Vermont
32578
226163442
2008-07-17T02:53:44Z
AlexiusHoratius
2306142
split up bordering states, made infobox too wide, removed Quebec, not a state and the link for 'Bordering States' goes to United States
{{this|the U.S. state}}
{{US state
| Name = Vermont
| Fullname = State of Vermont
| Former = Vermont Republic
| Flag = Flag of Vermont.svg
| Flaglink = [[Flag of Vermont]]
| Seal = Great seal of Vermont bw.png
| Seallink = [[Great Seal of Vermont]]
| Map = Map of USA VT.svg
| Nickname = The Green Mountain State
| Demonym = Vermonter
| Motto = [[Freedom and Unity]]
| Capital = [[Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier]]
| LargestCity = [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]]
| Governor = [[Jim Douglas]] (R)
| Lieutenant Governor = [[Brian Dubie]] (R)
| Senators = [[Patrick Leahy]] (D) <br/> [[Bernie Sanders]] (I)
| U.S. Representative = [[Peter Welch]] (D)
| PostalAbbreviation = VT
| BorderingStates = [[New York]], [[New Hampshire]], <br>[[Massachusetts]]</br>
| OfficialLang = None
| AreaRank = 45<sup>th</sup>
| TotalAreaUS = 9,620
| TotalArea = 24,923
| LandAreaUS = 9,354
| LandArea = 23,974
| WaterAreaUS = 366
| WaterArea = 949
| PCWater = 3.8
| PopRank = 49<sup>th</sup>
| 2000Pop = 608,827
| DensityRank = 30<sup>th</sup>
| 2000DensityUS = 65.8 <!--census.gov -->
| 2000Density = 25.41
| MedianHouseholdIncome = $48,508 <!-- http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/income05/statemhi3.html --> |
| IncomeRank = 19<sup>th</sup>
| AdmittanceOrder = 14<sup>th</sup>
| AdmittanceDate = [[March 4]], [[1791]]
| TimeZone = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]: [[UTC-5]]/[[UTC-4|-4]] ([[Daylight saving time|DST]])
| Longitude = 71° 28′ W to 73° 26′ W
| Latitude = 42° 44′ N to 45° 1′ N
| WidthUS = 80
| Width = 130
| LengthUS = 160
| Length = 260
| HighestPoint = [[Mount Mansfield]]<ref name=usgs>{{cite web| year =[[29 April]] [[2005]]
| url =http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest
| title =Elevations and Distances in the United States| publisher =U.S Geological Survey
| accessdate = 2006-11-08}}</ref>
| HighestElevUS = 4,393
| HighestElev = 1,340
| MeanElevUS = 1,000
| MeanElev = 300
| LowestPoint = [[Lake Champlain]]<ref name=usgs/>
| LowestElevUS = 95
| LowestElev = 29
| ISOCode = US-VT
| Website = www.vermont.gov
}}
[[Image:Meeting house marlboro vermont 20040911.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Much of the business of local government in Vermont towns takes place each March during a town Meeting held at a meeting house, such as this one in [[Marlboro, Vermont|Marlboro]], Vermont.]]
'''Vermont''' ({{IPAEng|vɜrˈmɒnt}}) is a [[U.S. state|state]] in the [[New England]] region of the [[Northeastern United States|northeastern]] [[United States|United States of America]]. The state ranks 45th by total area and 43rd by land area at {{convert|9250|sqmi|km2}}. It has a population of 608,827, making it the second least populous state (second only to [[Wyoming]]). The only New England state with no coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont is notable for the [[Green Mountains]] running north to south and [[Lake Champlain]] which makes up 50% of Vermont's western border. It is bordered by [[Massachusetts]] to the south, [[New Hampshire]] to the east, [[New York]] to the west, and the Canadian province of [[Quebec]] to the north.
Originally inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes ([[Abenaki]], <!---Abenaki are Alonquians[[Algonquian]],---->and [[Iroquois]]), the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by [[France]] but became a British possession after France's defeat in the [[French and Indian War]]. For many years, the surrounding [[thirteen Colonies|colonies]] disputed control of the area, especially New Hampshire and New York. Settlers who held land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the [[Green Mountain Boys]] militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state, the [[Vermont Republic]], which was founded during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] and lasted for 14 years. In 1791, Vermont joined the United States as the fourteenth state.
