Delaware
On the 7th of December 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States. This single act earned it the enduring nickname "The First State." The decision was not made lightly by the citizens of the Lower Counties on the Delaware. They had lived under a complex colonial history involving Dutch traders at Zwaanendael near Lewes in 1631 and Swedish settlers who established Fort Christina in Wilmington in 1638. English control arrived later when Sir Robert Carr conquered the area for James, Duke of York, in 1664. William Penn leased these lands from the Duke in 1682 to secure sea access for his Pennsylvania colony. Despite sharing a governor with Pennsylvania until 1704, Delaware maintained its own assembly meetings in New Castle. By the 15th of June 1776, Patriot leaders Thomas McKean and Caesar Rodney convinced the Colonial Assembly to declare separation from British rule. A dramatic overnight ride by Caesar Rodney provided the final vote needed for independence on the 4th of July 1776. The state ratified the Articles of Confederation as the twelfth of thirteen colonies before becoming the first to sign the new Constitution.
Before European colonists settled the region, Eastern Algonquian tribes known as the Unami Lenape inhabited the coastal areas of present-day Delaware. The Nanticoke people occupied much of the southern Delmarva Peninsula while Iroquoian groups like the Kuskarawock lived north of them. John Smith documented these tribes living near the Chesapeake Bay before they migrated across it in the 1670s. The Lenape had developed a settled hunting and agricultural society that became middlemen in the fur trade with their ancient enemy, the Minqua or Susquehannock. As English immigrants decreased due to better economic conditions in England, the line between servant and slave hardened. Most free African-American families in Delaware before the Revolution had migrated from Maryland seeking affordable land. They were descendants chiefly of relationships between white servant women and enslaved men. By 1810, three-quarters of all blacks in Delaware were free. An independent black denomination called the Union Church of Africans was chartered in 1813 by freed slave Peter Spencer. This church built a location in Wilmington for its congregation and later became known as the A.U.M.P. Church. In 1814, Spencer called for the first annual gathering known as the Big August Quarterly which continues today.
More than half of all U.S. publicly traded companies are incorporated within Delaware borders. Sixty-three percent of Fortune 500 companies choose this state for legal registration. Franchise taxes on Delaware corporations supply about one-fifth of the state's revenue. Over 90% of all U.S.-based companies going public in 2021 chose Delaware incorporation. The state has more registered corporations than people living there. The Court of Chancery handles corporate disputes with worldwide reputation for concise opinions. The Delaware General Corporation Law grants broad discretion to corporate boards of directors. This business-friendly system attracts over three-fifths of Fortune 500 companies. The state does not assess sales tax on consumers but imposes taxes on gross receipts of most businesses. Business and occupational license tax rates range from 0.096% to 1.92%. Gambling provides significant revenue with the casino at Delaware Park Racetrack contributing over $100 million to the state in 2010. In June 2018, Delaware became the first U.S. state to legalize sports betting following a Supreme Court ruling.
Delaware voted against secession on the 3rd of January 1861, remaining in the Union while other slave states joined the Confederacy. It was the only slave state from which no Confederate regiments or militia groups were assembled. By the 1860 census, 91.7% of the black population were free with only 1,798 enslaved individuals. The state rejected the 13th Amendment on the 8th of February 1865, the 14th Amendment on the 8th of February 1867, and the 15th Amendment on the 18th of March 1869. Official ratification of these amendments did not occur until the 12th of February 1901. During Reconstruction, Democratic Redeemer governments imposed white supremacist regimes that declared Black people second-class citizens in 1866. Jim Crow laws mandated segregation in public facilities including schools. The last segregated school in the state did not close until 1970. The University of Delaware admitted its first black student in 1948. In October 1954, Milford became the scene of one of the country's first pro-segregation boycotts after eleven Black students enrolled in Milford High School. Mass protests continued until the school board expelled the Black students. Riots broke out in Wilmington in 1967 and again in 1968 following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.
Delaware occupies the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula with land area measured at approximately 1,949 square miles. It is the second-smallest state by either metric after Rhode Island but ranks sixth-least populous. The northern boundary follows an arc extending twelve miles from the cupola of the courthouse in New Castle known as the Twelve-Mile Circle. This unusual border extends east to the low-tide mark on the New Jersey shore before continuing south along the shoreline. Topography consists of a level plain with lowest mean elevation of any state in the nation. Highest elevation reaches less than 448 feet above sea level at Ebright Azimuth near Concord High School. Summers are long, hot, and humid often featuring intense late day thundershowers. Winters range from modestly cool to cold in northern Delaware and cool to mild in southern areas. Normal seasonal snowfall ranges from about 20 inches in Wilmington to only 10 inches in Lewes. The all-time record high temperature was recorded at Millsboro on the 21st of July 1930 while the all-time record low occurred there on the 17th of January 1893.
Wilmington serves as the state's most populous city with 70,635 residents according to recent census data. Dover remains the capital and second-most populous city with 38,079 people. Agricultural output includes poultry, nursery stock, soybeans, dairy products, and corn. Poultry farming specifically occurs in Sussex County through companies like Perdue Farms and Mountaire Farms. Since the mid-2000s, Delaware has seen departure of automotive manufacturing including General Motors Wilmington Assembly and Chrysler Newark Assembly. Steel industry presence diminished with Evraz Claymont Steel closing operations. In late 2015, DuPont announced layoffs affecting 1,700 employees nearly a third of its Delaware footprint. Tourism generated $3.1 billion in 2015 making it five percent of state GDP. Eight point five million visitors came that year employing 41,730 people. Rehoboth Beach generates $6.9 billion annually and over $711 million in tax revenue. The median household income reached $64,805 as of 2020. Unemployment rate stood at 4.0% in recent years.
Common questions
When did Delaware become the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States?
Delaware became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States on the 7th of December 1787. This action earned it the enduring nickname The First State.
Who were the original inhabitants of Delaware before European colonists settled the region?
Eastern Algonquian tribes known as the Unami Lenape inhabited the coastal areas of present-day Delaware before European settlement. The Nanticoke people occupied much of the southern Delmarva Peninsula while Iroquoian groups like the Kuskarawock lived north of them.
Why do more than half of all U.S. publicly traded companies incorporate within Delaware borders?
More than half of all U.S. publicly traded companies are incorporated within Delaware borders because the state offers a business-friendly system with broad discretion for corporate boards under the Delaware General Corporation Law. Franchise taxes on these corporations supply about one-fifth of the state's revenue and the Court of Chancery handles disputes with worldwide reputation.
How many enslaved individuals remained in Delaware according to the 1860 census?
According to the 1860 census, there were only 1,798 enslaved individuals remaining in Delaware while 91.7% of the black population were free. The state voted against secession on the 3rd of January 1861 and was the only slave state from which no Confederate regiments or militia groups were assembled.
What is the highest elevation point in Delaware and how high does it reach above sea level?
The highest elevation reaches less than 448 feet above sea level at Ebright Azimuth near Concord High School. This location represents the peak of the state's topography which consists of a level plain with the lowest mean elevation of any state in the nation.