--- description: Which is extremely unlikely title: A Quarter of Americans Want to Secede From the U.S. image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78721b45bdda41ad/6986a46be8524b4af2604ca3/usa-map.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [States](/tag/states/) ## States Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Quarter of Americans Want to Secede From the U.S.  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 19, 2014 4:28 PM CUT  Pins in a United States map show where students have come from to take classes at Oaksterdam University, the nation's first marijuana trade school, on Sept. 23, 2010 in Oakland. Pins in a United States map show where students have come from to take classes at Oaksterdam University, the nation's first marijuana trade school, on Sept. 23, 2010 in Oakland.Tony Avelar—The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 19, 2014 4:28 PM CUT The Scottish referendum on secession from the United Kingdom may have failed to pass, but it succeeded in stirring secessionist sentiment in that country and beyond—specifically, in the United States. Nearly a quarter of Americans, 23.9%, [said](http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/09/19/usa-secession-idINKBN0HE1AH20140919?feedType=RSS&feedName=everything&virtualBrandChannel=11709 "undefined") they strongly supported or tended to support the idea of their state leaving the United States and forming its own country, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken between August 23 and September 16 released Friday. Support for secession was weakest in the northeast and strongest in the southwest. It cut across party lines, though Republicans (29.7%) are somewhat more keen on the idea than Democrats (21%). A majority, 53.3%, said they strongly opposed or tended to oppose the idea. Even in states with the with the highest level of support for seceding from the Union, the possibility that it could actually be done is extremely farfetched. In modern American history even attempts at simply [seceding from a state](http://nation.time.com/2013/08/22/red-state-blue-state-old-state-new-state-northern-colorado-tries-to-secede/ "undefined") have proven impossible—seceding from the country entirely is a different matter altogether. No state since the Civil War has come anywhere close enough to force the courts to issue a final word on the legality of secession, but any such argument would, at the very least, [face a very steep climb.](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891829,00.html "undefined") \[[_Reuters_](http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/09/19/usa-secession-idINKBN0HE1AH20140919?feedType=RSS&feedName=everything&virtualBrandChannel=11709 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3404009/american-secession-scotland/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3404009/american-secession-scotland/"},"headline":"A Quarter of Americans Want to Secede From the U.S.","datePublished":"2014-09-19T16:28:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:18:25.046Z","description":"Which is extremely unlikely","url":"https://time.com/3404009/american-secession-scotland/","keywords":["States","Texas","Poll","independence","Scotland topic","Scottish referendum"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78721b45bdda41ad/6986a46be8524b4af2604ca3/usa-map.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt78721b45bdda41ad/6986a46be8524b4af2604ca3/usa-map.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pins in a United States map show where students have come from to take classes at Oaksterdam University, the nation's first marijuana trade school, on Sept. 23, 2010 in Oakland.","caption":"Pins in a United States map show where students have come from to take classes at Oaksterdam University, the nation's first marijuana trade school, on Sept. 23, 2010 in Oakland.","creditText":"Tony Avelar—The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/states/","name":"States"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3404009/american-secession-scotland/","name":"A Quarter of Americans Want to Secede From the U.S."}}]}] ```