The State of Jefferson

12 counties along the California-Oregon border are considering seceding from the Union to form the 51^st state, Jefferson.

A movement started in 1941, largely as a joke, the idea has steamrolled into a serious endeavor. The website dedicated to the idea has seen an explosion of traffic, over 20 area radio stations broadcast as "Jefferson Public Radio," numerous businesses fly the Jefferson flag (two, green Xs - said to pointedly illustrate the double-cross the counties have gotten from both states), and they are now seeking 1 million signatures to get the measure on the California ballot. A run-off candidate has made it his platform.

Many of the issues stem from liberal California politics and measures which have weakened the counties' economies by hampering their businesses. Lumber and wildlife industries have been retarded by laws to protect endangered species, water is shipped south, and jobs are so scarce that the average income is a fraction of the rest of the state's.

Gov. Schwarzenegger's spokesman said, "Never heard of Jefferson," and declined further comment.

Miners and loggers, angry over road conditions, started the movement just before WWII, upset over the lack of attention they received from the state capitols. It was abandoned in the interest of national unity after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

One supporter quipped, "If you want any chance of fixing things, sometimes you have to break the system. Now, we have to break the system."

Historical novelist, Gail Fiorini-Jenner notes similar ideas have surfaced as far back as the 1850s, with attempts to create the states of Klamath and Shasta.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008