New England 447177 225856775 2008-07-15T18:49:02Z Ju66l3r 1565480 Reverted to revision 225758756 by [[Special:Contributions/El C|El C]]. ([[WP:TW|TW]]) {{this|the region in the United States of America|New England (disambiguation)}} {| class="infobox" border="1" cellpadding="4" style="width: 300px; border-collapse:collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- |+ style="font-size: larger;" | '''<big>New England</big>''' |- |- |- | colspan="2" align="center" style="background: #fff;" | [[Image:New England USA.svg|200px]] [[Image:New England USA closeup.svg|80px]] |- ! colspan=2 | Political history |- | '''Chartering as<br>[[Plymouth Council for New England]]''' | [[1620-11-03]]<ref>'''Swindler, William F., ed; ''Sources and Documents of United States Constitutions.''''' 10 Volumes; [[Dobbs Ferry, New York]]; [[Oceana Publications]], 1973-1979. Volume 5: Pages 16-26.</ref>. |- | '''Formation as<br>[[United Colonies of New England]]''' | 1643 |- | '''Formation as<br>[[Dominion of New England]]''' | 1686 |- | '''[[New York]] formally<br>incorporated into the<br>[[Dominion of New England]]''' | [[1688-08-11]]<ref name="OCALLAGHAN">'''O’Callaghan, E. B., ed; ''Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Volumes 1 - 11.''''';[[Albany, New York]]; 1853-1887 ; Volume 3: Page 537</ref> |- | '''As a result of the<br>[[Glorious Revolution]], Bostonians imprisoned the royal governor and others loyal to King James II, thereby ending the [[Dominion of New England]].''' | [[1689-04-18]]<ref NAME="CRAVEN">'''Craven, Wesley Frank; ''Colonies in Transition, 1660 – 1713.''''';[[New York, New York]]: [[Harper and Row]], 1968. Page 224.</ref><ref name="MORRIS AND KELLY">Morris, Gerald E., and Kelly, Richard D., eds; Maine Bicentennial Atlas: An Historical Survey. Plate 11. [[Portland, Maine]]; [[Portland Historical Society]]; 1976.</ref> |- ! colspan=2 | Regional statistics |- |'''Largest city''' | [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] |- |'''[[U.S. State]]s''' | [[Connecticut]]<br>[[Maine]]<br>[[Massachusetts]]<br>[[New Hampshire]]<br>[[Rhode Island]]<br>[[Vermont]] |- style="vertical-align: bottom;" | '''[[Area]]'''<br />&nbsp;- Total | <br />71,991.8 mi² (186,458.8 km²) |- style="vertical-align: bottom;" | '''[[Population]]'''<br />&nbsp;- Total&nbsp;(2006)<br />&nbsp;- [[Population density|Density]] | <br />&nbsp;14,269,989<ref>[http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html U.S. Census QuickFacts Page]</ref><br />198.2 people/mi² (87.7 people/km²) |- style="vertical-align: bottom;" |} '''New England''' is a [[region]] of the [[United States]] located in the northeastern corner of the country, consisting of the modern [[U.S. state|states]] of [[Maine]], [[New Hampshire]], [[Vermont]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Rhode Island]], and [[Connecticut]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055457/New-England New England - Britannica Online Encyclopedia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><!----There have been extensive discussions about which states comprise New England. Please discuss on talk page before changing this.-------> In one of the earliest English settlements in the [[New World]], [[English people|English]] [[Pilgrims]] fleeing [[religious]] persecution in [[Europe]] first settled in New England in 1620, in the colony of [[Plymouth Colony|Plymouth]]. In the late 18th century, the New England colonies would be among the first [[North America]]n [[British Empire|British]] colonies to demonstrate ambitions of [[American Revolution|independence]] from the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British Crown]], although they would later oppose the [[War of 1812]] between the United States and [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]]. In the 19th century, it played a prominent role in the movement to [[Abolitionism|abolish]] [[slavery]] in the United States, hosted the first pieces of [[American literature]] and [[philosophy]], was home to the beginnings of free public education, and was the first region of the United States to be transformed by the North American [[Industrial Revolution]].<ref>"New England," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997–2006 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.</ref> ==History== {{main|History of New England}} [[Image:New England blank flag.svg|thumb|right|An early flag of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]]<ref>[http://www.midcoast.com/~martucci/flags/NEFlag.html The Flag of New England Page<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>]] [[Image:New England pine flag.svg|thumb|The [[Flag of New England]] during the [[Revolutionary War]] [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-neng.html] ]] New England's earliest inhabitants were [[Algonquian]]-speaking [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] including the [[Abenaki]], the [[Penobscot]], and the [[Wampanoag]]. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Western Abenakis inhabited New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as parts of [[Québec]] and western Maine. Their principal town was [[Norridgewock]], in present-day Maine. The Penobscot were settled along the [[Penobscot River]] in Maine. The [[Wampanoag]] occupied southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the islands of [[Martha's Vineyard]] and [[Nantucket]]. Compared to other North American settlements, New England was sparsely populated and densely forested, leading European settlers to believe North America was a "virgin land."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=2691D716-E7F2-99DF-38F54EF6075AAB4D&pageNumber=3&catID=2&colId=1|publisher=Scientific American, Inc.|title=An Earth Without People|accessdate=2007-08-13}}</ref> ===The Virginia Companies compete=== On [[April 10]] [[1606]], King [[James I of England]] issued a chartered the two [[Virginia Company|Virginia Companies]], of London and Plymouth, respectively. These were privately-funded proprietary ventures, and the purpose of each was to claim land for England, trade, and return a profit.<ref>"In addition to claiming land for England and bringing the faith of the Church of England to the native peoples, each of the Virginia Companies was also enjoined both by the crown and its members to make a tidy profit by whatever means it found expedient." http://www.nps.gov/colo/Jthanout/TobaccoHistory.html</ref> Competition between the two companies grew to where their potential New World territory overlapped, and would be finalized based upon results. The London Company was authorized to make settlements from North Carolina to New York (31 to 41 degrees North Latitude). The [[Virginia Company of London]] successfully established the [[Jamestown Settlement]] in May, 1607. After a tenuous start, several strains of [[tobacco]] were developed as a profitable export by colonist [[John Rolfe]]. {{Main|Jamestown, Virginia}} Contemporaneously, the [[Popham Colony]] was planted by the [[Virginia Company of Plymouth]]. Unlike the Jamestown Settlement, it was not initially successful, and was abandoned after one year, though would later be revived. The Virginia Company of Plymouth's charter included land extending as far as present-day northern Maine.<ref>[http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/primarysources/virginia/transcript01.html The Virginia Company: Lecture Transcript One<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Captain John Smith]], exploring the shores of the region in 1614, named the region "New England"<ref>New England. (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved [[June 20]], [[2006]], from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9055457</ref> in his account of two voyages there, published as [http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/etas/4/ ''A Description of New England'']. ===Plymouth Council for New England=== [[Image:New-England-coin.jpg|150px|thumb|right|The first coins struck in the Colonies were the silver New England coins.]] The name "New England" was officially sanctioned on [[November 3]], [[1620]], when the charter of the Virginia Company of Plymouth was replaced by a [[royal charter]] for the [[Plymouth Council for New England]], a [[joint stock]] company established to colonize and govern the region.<ref>"...joint stock company organized in 1620 by a charter from the British crown with authority to colonize and govern the area now known as New England." New England, Council for. (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved [[July 13]], [[2006]], from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9055458</ref> Shortly afterwards, in December 1620, a permanent settlement was established at present-day [[Plymouth, Massachusetts]] by the [[Pilgrims]], English religious separatists arriving via [[Holland]]. The [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]], which would come to dominate the area, was established in 1628 with its major city of [[Boston]] established in 1630. Banished from Massachusetts, [[Roger Williams (theologian)|Roger Williams]] led a group south, and founded [[Providence, Rhode Island]] in 1636. On [[March 3]] of the same year, the Connecticut Colony was granted a charter, and established its own government. At this time, Vermont was yet unsettled, and the territories of [[New Hampshire]] and [[Maine]] were governed by [[Massachusetts]]. ===New England Confederation=== In these early years, relationships between colonists and Native Americans alternated between peace and armed skirmishes. Six years after the bloodiest of these, the [[Pequot War]], in 1643 the colonies of [[Massachusetts Bay Colony|Massachusetts Bay]], [[Plymouth Colony|Plymouth]], [[New Haven Colony|New Haven]], and [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]] joined together in a loose compact called the [[New England Confederation]] (officially "The United Colonies of New England"). The confederation was designed largely to coordinate mutual defense against possible wars with [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] in the [[New Netherland]] colony to the west, the [[New Spain|Spanish]] in the south, and the [[France|French]] in [[New France]] to the north, as well as to assist in the return of runaway [[slave]]s. The confederation lost its influence when Massachusetts refused to commit itself to a war against the [[Netherlands|Dutch]]. The first [[coin]]s struck in the Colonies, prompted by a shortage of change, were the New England coins produced by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The first series was a simple design including "NE" on the obverse and the various denominations on the reverse. Other series included the "Willow," "Oak," and "Pine Tree." The "Pine Tree" coinage was the last type in the series, struck by coiner John Hull. Although the majority were dated 1652, it is generally acknowledged that production spanned about thirty years, despite the disapproval of [[Charles II of England|King Charles II]].