Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we are focusing
on a place many of us, you know, we think we
know, Oregon. You probably picture rain, craft
beer, maybe some Portlandia sketches, and just
a generally progressive laid -back vibe. And
that image is certainly part of the story, but
it's really just the surface. Right. Our source
material today reveals a state that is so deeply
defined by its own motto, which translates to
she flies with her own wings. She flies with
her own wings. Yeah. And Oregon has. always,
always sought to govern itself, often aggressively
separate from national norms. And the result
is this place of dramatic, often jarring contradictions.
We're talking about a state whose landscape swings
from what coastal rainforest to basically a high
desert. A technical high desert. Yes. And a history
marred by some of the most stringent racial exclusion
laws ever written into a state constitution.
And then at the same time. Its economic life
is balanced between like the world's largest
fungus and the world's largest sports apparel
company. And crucially, it operates under one
of the most unusual fiscal policies in America,
the kicker tax law, which acts as a sort of constitutional
leash on government spending. So that's our mission
today. We want to trace the complex history,
explore this unique geography of extremes, and
really unpack the economic and political engines
that make Oregon one of the most geographically
diverse and politically polarized states in the
U .S. We're going deep into the Beaver State.
So to set the stage, let's just start with the
basics. Okay. Oregon was admitted as the 33rd
state on February 14th, 1859. And as you mentioned,
the Beaver State is the nickname, which reflects
the fur trade that really defined its early years.
And the capital is Salem, right? The third biggest
city. It is, but Portland just, it dominates
everything. The Portland metro area, which even
stretches up into Washington state, is the 26th
largest in the entire nation. And it's huge geographically
too. I think I saw it's the ninth largest state.
Ninth largest, covering over 98 ,000 square miles,
which for some perspective makes it significantly
larger than the entire United Kingdom. Wow. Okay,
but before we jump into the deep history, we
have to do... The necessary public service. Ah,
yes. The pronunciation. You have to get it right.
There is a specific, locally preferred way to
say it. Absolutely. The rule, famously popularized
by former Oregon Ducks quarterback Joey Harrington,
is mandatory if you want to avoid the outsider
label. It's Oregon. Never or Egon. Never or Egon.
It's a key piece of identity, you know, a small
but really important sign that the locals fly
with their own wings, even when it comes to bowels.
OK, let's unpack the state's name itself, because
the story of Oregon is anything but clear. It's
remarkably uncertain, especially for a state
admitted relatively late into the Union. And
the competing theories, they span centuries and
languages and they really illustrate the complexity
of those early European encounters. The difficulty
is that the name just started showing up on maps.
Before anyone really knew what it meant, right?
Exactly. It appeared in print before anyone could
definitively prove its connection to any specific
geographic or linguistic route. So what are the
competing theories? Let's start with the Spanish.
What do the sources suggest there? Okay, so the
Spanish were the earliest European claimants
to the Pacific coast. And one theory points to
a 1598 Spanish chronicle, which referred to the
area near the Columbia River as Orojon. Wait,
Orojon means big year in Spanish, doesn't it?
That's a very strange name for a region. It is.
It's an intensely bizarre name. And the idea
is that this initial designation, El Orojon,
was somehow corrupted over time, maybe through
transcription errors, shifting that J sound to
a G, which led to Oregon. That one seems like
a stretch. It's pretty humorous, but yeah, not
widely accepted. Other Spanish theories are a
bit more benign. Maybe it referenced a stream
in Spain called Arroyo del Oregon, or possibly
the plant oregano that grows in the southern
part of the state. Okay, so maybe not Spanish.
What about the earliest English appearance? The
word first showed up in English documents in
1765. Major Robert Rogers petitioned the King
of Great Britain for a land grant, and he used
the spelling Oregon to refer to this great but
still mythical river of the West. A mythical
river. A mythical river. And that spelling shifted
to Oregon by 1778 after Captain James Cook explored
the coast. And the French theory is all about
the region's infamous weather, isn't it? Precisely.
The French word Oregon means windstorm or hurricane.
