Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum here, our fifty nifty United States may have
Speaker 1: had several more siblings if things had turned out differently.
Speaker 1: For Over the past one fifty years, more than a
Speaker 1: few additional states have been proposed, such as tex Lahoma
Speaker 1: and Nikko Jack. The state of tex Lahoma was proposed
Speaker 1: shortly before World War Two. The state would have been
Speaker 1: a combination of rural swaths of northern Texas and western Oklahoma.
Speaker 1: It was pushed for by residents of those areas who
Speaker 1: wanted better roads. The car was becoming ubiquitous at the time,
Speaker 1: but American roads were in terrible condition, especially in the
Speaker 1: oft overlooked rural areas. If tex Lahoma came to be
Speaker 1: citizens reckoned, they could build the good roads their region needed.
Speaker 1: The proposal, designed by Oklahoma a p Sites, did garner
Speaker 1: some attention, including the backing of then Vice President John
Speaker 1: Nance Garner the Fourth but the proposal died when the
Speaker 1: Texans realized it would result in their becoming tex Lahmans
Speaker 1: and losing their identity as Texans was unacceptable. In addition
Speaker 1: to that one, at least two states were proposed during
Speaker 1: the Civil War as protests against the Confederate States of
Speaker 1: America and its push for secession from the Union. Nika
Speaker 1: Jack was one a combination of southeast Tennessee and northern Alabama.
Speaker 1: This area was full of Southern Unionists, poor residents who
Speaker 1: did not own plantations or slaves, and were not in
Speaker 1: favor of secession or the Confederacy. Residents of these areas
Speaker 1: put forth their idea in the hopes of squashing the
Speaker 1: secessionist movement in their states, But after a majority of
Speaker 1: Alabama's and Tennesseeans voted in favor of secession, the nika
Speaker 1: Jack proponents decided it was too dangerous to proceed with
Speaker 1: their proposal, and the matter was dropped. The common folk
Speaker 1: residents of Scott County, Tennessee, also wanted to secede from
Speaker 1: their state leading up to the Civil War, believing that
Speaker 1: joining the Confederacy was neither necessary nor wise. But unlike
Speaker 1: the nika jack Ians, the people here were pro active
Speaker 1: and made a formal proclamation of secession to the state government,
Speaker 1: dubbing themselves the Free and Independent State of Scott. The
Speaker 1: state didn't fight Scott, it simply ignored the proclamation. In
Speaker 1: nineteen eight six, Scott County formally requested to be readmitted
Speaker 1: to Tennessee. The state accepted the request, and even through
Speaker 1: Scott a party and hey ever ponder Michigan's odd shape.
Speaker 1: The midwestern state is comprised of two pieces of land,
Speaker 1: a lower Mitten shaped portion and the Up or Upper Peninsula,
Speaker 1: which is actually attached to the neighboring state of Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: The first whispers of up separating from Michigan to become
Speaker 1: an independent state of Superior came in eighteen fifty eight,
Speaker 1: but the ensuing Civil War quashed the discussion. Yet the
Speaker 1: idea of creating Superior, named after the great Lake that
Speaker 1: the region hugs, has been broached several times over the
Speaker 1: ensuing century. While the initial proposal was for the new
Speaker 1: state to be comprised of the Up and some tracts
Speaker 1: of land in the upper portions of Lower Michigan and Wasson,
Speaker 1: more recent pushes were just for the up to become Superior.
Speaker 1: And meanwhile, speaking of peninsula's, Delaware is comprised of the
Speaker 1: bulk of a small peninsula on the east coast, with
Speaker 1: Maryland and Virginia laying claim too tiny chunks of it.
Speaker 1: Over the years, various proposals have been floated to create
Speaker 1: one peninsular state, with most plans calling for Maryland and
Speaker 1: Virginia to seed their land Delaware, the new state being
Speaker 1: called del Marva. Today's episode was written by Melanie rad
Speaker 1: Zekeie McManus and produced by Tyler Clang. To hear more
Speaker 1: about half baked States, my compatriots Ben Bolan and Noel
Speaker 1: Brown have a whole episode about it over on the
Speaker 1: Ridiculous History podcast The United States That Never Were checked out.
Speaker 1: If you enjoy our show and also not being naked,
Speaker 1: check out our shop online at t public dot com
Speaker 1: slash brain Stuff. We've got a bunch of back to
Speaker 1: school stuff like laptop cases too, and of course for
Speaker 1: lots more on this and other fully baked topics. Thank
Speaker 1: you very much. Check out our home planet, how stuff
Speaker 1: works dot com. H