The state is noted for its scenery and [[dairy]] products. It is the leading producer of [[maple syrup]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | title=US Department of Agriculture - Economic Research Service|work='Table 44—U.S. maple syrup production and value, by state, calendar years |url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/sugar/data/table44.xls|accessdate=2007-01-05}}</ref> The state capital is [[Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier]], and the largest city and metropolitan area is [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]]. No other state has a "largest" city as small as Burlington.<ref>[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/articles/1118_burlington.html National Geographic] retrieved June 30, 2008</ref>
== Geography ==
{{see also|List of counties in Vermont|List of Vermont county seats|List of towns in Vermont|List of mountains in Vermont}}
Vermont is located in the New England region in the eastern United States, and comprises 9,614 square miles (24,902 km²), making it the 45th largest state. Of this, land comprises 9,250 square miles (23,955 km²) and water comprises 365 square miles (948 km²), making it the 43rd largest in land area and the 47th in water area. In area, it is larger than [[El Salvador]] and smaller than [[Haiti]].
[[Image:National-atlas-vermont.png|thumb|300px|Map of Vermont, showing cities, roads and rivers]]
The west bank of the [[Connecticut River]] marks the eastern border of the state with New Hampshire (the river itself is part of New Hampshire).<ref>{{Findlaw us|289|593|Vermont v. New Hampshire|link=article|year=1933}}</ref> [[Lake Champlain]], the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is 159 miles (256 km). Its greatest width, from east to west, is 89 miles (143 km) at the Canadian border; the narrowest width is 37 miles (60 km) at the Massachusetts line. The state's [[geographic center]] is [[Washington, Vermont|Washington]], three miles (5 km) east of [[Roxbury, Vermont|Roxbury]].
There are six distinct physiographic regions of Vermont. Categorized by geological and physical attributes, they are the Northeastern Highlands, the Green Mountains, the Taconic Mountains, the Champlain Lowlands, the Valley of Vermont and the Vermont Piedmont.<ref>{{cite web | title=Academics Content Server at Saint Michael's |work=The Physiographic Regions of Vermont | url=http://academics.smcvt.edu/vtgeographic/textbook/physiographic/physiographic_regions_of_vermont.htm | accessdate=2007-01-03}}</ref>
The origin of the name Green Mountains ({{lang-fr|Les verts monts}}) is uncertain. Some authorities say that they are so named because they have much more [[forestation]] than the higher White Mountains of New Hampshire and Adirondacks of New York. Other authorities say that they are so named because of the predominance of [[mica]]-[[quartz]]-[[chlorite]] [[schist]], a green-hued metamorphosed shale. The Green Mountain range forms a north-south spine running most of the length of the state, slightly west of its center. In the southwest portion of the state are the [[Taconic Mountains]]; the Granitic Mountains are in the northeast.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=8NWPJkRK-VMC&pg=RA1-PA274-IA1&lpg=RA1-PA274-IA1&dq=%22granitic+mountains%22+vermont&source=web&ots=pp2RZdKv3o&sig=qEAMGLyzP3I5tkFmW5uxGHqPj5o#PRA1-PA272,M1 Google Books]</ref> In the northwest near Lake Champlain is the fertile [[Champlain Valley]]. In the south of the valley is [[Bomoseen Lake|Lake Bomoseen]].
[[Image:Vermont.png|200px|thumb|left|Vermont has 14 counties. Only two—[[Lamoille County, Vermont|Lamoille]] and [[Washington County, Vermont|Washington]]—are entirely surrounded by Vermont territory.]]
Several mountains have timberlines with delicate year round alpine ecosystems. These include [[Mount Mansfield]], the highest mountain in the state, [[Killington Peak]], the second highest, and [[Camel's Hump (Vermont)|Camels Hump]] the state's third highest. About 77 percent of the state is covered by forest; the rest is covered in meadow, uplands, lakes, ponds and swampy wetlands.
