What state's borders should be changed?

[traininthedistance]

All the states whose boundaries are formed by the Mississippi River should change over to the current position of the river, rather than where it was two hundred years ago. The river's channel has changed substantially since then.

This is actually the right answer- the one thing that really actually needs to be done.

The next thing I'd do is give Fisher's Island to Connecticut from New York- you can really only get there easily from CT.  Along those same lines, the Kentucky Bend should be part of Tennessee.  Any other parts of states which are functionally non-contiguous ought to be fixed, too.  I guess that means the Northwest Angle and that little bit of Washington State could go to Canada.

Everything else is elective.  The UP to Wisconsin, and Staten/Ellis/Liberty to NJ do make a sort of sense.  And if we're going to be going so far as to combine states, we ought to a) break up California and Texas at the very least, and b) start by combining the Dakotas.

[jimrtex]

The southern border of Colorado should be straightened out.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

There's a (possibly apocryphal) story about how the Idaho-Montana border was originally intended to be set along the Continental Divide, but that a pro-Montana survey team 'mistakenly'  showed the Divide as being too far west, leading to Idaho's unbalanced layout.
(A border along the continental divide would make both MT and ID roughly rectangular.)

Such a change would have addressed northern Idaho's isolation from the south, and made Montana a less diverse state geographically. Not worth changing now, imo, but an interesting little bit of relevant history.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I've always thought El Paso belongs in New Mexico.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Ellis Island should go back to New York.

[politicallefty]

I think there's a lot that should be changed. Is it necessary to keep 50 states in this case?

I'd combine ND and SD into the new state of Dakota. Alabama would get at least the bulk of the Florida Panhandle and I wouldn't rule out combining Mississippi and Alabama. I'd also give the Texas Panhandle to Oklahoma. Those are just a couple of changes I would make, but I could easily go for some more radical revisions. If you think I'm being too political, I probably wouldn't let Delaware stand as a state and I wouldn't rule out combining a couple states in New England. California and Texas could be carved up (perhaps dividing California into North and South), not to mention possibly separating NY between Upstate and Downstate.

[traininthedistance]

Ellis Island should go back to New York.

Oh hell no.  Ellis Island is on the NJ side of the river, and even has a bridge to it from New Jersey.  It really ought to be Jersey property, all of it.

[5280]

Combine ND and SD into Dakota.  Merge east Oregon and east Washington into a new state (Lincoln), Merge west Oregon and west Washington into a new state.  Split California into north and south.  

Move the south border of Colorado slightly south of Santa Fe New Mexico, and line up the north border of Colorado to Utah north border.  Move the north Wyoming border, line up with the north/south Dakota border.  Combine Nebraska and Kansas as one state.

[Enderman]

I have another idea that would please Wisconsin and displease (probably) Michigan....



The Upper Peninsula and Isle Royal should ALL GO TO WISCONSIN!!!!!! I mean c'mon... just why is that ... thing, going on there?!?

[Enderman]

Ellis Island should go back to New York.

Oh hell no.  Ellis Island is on the NJ side of the river, and even has a bridge to it from New Jersey.  It really ought to be Jersey property, all of it.

and so begins the war between two states over one island.... XD

[traininthedistance]

Ellis Island should go back to New York.

Oh hell no.  Ellis Island is on the NJ side of the river, and even has a bridge to it from New Jersey.  It really ought to be Jersey property, all of it.

and so begins the war between two states over one island.... XD

The status of Ellis Island went to the Supreme Court back in the '90s.  (I think it was the '90s?)

They split the baby by saying the part of Ellis Island that was naturally a rock sticking out of the water is NY property (since that was the size of the island when NJ sold it to NY way back when), but all the landfill they used to expand it to more than twice its natural size is Jersey property, since it is on the Jersey side of the river after all.

The main building is on the NY portion, but most of the old hospital stuff is NJ.

