Facts about Delaware
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.
Like the other middle colonies, the Lower Counties on the Delaware initially showed little enthusiasm for a break with Britain.
Delaware is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
Delaware is on a level plain; the highest elevation does not even rise 450 feet above sea level.
Dover is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware River coastal plain and as of July 2006, had an estimated population of 34,735.
Delaware's economy generally outperforms the national economy of the United States.
Historically, the Republican Party had an immense influence on Delaware politics, due in large part to the wealthy du Pont family.
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.
Delaware is bounded to the north by Pennsylvania, to the east by the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean and to the west and south by Maryland.
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.
When he freed his slaves in 1777, John Dickinson was Delaware's largest slave owner with 37 slaves.
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.
Population estimates by the Census Bureau for 2005 place the population of Delaware at 843,524.
Delaware is notable for being the only slave state not to assemble Confederate regiments or militia groups on its own.
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.
Later, in 1717, the city was officially laid out by a special commission of the Delaware General Assembly.
The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal extends across the northern part of the state to link Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay.
The five largest ancestries in Delaware are: African-American (19.2 percent), Irish (16.6 percent), German (14.3 percent), English (12.1 percent), Italian (9.3 percent).
In 2006, legislation was proposed in Delaware that would designate English as the official language, though opponents deemed it unnecessary.
The state of Delaware is 96 miles long and ranges from 9 to 35 miles across, totaling 1,954 square miles and making it the second-smallest state in the United States, after Rhode Island.
Delaware has also become the corporate home of hundreds of major and minor corporations that take advantage of the state's unrestrictive incorporation law.
In 1988, when many American businesses faced hostile corporate takeovers, the legislature enacted a law that makes it difficult to take over a Delaware corporation.
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 captured of the city of Philadelphia.
Despite Wilmington's size, all regions of Delaware have enjoyed phenomenal growth, with Dover and the beach resorts expanding immensely.
Delaware does not assess a state-level tax on real or personal property.
Delaware has three counties: Kent County, New Castle County, and Sussex County.
The Unami Lenape in the Delaware Valley were closely related to Munsee Lenape tribes along the Hudson River.
Only the dramatic overnight ride of Rodney gave the delegation the votes needed to cast Delaware's vote for Independence.
The only real engagement on Delaware soil was fought on September 3, 1777, at Cooch's Bridge in New Castle County.
Delaware has the highest proportion of African-American residents of any state north of Maryland, and had the largest population of free blacks (17 percent) prior to the Civil War.
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.
The state is named after the Delaware Bay and River, which were named for Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577–1618).
Bucking that trend, however, in 2000 and again in 2004 Delaware voted for the Democratic candidate.
Penn strongly desired access to the sea for his Pennsylvania province and leased what then came to be known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" from the Duke.
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.
In 1795, Delaware’s first cotton mill was established near Wilmington, and in 1802, Eleuthиre Irйnйe du Pont de Nemours, a French immigrant, established a gunpowder mill.
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.
During the American Civil War, Delaware was a slave state that remained in the Union (Delaware voted not to secede on January 3, 1861).
The completion in 1829 of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, between Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay, stimulated shipping.
Delaware's agricultural output consists of poultry, nursery stock, soybeans, dairy products and corn.
Dover Air Force Base, located in the capital city of Dover, is one of the largest Air Force bases in the country and is a major employer in Delaware.
Delaware's fourth and current constitution, adopted in 1897, provides for executive, judicial and legislative branches.
The capital of the state of Delaware was moved to Dover from New Castle in 1777 due to its central location and relative safety from British raiders on the Delaware River.
Delaware was the only slave state not to assemble Confederate regiments or militia groups on its own.
Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and is also distinguished as being a slave state that remained in the Union during the American Civil War.
Delaware provided one of the premier regiments in the Continental Army, known as the "Delaware Blues" and nicknamed the "Blue Hen Chickens."
Later, in 1717, the city was officially laid out by a special commission of the Delaware General Assembly.
Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States constitution. ... Delaware shares a semi-circular border with Pennsylvania. ... The nation's first scheduled steam railroad began in New Castle in 1831.The United States battleship Delaware was commissioned in 1910.More items...
The flag of the state of Delaware consists of a buff-colored diamond on a field of colonial blue, with the coat of arms of the state of Delaware inside the diamond. Below the diamond, the date December 7, 1787, declares the day on which Delaware became the first state to ratify the United States Constitution.
The first European colony in the Delaware Valley was established by Swedish settlers in 1638. Between 1698 and 1699, the descendants of these early colonists constructed Old Swedes Church (also known as Holy Trinity Church), which is one of the oldest houses of worship in America still in use.
Pennsylvania's religious spectrum also included small communities of Roman Catholics and Jews. Delaware, first settled by Scandinavian Lutherans and Dutch Reformed, with later infusions of English Quakers and Welsh Baptists, had perhaps the most diverse beginnings of any middle colony.