What If Every State Had Natural Borders? Pt.2 | American Politics

The state borders of the United States are too arbitrary, so Monsieur Z redrew every state's borders to account for history, politics, culture, religion, geography, and more. What if every state in America had natural border? Why should the US states have new borders anyway? Monsieur Z has spoken before about the politics behind why American state borders should be redrawn, and now maps out this redrawn in what the community has called the balkanization proclamation.
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#history #politics #unitedstates

[@MonsieurDean]

Help us redesign each of these state's flags: discord.gg/xGXzsQSF

[@Brody-Aleksander]

Invalid link

[@turtley4444]

Sa a Missourian, you made me a Kansan (this is a horrible fate)

[@thecatfather857]

As an Ohioan now Harrisonite, (I'm in Columbus) I'm thinking a lot of Alaskans will feel like they've been screwed for not only losing their statehood, but also their ability to vote for who becomes POTUS. Since as far as I know, territory citizens can't vote or run for POTUS.

[@TheJam1192]

If this happened with a system that allows more than two parties this would be very interesting to see.

[@RC15O5]

2 parties is fine, that's why party make-up changes before general elections (primary elections). What we need is every state to have it's own electoral college to permanently nerf cities.

[@nick1309]

​@@RC15O5or maybe just give each vote the same value?

[@Ansyn_]

@@RC15O5Let’s nerf major population centers simply because they have a different opinion than you, that’s a great idea!

[@chico9805]

​@@nick1309So there can be urban mob rule? Nope.

[@mimotakito1114]

@@chico9805mob rule, lol. If we’re gonna promote democracy, proportional vote is only fair, as it’s the simplest representation of the people’s will. If your gonna whine that people in cities vote a certain way, your not very democratic.

[@____________838]

My only real issue with this is the lack of the original states being superimposed on the map occasionally.

[@alexanderjones7769]

I mean you can tell where the Mississippi missouri Colorado rivers Salt Lake and the rockies are so you can figure everything else out

[@meteoman7958]

I was wishing the same thing.

[@jj02mc27]

I would have just left Colorado as it was so there's just one extremely jarring rectangle

[@augiegirl1]

What river is the border between Kansas & Tulsa? I live in Topeka, & I'm trying to figure out which state I would be in.

[@alexanderjones7769]

@augiegirl1 you're west of the Missouri River, you'd be in the expanded Nebraska

[@CMitchell808]

The map is great. I’d love an interactive version of it somewhere online, so I could share it with family without having to open and pause the videos constantly.

[@anacinus_lemius]

So why don't you try to redraw borders in Canada into natural borders? it will be interesting if all over North America uses same way to divide their administrative territories...

[@MonsieurDean]

Maybe we will.

[@anacinus_lemius]

@@MonsieurDean Even the west border between US and Canada could be redrawed naturally...

[@gabrielseaborn257]

@@MonsieurDean Interesting idea, though as being from there a video would need quite a bit of research into land that is incredibly underpopulated. I feel there wouldn't be as much change as in this video (though my home province of BC would be split up for sure)

[@Cascadian_Atomic_Auto]

​@@gabrielseaborn257 Oh come now, why do you say that? Because the lower mainland is almost like a seperate country compared to the rest of BC? Lol (I'm from the interior)

[@gabrielseaborn257]

@@Cascadian_Atomic_Auto also an interior lad, so yes lol. But Vancouver Island would also be separate, and the North East has much more in common with northern Alberta than the rest of the province

[@rostdreadnorramus4936]

Not sure how I feel about the Alamo suddenly being in the state of Santa Anna...

[@MonsieurDean]

Well, we can see who won the long game.

[@rostdreadnorramus4936]

@@MonsieurDean True... But I'd imagine that Sam would be rolling in his grave over that one. So would the defenders if they weren't ashes.

[@steviechubbs5238]

​@@MonsieurDeanwhy on earth would we name one of our states after a foreign dictator? Especially based on such a flimsy excuse as "Mexicans live here". Might as well rename Roosevelt after our favorite Austrian then, eh? I'd probably expect a president's name or a geographical feature, like Rio Grande or Polk, instead of a man who let his army rpe and pillage his own people

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@rostdreadnorramus4936]

@@Texan_christian1132 Agreed. Texas should be bigger or left alone. Not smaller. Give it EU4 borders if you want to get rid of the straight ones.

[@user-xi7en2ct6f]

I know this is a KZbin channel, but a full-blown printed Atlas volume with geographic and demographic breakdowns of each state and region of this alternate US would be very much appreciated by us tactile bookworms. It could give readers a better look at the real America than what even official maps and demography studies show.

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@user-xi7en2ct6f]

@@PaFtrSickl thanks, I thought it was a great comment too. ;)

[@michaeladkins6]

@@Texan_christian1132 California and Florida are broken up.

[@seronymus]

I second this wish

[@thecodeofreality]

Seriously though, why did you split Washington up the Columbia? The cascade mountain range is literally right there and serves as a better border divide than the Columbia in every conceivable way. A map drawn as you did would inevitably lead to a bloody boarder conflict between the states of Washington and Idaho over the eastern Sub-Cascades, much like Alsace-Lorraine was between Germany and France

[@spps5205]

states wouldn't fight a "bloody" war over a border you goof

[@JonathanLichtenberg]

You don't know what happened in the balkans do you?

[@JonathanLichtenberg]

​@@spps5205Bosnia says othersise

[@spps5205]

@@JonathanLichtenberg hey smartass, nations are different then subdivisions (aka US States) with no history of ethnic based conflict or strong ethnic based identity

[@seekingsentience5861]

Do you not know about Ohio and Michigan with the toledo strip?​@@spps5205

[@Mesra73]

Puerto Rico: has more than 3 million people. Still a territory Lincoln: only about half a million citizens. Is treated as state

[@bussinblaney3951]

Wyoming already lives that life

[@lonneansekishoku8288]

I was looking forward to the second part of this. As someone who likes to create lore, I find this very interesting.

