What are the Odds?

Last significant realignment of a US States boundaries was the shotgun divorce of the western Virginia counties in the 1860s.

What would be required for anything equally significant to occur either in the 20th Century, or into the next decade to 2025? That is, either a exisitng state splitting apart, or some sort of consolidation of two?
 
Well, have you heard of the proposed state of Jefferson?

270px-USA_Jefferson_State.png


320px-Jefferson_state_flag.svg.png

In 1941, much of Northern California and and some of Oregon wanted to form a state together, and the movement garnered some success, but a little thing called WWII got in the way of actual proceedings to formalize it.
 
Last significant realignment of a US States boundaries was the shotgun divorce of the western Virginia counties in the 1860s.

What would be required for anything equally significant to occur either in the 20th Century, or into the next decade to 2025? That is, either a exisitng state splitting apart, or some sort of consolidation of two?

CThe Supreme Ct had a case regarding Ellis Island. I am willing to bet every continental territory changed there borders.
 
Well, have you heard of the proposed state of Jefferson?

270px-USA_Jefferson_State.png


320px-Jefferson_state_flag.svg.png

In 1941, much of Northern California and and some of Oregon wanted to form a state together, and the movement garnered some success, but a little thing called WWII got in the way of actual proceedings to formalize it.

Didn't the proposal to form the state of Jefferson get filed the day before Pearl Harbor?
 
Alaskan boundary dispute settled in 1903

The last major American State boundary was changed in 1903 when the Alaskan Boundary Dispute was settled in 1903.
Mediator Kaizer Whilhelm caved in to American demands (farthest inland) depriving Canada of all but 3.5 Pacific Coast ports.

As for speculation about fictional redrawing of state lines .... all you need is massive urbanization changing the character of a major city. Once that major city exceeds half the population of the state it develops a new character distinct from the ret of the state.
For example, te summer I worked at Skydive Long Island, I saw the State of New York as three distinct regions. Long Island (especially the Hamptons) was a playground for wealthy New Yorkers. New Uork City has its own, distinct, hyper-aggressive character, while upstate New York is more relaxed like Canada or New England.
Redrawing New York State boundaries on economic and cultural lines would see Manhattan and Long Island become a new state because they have little in common with upstate New York.

Meanwhile tourists are baffled as to why Northern California's humid redwood forests are even on the same state as the arid wastelands of Death Valkey, the Mojave Desert, the Imperial Valley, San Diego County and Los Angeles County.
 
Well, have you heard of the proposed state of Jefferson?

270px-USA_Jefferson_State.png


320px-Jefferson_state_flag.svg.png

In 1941, much of Northern California and and some of Oregon wanted to form a state together, and the movement garnered some success, but a little thing called WWII got in the way of actual proceedings to formalize it.

The problem with Jefferson is the population is small. Why should yet another small population area get equal representation in the Senate? And yes, that would be a key part of the debate.
 
The problem with Jefferson is the population is small. Why should yet another small population area get equal representation in the Senate? And yes, that would be a key part of the debate.

Well, aside from WWII happening, that was one of the primary reasons that Jefferson wouldn't have happened.
 
In the early 1980s, there was a non-binding referendum in eight New Jersey counties (Atlantic; Burlington; Camden; Cape May; Cumberland; Gloucester; Ocean; Salem) as to whether these eight should split off and form a new state, since the character of southern NJ is decidedly different from that of northern NJ.

Seven of eight (Ocean as the exception) voted in favor. And that was the end of that. There's been nothing on this proposal in about 35 years.
 
Funny you should mention this now; I've recently been looking into this myself. Here's a list of proposed State Partitions. The main problem with getting any of these proposals through is that there was no real demand for them, because, in my opinion, the US political system was too stable and no one really served to benefit from from it. In addition there's also the proposal to turn Washington D.C. into a state if that counts.
 
Too Political

The problem of breaking up existing states is that it will rapidly devolve into a partisan political game. For example, Northern California, which is more conservative, would receive Republican support to secede from the rest of the state. The payoff would be another red state, while at the same time weakening the political power of a blue state. Of course this would be blocked at every turn by Democrats for obvious reasons. The same would be true if a liberal area of a red state, such as Texas, wanted to break away and form their own state. It would be a purely partisan political fight that would drag on for years. Intelligent, rational people would not even grab onto that tar baby. Look what happens every time there is a discussion about making Puerto Rico or Washington D.C. a state.
 
