Short answers, pulled from the story.
The U.S. Census Bureau defines the Northeastern United States as nine states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The six New England states and the three lower Northeast states together cover a total area of 181,324 square miles, making it the smallest U.S. census region by area.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the Northeastern United States had a population of 57,609,148, representing 17.38% of the national total. The region is the most densely populated in the United States, with an average of 345.5 people per square mile, which is 2.5 times denser than the second-most dense region, the South.
The American Industrial Revolution began in Blackstone Valley in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, where textile mills spread across New England. Eastern Pennsylvania also played a central role, with coal and steel launching the nation's manufacturing sector.
The gross domestic product of the Northeastern United States was $5.1 trillion as of 2022. The region accounts for approximately 23% of the nation's gross domestic product, with the New York metropolitan area alone producing a gross metropolitan product estimated at $2.1 trillion.
Providence was founded by Roger Williams, who had been banished from Massachusetts for his beliefs in freedom of religion. It became the first colony in the region to guarantee all citizens freedom of worship. Providence later consolidated with Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick to form the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
The first public school in the English colonies was Boston Latin School, founded in 1635. Harvard College followed in 1636, when the colonial legislature of Massachusetts founded it as the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States.