The State of Jefferson

Over the years California has been facing more and more challenges.  The state is in financial crisis, education is being cut, and thousands of people are out of work.  California serves as a home to 38 million people, many feel that that they are not being represented fairly in Sacramento or Washington D.C.  This is why numerous individuals have wanted to split California into two.

Since the 1840’s various people have wanted to fuse Northern California with Southern Oregon to create the State of Jefferson.  But it wasn’t till nearly one hundred years later on November 17, 1941 that the counties on both borders came together and had a meeting.  “The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate 100 dollars to research the possibility of seceding from the state of California and joining the other counties to form a new 49th state.”[1]  The idea of the State of Jefferson gained popularity quickly and was competing for the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle nearly everyday.  On December fourth they elected the judge of Crescent City, John L. Childs, to become the first governor of the state.  They were so pleased with the progress they had made, that they had a parade to celebrate how far they had come.  But sadly three days later all their hopes and dreams of a new state came to abrupt ending, when Pearl Harbor was bombed.  Now that the war is long gone, the State of Jefferson is again a topic of conversation, not as the forty-ninth state but as the fifty-first state.  It will not be easy getting the new state approved, first it must be approved by the California Legislature and then by Congress.  If all goes well, “There could be as many as sixteen northern California counties that could join in, creating an area that would make up more than a quarter of the state's land mass, about twice the size of New Hampshire with about four hundred and sixty-seven thousand residents."[2]  The new state would span from some of “California's most majestic scenery, from rugged coastlines to agriculture-dominated valleys, Mount Shasta and Redwood National Park.”[3]  As of now, officials from Glenn, Modoc, Siskiyou, Sutter, and Yuba counties have voted and are ready to unite for this movement of the fifty first state.  

Now many of you are probably wondering how this is controversial.  Many people are for The State of Jefferson because it promises a smaller government, lower taxes, and more representation.  While other people fight back and say The State of Jefferson can not pay for education, social welfare, health, and other programs and services the way California does as a whole, so it would not be worth it to split apart and lose these luxuries?  Throughout my research I learned that on an average the people of Northern California are among the poorest of the state, but Southern California has a lot more people living on the streets and more illegal immigrants to support.  With this being said if our tax money stayed right here in Northern California I believe we would be able to support ourselves, therefore I believe California should become two states.  Mohandas Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”    

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[1]  Jefferson State.  http://www.jeffersonstate.com

[2] The Movement to Keep the 51^st State Alive.  http://www.thewire.com

[3] 2 of 3 California secession measures defeated.  http://www.redding.com