Northeastern United States
In the early 1600s, European fishermen began camping on the shores of what is now the Northeastern United States to dry their codfish. Anthropologists recognize this area as part of the Northeastern Woodlands, a cultural region that existed in the Western Hemisphere before most Europeans settled in North America during the 17th century. Among the many tribes inhabiting this vast territory were the Iroquois nations and numerous Algonquian peoples who lived in villages influenced by agricultural traditions from the Ohio and Mississippi valley societies.
The first European explorer known to have explored the Atlantic shoreline since the Norse was Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. His ship La Dauphine traveled the coast from Florida to New Brunswick. The Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 and landed in present-day Massachusetts to found Plymouth Colony. Ten years later, Puritans settled north of Plymouth in Boston to form the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1636, colonists established Connecticut Colony and Providence Plantations.
Providence was founded by Roger Williams after he was banished by Massachusetts for his beliefs regarding freedom of religion. It became the first colony to guarantee all citizens freedom of worship. Anne Hutchinson also formed Portsmouth after being banished by Massachusetts. These towns consolidated with Newport and Warwick to create the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Henry Hudson explored the area of present-day New York in 1609 and claimed it for the Netherlands. The city of New Amsterdam became the capital of New Netherland in 1625.
In 1681, William Penn founded Pennsylvania to give Quakers a land of religious freedom. He extended freedom of religion to all citizens and leased what became known as the Lower Counties on the Delaware from the Duke. By 1704, the province of Pennsylvania had grown so large that its representatives began meeting separately from the Lower Counties at Philadelphia and New Castle, Delaware. Charles II of England formally annexed New Netherland in 1664 and incorporated it into the English colonial empire.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord took place northeast of Boston and marked the first military engagements between Revolutionaries and the British. Many major battles of the revolution were fought within the Northeast region. The British evacuated Boston in early-1776 and moved to capture New York City. The revolutionaries were pushed to the Delaware River before suddenly moving forward against the British in the Battles of Trenton and Princeton.
A stalemate was reached in 1778 between the British and American Revolutionaries and continued until the end of the war in 1783. The Continental Congresses met in Philadelphia to produce the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. Following the American Revolution, the capital of the newly formed United States moved around in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. It was based in New York City from 1785 until 1790 when it moved to Congress Hall in Philadelphia where it remained for a decade until 1800.
The Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia where the new United States Constitution was drafted in 1787. Six of the first 13 states to ratify the new constitution were located in the Northeast. Rhode Island ratified the constitution in 1790 as the last of the original 13 states. Vermont was admitted in 1791 as the 14th state. The first Congress convened in Federal Hall in New York City in March 1789.
Conflicts with the south over the spread of slavery became a large factor in the start of the Civil War. The admission of Maine as a free state in exchange for Missouri becoming a slave state occurred as part of the Missouri Compromise in 1820. This settled the final boundaries of the Northeastern states. The Mason-Dixon line was established as the border of slavery following the border of Pennsylvania and Delaware or Maryland. Abolitionist movements started in the Northeast and Midwest and became prominent towards the mid-19th century.
The American Industrial Revolution launched in Blackstone Valley in Rhode Island and Massachusetts where textile mills spread across New England. In eastern Pennsylvania, coal, steel, and industrialization launched the nation's manufacturing sector. After the end of the War of 1812, industry boomed in the Northeast during the early and middle parts of the 19th century. With the construction of railroads and canals crossing the northeast, the region experienced the development of new industries and a fast-growing population.
Cities including Allentown, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Rochester, and Syracuse emerged as major industrial centers. By 1860, New York City based on its present-day boundaries was the first U.S. city to reach a population exceeding one million. Following the Civil War, the Northeast saw a large economic boom and became one of the most industrialized regions in the world. Many cities exploded in population with Philadelphia and New York climbing over one million people while others like Buffalo, Boston, and Pittsburgh rose above half a million during this time.
New York City eventually grew to become one of the largest cities in the world by 1900. The Second Industrial Revolution saw the northeast grow massively even more so than before the Civil War. During World War II, the Brooklyn Naval Yard produced many navy ships. Many of these cities saw a peak population and industrial output in the aftermath of World War II in the 1950s. Starting in the 1950s and continuing into the 21st century, a large industrial decline resulted in depopulation of many Northeastern cities.
Some Northeastern cities including New York City have recovered from their decline in the mid-20th century. Many new information and service industries have risen in the northeast leading to a boom in the 21st century in some cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. Other cities like Hartford, Syracuse, and Buffalo still are declining though in the 21st century. Hurricane Sandy impacted much of the northeast in 2012 causing severe damage to the coast and flooding inland.
The vast area from central Virginia to northern Maine extends from western Pennsylvania to the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the Northeastern United States lies in the physiographic region of the Appalachian Highlands while some areas are part of the Atlantic coastal plain. The coastal plain includes Cape Cod in Massachusetts, Long Island in New York, and most of New Jersey with generally low and flat sandy soil and long tidal marsh waterways. The highlands include the Piedmont and the Appalachian Mountains which are heavily forested ranging from rolling hills to summits greater than 6,000 feet.