And the theory is that French explorers or traders
heard Native American accounts of these ferocious
Chinook winds that just whip through the lower
Columbia River gorge and said, yeah, the name
fits the stormy, rugged environment. And finally,
we have what is supposedly the most widely accepted.
It's a little anticlimactic theory. This is the
likely winner, yeah. It was proposed by George
R. Stewart in 1944, and it all comes down to
an engraver's typo on an 18th century French
map. A typo. A typo. Stewart suggested that the
name started when the Ouissaconsink, which we
now know as the Wisconsin River, was mistakenly
spelled Wararaconsint. So the engraver just broke
the word in the wrong place. That's the idea.
They might have broken the name across two lines,
making it look like a large western river named
Waracon existed. And this typo was then adopted
by Major Rogers for his petition. So whether
it was... a mythical river, a hurricane, or just
a simple cartographic mistake, the name stuck.
It stuck. But long before any European speculation,
this land was shaped by geological forces of
incredible magnitude and was home to complex
civilizations. The land itself has a deep, dramatic
history. It really does. We have evidence of
human habitation dating back at least 15 ,000
years. Archaeological sites like Fort Rock Cave
and the Paisley Caves, they contain material
dating as far back as 13 ,200 years. And these
early settlements were concentrated around the
Columbia River. right? Mostly, yeah. Around the
plentiful resources of the Columbia and the coastal
estuaries. But the geological drama is, I mean,
it's literally the reason most Oregonians live
where they do today. We have to talk about the
massive Missoula floods. This is absolutely critical
to understanding Western Oregon's identity. During
the last glacial period, enormous ice dams formed,
creating this vast ancient Lake Missoula in Montana.
And when these dams collapsed. When they collapsed,
and this happened repeatedly over thousands of
years, it unleashed these catastrophic floods.
We're talking about torrents of water and ice
moving faster than anything imaginable today.
And what did that do to the Willamette Valley?
The Willamette Valley, which is today the densely
populated heart of Oregon, was just inundated.
It was filled with 300 to 400 feet of water.
Wow. But the crucial result wasn't destruction.
It was creation. These floods deposited layers
and layers of nutrient -rich sediment known as
Missoula flood silt all throughout the valley.
So that's the source of the valley's famous fertility.
That is the source. It supports everything from
the massive agriculture to the thriving wine
industry we'll get into later. So by the time
European contact began in earnest... starting
with Spanish explorers in the mid -16th century,
the region was home to dozens of sophisticated
indigenous nations. Absolutely. The Chinook,
the Klamath, the Nez Perce, the Umatilla, and
so many others, they were already managing the
resources of the Columbia and its tributaries.
And then the 18th century brought the major players.
Captain James Cook explored the coast in 1778,
but the real race for the territory began in
the 19th century after the Louisiana Purchase
pushed American interests west. And that journey
often starts with Lewis and Clark. Yes. They
arrived in 1805 searching for the Northwest Passage
and establishing American claims. They built
Fort Clatsop near the mouth of the Columbia River
and endured that famous, miserable winter from
1805 to 1806. Shortly after that, in 1811, John
Jacob Astor financed Fort Astoria. Which established
the first permanent English -speaking settlement
west of the Rockies. But the English presence
was initially the dominant one, wasn't it? especially
through the powerful Hudson's Bay Company. Oh,
absolutely. Following the War of 1812, the British
essentially took over Astor's posts. The Treaty
of 1818 then established a joint British and
American occupancy. And the Hudson's Bay Company,
the HPC, they ran everything from Fort Vancouver.
They did. From their headquarters there, built
in 1825, the HPC exerted massive control over
the entire Pacific Northwest. And their goal
was to keep the area as wilderness for the fur
trade, right? They actively discouraged settlement.
They did, for a while, until around 1841. The
HBC governor, Sir George Simpson, he realized
the American pressure was just becoming overwhelming.
So he changed tactics. In a pretty desperate
attempt to solidify the British claim to the
Columbia District, he reversed policy and encouraged
some Red River Colony settlers to relocate near
Fort Vancouver. But it was too little, too late.
