Draft:Village Republic of Old West
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Village Republic of Old West Shtetli Republik an Alt Wescht (Pennsylvania Dutch) | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Motto: "Blue Days Are Over Now" | |
| Anthem: "Dem Summer Nacht Gsang" "The Summer Night Song" | |
 Map showing the general location of Old West. | |
| Status | Active |
| Capital and Largest settlement | Old West |
| Official languages | English Pennsylvania Dutch (both official) |
| Ethnic groups (2024) |
|
| Religion (2024) | Ansar Islam (official) |
| Demonym(s) | Old Westerner |
| Government | Unitary Constitutional One-Party Republic |
• Governor | Isaiah Deegan |
• Secretary | Sam Deegan |
• Judges | Isaiah Deegan Sam Deegan Chibi Deegan |
| Legislature | Village National Guard |
| Independence from the United States | |
• Independence Declared | March 3 2016 |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.0004046856 km2 (0.0001562500 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 3 |
• 2024 census | 3 |
| Membership | 3 |
| HDI | 0.5124 low |
| Currency | U.S. Dollar |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| Date format | mm/dd/yyyy |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +1 |
| Internet TLD | .ow (proposed) |
The Village Republic of Old West is an unrecognized sovereign state that was proclaimed by Isaiah Deegan on March 3, 2016. It is located in North America and is approximately 4,356 square feet in area and is 66 feet by 66 feet. It is a Unitary Constitutional Stratocratic Republic that is based around Islam. The nation is led by a Governor, a Secretary, and three Judges, who form a Village National Guard that is a legislature, a militia, and political party all rolled into one. Old West is an Islamic nation based around the teachings of Muhammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi, who declared himself to be the Mahdi in the 1880's and led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in Sudan that led to the creation of a sovereign nation known as the Mahdist State, which existed from 1885 to 1898, and the movement Al-Mahdi started continues today as the Ansar movement. Old West incorporates the secessionist ideas that are connected with the Confederate States of America into the culture of the nation, as well as elements of Pennsylvanian culture with the national anthem being based off of the former and current anthem of Pennsylvania, as well as the adoption of the Pennsylvania Dutch language as one of the two official languages of the nation. This creates a distinct culture that mixes both western and eastern cultures into one to create a very strange but vibrant nation.
History
Pre-History
The land that now makes up Old West was originally a part of the Province of Pennsylvania, a British colony from 1681 to 1776, when the colony became the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which is now a state of the United States of America. However, the lands were still held by the British Empire as a part of British North America until 1783, when the United States beat the British and won all the lands past the Mississippi River. The United States soon pushed westward, and a man named Daniel Mead founded Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1788. The lands that make up Old West were finally occupied in 1925, when a house was built on the land. Isaiah Deegan was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 5, 2006. Isaiah Deegan's family moved to the house in Meadville on July 30, 2009. Isaiah would grow interested in politics and government as he got older. He soon got the idea to create his own country.
Beginning of Independence Movement
Isaiah and his family originally resided in South Carolina from April 5, 2006 to July 30, 2009. This is known as the "South Carolina Period". This period of political history created a great sense of pride in Isaiah, as South Carolina was the first U.S. state to secede from the United States prior to the American Civil War, which happened on December 20, 1860, and this led to South Carolina, (officially known as the Palmetto Republic) remaining as a sovereign state until they joined to form the Confederate States of America on February 8, 1861. The Confederacy would survive until May 5, 1865, which is when the Confederate States of America collapsed at the end of the American Civil War. These two historical entities form the backbone of the ideology and inspiration that led to the creation of Old West as an independent nation, and serve as the basis for the national mythos. As such, "God Save The South" has remained a popular song.
Isaiah had a great interest in early American history and Eastern philosophy, specifically the Islamic religion and Islamic politics, and Isaiah fused those two things together to create his own philosophy, which has gone under many names, such as "Federacy", though in Old West it has been labeled "Village Republicanism". This formed one part of the culture of Old West, but it would soon develop into an bigger mix when Pennsylvanian culture seeped in, especially with the language of Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a form of German indigenous to that region, and since Isaiah and his family is both half German and half Irish in terms of heritage, Isaiah was eager to adopt the language for his new society. All of this would be rolled together into a nation that he hoped would be better than the world that exists today, and he felt that perhaps he could make a better world where all people would be friends and work together for the common good, as he hated cliques, favoritism, and all forms of division and class, and wished to annihilate it entirely. So, he drafted a manifesto known as the "March Manifesto" which was a near carbon-copy of another manifesto known as the "Brundage's Manifesto", which was written in 1850 as a declaration of independence for the "Great Republic of Rough and Ready", which was a self-declared nation that existed for three months in California.
