COLUMBIA, SC The governor of the state where the Civil War started has no plans to join any 21st Century secession movement.

“Didn’t we try that once before?” S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley said Wednesday. “I love this country. I’m going to fight for this country. I’m going to do everything I can for this country, and this country is going to be great.”

More than 34,500 people – many not from the state – have signed two four-day-old petitions on the White House website calling for South Carolina to secede. Petitions that collect 25,000 signatures in a month receive a White House response.

Petitions requesting secession have cropped up for about 40 states since President Barack Obama’s re-election last week.

Andrew Shain