[@dominicadrean2160]

Here's a fun scenario what if the great Greek plan (Catherine the Great of Russia's plan to restore the Byzantine Empire )succeeded

[@crusader2112]

I like it. I hope he does it. 👍

[@Mtioo1]

There was such a video from an another youtuber 2 weeks ago, I think that's a bit too early

[@SouthDakotaFacts]

Im pretty sure it was just supposed to be a “Greek Empire” not specifically Byzantine Roman

[@ninny65]

We should do that plan now

[@montanarepublic3296]

I would say the conservative parts of Washington state extend past the river. They stop more at the cascade mountains. So I’d adjust the borders accordingly.

[@thecodeofreality]

Exactly! a border as is drawn in the video would only lead to a (possibly bloody) Border conflict between Washington and Idaho, with both side claiming the eastern Sub-Cascadian Territories. it is truly a "Treaty of Versailles" level mistake

[@kylezdancewicz7346]

@@thecodeofrealityThese are states still not countries, there isn’t going to be some great cascadia war like you try to pose

[@themightydropbear]

I would argue they even go slightly past the cascades. The deeply liberal elements of Washington are mostly restricted to the greater Seattle-Tacoma metro area with a few exclaves in Seattle "bedroom communities" such as Bainbridge island, Snoqualmie and Port Townsend. The rest of the state is fairly centrist or slightly conservative. If you look at a political heat map of Washington, it looks like somebody ran the flag of Norway through the wash with a little too much bleach.

[@codysparks1454]

Yeah, as someone who lives in Washington I can agree with this. The eastern part of the state is more conservative but the borders should’ve been extended a little more west

[@sudmuck]

@@thecodeofreality Yep, Spokane & the Tri-cities would add a million people to Idaho's legions, while the conservative Washingtonians who live in the towns east of the Cascades & west of the Columbia would be dominated by Seattle's liberal/progressive politics even more, without Spokane & the tri-cities as a counter-weight.

[@jbdloucks]

It would have been more helpful if you could have mentioned notable major cities (or at least their presumed state capital) within each state as a point of reference.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

its literaly in the video: around 20:09

[@balothYT]

A Balkanization Proclamation of Canada would be very interesting to see

[@Cooldude-ko7ps]

And other nations that have states/territories with straight line borders such as Australia.

[@jacobherricks6951]

2 problems I see. 1 when Texas is balkanized I don't think anyone would want a state named Santa Anna especially one with the Alamo in it. Maybe Nueces. And 2 Pecos is pronounced pecuhs

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@jacobherricks6951]

@@Texan_christian1132 yep

[@Satyrday]

The RGV would be "The Valley" or maybe just "Valle" why are we Santa Anna :((((((((((((((

[@user-vb3lf4lf2p]

Tejas is over 31% latin rapidly rising and under 42% white, i tejas isnt american anymore

[@jacobherricks6951]

@@user-vb3lf4lf2p I'd say we've never been really American. Texans are Texan

[@crabait1]

Wild how you went through the whole southwest without touching on water rights once. It’s the defining issue out here. Sacramento would cut LA, San Diego, and new California off from the delta and cause chaos day one

[@SpicyAfterbirth]

Very nice. As a resident of Ventura county my only criticism would be consolidation of the entire Central Coast into the new California state due to our shared history and culture. The Central Coast is largely rural and suburban but would have a mixed economy, strongly agricultural and recreational, predominantly Catholic with a significant protestant plurality. We have a shared history in our blend of colonial Spanish and frontier American culture (Santa Maria BBQ, the old Missions running along the 101, and our more western attitudes compared to our Urban neighbors.) we have very little in common with Los Angeles or San Francisco culturally or politically with conservative values in some of the more rural areas with a significant plurality in even the suburban areas. Ethnically speaking the area is almost split down the line 50/50 Hispanic and Anglo with a significant Scots Irish minority. Every county is named after a Saint or in honor of the Spanish Missionaries who first explored and charted the area and we also all share the same area code, 805, of which the beer is named after

[@wzlego]

As an 805 native (moved out recently) I agree with a lot of what you said. I'm curious as to how our new state got to keep the name California. Most of what I remember of California history was of the Sacramento area. I think the new state could be called Buenaventura or San Serra or something else...

[@brandonzzz9924]

Having lived in the Central Coast for almost 6 years, I think this division makes a lot of sense. What is your criticism here? Are you advocating for merging the Central Coast state into one of the others, or merging parts of the other coastal states into the Central Coast? I have found that people in roughly the borders described here act very differently than other areas, namely LA and the Bay Area having very strong regional identities, with the Central Valley and Central Coast each having much more laid back demeanors that don't mix well with the big metros. I personally think this new border would be a huge improvement for quality of life in California, and would barely affect LA or the Bay Area as they already act very autonomously.

[@wzlego]

@@brandonzzz9924 I think @CODmonkeyGames meant that some of the southern part of the new state of Fremont should instead be the northern part of the new state of California. Would you say that San Miguel and San Simeon have more in common with Monterrey and Salinas than with SLO and Ventura? I would think it's the latter, but if you disagree as a local I'd like to know why.

[@andromina31]

I would think that Monterrey County should be included. It seems like it was attached to SF on the map. Make the new state of California from Ventura County through to Monterrey County. The central coast makes sense as a unified state culturally, geographically, and economically.

[@brandonzzz9924]

@@wzlego That makes sense to me. I haven't lived that far North (just SLO), but I would be happy extending the borders as far North as Gilroy (mainly because I love garlic).

