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🙇🏻 4 Questions about States and Their Names
September 9th, 1776, is a big day in our nation's history. It's the day we stopped being called the United Colonies and got our official name: The United States of America.
And we felt that the day we named ourselves the United States was the perfect day for some questions about some of our states and their names...
🙇🏻 What State's Legislature Ruled in 1881 That the Last Letter of Their State Name Was Silent?
It doesn't take much work to notice that Kansas and the last six letters of Arkansas are the same, but pronounced totally differently. But why is that? A Native American tribe referred to the people who lived in the region we now call Arkansas as the Akansa. Enter the French who made a few adjustments to the word: adding an 's' at the end for pluralization and an 'r' before the 'k' just because. In French, an 's' at the end of the word is silent, so the state came to be pronounced Arkansaw. And just so there wouldn't be any confusion, in 1881, the state legislature ruled on the issue, declaring that the 's' was officially silent.
🙇🏻 Why Did Lord Baltimore Not Name Maryland "Mariana?"
Maryland owes its name to Queen Henrietta Maria, who granted the state's charter. But during the naming process, another option being bandied about was Mariana. The idea was ultimately vetoed by Maryland's founder, Lord Baltimore (we'll let you guess what city is named after him), who didn't like how the name reminded him of Juan de Mariana. What did Mariana do that Baltimore found so objectionable? He argued against rulers being tyrannical and imposing their will on their citizens. Heaven forbid we named a place after that guy.
🙇🏻 Georgia is Named after King George II, Who Granted the State's Charter Proposing that Georgia be a Colony for Whom?
In the 1700s, a few radical thinkers thought that maybe debtors shouldn't be locked away in prison for owing money. We know, crazy right?
So they proposed creating a new colony where debtors could get their act together without being locked away. King George II approved the charter, but the whole debtor concept ultimately fell through. That's okay though, it seems that George wasn't all that concerned with the welfare of debtors anyway. He was likely just approving the charter because Georgia could be a good buffer to protect South Carolina from Spanish Florida. But since he had approved the charter, they named the state after him anyway. Even if he didn't seem to care one wit about the people who would live there.
🙇🏻 What State Got Its Name in Part Due to a Debt Owed by the King?
William Penn's father was owed quite a large debt by the king, who decided to repay that debt by granting Penn the land for his new colony. Penn Founded a colony based on his Quaker ideals, promising fair trials, religious freedom, free elections, and no unjust imprisonments. King Charles I decided the land would be called Pennsylvania in honor of young William, which was fine by everyone except William, who felt embarrassed having the place named after himself. But King Charles wouldn't change the name. So Pennsylvania is named after one of the only people in the world who apparently doesn't think it's cool to have a state named after himself.
🌀
September 9th, 1776, is a big day in our nation's history. It's the day we stopped being called the United Colonies and got our official name: The United States of America.
And we felt that the day we named ourselves the United States was the perfect day for some questions about some of our states and their names...
🙇🏻 What State's Legislature Ruled in 1881 That the Last Letter of Their State Name Was Silent?
It doesn't take much work to notice that Kansas and the last six letters of Arkansas are the same, but pronounced totally differently. But why is that? A Native American tribe referred to the people who lived in the region we now call Arkansas as the Akansa. Enter the French who made a few adjustments to the word: adding an 's' at the end for pluralization and an 'r' before the 'k' just because. In French, an 's' at the end of the word is silent, so the state came to be pronounced Arkansaw. And just so there wouldn't be any confusion, in 1881, the state legislature ruled on the issue, declaring that the 's' was officially silent.
🙇🏻 Why Did Lord Baltimore Not Name Maryland "Mariana?"
Maryland owes its name to Queen Henrietta Maria, who granted the state's charter. But during the naming process, another option being bandied about was Mariana. The idea was ultimately vetoed by Maryland's founder, Lord Baltimore (we'll let you guess what city is named after him), who didn't like how the name reminded him of Juan de Mariana. What did Mariana do that Baltimore found so objectionable? He argued against rulers being tyrannical and imposing their will on their citizens. Heaven forbid we named a place after that guy.
🙇🏻 Georgia is Named after King George II, Who Granted the State's Charter Proposing that Georgia be a Colony for Whom?
In the 1700s, a few radical thinkers thought that maybe debtors shouldn't be locked away in prison for owing money. We know, crazy right?
So they proposed creating a new colony where debtors could get their act together without being locked away. King George II approved the charter, but the whole debtor concept ultimately fell through. That's okay though, it seems that George wasn't all that concerned with the welfare of debtors anyway. He was likely just approving the charter because Georgia could be a good buffer to protect South Carolina from Spanish Florida. But since he had approved the charter, they named the state after him anyway. Even if he didn't seem to care one wit about the people who would live there.
🙇🏻 What State Got Its Name in Part Due to a Debt Owed by the King?
William Penn's father was owed quite a large debt by the king, who decided to repay that debt by granting Penn the land for his new colony. Penn Founded a colony based on his Quaker ideals, promising fair trials, religious freedom, free elections, and no unjust imprisonments. King Charles I decided the land would be called Pennsylvania in honor of young William, which was fine by everyone except William, who felt embarrassed having the place named after himself. But King Charles wouldn't change the name. So Pennsylvania is named after one of the only people in the world who apparently doesn't think it's cool to have a state named after himself.
🌀
