Tensions between what eventually became upstate and downstate New York had existed since
Leisler's Rebellion in 1689. That rebellion was more heavily supported in the lower Hudson Valley, near modern New York City, than it was in the Albany area, which remained loyal to the English crown (at the time, the
Glorious Revolution was underway in England). Although the rebellion was settled in 1691 when Leisler was executed, tensions between the upper and lower Hudson Valley remained high for another two decades afterward. On March 6, 1790, the legislature of New York expressed its consent to the
admission to the Union of what they called "the community now actually exercising independent jurisdiction as 'the State of Vermont'", provided an agreement on the boundary between the two states could be reached. In the ensuing negotiations, Vermont's commissioners insisted on also settling the numerous real-estate disputes arising from conflicting land grants from New York, New Hampshire, and Vermont, rather than leaving those to be decided in a federal court. On October 7, 1790, the commissioners proclaimed the negotiations concluded. In January 1791, a convention called by the state of Vermont ratified the Constitution of the United States, declaring that it would be part of the law of Vermont as soon as Congress admitted that state. On February 18, 1791, Congress decided to admit Vermont to the Union two weeks later on March 4.
Post-Revolution era In the battle over the ratification of the
United States Constitution in 1787–1788, Governor
George Clinton in Albany, wishing to preserve his power, led the local
Anti-Federalists in opposition, with support for the Constitution coming from
Alexander Hamilton and the
Federalists, who were largely urbanites and saw opportunity in a stronger national union and published
The Federalist Papers as their manifesto in several New York City newspapers, including
The Independent Journal. There was a large divide, and with the recent independence of
Vermont, a threat of secession of New York City and the southern counties to join the new Federal government. The leaders of
Richmond County (Staten Island), which maintained an ambiguous position, threatened to join
New Jersey. With secession threatening to marginalize Governor Clinton and a lightly developed upstate, the Constitution was ratified and the crisis passed. At the time, much of what is now upstate New York, particularly
Western New York was disputed and unsettled frontier territory, with
Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts, and
Connecticut claiming portions of the mostly undeveloped land. This frontier land was not included in the
Northwest Ordinance (unorganized territory north of the Ohio River, east of the Mississippi, and south of The Great Lakes), but it was not until the
Phelps and Gorham Purchase and the
Holland Purchase that it became New York territory.
Civil War era In
the period of national crisis immediately preceding the
American Civil War,
Democratic Mayor
Fernando Wood proposed the secession of New York City as a sovereign
city-state to be called the
Free City of Tri-Insula (
Tri-Insula meaning "three islands" in
Latin), and incorporating
Manhattan,
Long Island and
Staten Island. In an address to the city's Common Council on January 6, 1861, Mayor Wood expressed a
Copperhead sympathy with the
seceding states and a desire to maintain profitable
cotton shipping, confidence that the
city-state would prosper on the
import tariffs that then supplied 2/3 of federal revenue, and especially dissatisfaction with the state government at Albany. But the idea of leaving the United States proved too radical even in the turmoil of 1861 and was poorly received, especially after the
Southern bombardment of Fort Sumter starting on April 12.) Since Town Line was an
unincorporated community with no legal status, the secession vote had no legal effect, and the Confederacy never recognized it. Town Line ceremonially "rejoined" the Union in 1946; its residents paid taxes during its time "out of the union", which amounted to 85 years.
1969 In 1969, writer
Norman Mailer and columnist
Jimmy Breslin ran together on an independent ticket seeking the mayoralty and City Council Presidency, challenging Mayor
John Lindsay with an agenda to make New York City the
51st state. When questioned as to the name of the new state, Breslin said the city deserved to keep "New York" and that upstate should be renamed "
Buffalo", after its largest city.
2000s On February 26, 2003, a bill was introduced by
Astoria, Queens Council Member
Peter Vallone, Jr., and sponsored by 20 of 51 City Council members, reviving the idea of
referendum for secession from New York State in the context of the
red state vs. blue state divide and opposition to the policies of Governor
George Pataki. A committee report was written but otherwise little action was taken, and the bill was reintroduced with one additional sponsor on the same date in 2004. Like Mayor Wood, Council Member Vallone emphasized the fiscal benefits of secession, with revenue now derived not from tariffs, but from
Wall Street. Council Member Vallone reintroduced the bill in 2006. In January 2008, Vallone again offered a bill for the secession of New York City from New York state. After Mayor
Michael Bloomberg testified to New York state legislators that New York City gives the state $11 billion more than it gets back, Vallone stated: "If not secession, somebody please tell me what other options we have if the state is going to continue to take billions from us and give us back pennies? Should we raise taxes some more? Should we cut services some more? Or should we consider seriously going out on our own?" The New York City Council planned to hold a meeting on the topic.
2010s In 2015, fifteen towns in Sullivan, Delaware, Broome, and Tioga counties were reported to be looking into seceding from the State of New York and joining the state of Pennsylvania. One reason given for the movement was Governor
Andrew Cuomo's move to ban
hydraulic fracturing, which is legal in Pennsylvania. Concurrently, groups of state legislators from Long Island and upstate New York introduced legislation to gauge support for partitioning the state; the bills were introduced shortly after
Sheldon Silver, who had served as Speaker of the
New York State Assembly for two decades and was an ardent opponent of such a partition, was deposed from his post as part of a federal investigation. ==Long Island secession==