[@History-And-Stuff]

As a member of this project, I enjoyed this so much even if I barley contributed. All the people I met during this were so cool.

[@vitovitale8325]

just picking a little, for fun, I'm surprised I even caught it; I want you to know I actually googled it just to be sure I wouldn't end up w/ egg in my face... @ times because I do not spell well ((I don't even know if that was proper "engrish", "spell well"?)) so I have to Google it, & the spelling aid is cool, but just like a dictionary you have to know the first few letters anyway (the microphone sometimes but not always helps...)... (I do this a lot myself... so I am not laughing @ you, I am laughing w/ you no harm intended... & I apologize in advance if I do offend you, I am sorry just a good laugh... you used the word "barley" (see I have dyslexia too !) which I believe you wanted to use "barely"... flipping letters & numbers too; barley is a grain you make bread from say... I think you can ? "barely" is like I just barely got my homeword done; which I believe was your intention & fyi there is no word "bearly" (googled this too !) there is a bear in the woods but no bearly... I never really thought about spelling barley but how close the two words plus one made up word are, spelled almost like, & almost (2 do) sound alike... anyways peace✌️☮️🙏☺️🖖V3

[@vitovitale8325]

hey to this day small "d" & "b" I still have problems with... I do not know why ? but by instinct (or whatever it's called ?) I will spell ((DOG)) "bog" & ((BOY)) ends up "doy", only these two lower class letters... so I trained myself which everyone I (w/out thinking just grab) wanted to use I just changed it to the other letter that works better that 9 of 10 times

[@WalterWhiteOfBeans]

No shot you actually named a state coming from Texas, Santa Anna

[@crusader2112]

Y'know. This map looks like it holds many stories. Like some kind of alternate history epic. Keep up the great work. 👍 P.S. It's kind of sad that Cascadia isn't it's own region of states.

[@MonsieurDean]

The stories are our country's history. 🫡

[@crusader2112]

@@MonsieurDean 👍

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@leandersearle5094]

@@Texan_christian1132 Could be a rough guide on how to divide the state administratively if you regain independence.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content man! Suggestion: What if Henry Duke of cornwall (Son of Henry VIII and Catherine) survived?

[@Jarmint]

Anglican church wouldnt exist being my best guess

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@JG.777]

Long term vision is explicitly a Republican bias Senate, or would you expect new urban development to be spurred by statehood and eventually balanced? Also I think there is no shot in hell Americans would be okay with removing statehood, so Alaska would get an exception. Could you follow up on these two items plus any other macro exceptions people may bring up?

[@agentdiamond9211]

Well, look at the current map. The majority of the States are Republican dominated or leaning, and yet the Democrats have a very delicate control of the U.S. Senate through Joe Manchin in West Virginia, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Jon Tester in Montana (the two independents, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, are considered to be a part of the Democrats because they caucus with the party). It's more likely that you get a different type of politics from each State, even if they elect the same party. On paper, it looks almost impossible for the Democrats to take control of the Senate, but that is only because of the partisan divide between most urban areas and most rural areas. Things would not remain the same if the Democrats had to try to reach 75 or 80 Senate seats, half of them from competitive or even Republican dominated States.

[@camronnantz2647]

Hopefully the two party system would collapse in this scenario completely, which considering what would be required to Balkanize isn’t out of the realm of possibility. A socially-conservative labor party would almost certainly be competitive in this situation considering the political leanings of Appalachia and the Rust Belt.

[@agentdiamond9211]

@@camronnantz2647 It would probably not collapse, at least not at the Federal level. State- and region-specific parties would likely form and be viable in local and State races, like the Vermont Progressive Party. However, they would have neither the resources nor the clout to contest larger races, and so they would rely on forming coalitions with other, reconcilable minor parties. That's where the two major parties come into play.

[@JG.777]

@@camronnantz2647 First Past the Post is the root cause of the two party system, not state configurations. So it doesn't have to be D & R but we will always get back to two big tent parties with First Past the Post. Otherwise, point taken that we'd have a much better shot at actually being aligned with our politicians / political parties.

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

Token Alaskan here. Kenai is pronounced “Keen-eye”. Juneau territory encompasses several gold mines, logging in the Tongass forest, and fishing. Anchorage territory holds fishing (including the Copper River, Cook Inlet, and Bristol Bay fisheries which are the largest salmon fisheries in state), as well as the Cook Inlet and Swanson River oil and gas fields, and the Beluga coal fields. Not to mention Ted Stevens airport in the city of Anchorage is a major cargo hub (3rd busiest in the US), and has several potential mines in its area. Fairbanks has minor logging in the Tanana valley, mining at Ft Knox, Pogo, and Manh Choh mines, and coal at the Usibelli mine. It also has access to the Bering Sea fisheries. Seward of course has the oil and gas fields of the North Slope, the Red Dog mine and upcoming Graphite mine, as well as the mineral deposits of the Ambler mining district, along with access to Bering Sea fisheries.

[@purpledevilr7463]

The Fact Scandamerica exists and isn’t Dakota is frankly insulting.

[@timothycollins3829]

Wish you had shown populations for the Eastern states as well. But, even with just the Western states you have at least an 18 to 1 ratio from largest to smallest states (and from your representation chart, it appears the New York Metro area is probably 30 to 40 million so creating a much larger ratio.) If you are going through this exercise, I would suggest a ratio cap of 5 or revision to how Senate is organized.

[@juderobbins6112]

Honestly I'm more interested in what the new state flags in this universe would look like and what the new US flag would look like.

[@persephone3245]

Maybe y’all could get some actually decent flags? (Maryland flag is perfect)

[@Wilhelmofdeseret]

Monsieur Z: one big change I’d argue is in Washington. Having the border between Idaho and Washington be the Columbia river is just terrible. It looks bad lol but all the counties east of the cascades are conservative and I’m a native eastern Washingtonian and it makes much more sense for us to be with Idaho.