Because at that point, the Oregon Trail had become
the main artery for American migration. It was
a massive wave starting in earnest around 1842,
1843. Thousands of American settlers just flooded
into the Willamette Valley, drawn by the promise
of free, fertile land. And that influx just made
the joint occupation unsustainable. Exactly.
The tension was peacefully dissolved in 1846
with the Oregon Treaty, which set the border
at the 49th parallel and formalized the territory
status as American land. The settlement then
accelerated rapidly, especially after the Donation
Land Claim Act of 1850, which, well, it essentially
gave away indigenous land to white settlers.
It did. But this influx and the resulting political
development coincided with one of the most difficult
parts of Oregon's history, the foundational role
of black exclusion. This is a crucial element
that has to be fully understood. Yeah. Because
it so profoundly contradicts the modern image
of Oregon. Right. When Oregon was being settled
and moving towards statehood, it wasn't just
dealing with the national slavery debate. It
was ensuring that even if it were free, it would
remain explicitly and legally white. And the
first black exclusion law was passed in December
1844, when Oregon was still just a provisional
government. Lay out the details of this law for
us, because they are. They are truly shocking.
The 1844 law simultaneously banned slavery and
prohibited African Americans from entering the
territory at all. At all. At all. And if a black
person refused to leave, the consequences were
written directly into law. They would face arrest
and public physical punishment. This was the
famous lash law. Yes, the lash law, as it was
known. They would receive no less than 20 and
no more than 39 lashes or stripes on the back.
And this could be repeated. repeatable every
six months until the individual decided to leave
the territory. It was institutionalized state
violence aimed at driving out an entire race.
They later removed the public whipping part,
but the intent was still there. The whipping
clause was removed due to public distaste, but
yes, the intent of exclusion remained firm. And
this context is so vital for understanding the
delay in statehood. Arguments just raged in Congress
over whether it should be admitted as a free
or a slave state. The irony is staggering. Oregon
eventually entered as a free state in 1859, but
only because Southern politicians struck a deal
to open the possibility of slavery in the southwestern
U .S. So in return for securing this free status,
Oregon's original constitution, which its own
citizens voted to approve, contained a definitive...
White's only clause. A free state founded not
on some abolitionist principle, but on white
exclusion. What did that clause explicitly forbid?
Section 35 of the 1857 Constitution, which became
law upon statehood, stated, and I'm quoting here,
no free Negro or mulatto not residing in this
state at the time of the adoption of this Constitution
shall ever come reside or be within this state.
It goes on, right? It does. Or hold any real
estate or make any contracts or maintain any
suit therein. It was a complete legal ban on
future black settlement designed to create a
haven for white farmers and laborers who didn't
want to compete with black workers, free or enslaved.
It's a deep, dark stain. A foundational paradox
where the state motto of self -determination,
she flies with her own wings, meant independence
only for the white majority. And that clause
wasn't fully repealed until 1926. Even then,
only due to popular vote pressure. The legacy
of this exclusion is visible even today, isn't
it? For decades, black populations in Oregon
were just tiny compared to neighboring states
like California or Washington. It profoundly
shaped the demographic profile we see now, and
it's just a necessary counterpoint to the state's
current progressive image. So the political landscape
was forged in this fire of independence and exclusion.
But what about the physical land? How did this
incredibly varied geography isolate certain regions
and maybe reinforce some of those early cultural
and political divides? The geography is a masterclass
in extremes, and it absolutely dictates the political
divide. Oregon is the ninth largest state, stretching
nearly 400 miles east to west. That east -west
distance tells you a lot about the challenges
of communication and governance. Exactly. The
landscape ranges from these lush, temperate rainforests
forests in the coast range to high desert in
the southeast. And that southeast region, by
the way, it still meets the historical and technical
definition of a frontier. And the mean elevation
is pretty high, too. 3 ,300 feet, emphasizing
the mountainous nature of the interior. What
about its position relative to the rest of the
country? There's a fun fact about that. There
is a fascinating detail. Oregon's geographical
center is further west than any of the other
48 contiguous states. It is physically and culturally
tethered to the Pacific Ocean. Geologically speaking,
western Oregon sits on a ticking clock, doesn't
it? It does. The mountains of western Oregon,
including the formidable Cascade Range home to
Mount Hood, the state's highest peak at over
11 ,000 feet, were formed by the subduction of
the Juan de Fuca Plate under the North American
Plate. And that process is still happening. Still
happening, and it generates significant seismic
and volcanic risk. The Cascadia subduction zone
is a geological reality that Oregonians have
to live with. It's a chilling reminder. I mean,
the entire western flank of the state sits on
this ticking geological clock. It really does.
