When the original 13 colonies declared their independence from Britain in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, Vermont followed suit constructing a Declaration of its own in 1777. But since it was not invited to be part of the United States it ended up declaring itself to be an independent country. It did not send representatives to the Continental Congress. Nor did Vermont sign the U.S. Declaration. The non-state was all alone in the wilderness.
In the 14 years between when Vermont declared its independence in 1777 and when it was admitted as a state in 1791 Vermont went along as an independent country. It was a turbulent time.
Vermont officials held talks with the British in Canada about possibly joining that country. Since the U.S. did not want the state the British thought that maybe they had a chance. There has been much debate about whether Vermont was ever serious about joining Canada but there were talks between the two. The talks may have been meant to force the U.S.’s hand. The idea of a foreign country sandwiched in between New York and New Hampshire did not sit well with the Americans.
Or, maybe the purpose of the talks was to stop the frequent raids that often came down from the north destroying farms and other property. You do not want to inflame the inhabitants of a possible future mate. So, Vermont got a reprieve.
Or, maybe Vermont was serious—about trade with Canada. Ethan Allen was the largest property owner in the area and it is important to note that most of the rivers in Vermont flow north—into Canada.
Ultimately, New York relented. First, it agreed to honor the property owners if they agreed to rejoin New York. Vermonters said no way. Finally, after Vermont agreed to pay a token sum of $30,000 to New York, it agreed to let Vermont be the 14th state.
Vermont is not the only state to have been an independent country. It is hard to imagine that liberal Vermont in the far north and conservative Texas in the far south have anything in common but they do. Like Vermont, Texas was also an independent country. It gained its independence from Mexico in 1836 then spent the next ten years as an independent country. In 1845 Texas became the 28th state.
Hawaii and California were also once independent countries but California’s “Bear Republic” lasted a mere 30 days and Hawaii was an independent entity before it joined (or was forced) into a union.
Therefore, Vermont spent more time as an independent country than any other state.