Petition created to merge Dakotas into one state

[golden eagle]

Changing it to East and West Dakota would make more sense IMHO.

How about Legends & Leaders?

Wasn't that the name of the Big Ten divisions when the expanded and split into the two divisions?

[Big John]

^^Yes, that's the joke.

[kurumi]

One of the historical reasons for admitting the Dakota Territory as 2 states was to get four additional GOP senators instead of two.

[froggie]

and New Hampshire/Vermont

Really?  Hell, I could make an argument that Vermont should be SPLIT 3 ways...not merged.

[Roadgeekteen]

and New Hampshire/Vermont

Really?  Hell, I could make an argument that Vermont should be SPLIT 3 ways...not merged.

Split three ways? But Vermont is already the third smallest state.

[kphoger]

and New Hampshire/Vermont

Really?  Hell, I could make an argument that Vermont should be SPLIT 3 ways...not merged.

Split three ways? But Vermont is already the third smallest state.

True but, if you go out to dinner with friends at Applebee's, it often makes sense to split the bill three ways.  And a whole state–even Vermont–is much, much bigger than that.

[hotdogPi]

While we're at it:

1. Give the Florida Panhandle to Alabama.
2. Split California into three states (without splitting metro areas).
3. Give the Upper Peninsula to Wisconsin. (Unlike the others, this change is cosmetic with rare exceptions.)
4. Admit Puerto Rico into the Union.
5. Anything in Illinois north of Chicago becomes part of Wisconsin.
6. Dissolve Idaho by giving it to Washington, Oregon, and Montana – but not too much into Oregon.
7. North Carolina west of Charlotte becomes part of Tennessee.
8. Give the extended Texas Panhandle (basically Lubbock to Wichita Falls) to Oklahoma and everything east of Houston/Tyler/Paris to Louisiana, and then split Texas into two states. Splitting without giving those portions away will have the opposite of the intended effect.
9. Split NYC proper and Long Island from the rest of New York. Yes, this means Yonkers goes into upstate. (This one could backfire even as written, but putting the line farther north would have a greater chance of backfiring.)
10. Create the first majority African-American state from the western half of Mississippi, a bit of Arkansas, and Memphis and immediate suburbs. The rest of Mississippi gets merged into Alabama.

Did I miss anything? (Some of you will figure out what I'm doing with these proposals.)

[oscar]

While we're at it:

1. Give the Florida Panhandle to Alabama.
2. Split California into three states (without splitting metro areas).
3. Give the Upper Peninsula to Wisconsin. (Unlike the others, this change is cosmetic with rare exceptions.)
4. Admit Puerto Rico into the Union.
5. Anything in Illinois north of Chicago becomes part of Wisconsin.
6. Dissolve Idaho by giving it to Washington, Oregon, and Montana — but not too much into Oregon.
7. North Carolina west of Charlotte becomes part of Tennessee.
8. Give the extended Texas Panhandle (basically Lubbock to Wichita Falls) to Oklahoma and everything east of Houston/Tyler/Paris to Louisiana, and then split Texas into two states. Splitting without giving those portions away will have the opposite of the intended effect.
9. Split NYC proper and Long Island from the rest of New York. Yes, this means Yonkers goes into upstate. (This one could backfire even as written, but putting the line farther north would have a greater chance of backfiring.)
10. Create the first majority African-American state from the western half of Mississippi, a bit of Arkansas, and Memphis and immediate suburbs. The rest of Mississippi gets merged into Alabama.

Did I miss anything? (Some of you will figure out what I'm doing with these proposals.)

Everything except #4, as well as the proposal to merge the Dakotas, will require consent of one or more state legislatures, as well as Congress. Even one of the simpler ones (splitting up California or New York, which would require consent of only one legislature and Congress) has been a tough sell in California lately, as discussed in multiple threads on this forum.

The other one not on your list, but often discussed on this forum (so no need to repeat that discussion here), is returning most or all of the District of Columbia to Maryland. Good luck with pulling that off!

[Scott5114]

I used to fantasize about Oklahoma merging into Kansas and having KDOT take over our roads.

The panhandle would look REALLY silly then, though.

[SP Cook]

Obviously, this is an academic exercise, as there will never be any shifting of state lines, and the difficulty of splitting or merging the 1000 functions of state governments is beyond complex. 

However, due, in the east, to crazy western claims of the original states (compounded in WV's case by the tragic separation of WV from VA) ; and in the rest of the country, by rushing states to statehood before full settlement and crazy borders drawn in Washington by people who, mostly, had never been west of Cincinnati, the states often comprise people with little in common with one another, and of vastly different sizes. 

It is not hard to come up with 50 units, even using current county lines, of people with similar interests, culture, and economy.

[formulanone]

Changing it to East and West Dakota would make more sense IMHO.

How about Legends & Leaders?

Wasn't that the name of the Big Ten divisions when the expanded and split into the two divisions?

I think Norris and Smythe sounds better.

[wanderer2575]

"MegaKota" sounds like either a bad supermarket chain or an intestinal disorder.