In it, Isaiah gave a simple outline of his goals, and how he felt society was led by "soulless and immoral leaders", and that it was necessary to form a society for "the protection and benefit of all" because "we are reduced to the state of seeing our fellow men taken over by immoral practices, ideas, and cultures that do not for them or want them to be better and come together as friends and comrades", and that secession is the only way any progress can be made against those taking advantage of the people. This, along with the "Village Requests", which would become the constitution of Old West, formed the basis for the establishment of the Village Republic of Old West on March 3, 2016.The Village Requests would be based on the "Northwest Ordinance" which was a document written by the United States government in 1787 to serve as the basis for all future territorial governments formed in the future in the western lands of the United States. The other document the Village Requests draws from is the "Kouroukan Fouga", which served as the constitution of the Mali Empire in 1215. The Northwest Ordinance formed the government while the Kouroukan Fouga formed the legal code. Isaiah sprinkled in his own ideas to make the document fit his vision for his nation.
Independence
After all the documents were in order, Isaiah would declare the Village Republic of Old West an independent nation on March 3, 2016. Isaiah would make Islam the official religion and made English and Pennsylvania Dutch the official languages, and adopted many symbols for his new nation. He would become Governor and his cat Kira Deegan would become Secretary. There would also be a court of three Judges, of which two would be held by Isaiah and Kira, with the third Judge position being vacant. Kira would serve until her death due to feline leukemia on October 28, 2022. There would be two days set aside for mourning. Sam Deegan would take up the position of Secretary and would also serve as the second Judge, with the position of third Judge being handed over to Chibi Deegan, which was previously held by Sam Deegan from September 2018 until Kira's death. This state of affairs has remained the same up until the present day. The nation of Old West would eventually begin pursuing foreign policy goals by attempting to gain allies from around the world in their quest for recognition as a sovereign state.
Isaiah would meet a man named Melvian Che in August of 2022 and begin talking to him about politics. Melvian Che was a man from Cameroon who moved to the United States so his wife could receive an education in Biology, and he himself was interested in politics as well. He was an English-speaking Cameroonian, and he supported a secessionist state in Cameroon called the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, which declared independence on October 1, 2017, due to the French-speaking Cameroonians oppressing the English speakers. Melvian desired to go back to Ambazonia once the war was over and run for President of Ambazonia. So Isaiah helped him create a political party and program. Isaiah designed the symbols and wrote a simple political program called the Freedom Plan. The party would be named the Free Liberal Party of Ambazonia, and it would have Democratic Socialist ideology which also supported Gaddafism and Pan-Africanism. This all happened on September 3, 2022, and is considered Isaiah's greatest foreign policy move. However, it has amounted to nothing of long-lasting importance, as the party would become inactive immediately after it was formed, due to Isaiah losing contact with Melvian. It is widely acknowledged that this was a failure, but it was the thought that counted. Isaiah hopes to one day form relations with Ambazonia, and Isaiah recognizes Ambazonia as a sovereign and independent nation.
Government
The government of the Village Republic of Old West is a Unitary Constitutional Republic. The government is headed by a Governor, a Secretary, and three Judges, each of which have their own powers. The nation is governed by the Village Requests, which is the constitution of Old West. The document consists of 3,070 words and many paragraphs that outline the government system, the legal code, and the culture and symbols of the nation. It consists of a preamble and two sections. The first section contains four articles and the second section contains nineteen articles. This makes the document have a total of twenty-three articles that outline the legal code, government system, the rights of the citizens, and the duties of the government.