<ref>Charles French and Scott Mitchell. ''American Guide To U.S. Coins: The Most Up-to-Date Coin Prices Available''. Available at: http://www.coin-collecting.info/American/early.html (Accessed 14 August 2006).</ref> ===Dominion of New England=== {{main|Dominion of New England}} [[Image:Pieter van der Aa New England 1707.jpg|thumb|left|New England map of 1707]] In 1686, [[James II of England|King James II]], concerned about the increasingly independent ways of the colonies, including their self-governing charters, open flouting of the [[Navigation Acts]], and increasing military power, established the [[Dominion of New England]], an administrative union comprising all of the New England colonies. On [[1688-08-11]], the provinces of [[Province of New York|New York]] and [[Province of New Jersey|New Jersey]], seized from the Dutch in 1664, and confirmed on [[1673-09-12]], were added<ref name="OCALLAGHAN"/>. The union, imposed from the outside and contrary to the rooted democratic tradition of the region, was highly unpopular among the colonists. Nevertheless, those two present states are reckoned as "greater New England" in a social or cultural context, as that is where Yankee colonists expanded to, before 1776. Indeed, the identity in that era changed once one moved to [[Pennsylvania]], as the [[Pennamite-Yankee War]] attests to. Colonists from New England proper in that era, were rather well received in the [[Mohawk Valley]] and on [[Long Island]] in New York. To this day, the cultural legacy of New England is easy to detect by the vast majority of other Americans. After the [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1689, Bostonians imprisoned the Royal Governor and other sympathizers of King James II on [[1689-04-18]], thus defacto ending the Dominion Of New England<ref name="CRAVEN"/><ref name="MORRIS AND KELLY"/>. The charters of the colonies were significantly modified after this change in English politics, with the appointment of Royal Governors to nearly every colony. An uneasy tension existed between the Royal Governors, their officers, and the elected governing bodies of the colonies. The governors wanted unlimited authority, and the different layers of locally elected officials would often resist them. In most cases, the local town governments continued operating as self-governing bodies, just as they had before the appointment of the Royal Governors. This tension culminated itself in the [[American Revolution]], boiling over with the breakout of the [[American War of Independence]] in 1776. ===Region of the United States=== [[Image:BCburnslawnsunset.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Boston College: The Old World's enduring influence over New England is evident in the architecture]] The colonies were now formally united as newly-formed states in a larger (but not yet federalist) union [[United States of America]]. In the 18th century and the early 19th century, New England was still considered to be a very distinct region of the colony and country, as it is today. During the [[War of 1812]], there was a limited amount of talk of secession from the Union, as New England merchants, just getting back on their feet, opposed the war with their greatest trading partner - [[Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]].<ref>James Schouler, History of the United States vol 1 (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. 1891; copyright expired).</ref> The [[Hartford Convention]] of [[1814]] considered secession, but failed to act on it. For the remainder of the Antebellum period, New England remained distinct. Politically, it often went against the grain of the rest of the country. Massachusetts and Connecticut were among the last refuges of the Federalist Party, and when the Second Party System began in the 1830s, New England became the strongest bastion of the new [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] - the Whigs were usually dominant throughout New England, except in the more Democratic Maine and New Hampshire. Many of the leading statesmen - including most prominently [[Daniel Webster]] - hailed from the region. New England was also distinct in other ways. It was, as a whole, the most urbanized part of the country (the 1860 Census showed that 32 of the 100 largest cities in the country were in New England), as well as the most educated. Many of the major literary and intellectual figures produced by the United States in the Antebellum period were New Englanders, including [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], [[Henry David Thoreau]], [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], [[John Greenleaf Whittier]], [[George Bancroft]], [[William H. Prescott]], and others. New England was also an early center of the industrial revolution. Towns like [[Lawrence, Massachusetts|Lawrence]] and [[Lowell, Massachusetts|Lowell]], Massachusetts became famed as centers of the textile industry. New England and areas settled from New England, like Upstate New York, Ohio's [[Western Reserve]] and the upper midwestern states of [[Michigan]] and [[Wisconsin]], also proved to be the center of the strongest [[abolitionist]] sentiment in the country. Prominent abolitionists like [[William Lloyd Garrison]] and [[Wendell Phillips]] were New Englanders, and the region was also home to prominent anti-slavery politicians like [[John Quincy Adams]], [[Charles Sumner]], and [[John P. Hale]]. When the anti-slavery [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] was formed in the 1860s, all of New England, including areas which had previously been strongholds for both the Whig and the Democratic Parties, became strongly Republican, as it would remain until the early 20th century, when immigration would begin to turn the formerly solidly Republican states of Lower New England towards the Democrats. Aside from the Canadian province of [[Nova Scotia]], or "New [[Scotland]]," New England is the only [[North America]]n region to inherit the name of a kingdom in the [[British Isles]]. New England has largely preserved its regional character, especially in its historic places. Its name is a reminder of the past, as many of the original English-Americans have migrated further west. Today, the region is more ethnically [[Diversity (politics)|diverse]], having seen waves of [[immigration]] from [[Ireland]], [[Québec]], [[Italy]], [[Portugal]], [[Asia]], [[Latin America]], [[Africa]], other parts of the United States, and elsewhere. The enduring European influence can be seen in the region, from Massachusetts' use of traffic [[roundabout|rotaries]] to the bilingual French and English towns of northern Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire, as innocuous as the sprinkled use of [[American and British English spelling differences|British spelling]], and as obvious as the region's heavy prevalence of English town and county names, and its unique, often non-[[Rhotic and non-rhotic accents|rhotic]] coastal dialect reminiscent of southeastern England. New England is the traditional center of [[English people|ethnic English]] ancestry and culture in the United States. The only place in the U.S. outside New England with a significant majority English ethnicity is [[Utah]]-[[Eastern Idaho]]&mdash;the traditional core of the [[Jello Belt]] region, whose proportion of [[English American]]s is actually ''higher'' today than New England, with Utah being the most English of U.S. states with 29.0% English ancestry, followed by New England states Maine with 21.5% and Vermont with 18.4%. This population is contrastingly far more conservative than modern New England and is mainly [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] in religion, but its substratal cultural character is largely reminiscent of both early 19th century New England and [[Victorian England]] (due to later direct [[handcart]] immigration). {{see also|List of place names in New England of aboriginal origin}} == Geography and climate == [[Image:New england ref 2001.jpg|thumb|New England. Geographical map, 2001]] [[Image:Maine-coast-USGS.jpg|125px|thumb|left|A [[USGS]] map depicts a small piece of Maine's fjordlike coast.]] New England's long rolling hills, mountains, and jagged coastline are a consequence of retreating ice sheets thousands of years ago. The coast of the region, extending from southwestern Connecticut to northeastern Maine, is dotted with lakes, hills, swamps, and sandy beaches. Further inland are the [[Appalachian Mountains]], extending through Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Among them, in the [[White Mountains (New Hampshire)|White Mountains]] of New Hampshire is [[Mount Washington (New Hampshire)|Mount Washington]], which at 1,917 m (6,288 ft), is the highest peak in the northeast United States. It is also the site of the highest recorded wind speed on Earth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mountwashington.org/about/visitor/recordwind.php|title=The Story of the World Record Wind|publisher=Mount Washington Observatory|accessdate=2007-08-13}}</ref> Vermont's [[Green Mountains]], which become the [[The Berkshires|Berkshire Hills]] in western Massachusetts, are smaller than the White Mountains. Valleys in the region include the [[Connecticut River Valley]] and the [[Merrimack Valley]]. The longest river is the [[Connecticut River]], which flows from northeastern New Hampshire for 655&nbsp;km (407 mi), emptying into the [[Long Island Sound]]. [[Lake Champlain]], wedged between Vermont and New York, is the largest lake in the region, followed by [[Moosehead Lake]] (Maine), [[Lake Winnipesaukee]] (New Hampshire), [[Quabbin Reservoir]] (Massachusetts), and [[Candlewood Lake]] (Connecticut). Weather patterns are highly variable and climate varies throughout the region. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have a humid continental short summer climate, with cooler summers and long, cold winters. Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, have a humid continental long summer climate, with hot summers and cold winters. Owing to thick [[deciduous]] forests, fall in New England brings bright and colorful [[foliage]], which comes earlier than in other regions, attracting tourism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discovernewengland.org/foliage/index.shtml|title=New England's Fall Foliage|publisher=Discover New England|accessdate=2007-08-13}}</ref> Springs are generally wet and cloudy. Average rainfall generally ranges from 1,000 to 1,500 mm (40 to 60 in) a year, although the northern parts of Vermont and Maine see slightly less, from 500 to 1,000 mm (20 to 40 in). Snowfall can often exceed 2,500 mm (100 in) annually. As a result, the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire are popular destinations in the winter, with numerous commercial ski resorts.<ref>"New England," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997–2006 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.</ref><ref>New England Climate Initiative. Available at: http://www.neci.sr.unh.edu/neccwaq.html#4 (Accessed 26 July 2006).</ref> ==Population== [[Image:DowntownBoston.jpg|300px|thumb|right|[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] is considered to be the cultural and historical capital of New England, though today [[New York City]] exerts strong influence on the region's southwest corner.]] In 2000, the total population of New England was 13,922,517, roughly twice its 1910 population of 6,552,681.<ref>{{PDFlink|http://www.planning.state.ri.us/census/pdf%20files/pdf/NE1800-2000.PDF|5.62&nbsp;KB}}</ref> If New England were one state, its population would rank 5th in the nation, behind [[Florida]]. Its land area, at 62,808.96 sq mi (162,672.45&nbsp;km²), would rank 21st, behind [[Washington]] and ahead of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. The region's average [[population density]] is 221.66 inhabitants/sq mi (85.59/km²), although a great disparity exists between its northern and southern portions, as noted below. It is much greater than that of the United States as a whole (79.56/sq mi) or even just the contiguous 48 states (94.48/sq mi). ===Southern New England=== Three quarters of New England's population and most of its major cities are concentrated in its three southernmost states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Their combined population density is 786.83/sq mi, compared to northern New England's 63.56/sq mi (2000 census). The most populous state is Massachusetts, and the most populous city is Massachusetts' political and cultural capital, [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]. [[Western Massachusetts]] and Northwestern Connecticut are less densely populated than the rest of Southern New England. [[Image:Providence skyline2crop.jpg|200px|thumb|left|[[Providence, RI|Providence]] claims the largest contiguous area of [[National Register of Historic Places]]-listed buildings in the U.S.]] ===Coastal New England=== The coastline is more urban than western New England, which is typically rural, even in urban states like Massachusetts. This characteristic of the region's population is due mainly to historical factors; the original colonists settled mostly on the coastline of [[Massachusetts Bay]]. The only New England state without access to the [[Atlantic Ocean]], Vermont, is also the least populated. After nearly 400 years, the region still maintains, for the most part, its historical population layout. New England's coast is dotted with urban centers, such as [[Portland, Maine|Portland]], [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire|Portsmouth]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]], [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]], [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]], [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]], [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]], [[Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport]], and [[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]] as well as smaller cities, like [[Newburyport, Massachusetts|Newburyport]], [[Gloucester, Massachusetts|Gloucester]], [[Biddeford, Maine|Biddeford]], [[Bath, Maine|Bath]], [[Rockland, Maine|Rockland]], and [[New London, Connecticut|New London]]. <!---what is statement about tourism doing here anyway?--> ===Urban New England=== Southern New England forms an integral part of the [[BosWash]] [[megalopolis]], a conglomeration of urban centers that spans from Boston to [[Washington, D.C.]]. The region includes three of the four [[List of U.S. states by population density|most densely populated states in the United States]]; only New Jersey has a higher population density than the states of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. [[Image:WorcesterMA Downtown.jpg|250px|thumb|right|[[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]], Massachusetts]] The [[Greater Boston|Boston metropolitan area]], which includes parts of southern New Hampshire, has a total population of approximately 4.4 million.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro_general/2006/CBSA-EST2006-alldata.csv U.S. Census Bureau] - Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area population and estimated components of change: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006</ref> The [[cities by population in New England|most populous cities]] are as of 2000 Census(2006 estimates in parenthesis):<ref>({{cite web|publisher=US Census Bureau|title=Population Estimates for Places over 100,000: 2000 to 2006|url=http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/SUB-EST2006.html|accessdate=2007-06-29}}) </ref> #[[Boston, Massachusetts]]: 589,141<ref>All population information for Massachusetts cities is as of 2000 and comes from the web site of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, available [http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=mg2terminal&L=3&L0=Home&L1=State+Government&L2=Local+Government&sid=massgov2&b=terminalcontent&f=cc_landing&csid=massgov2 here]. Last accessed: 11 August 2006.</ref> (590,763) #[[Providence, Rhode Island]]: 173,618 (175,255) #[[Worcester, Massachusetts]]: 172,648 (175,454) #[[Springfield, Massachusetts]]: 152,082 (151,176) #[[Bridgeport, Connecticut]]: 139,529 (137,912) #[[Hartford, Connecticut]]: 124,558 (124,512) #[[New Haven|New Haven, Connecticut]]: 123,626 (124,001) #[[Stamford, Connecticut]]: 117,083 (119,261) #[[Waterbury, Connecticut]]: 107,271 (107,251) #[[Manchester, New Hampshire]]: 107,006 (109,497) #[[Lowell, Massachusetts]]: 105,167 (103,229) #[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]: 101,355 (101,365) During the 20th century, urban expansion in regions surrounding New York City has become an important economic influence on neighboring Connecticut, parts of which belong to the [[New York Metropolitan Area]]. The US Census Bureau groups [[Fairfield County, Connecticut|Fairfield]], [[New Haven County, Connecticut|New Haven]] and [[Litchfield County, Connecticut|Litchfield]] counties in western Connecticut together with [[New York City]], and other parts of [[New York]] and [[New Jersey]] as a [[combined statistical area]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/metro_general/List6.txt |title=Combined Statistical Areas and Component Core Based Statistical Areas, December 2005 |author=Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau |accessdate=2006-06-15 }}</ref> ==Economy== Several factors contribute to the uniquenesses of the New England [[economy]]. The region is geographically isolated from the rest of the United States, and is relatively small. It has a climate and a supply of natural resources such as granite, lobster, and codfish, that are different from many other parts of the country. Its population is concentrated on the coast and in its southern states, and its residents have a strong regional identity. America's textile industry began along the [[Blackstone River]] with the [[Slater Mill]] at [[Pawtucket, Rhode Island]],<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/blac/historyculture/index.htm Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor - History & Culture (U.S. National Park Service)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and was duplicated at similar sources of water power such as [[Woonsocket, Rhode Island]], [[Uxbridge, Massachusetts]], and [[Lawrence, Massachusetts]]. [[Export]]s consist mostly of industrial products, including specialized [[machines]] and [[weaponry]], built by the region's educated workforce. About half of the region's exports consist of industrial and commercial machinery, such as [[computer]]s and electronic and electrical equipment. This, when combined with instruments, [[chemicals]], and transportation equipment, makes up about three-quarters of the region's exports. Granite is quarried at [[Barre (town), Vermont|Barre, Vermont]], guns made at [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], boats at [[Groton, Connecticut]] and [[Bath, Maine]], and hand tools at [[Turners Falls]], Massachusetts. Insurance is a driving force in and around [[Hartford, Connecticut]]. [[Image:Hartford, Connecticut (1175).jpg|thumb|[[Hartford]], the "Insurance Capital of the World".]] New England also exports food products, ranging from [[fish]] to lobster, cranberries, Maine potatoes, and [[maple syrup]]. The service industry is also highly important, including tourism, education, financial and insurance services, plus architectural, building, and construction services. The [[U.S. Department of Commerce]] has called the New England economy a microcosm for the entire United States economy.