The last time the Cascadia Fault truly spoke
was in 1700. It was an earthquake so massive
it created a tsunami that traveled all the way
to Japan. And modern planning is finally starting
to account for this, right? Increasingly, yes.
Modern land use planning in the Willamette Valley
is now forced to account for the possibility
of a magnitude 9 .0 plus earthquake, a risk that
was largely ignored for decades in the name of
development. The Columbia River is another immense
force in this geography. It acts as both a natural
boundary and an economic lifeline. It defines
so much of the northern border. And it's one
of only two major rivers, the Klamath in the
south being the other, that manages to cut completely
through the formidable Cascade Mountains. And
beyond being the conduit for those ancient Missoula
floods, it's also a huge source of power. Massive
hydroelectric power, thanks to structures like
the Bonneville Dam, it's been the source of civilization,
trade, and now electricity. Okay, before we delve
further into the living landscape, we have to
cover Oregon's quirky record holders. They range
from the incredibly deep to the impossibly small.
Let's start with the deepest natural feature.
Crater Lake, located in Oregon's only national
park. It's an intensely blue caldera that holds
the record for the deepest lake in the U .S.
at 1 ,943 feet. Formed by the collapse of a volcano,
Mount Mazama. About 7 ,700 years ago, yeah. Then
you go to the other extreme, the smallest. Portland,
the supposed urban center of quirkiness, is home
to the world's smallest park. Mill Ends Park.
Mill Ends Park. Officially recognized by Guinness
World Records, it measures a minuscule 452 square
inches. And it started as what, a hole in the
ground? A hole for a light pole that never got
filled. A journalist eventually appropriated
it as a tiny park for leprechauns. It's peak
Portland. And we have to mention the Dee River,
which is locked in this rivalry. Yes. Oregon
claims the Dee River is the shortest river in
the world. It flows just 120 feet from Devil's
Lake to the Pacific Ocean in Lincoln City. But
Montana disputes this. Montana disputes this
with their Rowe River. It's a very literal and
often amusing measurement competition that just
encapsulates the state's competitive spirit.
All right, let's shift to the living wonders,
the flora and fauna, and maybe the most surprising
fact about life in Oregon. The world's single
largest known organism resides there. This connects
directly to that theme of profound subterranean
forces. About 60 % of the state is forested,
and that number rises to 80 % west of the Cascades.
With the Douglas fir, the state tree, being dominant.
Right, which fuels the massive timber industry.
But let's talk about the fungus. Tell us about
the fungus. We're talking about Armillaria astoyae.
a fungus commonly known as the honey mushroom.
It lives beneath the soil in the Malheur National
Forest in eastern Oregon. And this is not just
a collection of mushrooms. It's one single organism.
One contiguous massive life form. This single
organism spans an astonishing 2 ,200 acres. 2
,200 acres. It's the single largest organism
by area, globally. It's mostly underground, this
vast network of fungal filaments feeding on tree
roots. I think it's a brilliant metaphor for
Oregon's identity. A massive, slow -moving, deeply
complex, and fiercely independent life force
residing mostly beneath the surface. That's a
powerful way to frame it, that slow, independent
spirit. And the state is still the top timber
producer of the lower 48, even after a massive
shift in environmental policy. That's a testament
to the sheer scale of the forests. Despite a
90 % drop in timber harvest from federal lands
between 1989 and 2011 driven by conservation
policies, Oregon still leads the U .S. in softwood
lumber production. What about the wildlife? We
hear about beavers, obviously, but also some
interesting recent returnees. The American beaver
is the state mammal, of course. And Oregon is
home to cougars and elk. But the return of gray
wolves is a major story. They were completely
gone from the state for a while. Extirpated around
1930. But they have returned primarily to the
remote northeast region. And their presence creates
significant friction with ranchers, which again
just highlights that tension between the rural
and the urban progressive interests in the state.
