to the project.[64] In September 2014, Republican Party Senate nominee Scott Brown, a former United States Senator from Massachusetts, said his election campaign needed "Freestaters" to support him in his one-minute closing statement at the Granite State Debate.[65]

Maine state senator Eric Brakey partially attributed the Republican Party's 2020 election gains to the Free State Project.[66]

Criticism edit

Critics argue that the Free State Project is "radical",[67] a "fantasy",[68] or that they "go too far" in seeking to restrict government.[69] The project has drawn criticism from some New Hampshire residents concerned about population pressure and opposition to increased taxation.[64] In December 2012, state representative Cynthia Chase (D-Keene) said, "Free Staters are the single biggest threat the state is facing today. There is, legally, nothing we can do to prevent them from moving here to take over the state, which is their openly stated goal. In this country you can move anywhere you choose and they have that same right. What we can do is to make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come, and some may actually leave. One way is to pass measures that will restrict the 'freedoms' that they think they will find here".[70]

During and shortly after the Free Town Project was active in Grafton County, there were three bear attacks.[71][72][73][74] Several media outlets argued that there was a relationship between the Free Town Project and the bear attacks, and a book was written on the subject by local state reporter Matt Hongoltz-Hetling.[24][31][71][75]

In 2012, the Concord Police Department applied for $258,000 in federal government funding to buy a Lenco BearCat armored vehicle for protection against terrorist attacks, riots, or shooting incidents. The application mentioned "Free Staters" alongside Sovereign Citizens and Occupy New Hampshire as groups that "are active and present daily challenges". The grant from the United States Department of Homeland Security was successful, but the Concord City Council revised the application to remove references to those political movements before unanimously approving of the grant.[76]

A 2022 survey found relatively little awareness of the Free State Project in New Hampshire but generally negative opinions among those familiar: 10% expressed a favorable view and 26% an unfavorable one.[77]

Media coverage edit

The Free State Project was the centerpiece of the 2011 documentary film Libertopia[78] as well as the 2014 crowdfunded documentary 101 Reasons: Liberty Lives in New Hampshire.[79][80]

In 2023, NBC Boston produced and released a docu-series about the Free State Project titled Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire,[81] which includes interviews from members, supporters, and critics of the Free State Project.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Belluck, Pam (October 27, 2003). "Libertarians Pursue New Political Goal: State of Their Own". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  2. ^ Kitch, Michael (October 22, 2021). "Its founder reflects on the Free State Project". New Hampshire Business Review. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  3. ^ Feathers, Todd (February 9, 2019). "Free State Project looks to get its groove back". UnionLeader.com. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  4. ^ . Free State Project. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  5. ^ Weigel, David (June 15, 2011). "Free State Project: What happens if 20,000 libertarians move to New Hampshire?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  6. ^ "FSP Members in NH State Senate & House, 2017-2018". Free State Project Watch. July 19, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "FSP current mover count". fsp.org. Free State Project. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  8. ^ . Free State Project. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
  9. ^ "Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress". Avalon Project. Yale Law School. October 14, 1774. Retrieved November 11, 2010. That the inhabitants of the English colonies in North-America, by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have the following RIGHTS: Resolved, N.C.D. 1. That they are entitled to life, liberty and property: and they have never ceded to any foreign power whatever, a right to dispose of either without their consent.
  10. ^ "State Constitution, Bill of Rights". nh.gov. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  11. ^ . Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  12. ^ Clow, Larry (October 5, 2005). . The Wire. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008.
  13. ^ Sorens, Jason (July 23, 2001). "Announcement: The Free State Project". The Libertarian Enterprise. 131.
  14. ^ Sorens, Jason (August 6, 2001). "Update: Free State Project". The Libertarian Enterprise. 132.
  15. ^ . Free State Project. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
  16. ^ a b Walters, Joanna (October 1, 2003). "Free staters pick New Hampshire to liberate for sex, guns and drugs". The Guardian.
