The State of Jefferson is a proposed

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

that would span the contiguous, mostly

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oreg ...

and

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, where several attempts to separate from

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, respectively, have taken place. The region encompasses most of Northern California's land but does not include

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

or other

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

counties that account for the majority of Northern California's population. The name "Jefferson" is of uncertain origin.The state was "probably" named for

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. It may also have been a "winking

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

" to

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

, president of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. Journalist James Pogue, reporting on the state for ''Harper's'' in 2022, concluded that "no one is really sure" about the origin of the name. See Pogue (2022). It has been historically used for other proposed territories or states, too, such as the 19th century "

Jefferson Territory The Territory of Jefferson was an extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed from October 24, 1859 until the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. The Jefferson Territory, named for Founding Father and Un ...

,"The Jefferson Territory roughly covered modern-day

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. as well as a southern state that would be created from the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

region, as proposed by a 1915 bill in the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

. However, this region on the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

is the most famous. President

, who sent the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

into the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

in 1803, envisioned the establishment of an independent nation in the western portion of North America that he dubbed the "Republic of the Pacific"; hence the association of his name with

regional autonomy Regional autonomy is decentralization of governance to outlying regions. Recent examples of disputes over autonomy include: * The Basque region of Spain * The Catalan region of Spain * The Sicilia region of Italy * The disputes over autonomy of pr ...

. The movement for independence, rather than statehood, is known as ''Cascadia''. If the proposal were ever approved, the new state's

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

would have to be determined by a constitutional convention;

Yreka, California Yreka ( ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase fro ...

, was named the provisional capital in the original 1941 proposal,Peter Laufer, '' The Elusive State of Jefferson: A Journey Through the 51st State''. TwoDot, 2013. . although

Port Orford, Oregon Port Orford (Tolowa: tr’ee-ghi~’- ’an’ ) is a city in Curry County on the southern coast of Oregon, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census. The city takes its name from George Vancouver's original name for nearby Ca ...

, had also been up for consideration. Some supporters of the more recent revival have also identified

Redding, California Redding is the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California and the county seat of Shasta County. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border wi ...

, as a potential capital, even though Redding is not included in all versions of the proposal and its city council voted in 2013 to reject participation in the movement.

20th century

In October 1941, the Mayor of

, Gilbert Gable, said that the

counties of

Curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...

, Josephine,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, and

Klamath Klamath may refer to: Ethnic groups *Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon **Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon *Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people Places in the United States * ...

should join with the

counties of Del Norte, Siskiyou, and

Modoc Modoc may refer to: Ethnic groups *Modoc people, a Native American/First Nations people ** Modoc language **Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe of Modoc *Modoc War, the last armed resistance of the Modoc people in 1873 *The "Mo ...

to form a new state, later named Jefferson. He was motivated by the belief that these heavily rural areas were underrepresented in state government, which tended to cater to more populous areas. Gilbert Gable was joined in his efforts by Siskiyou State Senator

Randolph Collier Randolph Collier (July 26, 1902 – August 2, 1983) was a member of the California State Senate. He was Senator from the Second District from 1939 to 1967, and from the First District from 1967 to 1976. Initially a member of the Republican Pa ...

, whose support led to Yreka being picked as the capital. On November 27, 1941, a group of young men gained national media attention when, brandishing rifles and pistols, stopped traffic on U.S. Route 99 south of Yreka, the county seat of Siskiyou County, and handed out copies of a Proclamation of Independence, stating that the State of Jefferson was in "patriotic rebellion against the States of California and Oregon" and would continue to "secede every Thursday until further notice." The state split movement ended quickly, though not before Del Norte County District Attorney John Leon Childs (1863–1953) of Crescent City was inaugurated as the Governor of the State of Jefferson on December 4, 1941. The first blow was the death of Mayor Gable on December 2, followed by the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

on December 7. Those in favor of splitting the state focused their efforts on the war effort, which crippled the movement. ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' journalist

Stanton Delaplane Stanton Hill ("Stan") Delaplane (12 October 1907 – 18 April 1988) was a travel writer, credited with introducing Irish coffee to the United States. Called "last of the old irreplaceables" by fellow-columnist Herb Caen, he worked for the ''San Fra ...

