Northwest Territorial Imperative
Encyclopedia
The Northwest Territorial Imperative is an idea popularized since the 1980s within white nationalist and white separatist groups in the United States
. According to it, adherents of these groups are encouraged to relocate to a five-state region of the Northwestern United States
— viz., Washington, Oregon
, Idaho
, Montana
, and Wyoming
. Northern California
and some parts of Canada
are sometimes also included. The intent is to eventually declare the region an "Aryan
" homeland. The primary proponent of this idea was Richard Girnt Butler
(1918–2004), leader of the Aryan Nations
. The major current exponent of Northwest Migration is Harold Covington
(b. 1953) of the Northwest Front.
Beginning in the 1980s, the idea inspired a number of groups, Ku Klux Klan
leaders, and Christian Identity
churches to set up shop or relocate to the Northwest. Northwest nationalism and a desire for an independent Northwest American Republic was one of the inspirations motivating Robert Jay Mathews
(1953–1984) and his group, The Order
, to embark on a spree of robbery
, murder
, and counterfeiting in the region.
The Northwest Territorial Imperative has several left-wing and liberal counterparts in other secessionist movements in the Northwest, such as Cascadia
and Ecotopia
, which are largely motivated by environmental, regional, or Green concerns.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. According to it, adherents of these groups are encouraged to relocate to a five-state region of the Northwestern United States
Northwestern United States
The Northwestern United States comprise the northwestern states up to the western Great Plains regions of the United States, and consistently include the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, to which part of southeast Alaska is also sometimes included...
— viz., Washington, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
and some parts of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
are sometimes also included. The intent is to eventually declare the region an "Aryan
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
" homeland. The primary proponent of this idea was Richard Girnt Butler
Richard Girnt Butler
Richard Girnt Butler was an American aerospace engineer for Lockheed, who later became the leader of the Christian Identity white supremacist group Aryan Nations.-Biography:...
(1918–2004), leader of the Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations is a white supremacist religious organization originally based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group in the 1970s, as an arm of the Christian Identity organization Church of Jesus Christ–Christian...
. The major current exponent of Northwest Migration is Harold Covington
Harold Covington
Harold Armstead Covington is an American white supremacist, political activist and novelist. He advocates the creation of an "Aryan homeland" in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States....
(b. 1953) of the Northwest Front.
Beginning in the 1980s, the idea inspired a number of groups, Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
leaders, and Christian Identity
Christian Identity
Christian Identity is a label applied to a wide variety of loosely affiliated believers and churches with a racialized theology. Many promote a Eurocentric interpretation of Christianity.According to Chester L...
churches to set up shop or relocate to the Northwest. Northwest nationalism and a desire for an independent Northwest American Republic was one of the inspirations motivating Robert Jay Mathews
Robert Jay Mathews
Robert Jay Mathews was the leader of an American white nationalist group The Order.Mathews was burned to death during the intense gunfight with approximately seventy-five of the federal law enforcement agents who surrounded his house on Whidbey Island, near Freeland, Washington.Mathews' life was...
(1953–1984) and his group, The Order
The Order (group)
The Order, also known as the Brüder Schweigen or Silent Brotherhood, was an organization active in the United States between 1983 and 1984...
, to embark on a spree of robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, and counterfeiting in the region.
The Northwest Territorial Imperative has several left-wing and liberal counterparts in other secessionist movements in the Northwest, such as Cascadia
Cascadia (independence movement)
Cascadia is the proposed name for a bioregional political entity and/or an independent nation located within the Cascadian bioregion of the Pacific Northwest of North America...
and Ecotopia
Ecotopia
Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston is the seminal utopian novel by Ernest Callenbach, published in 1975. The society described in the book is one of the first ecological utopias and was influential on the counterculture, and the green movement in the 1970s and thereafter.-The...
, which are largely motivated by environmental, regional, or Green concerns.
See also
- CascadiaCascadia (independence movement)Cascadia is the proposed name for a bioregional political entity and/or an independent nation located within the Cascadian bioregion of the Pacific Northwest of North America...
- State of Jefferson
- SecessionSecessionSecession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...