  17. ^ Blumstein, James F.; Phelan, James (1971). "Jamestown Seventy". Yale Review of Law and Social Action. 1 (1).
  18. ^ Sorens, Jason (August 6, 2001). "Update: Free State Project". The Libertarian Enterprise. 132.
  19. ^ Joseph Spear, "An Experiment in Civic Engagement: The Free State Project" March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Oklahoma Policy Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1.
  20. ^ a b Camp, Pete (October 8, 2003). "Free State Project Picks New Hampshire". Up & Coming Magazine. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014.
  21. ^ "OLPC Europe/Condorcet Method". wiki.laptop.org.
  22. ^ Free State Project Announcement (Motion picture). C-SPAN. October 1, 2003. 178464-1. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Sarah Schweitzer (November 16, 2006). "Free State Project cheers on one of its own in Winters". The Boston Globe.
  24. ^ a b c Illing, Sean (December 10, 2020). "How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears". Vox.
  25. ^ a b "Community Profiles: Grafton, NH". Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  26. ^ a b Hongoltz-Hetling, Matthew (May 2018). "Barbearians at the Gate: A journey through a quixotic New Hampshire town teeming with libertarians, fake news, guns, and—possibly—furry invaders". Atavist. No. 79. from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  27. ^ a b Blumenthal, Ralph (February 25, 2006). "1 Cafe, 1 Gas Station, 2 Roads: America's Emptiest County". The New York Times. from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  28. ^ . Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  29. ^ "Free State Project". Twitter. February 2, 2016.
  30. ^ a b . Freestateproject.org. February 3, 2016. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016.
  31. ^ a b Hongoltz-Hetling, Matthew (September 15, 2020). "Book 3, Chapter 9: An Experiment Ends". A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears). PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1541788510. The same Trigger that birthed the Free State was a death knell for the Free Town... After years in which Grafton was the most visible and important landing point in the world for those who wanted to create a libertarian utopia, in the post-Trigger era, it became just another town in a state with many options.
  32. ^ . Archived from the original on June 1, 2013.
  33. ^ "The Free State Project, New Hampshire, USA". Innovation In Governance. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  34. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2012.
  35. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 16, 2012.
  36. ^ FSP Newsletter, July 2014, From the President's Desk
  37. ^ . sos.nh.gov. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012.
  38. ^ . NationalJournal.com. May 10, 2011. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
  39. ^ Hayward, Mark (November 14, 2012). . New Hampshire Union Leader. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  40. ^ Berry, Jake (February 24, 2013). "Free State project says future is encouraging". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  41. ^ "New Hampshire Passes 'Open Source Bill'". slashdot.org. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  42. ^ "New Hampshire HB418 | 2011 | Regular Session". LegiScan.
  43. ^ "New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2014". Ballotpedia.
  44. ^ . Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  45. ^ "NH Libertarians Officially Recognized as Party For First time in 20 Years + "Free Staters" Win 15+ State Rep Races". Free Keene. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  46. ^ "Free State Project Watch: Candidate List 2016". Free State Project Watch. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  47. ^ "Media Memo: Free State Project Members Make Up Disproportionate Percentage of NH Freedom Caucus". April 24, 2017.
  48. ^ "New Hampshire 2021 Liberty Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  49. ^ "Young Americans for Liberty Celebrates Victory for Right to Work in New Hampshire!". February 24, 2021.
  50. ^ "NH Primary Source: Americans for Prosperity-NH endorses Sununu, Wheeler, 6 House candidates". July 30, 2020.
  51. ^ "Croydon cut its school budget in half. Inside the historic push to reverse that decision". New Hampshire Public Radio. May 6, 2022.
  52. ^ "Croydon voters restore school budget in a landslide". NHPR. No. 8 May 2022. New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  53. ^ "PorcFest". Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  54. ^ . fsp.org. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  55. ^ "Way Long Gone, Part 2". aaeblog.com. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  56. ^ "Way Long Gone, Part 3". aaeblog.com. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  57. ^ Murphy, Robert P. "PorcFest 2011". Ludwig von Mises Institute. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  58. ^ . Free State Project. Archived from the original on August 13, 2006. Retrieved July 14, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  59. ^ . Archived from the original on March 10, 2013.