Finally, before we transition, let's talk climate.
There's this paradox of mild winters but cool
summers. Western Oregon enjoys an oceanic climate,
heavily influenced by the Pacific, so you get
wet winters and dry summers. And despite being
quite far north, the winters are far milder than
places at similar latitudes, like the upper Midwest.
It feels warmer than it should. It does. It feels
similar to coastal Western Europe. But the paradox
is the summer. Oregon ranks fifth for coolest
average summer temperatures of any year. U .S.
state. It rarely gets truly hot near the coast
or in the valley. Meanwhile, eastern Oregon is
a completely different world. Completely different.
Cold, snowy winters and very dry summers. It's
a semi -arid or arid steppe climate, much like
the Great Basin. Only the Blue Mountains receive
enough moisture to support extensive forests.
And speaking of traveling east, there's that
fascinating administrative quirk about the time
zone. Right. While most of the state is in the
Pacific time zone, which suits its coastal identity,
most of Malheur County, down in the far southeast
corner bordering Idaho, operates in the mountain
time zone. Just another small but telling example
of the state's regional divisions. Defying easy
boundaries, exactly. Okay, let's shift gears
now and discuss where Oregonians actually live
and how the massive demographic changes over
the last 50 years have altered the state's sociocultural
landscape. The clustering of the population is
extraordinary. The Willamette Valley is the undisputed
heart of Oregon life. It runs from Eugene in
the south through Corvallis and Salem all the
way up to the Portland metro area. And this is
that ribbon of fertility we talked about thanks
to those ancient floods. It is. And it's where
the overwhelming majority of Oregonians, around
60 percent, reside. We mentioned Astoria as the
first permanent settlement, but Oregon City played
the earliest political role. It did. Oregon City
was the destination point for the Oregon Trail.
It became the Oregon Territory's first incorporated
city and served as the first territorial capital
from 1848 until the move to Salem in 1852. So
these early cities really established the dominance
of the Willamette Valley. They did. But new centers
of growth are emerging rapidly, particularly
in the high desert. Bend, located near the geographical
center of the state, is frequently ranked as
one of the 10 fastest growing metro areas in
the entire U .S. What's driving that growth?
Tourism, outdoor recreation, and its appeal as
a remote work destination. And in eastern Oregon,
Hermiston is growing quickly, powered by agriculture
and distribution logistics. It provides a necessary
counterbalance to the West's dominance. And people
are just flocking to Oregon in general. They
are. The state experienced high in migration,
being named the nation's top moving destination
back in 2014. And this sustained influx of people
is the engine behind the massive demographic
shifts we're about to see. Let's focus on those
demographic shifts, particularly against the
backdrop of Oregon's early history of explicit
racial exclusion. The numbers show a state that
is fundamentally changing its face. The transformation
is profound, especially when you consider that
whites -only clause. In 1970, the non -Hispanic
white population stood at 95 .8 % of the total.
Almost entirely white. Almost entirely. By the
2020 census, that figure had dropped dramatically
to 71 .7%. That is a monumental diversification
in just five decades. Moving Oregon away from
that monochromatic ideal it was founded on. Exactly.
And the new diversity is visible across the board.
The Hispanic or Latino population now makes up
nearly 14 % of the population. The foreign -born
population is also highly diverse, originating
mainly from Latin America and Asia. Who are the
largest groups? The top five countries of origin
for immigrants are Mexico, Vietnam, China, India,
and the Philippines, reflecting modern global
migration patterns. And the state is home to
some distinct and historically isolated communities,
too. Yes. There's a substantial Roma community
concentrated in the Willamette Valley and Portland
areas. And perhaps most uniquely, Oregon is home
to the largest community of Russian old believers
found anywhere in the U .S. They settled there
in the 60s and 70s, right? Yes. And they've maintained
a very distinct cultural and religious identity.
