Talk:Mason–Dixon line

Capitals
Should we add the fact that it runs through the capitals of Ohio (Columbus), Indiana (Indianapolis), and Illinois (Springfield)? Or was it not planned and thus not relevant? Malcolmmwa (talk) 05:25, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
 * It doesn't run through those capitals. It doesn't even reach the western edge of Pennsylvania. Paulmlieberman (talk) 16:57, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
 * Presumably the poster means that the parallel in question hits those cities pretty closely. We could add it if we had sources saying that those capital locations were chosen for that reason. Otherwise, it seems to be a coincidence not worth mentioning. Mgnbar (talk) 19:29, 21 January 2022 (UTC)
 * It also runs near Carson City and Denver but it's not exact. 2601:284:8200:6B00:9803:CAB1:DBDC:BAAF (talk) 14:15, 11 March 2022 (UTC)

Is that an em dash in the title?
Somebody came along on March 14 and anonymously changed an en dash to an em dash in the first use of "Mason-Dixon" in the article, to match the dash in the title. I had never noticed the title has an em dash in it, but there it is. If it is, in fact, an em dash, that's grammatically incorrect (see wp:dash). It should be an en dash throughout the article, including the title. Thoughts? I don't know how to get an article title changed, but it should happen, trivial as it may seem. Paulmlieberman (talk) 13:55, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

36-30 line
The Article says "usage came to prominence during the debate around the Missouri Compromise of 1820" of the Mason Dixon Line being known as a boundary between Southern Slave States and Northern Free States. Is this true? Does this invite misconception about the Missouri Compromise? The wiki article about the Missouri Compromise has NO mention of the Mason Dixon Line. The demarcation between free states and slave states during the Missouri Compromise was about slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase territory at 36 degrees 30 minutes, very far west of the Mason-Dixon Line and well south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Not sure if the mention of the Missouri Compromise (and further mention of the Civil War boundary issues) in this article is meant to merely suggest that PRIOR usage or colloquial mentions of slave-free borders sometimes mentioned the Mason Dixon Line? Seeing as how there are many misconceptions about the Mason Dixon Line in reference to the Missouri Compromise, I wonder if the article wouldn't benefit from a clarifying edit concerning that. Entrynotfound (talk) 14:28, 4 June 2023 (UTC)


 * yah a further paragraph about its theoretical extension clear out to California, and the reason for Ok. panhandle would be nice 2601:282:1D80:6D80:A5C0:F3D7:235B:80D (talk) 17:01, 18 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you both for raising this issue. I am currently searching for citations re: mention of the Mason-Dixon line during the Missouri Compromise debates. As to the 36'30 line, there was never any intention on the part of Wikipedia to suggest that the line extends past the Pennsylvania border. The particulars of why Oklahoma's northern border is at that latitude is indeed from the Missouri Compromise. Our article states: "When free-soil Maine offered its petition for statehood, the Senate quickly linked the Maine and Missouri bills, making Maine admission a condition for Missouri entering the Union as a slave state. Senator Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois added a compromise proviso that excluded slavery from all remaining lands of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36° 30' parallel. The combined measures passed the Senate, only to be voted down in the House by Northern representatives who held out for a free Missouri." It was politics, not adhering to the Mason-Dixon line (which lies further north) that led to that particular latitude line being chosen. Paulmlieberman (talk) 21:59, 18 July 2023 (UTC)


 * I have never been able to find an original source for this statement. Note that Britannica on-line says "The term Mason and Dixon Line was first used in congressional debates leading to the Missouri Compromise (1820)." Paulmlieberman (talk) 15:43, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

Johnny Cash "Hey, Porter" reference to the Mason-Dixon Line
https://www.johnnycash.com/track/hey-porter/ [Sony Music should be a reputable enough source for lyrics to a song they "own"]

Although ... Sony says the lyric should be: "How much longer will it be ‘Til we cross that Mason Dixon Line?"

- which is not QUITE what the article says.

(I am just dropping a hint. Last thing I want is to get involved in "edit wars") 81.107.174.141 (talk) 13:06, 11 September 2023 (UTC)