New Hampshire was inhabited for thousands of years by Algonquian-speaking peoples such as the Abenaki. Europeans arrived in the early 17th century, with the English establishing some of the earliest non-indigenous settlements. The Province of New Hampshire was established in 1629, named after the Englishcounty of Hampshire. Following mounting tensions between the British colonies and the crown during the 1760s, New Hampshire saw one of the earliest overt acts of rebellion, with the seizing of Fort William and Mary from the British in 1774. In January 1776, it became the first of the British North American colonies to establish an independent government and state constitution; six months later, it signed the United States Declaration of Independence and contributed troops, ships, and supplies in the war against Britain. In June 1788, it was the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, bringing that document into effect. Through the mid-19th century, New Hampshire was an active center of abolitionism, and fielded close to 32,000 Union soldiers during the U.S. Civil War. After the war, the state saw rapid industrialization and population growth, becoming a center of textile manufacturing, shoemaking, and papermaking; the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester was at one time the largest cotton textile plant in the world. The Merrimack and Connecticut rivers were lined with industrial mills, most of which employed workers from Canada and Europe; French Canadians formed the most significant influx of immigrants, and today roughly a quarter of all New Hampshire residents have French American ancestry, second only to Maine.
Reflecting a nationwide trend, New Hampshire's industrial sector declined after World War II. Since 1950, its economy diversified to include financial and professional services, real estate, education, transportation and high-tech, with manufacturing still higher than the national average. Beginning in the 1950s, its population surged as major highways connected it to Greater Boston and led to more commuter towns. New Hampshire is among the wealthiest and most-educated states. It is one of nine states without an income tax and has no taxes on sales, capital gains, or inheritance while relying heavily on local property taxes to fund education; consequently, its state tax burden is among the lowest in the country. It ranks among the top ten states in metrics such as governance, healthcare, socioeconomic opportunity, and fiscal stability. New Hampshire is one of the least religious states and known for its libertarian-leaning political culture; it was until recently a swing state in presidential elections. (Full article...)
Europeans first settled New Hampshire in the 1620s, and the province consisted for many years of a small number of communities along the seacoast, Piscataqua River, and Great Bay. In 1641 the communities were organized under the government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, until Charles II issued a colonial charter for the province and appointed John Cutt as President of New Hampshire in 1679. After a brief period as a separate province, the territory was absorbed into the Dominion of New England in 1686. Following the collapse of the unpopular Dominion, on October 7, 1691 New Hampshire was again separated from Massachusetts and organized as an Englishcrown colony. Its charter was enacted on May 14, 1692, during the coregency of William and Mary, the joint monarchs of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Between 1699 and 1741, the province's governor was often concurrently the governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. This practice ended completely in 1741, when Benning Wentworth was appointed governor. Wentworth laid claim on behalf of the province to lands west of the Connecticut River, east of the Hudson River, and north of Massachusetts, issuing controversial land grants that were disputed by the Province of New York, which also claimed the territory. These disputes resulted in the eventual formation of the Vermont Republic and the U.S. state of Vermont. (Full article...)
Image 12The historical coat of arms of New Hampshire, from 1876 (from New Hampshire)
Image 13Ethnic origins in New Hampshire (from New Hampshire)
Image 14Largest reported ancestry groups in New Hampshire by town as of 2013. Dark purple indicates Irish, light purple English, pink French, turquoise French Canadian, dark blue Italian, and light blue German. Gray indicates townships with no reported data. (from New Hampshire)
Image 15Map of New Hampshire, with roads, rivers, and major cities (from New Hampshire)
Image 16Population density by census tract (from New Hampshire)
Image 17Thompson Hall, at UNH, was built in 1892. (from New Hampshire)
Image 18Site of first house in New Hampshire, present mansion constructed in 1750, by Gov. W. B. Wentworth, New York Public Library (from New Hampshire)
Image 20Broadside statement of Congress of the Colony of New Hampshire, referencing "sudden & abrupt departure" of Royal Governor John Wentworth, January 1776 (from History of New Hampshire)
Image 33Map of New Hampshire, with roads, rivers, and major cities (from New Hampshire)
Image 34Shaded relief map of New Hampshire (from New Hampshire)
Image 35Largest reported ancestry groups in New Hampshire by town as of 2013. Dark purple indicates Irish, light purple English, pink French, turquoise French Canadian, dark blue Italian, and light blue German. Gray indicates townships with no reported data. (from New Hampshire)
Image 37Site of first house in New Hampshire, present mansion constructed in 1750, by Gov. W. B. Wentworth, New York Public Library (from New Hampshire)
Image 38Shaded relief map of New Hampshire (from New Hampshire)
... that The West Wing's "Hartsfield's Landing" is a homage to three tiny towns in New Hampshire?
... that Geoffrey Holt, an unassuming New Hampshire man who worked as a groundskeeper in a mobile home park where he resided, left $3.8 million to his small town after his death?
... that Betty Hall introduced a New Hampshire bill that would have petitioned the United States Congress to impeach George W. Bush?
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