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DELAWARE - USA
Delaware is a state of the United States. It is
known as the "First State" because it was the first of the 13 colonies to
ratify the United States Constitution. Ratification occurred on December 7,
1787.
History
Europeans first settled in a Dutch trading post at "Zwaanendael" (or "Swaanendael,"
present-day Lewes (pronounced "Lewis") in 1631. The area became "New Sweden"
with a colony established by Swedes (led by Peter Minuit) around Fort
Christina (now Wilmington) in 1638.
The name "Delaware" comes from the title of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La
Warr, erstwhile governor of the colony of Virginia. The deed to the property
that is now Delaware was granted to William Penn in 1682, by James, Duke of
York (later, James II of England), and was part of the colony of
Pennsylvania. In 1704 the "three lower counties" gained a separate
legislature, and in 1710 a separate executive council.
Part of the Mason-Dixon line, surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon
between 1763 and 1767 to establish the boundary between Pennsylvania and
Maryland, now forms the boundary between Delaware and Maryland, and some 80
of their original limestone markers remain.
Delaware was one of the thirteen colonies which revolted against British
rule in the American Revolution. After the Revolution began in 1776, the
three counties became "Delaware State," and in 1792 that entity adopted its
first constitution, declaring itself to be the "State of Delaware."
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 Spencer began in 1814 is still
celebrated, the oldest such cultural festival in the country.
During the American Civil War, Delaware was a slave state that remained in
the Union (Delaware voters voted not to secede on January 3, 1861). Eight
months after 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
ratified the amendment on February 12, 1901--40 years after Lincoln's
Emancipation Proclamation.
Law and Government
Delaware's fourth and current constitution was adopted in 1897 and provides
for executive, judicial and legislative bodies. The legislative body
consists of a House of Representatives with 41 members and a Senate with 21
members. The executive branch is headed by the Governor of Delaware and the
judicial branch provides for a hierarchy of courts with the state Supreme
Court being the highest.
The present governor of Delaware is Ruth Ann Minner (Democrat). The
lieutenant governor is John C. Carney. Delaware's U.S. Senators are Joseph
R. Biden (Democrat) and Thomas Carper (Democrat). Delaware's single US
Representative is former Governor, Michael N. Castle (Republican). See: List
of Delaware Governors Delaware only has 3 counties: Kent County New Castle
County Sussex County.
Geography
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.
The largest city is Wilmington, and the capital is Dover. The U.S. Air Force
base outside Dover is one of the largest in the U.S. In addition to its
other responsibilities, Dover AFB serves as the entry point and morgue for
American military persons (and some U.S. government civilians) who die
overseas.
There are no broadcast-television stations in Delaware, but there are cable-television
stations and radio stations, and some of the out-of-state broadcast-television
stations maintain small facilities in Delaware that can "upload" signals to
the stations' main facilities. The northern part of the state is served
primarily by stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the southern part by
stations in Salisbury, Maryland.
Economy
Delaware's agricultural output consists of poultry, nursery stock, soybeans,
dairy products and corn. Its industrial outputs include chemical products,
processed foods, paper products, rubber and plastic products
Demographics
Area: 1,954 mile˛ (5061 km˛)
Population: 783,600 (2000)
Capital: Dover
Counties: 3 (see: List of Delaware counties)
Bird: Blue Hen Chicken
Bug: Lady Bug
Flower: Peach Blossom
Tree: American Holly
Nicknames: First State, Diamond State, Small Wonder
Important cities
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburbs
Wilmington
Newark
Pike Creek
Bear
Brookside
Glasgow
Hockessin
Dover
Seaford
Lewes
Milford
Smyrna
Georgetown
Rehoboth Beach
Education
Colleges and universities
Delaware Law School of Widener University
Delaware State University
Delaware Technical and Community College
Drexel University at Wilmington
Goldey-Beacom College
Professional sport teams
Delaware is the home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks minor league baseball
team.
Miscellaneous information
USS Delaware was named in honor of this state.
Other places named Delaware
Delaware, Ohio
Delaware County, Iowa
Delaware County, New York
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
The Delaware River is a major river in the eastern United States, rising in
New York State, forming the boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
and emptying into Delaware Bay, which separates New Jersey from the state of
Delaware.
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.
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