Emily Strocher (The Beacon)
By Emily Strocher, Staff Commentary
Remember that time our childhood educations were crushed by Pluto losing its planet status? Our mnemonic devices were destroyed. "My Very Educated Mother" could no longer "Serve Us Nine Pizzas". Prepare for your eight-planet universe to be rocked once more. Possibly, had it not been for the timing of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, we could be living in one of the fifty-one states of America right now.
Those of you who live in California, or even southern Oregon might remember seeing signs for "The State of Jefferson" during the lovely drive up to Portland. On my latest sojourn north, I finally bothered to look it up, if only to entertain myself for a few minutes. Until then, I had always written it off as probably being some local uber conservative re-incarnation of the Tea Party. Strange things happen the farther away you get from Sacramento, but the State of Jefferson is at least an interesting strange.
In 1941, a secession movement grew strength. The citizens of very north-west California and very south-west Oregon were unhappy with the amount of roads that existed at the time, which made it difficult to transport the region's abundant timber and minerals. They were not impressed with what was going on in Salem and Sacramento, and decided to give up on trying to work out their problems with the two different state governments, and to instead form their own. That November, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors set aside $100 for researching the possibility of secession. A contest was held to name the new possible state, and the lucky individual who came up with the State of Jefferson won themselves a whole $2. On November 27, a Proclamation of Independence declared that "Jefferson is now in patriotic rebellion against the States of California and Oregon. This State has seceded from California and Oregon this Thursday, November 27, 1941."
As the movement grew, the San Francisco Chronicle assigned reporter Stanton Delaplane to cover the rebellion. Delaplane went on to win the 1942 Pulitzer Prize for Reporting for his work on the State of Jefferson, as well as being credited with bringing Irish coffee to the United States.
The movement peaked in early December. On Dec. 4, a governor for the state was inaugurated. Representatives even came up from Hollywood to film the event, and the footage was due to air the week of Dec. 8. Unfortunately, we will never know how far the movement could have actually gone, as Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7. Defending America was deemed a far higher priority than dealing with the woes of some backwoods people.
The State of Jefferson still lives in the hearts of those who put up those road-side signs, and maintain the state's website. If you ever want a new sticker to give your water bottle some added flair, check out their store. Most importantly, be glad whenever you see a flag without that awkward 51st star.
Emily Strocher is a sophomore secondary education major. She can be reached at strocher15@up.edu
