Wikipedia source excerpts
nd the state retains the death penalty, including methods like the firing squad. The state contains the Idaho National Laboratory. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield. Its official state nickname is the "Gem State".
Etymology
In the early 1860s, when the U.S. Congress was considering organizing a new territory around Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains, the name "Idaho" was popular among the Congressional committee, as they believed it to be derived from a Shoshone term meaning "gem of the mountains." Realizing in January 1861 the name was quite possibly a fabrication and not Native American at all,
the U.S. Congress ultimately decided to name the area Colorado Territory when it was created. But, by the time this decision was made in February 1861, the town of Idaho Springs, Colorado had already been named after their early frontrunner for a name, Idaho.
In 1863, the Territory of Idaho was formed, though “Montana” was nearly its name.
More than a decade after the name Idaho was first discussed for the eventual Colorado Territory, George M. Willing, a politician, claimed that he had been inspired by a little girl named Ida and that he coined the name in Washington at the time of the Congressional committee when he had been posing as an elected delegate to Congress.
The same year Congress created Colorado Territory, a county called Idaho County was created in eastern Washington Territory. The county was named after a steamship named Idaho, which was launched on the Columbia River in 1860. It is unclear whether the steamship was named before or after the legitimacy of the Native American origins of “Idaho” came into question. Regardless, part of Washington Territory, including Idaho County, was used to create Idaho Territory in 1863. Idaho Territory would later change its boundaries to the area that became the U.S.
After the Civil War, many Midwestern and Southern Democrats moved to the Idaho Territory. As a result, the early territorial legislatures were solidly controlled by Democrats. In contrast, most of the territorial governors were appointed by Republican presidents and were Republicans. This led to sometimes-bitter clashes between the two parties, including a range war with the Democrats backing the sheepherders and the Republicans backing the cattlemen, which ended in the "Diamondfield" Jack Davis murder trial. In the 1880s, Republicans gained prominence in local politics.
In 1864, Clinton DeWitt Smith removed the territorial seal and the state constitution from a locked safe and took them to Boise. This effectively moved the capital from where they were stored (Lewiston, Idaho) to the current capital, Boise.
Since Idaho's statehood, the Republican Party has typically been the dominant party in the state. At one time, Idaho had two Democratic parties, one being the mainstream and the other called the Anti-Mormon Democrats, lasting into the early 20th century. In the 1890s and early 1900s, the Populist Party enjoyed prominence, while the Democratic Party maintained a brief dominance in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Since World War II, most statewide-elected officials have been Republicans, though the Democrats did hold the majority in the House (by one seat) in 1958 and the governorship from 1971 to 1995.
Idaho's congressional delegation has also been generally Republican since statehood. Several Idaho Democrats have had electoral success in the U.S. House of Representatives over the years, but the Senate delegation has been a Republican stronghold for decades. Several Idaho Republicans, including current Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, have won reelection to the Senate, but only Frank Church has won reelection as a Democrat. Church's 1974 victory was the last win for his party for either Senate seat, and Walt Minnick's 2008 victory in the 1st congressional district was the last Democratic win in any congressional race.
In modern times, Idaho has been a reliably Republican state in presidential politics. It has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964. Even in that election, Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater in the state by fewer than two percentage points, compared to a landslide nationally. In the 2004 United States presidential election, Republican George W. Bush carried Idaho by a margin of 38 percentage points and with 68.4% of the vote, winning in 43 of 44 counties. Only Blaine County, which contains the Sun Valley ski resort, supported John Kerry, who owns a home in the area. In 2008 Barack Obama's 36.1 percent showing was the best for a Democratic presidential candidate in Idaho since 1976. However, Republican margins were narrower in 1992 and 1976.
In the 2006 elections, Republicans, led by gubernatorial candidate Butch Otter, won all the state's constitutional offices and retained both of the state's seats in the House. However, Democrats picked up several seats in the Idaho Legislature, notably in the Boise area.
Idaho retains the death penalty. Pending the outcome of a legal challenge on a bill passed on March 20, 2023, authorized methods of execution include the firing squad.
gton and Oregon to the west; the state shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north with the Canadian province of British Columbia. Idaho's state capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,569 square miles (216,440 km2), Idaho is the 14th-largest state by land area. The state has a population of approximately two million people; it ranks as the 13th-least populous and the seventh-least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.
For thousands of years, and prior to European colonization, Idaho had been inhabited by natives. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area which was disputed between the U.S. and the British Empire. Idaho officially became a U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846, but a separate Idaho Territory was not organized until 1863, instead being included for periods in Oregon Territory and Washington Territory. The state was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, becoming the 43rd state.
Forming part of the Pacific Northwest (and the associated Cascadia bioregion), Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions. The state's north, the relatively isolated Idaho Panhandle, is closely linked with Eastern Washington, with which it shares the Pacific Time Zone—the rest of the state uses the Mountain Time Zone. The state's south includes the Snake River Plain (which has most of the population and agricultural land), and the southeast incorporates part of the Great Basin. Idaho is quite mountainous and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The United States Forest Service holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state.
Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, science and technology, and tourism. Idaho has been a predominantly Republican state since statehood, with the Republican Party dominating in both state and national elections; abortion is severely restricted and the state retains the death penalty, including methods like the firing squad. The state contains the Idaho National Laboratory. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield.