West Kansas: Difference between revisions
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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In 1992, Kansas |
In May 1992, Kansas Governor [[Joan Finney]] signed into law a new school finance formula that adversely affected several south-western Kansas counties.<ref name=GPQ /> These laws raised taxes and shifted state education funding away from rural school districts and into more urban areas. In reaction to this, a group headed by [[Don O. Concannon]] advocated the secession of a number of counties from the state. |
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==Proposals== |
==Proposals== |
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The group |
The group organized a series of [[straw poll]]s that demonstrated widespread support for secession in nine counties from south-western Kansas:<ref name=Overby>{{cite journal | url=http://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-13319676/we-re-outta-here#/ | title=We're outta here! | work=[[Common Cause|Common Cause Magazine]] | date=December 1992 | last=Overby | first=Peter | number=4 | volume=18 | page=23}}</ref> [[Grant County, Kansas|Grant]], [[Haskell County, Kansas|Haskell]], [[Hodgeman County, Kansas|Hodgeman]], [[Kearny County, Kansas|Kearney]], [[Kiowa County, Kansas|Kiowa]], [[Meade County, Kansas|Meade]], [[Morton County, Kansas|Morton]], [[Stanton County, Kansas|Stanton]], and [[Stevens County, Kansas|Stevens]].<ref name=GPQ>{{cite journal|last1=McCormick|first1=Peter J.|title=The 1992 Secessionist Movement in Southwest Kansas|journal=Great Plains Quarterly|date=1995|volume=15|issue=4|pages=247-258|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1993&context=greatplainsquarterly|accessdate=12 August 2015}}</ref> |
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On September 11, 1992, a [[Constitutional convention (political meeting)|constitutional convention]] was convened in [[Ulysses, Kansas]], at which it was decided to call the new state "West Kansas".<ref name=Kauffman /> A state bird (the [[pheasant]]), and a state flower (the [[yucca]]) were also chosen.<ref name=Overby /> |
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==Result and evaluation== |
==Result and evaluation== |
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[[Bill Kauffman]] notes that "eventually, the West Kansans put secession on hold," and 17 affected school districts filed lawsuits. However, at the end of 1994, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the 1992 act.<ref name=Kauffman>{{cite web | url=http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17490/article_detail.asp | last=Kauffman | first=Bill | author-link=Bill Kauffman|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070214035253/http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17490/article_detail.asp | archivedate=February 14, 2007 | deadurl=yes | publication-date=March 1995 | volume=6 | issue=2 | magazine=[[The American Enterprise]] | p=37 | title=Smaller Is Beautifuller}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 04:00, 12 August 2015
West Kansas was a proposed state of the United States, advocated by a short-lived secessionist movement in the 1990s.
Background
In May 1992, Kansas Governor Joan Finney signed into law a new school finance formula that adversely affected several south-western Kansas counties.[1] These laws raised taxes and shifted state education funding away from rural school districts and into more urban areas. In reaction to this, a group headed by Don O. Concannon advocated the secession of a number of counties from the state.
Proposals
The group organized a series of straw polls that demonstrated widespread support for secession in nine counties from south-western Kansas:[2] Grant, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearney, Kiowa, Meade, Morton, Stanton, and Stevens.[1]
On September 11, 1992, a constitutional convention was convened in Ulysses, Kansas, at which it was decided to call the new state "West Kansas".[3] A state bird (the pheasant), and a state flower (the yucca) were also chosen.[2]
Result and evaluation
Bill Kauffman notes that "eventually, the West Kansans put secession on hold," and 17 affected school districts filed lawsuits. However, at the end of 1994, the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the 1992 act.[3]
References
- ^ a b McCormick, Peter J. (1995). "The 1992 Secessionist Movement in Southwest Kansas". Great Plains Quarterly. 15 (4): 247–258. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ a b Overby, Peter (December 1992). "We're outta here!". Common Cause Magazine. 18 (4): 23.
- ^ a b Kauffman, Bill (March 1995). "Smaller Is Beautifuller". The American Enterprise. p. 37. Archived from the original on February 14, 2007.
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