Governor
The Governor, according to the Village Requests, is elected by the people to serve during good behavior. The Governor is commander-in-chief of the Village National Guard, which serves as the militia, only political party, and as the legislature, which is a peculiar feature of the political system in Old West. This body is what adopts all the nation's laws, which can only be approved by the Governor assenting to them. The Governor appoints all military officers. The Governor may also appoint all civil officers necessary to assist the Governor in their affairs. The Governor appoints the three Judges as well. The Governor appoints a time and place for when the Village National Guard shall meet and shall be able to convene, prorogue, and dissolve the Village National Guard when they please. The Governor shall also deliver the oath of office to all officials besides themselves.
Secretary
The Secretary is appointed by the Governor and serves during good behavior unless removed from office by the Governor, which they may do at any time. The Secretary is responsible keep the records of all laws and other government documents. The Secretary is also a member of the Village National Guard.
The Judges
The Judges, who are appointed by the Governor and can be removed by the Governor at any time, form the judiciary, and judge and decide all criminal and civil cases.
Culture
Village Republicanism
Village Republicanism merely refers to the particular system of governance that Old West has. It is one that is very similar to what the early United States happened to have, and it adopts elements of early Islam. The Kouroukan Fouga was written in 1215 and is from the Mali Empire, an empire that existed in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Northwest Ordinance was a document written in 1787, a little while before the current United States Constitution was ratified. The document was also meant for the western territories of the United States, which were small and sparsely populated. This is important to the ideology, which aims to build a society centered around a small and tight-knit community, such as a village. A village is generally small, and it is generally full of people who all know each other and interact with each other, which is rarely seen in the urban, modern cities we see around the world. This is the general philosophy of Old West and Village Republicanism.
Religion
The state religion of Old West is Islam. The form of Islam which Old West subscribes to is what some would refer to as heterodox. The Sudanese Ansar movement is followed, which regards Muhammad Ahmad as the Mahdi. Muhammad Ahmad stated that the Five Pillars of Islam is "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and Muhammad Ahmad is the Mahdi of Allah and the Representative of His Prophet", that one should pray five times a day, that Zakat shall be a tax to the state, that one should fast on Ramadan and other important dates and times, and that service in the Jihad is a duty incumbent on the Islamic faithful. The Ansar movement opposes alcohol and tobacco and believes women and men should be segregated. The Ansar movement believes that Muhammad Ahmad was the fabled Mahdi and that he would rule for 7 to 13 years and lead the faithful back on the right path so they could redeem themselves, before then dying and paving the way for a period of chaos and immorality, which will then bring the way for Dajjal, the Anti-Christ, to come to Earth. Dajjal would then be killed by Jesus, and the world would then end.
Anthem
The anthem of Old West is known as "Summer Night Song". The anthem is based off of the former anthem of Pennsylvania, "Hail, Pennsylvania" and the current anthem of Pennsylvania, "Pennsylvania". The music of both songs are just stitched together as a single song. These are the lyrics, which are sung twice:
English:
Oh we need you at night!
Oh we need you when it is bright!
Please come back!
We don't want to fight!
Oooh Old West!
We don't want to be alone!
Come back to Allah!
Important Documents
Village Requests of Old West (Constitution, written on March 3, 2016)
The November Manifesto (Declaration of Independence and Political Manifesto, written on March 3, 2016)
Freedom Plan (Political Manifesto of Free Liberal Party of Ambazonia, written on September 3, 2022)
Holidays
Kira Deegan Remembrance Day (Death of Kira Deegan, founder of Old West) - October 28
Independence Day - March 3
Eid Al-Fitr
Eid Al-Adha
Christmas
Mahdist Day (Birth of Muhammad Ahmad) - August 12
Recreation
A popular game in Old West is the Tee Triangle, which is similar to Checkers. It is a game played on a wooden triangle, which has 7 orange tees and 7 yellow tees, which each sit in their own holes, with one hole in the middle being left empty. Two players then start the game, which involves them trying to take out each other's tees by jumping over them in a straight line. You have to move in a straight line if you want to take out a tee. Once one player runs out of tees, the other player wins, thus "conquering" the triangle. The game can be played with five or ten rounds, or "wars". Whoever wins the most rounds wins.
Economy
The official GDP of Old West as of September 2024 is $376.86. The official GDP per capita as of September 2024 is $125.62. The official Human Development Index as of September 2024 is 0.5124, which would put Old West just below Djibouti in terms of human development according to the 2024 HDI report.