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NEW
HAMPSHIRE - USA
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the United States (U.S.
postal abbreviation NH), named for the English county of Hampshire. New
Hampshire is called the "Granite State" because it has numerous granite
quarries, although that industry has declined greatly in recent decades. The
nickname has also come to reflect the state's attachment to tradition and
its history of frugal government. The state motto is "Live free or die".
New Hampshire's state flower is the purple
lilac. Its state bird is the purple finch. Its state tree is the white birch.
New Hampshire is best known as the state with the first primary in the
presidential election (see New Hampshire primary), the spot with the worst
recorded weather at an inhabited location (the Mount Washington weather
observatory in the Presidential Range), and colorful fall foliage. In 2003
it gained international attention for having the first openly gay bishop,
Gene Robinson, within the Anglican Communion (the Episcopal Church in the
USA).
New Hampshire's recreational attractions include skiing in the White
Mountains, the Lakes Region, and the New Hampshire International Speedway (formerly
the Loudon Racetrack), the home of the Loudon Classic, the longest-running
motorcycle race in the United States.
USS New Hampshire was named in honor of this state.
History
New Hampshire was founded by Captain John Mason and first settled in 1623,
just three years after the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts and it was one
of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American
Revolution.
Law and Government
The New Hampshire state capital is Concord, which has also been known over
time by the names Rumford and Penacook. The governor of New Hampshire is
Craig Benson (Republican) and its two U.S. senators are Judd Gregg
(Republican) and John E. Sununu (Republican), whose father John H. Sununu
was governor of the state from 1983-1988. List of New Hampshire Governors.
Its strong libertarian heritage has attracted the Free State Project to New
Hampshire. It has also earned the positive attention of residents in
neighboring states: Killington, Vermont voted on March 2, 2004 to secede
from Vermont and join New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire State House of Representatives, which has 400 members,
claims to be the third-largest parliamentary body in the English-speaking
world, behind only the United States Congress and the British Parliament.
Both state reprensetatives and state senators are paid just $100 a year,
effectively meaning that state laws are written by volunteers.
Geography
New Hampshire is part of the New England region. It is bounded by Quebec to
the north, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Massachusetts to the
south, and Vermont to the west. New Hampshire's major regions are the White
Mountains region, the Lakes area, the Seacoast region, the Merrimack Valley
area, the Monadnock region, and the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee area.
The Presidential Range in New Hampshire spans the central portion of the
state, with Mount Washington being the tallest, and other mountains like
Mount Madison and Mount Quincy Adams surrounding it.
Major rivers include the 116 mile (187 km) Merrimack River, which bisects
the state north-south and ends up in Massachusetts. Its major tributaries
include the Souhegan River. The 410 mile (670 km) Connecticut River, which
starts at New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes and flows south to Connecticut,
forms the western border of New Hampshire. Oddly, the state border is not in
the center of that river, as is usually the case, but lies at the low-water
mark on the Vermont side, so New Hampshire actually owns the whole river.
The Piscataqua River and its several tributaries form the state's only
significant ocean port where they flow into the Atlantic at Portsmouth.
The largest lake is Lake Winnipesaukee, which covers 72 square miles (186
km˛) in the central part of New Hampshire.
New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any coastal state, just 18
miles (29 km˛). Hampton Beach is a popular local summer tourist destination.
About 10 miles (16 km) offshore are the Isles of Shoals, nine small islands
best known as the site of a 19th-century art colony founded by poet Celia
Thaxter.
Economy
New Hampshire's 1999 total state gross product was $44 billion, placing it
39th in the nation. Its 2000 Per Capita Personal Income was $33,332, 6th in
the nation. Its agricultural outputs are dairy products, nursery stock,
cattle, apples, and eggs. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electric
equipment, rubber and plastic products, and tourism.
New Hampshire experienced a significant shift in its economic base during
the last century. Historically, the base was composed of the traditional New
England manufactures of textiles, shoe-making, and small machining shops
drawing upon low wage labor from nearby small farms and from Quebec. Today,
these sectors contribute only 2% for textiles, 2% for leather goods, and 9%
for machining of the state's total manufacturing dollar value ( Source: US
Economic Census for 1997, Manufacturing, New Hampshire). These traditional
sectors experienced their sharp decline during the Twentieth Century due to
increasingly obsolete plants and increasingly cheaper wages available in the
US South.
