19th century As a name for the United States Samuel Mitchill suggested that 'Fredonian' be used by citizens of the United States ("Fredon") after the
American Revolution in place of the
demonym "American", which was then being used as a pejorative term by the metropolitan English to refer to "their inferior and far-removed colonists". In Vol. VI, Part IV, of the Medical Repository, 1803, pp. 449–50, Mitchill, wrote the following under the heading of "Medical and Philosophical News":
As a name for Liberia 'Fredonia' was one of the names proposed by the
American Colonization Society for
Liberia.
Republic of Fredonia In December 1826, a group of Anglo-American settlers and
filibusters led by
Empresario Haden Edwards in what is now
Texas, declared the "
Republic of Fredonia" centered in the town of
Nacogdoches. This was the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from
Mexico and form an independent state. The republic was short-lived however, lasting only from December 21, 1826 – January 23, 1827, when Mexican soldiers and Anglo militia men from
Stephen F. Austin's colony put the rebellion down.
Masonic Lodge From about 1810 to 1834, a Lodge of Freemasons under the jurisdiction of The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts was in existence in the town of Northborough, Massachusetts. It was named Fredonia Lodge.
1930s In the Marx Brothers' film
Duck Soup, the tiny fictitious country of Freedonia ("Land of the Brave, and Free") is suffering from severe financial problems; government leaders request a $20 million loan from wealthy Freedonian widow Mrs. Gloria Teasdale (
Margaret Dumont) to keep the nation afloat. Mrs. Teasdale agrees to lend the money only on the condition that Rufus T. Firefly (
Groucho Marx) be appointed leader of Freedonia. In the musical number that accompanies Firefly's appointment to office, Firefly informs the audience on how the government will be run, singing lyrics such as "The last man nearly ruined this place, he didn't know what to do with it / If you think this country's bad off now, just wait 'til I get through with it." Firefly insults and angers Ambassador Trentino (
Louis Calhern) from the neighboring nation of Sylvania, which leads Freedonia into war.
1960s In the 1960s,
Woody Allen, working on
Candid Camera, used Freedonia as a practical joke by asking passersby what they thought of the bid for independence for Freedonia.
1970s In the film
Jabberwocky (1977), Freedonia is one of the kingdoms conquered by the King Bruno the Questionable.
1980s The American game publisher
FASA's name was originally supposed to stand for "Freedonian Aeronautics and Space Administration". In their first publication (a set of starship deck plans for the game
Traveller), the accompanying introduction was signed "Rufus T Firefly, Director".
1990s In the
Sierra Entertainment PC game
Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire (1990), the character
Ali Chica is a parody of Chico Marx. If a
non-player character is asked about
Ali Chica after his disappearance, the player is told that he went to
Fredonia. In the 1990s, the satirical magazine
Spy pulled a
practical joke on several members of the
United States Congress. Impersonating a New York radio host (Henry Rose), the magazine successfully convinced several newcomers to Congress to comment on the "
ethnic cleansing" in Freedonia, without their realizing that Freedonia was a fictional country.
Nick Smith urged caution;
James Talent supported action;
Jay Inslee warned that inaction would be unacceptable.
Principality of Freedonia The Principality of Freedonia was a
micronation based on
libertarian principles. It was created as a "hypothetical project" by a group of teenagers in the United States in 1992. The project was formalized as a new country project in 1997, which included attempts in 2001 to lease territory in
Somaliland. The attempt to lease land was rejected.
2000s Duck Soup is used as an in-joke amongst characters portrayed as knowledgeable about the film in a Season 3 (2001–2002) episode of
The West Wing, while another episode in Season 6 (2004–2005) recalls the general plot details of
Duck Soup. In "
Enemies Foreign and Domestic",
C.J. Cregg,
Sam Seaborn, and
Toby Ziegler are discussing the relevancy of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in a post-
Soviet world. C.J., being briefed by Sam on a number of countries she has to mention as possible new candidates for NATO membership, wonders why Freedonia is being left out of the mix. She goes on to reference Groucho Marx by singing "Hooray for
Captain Spaulding" (which was his character in
Animal Crackers) under her breath. When upbraided by Toby for not taking the briefing seriously, she asks why her attempt at humor is less valid than Sam's or his. Toby responds that he's heard her joke before, implying that he has seen
Duck Soup. Determined that her
Marx Brothers references be respected, she ends the sequences of references by offering to pay Toby $500 if he will sing "
Lydia the Tattooed Lady" (a song sung by J. Cheever Loophole (Groucho) in
At the Circus). During Season 6 the question of the "situation in Freedonia" was asked of a candidate in a Senate debate, and after the candidate said he was studying it, there was no allowed time for the other candidates to challenge him about the existence of the country. United Kingdom games "
Democracy" (2005) and "Democracy 2" (2007) featured Freedonia as a playable country. In the game
Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek (2007), the character Yanni Volkstaia is an Olympic skier from Fredonia. In the
Doctor Who episode "
The Shakespeare Code" (2007),
the Doctor claims his companion
Martha Jones is from Freedonia. He also claims this in the
Doctor Who novel
Sting of the Zygons (2007). Although the usage may be intended simply as a plausible name for a country of which the listener (
William Shakespeare in the former case) has not heard, it is specifically linked to
Duck Soup in at least one official reference work.
2010s In the Australian animated series ''
The Flamin' Thongs'' (2014), the leader of Freedonia declares war on Australia after Holden Thong's soccer ball lands in his birthday cake and destroys it. In the film
Despicable Me 3 (2017), Gru's brother Dru lives in Freedonia, and the place was shown to have a cheese festival. == Use in general English ==