What States or Portions Thereof of The USA should be told to GET OUT!

According to this site at the University of Virginia, which claims to be using the 1880 Edition of Joe Harris' book (Joel Chandler Harris):

"'I don't keer w'at you do wid me, Brer Fox,' sezee, 'so you don't fling me in dat brier-patch. Roas' me, Brer Fox,' sezee, 'but don't fling me in dat brier-patch,' sezee.

(emphasis added, obviously)

briar patch
Part of Speech: n
Definition: any thick, dense tangle of thorny vines; an area containing prickly plants, such as greenbrier or rosebushes
Example: Winnie-the-Pooh and friends made their way through the briar patch.

Notice the spelling of "greenbrier"

Another spelling separated by culture? What's French for Brier/Briar ?

bruyère


Joe(I blame the Norse)Nation

Hey, did I mention that we should totally cut off the that stupid octopus arm part of West Virginia that's between Pennsylvania and Ohio.



Let them flip a coin as to who wants it.

I hate it because when you are driving East from Oklahoma, and it's taken hours to get across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, then suddenly you hit West Virginia and before you can take a breath, you see the sign "Leaving West Virginia " and you think"Wow, now we are really flying along!" but then you enter Pennfrickingsylvania which seems to take DAYs to get anywhere near the middle of the thing.
It's depressing.

West Virginia's arm gives people false hope.

I hope Ohio wins it.

Joe(It will smooth out the edges of the State.)Nation

In 1861, the western counties of Virginia seceded from the state after the state seceded from the Union. In 1863, those counties were allowed to enter the Union as the state of West Virginia. (Which, technically, violates the constitution: Article IV, Section Three, first paragraph, reads in part: New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new States shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State . . . )

During that war, the Yankees would pour millions of dollars worth of military supplies into Harper's Ferry, which had also been the site of a federal arsenal at the beginning of the war. In 1861, Thomas Jackson (soon to be called Stonewall Jackson) marched in, packed up the arsenal, and shipped it off to Richmond, along with all the other moveable federal property in the town. When the Confederates left to go kick Yankee ass at Bull Run, the Yankees obligingly moved back in with millions more in military stores, including millions of dollars in medical supplies. In the spring of 1862, Jackson showed up again, packed it all up, and shipped it off to Richmond. Lee did it again in the autumn of 1862, and in the summer of 1863. Kind of like one of those unclaimed freight stores.

That little part of West Virginia to which you refer contains Harper's Ferry, and the right of way of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The B & O was the "lifeline" of the Union, connecting all those pasty-faced mechanics in the east with the hicks from the Midwest. We couldn't leave it in redneck hands!

Not to get all serious, but because states taken as a whole more or less reflect the views of the states' voters' at any given time, and thus states that are red affect those that are blue and vice versa when it comes to matters like the U.S. House and Senate. One person at a time is a tad piss piddling, parody concept wise, though from any side, including that of independents and greens, loss of votes by the competition just leaving (or changing their minds) would be a plus.

So how come there are no Green states, eh? (no answer required)

Very technically, though, West Virginia was no longer within the jurisdiction of Virginia --- having had seceded from it, and therefore being akin to a US territory when the US admitted it. (Man, I love being a constitutional armchair lawyer!)

There are allegations of intimidation and vote rigging in the secession of those counties--once again, they included the right of way of the B & O. I think they bussed in black voters from Maine.

Interesting, but not the part of West Virginia I want to chop off. It's that little strip sticking up at the North end of the State.

Joe(I'll go make you a map.)Nation

Meanwhile

Enjoy:



Joe(wish it wasn't fake)Nation

Hey, careful. I was born in that part of the country. Wheeling. We moved to Ohio soon though. Dad didn't want to keep working in a steel mill.

In fact, there was monument in the corner of my grandpa's property that was the end of the Mason/Dixon line. Draw the line to the Ohio River and his house was the first one on the southern side.

The thing is in the lower right corner.



Fricking thing doesn't even fit on a page!

Joe(I vote Ohio gets it!!)Nation

Do you think the winter's would be colder when they become part of Canada? I lived in Northern Maine for a bit and the winters were acceptable providing you were prepared for them.

God, Wheeling's in that part--you're not gonna get Ohio or Pennsylvania to take that. Hell, Ohio already has Zanesville, and you wanna wish Wheeling on 'em ? ! ? ! ?

McG:
I guess you aren't familiar with the story of the old rancher out in the West who one day opened his front door to find a fellow standing there with a briefcase in one hand and a map in the other.

The fellow says "I'm from the government and we've just completed a new survey of the State Line. I'm here to tell that we discovered an error was made way back and this ranch is really in Colorado and not Wyoming."

"Hot damn and hooray " says the old rancher, "I don't think I could have taken another one of those god-damned Wyoming winters!!


Joe(It's a matter of perspective, I guess)Nation

I know.
Wheeling is bad.
It's got the slickest bridge in the world, if you are trying get to CT by Thanksgiving.

Did the West Virginians pick Wheeling to be the Capital of the new State because it was tucked up between Ohio and Pennsylvania and they figured the rebels would never get that far??

Joe(if so, Schmart!)Nation

That's almost the response Quebec got the last time they talked about independence. The politicians didn't get it, but the voters did.



(plus the Innu said they were going to take the opportunity to take back all of the natural resources ... the same thing could happen in Texas ... )

Anybody taken the morality test at the bottom of the page ?

What's that about? I think I can tell based upon the picture.

You talking about the old Wheeling bride or the new one? They tore the old one down. It was a metal grate you could see through. I loved it as a kid.

One of my ancestors was born in fort wheeling, 1700s. Was an indian fighter and his claim to fame was he could reload a musket while running full speed. A useful skill in those days.

best typo I've seen in months





I love it. I needed that

Correct. Plus there was a precedent for creating a new state out of an existing one. In 1820, in order to admit Missouri to the Union as a slave-holding state, the Province of Maine was lopped off from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and accepted as an independent non-slavery state. That's how the so-called Missouri Compromise was worked out.