Areas in Vermont administered by the [[National Park Service]] include the [[Appalachian Trail by state#Vermont|Appalachian National Scenic Trail]], and the [[Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park]] in [[Woodstock, Vermont|Woodstock]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Vermont | publisher = National Park Service | accessdate = 2008-07-15 | url = http://www.nps.gov/state/vt}}</ref>
=== Cities ===
[[Image:DSCN4162 montpelierbearpondbooks e.jpg|thumb|right|225px|'''[[Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier]]''', capital of Vermont]]
[[Image:Burlington, Vermont.jpg|thumb|right|225px|'''[[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]]''', Vermont's largest city]]
[[Image:Downtown Rutland, Vermont.jpg|thumb|right|225px|'''[[Rutland, Vermont|Rutland]]]]'''
[[Image:Overlooking Barre.jpg|thumb|right|225px|'''[[Barre, Vermont|Barre]]]]'''
[[New England town#Vermont|Cities]] (2003 estimated population):
* [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]] - 39,148
* [[Rutland (city), Vermont|Rutland]] - 17,103
* [[South Burlington, Vermont|South Burlington]] - 16,285
* [[Barre (city), Vermont|Barre]] - 9,166
* [[Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier]] - 7,945
* [[St. Albans (city), Vermont|St. Albans]] - 7,565
* [[Winooski, Vermont|Winooski]] - 6,561
* [[Newport (city), Vermont|Newport]] - 5,092
* [[Vergennes, Vermont|Vergennes]] - 2,789
=== Largest towns ===
Although these [[New England town|towns]] are large enough to be considered cities, they are not incorporated as such.
Largest towns (2003 estimated population):
* [[Essex, Vermont|Essex]], 18,933
* [[Colchester, Vermont|Colchester]], 17,175
* [[Bennington, Vermont|Bennington]], 15,637
* [[Brattleboro, Vermont|Brattleboro]], 11,996
* [[Hartford, Vermont|Hartford]], 10,625
* [[Milton, Vermont|Milton]], 9,925
=== Climate ===
Vermont has a continental moist climate, with warm, humid summers and cold winters, which become colder at higher elevations.<ref>http://academics.smcvt.edu/vtgeographic/textbook/weather/weather_and_climate_of_vermont.htm accessed [[September 15]], [[2007]]</ref> It has a [[Koppen climate classification]] of Dfb, similar to Minsk, Stockholm and Fargo.<ref>http://vermont.wedding.net/geography.html accessed [[September 15]], [[2007]]</ref> Vermont is known for its [[mud season]] in spring followed by a generally mild early summer, hot Augusts and a colorful autumn, and particularly for its cold winters. The northern part of the state, including the rural northeastern section (dubbed the "[[Northeast Kingdom]]") is known for exceptionally cold winters, often averaging {{convert|10|F|C|1}} colder than the southern areas of the state. Annual [[snow]]fall averages between {{convert|60|in|cm|0}} to {{convert|100|in|cm|0}} depending on elevation, giving Vermont some of New England's best cross-country and downhill [[List of ski areas and resorts in the United States#Vermont|ski areas]]. The annual mean temperature for the state is {{convert|43|°F|°C|0}}.<ref>[http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/VAN_VIR/VERMONT.html Vermont Online Encyclopedia] retrieved [[May 28]], [[2008]]</ref>
In the autumn, Vermont's hills experience an explosion of red, orange and gold foliage displayed on the [[sugar maple]] as cold weather approaches. This famous display of color that occurs so abundantly in Vermont is not due so much to the presence of a particular variant of the sugar maple; rather it is caused by a number of soil and climate conditions unique to the area.
The highest-recorded temperature was 105 °F (41 °C), at [[Vernon, Vermont|Vernon]] on [[July 4]], [[1911]]; the lowest-recorded temperature was -50 °F (-46 °C), at [[Bloomfield, Vermont|Bloomfield]] on [[December 30]], [[1933]].
