Delaware
) is a
South Atlantic state (according to the United States' Census Bureau[
1]) in the
United States of America whose name comes from
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, whom the Delaware Bay was named after. It was one of the original
Thirteen Colonies and is known as the "First State" as it was the first to ratify the
United States Constitution.
Delaware is the second-smallest state in the
United States,
Rhode Island being the smallest.
Delaware is bounded to the north by
Pennsylvania, to the east by the
Delaware River and the
Atlantic Ocean and to the west and south by
Maryland. Small portions of Delaware are also situated on the far, or eastern, side of the Delaware River
Estuary, and these small parcels share land boundaries with
New Jersey.
The state of Delaware, together with the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and two counties of
Virginia, form the
Delmarva Peninsula, a geographical unit stretching far down the Mid-Atlantic Coast.
The definition of the northern boundary of the state is highly unusual. Most of the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania is defined by an arc extending 12 miles (19 km) from the
cupola of the courthouse in
New Castle, and is referred to as the
Twelve-Mile Circle. This is the only true-arc political boundary in the United States (excluding those boundaries defined by latitude, such as the US border with Canada, the border between Oregon and California, etc, which are all arcs with the geographic North Pole as its center.) This border extends all of the way to the low-tide mark on the New Jersey shore, which continues down the shoreline until it again reaches the twelve-mile arc in the south; then the boundary continues in a more conventional way in the middle of the main channel (
thalweg) of the Delaware River Estuary. A portion of this arc extends into Maryland to the west, and the remaining western border is a tangent to this arc that runs a bit to the east.
The Wedge of land between the arc and the Maryland border remained in dispute until 1921, when Delaware's claim was confirmed.
Main articles: Twelve-Mile Circle, The Wedge, Mason-Dixon line, Transpeninsular LineTopography
Delaware lies on a level plain, the highest elevation being less than 450 feet (137 m) above sea level. The northern part is associated with the
Appalachian Piedmont and is hilly with a rolling surface. South of Newark and Wilmington, the state follows the
Atlantic Coastal Plain with flat, sandy, and, in some parts, swampy ground. A
ridge about 75 to 80 feet in altitude extends along the western boundary of the state and is the drainage divide between the two major watersheds of the
Delaware River in the east and of several streams falling into
Chesapeake Bay in the west. The principal streams draining into the Delaware are the
Christina River and the
Brandywine Creek. The Christina is navigable for large ships as far as
Wilmington, and for small ships as far as
Newport. The coast of
Delaware Bay is marshy; the Atlantic coast has many sand beaches enclosing shallow lagoons. The largest of these are
Rehoboth Bay,
Indian River Bay, and the
Little Assawoman Bay. The only harbors of consequence are Wilmington,
Lewes, and New Castle.
Climate
Since the majority of Delaware is a part of the
Atlantic Coastal Plain, the climate is moderated by the effects of the ocean. The southern third of the state has a mild subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and mild winters. The middle portion is the transition to the upper portion of the state, which has a warm continental climate and receives snow nearly every winter.
See also: List of counties in DelawareNative Americans
Before Delaware was settled by
Europeans, the area was home to the Eastern
Algonquian tribes known as the
Unami Lenape or
Delaware throughout the
Delaware valley, and the
Nanticoke along the rivers leading into the
Chesapeake Bay. The
Unami Lenape in the
Delaware valley were closely related to
Munsee Lenape tribes along the
Hudson River. They had a settled hunting and agricultural society, and they rapidly became middlemen in an increasingly frantic fur trade with their ancient enemy, the
Minqua or
Susquehannock. With the loss of their lands on the
Delaware River and the destruction of the
Minqua by the
Iroquois of the
Five Nations in the 1670's, the remnants of the
Lenape left the region and moved over the
Alleghany Mountains by the mid-18th century.