[@MonsieurDean]

I agree, the Cascades are a solid alternative.

[@rylandunlap6986]

I love this map but the states of Washington, Idaho, Lincoln and Nevada are very wrong. I'm from Eastern Washington and these are my suggestions for it. 1. Washington should be split at the cascade mountain range because there is a huge cultural and demographic shift between the two regions of the state. 2. Eastern Washington and the northern sections of Eastern Oregon (what is now Lincoln) and the northern Idaho Panhandle into Western Montana could combine to be the new state. This is a region called the Inland Northwest, and maps exist to give you an estimate as to what the state would look like. This makes way more sense considering that the region is very similar, albeit one of the more geographically diverse but very interconnected regardless. Also you wouldn't have the metros of Spokane and Boise in one state, and both Idaho and Lincoln could be much more toss-ups especially considering that Spokane metro would take up about a 3rd of Lincolns population and Boise would moreso around half. They both have a strong split 50/50 mentality with both cities swinging more progressive over time. 3. Now Idaho would encompasses what you have on the map minus the places above Grangeville. 4. The land remaining in Lincoln can go to Nevada. That's my suggestions, it would make this map make a lot more sense.

[@MonsieurDean]

Excellent suggestions. I agree the Cascades probably should have been used as a dividing line instead of the river, and given the situation with Lincoln, finding some arrangement in which it can be made a viable state from other similar territories would be ideal.

[@JosephZepeda]

I disagree on the rest of Idaho remaining the same. Either remove all of the snake river plain or give it all of the snake river plain. There is no cultural (Anglo and Hispanic), economic (farming), or religious (Mormon and Catholic) divide along the snake river, so the split seems very out of place.

[@elijahmiller6925]

I think the state population threshold should've been slightly lower. Alaska and the Delmarva Peninsula deserve to be states.

[@MonsieurDean]

Alaska is a land nearly a third of the size of the contiguous United States with a population smaller than Hawaiis, it shouldn’t be a state.

[@elijahmiller6925]

@@MonsieurDean I'm not speaking in hypotheticals. I'm saying Alaska has done well as a state in the past 50+ years. They even have a UBI in the form of an oil credit called the Alaska Permanent Fund. Their population is above 700 thousand which isn't too far off from the 1 million requirement.

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

@@MonsieurDean while yes Alaska is big, I’d say if many of the current proposed projects (Ambler, ANWR oil, Tongass logging, Trans-Alaska natural gas line, etc) were allowed to happen you would see an influx of people into the state(s) similar to what happened in the 70’s with the TAPS and would perhaps allow them to individually or combined to reach the million person threshold.

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

@@elijahmiller6925it’s not a true UBI. The PFD came about because Alaskans don’t own the mineral rights to their land, so it’s held in trust by the state for the benefit of its citizens. UBI is probably the best description but I wanted to explain WHY we have it

[@ebhark2012]

This is another awesome video. If I could add an opinion about Scandimerica. I live in a suburb of St. Paul, and there's a significant disconnect between the metro & rural farmlands, and the latter would want nothing to do with the former. The metro would probably become its own state.

[@joshuam.3959]

I agree. more city-states should be included

[@lukefriesenhahn8186]

Nice video! I'm glad you put in the work to make this. 👍😎 Btw I thought the borders and ethnic/religous areas on the map were interesting given you used them to make the states. I honestly think this would be a promising system if it ever comes to this.

[@lev1548]

One thing I am a bit confused by is the choice of splitting up kansas. What I see here either puts Wichita (which is Kansas' largest metropolis by a long shot) under the control or Amarillo or Ogalla. Amarillo i can undstand keeping its capital, but the placement of Ogalla's capital suggests a random location. Wichita I would argue would make the best candidate for a capital of that region. Or, arguably, its own state or adjusted to still be included in Kansas. The ICT Metro does drop off quickly into agriculture, but inside has heavy military and aerospace construction economy, thanks to its geographic safety from enemy fire, being so far from any coast. Just a slight thought is all

[@MonsieurDean]

Great suggestions, and I encourage the input, especially from folks personally familiar with the regions.

[@ataco.]

The location of Wichita splits it between Cuestas and Amarillo, not Amarillo and Ogalla. Which Im not even sure what state Ogalla is, and what you are referring to.

[@TR-zx1lc]

The Olympic Peninsula should be its own state.

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

I was born in Port Angeles and I wholeheartedly agree to this!

[@DjornNorthfield]

There's dozens of us!

[@zaukonig6265]

How’d the flag look with this many states? Revert back to 13 stars? Expand the blue part for more space?

[@crusader2112]

Revert back to 13 stars? Hell Yeah! Betsy Ross flag here we come.

[@MonsieurDean]

Given there are 76 states, and 1776 is a big year for the U.S, one solution could be to replace the stars with a 76. Of course, text of any kind is treated as a bit of a taboo in the flag community, so we could keep the current motif, and simply add the additional 26 stars.

[@constantinethecataphract5949]

​@@crusader2112 I imagine it would be more like the Fallout flag than the regular 13 star.

[@constantinethecataphract5949]

​@@MonsieurDean With the addition of the 26 extra stars lot's of potential for unique patterns present themselves instead of the boring lines of stars the regular 50 star flag has.

[@crusader2112]

@@constantinethecataphract5949 Perhaps, although it can take inspiration from both.

[@JonathanSladkoTV]

Love this, but splitting Alaska into territories and stripping statehood WOULD cause a war for independence lol, there’s already a LARGE independence movement there and telling them they weren’t a state anymore would certainly drive that up.

