# Can two states merge? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010 "2005-06-27T06:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/21 "2005-06-28T14:59:21Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > … New Madrid, **Illinois** … Sorry, that’s actually New Madrid, Missouri. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/22 "2005-06-28T15:05:34Z")
> [@The Scrivener](#): > > Minnesota + Wisconsin: “Wisconsota”. Doubtless that would gradually degenerate by popular demand into [phonetically] “whiskey-'n-soda”. > > Alaska + Hawaii = “Alaskwaii” – pron. roughly as “I’ll-Ask-Why”. Indeed… 😃 It would be an internation merger, but it would be lovbely to have Ohio and Ontario merge. The resulting state/province could use the letters in common in the existing names, perhaps repeated, as in “Oio” or “Oiooio”. (The pronunciation is left as an exercise for the reader, but it might depend on whether you lived north or south of Lake Erie.) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/23 "2005-06-28T17:27:40Z")
I remember a story on N.P.R. about all the deciphering that Postal Service workers have to do. Apparently, the most commonly confused state names on addressed letters are “Ohio,” “Iowa,” and “Idaho.” One letter was addressed to a place in “Ohidowa.” ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/24 "2005-06-28T17:57:46Z")
Could Rhode Island and Wyoming merge? It would have the advantages of increasing territory for one, while increasing population density for the other. 😉 If Maine and Idaho merged they would have a monopoly on potatoes. If Georgia and South Carolina merged, it would truly be the “Peach State”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/25 "2005-06-28T22:13:13Z")
I remember my high school history teacher telling us that Texas is unique in that the Congressional action making it a state included the provision that it could at any time it wanted divide itself into 4 separate states. In the 50 years since then I have never seen this mentioned anywhere else. Did Miss Thompson really know what she was talking about? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/26 "2005-06-28T22:22:53Z")
> [@Ronald C. Semone](#): > > I remember my high school history teacher telling us that Texas is unique in that the Congressional action making it a state included the provision that it could at any time it wanted divide itself into 4 separate states. In the 50 years since then I have never seen this mentioned anywhere else. Did Miss Thompson really know what she was talking about? > **[Can Texas Divide Itself into Five Separate States?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-great-divide/)** > > There was some interesting debate around the Texas Annexation. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/27 "2005-06-28T23:06:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **kniz** : > If Georgia and South Carolina merged, it would truly be the “Peach State”. 😛 What North Carolina? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/28 "2005-06-29T05:12:51Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I remember a story on N.P.R. about all the deciphering that Postal Service workers have to do. Apparently, the most commonly confused state names on addressed letters are “Ohio,” “Iowa,” and “Idaho.” One letter was addressed to a place in “Ohidowa.” Well, there is a town named Ohiowa. It’s in Nebraska. > [@kniz](#): > > If Maine and Idaho merged they would have a monopoly on potatoes. Last I heard, the state of Washington produces more potatoes than Idaho. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/29 "2005-06-29T13:23:23Z")
> [@Ronald C. Semone](#): > > I remember my high school history teacher telling us that Texas is unique in that the Congressional action making it a state included the provision that it could at any time it wanted divide itself into 4 separate states. In the 50 years since then I have never seen this mentioned anywhere else. Did Miss Thompson really know what she was talking about? While it is true that the accession treaty included such a provision (actually five not four), it states that such subdivision would take place “under the provisions of the Federal Constitution.” The constitution already provides for subdivision of states (as revealed in the discussion above). This implies that Texas has no more right to subdivide than any other state does. Indeed, if that provision has any effect, it might only be that Texas, unlike all the other states, is _limited_ to subdividing itself into no more than five new states; whereas other states are not subject to such a provision. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/30 "2005-06-29T13:57:57Z")
Growing up in Western Colorado (west of the Continental Divide), we often had political clashes with the eastern part of the state over water rights. They had dug a tunnel through a mountain and erected a wall that diverted melted snow that would’ve fed the Colorardo River into the tunnel and into Denver’s water supply. Eastern Utah had similar issues with Western Utah (Salt Lake City needing a massive fresh-water supply since their lake water isn’t potable). So there was talk about Western Colorado and Eastern Utah (the part whose drainage was the Colorado River) seceding from their respective states and merging into a new state. But naturally, the other halves wouldn’t like that their natural resources would be in another state’s control. And since the bulk of the original states’ populations (and state legislators) were there, there would be no way that the resolution would ever pass. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/31 "2005-06-29T15:09:53Z")