Colonial Delaware
The
Dutch were the first
Europeans to settle in present day Delaware by establishing a trading post at Zwaanendael, near the site of
Lewes in 1631. Within a year all the settlers were killed in a dispute with
Native Americans. In 1638 a
Swedish trading post and colony was established at
Fort Christina (now in
Wilmington) by the Dutchman
Peter Minuit at the head of a group of
Swedes,
Finns and Dutch. Thirteen years later the Dutch, reinvigorated by the leadership of
Peter Stuyvesant, established a new fort in 1651 at present day
New Castle, and in 1655 they took over the entire Swedish colony, incorporating it into the Dutch
New Netherlands.
Only nine years later, in 1664, the Dutch were themselves forcibly removed by a
British expedition under the direction of
James, the Duke of York. Fighting off a prior claim by
Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, Proprietor of
Maryland, the Duke passed his somewhat dubious ownership on to
William Penn in 1682. Penn badly wanted an outlet to the sea for his
Pennsylvania province and leased what were now known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" from the Duke.
Penn established representative government and briefly combined his two possessions under one General Assembly in 1682. However, by 1704 the Province of Pennsylvania had grown so much, their representatives wanted to make decisions without the assent of the Lower Counties and the two groups of representatives began meeting on their own, one at
Philadelphia, and the other at New Castle. Penn and his heirs remained the Proprietors of both and always appointed the same person Deputy Governor for their Province of Pennsylvania and their territory of the Lower Counties.
American Revolution
Like the other middle colonies, the Lower Counties on the Delaware initially lacked much enthusiasm for a break with
Great Britain. They had a good relationship with the Proprietary government, and generally were allowed more independence of action in their
Colonial Assembly than other colonies. Nevertheless, there was strong objection to the seemingly arbitrary measures of
Parliament, and it was well understood that the territory's very existence as a separate entity depended upon its keeping step with its powerful neighbors, especially
Pennsylvania.
So it was that
New Castle lawyer
Thomas McKean denounced the
Stamp Act in the strongest terms, and
Kent County native
John Dickinson, became the "Penman of the Revolution." Anticipating the
Declaration of Independence, patriot leaders
Thomas McKean and
Caesar Rodney convinced the
Colonial Assembly to declare itself separated from British and Pennsylvania rule on
June 15,
1776, but the person best representing Delaware's majority,
George Read, could not bring himself to vote for a
Declaration of Independence. Only the dramatic overnight ride of
Caesar Rodney gave the delegation the votes needed to cast Delaware's vote for Independence. Once the
Declaration was adopted, however,
Read signed the document.
Initially led by
John Haslet, Delaware provided one of the premier regiments in the
Continental Army, known as the "Delaware Blues" and nicknamed the "
Blue Hen Chickens." In August 1777
General Sir William Howe led a British army through Delaware on his way to a victory at the
Battle of Brandywine and capture of the city of
Philadelphia. The only real engagement on Delaware soil was fought on
September 3,
1777, at Cooch's Bridge in
New Castle County. It is believed to be the first time that the Stars and Stripes was flown in battle.
Following the
Battle of Brandywine,
Wilmington was occupied by the British, and
State President John McKinly was taken prisoner. The British remained in control of the
Delaware River for much of the rest of the war, disrupting commerce and providing encouragement to an active
Loyalist portion of the population, particularly in
Sussex County. Only the repeated military activities of
State President Caesar Rodney was able to control them.
Following the
American Revolution, statesmen from Delaware were among the leading proponents of a strong central
United States government with equal representation for each state. Once the
Connecticut Compromise was reachedâ€"creating a
U.S. Senate and
U.S. House of Representativesâ€"the leaders in Delaware were able to easily secure ratification of the
U.S. Constitution on
December 7,
1787, making Delaware the first state to do so.
Slavery
Many colonial settlers came from
Maryland and
Virginia which had been experiencing a population boom. The economies of these colonies were largely based on tobacco and were increasingly dependent on slave labor. At the end of the colonial period slavery in Delaware begain a percipitous decline. Shifts in the agriculture economy, the efforts of local Methodists and Quakers, and greater governmental regulation were all factors. Attempts to abolish slavery failed by narrow margins. By the 1860 census there were only about 1,800 slaves in a state of 90,000 people, including nearly 20,000 free
African Americans. When he freed his slaves in
1777,
John Dickinson was Delaware's largest slave owner with 37 slaves.