<ref>"Background on the New England Economy." U.S. Department of Commerce. Available at: http://www.buyusa.gov/newengland/background.html (Accessed 19 July 2006)</ref> As of May 2006, the unemployment rate in New England was 4.5%, below the national average. Vermont, with the lowest of the six states, had a rate of 3%. The highest was Rhode Island, with 5.5%. The [[metropolitan statistical area]] (MSA) with the lowest rate, 2.5%, was [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington-South Burlington]], in Vermont; the MSA with the highest rate, 7.9%, was [[Lawrence, Massachusetts|Lawrence-Methuen-Salem]], in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.<ref>[http://www.bls.gov/xg_shells/ro1xg02.htm#lf New England - Labor Force Statistics<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> New England is home to two of the ten poorest cities (by percentage living below the poverty line) in the United States: the state capital cities of [[Providence, Rhode Island]] and [[Hartford, Connecticut]].<ref>{{PDFlink|http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-19.pdf|850&nbsp;KB}}</ref> These cities have struggled as manufacturing, their traditional economic mainstay, has declined.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/documents/IncomeInequality_final.pdf|publisher=The Carsey Institute: University of New Hampshire|title=New England has the Highest Increase in Income Disparity in the Nation|accessdate=2007-06-06}}</ref> With its rocky soil and climate, New England is not a strong agricultural region. Some New England states, however, are ranked highly among U.S. states for particular areas of production. Maine is ranked ninth for [[aquaculture]],<ref>U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, and has abundant potato fields in its northeast part. Available at: {{PDFlink|http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Ag_Overview/AgOverview_ME.pdf|34.3&nbsp;KB}}</ref> Vermont fifteenth for dairy products,<ref>U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Available at: {{PDFlink|http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Ag_Overview/AgOverview_VT.pdf|34.1&nbsp;KB}}</ref> and Connecticut and Massachusetts seventh and eleventh for [[tobacco]], respectively.<ref>U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Available at: {{PDFlink|http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Ag_Overview/AgOverview_CT.pdf|34.3&nbsp;KB}}</ref><ref>U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Available at: {{PDFlink|http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Ag_Overview/AgOverview_MA.pdf|34.5&nbsp;KB}}</ref> Cranberries are grown in the Cape Cod - Plymouth area, and blueberries in Maine. As of 2005, the inflation-adjusted combined [[Gross state product|GSP]]s of the six states of New England was $623.1 billion, with Massachusetts contributing the most, and Vermont the least.<ref>Bureau of Economic Analysis. Available at: http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/gspnewsrelease.htm (Accessed 19 July 2005).</ref> If a single state, this would [[List of U.S. states by GDP (nominal)|rank fifth]], just behind [[Florida]]. ==Politics== The early European settlers of New England were [[England|English]] [[Protestantism|Protestants]] fleeing religious persecution. This, however, did not prevent them from establishing colonies where religion was legislated to an extreme, and where those who deviated from the established doctrine were persecuted greatly. The early history of much of New England is marked by religious intolerance and harsh laws. In the beginning, there was no [[separation of church and state]] in these places, and the activities of the individual were severely restricted.<ref>History of the United States of America, by Henry William Elson, The MacMillan Company, New York, 1904. Chapter VI p. 127–130. Available at: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/book/chap6_3.html (Accessed 19 July 2006).</ref> This contrasts sharply with the strong separation of church and state upon which Rhode Island was founded. Providence had no [[North Burial Ground|public burial ground]] and no Common until the year 1700 (64 years after its founding) because religious and government institutions were so rigorously kept distinct.<ref>Woodward, W<sup>m</sup> McKenzie. ''Guide to Providence Architecture''. 1st ed. 2003: United States. p135.</ref> ===New England and political thought=== [[Image:SamuelAdamsLarge.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Samuel Adams]], a brewer and [[Patriot (American Revolution)|patriot]] during the revolutionary period]] During the colonial period and the early years of the American republic, New England leaders like [[John Hancock]], [[John Adams]], and [[Samuel Adams]] joined those in Philadelphia and Virginia to assist and lead the newly-forming country. [[Daniel Webster]] was influential in expressing the political views of many New-Englanders in the early 19th century. At the time of the [[American Civil War]], New England, the mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest, which had long since abolished slavery, united against the [[Confederate States of America]], ending the practice in the United States. [[Henry David Thoreau]], iconic New England writer and philosopher, made the case for [[civil disobedience]] and [[individualism]], and has been adopted by the [[anarchist]] tradition. [[Benjamin Tucker]], of Massachusetts, was a proponent of [[individualist anarchism]]. A modern example of this individualist spirit is the [[Free State Project]] in New Hampshire, and The [[Second Vermont Republic]] in Vermont. While modern New England is known for its liberal tendencies, Puritan New England was highly intolerant of any deviation from strict social norms. During the 1960s civil rights era, Boston brewed with racial tension over school busing to end ''de facto'' segregation of its public schools.<ref>"School Integration in Boston: Introduction." Available at: http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/school-integration/boston/index.html (Accessed 19 July 2006)</ref> Eight presidents of the United States have been born in New England, however only five are usually affiliated with the area. They are, in chronological order: [[John Adams]] (Massachusetts), [[John Quincy Adams]] (Massachusetts), [[Franklin Pierce]] (New Hampshire), [[Chester A. Arthur]] (born in Vermont, affiliated with New York), [[Calvin Coolidge]] (born in Vermont, affiliated with Massachusetts), [[John F. Kennedy]] (Massachusetts), [[George H. W. Bush]] (born in Massachusetts, affiliated with Texas) and [[George W. Bush]] (born in Connecticut, affiliated with Texas). Ten of the Speakers of the United States House of Representatives have been elected from New England. They are, in chronological order: [[Theodore Sedgwick]] (5th Speaker, Massachusetts), [[Joseph Bradley Varnum]] (7th Speaker, Massachuetts), [[Robert Charles Winthrop]] (22nd Speaker, Massachusetts), [[Nathaniel Prentice Banks]] (25th Speaker, Massachusetts), [[James G. Blaine]] (31st Speaker, Maine), [[Thomas Brackett Reed]] (36th and 38th, Maine), [[Frederick Gillett]] (42nd, Massachusetts), [[Joseph William Martin, Jr.]] (49th and 51st, Massachusetts), [[John McCormack]] (53rd, Massachusetts) and [[Tip O'Neill]] (55th, Massachusetts). ===Contemporary politics=== The dominant party in New England has been the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]. In every New England state, both legislative houses have a majority of Democratic representatives. Democrats hold half of New England's governor's positions: Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. While the governors of Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island are Republicans, the legislatures have veto-overriding Democratic super-majorities.<ref>Christopher Keating. [http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-vetoproof1109.artnov09,0,163486.story?coll=hc-headlines-local "State Democrats Have Veto-Proof Majorities"] ''Hartford Courant,'' November 9, 2006; retrieved November 15, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.ncsl.org/statevote/StateVote2006.htm# StateVote 2006] ''State Legislatures Magazine'' National Conference of State Legislatures; retrieved November 15, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/opinion/nyregionopinions/CT-elections.html?ex=1164344400&en=ed6cd6958897ed95&ei=5070&emc=eta1 "Connecticut: The Slow Death of the State G.O.P."] ''New York Times," November 12, 2006; retrieved November 15, 2007.