  60. ^ . Archived from the original on May 19, 2013.
  61. ^ "Gary Johnson Endorses the FSP". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  62. ^ "Lew Rockwell Applauds the Free State Project". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  63. ^ "Peter Schiff (Euro Pacific Capital Inc.)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  64. ^ a b Goldstein, Meredith (October 9, 2003). "Free State Project pushes limits of liberty in N.H." Boston Globe.
  65. ^ "Granite State Debate, U.S. Senate: Candidates deliver closing statements". YouTube. September 4, 2014. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  66. ^ Brakey, Eric (July 24, 2021). "The rise of the 'Liberty Republican'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  67. ^ . ThinkProgress. April 13, 2011. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  68. ^ Trinward, Steve. . Rational Review. Archived from the original on October 9, 2003. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  69. ^ . Concord Monitor. June 28, 2012. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  70. ^ "New Hampshire Democrat: 'Free Staters are the single biggest threat the state is facing today'". Reason.com. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  71. ^ a b "Does New Hampshire Have a Bear Problem?". New Hampshire Magazine. September 17, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  72. ^ "Grafton woman attacked by bear". WMUR-TV. June 17, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  73. ^ "Bear seriously hurts woman, 71, in her Groton home". WMUR-TV. July 17, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  74. ^ "New Hampshire Man Escapes Serious Injury After Unprovoked Bear Attack Near Home". WBZ-TV. June 22, 2020.
  75. ^ Blanchfield, Patrick (October 13, 2020). "The Town That Went Feral: When a group of libertarians set about scrapping their local government, chaos descended. And then the bears moved in". The New Republic. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  76. ^ Wickham, Shawne K. (July 27, 2013). . New Hampshire Union Leader. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013.
  77. ^ "Suffolk University/Boston Globe Poll" (PDF). Suffolk University. September 29, 2022.
  78. ^ "Libertopia". FilmBuff. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  79. ^ . Shire Liberty News. 2014. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  80. ^ "101 Reasons: Liberty Lives In New Hampshire". 101reasonsfilm.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  81. ^ "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire". NBC Boston. Retrieved May 22, 2023.

Further reading edit

  • Blanchfield, Patrick (October 13, 2020). "The Town That Went Feral". The New Republic. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  • Gokee, Amanda (August 10, 2022). "Gunstock: A reopening and a reckoning". newhampshirebulletin.com. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  • Illing, Sean (December 10, 2020). "How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears". Vox. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  • Peterson, Kyle (March 18, 2016). "The Great American Disconnect". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 3, 2021.

