Showing posts with label statehood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label statehood. Show all posts

November 8 - Montana becomes a State

 Posted on November 8, 2021


This is an update of my post published on November 8, 2010:




Montana became a state of the U.S. in 1889. This state is not very crowded. As a matter of fact, Montana's postal code abbreviation (MT) is particularly appropriate, as license plates and stickers can read:

Montana is MT

This of course could be read, “Montana is empty.”



But this “Big Sky” state lures millions of tourists every year to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, Little Bighorn historical site, and the Louis and Clark Caverns. The postal code abbreviation is also appropriate because “Mt.” is sometimes used as an abbreviation for “mountain,” and the western third of Montana is covered with mountain ranges.


When we talk about how crowded or not-crowded a place is, we are talking about population density. Statistics about population density end up talking about averages, because we take the total population of the place and divide that number by the total area of the place. We get data we can compare:

Montana has about 7 people per square mile.
Japan has 899 people per square mile!


Some maps show population density.


Here is a quick quiz about population density in the U.S. and the world:

  1. Montana is only the third least dense state in the U.S. Name a state that is even less densely populated.

  2. Montana is about the same size as which nation?
    a. Australia
    b. Japan
    c. Austria

  3. What is the most densely populated nation in the world, with more than 43 THOUSAND people per square mile?
    a. Monaco
    b. Bangladesh
    c. India

  4. What is the least densely populated continent in the world?

  5. What is the least densely populated country in the world?
    a. Russia
    b. Iceland
    c. Mongolia

  6. Which of these countries has a population density around 1,200 people per square mile?
    a. China
    b. South Korea
    c. Egypt
Here is another kind of population density map.
On this map of France, can you spot Paris?


ANSWERS: 
1. Alaska and Wyoming are both less densely populated than Montana
2. b
3. a
4. Antarctica
5. c
6. b


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August 23 - The State of Franklin Established (Wait! "The State of Franklin???)

 Posted on August 23, 2021


This is an update of my post published August 23, 2010:




Did you know that part of the land that now makes up Tennessee was once the state of Franklin?

The pioneers who had settled this land, which originally belonged to North Carolina but had been given to Congress and then taken back again, became upset with the government of North Carolina and decided to set up their own independent state. On this date in 1784, representatives of four North Carolina counties declared their lands independent of North Carolina.



This historic building served as the Capitol of the State
of Franklin during the four years of its existence.

Note, however, that as far as North Carolina was concerned,
and as far as the Continental Congress was concerned, the
State of Franklin didn't exist for four years, because it didn't
exist AT ALL! 


The first proposed name for the 14th state was Frankland, but when the Continental Congress wouldn't admit the tiny state to the union, leaders changed the name to Franklin. They were hoping that fans of Benjamin Franklin would look on their state with favor. However, Congress never did admit the state to the union, and after four years, Franklin folded. The counties went scuttling back to North Carolina, wanting protection from the state militia.

Like I said, the counties became part of Tennessee in 1796.



There are still a few remnants of the State of Franklin: there is a State of Franklin Bank and a State of Franklin Road in modern-day Tennessee.


Did you know...?

  • In 1854, the California State Assembly passed a plan to cut the state into three parts, Colorado (the name wasn't in use as a state name then), Shasta, and California. (Actually, there have been more than 200 attempts to break up California, including small chunks of CA trying to break away from the large state.

  • The State of Jefferson, created from Northern California and Southern Oregon, was ceremonially declared in 1941.


The two X's on the flag of the State of Jefferson
represent the doubt-cross, the sense of abandonment
felt by two different regions: Northern California and 
Southern Oregon.

  • In 1969, some people ran for city government in New York City under the platform that NYC should secede from New York State and become the 51st state!

  • There are a few groups today that want to secede from the United States. The Alaskan Independence Party, famous because Sarah Palin's husband Todd was a registered member for seven years, wants Alaska to become an independent nation, and there have been petitions for California's secession on the internet.




Also on this date:





Birthday of songwriter Malvina Reynolds






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June 20 - Welcome, West Virginia!

Posted on June 20, 2018


Right now there is a proposition on the November ballot that California be carved up into three different states.

I think that would be a terrible idea - but that makes me wonder about all the times that states were carved up into smaller states. Like, what's with North Dakota and South Dakota, North Carolina and South Carolina, and today's statehood anniversary, West Virginia, and its original state home, Virginia?

These states are separate...for different reasons!

In the Dakotas' case, they split while territories rather than as states, and it was differences in economies and populations, and it was shenanigans over moving the capital of the territory, and it was cultural splits that made the territories want statehood at different times.



In the Carolinas' case, they also split before statehood, when they were just British colonies. South Carolina formed around rice cultivation, with a whole of slaves laboring in rice fields for British colonists who quickly grew rich. North Carolina had slavery as well, but the enslaved laborers were a much smaller percentage of the population. Instead, the bulk of the population was made up of small-time tobacco farmers, former indentured servants, and discontented people who felt slighted by their richer neighbors to the north (Virginia) and the south (South Carolina).


And now for today's special state, West Virginia. It really, truly was a part of the state of Virginia. When did it break away? And why?

Because of the Civil War.

Because of the South's secession from the Union.

Because of loyalty-to-country.

West Virginia is the only state that was formed by seceding from a Confederate state. In a convention in 1861, counties in northwestern Virginia decided to break away from Virginia, and the new state was formally admitted to the Union on this date in 1863.



The state is known for a BUNCH of outdoor opportunities, especially caving...




...and fishing...




...but also hiking, biking, rock climbing, and more!



 
 




Also on this date:
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