The oldest black
church in the country was chartered in Delaware by former slave
Peter Spencer in 1813 as the "
Union Church of Africans," which is now the
A.U.M.P. Church. The
Big August Quarterly began in 1814 and is the oldest such cultural festival in the country.
During the
American Civil War, Delaware was a slave state that remained in the Union (Delaware voted not to secede on
January 3,
1861). Delaware had been the first state to embrace the Union by ratifying the constitution and would be the last to leave it, according to Delaware's governor at the time. While most Delaware citizens who fought in the war served in the regiments of the state, some served in companies on the Confederate side in Maryland and Virginia Regiments.
Two months before the end of the Civil War, however, Delaware voted on
February 18,
1865 to reject the
13th Amendment to the United States Constitution and so voted unsuccessfully to continue slavery beyond the Civil War. Delaware symbolically ratified the amendment on
February 12 1901â€"40 years after
Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery ended in Delaware only when the
Thirteenth Amendment took effect in December of 1865. Delaware also rejected the
14th amendment during the
Reconstruction Era.
|
Delaware Population Density Map |
As of 2005, Delaware has an estimated population of 843,524, which is an increase of 13,455, or 1.6%, from the prior year and an increase of 59,924, or 7.6%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 21,978 people (that is 58,699 births minus 36,721 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 39,138 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 11,226 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 27,912 people.
The racial breakdown of the state is:
*72.5%
White*19.2%
Black*2.1%
Asian*0.3%
Native American*1.7%
Two or more racesPeople of
Hispanic ancestry, who may be of any race, make up 4.8% of the population.
The five largest ancestries in Delaware are:
African American (19.2%),
Irish (16.6%),
German (14.3%),
English (12.1%),
Italian (9.3%). Delaware has the highest proportion of African American residents of any state north of Maryland, and had the largest population of
free blacks (17%) prior to the Civil War.
Languages
As of 2000, 90.5% of Delaware residents age 5 and older speak only
English at home; 4.7% speak
Spanish.
French is the third most spoken language at 0.7%, followed by
Chinese at 0.5% and
German at 0.5%.
In 2006, legislation was proposed in Delaware that would designate English as the
official language.
Delaware has three counties: Kent County, New Castle County, and Sussex County. Each county elects its own legislative body (known in New Castle and Sussex counties as County Council, and in Kent County as Levy Court), which deal primarily in zoning and development issues. Most functions which are handled on a county-by-county basis in other states â€" such as court and law enforcement â€" have been centralized in Delaware, leading to a significant concentration of power in the Delaware state government.
The Democratic Party holds a plurality of registrations in Delaware. Until the 2000 Presidential election, the state tended to be a Presidential bellwether, sending its three electoral votes to the winning candidate for over 50 years in a row. Bucking that trend, however, in 2000 and again in 2004 Delaware voted for the Democratic candidate. John Kerry won Delaware by eight percentage points with 53.5% of the vote in 2004.