<center>
{| class="wikitable" "text-align:center"
|+ Monthly normal and record high and low temperatures
|-
! Month
! Jan
! Feb
! Mar
! Apr
! May
! Jun
! Jul
! Aug
! Sep
! Oct
! Nov
! Dec
|-
! Rec High °F
| 59
| 63
| 84
| 91
| 94
| 96
| 101
| 98
| 95
| 87
| 69
| 62
|-
! Norm High °F
| 25
| 31
| 43
| 51
| 64
| 76
| 81
| 78
| 71
| 54
| 36
| 28
|-
! Norm Low °F
| 4
| 10
| 22
| 30
| 43
| 55
| 60
| 57
| 50
| 33
| 15
| 7
|-
! Rec Low °F
| -38
| -35
| -18
| 9
| 24
| 36
| 41
| 38
| 21
| 4
| -16
| -32
|-
! Precip (in)
| 0.61
| 0.63
| 0.68
| 1.99
| 4.01
| 4.06
| 4.07
| 4.00
| 3.95
| 2.48
| 0.66
| 0.62
|-
|colspan="13" style="font-size:90%"| Source: USTravelWeather.com [http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-vermont/burlington-weather.asp]
|}
</center>
The agricultural growing season ranges from 120-180 days.<ref>[http://www.garden.org/regional/report/description/full/14 National Gardening Association]</ref>
== History ==
{{main|History of Vermont}}
{{seealso|List of forts in Vermont}}
[[Image:Mount mansfield 20040926.jpg|280px|thumb|right|[[Mount Mansfield]], at 4,393 [[foot (unit of length)|feet]] (1,339 [[metre|m]]), is the highest elevation point in Vermont. Other high points are [[Killington Peak]], [[Mount Ellen (Vermont)|Mount Ellen]], [[Mount Abraham (Vermont)|Mount Abraham]], and [[Camel's Hump (Vermont)|Camel's Hump]]. The lowest point in the state is [[Lake Champlain]] at 95 feet (29 m). The state's average elevation is 1,000 feet (300 m).]]
===Pre-Columbian===
In [[pre-Columbian]] Vermont, the western part of the state was originally home to a small population of [[Algonquian]]-speaking tribes, including the [[Mahican|Mohican]] and [[Abenaki]] peoples. Between 8500 to 7000 BC, at the time of the Champlain Sea, [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] inhabited and hunted in Vermont. During the [[Archaic period in the Americas|Archaic period]], from the 8th millennium BC to 1000 BC, Native Americans migrated year-round. During the [[Woodland period]], from 1000 BC to AD 1600, villages and trade networks were established, and ceramic and [[Bow (weapon)|bow and arrow]] technology was developed. Sometime between 1500 and 1600, the [[Iroquois]] drove many of the smaller native tribes out of Vermont, later using the area as a [[hunting]] ground and warring with the remaining Abenaki. The population in 1500 is estimated to be around 10,000 people.
=== Colonial ===
[[Image:GreenMtBoys.jpg|280px|thumb|right|The flag adopted by the [[Vermont Republic]] served originally as an infantry banner for the [[Green Mountain Boys]], and still serves as the banner for [[Vermont National Guard|Vermont’s Army and Air National Guard]].]]
[[Image:ConstitutionHouse WindsorVermont.JPG|280px|right|thumb|The [[Old Constitution House]] at [[Windsor, Vermont|Windsor]], where the [[Constitution of the Vermont Republic|Constitution of Vermont]] was adopted on [[July 8]], [[1777]].]]
The first [[Europe]]an to see Vermont is thought to have been [[Jacques Cartier]], in 1535. On [[July 30]], [[1609]], [[French colonization of the Americas|French explorer]] [[Samuel de Champlain]] claimed Vermont as part of [[New France]], and erected [[Fort Sainte Anne]] on [[Isle La Motte, Vermont|Isle La Motte]] in 1666 as part of the [[fortification]] of Lake Champlain. This was the first European settlement in Vermont and the site of the state's first [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]].
In 1690, a group of [[Netherlands|Dutch]]-British settlers from [[Albany, New York|Albany]] established a settlement and trading post at [[Chimney Point]] (eight miles or 13 km west of present-day [[Addison, Vermont|Addison]]).
The first permanent British settlement was established in 1724, with the construction of [[Fort Dummer]] protecting the nearby settlements of [[Dummerston, Vermont|Dummerston]] and [[Brattleboro (town), Vermont|Brattleboro]]. These settlements were made by the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]] to buffer its settlers on the western border along the [[Connecticut River]].
In 1731, more French settlers arrived. They constructed a small temporary wooden stockade. This was replaced by a fort in 1734. The fort, when completed, gave the French control of the New France/Vermont border region in the Lake Champlain Valley and was the only permanent fort in the area until the building of Fort Carillon more than 20 years later.
