We're now on Day #12 of my daily US states threads in honor of the 250th anniversary of the country.Idaho joined as the 43rd state on 7/3/1890. The name Idaho doesn't actually stand for anything. It was believed to be a Shoshone word for "gem of the mountains," but this was later found to be false by 1861. The politician who submitted the name for Idaho said he was inspired by a girl named Ida. Idaho has a population of 2 million and is 83.6k square miles in size. Its capital and largest city is Boise. Idaho is a heavily rural state, with both the Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin making up its territory. 38% of its land is part of the forest service, more than any other state. Dominant tribes before colonization included the Nez Perce and Shoshone.French trappers were the first Europeans to discover Idaho. It was claimed by both England and the USA as part of Oregon until 1846 when the USA acquired the Oregon Territory area. The first settlement was Kullyspell House in 1809.Fur was the driving factor of the economy in the early years of Idaho. Many Mormon pioneers also settled within Idaho's territory, as well as Chinese. By the time of statehood, what is now Washington was split from Idaho.Mining later became the focus of the state's economy, and many miner uprisings occurred here. A strike in Coeur d'Alene in 1892 developed into a small warzone, and a former governor was assassinated in 1905. 1/5 of all Gold in the USA was mined from Idaho during this time, and the area around Coeur d'Alene is about 4/5 of Idaho's mining output.The Great Depression hit Idaho very hard. Idaho farmers saw their annual income drop by more than 50%. The state remains famous for its potato production. Around a third of the country's potatoes come from Idaho. Modern day northern Idaho has become somewhat of a bastion of far right extremism, especially in the panhandle. The most infamous of these incidents is the Ruby Ridge in 1992. What do you think of The Gem State?
Napoleon Dynamite
>>18587708it used to be a hardcore wignat place, as late as the 90s there would be literal KKK and Nazi parades in towns. given all that it's funny that Carole King a Brooklyn Jew has lived there since the 70s and loves it.
Mountainous.
https://youtu.be/3fNJnOqxvhc?si=FmBpnUOAL6FbE6hB“Way Out in Idaho” is a folk song about a railroad worker tricked into lousy conditions “working on the narrow gauge way out in Idaho. It’s a common song genre for grumbling loggers, miners or farm laborers.
>>18587722different kind of racism than the South entirely, more like TND than just keeping blacks as a servant class
>>18588863It's a more European kind of racism.
There's a big Mormon presence too. Do they ever fight with the Nazis?
The Whale is set here
I've only been to Idaho once but it was Idaho Falls and there's literally nothing there. I've never been to the western half of the state where Boise is but I can't imagine it's any different. I don't know why you'd live in Idaho when Utah is right there and is pretty much better in every single way