[@Alaska_Aviation]

As an Alaskan, the independence movement isn't that large. Yes, the movement seems to be growing, but the vast majority of Alaskans would want AK to remain in the U.S.

[@constantinethecataphract5949]

​@@Alaska_Aviation If you suddenly became a territory again?

[@JohnBledsoe-rg1kw]

very well put together video

[@hexapodc.1973]

I think the only nitpick I have is making alaska into 4 different territories. Like I get that alaska being one state doesnt really make too much sense but I think its valid cuz of both its low population and the fact that making it into multiple territories would be de facto taking away the vote from alaskans.

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

Agreed. I get his reasoning for it. I would say the four could be separate entities if federal lands were taken away and given to the territories and they were allowed to extract resources. Alaska is resource rich but most of it is tied up in federal lands. If they were allowed to utilize them it would spur immigration to the territories and growth would allow them to individually achieve statehood. Or they could secede and become their own country/countries a la what Joe Vogler advocated with the Alaska Independence Party

[@hexapodc.1973]

@@greatnorthernadventures570 imo I think itd just be easier to keep it as one state, and yeah i agree also with giving it most of its federal lands back. tbh I think the biggest problem with immigration tho isnt even to do with its resources, more cuz nobody from the lower 49 wanna live in like damn near the arctic. I dont think sucession is a good idea, cuz like russias right there, plus aint no way washington would let that shit slide anyways. Imo itd be ideal just to keep it as is but with its federal lands under state control, except like maybe national parks and shit.

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

@@hexapodc.1973 over 60% of Alaska is held in federal lands. In fact, if you don’t count Native Corporation lands, less than 1% of Alaska is held in private. Also yes Alaska is cold, but it is a huge state and that cold varies. Southeast Alaska up through Prince William Sound is a temperate rainforest with a climate similar to Western Washington or BC. Southcentral Alaska is much like the upper Midwest. Even the Interior isn’t too much colder than the Midwest. I don’t think it’s the cold, I think it’s the lack of sunlight in the winter and lack of night in the summer, but even more so it’s the cost, and I’m not just talking about in the Bush. Even in Anchorage the cost of goods is much higher than Outside. Now if we utilized the fact that we are at the top of the earth and therefore equidistant from Asia and Europe, and increased our port system and cargo airport, we could see a drastic increase in cargo passing through and thus lower cost of goods. Additional to that would be connecting the Alaska Railroad to the rail lines in Canada which themselves connect to the Lower 48. Now, container ships and cargo planes could cut their travel time in half by flying to Alaska, thus meaning they can trade fuel for more cargo per trip, either refuel and continue south or off load onto rail (which is still the cheapest per lb form of transportation.) Furthermore, by getting the majority of our state out of federal hands, we can access more of our mineral, timber, fishery, and potential agriculture resources, which would spur job growth, food self sustainability, and increase government revenue. We would also be able to expand our pitiful road system (Rhode Island, which could fit in Alaska 119 times, has more miles of road) which would mean new towns and more housing. The number 1 thing holding Alaska back is the federal government and its chokehold on us via regulation and locking up land.

[@levilivengood4522]

also the state's limited road system gets split into three which is bound to cause trouble

[@peterwainio2134]

What about Puerto Rico? Wouldn't they become a state? After all, they easily pass the 1 million person threshold, as well as having their own unique local identity and culture.

[@devinconyers6430]

Naming a new state in Texas “Santa Anna” would be like Poland naming one of its provinces “Adolf Hitler”

[@ottersirotten4290]

Bad to compare. Poland removed almost all Germans from its new Territorys. Texas on the other Hand is full of Mexicans

[@user-tb5sq6jm2y]

Scandinavians get a Viking hat? Noice! And always enjoy Lutheranism being worth mentioning.

[@MonsieurDean]

Are you a resident of Scandamerika?

[@user-tb5sq6jm2y]

Historically yes. Currently no.@@MonsieurDean

[@hotchocolateconnoisseur]

I can't tell you enough how much I love this two part series, but please next time think of some more creative names 😂

[@wolfwarrior9451]

Agreed lol, also with all the focus on "ethnicities" of regions, why are there no states centered around native American reservations, especially in and around Oklahoma? You could even make all the different reservations around the country into one or two states. Also, I think a bit more emphasis was put on putting anglo-americans or german-americans together than most Americans would actually care or want. There are lots more binding groups and such in America

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@jacobwortham8068]

@@wolfwarrior9451 yeah, it's quite weird. In my experience there isn't really much distinguishing German Americans from anglo Americans and other groups. White folks aren't really that culturally distinguishable from one another same with any racial group in this country. The better indicator is regional culture (South, Midwest, New England, Southwest, PNW, etc.). Monsieur Z also puts waaaaaaaay too much emphasis on religious groups. Most folks don't care about differences beyond protestant, Catholic, and Mormon. The only groups that are ethnically different enough to have a specific state for them are first nations indigenous people, and he kinda just doesn't care to give them much attention.

[@wolfwarrior9451]

@@jacobwortham8068 exactly!

[@dominicadrean2160]

Here are three what if scenarios all-in-one what if Napoleon never invaded Spain what if Napoleon never invaded Russia but invaded the Ottoman Empire instead and what if Napoleon married a Russian princess

[@realityisenough]

Thanks for having the state names this time bro

[@completetotalgoodness4786]

Wow. Did not utilze "Cascadia" a name in the Pacific -Northwest. I am surprised.

[@Tguchi26]

Do you think your team was biased in favor of the states/regions they are from or most aligned with? In other words, did the regions have fair representation with these considerations?

[@MonsieurDean]

Oh yeah, I made it a point to have representatives from every major region (south, new england, west, etc.).

