From tax rebels to religious dissidents, it's amazing that the United States of America haven't fallen apart, though it has not been for lack of trying. While the Confederate States of America is the best-known secessionist movement in our history, the South is far from the only example of Americans' declaring independence from Washington DC and the federal government. From runaway slaves to religious visionaries, from Native Americans to tax-shelter seeking wealthy, the quest for political, religious, and economic independence has been a constant force in our country over the centuries.