</ref> Due to the liberal lean of the region, the state Republican parties and the elected Republican officials have been more politically and socially moderate than the national Republican Party, including Congressman [[Christopher Shays]] of Connecticut, Senators [[Susan Collins]] and [[Olympia Snowe]] of [[Maine]] as well as Governors Donald Carcieri (RI), Jodi Rell (CT) and [[Jim Douglas]] (VT). Republican Senators [[John Sununu]] and [[Judd Gregg]] of New Hampshire have been moderate-to-conservative, but this is reflective of New Hampshire being the most conservative state in the region, as New Hampshire, prior to the 2006 election, had the only Republican-controlled legislature in New England. Collectively, New England has [[List of U.S. states by population|as many]] [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]] (34) as [[Texas]], though they are decided by each state. In the [[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000 presidential election]], Democratic candidate [[Al Gore]] carried all of the New England states except for [[New Hampshire]], and in [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004]], [[John Kerry]], a New Englander himself, won all six New England states.<ref>[http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G06/PPBDTraditional.phtml "2006 Political Party Breakdown by State."]; accessed 19 July 2006.</ref> In both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, every congressional district with the exception of [[New Hampshire's 1st congressional district|New Hampshire's 1st district]] were won by Gore and Kerry respectively. During the 2008 Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton won the three New England states containing [[Greater Boston]] (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire), while Barack Obama won the three that did not (Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont). In the [[U.S. presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential election]], the Democratic candidate, [[Barack Obama]], has consistently polled as the winner in New England states by a large margin except in New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electoral-vote.com/|title=Track the electoral college and congressional elections with a red/blue map of the US updated daily using the latest state polls.|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/|title=FiveThirtyEight: Electoral Projections Done Right.|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref> ===Government=== ====Town meetings==== {{main|Town meeting}} A derivative of meetings held by church elders, [[town meeting]]s were and are an integral part of governance of many [[New England town]]s. At such meetings, any citizen of the town may discuss issues with other members of the community and vote on them. This is the strongest example of [[direct democracy]] in the United States today, and the form of dialogue has been adopted under certain circumstances elsewhere, most strongly in the states closest to the region, such as [[New York]], [[New Jersey]] and [[Pennsylvania]]. Such a strong democratic tradition was even apparent in the early 19th century, when [[Alexis de Tocqueville]] wrote in ''[[Democracy in America]]'' that in :''New England, where education and liberty are the daughters of morality and religion, where society has acquired age and stability enough to enable it to form principles and hold fixed habits, the common people are accustomed to respect intellectual and moral superiority and to submit to it without complaint, although they set at naught all those privileges which wealth and birth have introduced among mankind. In New England, consequently, the democracy makes a more judicious choice than it does elsewhere.'' [[James Madison]], a critic of town meetings, however, wrote in ''[[Federalist Papers|Federalist No. 55]]'' that, regardless of the assembly, "passion never fails to wrest the scepter from reason. Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob."<ref>Madison, James. ''Federalist No. 55''. Quotation attributed at http://www.ilsr.org/newrules/gov/townmtg.html (Accessed 19 July 2006).</ref> Today, the use and effectiveness of town meetings, as well as the possible application of the format to other regions and countries, is still discussed by scholars.<ref>See Harvard lecturer Robert I. Rotberg review ''REAL DEMOCRACY: THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN MEETING AND HOW IT WORKS'' at http://democraciaparticipativa.net/mambo/content/view/79/36/ (Accessed 19 July 2006).</ref> ==== Notable laws ==== New England abolished the [[death penalty]] for crimes like robbery and burglary in the 19th century, before much of the rest of the United States did. New Hampshire and Connecticut are the only New England states that allow [[capital punishment]],<ref>"Death Penalty Information Center." Available at: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/state/ (Accessed 19 July 2006).</ref> although New Hampshire currently has no [[death row]] inmates and has not held an execution since 1939. Connecticut held an execution in 2005, the first in New England since 1960, when Connecticut last executed a prisoner.<ref>"New Hampshire has not executed anyone since 1939 and has no one on death row. Seven inmates are waiting to die in Connecticut, which conducted New England's last execution in 1960." FOXNews.com. "Supreme Court Lifts Order Blocking Connecticut Execution." Available at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,145681,00.html (Accessed 19 July 2006).</ref> Vermont was the first state to allow [[civil unions]] between same sex couples, and Massachusetts was the first state to allow [[same-sex marriage]]. In 2005, [[Connecticut]] also began to allow civil unions. In 2008, some form of same-sex unions will be in all New England states except Rhode Island, though the state does recognize Massachusetts marriages for its residents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glad.org/rights/Marriage_Guide_for_RI_Couples.pdf|title=Marrying in Massachusetts: A Guide for Same-Sex Couples|publisher=glad.org|accessdate=2007-06-11}}</ref> In 2006, Massachusetts adopted a [[Massachusetts 2006 Health Reform Statute|health care reform]] that requires nearly all state residents obtain health insurance.<ref>Fahrenthold, David A. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/04/AR2006040401937.html "Mass. Bill Requires Health Coverage, "] ''The Washington Post'' April 5, 2006; Page A01. Retrieved December 6, 2006. See also [[Massachusetts 2006 Health Reform Statute]]. </ref> ==Education== ===Colleges and universities=== <!--Note: Before adding a particular college to this article section, consider improving the articles or lists that this section links to. Bring proposals to add individual colleges to this section to the talk page first. Lists impair readability of this article and are best merely linked to. --> [[Image:Dartmouth-hall.jpg|200px|thumb|right|New England is home to four of the eight [[Ivy League]] universities. Pictured here is Dartmouth Hall on the campus of [[Dartmouth College]].]] New England contains some of the oldest and most renowned institutions of higher learning in the United States. The first such institution, subsequently named [[Harvard|Harvard College]], was founded at [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], to train preachers, in 1636. [[Yale University]] was founded in [[New Haven, Connecticut]] in 1701, and awarded the nation's first graduate (Ph.D.) degree in 1861. [[Brown University]], the first college in the nation to accept students of all religious affiliations and third-oldest institution of higher learning, was founded in [[Providence, Rhode Island]] in 1764. [[Dartmouth College]] was founded five years later in [[Hanover, New Hampshire]] with the mission of educating the local [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] population as well as English youth. In addition to four out of eight [[Ivy League]] schools, New England also contains the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT), four of the original [[Seven Sisters (colleges)|seven sisters]] are in New England, the bulk of institutions identified as the [[Little Ivies]], and is the home to the [[Five Colleges (Massachusetts)|Five Colleges]] consortium in western Massachusetts. :''See also:'' the lists of colleges for each state:<br /> [[List of colleges and universities in Connecticut|Connecticut]], [[List of colleges and universities in Maine|Maine]], [[List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]], [[List of colleges and universities in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]], [[List of colleges and universities in Rhode Island|Rhode Island]], and [[List of colleges and universities in Vermont|Vermont]]. ===Private and independent secondary schools=== At the pre-college level, New England is home to a number of prominent American [[independent school]]s (also known as [[private school]]s). The concept of the elite "New England prep school" (preparatory school) and the "[[preppy]]" lifestyle is an iconic part of the region's image. :See the list of private schools for each state:<br> [[:Category:Private schools in Connecticut|Connecticut]], [[:Category:Private schools in Massachusetts|Massachusetts]], [[:Category:Private schools in Maine|Maine]], [[:Category:Private schools in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]], [[:Category:Private schools in Rhode Island|Rhode Island]], [[:Category:Private schools in Vermont|Vermont]]. ===Public education=== New England states fund their public schools well, with expenditures per student, and teacher salaries above the national median. As of 2005, the [[National Education Association]] ranked Connecticut with the highest-paid teachers in the country. Massachusetts and Rhode Island ranked eighth and ninth, respectively. Every state but New Hampshire is in the top ten for educational spending per student.