[@Tguchi26]

@@MonsieurDean Fantastic work! Keep it up, this was a great project and I’d love to see similar content! -Citizen of Harrison

[@zaneenns5903]

Oh can you do this with Canada? That would be very cool!

[@paytonturner1421]

Great work Mr.Z.🤩😍☺😎💯👍🏾

[@charlesdauphin3324]

do you have composite maps of actual state borders vs "balkanized" states, and vs natural borders (i.e. rivers and such)?

[@mikemike7688]

What would the electoral college look like in this format? Please make a video with y’all’s thoughts.

[@MonsieurDean]

That's at the end of this video.

[@andrewsherman1797]

I would like to see this as a overlay on Google Maps. Seeing the detail of the map would be interesting to see where my family would live based on this. As currently it would be 3; Iowa, Kansas, and Ozark. Even though we all live in the state of Missouri. Just an interesting thought.

[@Jared-lj2vb]

Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri are more culturally similar to each other than the rest of their respective states but that being said, Northwest Arkansas (Predominately Washington and Benton counties, as well as Eureka Springs) are more socially progressive, far more ethnically diverse, and have far more white collar jobs than the rest of the region. I also feel as though at least a chunk of Eastern Oklahoma should encompass much of the tribal land of the 5 tribes into a state of Seqouyah. Much of this region has a mixed administration with policing and land policy varying between state, local, and tribal authorities.

[@Senthiuz]

He's just gonna have to redraw the indian nation borders, they all have straight lines in them. On the upside, the US has way more experience doing that than redrawing state lines.

[@draxusvarathian7043]

As someone having moved to, lived, and moved away from NW Arkansas, I'm going to give this a solid "no" to being more culturally diverse. (Excluding Fayetteville)

[@mattw8910]

St. Louis is so different from Missouri its a miracle that they even function together in the same state. A germanic catholic city that leans progressive compared to a anglo/scot-irish protestant state that leans conservative. If you go to St. Louis, it doesn't feel like the rest of Missouri at all. You'll know right away.

[@alexanderjones7769]

South of the Missouri River the state is very german catholic just like st louis. Every little town has a strong catholic church. But north of the river and near the Arkansas border it gets pretty prot like you said.

[@mattw8910]

@@alexanderjones7769 look up where the missouri river is bro...

[@hadriel1228]

The Balkans at home

[@ryuthedokkebi]

PNWer here: * Washington should have had it's eastern border in the cascades, not the Columbia River. * Oregon is probably better renamed Willamette * Greater Idaho should be renamed Snake

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

But Greater Idaho sounds cool

[@verhsler]

I liked the use of the borders of the Mojave to combine the more rural regions of Southern California and Nevada together. Although I wouldn't want the state to be called Vegas, just use the name of the desert since the borders are so similar to the Mojave Desert region

[@Absolute_Goober]

Wait so in texarkana we get our own state? Im down

[@TopHatJack4970discord]

Hey Mr. Z where did yall make the capital of Franklin? It looks like it is in Asheville's area am I right?

[@briankelley1533]

Is it okay if I use this concept for my of writing projects. I find it really interesting concept

[@morsecode980]

I’d like to see IRL state borders superimposed on top of these new borders just for reference

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

LOVE the thumpnail! The pie of imperialism! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@johngolden3714]

I was wondering if Deseret might make an appearance at some point.

[@fightingworldwaramerican6816]

Jefferson’s vision of America

[@stevejohnson3357]

That was fun. Now do Canada. Similar problems with arbitrary boundaries a 2 provinces dominating the country. I think the minimum size should be 200,000.

[@trolleysparks3941]

Super Video, nice work. * Texas: Not breaking it up. If anything it would grow in size. (It's a Texas thing) City States: Seeing liberal leaning cities & suburbs separate for the country side. Tend to believe this is more important than other cultural or economic issues you described here. Many diverse conservative peoples could live peacefully in the same state. So seeing many fewer states than you picture here. * Past efforts at redrawing state lines: One had 35 US states. Another had 9 north American states, Canada & US.

[@patricksweeney1924]

There might be PARTS of Texas that get chipped off (I’m thinking El Paso area, and maybe the panhandle). But agree: Texas might actually GROW (I’m thinking the entire new state of Oklahoma gets merged with Texas. If not, then the new states of Dallas and Oklahoma would have strong pressures to merge).

[@YaBoiBaxter2024]

The perfect USA doesn't exi-

[@Texan_christian1132]

NO! Texas is to broken up😤

[@Texan_christian1132]

@@scottanos9981 clearly don’t want to

[@wyndhamfreeman1489]

Too bad we could never redraw all of the states in real life. This map obviously isn't perfect (it's hard if not impossible to make a perfect map without one side calling it a gerrymander), but it would solve some problems, like watershed usage and indigenous representation in congress. On the other hand, would redrawing the states open up a new can of worms, namely that state populations and demographics are subject to change and therefore states should be redrawn at every census? Such a move would really weaken state independence from the federal government.

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@sethdnh1534]

id change the oregon/lincoln border to be placed near/on the cascade range, splitting the wet and forested areas of western oregon and the dry arid lands of the east (assuming lincoln joins nevada) aswell as splitting the eastern portland metro from the rest of rural oregon. other than that this is a super interesting concept executed well!

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

I say rearrange the WA/OR borders to be the Cascades instead of the Columbia. One can be the wet side and one the dry side

[@CloudSproutRevolution]

This reminds me of my 2nd novel although geography played little role in the division of the states into new countries in said book.

[@MBP1918]

Isn’t it glorious

[@Texan_christian1132]

@@joshuavoida6137 Texas is to broken up😤

[@themilkywayuniverse6962]

I love this man I want a full copy of that map

[@CrimsonFist89]

Question about the border between Portland and Lincoln: did you use the Willamette River or the Cascade mountain range / eastern edge of the Willamette Valley as the border?

