“Registration Open for Third Congress”
Call for Delegates to the Third Southern National Congress

In the 11^th Century BC, the children of Israel were sorely oppressed by the Baal-worshipping Midianites.  But God raised up a champion, Gideon, the sixth of the great Judges of Israel.  No doubt you know the story, one of the best-loved in the Bible, found in Chapter 7 of the Book of Judges.  With only 300 picked men, Gideon routed the vastly superior army of Midian and its allies.  Israel lived in peace and liberty for forty years, until Gideon passed on to his fathers.  

In 480 BC, a greatly outnumbered force of Greek allies held off the invading army of Xerxes and his Persians at Thermopylae.  You know the story, for the heroic stand of the 300 Spartans who fought to the end is celebrated in recent films and books like “300” and the best-seller Gates of Fire.  This handful of Greek heroes changed the course of history, contributing to the ultimate defeat of the Persians and ensuring that freedom prevailed in the West instead of the despotism of the East.

Closer to our time and place, General Francis Marion, the immortal “Swamp Fox” of the America’s first War of Independence, waged a daring partisan campaign against the British invaders in South Carolina, tying down ten times his number of British Regulars and inspiring Patriot resistance in the darkest days of British conquest.  He seldom had more than 300 men under arms at any one time, yet his lightning raids and ambushes were a decisive element in the victory of American independence.

Today we Southerners, in fact all Americans, are facing threats to our liberty, prosperity and dignity as dire as those our forebears faced in other times and places, perhaps worse.  We of the Southern National Congress are just as determined as they were to defeat the threats.  We’re looking for our own Three Hundred, modern-day heroes with the courage and fortitude to meet the challenges of the times. 

Delegate Registration now Opens

Current Delegates can download the pdf registration form at:

http://southernnationalcongress.org/thirdcongress_registration.pdf

Call for Delegates

If you’re a Southerner of good will and good character and meet the qualifications below, the SNC Board of Governors invites you to apply to become a Delegate to the Southern National Congress.  Come join the Three Hundred at the Third. 

The Third Congress will convene November 12-14, 2010 at Montgomery Bell State Park, near Dickson, TN.  The Park has an excellent central location for those who may travel from the outlying States.  About 40 minutes southwest of Nashville, it has good air connections with the rest of the country.  (Nashville Airport code is BNA)

The Park enjoys a beautiful setting and ambiance, and the guest rooms have all the usual amenities.  Based on double occupancy, rooms are approximately $78.00 per night, with tax.  Meals in the on-site restaurant are quite good and reasonably priced. 

Because of the flood of Delegate applications now coming in, we anticipate a large turn-out.  Consequently, we have reserved the entire Inn for the SNC.  As soon as final details can be worked out, we will post a link for reservations and further information on the SNC website, www.southernnationalcongress.org.  Please watch for our notice of the posting of this link and prepare to reserve your place at the Third Congress if you are approved to be a Delegate.  

For more information on Montgomery Bell State Park, click on this link:

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/MontgomeryBell/index.shtml#conference

Delegates slots are open for the Represented States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Each State will have one vote in the Congress, regardless of its number of Delegates attending.  (Oklahoma has provisional SNC status and is invited to send Official Observers.  They will enjoy Floor privileges but not a vote, unless Oklahoma is admitted as a Represented State).

What Are the Qualifications to Become a Delegate?

First, there are no restrictions based on race, creed, or sex.  

• A Delegate must be a resident of one of the 14 Southern States listed above.  
• A Delegate must be 18 when the Congress convenes on November 12, 2010.
• A Delegate must be willing to affirm the following: I believe that I have a duty to my home State. I believe that the Southern people are a distinct people. I believe in the right of voice, the right of preservation, and the right of recognition, for the South and her people.

Other qualifications are related to the character of the individual Delegates, including maturity and good judgment, self-sacrifice, realism, courage, a spirit of charity and magnanimity toward all, and the necessary resources to take part.  (Regrettably, we are not able to defray the costs to participate.)

Please keep in mind that final approval of Delegates is up to each State Delegation.  Clearly, the SNC is not for everyone.  Only a special few meet these qualifications.  However, if you feel led to play a unique and historic leadership role in the life of the Southern nation in these challenging times and if you meet the requirements above, then we welcome you to apply to become one of our Three Hundred.  Please fill out the Delegate Application eForm. 

http://www.southernnationalcongress.org/delegateapplication.php

What Is the Southern National Congress?

The Southern National Congress is the only representative assembly of citizens of the Southern States that provides an alternative, legitimate forum to express Southern grievances and advance Southern interests in a way that is no longer possible through today’s political process or the major political parties.

The SNC was organized around the proposition that we Southerners are a separate and distinct people, rooted in kinship and place, with a common culture and history.  We respect the rights of other national and ethnic communities to self-preservation and self-determination, and we demand the same. But we Southerners won’t restore our rights unless we assert them ourselves.

The SNC seeks to reclaim the great Southern principles of individual liberty and a small central government limited to its enumerated powers, and which is the creation, the servant, and the agent of the sovereign people acting through their respective States. Today these principles have been irretrievably violated. The United States Government is engaged in “a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evincing a design to reduce us under absolute Despotism,” as Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence.

Decent, honorable people of the South who still love liberty and justice and who seek to preserve their livelihoods, their identity, and their heritage have no choice but to withdraw their consent from the corrupt government in Washington.  But withdrawing our consent is not enough. We must exercise our sovereignty and create alternative, legitimate institutions which speak for us and to which we can transfer our consent. This is the principle behind the SNC. 

For more detailed information about the role and purpose of the Congress, please consult the SNC website:  www.southernnationalcongress.org.

What Will the Third Congress Do?

The Third Congress will continue voicing Southern concerns and grievances. More than at any time in recent history, Southerners need to rally around their historic ideals and identity. Only by remaining true to ourselves as Southerners can we make it through troubled times that are bearing down on us.

The Third Congress will:

• Consider findings and recommendations stemming from the SNC Peoples’ Forums or town-hall meetings conducted by various State Delegations. 
• Debate resolutions offered from the Floor and deemed in order by the SNC Board of Governors. 
• Debate a pre-drafted measure declaring the United States Government in fundamental breach of the social and political contract binding the several States and the People to the regime in Washington, DC. 
• Elect new SNC officers. If you’d like to exercise your leadership on behalf of the Southern cause and People, here is your opportunity.  (More details on offices and elections will be posted soon on the SNC website.)
• New Delegates may wish to affirm and sign the Southern National Covenant adopted by the Second Congress in September 2009.  See the Covenant at: www.southernnationalcongress.org/southernnationalcovenant.shtml.

The Third Congress will be the most important yet -- a high-profile, high-impact event that will include a sit-down banquet Saturday night with a keynote speaker of national prominence (to be announced).  We expect media coverage of this event. 

The Final Call…

Numbers by themselves are not the key to victory; history is always made by the committed few.  But 300 is a powerful number, as history has proven; and we are calling for 300 Delegates.  “Three Hundred at the Third” will show conclusively that the Southern National Congress has taken root as a legitimate Southern institution, and will confirm our moral authority to speak for the South and her People.  

The SNC offers a unique opportunity to those who are moved by a sense of adventure and duty to work collectively with your fellow Southerners for liberty, justice, and prosperity for our beloved Southland.  If you are such a person and if you meet the qualifications above, I hope you’ll plan to become a Delegate and attend the Third Southern National Congress on November 12-14, 2010. 

May God bless the Southern States and People.

Tom Moore, Chairman.
On behalf of the SNC Board of Governors