Historically, the Republican Party had an immense influence on Delaware politics, due in large part to the wealthy du Pont family. This trend was so notable that Ralph Nader assembled a working group to investigate Delaware's political-industrial complex, resulting in a book published in 1968 entitled The Company State. As DuPont's might has declined, so has that of the Delaware Republican Party. The Democrats have won the past four gubernatorial elections and currently hold five of the nine statewide elected offices (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, Attorney General, and two U.S. Senators). However, this belies the fact that the Democratic Party gains most of its votes from heavily-developed New Castle County, whereas the lesser-populated Kent and Sussex Counties vote Republican.''See also : United States presidential election, 2004, in DelawareWilmington is the state's largest city and its economic hub. It is located within commuting distance of both Philadelphia and Baltimore. Despite Wilmington's size, all regions of Delaware are enjoying phenomenal growth, with Dover and the beach resorts expanding immensely.| Historical populations |
|---|
Census
year | Population |
|---|
|
| 1790 | 59,096 |
| 1800 | 64,273 |
| 1810 | 72,674 |
| 1820 | 72,749 |
| 1830 | 76,748 |
| 1840 | 78,085 |
| 1850 | 91,532 |
| 1860 | 112,216 |
| 1870 | 125,015 |
| 1880 | 146,608 |
| 1890 | 168,493 |
| 1900 | 184,735 |
| 1910 | 202,322 |
| 1920 | 223,003 |
| 1930 | 238,380 |
| 1940 | 266,505 |
| 1950 | 318,085 |
| 1960 | 446,292 |
| 1970 | 548,104 |
| 1980 | 594,338 |
| 1990 | 666,168 |
| 2000 | 783,600 |
Top 10 richest places in Delaware
Ranked by per capita income
#Greenville: $83,223#Henlopen Acres: $82,091#South Bethany: $53,624#Dewey Beach: $51,958#Fenwick Island: $44,415#Bethany Beach: $41,306#Hockessin: $40,516#North Star: $39,677#Rehoboth Beach: $38,494#Ardentown: $35,577
Delaware was the origin of Belton v. Gebhart, one of the four cases which was combined into Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court of the United States decision that led to the end of segregated public schools. Significantly, Belton was the only case in which the state court found for the plaintiffs, thereby ruling that segregation was unconstitutional. Even more ironically, Delaware's segregated school system was substantially supported by donations from the wealthy du Pont family beginning with the Civil War, when the Du Pont Company's profits grew thanks to a high demand for its gunpowder products.
Unlike many states, Delaware's educational system is centralized in a state Superintendent of Education, with local school boards retaining control over taxation and some curriculum decisions.
A "three-tiered diploma" system fostered by Governor Ruth Ann Minner, which awarded "basic," "standard," and "distinguished" high-school diplomas based on a student's performance in the Delaware State Testing Program, was recently discontinued by the General Assembly after many Delawareans questioned its fairness.Colleges and universities
Media
There are no network broadcast-television stations operating solely in Delaware. A public-television station from Philadelphia (but licenced to Wilmington), WHYY-TV, maintains a studio and broadcasting facility in Wilmington. Philadelphia's ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV, maintains a news bureau in downtown Wilmington. The northern part of the state is served by network stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the southern part by network stations in Baltimore and Salisbury, Maryland. Salisbury's CBS affiliate, WBOC-TV, maintains bureaus in Dover and Milton.Botanical gardens
*Delaware Center for Horticulture
*Mt. Cuba Center
*University of Delaware Botanic Gardens
*Winterthur Museum and GroundsFestivals
The Big August Quarterly is an annual religious festival held in Wilmington, Delaware, and is sometimes called "Big Quarterly" or "August Quarterly." The festival began in 1814 by Peter Spencer in connection with the "quarterly" meeting (or "conference") of the African Union Church. Out of the four meetings during the year, the one in August became the "annual conference" of the Church when ministers' assignments for the next year were announced, among other business â€" it was a time for free blacks and slaves alike to come together (from the multi-state area) and celebrate their faith with singing, dancing, testifying, and feasting. It is the oldest such celebration in the country. Senator Biden's remarks on the significance of the "Big Quarterly" were published in the Congressional Record for 30 July 1981 (Vol. 127, No. 117) and for 9 August 1984 (Vol 130, No. 106).
Every year, the Delaware Sängerbund (German for Singers Alliance) holds a three day long Oktoberfest. Although the cultural significance of the Sängerbund has diminished over the years, the festival is extremely popular and attracts visitors from all over the East Coast.
The city of Wilmington is home to several ethnic festivals, including the Puerto Rican Festival, which includes a parade, the Polish Festival, the Greek Festival held at the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Italian Festival held at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church. Wilmington's substantial Polish-American population supports a yearly Pulaski Day Parade in March as well as a summer Polish Festival, hosted by Saint Hedwig's Roman Catholic Church. The Italian Festival is held in an area of Wilmington known as Little Italy by Saint Anthony's Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, and covers several blocks. It runs from sunup to sundown for a week, and features Italian food, merchandise, live music, bars, amusement park rides, and the All Saints parade on the closing night of the festival.
