How the States Got Their Shapes
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Mark Stein is a playwright and screenwriter. His plays have been performed off-Broadway and at theaters throughout the country. His films include Housesitter, with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. He has taught at American University and Catholic University. Publishers Weekly America's first century was defined by expansion and the negotiation of territories among areas colonized by the French and Spanish, or occupied by natives. The exact location of borders became paramount; playwright and screenwriter Stein amasses the story of each state's border, channeling them into a cohesive whole. Proceeding through the states alphabetically, Stein takes the innovative step of addressing each border-north, south, east, west-separately. Border stories shine a spotlight on many aspects of American history: the 49th parallel was chosen for the northern borders of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana because they ensured England's access to the Great Lakes, vital to their fur trade; in 1846, Washington D.C. residents south of the Potomac successfully petitioned to rejoin Virginia (called both "retrocession" and "a crime") in order to keep out free African-Americans. Aside from tales of violent conquest and political glad-handing, there's early, breathtaking tales of American politicos' favorite sport, gerrymandering (in 1864, Idaho judge Sidney Edgerton single-handedly "derailed" Idaho's proposed boundary, to Montana's benefit, with $2,000 in gold). American history enthusiasts should be captivated by this fun, informative text.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgments xiIntroduction xiiiDon't Skip This 1Alabama 11Alaska 18Arizona 21Arkansas 27California 33Colorado 39Connecticut 44Delaware 52District of Columbia 59Florida 65Georgia 70Hawaii 75Idaho 79Illinois 86Indiana 92Iowa 95Kansas 101Kentucky 108Louisiana 113Maine 119Maryland 126Massachusetts 134Michigan 141Minnesota 145Mississippi 151Missouri 156Montana 163Nebraska 168Nevada 174New Hampshire 179New Jersey 185New Mexico 192New York 197North Carolina 206North Dakota 216Ohio 220Oklahoma 226Oregon 231Pennsylvania 236Rhode Island 243South Carolina 248South Dakota 253Tennessee 257Texas 263Utah 270Vermont 276Virginia 281Washington 288West Virginia 293Wisconsin 297Wyoming 302Selected Bibliography 305Index 315