[@sethdnh1534]

looks like willamette, the border is just off oregon's north west tip

[@BrianHall33]

Looks like you put Springfield as the Capital of Ozark right? I mean they already claim to be and they’re the biggest individual city. Funnily enough, only the 2nd biggest metro area

[@astroace1294]

I feel like this works very well for states individually, but on the national level it could cause some problems like what you mentioned with the Republicans dominating the Senate.

[@Bluesonofman]

Alaskans and the new Lincolnites will not like losing statehood status and will likely Riot or even Rebel will this.

[@jKLa]

Yes, absolutely. At least Alaska must remain one unified territory!

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

Alaska should secede anyway. I’d love to see him do a video on it

[@Bluesonofman]

@@greatnorthernadventures570 No the US should take over Canada

[@IcePhoenixMusician]

I legitimately think I’d vote for you to be our president, in order to make these new states. Honestly, despite having disagreements with you (me being pointedly more liberal than you appear), I trust you actually have the best in mind.

[@MonsieurDean]

That means a lot, friend! 🤝

[@thepotatope8021]

I would vote for you too (im a socialist)​@@MonsieurDean

[@Texan_christian1132]

NO! Texas is to broken up😤

[@aryabiss9445]

The president has no control over the states.

[@walnutkraken9430]

@@thepotatope8021No, your an idiot 😂

[@jjaesse]

Here are the states and their capitals (updated from comment feedback, and other than the obvious ones), also came up with state abbreviations: AC Acadiana - Lafayette AL Alabama - Birmingham AY Albany - Albany AG Allegheny - Pittsburgh AM Amarillo AZ Arizona - Phoenix AR Arkansas - Little Rock AT Atlanta AS Austin CA California - Oxnard (maybe Ventura?) CL Carolina - Columbia CG Chicago CO Columbia - Washington DA Dallas DE Deseret - Salt Lake City DO Douglass - Montgomery ED Edwards - Abilene ER Erie - Cleveland FL Florida - Orlando FR Franklin - Knoxville GA Georgia - Tallahassee HR Harrison - Columbus HA Hatchie - Jackson (TN) HI Hawaii - Honolulu HS Hoosier - Evansville HO Houston HU Huron - Traverse City ID Idaho - Boise IL Illinois - Springfield IA Iowa - Des Moines JE Jefferson - Redding KY Kentucky - Frankfort KS Kansas - Kansas City LI Lincoln - Bend LA Los Angeles LC Lower Colorado - Gallup MD Madison ME Maine - Bangor MA Massachusetts - Boston MM Miami (not sure if double letters is allowed) MI Michigan - Lansing MS Mississippi - Memphis MO Monroe - Mobile NV Nevada - Reno NO New Orleans NP New Spain - Albuquerque (*NS abbreviation would be confused with Nova Scotia) NY New York - New York City OG Ogallala - Lincoln OH Ohio - Athens OK Oklahoma - Oklahoma City (I'm assuming, there is no capital marked) OZ Ozark - Springfield PC Pecos - El Paso PA Pennsylvania - Scranton PH Philadelphia PO Portland RO Roosevelt - Rapid City SO Saco - Concord (*S is the hardest category for abbreviations here, "SO" could be confused with Sonora region in Mexico) SM Sacramento SD San Diego SF San Francisco SA Santa Anna - San Antonio SC Scandamerika - Saint Paul SN Seneca - Rochester SL St. Louis SP Superior - Duluth SU Susquehanna - Harrisburg TN Tennessee - Nashville TX Texarkana TI Tidewater - Virginia Beach TU Tulsa UC Upper Colorado - Denver VE Vegas - Las Vegas VT Vermont - Montpelier VA Virginia - Richmond WA Washington - Seattle WS Westsylvania - Charleston Any ideas for a better abbreviation

[@kuzenskif]

Hooray, thanks for the list!

[@SimonLoveridge-pj9qw]

Thank you for this. You did miss three states: Hoosier; Houston; and Kentucky. Houston is of course obvious, but the other two are not. Thank you again.

[@jjaesse]

@@SimonLoveridge-pj9qw Fixed! thanks for the note

[@SimonLoveridge-pj9qw]

No problem. Thank you again.@@jjaesse

[@richardeaton8237]

Consider making the driftless region part of Madison. Even as part of Superior would make more sense than breaking it up like that.

[@DrinkingDuckDexter]

I would love to see this overlaid a topographic or even just Google maps so we can really see the natural boundaries these states are being divided on

[@kurtbeyersdorfer2343]

Great video. Tons of reaserch. Would love to see a video about free an unincumbered county movement to any adjoing state for better representaion. See the greater idaho movement. I think that the states would be radicaly reconfigured across the country. I see obvious postives like better representaion for people from thier existing state not wanting to lose them or from thier new state. Less friction and less feelings of opresion within states becuase of movemnet, etc. There are sure to be negatives not yet know. I belive it would be a great and fascinating video.

[@jKLa]

Spokane is still part of Washington though. Lincoln centered in central and eastern Oregon has much in common with Jefferson but definitely not with Nevada! Politically, Jefferson is similer to Idaho though not quite as conservative but culturally it is much different in some ways, being still very much part of the West Coast with a more eclectic and counterculture influenced culture unlike Idaho, but just a much more rural, traditional or more accurately neotraditional and libertarian minded form of it.

[@colinjackson993]

This is an awesome project. My only quibble is the state of Denver. Geographically it straddles the continental divide, so has two very distinct watersheds. This is a big deal. The water of the Colorado River watershed vs the eastern watershed of the Mississippi drives a lot of important economic issues. Also, the culture of the "front range" is very different from the "western slope" of the Rockies. So I would suggest that one state would encompass the front range from Cheyenne, WY to Pueblo, CO. Then a western slope state from Pinedale, WY to Telluride, CO. Using the continental divide as the border.

