Texas, California, and Vermont were all independent for a time, and the state of Hawaii was a kingdom for nearly a century before US interests overthrew the monarchy. Much lesser known was the short lived Republic of Florida.
Solenopsis invicta, the “Red Imported Fire Ant”, native to South America, has proven a tenacious and destructive pest in the United States, costing Americans billions of dollars every year. That is why, in the late 1950s, the United States embarked on an all out war against the six-legged menace.