Top 10 Aspiring Nations

Formed in 2003 by Duke University professor emeritus Thomas Naylor, the Second Vermont Republic bills itself as a "nonviolent citizens network" focused on independence for the state of Vermont and the dissolution of the Union. Why? Because of "the tyranny of corporate America and the U.S. government" and so that Vermonters would not be, as Naylor told TIME in 2010, "forced to participate in killing women and children in the Middle East." The group also wants Vermont to become dependent on family-owned farms and businesses so as not to rely on other states or countries to sustain itself. Their flag is similar in design to that of an earlier Vermont secessionist movement from the 18th century.

Read more about the Second Vermont Republic's motivations.