External links edit

42°59′23″N 71°27′48″W / 42.9897°N 71.4634°W / 42.9897; -71.4634

February 15, 2024
free, state, project, american, political, migration, movement, founded, 2001, recruit, least, libertarians, move, single, population, state, hampshire, selected, 2003, order, make, state, stronghold, libertarian, ideas, hampshire, union, leader, reports, that. The Free State Project FSP is an American political migration movement founded in 2001 to recruit at least 20 000 libertarians to move to a single low population state New Hampshire was selected in 2003 in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas 1 2 The New Hampshire Union Leader reports that the Free State Project is not a political party but a nonprofit organization 3 Free State ProjectFormationSeptember 1 2001 22 years ago 2001 09 01 Headquarters373 South Willow St 161 Manchester New Hampshire U S Websitefsp wbr orgParticipants of the FSP signed a statement of intent declaring that they intended to move to New Hampshire within five years of the drive reaching 20 000 participants This statement of intent was intended to function as a form of assurance contract As of February 3 2016 update 20 000 people have signed this statement of intent 4 completing the original goal and 1 909 people are listed as early movers to New Hampshire on the FSP website saying they had made their move prior to the 20 000 participant trigger 5 In the 2017 2018 term of the 400 member New Hampshire House of Representatives 17 seats were held by Free Staters 6 The FSP is a social movement generally based upon decentralized decision making The group hosts various events but most of FSP s activities depend upon volunteers and no formal plan dictates to participants or movers what their actions should be in New Hampshire As of May 2022 approximately 6 232 participants have moved to New Hampshire for the Free State Project 7 Contents 1 Intent 2 History 3 Electoral activity 3 1 Annual events 4 Responses 4 1 Support 4 2 Criticism 4 3 Media coverage 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksIntent editThe FSP 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 8 Life liberty and property are rights that were enumerated in the October 1774 Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress 9 and in Article 12 of the New Hampshire Constitution 10 To become a participant of the Free State Project a person is asked to agree to the Statement of Intent SOI I hereby state my solemn intent to move to the State of New Hampshire within 5 years after 20 000 Participants have signed up Once there I will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of individuals life liberty and property The FSP is open to people with a minimum age of 18 United States citizenship is not required People who promote violence racial hatred or bigotry are not welcome in the FSP 11 History editThe Free State Project was founded in 2001 by Jason Sorens then a Ph D student at Yale University 12 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 calling people to respond to him with interest 13 Sorens soon published a follow up article 14 backing away from secession and it never played a role in the FSP s philosophy from then on 15 Sorens has stated that the movement continues an American tradition of political migration which includes groups such as Mormon settlers in Utah Amish religious communities 16 and the Jamestown Seventy 17 an earlier effort to influence the politics of a particular state through deliberate migration 18 The organization began without a specific state in mind A systematic review started by narrowing potential 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 the total national spending by the Libertarian Party in that year 5 2 million Hawaii and Rhode Island were eliminated from this list because of their propensity for centralized government 19 In September 2003 a vote was held and participants voted using the minimax Condorcet method to choose the state that they were to move to 20 21 New Hampshire was the winner with Wyoming coming in second by a 57 to 43 margin 20 22 Alaska Delaware Idaho Maine Montana North Dakota South Dakota and Vermont were also on the list 16 New Hampshire was chosen because the perceived individualist culture of the state was thought to resonate well with libertarian ideals 23 In 2004 following the selection of New Hampshire a splinter group citation needed called the Free Town Project under discussion formed to move to the small town of Grafton and advocate for legal changes there 24 Grafton s appeal as a favorable destination was due to its absence of zoning laws and a very low property tax rate 25 Additionally it was the home of John Babiarz a prominent member of the Libertarian Party who had twice run for Governor 26 Though no records were kept of the number of Free Town Project participants who moved to Grafton the town s population grew