The government encouraged French colonization, leading to the development of small French settlements in the valley. The British attempted to take the Fort St. Frédéric four times between 1755 and 1758; in 1759, a combined force of 12,000 British regular and provincial troops under Sir [[Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst|Jeffrey Amherst]] captured the fort. The French were driven out of the area and retreated to other forts along the [[Richelieu River]]. One year later a group of [[Mohawk nation|Mohawks]] burnt the settlement to the ground, leaving only chimneys, which gave the area its name.
The second British settlement was the 1761 founding of [[Bennington, Vermont|Bennington]].
During the [[French and Indian War]], some Vermont settlers, including [[Ethan Allen]], joined the colonial militia assisting the British in attacks on the French. [[Fort Ticonderoga|Fort Carillon]] on the [[New York]]-Vermont border, a French fort constructed in 1755, was the site of two British offensives under Lord Amherst's command: the [[Battle of Carillon|unsuccessful British attack in 1758]] and the [[Battle of Ticonderoga (1759)|retaking of the following year]] with no major resistance (most of the garrison had been removed to defend [[Quebec]], [[Montreal]], and the western forts). The British renamed the fort [[Fort Ticonderoga]] (which became the site of two later battles during the [[American Revolutionary War]]). Following France's loss in the [[French and Indian War]], the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|1763 Treaty of Paris]] gave control of the land to the British.
The end of the war brought new settlers to Vermont. A fort at [[Crown Point, New York|Crown Point]] had been built, and the Crown Point Military Road stretched from the east to the west of the Vermont wilderness from [[Springfield, Vermont|Springfield]] to Chimney Point, making travel from the neighboring [[13 colonies|British colonies]] easier.
Three colonies, [[Massachusetts]], [[New York]], and [[New Hampshire]], laid claim to what is now Vermont. All had royal charters, issued under different kings, to prove these conflicting claims. In 1741, George II ruled that Massachusetts's claims in Vermont and New Hampshire were invalid and fixed Massachusetts's northern boundary at its present location. This still left New Hampshire and New York with conflicting claims to the land.
The situation resulted in the [[New Hampshire Grants]], a series of 135 [[land grant]]s made between 1749 and 1764. The grants sparked a dispute with New York, who began granting charters of their own to New Yorkers. In 1770, Ethan Allen, his brothers [[Ira Allen|Ira]] and Levi, and Seth Warner recruited an informal militia, the [[Green Mountain Boys]], to protect the interests of the original New Hampshire settlers against the new migrants from New York. When a New York judge arrived in [[Westminster (town), Vermont|Westminster]] with New York settlers in March 1775, violence broke out as angry citizens took over the [[courthouse]] and called a sheriff's posse. This resulted in the deaths of Daniel Houghton and William French in the "Westminster Massacre."
=== Independence and statehood ===
[[Image:VtConstitution.png|280px|thumb|Vellum manuscript of the Constitution of Vermont, 1777. This constitution was amended in 1786, and again in 1793 following Vermont's admission to the federal union in 1791.]]
[[Image:VTadmissionAct.JPG|thumb|right|280px|1790 Act of Congress admitting Vermont to the federal union. Statehood began on [[March 4]], [[1791]].]]
[[Image:DSCN4192 vermontstatehousefront e.jpg|280px|thumb|right|The [[gold leaf]] [[dome]] of the [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] [[Vermont State House]] (Capitol) in [[Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier]] designed by Ammi B. Young and amplified by Thomas Silloway.]]