In Bethany Beach, the end of the summer season is honored each year with a traditional jazz funeral down the town's boardwalk. And at the end of October, Rehoboth Beach holds its annual "Sea Witch Halloween and Fiddlers' Festival." Rehoboth Beach also hosts the Polar Bear Plunge every February. This event involves running into the ocean to raise money for Special Olympics.
One of Delaware's most bizarre â€" and enjoyable â€" traditions is Sussex County's Punkin Chunkin, where specially grown pumpkins are shot from hydraulic or air-powered cannons, centrifugal devices and other various human powered contraptions. The goal is to see which device can hurl a pumpkin the greatest distance, with some currently reaching distances of almost a mile. The carnival atmosphere is themed in pumpkins with more and more attractions added each year.
Another unique Delaware rite is Return Day, which occurs every two years on the Thursday following the November general election. Believed to be the only event of its kind in the United States, and recognized as such by Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., and the U.S. Congress, it is a continuation of a tradition that dates back to Delaware's earliest days in the 18th century. Residents of Sussex County at that time would travel to Georgetown, the county seat, to cast their ballots and then wait, in the days following, to hear the results, or "returns." Today, the immediacy of television, newspapers, radio and the Internet would make such an event obsolete, but it has thrived as a matter of tradition and celebration. Festivities include the reading of election results from the Sussex County Courthouse balcony by the town crier, a parade in which winners and losers ride together, the roasting of an ox behind the courthouse, and the ceremonial burying of the hatchet in sand from Lewes Beach.Sports
Delaware's professional sports teams are the Wilmington Blue Rocks minor league baseball team, a Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox who play at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium, and the Delaware Griffins, part of the Women's Professional Football League. Delaware is also home to the Delaware Smash who play World Team Tennis. The Smash were led in 2005 by Wimbledon champion Venus Williams.
In place of in-state professional sports teams, many Delawareans follow either Philadelphia, New Jersey, or Baltimore teams, depending on their location within the state, with Philadelphia teams receiving the largest fan following. In addition, the University of Delaware's football team has a loyal following, with Delaware State University's team enjoying popularity on a much lesser scale.
Delaware is home to Dover International Speedway and Dover Downs. DIS, also known as the Monster Mile, hosts two NASCAR races each year. Dover Downs is a popular harness racing facility. In what may be the only co-located horse and car-racing facility in the nation, the Dover Downs track is located inside the DIS track.
Delaware has been home to professional wrestling outfit CZW, particularly the annual Tournament of Death.Delaware Native Americans
Delaware is also the name of a Native American group (called in their own name Lenni Lenape) that was very influential in the dawning days of the United States. A band of the Nanticoke tribe of Indians still remains in Sussex County.Libraries
Delaware is one of three states, the others are Alaska and Rhode Island, that do not have a library that was donated by Andrew Carnegie.Namesakes
* The USS Delaware was named in honor of this state.
* "Going to Delaware," and other phrases involving traveling to or being in Delaware have become code for smoking marijuana and getting or being high. One explanation rests on the common perception that there is nothing in Delaware, and nothing to do but get high. Another refers its isolation yet close proximity to major cities, reflecting the state of being high and calm in other wise busy world. The catch phrase "Delaware, it's a state of mind" has also become increasingly popular.*Committee of 100 (Delaware)
*Delaware Colony
*Delaware corporation
*Some neighboring states contain locations named Delaware Township or Delaware County.
*Delaware state symbols
*Kalmar Nyckel
*Music of Delaware
*List of bands from Delaware
* Scouting in Delaware
*State of Delaware homepage
*Delaware Map Data
*Delaware Population Projections
*The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation & Tall Ship Kalmar Nyckel.
*The Emancipation Proclamation Includes a short introduction.
*U.S. Senate site with the full U.S. Constitution and the Thirteenth Amendment "Slavery and Involuntary Servitude"
*U.S. Census Bureau
*Delaware Newspapers
*Delaware's Historical Markers
*Article on the Delaware-New Jersey border dispute (26 January 2006)
*Delaware State Facts* (Note: reference supports the transportation section)Notes