from 1 138 in 2000 to 1 340 in 2010 25 Project participants fashioned homes out of yurts recreational vehicles trailers tents and shipping containers The changes they voted in included a 30 reduction in the town s budget denying funding to the county s senior citizens council 26 In 2005 members of the Free Town Project were also briefly involved with Mentone Texas Mentone is in Loving County at the time the least populous county in the United States 27 Three men Lawrence Pendarvis Bobby Emory and Don Duncan claimed to have bought 126 acres 51 ha of land and registered to vote there 28 although the sheriff determined that the land was not sold to the group as no deed had been filed at the county courthouse He contacted the sellers who said that the land had been sold to other buyers after which the sheriff filed misdemeanor charges against the three men and threatened to arrest them if they returned 27 On 3 February 2016 the Free State Project announced via social media that 20 000 people had signed the Statement of Intent 29 In a press conference later that day then FSP president Carla Gericke officially announced that the move had been triggered and that signers were expected to follow up on their pledge 30 This concluded the Free Town Project 24 31 and the Free State Project organization changed focus from recruiting signers to encouraging them to move to New Hampshire stating we want 20 000 movers 30 Electoral activity editThe Free State Project is not aligned with any political party and has no official position for or against any issues or candidates 32 That said however the Free State Project is defined as a movement that seeks to relocate people of broadly libertarian ideals specifically 33 It receives its funding from individual donors interested in moving as part of the FSP or in attending one of their annual events 34 35 The FSP is a tax exempt nonprofit educational organization falling under category 501 c 3 so all donations since 20 July 2009 are tax deductible 36 Several early movers have been elected to the 400 member New Hampshire House of Representatives In 2006 Joel Winters became the first known Free Stater to be elected running as a Democrat 23 He was re elected in 2008 but defeated in 2010 37 In 2010 twelve Free Staters were elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives all of them as Republicans 38 In 2012 eleven more were elected 39 40 In 2012 elected participants wrote and passed House Bill 418 which would require state agencies to consider open source software and data formats when making acquisitions 41 However the bill died in the NH State Senate 42 In 2014 eighteen Free Staters were elected 43 44 In 2016 fifteen of thirty two Free Stater candidates were elected 45 46 In 2017 there were seventeen Free Staters in the New Hampshire House of Representatives 47 and in 2021 the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance which ranks bills amp elected representatives based on their adherence to what they see as libertarian principles scored 150 representatives as A or above rated representatives 48 Participants of the FSP also engage with other like minded activist groups such as Young Americans for Liberty 49 and Americans for Prosperity 50 In 2022 the Croydon school board president and her husband members of the Free State Project attempted to cut the school budget by half in a surprise but licit maneuver on the day of the vote in a district with typically low attendance for votes The plan that passed offered students online learning from a facilitator or 9 000 to go to an alternate public or private school This plan was claimed to be an adequate education under the NH constitutional requirement In response local residents organized to overturn the budget They needed more than half of the eligible voters to vote in a special election and a majority of those voters to vote for the fully funded budget The Free State Project school budget was overruled 377 to 2 with just under two thirds of the eligible voters motivated to go to the polls and the original budget was restored 51 52 Annual events edit The Free State Project organizes two annual events in New Hampshire The New Hampshire Liberty Forum a convention style event with a wide variety of speakers dinners and events The Porcupine Freedom Festival commonly abbreviated to just PorcFest 53 54 a weeklong summer festival that takes place at a campground It was described by Libertarian philosophy professor Roderick Long as like Woodstock for rational people 55 56 57 Responses editSupport edit On February 17 2006 economist Walter Block publicly expressed his support for the FSP and was quoted as saying You people are doing the Lord s work The FSP is one of the freshest practical ideas for promoting liberty that has come out of the libertarian movement in the past few decades May you succeed beyond your wildest dreams and thus demonstrate