to increased media attention on the secessionist movement and its criticisms of the state government, prompting Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana to spread state revenues more broadly to rural communities. This effort, ultimately, rendered the secessionist movement largely defunct by the end of 1939. The secessionists' activities ceased entirely following the onset of World War II and were largely considered forgotten by the time of the Eisenhower presidency. Geography and attractions Swickard, alongside his supporters, drew the initial borders for the state in the basement of the Sheridan Rotary Club, which became the de facto headquarters for the movement. The boundaries of the proposed state changed a number of times, and at one point contained 10 Wyoming counties, 4 Montana counties, and 12 South Dakota counties. This proposed state is estimated to have included approximately half of Wyoming's territory. The state's territory would have featured a coal-rich landscape with a large number of pre-established mines, including The Black Thunder, Coal Creek, and Cordero Rojo mines. Increasing tourism to the region was another motivation for the proposed state because Mount Rushmore (constructed 1927–1941) would be within Absaroka according to some plans. Additionally, that region would have contained the Black Hills, Devils Tower, the Bighorn Mountains, the Teton Mountains, and Yellowstone National Park. This resulted in residents of the proposed state calling Absaroka the "Nation's Playground". Reception and legacy The secessionist movement never achieved widespread popularity, nor pursued legal means of secession. In a 1941 publication by the Federal Writers' Project, the story of Absaroka was published as an example of Western eccentricity. The formation of Absaroka has been assessed to have been only "half serious" and some historians have argued that the attempt to secede was a tall tale. Another historian has stated that the movement fell "into oblivion after having provided a modicum of excitement and entertainment for its participants." Contemporary coverage of the event is likewise uncertain if the succession movement was meant to be serious or started as a joke, and the press compared it to the similar Texlahoma secession movement. It has also been proposed that the movement was a "fun way for cowboys to distract themselves during tough economic times". In an interview with Helen Graham, a librarian at the Sheridan Public Library and a resident of Sheridan during the 1930s, she claimed that the movement was not widely known, nor perceived to be serious. Regarding