This brings us to that famous cultural contradiction
of modern Oregon, the title of least religious
state. This is often misunderstood. Oregon is
frequently cited, sometimes tied with Vermont,
as the state with the lowest percentage of religious
communities. Surveys have repeatedly shown that
Oregon has one of the highest percentages of
residents identifying as non -religious, around
24%. So a quarter of the population explicitly
claims no religious affiliation, which reflects
a strong secular, intellectual and sort of anti
-establishment culture. Exactly. This high secularism
is a defining characteristic, particularly in
the urban centers. However, we have to remember
that the numerical majority among those who do
affiliate with a religion remains Christian,
primarily Roman Catholic. So the state isn't
atheist. It's just unusually non -affiliated
and resistant to organized religion compared
to the rest of the country. Precisely. It suggests
a culture where individuals are highly comfortable
forging their own moral and ethical paths, which,
if you loop back to the motto, she flies with
her own wings, it makes perfect sense. It's an
independent, skeptical streak applied to faith.
And that independence feeds directly into the
political and economic landscape. which is where
Oregon truly defies norms. This is where we get
into the really unique stuff. Now we move into
the economic and political realm, where Oregon's
identity as a place that flies with its own wings
dictates these truly unique fiscal anomalies
and groundbreaking legislation. The economy is
built on a duality. You have traditional resource
extraction on one hand and cutting -edge technology
on the other. And that agriculture is still immensely
strong thanks to the Missoula floods. It is.
Oregon produces 95 % of domestic U .S. hazelnuts,
a near monopoly. And it ranks third among U .S.
states in wineries, benefiting from the perfect
microclimates in the valley. And we can't forget
the resource foundation of timber and hydroelectric
power. Hydroelectric power, especially from the
Bonneville Dam, provides cheap, reliable power.
And even though federal harvests are down, Oregon
still leads the U .S. in softwood lumber production.
That industry is still a vital economic and cultural
force, especially outside the Willamette Valley.
But the modern economic engine is the Silicon
Forest. Oh, absolutely. This started in the 1970s
with high tech manufacturing led by companies
like Tektronix. But the true driver today is
Intel. The state's largest private employer.
Largest for -profit private employer, yes. They
operate four massive facilities, primarily in
Hillsborough, employing over 22 ,000 people.
Those campuses essentially form an economy unto
themselves. And this tech dependency is tied
directly back to Oregon's two major assets we
discussed, cheap power and a cool climate. You
see this in the proliferation of data centers.
Tech giants like Google in the Dallas and Facebook
near Prineville have established these huge data
centers in eastern Oregon. To leverage the cheap
hydropower and the naturally cooler climate.
Right. It significantly reduces the massive costs
required for cooling server farms. And the state
is headquarters to some corporate behemoth. Nike.
The world headquarters is near Beaverton. It's
the state's largest public corporation and a
Fortune 500 company. Their sheer global scale
provides Oregon with enormous brand recognition.
And Adidas is there, too. Adidas bases its American
headquarters in Portland. The fact that the two
largest global rivals in athletic wear are headquartered
in the same state is another one of those remarkable
economic quirks. OK, let's pivot from corporate
giants to the fiscal anomalies that govern how
the state pays for itself. It all starts with
the glaring absence of a sales tax. Oregon is
famously one of only five states in the nation
with no statewide sales tax. And this isn't an
accident. It's an act of choice. Voters have
rejected proposals to enact a sales tax nine
times. The last time was in 1993, and it was
by a huge margin. A whopping three to one margin.
The opposition is just deeply entrenched in the
state's culture of independence and distrust
of government. So because the state can't rely
on sales tax revenue, that burden shifts heavily
to property taxes and critically personal income
tax. Right. And as a result, Oregon has one of
the highest personal income tax rates in the
nation, the fifth highest, in fact. It's a very
deliberate tradeoff the citizenry has chosen.
High income tax in exchange for tax free consumption.
Exactly. And the state's need for revenue leads
to these truly specific measures like the bicycle
tax. A classic Oregonian solution. They are the
only state in the country with a $15 excise tax
on new bicycles costing over $200. It's a targeted
tax aimed at the state's massive cycling culture.
