Can't We All Just Get Along? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Toledo

In 1835, the State of Ohio and the then Territory of Michigan engaged in the Toledo War, a mostly bloodless feud over a strip of land that included the city of Toledo, a major port city on the coast of Lake Erie. The governors of Ohio and Michigan sent militia groups over to the region as the conflict escalated.

The only non-fatal casualty of the conflict occurred on July 15, 1835 when an Ohio militia officer was stabbed by a Michiganian deputy. The conflict with Ohio delayed Michigan's acceptance as a state.

In 1836, Congress proposed a compromise to Michigan. If Michigan ceded the Toledo area to Ohio, then they would be given control over the Upper Peninsula region. Michigan accepted the proposal and was granted statehood on January 26, 1837.

Answer: water

When the borders between the states of Georgia and Tennessee were first drawn in 1796, it was assumed by Georgia that the 35th north parellel would define the state boundary between Georgia and Tennessee. However, in reality the border that was officially drafted between the two states placed the border a little over a mile south, which gave Tennessee control the Tennessee River. Georgia has endured several droughts in its history and has fought a legal battle to redraw the borders in order to gain access to some of the water from the Tennessee River.

However, efforts by Georgia to get the border with Tennessee redrawn have not been successful and the border remains in dispute between the two states.

Answer: Jefferson

In 1941, several rural counties located in both northern California and southern Oregon proposed seceding from their respective states and joining together to form the State of Jefferson, which was named after former President Thomas Jefferson. These counties felt that they were not being represented well in their state legislatures.

A flag was created for the State of Jefferson and the city of Yreka, California had been chosen to become the new state's capital city. However, the movement to create the State of Jefferson was derailed after the United States was forced to enter World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

However, interest in creating the State of Jefferson still remains a hot topic in the region.

Answer: Ellis Island

Ellis Island became famous for being a major immigration hub in the United States from 1892-1954. When the borders between New York and New Jersey were established, Ellis Island was given to New York despite being located on New Jersey side of the Hudson River/New York Bay.

When the island was selected to become an immigration center, the federal government used land from New Jersey to increase the size of the island. In 1998, the Supreme Court of the United States became involved in a lawsuit between New York and New Jersey regarding sovereignty over Ellis Island.

It was decided that both states would retain control of the island. New Jersey would control 83 percent of the island, which was pretty much the artificial portions of the island. New York remained in control of the remainder, which was basically the natural portion of the island.

Answer: Stephen A. Douglas

In 1820, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise which declared that slavery was forbidden in any new territory north of the 36 degree 30 minute north parallel. Since the state of Maine was admitted as a free state in 1820, Congress allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state to balance out the politics.

In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was nullified by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which was drafted by Senator Stephen A. Douglas from Illinois, who believed that states had the right to choose for themselves whether or not to allow slavery.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed into law by President Franklin Pierce, which gave the Kansas and Nebraska territories the option to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders.

This led to Bleeding Kansas, a violent conflict between free-state supporters and pro-slavery supporters both within the Kansas Territory and from across the border in Missouri. In 1861, Kansas was admitted as a free state several months before the start of the American Civil War.

Answer: West Virginia and Kentucky

The feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families is one of bloodiest family feuds in American history. The two families lived on opposite sides of the Tug Fork, a tributary of the Big Sandy River. The Tug Fork is part of the boundary that separates the states of West Virginia and Kentucky.

The Hatfield family resided on the West Virginia side of the Tug Fork, while the McCoy family resided on the Kentucky side. The feud started in 1863 during the American Civil War. The feud escalated in 1878 when the families began fighting over a hog.

The feud became so intense that the state governments threatened to send in militia troops across the border to bring the fighting under control. The feud ended in 1891 and descendants of the two families enjoy a peaceful coexistence today.

Answer: Honey War

In 1839, the State of Missouri and the Iowa Territory had a non-violent border dispute nicknamed the Honey War. The Honey War involved a 10-mile wide strip of land that separated Missouri and Iowa. The conflict started when Iowan residents in the region claimed that tax collectors from Missouri crossed into the Iowa Territory and chopped down three honey bee trees from what the Missourians believed were tax evaders.

The dispute escalated to the point that militia groups were sent by both governors to patrol the region. Congress became involved in the conflict, where they pretty much drew a straight line down through the center of the disputed region, establishing the current border between Iowa and Missouri.

Answer: Connecticut

In 1681, King Charles II of England granted land to William Penn, the founder of what would become the Pennsylvania colony. However, the wording from Connecticut's colonial charter issued by the king in 1662 led them to believe that they controlled all the land west of New Jersey all the way to the west coast.

In 1754, settlers from Connecticut began to migrate into northern Pennsylvania, establishing the city of Wilkes-Barre. Settlers from southern Pennsylvania began to migrate to the same area.

This would lead to the Pennamite-Yankee Wars, a series of territorial disputes between Pennsylvania and Connecticut. The first of these wars was fought from 1769-1770. The second was fought in 1774 and the last was fought in 1784. The dispute was finally settled in 1799 where the region was eventually awarded to Pennsylvania.

Answer: November 2, 1889

The Dakota Territory was first established on March 2, 1861. Over the years the Dakota Territory would shrink as Idaho, Montana and Wyoming were eventually split off. In the land that would become the two Dakota states, since the major cities at the time were on opposite sides of the territory, the politics in the northern and southern halves of the territory began to segregate.

When the Dakota Territory applied for statehood, the Republicans feared that having it admitted as one state would be a disadvantage to them, so they lobbied to have the territory split into two states. On November 2, 1889, the states of North Dakota and South Dakota were both admitted to the Union.

It is unclear as to which Dakota was admitted first, but North Dakota is normally listed first only because N comes before S in the alphabet.

Answer: Tennessee

On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the United States. Ten other Southern states soon followed suit joining together to form the Confederate States of America. Tennessee was the last state to secede on June 8, 1861, two months after the Battle of Fort Sumter, which began the U.S. Civil War.

While Tennessee was the last state to secede, it was the first state to be readmitted to the United States after the Civil War on July 24, 1866. Kentucky was considered to be a border state.

While Kentucky did have sympathy towards the South, they never seceded from the United States.