Frequently Asked Questions About The LS
"If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers separation" over "Union," "I have no hesitation in saying, 'let us separate.'"
--Thomas Jefferson
Q: Where, when, and why was The League of the South (LS) formed?
A: The LS was formed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in June 1994, to organise the Southern people so that they might effectively pursue independence and self-government.
Q: What is the goal of the LS?
A: To advance the cultural, social, economic, and political well-being and independence of the Southern people by all honourable means.
A: To advance the cultural, social, economic, and political well-being and independence of the Southern people by all honourable means.
Q: Does the LS advocate armed revolution or overthrow of the current US government?
A: No. We are not revolutionaries; therefore, we do not seek the overthrow of the US government. Rather, we seek, by peaceful and well-established legal and constitutional means, to separate ourselves from it. Recourse to the right of separation, or secession, is the very antithesis of armed revolution. Without it, men are not free. The right of secession is never more necessary than when it is denied.
A: No. We are not revolutionaries; therefore, we do not seek the overthrow of the US government. Rather, we seek, by peaceful and well-established legal and constitutional means, to separate ourselves from it. Recourse to the right of separation, or secession, is the very antithesis of armed revolution. Without it, men are not free. The right of secession is never more necessary than when it is denied.
Q: Is the LS a Christian organisation?
A: While we have no religious requirement for membership, as an organisation we do recognise the legacy of Christianity and the universal sovereignty of the triune God. Most League members are Christians, and we base our movement on Christian principles. Trinitarian Christianity can not be separated or removed from Southern society or culture without both ceasing to be Southern.
A: While we have no religious requirement for membership, as an organisation we do recognise the legacy of Christianity and the universal sovereignty of the triune God. Most League members are Christians, and we base our movement on Christian principles. Trinitarian Christianity can not be separated or removed from Southern society or culture without both ceasing to be Southern.
Q: How will the LS pursue cultural and social independence and well-being?
A: By cultural secession or 'abjuration of the realm,' which means: (1) withholding our support from all institutions and objects of American mass culture that are antithetical to our beliefs and heritage; (2) Encouraging the formation of communities of like-minded Southerners; (3) Conducting annual week-long institutes and frequent weekend 'Hedge Schools' as educational alternatives to colleges and universities that are hostile to Southern thought and letters; (4) Buying and reading Southern literature, poetry, and history; (5) Sponsoring competitions among Southern artists and writers in order to foster the continuance of our excellent traditions; and (6) encouraging homeschooling and private education.
A: By cultural secession or 'abjuration of the realm,' which means: (1) withholding our support from all institutions and objects of American mass culture that are antithetical to our beliefs and heritage; (2) Encouraging the formation of communities of like-minded Southerners; (3) Conducting annual week-long institutes and frequent weekend 'Hedge Schools' as educational alternatives to colleges and universities that are hostile to Southern thought and letters; (4) Buying and reading Southern literature, poetry, and history; (5) Sponsoring competitions among Southern artists and writers in order to foster the continuance of our excellent traditions; and (6) encouraging homeschooling and private education.
Q: How will the LS pursue economic and political independence?
A: Political independence is a complex aim that can not begin to be accomplished without first establishing a mass base; therefore, education, recruitment, and organisation are the primary work of the LS until such time as that mass base is established. Economically, we encourage Southern self-sufficiency, debtlessness, and the purchase of Southern goods and services. We must keep our capital at home.
A: Political independence is a complex aim that can not begin to be accomplished without first establishing a mass base; therefore, education, recruitment, and organisation are the primary work of the LS until such time as that mass base is established. Economically, we encourage Southern self-sufficiency, debtlessness, and the purchase of Southern goods and services. We must keep our capital at home.
Q: Is secession not illegal, unconstitutional, and discredited?
A: By no means. Most of those who wrote and ratified the constitution recognised secession as a legitimate, legal, and constitutional measure of protection against the possibility that the national government might in the future consolidate and centralise power, violate the terms of the constitution, and usurp the rights and liberties of the people of the sovereign States. Secession is a right of a truly free people and the cornerstone of confederalism. What has been tried, failed, and discredited is centralism — by unitary government that reneged on its original compact as an agent of the States, usurped their sovereignty, and opted instead to hold the 'Union' together by brute force.
Q: Does the LS favour political secession as a legitimate option for Southern (and other) states?
A: Yes, but we realise that secession is not a practicable alternative at present. When enough people come to realise the futility of attempting to reform the present corrupt system, however, it will be practicable.
A: Yes, but we realise that secession is not a practicable alternative at present. When enough people come to realise the futility of attempting to reform the present corrupt system, however, it will be practicable.
Q: How is the LS organised?
A: Hierarchically. The Board of Directors governs the national organisation; State chairmen and board of directors govern their respective States; and district chairmen govern local districts in each State. From a single national office in 1994, we now have members in virtually every State and several foreign countries, and we have active chapters in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
A: Hierarchically. The Board of Directors governs the national organisation; State chairmen and board of directors govern their respective States; and district chairmen govern local districts in each State. From a single national office in 1994, we now have members in virtually every State and several foreign countries, and we have active chapters in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Q: How does the LS spend my dues and donations?
A: Dues and donations (none of which are tax-deductible) cover the administrative costs of the national office, the salary of the office manager, and other normal office expenses incurred as a result of recruitment efforts. A part of membership dues and donations are directed to the State chapters for State and local projects. In 1998 the League of the South Institute for the Study of Southern History and Culture (LSI) was established to accept tax-deductible donations. The LSI sponsors cultural and educational projects including the publication of the LS Papers Series, conducts annual LSI Summer Institutes, and frequent weekend 'Hedge Schools.'
A: Dues and donations (none of which are tax-deductible) cover the administrative costs of the national office, the salary of the office manager, and other normal office expenses incurred as a result of recruitment efforts. A part of membership dues and donations are directed to the State chapters for State and local projects. In 1998 the League of the South Institute for the Study of Southern History and Culture (LSI) was established to accept tax-deductible donations. The LSI sponsors cultural and educational projects including the publication of the LS Papers Series, conducts annual LSI Summer Institutes, and frequent weekend 'Hedge Schools.'
Q: Whence the name: "The League of the South"?
A: Our name comes from two different sources:
A: Our name comes from two different sources:
(1) Lega Nord (Northern League), a very successful populist movement in northern Italy, to which the LS has personal ties, and (2) the League of United Southerners, organised by Edmund Ruffin and William Lowndes Yancey in 1858 to shape Southern public opinion.
Q: What is the LS position regarding blacks in the South?
A: The LS disavows a spirit of malice and extends an offer of good will and cooperation to Southern blacks in areas where we can work together as Christians to make life better for all people in the South. We affirm that, while historically the interests of Southern blacks and whites have been in part antagonistic, true Constitutional government would provide protection to all law-abiding citizens — not just to government-sponsored victim groups.
A: The LS disavows a spirit of malice and extends an offer of good will and cooperation to Southern blacks in areas where we can work together as Christians to make life better for all people in the South. We affirm that, while historically the interests of Southern blacks and whites have been in part antagonistic, true Constitutional government would provide protection to all law-abiding citizens — not just to government-sponsored victim groups.
A: The Anglo-Celtic peoples settled the South and gave it its dominate culture and civilisation. We believe that the advancement of Anglo-Celtic culture and civilisation is vital in order to preserve our region as we know it. Should this core be destroyed or displaced the South would be made over in an alien image — unfamiliar and inhospitable to our children and grandchildren. We, as Anglo-Celtic Southerners, have a duty to protect that which our ancestors bequeathed to us. If we do not promote our interests then no one will do it for us.
