Jefferson (proposed Pacific state)

Jefferson
Proposed U.S. state
Flag Seal
Nickname:  The State of Mind
One proposed boundary for Jefferson
Named for	Likely President Thomas Jefferson (See paragraph 2)
Area
• Total	217,005 km2 (83,786 sq mi)
• Rank	14th (hypothetical)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,138,324
• Rank	33rd (hypothetical)
Demonym	Jeffersonian
Time zone	Pacific Standard Time

The State of Jefferson is a proposed U.S. state that would span the contiguous, mostly rural area of southern Oregon and Northern California, where several attempts to separate from Oregon and California, respectively, have taken place. The region encompasses most of Northern California's land but does not include San Francisco or other Bay Area counties that account for the majority of Northern California's population.

Although it is assumed that the proposed state is named after Thomas Jefferson, who sponsored the Lewis and Clark Expedition into the Pacific Northwest in 1803, the name "Jefferson" is of uncertain origin.^[1] Historians and locals cite Thomas Jefferson's status as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence as the origin of the name, with the line "governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" as evidence of a breakdown of the social contract between the state governments and the region's population.^[2] However, it is also noted that the name might be a nod to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.^[1]

If the proposal were ever approved, the new state's capital city would have to be determined by a constitutional convention; Yreka, California, was named the provisional capital in the original 1941 proposal,^[3] although Port Orford, Oregon, had also been up for consideration, being the former jurisdiction of Mayor Gilbert Gable (one of the movement’s greatest leaders).^[3] The movement is strongest in the rural parts of Shasta County,^[4] with some supporters of the more recent revival calling for Redding, California, as the potential capital,^[3] 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.^[5]