<ref>[http://www.nea.org/edstats/index.html NEA: National Education Association: Rankings of the States, Estimates of School Statistics 2003<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Boston Latin School]] is the oldest public high school in America. Several signers of the Declaration of Independence attended Boston Latin.<ref>"She graduated from the elite Boston Latin School, the oldest high school in America, in 1999." Taken from the ''New York Post'', available at: http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/64304.htm (Accessed 19 July 2006).</ref> ===Academic journals and press=== New England is home to several prominent academic journals and publishing companies, including ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]'', [[Harvard University Press]], and [[Yale University Press]]. Also, many of its institutions lead the [[open access]] alternative to conventional academic publication, including [[MIT]], the [[University of Connecticut]], and the [[University of Maine]]. The [[Federal Reserve Bank of Boston]] publishes the ''New England Economic Review''.<ref>[http://www.bos.frb.org/economic/neer/neer.htm FRBB: New England Economic Review<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==Health== The six states ranked within the top thirteen "healthiest states" in 2007.<ref>[http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0921974.html Infoplease.com] accessed March 26, 2008</ref> In 2008 they all placed within the top eleven states. New England<!---in 2008--> had the largest proportion of its population covered by health insuranace.<ref>[http://news.aol.com/health/story/_a/health-insurance-lags-most-in-southwest/n20080625120609990013]</ref> ==Culture== {{see also|Notable New Englanders}} New England has a history of shared heritage and culture primarily shaped by waves of immigration from Europe. A cultural divide, however, also exists between urban New Englanders living along the densely-populated coastline and rural New Englanders in western Massachusetts, Northwestern Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, where population density is low.<ref>[http://www.brown.edu/Research/Earthlab/lulchistory/nepopulationgrowth.htm New England Population History<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Connecticut has two cultural and demographic trends: the southwestern part of the state is largely suburban, alongside the cities [[Bridgeport]], [[New Haven]], [[Waterbury]], [[Stamford]], and [[Danbury]], and as part of the [[New York metropolitan area]], is influenced by [[New York City]]. The remainder of the state, is culturally similar to neighboring [[Massachusetts]] and [[Rhode Island]]. Residents of this area are often referred to as "[[Swamp Yankees]]."<ref> Ruth Schell, "Swamp Yankee," ''American Speech'', 1963, Volume 38, No.2 (The [[American Dialect Society]], Published by Duke University Press), pg. 121–123. accessed through [[JSTOR]] </ref> An example of Connecticut's cultural [[dichotomy]] can be found in residents' allegiance to sports teams. Western Connecticut residents tend to support New York teams, unlike the rest of the state who tend to be loyal to Boston teams.<ref>[http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/submit/Mullen_Dan1.stm Does a Connecticut Yankee Wear Red Sox? | BaseballLibrary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Television broadcasts in Hartford and New Haven typically give equal coverage to sports teams from both Boston and New York. ===Cultural roots=== The first European colonists of New England were focused on [[Sea|maritime]] affairs such as [[whaling]] and [[fishing]], rather than more [[continental]] inclinations such as [[economic surplus|surplus]] [[farming]]. One of the older American regions, New England has developed a distinct [[New England cuisine|cuisine]], [[Eastern New England English|dialect]], [[Connected farm|architecture]], and government. New England cuisine is known for its emphasis on seafood and dairy; [[clam chowder]], lobster, and other products of the sea are among some of the region's most popular foods, such as New Haven's famous white clam pizza. {{see also|Cuisine of New England}} ===Accents=== The often-[[parody|parodied]] [[Boston accent]] (see [[Mayor Quimby]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'') is native to the region. Many of its most stereotypical features (such as [[rhotic and non-rhotic accents|r-dropping]] and the so-called [[broad A]]) are believed to have originated in Boston from the influence of south-eastern [[British English]], which shares those features. While at one point Boston accents were most strongly associated with the so-called "[[the establishment|Eastern Establishment]]" and [[Boston Brahmin|Boston's upper class]], today the accent is predominantly associated with blue-collar natives as exemplified by movies like ''[[Good Will Hunting]].'' The Boston accent and accents closely related to it cover eastern Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, though there is of course significant dialect variation within this area. Also found in New England is the distinctively conservative [[dialect]] of Rhode Island (parodied by [[Peter Griffin]] and [[Lois Griffin]] of ''[[Family Guy]]''). This particular accent resembles the Boston accent in being non-rhotic, but resembles the [[New York dialect]] in (unlike Boston) avoiding the [[Phonological history of English low back vowels#Caught-cot merger|caught-cot merger]] by raising the phoneme of ''caught'' to the vicinity of {{IPA|[oə]}}. The accent family of western New England (most of Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and Vermont) differs sharply from the Boston accent to its east and the [[New York-New Jersey English|New York accent]] to its southwest, but is thought to be closely related to the so-called [[Inland Northern American English|Inland North]] accent of the [[Great Lakes]] region due west of it, to which western New England contributed many early settlers. ===Social activities and music=== [[Bar (establishment)|Bar]]s and [[pub]]s, especially those with Irish themes, are popular social venues. Closer to Boston, [[musician]]s from [[Ireland]] often tour pubs, playing [[traditional]] Irish [[folk music]], usually with a singer, a [[fiddle]]r, and a [[guitarist]]. This area also has thriving [[hardcore punk|hardcore]], [[punk rock|punk]], and [[indie rock]] music scenes. [[Surf rock]] was pioneered by [[Dick Dale]] of [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], and the [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]], of Boston, influenced the [[grunge (music)|grunge movement]] of the 1990s. [[Dropkick Murphys]], from [[Quincy, Massachusetts]], mix hardcore and punk music with Irish music in a style known as [[Celtic Punk]]. Also, both [[Boston]] and [[New Haven]] have had a big influence on [[ska]] musicians from the Northeast.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} In much of rural New England, particularly Maine, Acadian and Québécois culture also dominate the region's music and dance. [[Contra dancing]] and country [[square dancing]] are popular throughout New England, usually backed by live Irish, [[Acadian]], or other folk music. In some towns of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the [[Portuguese music]] is preserved by [[Portuguese American]] communities. A number of [[Portuguese American]] musicians live in the Boston area. The most famous in New England is [[world music]]'s [[singer/songwriter]] [[Jorge Ferreira]], from Massachusetts.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} Traditional [[knitting]], [[quilting]] and [[Traditional Rug Hooking|rug hooking]] circles in rural New England have become less common; [[church]], [[sports]], and [[town meeting|town government]] are more typical social activities. New Englanders of all ages also enjoy [[ice cream]] socials.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} These traditional gatherings are often hosted in individual homes or civic centers; larger groups regularly assemble at special-purpose [[ice cream parlors]] that dot the countryside. In fact, New England leads the country in ice cream consumption per capita.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boston.com/travel/explorene/specials/summer/gallery/new_england_ice_cream/|title=New England's best ice cream|publisher=The Boston Globe|accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://media.www.harbus.org/media/storage/paper343/news/2005/12/05/Ae/Surviving.The.New.England.Winter.You.Scream.I.Scream.Ice.Cream-1120462.shtml|title=Surviving the New England Winter: You Scream, I Scream, Ice Cream!|publisher=The Harvard Harbus|accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In the United States, [[Candlepin bowling]] is essentially confined to New England, an activity invented there in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.masscandlepin.com/id14.html|title=History of Candlepin Bowling|publisher=Massachusetts Bowling Association|accessdate=2007-08-23}}</ref> <!---Canada isn't in the US yet. one town in Ohio is covered by "essentially."----> ===Media=== New England has several regional broadcasting companies, including [[New England Cable News]] (NECN) and the [[New England Sports Network]] (NESN) as well as the national cable sports broadcaster Entertainment and Sports Programming Network ([[ESPN]]) in [[Bristol, Connecticut]]. The former is the largest regional news network in the United States, broadcasting to more than 3.2 million homes in all of the New England states. Its studios are located in [[Newton, Massachusetts]], outside of Boston, although it maintains bureaus in [[Manchester, New Hampshire]]; [[Hartford, Connecticut]]; [[Worcester, Massachusetts]]; [[Portland, Maine]]; and [[Burlington, Vermont]].<ref>New England Cable News. Available at: http://www.boston.com/news/necn/About/ (Accessed 19 July 2006).