But the defining fiscal anomaly, the one that
governs nearly all spending and budgeting, is
the kicker law. We need to explain this clearly.
The kicker is a constitutional mechanism enshrined
in the state constitution since 2000, though
its roots go back to 1979. It is essentially
a constitutional anti -tax insurance policy for
the citizens. So lay out the mechanics for us.
How does it work? The law mandates that if the
state government's income tax collections exceed
the official revenue estimates made by state
economists by 2 % or more during a two -year
budget cycle, then the entire excess amount,
100 % of it, must be refunded directly to the
taxpayers. So if the government makes a planning
error and takes in too much money, it doesn't
get to keep it for a rainy day fund or spend
it on new services. It has to treat that over
like a mistake and give it all back. Precisely.
It's a profound limitation on state spending.
It forces the legislature to be incredibly conservative
in its estimates. And since 1979, refunds have
been triggered and issued for seven of the 11
biennia. So it happens pretty often. It does.
The kicker represents a deep institutionalized
distrust of centralized government spending.
It's maybe the clearest expression of she flies
with her own wings when it comes to money. And
that drive for direct citizen input is also the
foundation of Oregon's long history of progressive
governance in these landmark social experiments.
That history begins with the Oregon system. In
1902, Oregon became the first state to adopt
direct legislation through initiatives and referendums.
This allows citizens to just bypass the legislature
entirely, right? They can propose or approve
laws or constitutional amendments directly on
the ballot. And this system has produced truly
revolutionary policy shifts. Like pioneering
vote by mail? Absolutely. Oregon pioneered the
American use of postal voting, mandating it for
all counties in 1998. It's still one of only
two states where voting by mail... is the sole
method. And famously, in 1994, using that direct
democracy mechanism, Oregon became the first
U .S. state to legalize physician -assisted suicide.
Through the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, yes.
And more recently, Oregon took on one of the
most controversial social issues of our time.
drug decriminalization. This was in 2020 with
Measure 110. Right. Through that ballot measure,
Oregon became the first state to decriminalize
the possession of small quantities of street
drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
The intent was to treat addiction as a public
health issue rather than a criminal one. But
this policy was recently reversed, which highlights
the complexity of this kind of direct democracy
and self -experimentation. It was. After three
years, the initiative was widely criticized as
a mixed success. Drug overdose deaths continued
to rise sharply, and critics argued the treatment
system just wasn't adequately built out to handle
the demand. So in 2024, the legislature stepped
in. Responding to intense pushback from law enforcement
and city officials, they reversed the decriminalization
component. So possession became criminalized
again. But they kept the public health focus.
They did. The state heavily expanded funding
for treatment services, maintaining the public
health focus of the original measure, but now
using criminal penalties as a kind of leverage.
It was a very quick and significant course correction.
It shows that while Oregon is willing to lead
with these radical social experiments, it's also
willing to course correct quickly. when the data
proves challenging. And they also pioneered psychedelics
around the same time. Also a 2020 ballot measure.
They approved creating a legal framework for
the therapeutic administration of psilocybin.
Okay, before we leave governance, there's one
final incredible constitutional quirk about the
executive branch. Ah, yes. Oregon is the only
state in the entire nation that does not have
a mechanism to impeach executive office holders,
including the governor. No impeachment. So how
do you remove a governor? It requires a recall
election. This structural limitation means political
accountability is handled through popular vote,
not legislative action. And all of this complex
independent policy happens within an intensely
polarized political climate, entirely split by
that geographical line we discussed. Yeah. The
cascade range. The split is visceral. The Willamette
Valley urban centers, Portland, Eugene, Corvallis,
Salem are overwhelmingly liberal. They form the
foundation of Oregon's progressive policy reputation.
And the other side. The eastern two thirds of
the state, the high desert and mountain regions
are staunchly conservative and vote reliably
Republican. And the data confirms this isn't
just anecdotal. A 2008 analysis found Oregon
to be the most politically polarized state in
the country. It boasts both both most liberal
Democratic voters and, conversely, the most conservative
Republican voters nationally. So statewide elections
are often decided by the sheer population density
in that narrow corridor of the Willamette Valley.
