American Redoubt facts for kids
The American Redoubt is a political migration movement first proposed in 2011 by survivalist novelist and blogger James Wesley Rawles which designates Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming along with eastern parts of Oregon and Washington, as a safe haven for conservative Christians. Rawles chose this area due to its low population density and lack of natural hazards.
It is difficult to measure how many people have been influenced by the proposal to move to these states; The Week estimated that anywhere from "hundreds" to "a few thousand" people may have come, although some may have moved for reasons of general cultural affinity rather than being directly influenced by Rawles's proposal.
In December 2019, Rawles published a list of "key leaders and promoters of the American Redoubt movement", including Montana pastor Chuck Baldwin, former Washington State Representative Matt Shea, and North Idaho Representative Heather Scott.
Concept
Kim Murphy, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, summed up one motivation for the movement: "For a growing number of people, it's the designated point of retreat when the American economy hits the fan. When banks fail, the government declares martial law, the power grid goes down." The same article identified Rawles as "the guru of the movement". Rawles claims that he is anti-racist and pro-Israel. According to an article in The Christian Century in 2012, Rawles compares the movement to the Puritan migration, saying that secession would be crushed, but people would “vote with their feet.”
Evolution of the movement
By 2016, Chris Carlson, a retired Democratic Party organizer, was comparing advocates of the American Redoubt to survivalists, with the difference being that the Redoubters have "become the shock troops for the Tea Party and openly support certain candidates." Carlson also claimed that the political migration to western states like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming has been driven by Redoubters seeking to be free from the federal government and that while they disavow racism, they have chosen a location where there are few racial minorities.
An August 2016 article about the movement in The Economist magazine mentioned that "thousands of families" have now migrated to the American Redoubt and that the movement is "quietly gaining steam." Indeed, the election of Donald Trump has spurred on the movement. In 2017 the Inlander said "But increasingly, they [Preppers] see more political violence in big cities, and more of a divide between rural and urban environments. The left's reaction to Donald Trump's presidency, they feel, has deepened the divide, making the day they've been preparing for seem ever more imminent."
In a Chicago Tribune article by Kevin Sullivan on August 27, 2016, noted
It is impossible to know exactly how many people have come over the past few years, but newcomers, real estate agents, local officials and others said it was in the hundreds, or perhaps even a few thousand, across all five states. Here, they live in a pristine place of abundant water and fertile soil, far from urban crime, free from most natural disasters and populated predominantly by conservative, mostly Christian people with a live-and-let-live ethos and local governments with a light regulatory touch and friendly gun laws.
Political influence
It has been asserted that Republican Party politics in Idaho's northernmost legislative district have been pulled farther to the right with the arrival of conservative Christian "preppers" fleeing more populated states. In 2014, two ultraconservative state legislators were elected from the district: Reps. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, and Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay. In 2016, state senator Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint – an 8-time incumbent and a moderate Republican from one of the most conservative areas of Idaho – faced a hard primary challenge, but went on to win the general election.
Voices of the movement
There are three primary outlets for the American Redoubt movement. James Rawles's blog SurvivalBlog.com regularly covers Redoubt news and focuses on preparedness "how to" guides. John Jacob Schmidt's blog Radio Free Redoubt and his radio show The John Jacob Schmidt Show, transmitted on the American Christian Network (ACN) and KTW 630 AM out of Spokane, Washington, carries news and commentary often focused on the American Redoubt. The Charles Carroll Society and podcast by Alex Barron focuses on politics and commentary related to the American Redoubt Iand the many traditional Catholics located there. Similarly, the online outlet, Redoubt News publishes news and opinion relevant to Christian conservative culture in the American Redoubt.
See also
In Spanish: Reducto Americano para niños
- Adelsverein
- Christian nationalism
- Christian Patriot movement
- Free State Project
- Lincoln (proposed Northwestern state)
- List of active separatist movements in North America
- List of U.S. state partition proposals
- National redoubt
- Northwest Territorial Imperative