in yet another empirical way the benefits and blessings of liberty 58 Jeffrey Tucker reflected about his experiences at the New Hampshire Liberty Forum in Nashua saying in part If you are willing to look past mainstream media coverage of American politics you can actually find exciting and interesting activities taking place that rise above lobbying voting graft and corruption 59 The project was endorsed by Ron Paul 60 and Gary Johnson 61 In 2010 Lew Rockwell from the Mises Institute endorsed the project and referred to the city of Keene New Hampshire as the northern capital of libertarianism 62 In 2011 Peter Schiff said he had considered moving to NH at one point 63 Some Republicans have responded more favorably to the project 64 In September 2014 Republican Party Senate nominee Scott Brown a former United States Senator from Massachusetts said his election campaign needed Freestaters to support him in his one minute closing statement at the Granite State Debate 65 Maine state senator Eric Brakey partially attributed the Republican Party s 2020 election gains to the Free State Project 66 Criticism edit Critics argue that the Free State Project is radical 67 a fantasy 68 or that they go too far in seeking to restrict government 69 The project has drawn criticism from some New Hampshire residents concerned about population pressure and opposition to increased taxation 64 In December 2012 state representative Cynthia Chase D Keene said Free Staters are the single biggest threat the state is facing today There is legally nothing we can do to prevent them from moving here to take over the state which is their openly stated goal In this country you can move anywhere you choose and they have that same right What we can do is to make the environment here so unwelcoming that some will choose not to come and some may actually leave One way is to pass measures that will restrict the freedoms that they think they will find here 70 During and shortly after the Free Town Project was active in Grafton County there were three bear attacks 71 72 73 74 Several media outlets argued that there was a relationship between the Free Town Project and the bear attacks and a book was written on the subject by local state reporter Matt Hongoltz Hetling 24 31 71 75 In 2012 the Concord Police Department applied for 258 000 in federal government funding to buy a Lenco BearCat armored vehicle for protection against terrorist attacks riots or shooting incidents The application mentioned Free Staters alongside Sovereign Citizens and Occupy New Hampshire as groups that are active and present daily challenges The grant from the United States Department of Homeland Security was successful but the Concord City Council revised the application to remove references to those political movements before unanimously approving of the grant 76 A 2022 survey found relatively little awareness of the Free State Project in New Hampshire but generally negative opinions among those familiar 10 expressed a favorable view and 26 an unfavorable one 77 Media coverage edit The Free State Project was the centerpiece of the 2011 documentary film Libertopia 78 as well as the 2014 crowdfunded documentary 101 Reasons Liberty Lives in New Hampshire 79 80 In 2023 NBC Boston produced and released a docu series about the Free State Project titled Life Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire 81 which includes interviews from members supporters and critics of the Free State Project See also edit nbsp Libertarianism portal nbsp Anarchism portal nbsp New Hampshire portalAdelsverein American Redoubt Anarcho capitalism Foot voting Free West Alliance Fusionism Jason Sorens Libertarian conservatism Libertarian Republican Libertarian Party of New Hampshire Libertarianism in the United States New Hampshire Liberty Alliance Night watchman state Objectivism Paleolibertarianism Politics of New Hampshire Right libertarianism VoluntaryismReferences edit Belluck Pam October 27 2003 Libertarians Pursue New Political Goal State of Their Own The New York Times Retrieved May 26 2011 Kitch Michael October 22 2021 Its founder reflects on the Free State Project New Hampshire Business Review Retrieved April 30 2022 Feathers Todd February 9 2019 Free State Project looks to get its groove back UnionLeader com Retrieved April 15 2020 Free State Project Triggers the Move Free State Project Archived from the original on November 9 2020 Retrieved June 7 2018 Weigel David June 15 2011 Free State Project What happens if 20 000 libertarians move to New Hampshire Slate Magazine Retrieved April 23 2015 FSP Members in NH State Senate amp House 2017 2018 Free State Project Watch July 19 2017 Retrieved June 29 2021 FSP current mover count fsp org Free State Project Retrieved May 1 2022 The Free State Project Liberty Lives in New Hampshire Free State Project Archived from the original on January 18 2013 Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress Avalon Project Yale Law School October 14 1774 Retrieved November 11 2010 That the inhabitants of the English colonies in North America by the immutable laws of nature the principles of the English constitution and the several charters or compacts have the following RIGHTS Resolved N C D 1 That they are entitled to life liberty and property and they have never ceded to any foreign power whatever a right to dispose of either without their consent State Constitution Bill of Rights nh gov Retrieved April 23 2015 Legal and Financial Archived from the original on November 12 2020 Retrieved June 7 2018 Clow Larry October 5 2005 The Free State turns two The Wire Archived from the original on July 20 2008 Sorens Jason July 23 2001 Announcement The Free State Project The Libertarian Enterprise 131 Sorens Jason August 6 2001 Update Free State Project The Libertarian Enterprise 132 The Early Years of the Free State Project Free State Project Archived from the original on November 12 2020 Retrieved June 7 2018 a b Walters Joanna October 1 2003 Free staters pick New Hampshire to liberate for sex guns and drugs The Guardian Blumstein James F Phelan James 1971 Jamestown Seventy Yale Review of Law and Social Action 1 1 Sorens Jason August 6 2001 Update Free State Project The Libertarian Enterprise 132 Joseph Spear An Experiment in Civic Engagement The Free State Project Archived March 25 2009 at the Wayback Machine Oklahoma Policy Studies Review Vol 5 No 1 a b Camp Pete October 8 2003 Free State Project Picks New Hampshire Up amp Coming Magazine Archived from the original on April 23 2014 OLPC Europe Condorcet Method wiki laptop org Free State Project Announcement Motion picture C SPAN October 1 2003 178464 1 Retrieved February 7 2021 a b Sarah Schweitzer November 16 2006 Free State Project cheers on one of its own in Winters The Boston Globe a b c Illing Sean December 10 2020 How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears Vox a b Community Profiles Grafton NH Retrieved February 8 2021 a b Hongoltz Hetling Matthew May 2018 Barbearians at the Gate A journey through a quixotic New Hampshire town teeming with libertarians fake news guns and possibly furry invaders Atavist No 79 Archived from the original on June 16 2018 Retrieved June 16 2021 a b Blumenthal Ralph February 25 2006 1 Cafe 1 Gas Station 2 Roads America s Emptiest County The New York Times Archived from the original on September 4 2016 Retrieved June 16 2021 FreeTownProject com Archived from the original on August 6 2018 Retrieved February 9 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Free State Project Twitter February 2 2016 a b Official press conference announcing success in reaching 20 000 members Freestateproject org February 3 2016 Archived from the original on December 8 2016 a b Hongoltz Hetling Matthew September 15 2020 Book 3 Chapter 9 An Experiment Ends A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town And Some Bears PublicAffairs ISBN 978 1541788510 The same Trigger that birthed the Free State was a death knell for the Free Town After years in which Grafton was the most visible and important landing point in the world for those who wanted to create a libertarian utopia in the post Trigger era it became just another town in a state with many options Liberty in Your Lifetime The Mission of the Free State Project Archived from the original on June 1 2013 The Free State Project New Hampshire USA Innovation In Governance Retrieved August 7 2022 Total income donations PDF Archived from the original PDF on August 16 2012 Total income donations PDF Archived from the original PDF on August 16 2012 FSP Newsletter July 2014 From the President s Desk NH SOS sos nh gov Archived from the original on February 5 2012 For Some Ron Paul Backers a New Motto Go East Young Man and Woman NationalJournal com May 10 2011 Archived from the original on September 8 2012 Hayward Mark November 14 2012 Anarchy in Ward 5 Well not exactly New Hampshire Union Leader Archived from the original on March 15 2016 Retrieved July 14 2021 Berry Jake February 24 2013 Free State project says future is encouraging Nashua Telegraph Retrieved February 24 2013 New Hampshire Passes Open Source Bill slashdot org Retrieved April 23 2015 New Hampshire HB418 2011 Regular Session LegiScan New Hampshire House of Representatives elections 2014 Ballotpedia Free State Project Watch Candidate List 2014 Archived from the original on June 30 2017 Retrieved November 20 2014 NH Libertarians Officially Recognized as Party For First time in 20 Years Free Staters Win 15 State Rep Races Free Keene Retrieved March 7 2017 Free State Project Watch Candidate List 2016 Free State Project Watch Retrieved March 7 2017 Media Memo Free State Project Members Make Up Disproportionate Percentage of NH Freedom Caucus April 24 2017 New Hampshire 2021 Liberty Ranking PDF Retrieved