tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462256392092683180.post5725341391631572861..comments2022-12-03T21:42:09.207-06:00Comments on SEATTLE TO JACKSONVILLE BY BIKE: Day 45 - Alabamboo!Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03876557202726026204noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462256392092683180.post-81047290031854612982011-06-24T17:07:49.216-05:002011-06-24T17:07:49.216-05:00The panhandle, I think (though stand to be correct...The panhandle, I think (though stand to be corrected by Americans who know their history), is actually all about technicalities around state lines and slavery in the mid 19th century. The northern border is at 37° and the southern at 36°30´. When Texas entered the Union in 1846 it wanted to maintain slavery. Under the Missouri Compromise no state could be a slave state if its borders extended north of 36°30´. So Texas gave its land north of that line to the rest of the US, maintaining its slave status. That's the southern border of the Oklahoma panhandle. Then the Kansas-Nebraska Act set the southern border of Kansas at 37°. That became (a bit later) the northern border of Oklahoma, creating the panhandle.<br /><br />I've got all this anorak-y information from the excellent 'How the States Got Their Shapes' by Mark Stein. He points out the main interesting thing from all this arcane history - that in 1846, when the southern bit of the panhandle was created, the main driving force for the border was slavery. By 1854 and the creation of the northern border, equality of size, shape, and mathematical and geographical purity was more important. Hence the 'neater' shapes of the later states, and the rougher shapes of the earlier ones.<br /><br />Anyway. If anybody's still reading... thanks for staying with me. You can go now.Alex Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17602071318194656968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1462256392092683180.post-20361847499405328242011-06-24T06:13:28.510-05:002011-06-24T06:13:28.510-05:00That campground from the other night sounded awful...That campground from the other night sounded awful! That would not have been up to my standards. :-) I hope it cools down a bit for you today. I liked the name of that website: alabamboo.com Pretty catchy. You are in your 7th state now! You are doing so good!Pamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02776075808195247283noreply@blogger.com