North Dakota - Independent Nation, July 1934

This is a stub -- pending more research

According to one source:

North Dakota- In 1933, William "Fighting Bill" Langer took office as Governor of North Dakota. Although he was hugely popular, he soon exhausted his support when he demanded that state employees contribute to the state Republican party. As some of these salaries were paid with federal money, he was convicted of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government in June of 1934. Langer refused to accept the verdict or to resign from office. Ole Olsen, the lieutenant governor, asked the state's Supreme Court to order Langer to resign. On July 17, 1934, the Supreme Court of North Dakota declared Olsen the legitimate governor. Langer's reaction was not what the Supreme Court expected- before the Court's order was filed on the 18th, Langer met with ten of his friends and declared North Dakota's independence. He then barricaded the governor's mansion and declared martial law. Not until the Supreme Court met personally with Langer did he relent, revoking his declaration and bringing North Dakota back into the Union.

Wikipedia and other sites echo this same anecdote, including the "ten friends" line.

According to North Dakota History Anthology:

Political turmoil followed. On July 17 Langer, in keeping with his reputation for controversial actions during his twenty-year career in North Dakota politics, issued a declaration of independence for the state, declared martial law, and called out the national guard. The following day the state Supreme Court ruled him ineligible to serve as governor. Langer left office after a confusing period during which he called and presided over a special session of the legislature, went to a remote cabin to avoid receiving an ouster order, and threw a cuspidor through a large glass window.

Both the ND Historical Society and UND's special collections, which houses Langer's papers, have been contacted to find a copy of this declaration.