[@gretslie]

I personally think that Cheyenne should be included in Roosevelt, the climate and culture are significantly different than the Denver area. The current border is pretty close to the climate divide, it's very noticeable for those who travel through frequently. I also think the Wyomingans would not be pleased to get lumped in with Coloradians, there's a reason they live in WY instead of CO! 😅

[@DiMacky24]

SW Alaska (west of Kenai Pen), including the Aleutian peninsula is the only significant geographic region where Eastern Orthodoxy is the dominant religion, primarily of the Aleut and Yupik and the local whites, so as a separate region it would make sense including the lower reaches of the Yukon river where many Yupik Orthodox live.

[@themightydropbear]

I would have given the greater Seattle-Tacoma metro area the same treatment you gave the LA basin. Seattle is geographically isolated by the Cascades in the east and Puget Sound in the west, so its cultural influence is predominantly restricted to the I-5 corridor and a handful of bedroom communities like Port Townsend and Bainbridge Island where Seattleites keep their weekend homes. The rest of the state, both east and west of Seattle is relatively rural and moderate, leaning a bit more conservative in the east. It's a pretty major point of friction in state politics that Seattle basically gets to unilaterally decide the fate of all legislation because King, Pierce and Snohomish counties outnumber the entire rest of the state. Also, I would have added the Oregon coast to the state of Jefferson because those people have exactly zero things in common with Portlanders and far more in common with northern Californians.

[@bencook1068]

It is rather interesting, my only issue being that I can’t tell what the capitals are, or their significance within their new states.

[@Lukdnuke_Narson]

Neat

[@OorahN01]

As someone from Texarkana, I approve of this message.

[@Texan_christian1132]

Texas is to broken up😤

[@joshuam.3959]

what was the thought process behind carving out the entire Twin Cities metro as part of Scandimerika? Since it straddles both sides of Mississippi River. These two videos are very creative and interesting!

[@red_nikolai]

As someone who has lived a number of years in both California and western Washington, there are two things I would change: 1. Find a way to include the city of Sacramento in the state of San Francisco. The state could be renamed Central Valley and the farmers there could finally govern themselves without urban interference. 2. Move the eastern border of Washington so that it runs along the Cascades. The dividing line between western and eastern Washington is, to my understanding, far more defined by the mountains than by the river. I'm not sure whether the line should be in the middle of the mountains or along its eastern edge, but including all of that agrarian stuff on the eastern side with the forestry and tech-industry on the west seems weird. Other than that, I liked this map a LOT. Los Angeles should 100% be its own state, and it's insane to see how many reps it would still have. Jefferson and Deseret becoming states under those names made me very happy. Honestly even without the border adjustments I want, I would still probably vote for this map becoming reality.

[@kcottone]

The most far fetched idea in a video full of them is that America would change its state borders so radically but keep the broken electoral college.

[@mr.originality1005]

Seeing all of the new names, I wonder how each state got its respective name? And how you determined on what remaining region of former states took the title of said state

[@jameshumphrey2345]

Two thoughts: 1) Boy, did you get Idaho wrong. The biggest historical difficulties in managing that as a state stem from the population being divided by the huge nearly-empty mountainous area surrounding the Salmon River. It would make a lot more sense geographically to put Southern Idaho together with what you designated as “Lincoln.” The northern section has greater geographic and economic affinity with eastern Washington. 2) I get the effort to make state boundaries more geographically sensible, but what’s the purpose in making populations more homogeneous ethnically and politically? A mixture of these elements makes communities richer and is a moderating influence on political extremes.

[@dominicadrean2160]

What if Great Britain United Germany

[@Ihaz2fishtanks]

I'd be intrigued to see if the new Arizona would actually be conservative seeing that Phoenix metro, Tucson Metro, Nogales, Yuma, and much of the Tohono O'odham reservation are largely liberal.

[@Yay295]

Rivers are bad borders. Communities often span both sides of a river, and rivers can change their course over time.

[@nickharmon2157]

It would be interesting to see a religious map similar to the political one where majorities and pluralities are distinguished, like one that shows all of the states that are predominantly Baptist, mixed Protestant majority, Catholic majority/ plurality, Christian majority/ plurality with no dominant sect, secular, Mormon, ect… Methodist plurality/ Protestant majority Baptist majority/ minority Protestant majority Catholic plurality/ majority Secular majority vs plurality with Christian sects combined being a majority Similarly an ethnic map showing the English majority/ plurality, German, black, ect…

[@that1ginger22]

The Anglo-Germans will probably dominate that map

[@immortal1341]

why was the far north of Alaska called Seward? Seward is in the south, wouldn't it have made more sense to call it Nome, Utqiagvik or Deadhorse?

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

Because of the Seward Peninsula where Nome is situated

[@Porge-cw7xe]

Bro forgot Puerto Rico💀

[@MonsieurDean]

Puerto what?

[@paytonturner1421]

Can your next video be what if horses never went extinct in the Americas? Also, what if the sarat desert never existed?

[@realmless4193]

"Scandamerica" is a terrible name. I want it to be named "Minnekota"

[@RainingCord922]

I love this project. Although, if I were to be a little critical (just a bit). It seems that you have Jefferson County, Missouri, the county just south of St. Louis county included in the state of St. Louis. Culturally, I believe the region of Jefferson county, MO should be divided by state route M. The northern section, including Arnold, culturally fits more with St. Louis, but everything south of state route M(which follows a chain of hills that is the real boundary) fits far more culturally and I believe geographically with the state of Ozark.

[@KamiKlips]

As someone in the state of Jefferson we should get more of the coast above SF Bay