Free West Alliance
Encyclopedia
The Free West Alliance (FWA) is an organization attempting to organize the migration of libertarians and the like-minded into the U.S.
states of Idaho
, Montana
and Wyoming
, in order to influence local political policy toward libertarian ideals. It also seeks to mobilize current residents of the states who have libertarian politics.
FWA was created shortly after the selection of the state of New Hampshire
by an earlier American political migration
movement, the Free State Project (FSP)
. FWA founders were predominantly either former members of FSP who had "opted out" of New Hampshire in that organization's state selection process, or others who had associated with FSP but not signed on formally.
The reasons for the creation of FWA are many, most prominent being the dissatisfaction many westerners felt over the selection of an eastern state, for simple geographical reasons as well as for the cultural split that became evident in the Free State Project discussion forums between "westerners" and "easterners". Note, some in the "western" faction actually lived in the east, and vice versa.
The Free West Alliance has also become associated to some degree with similar Canadian movements, and with the Free State Wyoming
(FSW).
The Montana and Wyoming branches of FWA are the most active. Evidence of prior, small freedom migration movements to Wyoming has also turned up in discussions on the various email lists associated with FWA. Both Montana and Wyoming are often viewed as states with strong anti-authoritarian traditions, and have a history of informal individual migrations for that purpose.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
states of 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...
, in order to influence local political policy toward libertarian ideals. It also seeks to mobilize current residents of the states who have libertarian politics.
FWA was created shortly after the selection of the state of New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
by an earlier American political migration
Political migration
Political migration is any migration motivated primarily by political interests. Typically, political migration is in one of two classes, private or government, depending on who encourages the migration....
movement, the Free State Project (FSP)
Free State Project
The Free State Project is a political movement, founded in 2001, to recruit at least 20,000 libertarian-leaning people to move to New Hampshire in order to make the state a stronghold for libertarian ideas....
. FWA founders were predominantly either former members of FSP who had "opted out" of New Hampshire in that organization's state selection process, or others who had associated with FSP but not signed on formally.
The reasons for the creation of FWA are many, most prominent being the dissatisfaction many westerners felt over the selection of an eastern state, for simple geographical reasons as well as for the cultural split that became evident in the Free State Project discussion forums between "westerners" and "easterners". Note, some in the "western" faction actually lived in the east, and vice versa.
The Free West Alliance has also become associated to some degree with similar Canadian movements, and with the Free State Wyoming
Free State Wyoming
Free State Wyoming is a political migration project whose goal is to bring people of "demonstrably ethical character" to the state of Wyoming in the western United States to encourage "political liberty, free trade and voluntary cooperation."...
(FSW).
The Montana and Wyoming branches of FWA are the most active. Evidence of prior, small freedom migration movements to Wyoming has also turned up in discussions on the various email lists associated with FWA. Both Montana and Wyoming are often viewed as states with strong anti-authoritarian traditions, and have a history of informal individual migrations for that purpose.