That's right. And a recent development has expanded
Oregon's federal political power, too. Following
the 2020 census, Oregon gained a sixth congressional
seat due to population growth. Which increases
its total electoral college votes to eight. For
the 2024 election and onward, yes. This increased
national influence only intensifies the pressure
points between the state's urban and rural populations.
We've covered geology. history, policy, and politics.
Now let's wrap up with a quick look at Oregon's
cultural footprint through sports, film, and
global connections. Oregon is rapidly becoming
a major professional sports hub. For decades,
the NBA's Portland Trailblazers were the only
major team famous for their 1977 championship.
But now soccer's huge. Soccer reigns supreme
in terms of sheer fan enthusiasm. The atmosphere
at Providence Park for a soccer match is legendary.
The state hosts the Portland Timbers of the MLS
and the Portland Thorns FC of the NWSL. And the
Thorns are cultural icons in the city. They're
three -time champions, and they consistently
lead the entire NWSL in attendance, often drawing
massive, passionate crowds that rival men's professional
teams. And the future of professional sports
in Oregon is female, with a new WNBA team on
the horizon. Yes, the Portland Fire are set to
begin play in 2026, further cementing Portland's
reputation as a high -engagement sports market.
And beyond the pros. The collegiate rivalry between
the Oregon State Beavers and the University of
Oregon Ducks is a massive cultural event. Especially
in the Pac -12 conference, which dominates local
attention. And Oregon has served as a stunning
location for film shoots thanks to that geographical
diversity we spent so much time on. The coast,
the valley, the high desert, it offers everything.
Classic examples include the Goonies, which defines
the Astoria coast for so many people, and one
flew over the cuckoo's nest. This legacy is preserved
at the Oregon Film Museum in Astoria. And of
course, the state claims a piece of global pop
culture through native son Matt Groening. Who
incorporated so many references from his hometown
of Portland into the enduring universe of The
Simpsons. Finally, let's just touch on Oregon's
global reach. reflected in its international
sister region partnerships. They aren't just
partnering with predictable neighbors. That's
where the detail is fascinating. Oregon has relationships
with major trading partners like Fujian Province
in China, Toyama Prefecture in Japan, and South
Geola Province in South Korea. But the most unexpected
connection is with Iraqi Kurdistan. It is. And
a partnership like that tells us a lot about
modern Oregon's global priorities. That specific
partnership was established to foster educational
and medical exchanges. So it suggests Oregon's
independent spirit is also applied to international
outreach. Focusing on unique diplomatic and trade
connections outside of the typical federal framework.
What a journey from ancient flooded valleys and
complex naming mysteries through the profound
paradox of a free state founded on exclusion.
laws to this modern economy powered by Nike,
Intel, and local hazelnuts. It's a state that
is constantly governing itself through unique
legislation, like the $15 bike tax, the Death
with Dignity Act, and that defining constitutional
leash on government known as the kicker. Oregon
truly operates on its own terms, often deliberately
separate from national norms, whether in its
tax structure or its social policies. It is defined
by its extremes. And that leads us to our final
thought for you to consider as you wrap up this
deep dive. We've seen that motto, she flies with
her own wings, reflected most clearly in the
Oregon system of direct democracy. Right. Citizens
are constantly intervening directly through initiatives
and referendums, legislating everything from
pump -your -own -gas rules to the very nature
of health care with the Oregon Health Plan and
the complex, rapid evolution of drug policy.
So the question is, how does this deep, inherent
drive for self -determination and direct control
define the state's ongoing, often turbulent evolution?
Does this constant reliance on the popular will,
expressed through ballot boxes and constitutional
quirks like the Kicker Law, create a more resilient,
responsive, and innovative civic life? Or does
it simply guarantee perpetual, intense polarization
between its highly concentrated urban centers
and its vast conservative frontier? It's the
central tension of the state, and one we will
certainly continue watching. Thank you for joining
us for the Deep Dive. We'll see you next time.