> [@dqa](#): > > It would be like Illinois trying to administer land on the other side of the Mississippi, where they have to drive through Missouri to reach it. Illinois already has [land](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_167a.html) west of the Mississippi. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/32 "2005-06-29T15:30:29Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Illinois already has [land](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_167a.html) west of the Mississippi. And there’s a piece of Kentucky that’s completely cut off from the rest of the state. You have to go through Missouri or Tennessee to get to it. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/33 "2005-06-29T15:55:17Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > It would be an internation merger, but it would be lovbely to have Ohio and Ontario merge. The resulting state/province could use the letters in common in the existing names, perhaps repeated, as in “Oio” or “Oiooio”. (The pronunciation is left as an exercise for the reader, but it might depend on whether you lived north or south of Lake Erie.) Or, following from a tourism ad from the early 80s, “Ontariohio”. ---
**Author:** ![bobk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@bobk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobk2)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/34 "2005-06-29T16:32:32Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > If the remainder of the District of Columbia were de-federalized, would it have to be given to Maryland? Or, for instance, could Congress and the State of Delaware conspire together to give to Delaware, even over Maryland’s objections? DC was actually created from land from both Mayland (about 70 sq.mi.) and Virginia (about 30 sq. mi.) Question - I could swear I heard on a trip to Washington’s estate Mt. Vernon that the Virginia component of DC was actually land that was selected by Gerorge Washington, from land that he owned, and that he was handsomely compensated for the land. I haven’t been able to (easily) Google a verification. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/35 "2005-06-29T17:44:44Z")
> [@bobk2](#): > > DC was actually created from land from both Mayland (about 70 sq.mi.) and Virginia (about 30 sq. mi.) As was noted previously in this thread, the Virginia portion was returned to Virginia well before the Civil War. That portion now forms Arlington County (formerly Alexandria County) and the northern part of Alexandria City. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/36 "2005-06-29T18:01:16Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > States get one electoral vote for one for each member in the Senate and one for each member of the House of Representatives. North Dakota and South Dakota each currently has two senators (total of four). The new state of Dakota would have two senators. A merger would cost them two seats in the senate, and thus also two electoral votes. It’s possible that they’d lose (or gain) a Representative as well. North Dakota currently has only one Representative, and South Dakota has two. The sum of their populations might not be enough to get three in hypothetical Dakota. According to Wikipedia, the population of ND is 633K and that of SD is 764K. The formula for apportioning representatives is [here](http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/apportionment/computing.html). I didn’t feel like working it out, but someone else might. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/37 "2005-06-29T21:01:28Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > What North Carolina? My point was that one county in South Carolina produces more peaches than the whole state of Georgia, yet Georgia calls itself _The Peach State_. > [@dtilque](#): > > Last I heard, the state of Washington produces more potatoes than Idaho. I knew I should research that fact before I posted. Thanks for straightening things out. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/38 "2005-06-29T21:52:16Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s possible that they’d lose (or gain) a Representative as well. > North Dakota currently has only one Representative, and South Dakota has two. The sum of their populations might not be enough to get three in hypothetical Dakota. > According to Wikipedia, the population of ND is 633K and that of SD is 764K. The formula for apportioning representatives is here. I didn’t feel like working it out, but someone else might. That someone else is me. I wrote a script to do the calculation according to the Census algorithm. Combining the two Dakotas into one state and using the 2000 Census numbers, I find that Dakota would have 2 representatives. So neither gain nor loss. But, something interesting occurred. I checked the numbers for the other states, for curiosity. Under the same conditions, North Carolina would lose one seat (for 12 total), and Utah would gain one seat (for 4 total)! Very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/39 "2005-06-29T22:15:48Z")
A small piece of New Jersey is owned by Delaware. I believe there is a Confederate graveyard on the site. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010/40 "2005-06-29T23:34:04Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Illinois already has [land](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_167a.html) west of the Mississippi. Whooosh!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-two-states-merge/310010.md?page=3)