Nevada is a state located in the western United States. The
population as of July 2004 was estimated to be 2,334,771, up
nearly 17% from the 2000 census figure of 1,998,257. Nevada is
the fastest growing state in the country. Between 2000 and
2003, Nevada's population increased 12.2%, while the USA's
population increased 3.3%. Between 1990 and 2000, Nevada's
population increased 66.3%, while the USA's population
increased 13.1%.
Nevada's nickname is "The Silver State", and the state's motto
is "All for Our Country".
In1850, the U.S. Congress established the Utah territory which
included the present day states of Utah, Idaho and Nevada.
1859 saw the discovery of the Comstock Lode, a rich
outcropping of gold and silver, and Virginia City sprang up.
This discovery brought a flood of miners, prospectors,
merchants and others hoping to strike it rich.
On March 2, 1861, Nevada separated from the Utah territory and
adopted its current name, shortened from Sierra Nevada
(Spanish for "snowy range"). On October 31, 1864, just eight
days prior to the presidential election, Nevada became the
36th state in the union. Statehood was rushed through despite
Nevada's tiny population to help ensure Abraham Lincoln's
reelection and post-Civil War Republican dominance in
congress. As Nevada's mining-based economy tied it to the more
industrialized Union, it was viewed as politically reliable
(as opposed to the more agrarian and Confederate-sympathizing
California).
Nevada achieved its current boundaries on May 5, 1866 when it
absorbed the portion of Pah-Ute County in the Arizona
Territory west of the Colorado River. The transfer was
prompted by the discovery of gold in the area, and it was
thought that Nevada would be better able to oversee the
expected population boom. This area includes most of what is
now Clark County, Nevada.
Negotiations are currently underway for Nevada to annex
Wendover, Utah, which would be merged with West Wendover,
Nevada. This deal will require the permission of both the
Nevada and Utah legislatures and the U.S. Congress.
Mining shaped Nevada's economy for many years. In the late
1800's, the Comstock Lode played out, and Nevada went into a
tailspin. There was even talk of stripping away statehood, the
only time in American history such an action was discussed in
Congress. However, the rich silver strike at Tonopah in 1900
helped save the state. This was soon followed by strikes in
Goldfield and Rhyolite in the following years. These strikes
lasted well into the 1910s and made Nevada a dominant player
in mining once again. Mines still control a good percentage of
Nevada's economy. Gold from the Carlin Trend in Northern
Nevada is the second richest in the world. Other minerals,
such as copper, molybdenum, and lithium, are also mined.
Despite Nevada being the third oldest western state, it is
referred to as the "Permanent Colony" as over 87% of the land
is owned by the Federal Government. The primary reason for
this is that homesteads were not permitted in large enough
sizes to be viable in the arid conditions that prevail
throughout Nevada. Instead, early settlers would homestead
land surrounding a water source, and then graze livestock on
the adjacent public land, which is useless for agriculture
without access to water (this pattern of ranching still
prevails). The deficiencies in the Homestead Act as applied to
Nevada were probably due to a lack of understanding of the
Nevada environment, although some firebrands (so-called
"Sagebrush Rebels") maintain that it was due to pressure from
mining interests to keep land out of the hands of common folk.
Gambling was common in the early Nevada mining towns, but was
outlawed in 1909 as part of a nation-wide anti-gaming crusade. Due to a
sharp decline in mining output in the 1920s and the decline of the
agricultural sector during the Great Depression, Nevada re-legalized
gambling in 1931. At the time, the leading proponents of gambling
expected that it would be a short term fix until the state's economic
base widened to include less cyclical industries. However, re-outlawing
gambling has never been seriously considered since
