American Notes VERMONT

Vermonters tend to be crusty, idiosyncratic and, above all, independent. After the Revolution, it took them 14 years to decide to join the Union. So with the 200th anniversary of statehood at hand, it seemed reasonable to stage a series of debates on whether the time had come for the Green Mountain State to declare its independence. The Vermont Statehood Bicentennial Commission selected political scientist Frank Bryan of the University of Vermont to argue for seceding from the Union and State Supreme Court Justice John Dooley to argue for staying put.

If the first face-off is any measure, Bryan has the more popular case. "The state should get out," he said in the initial joust in Bennington, because, among other things, every Vermonter now owes $12,000 toward the national debt. "How can you love the country and leave it?" countered Dooley, noting that a "cute little government will not stop acid rain." At debate's end, the audience voted 95 to 55 in favor of going it alone. %