Mount Washington in New Hampshire stands as the highest peak in the Northeast at 6,288 feet. In winter, the polar jet stream moves south bringing colder air masses from Canada and more frequent storm systems to the region. Winter often brings both rain and snow as well as surges of warm and cold air. The southern part of the Northeast from coastal Rhode Island southwest to eastern Maryland has partial protection from extreme cold coming from the west due to the Appalachians.
The basic climate divides into a colder and snowier interior including western Maryland, most of Pennsylvania, most of North Jersey, Upstate New York, and most of New England. A milder coastal plain region stretches from Cape Cod and southern Rhode Island southward including Long Island, Southern Connecticut, New York City, central and southern New Jersey, and most of Maryland. Annual mean temperatures range from the low-to-mid 50s F from Maryland to southern Connecticut to the 40s F in most of New York State and northern Pennsylvania.
Most of the Northeast has a humid continental climate while the northernmost portion of the humid subtropical zone begins at Martha's Vineyard and extends down the coastal plain to central and southern Maryland. The oceanic climate zone exists only on Block Island and Nantucket where all months average between 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the region was 57,609,148 representing 17.38% of the nation's total population. With an average of 345.5 people per square mile, the Northeast is 2.5 times as densely populated as the second-most dense region, the South. Since the last century, the U.S. population has been shifting away from the Northeast and Midwest toward the South and West. The region's racial composition as of 2020 included 64.42% white, 11.51% African American, 0.51% Native American, 7.25% Asian, and 15.27% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
In 2021, the median income for a household in the region was $77,142 while the median income for a family was $97,347. About 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line including 16.0% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over. The two U.S. Census Bureau divisions in the Northeast, New England and the Mid-Atlantic, rank second and first respectively among the nine divisions in population density according to the 2013 population estimate.
The South Atlantic region was very close behind New England with 233.1 people per square mile compared to 233.2. Due to faster growth of the South Atlantic region, it will take over the number two division rank in population density in the next estimate dropping New England to third position. New England is projected to retain the number three rank for many years as the only other lower-ranked division with even half the population density is the East North Central division at 192.1.
As of 2022, the gross domestic product of the region was $5.1 trillion containing some of the most developed states based on the Human Development Index. Every state in the region ranks above the national average. The megalopolis makes up 67% of the region's total population.
The Northeast is served by Amtrak trains including the Northeast Regional and Acela which run from Washington D.C. in the south to Boston in the north. Other Amtrak lines serving the region include the Downeaster, Empire Service, Vermonter, Lake Shore Limited, and Pennsylvanian. Light rail, commuter rail, and subway systems are also available throughout the region. The New York City Subway used by over two billion passengers annually stands as one of the busiest transit systems in the world.
Grand Central Terminal in New York City had over 67 million annual passengers in 2017 making it the second-busiest train station in the nation. Pennsylvania Station in New York City is the busiest train station in North America with over 10 million passengers in 2019 along with 27 million passengers from NJ Transit and 69 million from Long Island Rail in 2017. South Station in Boston was the seventh-busiest train station in North America with nearly 29 million passengers as of 2017.
JFK International Airport in Queens, New York serves as the busiest airport in the Northeast and the 13th busiest in the nation with 15,273,342 annual passengers. Newark Liberty International Airport handled 14,514,049 passengers while Logan International Airport in Boston served 10,909,817 travelers. Philadelphia International Airport moved 9,827,222 people and Baltimore-Washington International Airport carried 9,253,561 passengers.
The region has the highest amount of tolled roads or bridges in the nation with only Connecticut and Vermont having no tolls. Notable turnpikes include the Pennsylvania Turnpike, New Jersey Turnpike, New York Thruway, Massachusetts Turnpike, and Maine Turnpike. The George Washington Bridge crossing the Hudson River carries most traffic on Interstate 95 from New Jersey to New York. The Holland Tunnel connects road traffic from Jersey City and Newark to Lower Manhattan.
Common questions
When did European fishermen begin camping on the shores of the Northeastern United States?
European fishermen began camping on the shores of what is now the Northeastern United States in the early 1600s to dry their codfish.
Who was the first European explorer known to have explored the Atlantic shoreline since the Norse for the Northeastern United States?
Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European explorer known to have explored the Atlantic shoreline since the Norse when he traveled from Florida to New Brunswick in 1524.
What year did Rhode Island ratify the new constitution as part of the Northeastern United States history?
Rhode Island ratified the new constitution in 1790 as the last of the original 13 states to join the Northeastern United States region.
How many people lived in the Northeastern United States according to the 2020 U.S. census?
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the Northeastern United States was 57,609,148 representing 17.38% of the nation's total population.
Which city became the capital of New Netherland and later part of the Northeastern United States in 1625?
The city of New Amsterdam became the capital of New Netherland in 1625 before Charles II of England formally annexed it in 1664.