In the summer of [[1776]], the first general convention of freemen met "to take suitable measures to declare the New Hampshire Grants a free and independent ''district''."<ref>Esther Munroe Swift, ''Vermont Place-Names: Footprints in History'' Picton Press, 1977</ref> On [[January 18]], [[1777]], representatives of the New Hampshire Grants declared the independence of the [[Vermont Republic|Vermont]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Second Vermont Republic|work=Vermont's Declaration of Independence (1777) | url=http://www.vermontrepublic.org/vermonts_declaration_of_independence_1777 | accessdate=2007-01-17}}</ref> For the first six months of the state's existence, the state was called [[New Connecticut]].<ref>Esther Munroe Swift, ''Vermont Place-Names: Footprints in History'' Picton Press, 1977</ref>
On [[June 2]], [[1777]], a second convention of 72 delegates met to adopt the name "Vermont." This was on the advice of a friendly Pennsylvanian who wrote them on how to achieve admission into the newly independent United States as the 14th state.<ref>Esther Munroe Swift, ''Vermont Place-Names: Footprints in History'' Picton Press, 1977</ref> On [[July 4]], the [[Constitution of the Vermont Republic|Constitution of Vermont]] was drafted at the [[Old Constitution House|Windsor Tavern]] adopted by the delegates on [[July 8]]. This was among the first written constitutions in [[North America]] and was indisputably the first to abolish the institution of slavery, provide for universal manhood suffrage and require support of public schools.
===Revolutionary War===
{{main|Battle of Bennington}}
The Battle of Bennington, fought on [[August 16]], [[1777]], was a seminal event in the history of the state of Vermont. The nascent republican government, created after years of political turmoil, faced challenges from New York, New Hampshire, Great Britain and the new United States, none of which recognized its sovereignty. The republic's ability to defeat a powerful military invader gave it a legitimacy among its scattered frontier society that would sustain it through fourteen years of fragile independence before it finally achieved statehood as the 14th state in the union in 1791.
General Burgoyne received intelligence that large stores of horses, food and munitions were kept at Bennington, which was the largest community in the land grant area. He dispatched 2,600 men, nearly a third of his army, to seize the colonial storehouse there, unaware that General Stark's New Hampshire troops were then traversing the Green Mountains to join up at Bennington with the Vermont continental regiments commanded by Colonel Seth Warner, together with the local Vermont and western Massachusetts militia. The combined American forces, under Stark's command, attacked the British column at [[Hoosick, New York]], just across the border from Bennington. In a desperate, all-day battle fought in intense summer heat, the army of [[yankee]] farmers killed or captured virtually the entire British detachment. General Burgoyne never recovered from this loss and eventually surrendered the remainder of his 6,000-man force at [[Saratoga, New York]], on [[October 17]].
Battles of [[Battle of Bennington|Bennington]] and [[Battle of Saratoga|Saratoga]] are recognized as the turning point in the Revolutionary War because they were the first major defeat of a British army and convinced the French that the Americans were worthy of military aid. Stark became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington", and the anniversary of the battle is still celebrated in Vermont as a legal holiday known as "Bennington Battle Day." Under the portico of the Vermont Statehouse, next to an heroic granite statue of Ethan Allen, there is a brass cannon that was captured from the British troops at the Battle of Bennington.
===Statehood and the ante-bellum era===
Vermont continued to govern itself as a sovereign entity based in the eastern town of Windsor for fourteen years. The independent state of Vermont issued its own coinage, called [[Vermont coppers]], from a mint operated by Reuben Harmon in East Rupert ([[1785]]-[[1788]])<ref>Margaret Bucholt [http://www.manchestervermont.net/about.php Manchester and the Mountains Chamber of Commerce] ''An Insider's Guide to Southern Vermont'', Penguin, 1991</ref> and operated a statewide postal service. [[Thomas Chittenden]], who came to Vermont from [[Connecticut]] in 1774, acted as head of state, using the term governor over president. Chittenden governed the nascent republic from 1778 to 1789 and from 1790 to 1791. Chittenden exchanged ambassadors with France, the Netherlands, and the American government then at Philadelphia. In 1791, Vermont joined the federal Union as the fourteenth state–the first state to enter the union after the original thirteen colonies, and a counterweight to slave holding [[Kentucky]], which was admitted to the Union shortly afterward.
Vermont had a [[unicameralism|unicameral]] legislature until 1836.
An 1854 [[Vermont Senate]] report on slavery fueled growth of the abolition movement in the state. The mid to late 1850s saw a transition from Vermonters mostly favoring slavery's containment, to a far more serious opposition to the institution, producing the [[Radical Republican (USA)|Radical Republican]] and [[abolitionist]] [[Thaddeus Stevens]]. As the Whig party shriveled, and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] emerged, Vermont strongly trended in support of its candidates, first on the state level and later for the presidency. In 1860 it voted for President [[Abraham Lincoln]], giving him the largest margin of victory of any state.