[Mr. Illini]

Here are my preferred changes:

-Alabama and Georgia inherit the FL panhandle for cultural purposes
-Connecticut and Rhode Island are merged for sanity purposes
-The awkward piece of land on the OH/MI border is given to OH for the purpose of a straight border
-Wisconsin claims the UP so that Michigan isn't two different pieces anymore
-St. Louis County is given to Illinois for cultural purposes

[TDAS04]

If only the western portions of the Florida panhandle had been part of Alabama, Gore would have been President.

[Mehmentum]

If we're talking contiguity, the eastern shore of Virginia could go to Maryland.  Also, somone should do something about the West Virginia-Maryland panhandles mess.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Staten and Ellis Island to NJ
UP to Wisconsin
California split in three
New York City split from upstate New York and Upstate keeps the name of New York
Give Utah back the gold reserves originally in it making Nevada smaller
Give back to Arizona the land it lost to Nevada which would like put Vegas in Arizona.
 

[TJ in Oregon]

I have another idea that would please Wisconsin and displease (probably) Michigan....



The Upper Peninsula and Isle Royal should ALL GO TO WISCONSIN!!!!!! I mean c'mon... just why is that ... thing, going on there?!?

The UP was given to Michigan as a consolation prize for losing the disputed Toledo Strip to Ohio. Ohio and Michigan very nearly went to war over Toledo but the Federal government intervened.

[old timey villain]

(I am basing all of this on aesthetics)

That little dingleberry hanging off of south Georgia should probably just go to Florida. It's always bothered me.

Florida should get Alabama's buck teeth- Mobile and Baldwin counties. There are already too many buck teeth in Alabama.

The Missouri bootheel should go to Tennessee

As someone else mentioned the Upper Peninsula should definitely go to Wisconsin. It's already connected to the state.

Delaware should get the entire Peninsula, including the little bit belonging to Virginia

The Maryland panhandle where the mountains are should go to West Virginia. That region is so unlike the rest of the state and I think they'd be more at home in WV...idk

[Gass3268]

Other than state pride, I have no desire for Wisconsin to gain the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There is nothing there to want other then some pretty scenery. Michigan has already sucked all of the resources out of it.     

[jimrtex]

Other than state pride, I have no desire for Wisconsin to gain the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There is nothing there to want other then some pretty scenery. Michigan has already sucked all of the resources out of it.     

How about extending the Iowa-Minnesota eastward and adding the southern part of Wisconsin to Illinois, and the northern part to Michigan?

[Beet]

Virginia should annex Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Mineral, Hardy, Grant, and Pendleton counties of West Virginia, giving it control of the entire eastern panhandle of West Virginia; plus Garrett and Allegany the two westernmost counties of Maryland. A line from the southernmost tip of West Virginia straight down to the Tennessee border should be chopped off and given to Kentucky. Finally, draw a line from Roanoke to Danville, and everything west of that line and east of the West Virginia-Tennessee line should be given to North Carolina.

[King of Kensington]

I like the idea of combining Connecticut/Rhode Island, Maryland/Delaware and Vermont/New Hampshire.  Western Massachusetts also seems to be quite a different animal from the rest of the state - but not sure where it goes.  Springfield seems to fit more with Connecticut but Amherst and Northampton with Vermont.  Maybe a split of New England on a "maritime"/non-maritime" axis makes sense.

I also like the idea of combining the Dakotas and Nebraska/Kansas, as well as doing western Washington/Oregon and putting eastern Washington/Oregon with Idaho.

The Midwest could also be split up along a Great Lakes/non-Great Lakes lines.  Chicagoland seems more tied in many respects to Michigan and Wisconsin than it does to downstate Illinois for example.

[Gass3268]

Other than state pride, I have no desire for Wisconsin to gain the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There is nothing there to want other then some pretty scenery. Michigan has already sucked all of the resources out of it.     

How about extending the Iowa-Minnesota eastward and adding the southern part of Wisconsin to Illinois, and the northern part to Michigan?

How about not!

[King of Kensington]

Where is the line between the "upper" and "lower" Midwest?

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

[muon2]

Darn that ever changing Mississippi River.

You can add Carter Lake, IA to your list. It's a suburb of Omaha entirely west of the river.



Similarly, the original state capital of IL, Kaskaskia, is entirely on the MO side of the river.