</ref> The New England Sports Network covers New England sports teams throughout the region, save for Fairfield County, Connecticut.<ref>New England Sports Network. Available at: http://www.boston.com/sports/nesn/aboutus/FAQ/ (Accessed 19 July 2006).</ref> While most New England cities have daily newspapers, the ''[[Boston Globe]]'' and ''[[New York Times]]'' are distributed widely throughout the region. ===Literature=== [[Image:RWEmerson.jpg|thumb|right|Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston and spent most of his literary career in Concord, Massachusetts.]] New England has been the birthplace of many American authors and poets. [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] was born near [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]]. [[Henry David Thoreau]] was born in [[Concord, Massachusetts]], where he famously lived, for some time, by [[Walden Pond]], on Emerson's land. [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[romantic era]] writer, was born in historical [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]]; later, he would live in Concord at the same time as Emerson and Thoreau. [[Emily Dickinson]] lived most of her life in [[Amherst, Massachusetts]]. [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] was from Portland, Maine. [[Edgar Allan Poe]] was born in Boston. According to many reports, the famed [[Mother Goose]], the author of fairy tales and nursery rhymes was originally a person named Elizabeth Foster Goose or Mary Goose who lived in Boston. Poets [[James Russell Lowell]], [[Amy Lowell]], and [[Robert Lowell]], a [[Confessionalism (poetry)|Confessionalist]] poet and teacher of [[Sylvia Plath]], were all New England natives. [[Anne Sexton]], also taught by Lowell, was born and died in Massachusetts. Much of the work of Nobel Prize laureate [[Eugene O'Neill]] is often associated with the city of [[New London, Connecticut]] where he spent many summers. The 14th U.S. [[Poet Laureate]] [[Donald Hall]], a New Hampshire resident, continues the line of renowned New England poets. [[Noah Webster]], the Father of American Scholarship and Education, was born in [[West Hartford, Connecticut]]. [[Pulitzer Prize for Poetry|Pulitzer Prize winning]] poets [[Edwin Arlington Robinson]], [[Edna St. Vincent Millay]] and [[Robert P. T. Coffin]] were born in [[Maine]]. Poets [[Stanley Kunitz]] and [[Elizabeth Bishop]] were both born in [[Worcester, Massachusetts]]. Pulitzer Prize winning poet [[Galway Kinnell]] was born in [[Providence, Rhode Island]]. [[Oliver La Farge]] was a New Englander of French and Narragansett descent, won the [[Pulitzer Prize for the Novel]], the predecessor to the [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction]], in 1930 for his book [[Laughing Boy]]. [[John P. Marquand]] grew up in [[Newburyport, Massachusetts]]. Novelist [[Edwin O'Connor]], who was also known as a radio personality and journalist, won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction]] for his novel [[The Edge of Sadness]]. Pulitzer Prize winner [[John Cheever]], a novelist and short story writer, was born in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]] set most of his fiction in old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around his birthcity. [[E. Annie Proulx]] was born in [[Norwich, Connecticut]]. [[David Lindsay-Abaire]] won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] in 2007 for his play [[Rabbit Hole]] was raised in Boston. ''[[Ethan Frome]]'', written in 1911 by [[Edith Wharton]], is set in turn-of-the-century New England, in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. Like much literature of the region, it plays off themes of isolation and hopelessness. New England is also the setting for most of the [[gothic novel|gothic]] horror stories of [[H. P. Lovecraft]], who lived his life in [[Providence, Rhode Island]]. Real New England towns such as [[Ipswich, Massachusetts|Ipswich]], [[Newburyport, Massachusetts|Newburyport]], [[Rowley, Massachusetts|Rowley]], and [[Marblehead, Massachusetts|Marblehead]] are given fictional names such as Dunwich, Arkham, Innsmouth, Kingsport, and Miskatonic and then featured quite often in his stories. Lovecraft had an immense appreciation for the New England area, and when he had to re-locate to New York City, he longed to return to his beloved native land. The region has also drawn the attention of authors and poets from other parts of the United States. [[Mark Twain]] found [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] to be the most beautiful city in the United States and made it his home, and wrote his masterpieces there. He lived directly next door to [[Harriett Beecher Stowe]], a local whose most famous work is [[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]. [[John Updike]], originally from [[Pennsylvania]], eventually moved to [[Ipswich, Massachusetts]], which served as the model for the fictional New England town of [[Tarbox]] in his 1968 novel ''Couples''. [[Robert Frost]] was born in [[California]], but moved to Massachusetts during his teen years and published his first poem in [[Lawrence, Massachusetts|Lawrence]]; his frequent use of New England settings and themes ensured that he would be associated with the region. [[Arthur Miller]], a [[New York City]] native, used New England as the setting for some of his works, most notably ''[[The Crucible]]''. [[Herman Melville]], originally for New York City, bought the house now known as [[Arrowhead (Herman Melville)|Arrowhead]] in [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts]], and while he lived there he wrote his greatest novel ''[[Moby-Dick]]''. Poet [[Maxine Kumin]] was born in [[Philadelphia]], currently resides in [[Warner, New Hampshire]]. Pulitzer Prize winning poet [[Mary Oliver]] was born in [[Maple Heights, Ohio]] has lived in [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]] for the last forty years. [[Charles Simic]] who was born in [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]] (at that time [[Yugoslavia]]) grew up in [[Chicago]] and lives in [[Strafford, New Hampshire]], on the shore of [[Bow Lake (New Hampshire)|Bow Lake]] and is the [[professor emeritus]] of [[American literature]] and [[creative writing]] at the [[University of New Hampshire]]. Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and short story writer [[Steven Millhauser]], who was born in [[New York City]] and short story Eisenheim the Illusionist was adapted into the [[The Illusionist|2006 film]] was raised in [[Connecticut]]. More recently, [[Stephen King]], born in [[Portland, Maine]], has used the small towns of his home state as the setting for much of his horror fiction, with several of his stories taking place in or near the fictional town of Castle Rock. Just to the south, [[Exeter, New Hampshire]] was the birthplace of best-selling novelist [[John Irving]] and [[Dan Brown]], author of ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]''. [[Rick Moody]] has set many of his works in southern New England, focusing on wealthy families of suburban Connecticut's [[Gold Coast, Connecticut|Gold Coast]] and their battles with addiction and anomie. [[Derek Walcott]], a playwright and poet, who won [[Nobel Prize for Literature]] in 1992, teaches poetry at [[Boston University]]. Pulitzer Prize winner [[Cormac McCarthy]], whose novel [[No Country for Old Men]] was made into the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]] winning film in [[No Country for Old Men (film)|2007]], was born in [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]] (although he moved to Tennessee when he was a boy). Largely on the strength of its local writers, Boston was for some years the center of the U.S. publishing industry, before being overtaken by [[New York City|New York]] in the middle of the nineteenth century. Boston remains the home of publishers [[Houghton Mifflin]] and [[Pearson Education]], and was the longtime home of literary magazine ''[[The Atlantic Monthly]]''. [[Merriam-Webster]] is based in [[Springfield, Massachusetts]]. ''[[Yankee Magazine|Yankee]]'', a magazine for New Englanders, is based in [[Dublin, New Hampshire]]. === Sports === {{main|Sports in New England}} Two popular American sports were invented in New England. [[Basketball]] was invented by [[James Naismith]] in [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], in 1891.<ref>[http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbasketball.htm History of Basketball - James Naismith<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Volleyball]] was invented by [[William G. Morgan]] in [[Holyoke, Massachusetts]], in 1895.<ref>[http://www.volleyball.org/history.html History Of Volleyball<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> {{-}} ====Professional and semi-professional sports teams in New England==== {{Newenglandsports}} Most New Englanders tend towards support of the local professional sports teams: the [[Boston Red Sox]], the [[New England Patriots]] (based in [[Foxborough, Massachusetts]]), the [[Boston Celtics]], the [[Boston Bruins]] and the [[New England Revolution]] (also based in Foxborough). In the southwestern part of the state, many Connecticut residents support the [[New York Yankees]] and other New York based professional sports teams, both due to geographical proximity and the high rate of southwestern Connecticut residents with business or employment ties to New York City. [[Hartford]] had a professional NHL hockey team from 1972 through 1997 called the [[Hartford Whalers]] (more affectionately known locally as "The Whale"). However, in 1997, the owner moved the team to North Carolina (changing the name to the [[Carolina Hurricanes]]) for financial reasons. There are also numerous minor league baseball and hockey teams based in larger cities such as the Pawtucket Red Sox (baseball), the Worcester Tornadoes (baseball) and the Worcester Sharks (hockey), the Lowell Spinners (baseball) and the Lowell Devils (hockey), the Portland Sea Dogs (baseball), the Nashua Pride (baseball), the Portland Pirates (hockey), and others. The region also has a rich heritage in high school and college athletics. Thanksgiving day high school football rivalries date back to the 19th century, and the Harvard-Yale rivalry ("[[Harvard-Yale football games (The Game)|The Game]]") is the oldest active rivalry in college football. The [[Boston Marathon]], run on [[Patriot's Day]] every year, is a New England cultural institution and the oldest annual marathon in the world. While the race offers far less prize money than many other marathons, and the infamous [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]] hills have helped ensure that no world record has been set on the course since 1947, the race's difficulty and long history make it one of the world's most prestigious marathons.