The Two-State Solution [a view from the Left]

The Stranger (Seattle) ^ | 10 March 2005 | Sandeep Kaushik

[thoughtomator]

Know where I can find the details of that? I'm a history buff.

[Publius]

Living in the "left half" of Washington state, I'd rather not turn it into a Palestinian state. If Israel is to transfer the Palestinians anywhere, it should be Iraq, not Seattle.

[SedVictaCatoni]

Extending Poohbah's answer:

After the secession of Virginia in 1861, Virginia's loyalist counties claimed that they were the true Virginia government and formed a convention at Wheeling, which met from Nov. 1861 to Feb. 1862. The federal government recognized the Wheeling government, which then gave western Virginia permission to form its own state. Congress admitted the new state to the Union at the end of 1862.

Q. What happened to the "government of Virginia" if Wheeling and all of the west seceded?
A. It became the state government of the part of Virginia which the Union army occupied - i.e. Arlington and Alexandria.

Q. What terrible mistake did the Wheeling Convention make?
A. Choosing "West Virginia" as a name for the new state, instead of the incomparably cooler "Kanawha"!

[SedVictaCatoni]

Perhaps we need a "convention of the western states", represented at the county level and officially sanctioned by Congress, to redraw the state boundaries. To observe the Constitution, all affected state legislatures would have to sprinkle holy water on the final proposal, as would Congress. This might solve the problem.

I think the problem with that would be that so many new states would be created. The requirement for statehood is only 40000-60000 or so. Who wouldn't want two senators?

If you raised the minimum number to a more modern average, some places (like Wyoming, or the Dakotas) might well not be able to re-establish themselves as states, even if they didn't want to change anything.

[Libertina]

MY solution: put yellow crime scene tape around the entire Seattle metropolis, wait a year or two for them to implode, then remove tape and dispose of debris. Any person attempting to sneak around the tape must prove basic understanding of elementary economic principles and the WA ST constitution before being allowed out. ;)

[Jsalley82]

I know how to explain West Virginia: Lincoln cared very little for following the Constitution. He supported the only unconstitutional secession that ever occurred, yet opposed the legal and moral secession of the Southern states.

[Non-Sequitur]

So did the Virginia legislature consent to the formation of West Virginia?

In a manner of speaking. Legislators representing the western counties of Virginia formed a Unionist Virginia legislature and got Congress to recognize them as the legitimate represenatative body for the whole state. That legislature did vote to partition itself and Congress approved the partition. And voila`, West Virginia.

[Non-Sequitur]

Lincoln was pretty good at granting exceptions to the Constitution. Especially if there was political gain in it for him.

Like when?

[Non-Sequitur]

Here's a nice summary of the whole West Virginia statehood timeline. Link.