50 Years of 50 States: Oregon
Nickname: Beaver State
Date Ratified: February 14, 1859 (33rd)
Capital: Salem
[caption id="attachment_1825" align="aligncenter" width="210" caption="Map of Oregon"]
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- Astoria was the first permanent English-speaking settlement west of the Rockies.
- Oregon is one of seven states with no Lieutenant Governor. The Secretary of State is first in the line of succession.
- Oregon was the first state to use the initiative and referendum system when it did so in 1902.
- Oregon was the first state to have a doctor-assisted suicide law. The Death with Dignity Act was approved in a 1994 referendum. Details of the law, from Wikipedia:
Under the law, a capable adult Oregon resident who has been diagnosed by a physician with a terminal illness that will kill them within six months may request in writing, from his or her physician, a prescription for a lethal dose of medication for the purpose of ending the patient's life. Use of the law is voluntary and the patient must initiate the request. Any physician, pharmacist or healthcare provider opposed on moral grounds does not have to participate.
- Oregon is home to Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States.
- Oregon's state flag, adopted in 1925, is two-sided. It is the only state flag that has 2 separate designs. [caption id="attachment_1826" align="aligncenter" width="210" caption="Flag of Oregon (Front)"]