<ref> "In marathoning, it has a foothold - History means Boston can give any race in the world a run for its money" by John Powers, ''The Boston Globe'', April 10, 2005 </ref> ==Notable places== [[Image:DSCN3987 kennebunkport e.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Boats on the [[Kennebunk River]] between Kennebunk and Kennebunkport, Maine.]] <!----PLEASE SEE DISCUSSION BEFORE ADDING TO THIS LIST---------> ===Historic=== <!----PLEASE SEE DISCUSSION BEFORE ADDING TO THIS LIST---------> New England features many of the oldest cities and towns in the country. The following places are replete with historic buildings, parks, and streetscapes (following the coast from New Haven): *[[New Haven, Connecticut]] *[[Hartford, Connecticut]] *[[Providence, Rhode Island]] *[[Newport, Rhode Island]] *[[Plymouth, Massachusetts]] *[[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] and its [[Greater Boston|surrounding area]] *[[Salem, Massachusetts]] *[[Gloucester, Massachusetts]] *[[Newburyport, Massachusetts]] *[[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]] *[[Portland, Maine]] [[Image:Festival.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The [[New Haven Green]] was created in 1638 and remains preserved today as the heart of what could be considered to be the first planned city in America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.holidaysguide.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-149985-new_haven_introduction-i|title=New Haven Travel Guide|publisher=wcities|accessdate=2007-12-04}}</ref>]] ===Recreational=== The [[Appalachian Mountains]] run through northern New England which make for excellent skiing. Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are home to various ski resorts. [[Cape Cod]], [[Nantucket]], and [[Martha's Vineyard]] in Massachusetts are popular tourist destinations for their small town charm and beaches. All have restrictive zoning laws to prevent sprawl and overdevelopment. [[Acadia National Park]], off the coast of Maine, preserves most of [[Mount Desert Island]] and includes mountains, an ocean shoreline, woodlands, and lakes. Additionally, the coastal New England states are home to many oceanfront beaches. The financial magazine ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'', in a 2006 survey entitled "Best Places to Live," ranked several New England towns and cities in the top one hundred. In Connecticut, [[Fairfield, Connecticut|Fairfield]] was ranked ninth, while [[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]] was ranked forty-sixth. In Maine, [[Portland, Maine|Portland]] ranked eighty-ninth. In Massachusetts, [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]] was ranked twenty-second. In New Hampshire, [[Nashua, New Hampshire|Nashua]], a past number one, was ranked eighty-seventh. In Rhode Island, [[Cranston, Rhode Island|Cranston]] was ranked seventy-eighth, while [[Warwick, Rhode Island|Warwick]] was ranked eighty-third.<ref>[http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/top100/ MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Top 100 1-25<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> {{see also|Beaches of New England}} {{-}} == See also == *[[New France]] *[[New Netherland]] *[[New England Planters]] *[[Extreme points of New England]] *[[Amusement parks in New England]] *[[Beaches of New England]] *[[Boston accent]] *[[New England town]] *[[Yankee]] *[[Swamp Yankee]] *[[Mammals of New England]] *[[Vegetation of New England and the Maritime Provinces|Vegetation of New England]] ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} ==References== * [http://www.dinsdoc.com/adams-1-0a.htm Adams, James Truslow. ''The Founding of New England'' (1921)] * Adams, James Truslow. ''Revolutionary New England, 1691–1776'' (1923) * Adams, James Truslow. ''New England in the Republic, 1776–1850'' (1926) * Andrews, Charles M. ''The Fathers of New England: A Chronicle of the Puritan Commonwealths'' (1919), short survey. * Axtell, James, ed. ''The American People in Colonial New England'' (1973), new social history * [http://chla.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=chla;idno=2931364 Black, John D. ''The rural economy of New England: a regional study'' (1950] * Brewer, Daniel Chauncey. ''Conquest of New England by the Immigrant (1926). * Conforti, Joseph A. ''Imagining New England: Explorations of Regional Identity from the Pilgrims to the Mid-Twentieth Century'' (2001) * [[Timothy Dwight|Dwight, Timothy]]. ''Travels Through New England and New York'' (circa 1800) 4 vol. (1969) Online at: [http://www-gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/cgi-bin/digbib.cgi?PPN244525439 vol 1]; [http://dz-srv1.sub.uni-goettingen.de/sub/digbib/loader?did=D6116 vol 2]; [http://dz-srv1.sub.uni-goettingen.de/sub/digbib/loader?did=D6784 vol 3]; [http://dz-srv1.sub.uni-goettingen.de/sub/digbib/loader?did=D6003 vol 4] * Hall, Donald, foreword, Feintuch, Burt and Watters, David H., editors, ''Encyclopedia of New England'' (2005) * Karlsen, Carol F. ''The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England'' (1998) * [http://www.antiquebooks.net/readpage.html Lilly, Lamberth. ''History of New England'' (1847)] * Lockridge, Kenneth A. ''A New England Town: The First Hundred Years: Dedham, Massachusetts, 1636–1736'' (1985), new social history * [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa;idno=ADH0309 McPhetres, S. A. ''A political manual for the campaign of 1868, for use in the New England states, containing the population and latest election returns of every town'' (1868)] * [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa;idno=AJA1967 Palfrey, John Gorham. ''History of New England'' (5 vol 1859–90)] * Zimmerman, Joseph F. ''The New England Town Meeting: Democracy in Action'' (1999) * NEW YORK: Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; John H. Long, Editor; Compiled by Kathryn Ford Thorne; A Project of the Dr. William M. Scholl Center for Family and Community History; The new Berry Library; Simon & Schuster; 1993. * Contributors: U.S. Census Bureau. {{PDFlink|[http://www.census.gov/geo/www/us_regdiv.pdf "Census Regions and Divisions of the United States"]|1.06&nbsp;MB}}. Retrieved [[May 11]], [[2005]] * ''The Washington Post'', [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/04/AR2006040401937.html Mass. Bill Requires Health Coverage] * ''The Guardian'', [http://travel.guardian.co.uk/activities/culture/story/0,7447,409938,00.html Movers and Shakers] ==External links== *Political **[http://www.negc.org/ New England Governors Conference] **[http://www.Newenglandconfederationalliance.org New England Confederation Alliance] *Historic **[http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/colonies_of_ne_1643.html New England Articles of Confederation] **[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/mass01.htm Charter of New England] **[http://www.firstparishcemetery.org Historic First Parish Cemetery and Old Burial Yard] *Maps **[http://docs.unh.edu/nhtopos/nhtopos.htm Historic USGS Maps of New England & NY] **[http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PAGE_0006_0007.jpg&atlastype=MassWorld&atlastown=&atlas=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&atlas_desc=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&pageprefix= Map of New England]. From the 1871 Atlas of Massachusetts by Walling and Gray. Click on image to get VERY large image. *Miscellaneous **[http://www.midcoast.com/~martucci/flags/NEFlag.html Flag of New England] ** [http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/nema.htm New England Music Archive] **[http://nnlm.gov/ner/ National Network of Libraries of Medicine - New England Region] **[http://www.hartfordspringfield.com/ Hartford-Springfield Economic Partnership] {{Massachusetts}} {{Rhode Island}} {{Connecticut}} {{New Hampshire}} {{Vermont}} {{Maine}} {{U.S.Regions}} {{United States topics}} {{DEFAULTSORT:New England}} [[Category:New England]] [[Category:Regions of the United States]] [[af:Nieu-Engeland]] [[ar:نيو إنجلاند]] [[be-x-old:Новая Англія]] [[br:Bro-Saoz Nevez]] [[bg:Нова Англия]] [[ca:Nova Anglaterra]] [[cs:Nová Anglie]] [[cy:Lloegr Newydd]] [[da:New England]] [[de:Neuengland]] [[el:Νέα Αγγλία]] [[es:Nueva Inglaterra]] [[eo:Nov-Anglio]] [[eu:New England]] [[fa:ایالت‌های نیو انگلند آمریکا]] [[fr:Nouvelle-Angleterre]] [[ga:Sasana Nua]] [[gd:Sasainn Nuadh]] [[gl:Nova Inglaterra]] [[ko:뉴잉글랜드]] [[hr:Nova Engleska]] [[id:New England]] [[it:New England]] [[he:ניו אינגלנד]] [[ka:ახალი ინგლისი]] [[la:Nova Anglia]] [[hu:New England]] [[nl:New England (Verenigde Staten)]] [[ja:ニューイングランド]] [[no:New England]] [[nn:New England]] [[pl:Nowa Anglia]] [[pt:Nova Inglaterra]] [[ro:Noua Anglie]] [[ru:Новая Англия]] [[simple:New England]] [[sk:Nové Anglicko]] [[sl:Nova Anglija]] [[fi:Uusi-Englanti]] [[sv:New England]] [[th:นิวอิงแลนด์]] [[vi:New England]] [[tr:New England]] [[uk:Нова Англія]] [[vec:New England]] [[zh:新英格蘭]]