150 years after the U.S. Civil War, a new secessionist movement is growing south of the border. We speak with a man who wants his state -- Alabama -- to say goodbye to the government of Barack Obama.

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10th Anniversary Show Promo

On Monday, The Current marks its tenth anniversary on the air. Anna Maria Tremonti will host a special broadcast in front of a studio audience at the CBC's Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. She'll reunite some of the people who gave The Current some of its most memorable interviews, including Stephen Lewis, Mary Walsh ... and Maher Arar.

We aired a clip of Maher Arar speaking to Anna Maria Tremonti shortly after returning to Canada in 2003. He'll join Anna Maria again on Monday, as part of a special, live broadcast celebrating The Current's ten years on the air.

There are no more tickets available, but tune in to listen, as always... or you can watch the show online. It'll be live streamed on our website at cbc.ca/thecurrent.

A secession petition for Alabama to leave the US

We started this segment wtih a clip from the new Steven Spielberg movie, Lincoln - opening in select theatres across Canada today.

Honest Abe was elected in 1860 with almost no support in the South. Even before he took office, seven states decided to secede and form the Confederacy. But as viewers of Gone With the Wind know only too well -- it didn't work.

It caused a ruinous civil war that nevertheless created a stronger American union and crushed any serious talk of secession forever. Until Barack Obama's re-election, anyway.

On the White House website, We the People, citizens in all 50 states have signed petitions to secede from the U.S.. And it appears The South may be rising again, the states with the most signatories are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Our next guest, Derrick Belcher, started the petition for Alabama last Friday. As of this morning, it has 29, 087 signatures. Derrick Belcher was in Mobile, Alabama.

A secession petition for Alabama to leave the US

Texas is the epicentre of these secessionist movements. The Lone Star state is often difficult for outsiders to comprehend.

But Wayne Slater can claim an intimate understanding. He is the Senior Political writer for the Dallas Morning News. And the co-author of Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential. We reached him in Dallas, Texas.

A secession petition for Alabama to leave the US

The personalities, issues and arguments that brought blue and grey uniformed troops along that bloody road to Gettysburg seem as antique as stovepipe hats and cavalry charges. But here we are in the 21st century, talking about State's rights, race and the Great Emancipator.

Anne Sarah Rubin is a Civil War Historian and Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland Balitmore County. She is the author of Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861-1868. Her upcoming book is called Through the Heart of Dixie. Anne Sarah Rubin joined us from Baltimore, Maryland.

Last Word - Twitter War

We've been talking today about angry secessionists in the United States. When talk turns to the causes of the War Between the States, the usual answers are: slavery, states' rights, and economic disparities between the North and the South. Would it have helped if the both sides had communicated more clearly? If they had to use Twitter, probably not.

Today's Last Word goes to the Content Factory out of Winnipeg.

SFX:  TAPPING ON A KEYBOARD & BLIPS OF TWITTER WINDOWS POPPING UP.

 

LINCOLN:  Super-stoked to be your President!  LET'S DO THIS!  #endslaveryeverywhere

DAVIS:  @AbeLincoln: What about state rights and protectionism?  Generalize much? #typicalyankee  #illinoisloser

 

LINCOLN:  @JeffersonDAVIS:  Slavery is racism.  And way to accuse me of generalizing while generalizing yourself, dummy. 

 

DAVIS:  @AbeLincoln:  I did just generalize...by appointing Robert E. Lee my GENERAL!  #topthatlincoln

 

LEE:  Robert E. Lee here.  @Abelincoln  IT'S ON!  #southwillrise

 

DAVIS:  ROFL!

 

LINCOLN:  @UlyssesSGrant:  Hey man...you busy this week?

 

GRANT:  @AbeLincoln.  On it like a comet!

 

LEE:  @UlyssesSGrant:  BRING IT GRANT!  Kiss @FortSumter Goodbye!

 

SFX:  EXPLOSIONS & STUFF

 

LINCOLN:  Bull Run?  More like BS Run!  #AmIright?

 

SFX:  EXPLOSIONS & STUFF

 

LINCOLN: Click the link to check out the Emancipation Proclamation!

 

SFX:  EXPLOSIONS

 

LINCOLN:  SUCK IT VICKSBURG!  #Gettysburgisnext

 

DAVIS:  Really? @GeneralJohnPemberton?  Really?

 

LINCOLN:  Four score and seven years ago...there's no way I can fit this into 140 Characters.  Just click the link.

 

SFX:  EXPLOSIONS

 

GRANT:  Chew on that Chattanooga!  Now let's knock over Knoxville!

 

LEE:  @JeffersonDAVIS:  A little help here? 

 

SFX:  EXPLOSIONS

 

LINCOLN:  Just heard we took the Carolinas!

 

DAVIS:  @AbeLincoln Okay.  We're done.  Do you accept our surrender?

 

LINCOLN:  NOPE!

 

SFX:  EXPLOSIONS

 

LEE:  @AbeLincoln:  Dude, seriously.  We're finished!  #whiteflag

 

LINCOLN:  LINCOLN FOR THE WIN!

 

DAVIS:  @AbeLincoln:  Congrats and no hard feelings.  Why don't you check out the theatre tonight?  My treat!  I bet you'll be blown away!

 

Other segment from today's show:

Launching a War on Twitter

Foodie Culture & the Deification of Gourmet Chefs