Nevada’s state motto is “Battle Born,” which reflects the fact that it gained statehood during the American Civil War, as part of a rushed effort by the Union to conjure new states into existence and thus gain extra votes for Abraham Lincoln. It was, at the time, the third-largest state in the Union (after California and Texas), and yet had only 40,000 inhabitants. It therefore struggled to pay for itself, particularly when output from its silver mines started to decline a decade or so after the war ended, which is why it has been constantly casting around for new sources of revenue ever
...more
