Chapter 1 - Introduction

Throughout the history of the United States there have been a number of proposed additional states, such as the state of Franklin located in Tennessee, the state of Lincoln located in Idaho and Washington, and the focus of this assignment, the state of Jefferson located in northern California and southern Oregon. These regions often have largely separate economies, unique cultures, or different environments from the rest of their state. However, because succession from a state requires approval of both Congress and the legislatures of all the states involved, none of these states were admitted into the union.

Today, the Jefferson state region includes the following counties: Coos, Douglas, Klamath, Lake, Curry, Jackson, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Eureka, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen, Pllumas, Tehama, Butte, Glenn, and Mendocino. The image below shows the region in red.

The state of Jefferson (named after Thomas Jefferson), while not officially recognized, can still be used to identify the area as a region. This region is highly independent from California and Oregon, with its own individual history, culture, problems, and environment.