Fun show.
They covered some oddities like the part of Kentucky that is non-contiguous. This one happened because the border between Kentucky and Tennessee is an East-West line and the border between Kentucky/Tennessee and Missouri is the Mississippi River.
The one most relevant to the historic Big Ten is the Northern border of Illinois/Indiana/Ohio and Southern border of Wisconsin/Michigan.
Per the original Northwest Ordinance (which pre-dates the Constitution) the border was to be an East-West line intersecting the Southernmost point of Lake Michigan. The actual borders are:
- Ohio's northern border is a line running from the Southernmost point of Lake Michigan to the Northernmost point of Maumee Bay (Toledo).
- Indiana's northern border is an East-West line 10 miles North of the Southernmost point of Lake Michigan.
- Illinois' northern border is an East-West line at 42°30"N which is about 31 miles North of the Southernmost point of Lake Michigan.
How this all came about:
When the Northwest Ordinance was drafted the most trusted map of the area had Lake Michigan only extending South to somewhere near the eventual Illinois/Wisconsin line. If that had been correct then not only Toledo but also Detroit and Ann Arbor would be in Ohio.
When Ohio was in the process of applying for Statehood in 1803 it was learned that Lake Michigan actually extended MUCH further South than previously believed. At one point there was even concern that Lake Michigan extended further South than Lake Erie. Consequently it was feared that Ohio would lose access to the Maumee Bay (Port of Toledo) and, depending on exactly how far South Lake Michigan extended Ohio might also lose Sandusky Bay or even completely lose Lake Erie coastline.
Ohio's solution was to alter the northern border to a line running from the Southernmost point of Lake Michigan to the Northernmost point of Maumee Bay. This was adopted into Ohio's proposed constitution which was accepted by Congress.
The next State to form was Indiana. When they were in the process of applying for Statehood they disliked the fact that the border from the Northwest Ordinance would have deprived them of any coastline on Lake Michigan so in their proposed Constitution they adopted a border 10 miles North of the Southernmost point of Lake Michigan. This was accepted by Congress as well.
When Illinois sought Statehood they pushed the envelope even further and Congress accepted their 42°30" line.
When Michigan and Wisconsin attained Statehood they were forced to accept the existing Northern borders of Ohio, Indiana, and I'll as their Southern borders.
