Virginia. Virginia. Virginia. Virginia. Virginia. Virginia. Virginia. Virginia. Virginia. Virginia. North Carolina. New Hampshire. Georgia. South Carolina. Iowa. New Mexico. Connecticut. Wyoming. Tennessee. Utah. Utah. Minnesota. Ohio. South Dakota. Nevada. Oklahoma. New Jersey.
This is a comprehensive list.
Skeptical states requiring repeated editorials reassuring them that there is, in fact, a Santa Claus?
+1
This is a great guess. Especially since every paper in VA probably has to do an obligatory “Yes, Virginia…” editorial every year.
Yeah, the first 10 list entries, I was picturing the harried and exasperated editor – “JEEBUS, Virginia, how many times do I have to say it?!”
But not New York, because:
Groucho : But listen, it’s a contract isn’t it? We’ve got a contract, no matter how small it is.
Chico : Oh sure. You bet. Hey wait, wait. What does this say here, this thing here?
Groucho : Oh that? Oh that’s the usual clause, that’s in every contract. That just says, it says, ‘If any of the parties participating in this contract are shown not to be in their right mind, the entire agreement is automatically nullified.’
Chico : Well, I don’t know.
Groucho : It’s all right, that’s in every contract. That’s what they call a sanity clause.
Chico : You can’t fool me, there ain’t no sanity clause.
Tuesday hint: I know today is Christmas. Not to be a humbug, but this is not a Christmas puzzle. I tried writing a Christmas puzzle and the muse fell asleep on her “mute” button. This in a bailiwick regulars would tend to associate with me pretty much any time of the year.
Supreme Court cases vs. different states.
Plaintiff in Supreme Court cases involving state boundaries, in chronological order?
While an incorrect answer, it is interesting to note that border disputes and/or redrawings continue today. In 1998, the Supreme Court awarded most of the current Ellis Island to New Jersey. North and South Carolina are redrawing their border, with the result that some property owners have abruptly found that they live in a different state with different rules. Georgia is threatening to renew its border dispute with Tennessee because they want access to Tennessee River water for Atlanta. I’ve always had sort of a perverse interest in state border disputes because I went to high school near Omaha; Iowa and Nebraska have been fighting in court off and on over whether the border moves after the Missouri River changes its course for more than 100 years (the Supreme Court’s opinions are “sometimes yes, sometimes no”).
It’s also cool how the Supremes handle those cases. I would LOVE to be a special master in a border dispute.
Wednesday hint: maybe it would help if I phrased it thusly:
1-10. Virginia.
11. North Carolina.
12. New Hampshire.
13. Georgia.
14. South Carolina.
15. Iowa.
16. New Mexico.
17. Connecticut.
18. Wyoming.
19. Tennessee.
20. Utah.
21. Utah.
22. Minnesota.
23. Ohio.
24. South Dakota.
25. Nevada.
26. Oklahoma.
27. New Jersey.
States which provided the winning (3/4) vote on constitutional amendments.
That should be winning ratification (3/4) vote on each constitutional amendment. (1-27)
Sounds like a good guess. Why didn’t the number 27 ring a bell in my head?
That is exactly correct. Awesome!
There are some weird ones there. Two of the Civil War amendments being put over the top by former Confederate states, and Repeal by Utah.
Those would have been Reconstruction-era governments which were elected by very different voting polities than existed either before or since.