Today's New Hampshire economy is largely driven by fiscal policy. The state
has no personal income tax and advocates a frugal budget, thereby attracting
commuters, light industry, specialty horticulture, and service firms from
other jurisdictions with high tax policies, notably from neighboring
Massachusetts. This is a viable fiscal policy for a small, high-income state
with limited social service demands, but it has not been one hundred per
cent successful, and pockets of depressed manufacturing activity still
remain.
Demographics
The population of the state in 2000 is 1,235,786.
Important cities and towns
Manchester, the largest city in the state, has a main street (Elm Street)
which is a dead-end at both ends.
Keene is still often called "The Elm City" despite the fact that the Dutch
Tree Blight destroyed most of the city's Elm Trees in the 1930s.
Peterborough is the inspiration for the town of Grover's Corners portrayed
in Thornton Wilder's play Our Town.
Manchester
Nashua
Concord
Derry
Portsmouth
Rochester
Keene
Lebanon
Durham
Peterborough
Loudon
Claremont
Salem
Dover
Merrimack
Londonderry
Hudson
Hampton
Milford
Hanover
New London
Randolph
Tilton
Franklin
Education
Colleges and universities
Antioch New England
Chester College of New England
Colby-Sawyer College
College for Lifelong Learning
Daniel Webster College
Dartmouth College
Franklin Pierce College
Franklin Pierce Law Center
Keene State College
New England College
Southern New Hampshire University
Notre Dame College
Plymouth State University
Rivier College
Saint Anselm College
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire at Manchester
Professional sport teams
Minor league baseball teams:
Nashua Pride
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Hockey teams:
Manchester Monarchs
Arena football teams:
Manchester Wolves
Miscellaneous information
New Hampshire was the last of the New England states to observe Fast Day, a
day of prayer for a bountiful harvest. Traditionallly observed on the 4th
Thursday in April, from 1949 was observed as a legal holiday on the 4th
Monday in April until 1991 when it was replaced by Civil Rights Day. [1] (http://www.state.nh.us/nhinfo/fast.html)
In 1999 New Hampshire changed the name of Civil Rights Day to Martin Luther
King Day. [2] (http://www.factmonster.com/spot/mlkhistory1.html)
There are no general sales or individual income taxes in New Hampshire,
though the state does have meals, lodging, and other taxes. (List of other
states without personal income taxes)
New Hampshire is the only state that does not mandate public kindergarten,
partly out of frugality and lack of funding, and partly out of belief in
local control, a philosophy under which towns and cities, not the state,
make as many decisions as possible. As of 2003, all but about two dozen
communities in the state provided public kindergarten with local property-tax
money.
Like several states, New Hampshire requires all hard liquor to be sold in
state-owned, state-run stores. This system generates millions of dollars
annually for the state and results in liquor being so cheap that it attracts
many out-of-state customers. Many liquor stores are located near state lines,
often on interstate highways.
New Hampshire is host to the New Hampshire Highland Games, formerly the
Scottish Games. New Hampshire has also registered an official Tartan with
the proper authorities in Scotland; this tartan is used to make kilts worn
by the State Police while they serve during the games.
New Hampshire has the only piece of Interstate highway that is two-lane
(i.e. a single northbound lane and a single southbound lane) with a
cobblestone median. This was done to preserve Franconia Notch, the site of
the Old Man of the Mountain, a rock formation visible from Interstate 93 in
Franconia. The formation was the symbol of the state until it fell apart,
due to natural erosion, on May 3, 2003.
The Census of 2000 says the unincorporated town of Erving's Location has a
population of exactly 1 - although this fact is disputed. A June 27, 2004,
article in the Union-Leader of Manchester quoted the administrator of Coos
County as saying the town's only taxable property is some utility poles, and
that nobody has ever lived there.
In northern New Hampshire the town of Dixville Notch is traditionally the
first city or town in the U.S. to vote in presidential primaries and the
presidential election. The few dozen residents of Dixville Notch all stay
awake until after midnight to vote. State law gives the town an exemption
from the requirement that polls must stay open until at least 7 p.m., so
that the results can be counted quickly.
New Hampshire is the only state with no mandatory seatbelt law for adults,
no motorcycle helmet law for adults nor mandatory vehicle insurance for
automobiles.
Daily newspapers
Union Leader of Manchester
Telegraph of Nashua
Concord Monitor
Foster's Daily Democrat of Dover
Portsmouth Herald
Keene Sentinel
Conway Daily Sun
Eagle Times of Claremont
Other publications
New Hampshire Business Review (statewide)
Hippo Press (Manchester)
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