February 2 2022 Young Americans for Liberty Celebrates Victory for Right to Work in New Hampshire February 24 2021 NH Primary Source Americans for Prosperity NH endorses Sununu Wheeler 6 House candidates July 30 2020 Croydon cut its school budget in half Inside the historic push to reverse that decision New Hampshire Public Radio May 6 2022 Croydon voters restore school budget in a landslide NHPR No 8 May 2022 New Hampshire Public Radio Retrieved July 19 2022 PorcFest Retrieved April 23 2015 Porcupine Freedom Festival Blog Entries fsp org Archived from the original on June 12 2018 Retrieved June 12 2018 Way Long Gone Part 2 aaeblog com Retrieved April 23 2015 Way Long Gone Part 3 aaeblog com Retrieved April 23 2015 Murphy Robert P PorcFest 2011 Ludwig von Mises Institute Retrieved July 7 2014 Walter Block s endorsement of the Free State Project Free State Project Archived from the original on August 13 2006 Retrieved July 14 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link Political Migration in Our Time Archived from the original on March 10 2013 Ron Paul Supports the Free State Project Archived from the original on May 19 2013 Gary Johnson Endorses the FSP YouTube Archived from the original on December 11 2021 Lew Rockwell Applauds the Free State Project YouTube Archived from the original on December 11 2021 Peter Schiff Euro Pacific Capital Inc YouTube Archived from the original on December 11 2021 a b Goldstein Meredith October 9 2003 Free State Project pushes limits of liberty in N H Boston Globe Granite State Debate U S Senate Candidates deliver closing statements YouTube September 4 2014 Archived from the original on December 11 2021 Retrieved September 10 2014 Brakey Eric July 24 2021 The rise of the Liberty Republican Washington Examiner Retrieved April 30 2022 The Radical Right Free State Project Has Chosen New Hampshire For A Revolution ThinkProgress April 13 2011 Archived from the original on June 4 2015 Retrieved September 14 2012 Trinward Steve The Free State Project good idea or libertopian fantasy Rational Review Archived from the original on October 9 2003 Retrieved June 16 2021 LTE Free Staters go too far Concord Monitor June 28 2012 Archived from the original on March 9 2021 Retrieved June 29 2016 New Hampshire Democrat Free Staters are the single biggest threat the state is facing today Reason com Retrieved April 23 2015 a b Does New Hampshire Have a Bear Problem New Hampshire Magazine September 17 2020 Retrieved February 8 2021 Grafton woman attacked by bear WMUR TV June 17 2012 Retrieved February 8 2021 Bear seriously hurts woman 71 in her Groton home WMUR TV July 17 2018 Retrieved February 8 2021 New Hampshire Man Escapes Serious Injury After Unprovoked Bear Attack Near Home WBZ TV June 22 2020 Blanchfield Patrick October 13 2020 The Town That Went Feral When a group of libertarians set about scrapping their local government chaos descended And then the bears moved in The New Republic Archived from the original on October 13 2020 Retrieved June 16 2021 Wickham Shawne K July 27 2013 Civil Liberties Union questions increasing use of costly military style equipment by NH law enforcement New Hampshire Union Leader Archived from the original on August 16 2013 Suffolk University Boston Globe Poll PDF Suffolk University September 29 2022 Libertopia FilmBuff Archived from the original on January 23 2013 Retrieved June 16 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link New Documentary to Highlight 101 Reasons to Move to New Hampshire Shire Liberty News 2014 Archived from the original on June 10 2014 Retrieved June 16 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link 101 Reasons Liberty Lives In New Hampshire 101reasonsfilm com Retrieved June 16 2021 Life Liberty and the Pursuit of New Hampshire NBC Boston Retrieved May 22 2023 Further reading editBlanchfield Patrick October 13 2020 The Town That Went Feral The New Republic Retrieved September 3 2021 Gokee Amanda August 10 2022 Gunstock A reopening and a reckoning newhampshirebulletin com Retrieved October 19 2023 Illing Sean December 10 2020 How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears Vox Retrieved September 3 2021 Peterson Kyle March 18 2016 The Great American Disconnect The Wall Street Journal Retrieved September 3 2021 External links editFree State Project official website Free Town Project official website at the Wayback Machine archived 2018 08 06 Organizational Profile Archived June 11 2017 at the Wayback Machine National Center for Charitable Statistics Urban Institute Free State Project s channel on YouTube Free State Project A Libertarian Testing Ground magazine article42 59 23 N 71 27 48 W 42 9897 N 71 4634 W 42 9897 71 4634 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Free State Project amp oldid 1195302716, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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