The Republic of West Who began in late 1969. West Who is named after the Who's a group of friendly people in a book by Dr. Suess. A quote by Dr. Suess in Horton Hears a Who "a person's a person not matter how small" was adapted by founding citizens of West Who to "a country is a country, no matter how small." West Who was established by John Farr.  His friend Craig Carter created a rival nation called Iswas.  Farr became the president of West Who and Carter the prime minister of Iswas.  The students created currency, postage stamps, civilian government, newspapers and other aspects of a country.  They declared their independence from the United States, where the micronations were located. Others joined with them to create their own countries and the various micronations declared war on each other, made alliances and functioned as small nations for several years. Both West Who and Iswas were part of the Federation Treaty of California, a group of thirteen micronations started in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the Federation Treaty of California micronations disbanded and West Who became the last independent nation of the group. West Who declared a policy of neutrality and isolationism.

West Who Five dollar bill from 1970