[Buck87]

(Some of you will figure out what I'm doing with these proposals.)

Nope, not sure what reference your making, though a couple things on your list reminded me of this:

[tchafe1978]

While we're at it:

1. Give the Florida Panhandle to Alabama.
2. Split California into three states (without splitting metro areas).
3. Give the Upper Peninsula to Wisconsin. (Unlike the others, this change is cosmetic with rare exceptions.)
4. Admit Puerto Rico into the Union.
5. Anything in Illinois north of Chicago becomes part of Wisconsin.
6. Dissolve Idaho by giving it to Washington, Oregon, and Montana – but not too much into Oregon.
7. North Carolina west of Charlotte becomes part of Tennessee.
8. Give the extended Texas Panhandle (basically Lubbock to Wichita Falls) to Oklahoma and everything east of Houston/Tyler/Paris to Louisiana, and then split Texas into two states. Splitting without giving those portions away will have the opposite of the intended effect.
9. Split NYC proper and Long Island from the rest of New York. Yes, this means Yonkers goes into upstate. (This one could backfire even as written, but putting the line farther north would have a greater chance of backfiring.)
10. Create the first majority African-American state from the western half of Mississippi, a bit of Arkansas, and Memphis and immediate suburbs. The rest of Mississippi gets merged into Alabama.

Did I miss anything? (Some of you will figure out what I'm doing with these proposals.)

Wisconsin will gladly take the U.P. because the people are just like us. Illinois can keep Chicago, however. We want no part of anything to do with the FIBs. 😁

[Roadgeekteen]

(Some of you will figure out what I'm doing with these proposals.)

Nope, not sure what reference your making, though a couple things on your list reminded me of this:

At this point give all of Alaska to Canada.

[Beltway]

How about correcting the fact that Maryland got all of the Potomac River?

[hbelkins]

How about correcting the fact that Maryland got all of the Potomac River?

That's no different than Kentucky and West Virginia getting all the Ohio, or West Virginia getting all of the Big Sandy.

4. Admit Puerto Rico into the Union.

Not until they adopt English as their official language.

Obviously, this is an academic exercise, as there will never be any shifting of state lines, and the difficulty of splitting or merging the 1000 functions of state governments is beyond complex.

Actually, wasn't there a shift of the NC/SC line in the past few years?

[Roadgeekteen]

How about correcting the fact that Maryland got all of the Potomac River?

That's no different than Kentucky and West Virginia getting all the Ohio, or West Virginia getting all of the Big Sandy.

4. Admit Puerto Rico into the Union.

Not until they adopt English as their official language.

Why? States don't have to speak english. It would help Puerto Rico to be in the union as a state and it would be tough for them to switch everything to English.

[KeithE4Phx]

How about correcting the fact that Maryland got all of the Potomac River?

That's no different than Kentucky and West Virginia getting all the Ohio, or West Virginia getting all of the Big Sandy.

4. Admit Puerto Rico into the Union.

Not until they adopt English as their official language.

Why? States don't have to speak english. It would help Puerto Rico to be in the union as a state and it would be tough for them to switch everything to English.

The United States has NO official language.  Period.  It would take a Constitutional amendment to assign one, and that just ain't gonna happen. 

It wouldn't matter if Puerto Ricans spoke English, Spanish, Chinese, or Gibberish.  They are still American citizens and have the same rights as all other Americans, save for voting for President, since only citizens of states can do that.

Some states have English as their official language, but that's usually only for official government business outside of elections.  That's OK, per the 10th Amendment.

[Bruce]

22/50 states do not have English as an official language, including some of the largest and most-populated.

Texas, yes TEXAS, never adopted it.

Hawaiian is an official language for Hawaii (alongside English), and Alaska recognizes 20 indigenous languages as their official ones for symbolic use (but not English).

Trying to force the English-only issue is really stupid and pointless. It goes against the very principles that America was founded on.

---

Back on topic: Puerto Rico, DC, Guam, and American Samoa should all be admitted at states, given the decades-long bullshit they've had to put up with as territories.

[abefroman329]

How about correcting the fact that Maryland got all of the Potomac River?

DC got some of it.

[Buck87]

How about correcting the fact that Maryland got all of the Potomac River?

DC got some of it.

The part that used to be Maryland

[oscar]

The United States has NO official language.  Period.

Actually, it does (at least for governmental purposes -- what individuals and businesses speak is pretty much up to them), even if there is no law saying so explicitly. For example, the Constitution and all our other laws are written in English, and with uncommon exceptions (such as treaties, where there is an official translation into the other country's official language(s)) it is only the English text that is binding.

In any case, the language barrier is an issue with Puerto Rico statehood, though there are other and probably more serious issues, starting with a significant independence movement that the U.S. might not want to inherit.

[Beltway]

The United States has NO official language.

Have you heard of lingua franca?

[Beltway]

How about correcting the fact that Maryland got all of the Potomac River?

That's no different than Kentucky and West Virginia getting all the Ohio, or West Virginia getting all of the Big Sandy.

Two wrongs don't make a right! :-)