The problem of breaking up existing states is that it will rapidly devolve into a partisan political game. ... .... It would be a purely partisan political fight that would drag on for years. Intelligent, rational people would not even grab onto that tar baby. Look what happens every time there is a discussion about making Puerto Rico or Washington D.C. a state.

Even altering county boundaries is fairly rare, for the same reasons already given in the thread. Clearly altering a states borders is going to require a demand by the population concerned that outweighs the common obstacles

Even altering city borders is tough. Few have emulated the UniGov reorganization of Indianapolis/Marion county, however much sense it might make.
 
Do county boundaries matter in most parts of the country? I thought most of them can't make laws or levy taxes, so there's not much demand to readjust them.

As for the states, while there are changes I'd like to be made (split California into areas with more manageable populations), I don't trust the politicians who'd be involved in splitting them. And the politicians don't trust each other. So, they stay the same.
 
In Indiana counties promulgate all sorts of local laws. A lot of them concerning land use, construction standards, ect... A few years ago in Tippecanoe County there was a tax tacked onto restaurant meals to fund some sort of community event project. A attempt to increase centralization of property taxes at the state level crashed & burned a decade ago when the state Dept of Revenue barfed up its increased role in administrating the tax revenue.
 
The last major American State boundary was changed in 1903 when the Alaskan Boundary Dispute was settled in 1903.
Mediator Kaizer Whilhelm caved in to American demands (farthest inland) depriving Canada of all but 3.5 Pacific Coast ports.

As for speculation about fictional redrawing of state lines .... all you need is massive urbanization changing the character of a major city. Once that major city exceeds half the population of the state it develops a new character distinct from the ret of the state.
For example, te summer I worked at Skydive Long Island, I saw the State of New York as three distinct regions. Long Island (especially the Hamptons) was a playground for wealthy New Yorkers. New Uork City has its own, distinct, hyper-aggressive character, while upstate New York is more relaxed like Canada or New England.
Redrawing New York State boundaries on economic and cultural lines would see Manhattan and Long Island become a new state because they have little in common with upstate New York.

Meanwhile tourists are baffled as to why Northern California's humid redwood forests are even on the same state as the arid wastelands of Death Valkey, the Mojave Desert, the Imperial Valley, San Diego County and Los Angeles County.
South Carolina and GA have a case in the Supremes over board rights
 
South Carolina and GA have a case in the Supremes over board rights

Thats still on the table !!!

I remember back in the early 1970s the Governor of Georgia making a joke of signing a order mobilizing some state National Guard units for routine summer training. He remarked about sending them off to defend the border. Some local reporter did a couple paragraphs on the remark and papers nation wide took it off the wire service for a back page filler.
 
In order to carve up a state you need the state legislature to agree for starts, if the new entity crosses borders then both/all states have to agree. Then get Congress on board. Finally, probably a plebiscite in the affected area. Pretty high hurdles. The only exception is Texas because it was given the right to subdivide itself into to up to five states as part of the deal that brought it in to the USA. However that would still have to go through a bunch of hoops, it just reduces the number.

West Virginia worked because the Virginia legislature was out of the loop due to the rebellion.
 
The problem of breaking up existing states is that it will rapidly devolve into a partisan political game. For example, Northern California, which is more conservative, would receive Republican support to secede from the rest of the state.

What? Northern California is demographically dominated by the Bay Area. If you use the Kern-Fresno County line as your dividing line, then NorCal voted for Obama in 2008 by a slightly larger margin than SoCal.
 

jahenders

Banned
While living in Washington state for a few months years ago, there were discussions in the papers of forming a state that included E. WA, E. OR, and N. ID with a capitol at Spokane. That could be a viable state.

Aside from that, there have been several proposals (96, 99, 05) to split WA in two at the Cascades.

Just a few years ago in CO several counties talked about seceding from CO and forming their own state or joining a neighbor. They wouldn't have been viable as a state without joining someone else.

Well, have you heard of the proposed state of Jefferson?

270px-USA_Jefferson_State.png


320px-Jefferson_state_flag.svg.png

In 1941, much of Northern California and and some of Oregon wanted to form a state together, and the movement garnered some success, but a little thing called WWII got in the way of actual proceedings to formalize it.
 
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