won the 1942

Pulitzer Prize for Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Reporting was awarded from 1917 to 1947. Winners *1917: Herbert Bayard Swope, ''New York World'', for articles which appeared October 10, October 15 and from November 4 daily to November 22, 1916, inclusive, entitled, "Ins ...

for his articles on the State of Jefferson. In 1989, KSOR, the

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

member station based at

Southern Oregon University Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997.Kre ...

in Ashland, near Medford, rebranded itself as

Jefferson Public Radio Jefferson Public Radio (JPR) is a regional public radio broadcasting network serving over a million potential listeners in Southern Oregon and the Shasta Cascade region of northern California. Owned by Southern Oregon University, the network ...

. It had built a massive network of low-powered translators earlier in the 1980s. By the time KSOR began building full-power stations later in the decade, it realized that the combined footprint of its translator network was roughly coextensive with the original State of Jefferson. It thus felt "Jefferson Public Radio" was an appropriate name when it decided to rebrand itself as a network. In 1992, California State Assemblyman Stan Statham placed an advisory vote in 31 counties asking if the state should be split into two. All of the proposed Jefferson counties voted in favor of the split (except Humboldt County which did not have the issue on the ballot). Based on these results, Statham introduced legislation in California in an attempt to split the state, but the bill died in committee. In the late 1990s, the movement for statehood was promoted by a group called the State of Jefferson Citizens Committee, which was originally formed in 1941. Two of the members, Brian Helsaple and Brian Petersen, gathered an extensive collection, including both verbal and written accounts mostly surrounding the 1941 movement. They published a book, ''Jefferson Saga'', in 2000. This, along with revealing the lack of representation and over-regulations, fanned the flame.

21st century

Jefferson is commemorated by the State of Jefferson Scenic Byway between Yreka and

O'Brien, Oregon O'Brien is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Josephine County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, O'Brien had a population of 504. The unemployment rate is 6.9%, slightly higher than the national average ...

, which runs along State Route 96 and

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

Primary Route 48. Near the California – Oregon border, a turnout provides scenic views of the Klamath River valley and three informative display signs about the republic. The region retains this identity reinforced by institutions such as

. As of the 2020 Census, if the Jefferson counties were a state (original 1941 counties), the state's population would be 484,727: smaller than any state at the time. Approximately 83% of those residents live in Oregon. Its land area would be – a little smaller than

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. The area was almost evenly divided between Oregon and California. Its population density would be – a little more than

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. With the addition of the more modern Jefferson movement ( Coos and

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

and

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Counties in Oregon, and Humboldt,

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, Shasta, Lassen, Mendocino,

, Tehama, Plumas, Glenn,

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

, Colusa, Sierra, Sutter, Yuba,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, Placer,

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

, Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Stanislaus, Siskiyou and Mariposa Counties in California), the population as of the 2020 Census would be 3,138,324, making it the 33rd most populous state in the United States.

Counties intending to leave California

On September 3, 2013, the Siskiyou County, California Board of Supervisors voted 4 to 1 in favor of withdrawal from California to form a proposed state named Jefferson.Longoria, Sean
Siskiyou supervisors support withdrawal from California
, Redding Record Searchlight, September 4, 2013, accessed September 4, 2013. The proposal was joined by the

Modoc County Modoc County () is a county in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least populous county. The county seat ...

Board of Supervisors (September 24) and

Glenn County Glenn County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,917. The county seat is Willows. It is located in the Sacramento Valley, in the northern part of the California Central Valley. The ...

Board of Supervisors (January 21, 2014). On April 15, 2014

Yuba County Yuba County (; Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 81,575. The county seat is Marysville. Yuba County is included in the Yuba City, California Metropolitan Statistical A ...

Supervisors joined the State of Jefferson movement to separate from California and create a new U.S. state. On July 15, 2014, the

Tehama County Tehama County ( ; Wintun for "high water") is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,829. The county seat and largest city is Red Bluff. Tehama County comprises th ...

Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt a resolution supporting the declaration of withdrawal from California based on an advisory vote taken on June 6, 2014, where the public voted 56% to 44% in favor of splitting the state. On July 22, 2014, the Board of Supervisors of

Sutter County Sutter County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,633. The county seat is Yuba City. Sutter County is included in the Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Sacra ...

unanimously adopted a resolution supporting a declaration and petition to the Legislature to withdraw from California to redress a lack of representation. On March 3, 2015, Lake County supervisors voted 3 to 2 to submit the question of secession to voters and on March 17,

Lassen County Lassen County () is a county in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,730. The county seat and only incorporated city is Susanville. Lassen County comprises the Susanville, Calif ...

supervisors made a similar declaration that also has the voters deciding in 2016. The Jefferson Declaration Committee is reportedly aiming to get at least 12 counties in support. On October 24, 2014, Modoc and Siskiyou Counties delivered their declarations for independence from the state of California to the California Secretary of State's office. On January 15, 2015, three more counties, Glenn, Tehama, and Yuba, submitted their official declarations as well. The 2013 revival was based almost entirely in California. It includes all major parts of California north of 39°. Although some individual residents in Oregon have lobbied for the movement, no county government in that state has endorsed the proposal to date. As of January 6, 2016, 21 northern California counties have sent a declaration or have approved to send a declaration to the State of California with their intent of leaving the state and forming the State of Jefferson. The population of the 21 California counties was 1,747,626 as of the 2010 U.S. Census, which would be 39th most populous state in the Union.

2016 presidential election

Jefferson Presidential Election Results 2016

After the 2016 presidential election, it was noted that most of the rural California counties which would belong to the State of Jefferson were won in a landslide by Republican nominee

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, whereas Democrat

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

enjoyed an unprecedented level of support in the rest of California, indicating a growing demographic and political divide between the proposed State of Jefferson and the rest of California. While Clinton beat Trump by almost 80 points in

, he led her by more than 50 points in

. The election of Trump led to calls for a secession of California from the Union and a similar proposal in Oregon, where Clinton won the popular vote while Trump captured the majority of counties. With the election of President Donald Trump, some who are considering joining the modern State of Jefferson or are observing the movement have stated that if California secedes, the movement's supporting counties could appeal directly to the United States Congress for statehood, similar to how West Virginia was formed, claiming California would be in insurrection and petitioning to rejoin the Union as an independent state. On May 8, 2017, the State of Jefferson as "Citizens for Fair Representation" filed a lawsuit against the California Secretary of State

Alex Padilla Alejandro Padilla ( ; born March 22, 1973) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from California since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 30th secretary of state of California from 2015 ...

. The suit alleges that California's 1862 law limiting Senators to no more than 40, and Assembly Members to no more than 80, creates an unconstitutional imbalance of representation that precludes effective "self-governance" as protected by the 14th Amendment. The desired result of suing California, for lack of representation and dilution of vote, is better representation across all of California, and ultimately an independent State of Jefferson. The case was dismissed by the lower court and appealed to the Ninth Circuit.

Flag and seal

The field of the flag is green, and the charge is the Seal of the State of Jefferson: a yellow circle representing a gold mining pan, with the words "The Great Seal Of State Of Jefferson" engraved into the lip, and two

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

, black Xs askew of each other. The two Xs are known as the "Double Cross" and signify the two regions' "sense of abandonment" by the central state governments, in both Southern Oregon and Northern California.''Harper's'' 2022 report referred to the region being "double crossed" by Salem and Sacramento. See Pogue (2022). The gold pan that was ostensibly the first model for the state's seal is on display at the Siskiyou County Museum, in

Appearances in popular culture

Jefferson was featured by

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...

in ''Road Trip'' Episode 143.

Notes

References

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary television and radio public broadcasting network for most of the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. OPB consists of five full-power television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF tra ...

State of Jefferson Formation site
Primary website for the 2013+ modern statehood movement
Jefferson Declaration Blog
Very active movement for withdrawal of the rural northern California counties to form a new state of Jefferson {{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson Pacific Proposed states and territories of the United States Jefferson, State of Jefferson, State of History of Siskiyou County, California Jefferson, State of Yreka, California Separatism in the United States