=== The Civil War ===
{{main|Vermont in the American Civil War}}
During the [[American Civil War]], Vermont sent more than 34,000 men into United States service, contributing 18 regiments of [[infantry]] and [[cavalry]], three batteries of light [[artillery]], three companies of [[sharpshooters]], two companies of [[Frontier Cavalry|frontier cavalry]], and thousands in the regular army and navy, and in other states’ units. Almost 5,200 Vermonters, 15%, were killed or mortally wounded in action or died of disease. Vermonters, if not Vermont units, participated in every major battle of the war.{{Fact|date=July 2008}}
A large proportion of Vermont’s state and national-level politicians for several decades after the Civil War were veterans.
The northernmost land action of the war, the [[St. Albans Raid]], took place in Vermont.
===Postbellum era and beyond===
The two decades following the end of the American Civil War (1864-1885) saw both economic expansion and contraction, and fairly dramatic social change. Vermont's system of railroads expanded and was linked to national systems, agricultural output and export soared and incomes increased. But Vermont also felt the effects of recessions and financial panics, particularly the [[Panic of 1873|1873 Panic]] which resulted in a substantial exodus of young Vermonters. The transition in thinking about the rights of citizens fueled agitation for women's suffrage. The first election in which women were allowed to vote was on [[December 18]], [[1880]], when women were granted limited [[suffrage]] and were first allowed to vote in town elections, and then in state legislative races.
Large-scale [[flooding]] occurred in early November 1927. During this incident, 85 people died, 84 of them in Vermont. Another flood occurred in 1973, when the flood caused the death of two people and millions of dollars in property damage.
On [[April 25]], [[2000]], as a result of the [[Vermont Supreme Court]]'s decision in [[Baker v. Vermont]], the [[Vermont General Assembly]] passed and Governor [[Howard Dean]] signed into law H.0847, which provided the state sanctioned benefits of marriage to gay and lesbian couples in the form of [[civil unions]]. Controversy over the civil unions bill was a central issue in the subsequent 2000 elections.
== Demographics ==
=== Population ===
{{USCensusPop
|1790 = 85425
|1800 = 154465
|1810 = 217895
|1820 = 235981
|1830 = 280652
|1840 = 291948
|1850 = 314120
|1860 = 315098
|1870 = 330551
|1880 = 332286
|1890 = 332422
|1900 = 343641
|1910 = 355956
|1920 = 352428
|1930 = 359611
|1940 = 359231
|1950 = 377747
|1960 = 389881
|1970 = 444330
|1980 = 511456
|1990 = 562758
|2000 = 608827
|2010est. = 653,000
}}
The [[center of population]] of Vermont is located in [[Washington County, Vermont|Washington County]], in the town of [[Warren, Vermont|Warren]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cenpop/statecenters.txt|title=Population and Population Centers by State: 2000|publisher=U. S. Census Bureau|accessdate=2008-05-11}}</ref>
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], as of 2005, Vermont has an estimated population of 623,050, which is an increase of 1,817, or 0.3%, from the prior year and an increase of 14,223, or 2.3%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 7,148 people (that is 33,606 births minus 26,458 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 7,889 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 4,359 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 3,530 people.
=== Race and gender===
{{US Demographics}}
[[Image:Vermont population map.png|thumb|right|300px|Vermont Population Density Map]]
Vermont's population is:
*51.0% [[female]]
*49.0% [[male]]
Among the 50 states and the [[District of Columbia]], Vermont ranks:
* 2nd highest proportion of [[Whites]]
* 2nd oldest median age<ref>40.7 in 2005, US Census Community Survey</ref>
* 41st highest proportion of [[Asians]]
* 49th highest proportion of [[Hispanics in the United States|Hispanics]]
* 48th highest proportion of [[African American|Blacks]]
* 29th highest proportion of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]s
* 39th highest proportion of people of [[mixed race]]
* 28th highest proportion of [[males]]
* 24th highest proportion of [[females]]
=== Ethnicity and language ===
The largest ancestry groups are:
* 23.3% [[French American|French or French Canadian]]
* 18.4% [[English American|English]]
* 16.4% [[Irish people|Irish]]
* 9.1% [[German-American|German]]
* 8.3% [[United States|American]]<ref>People who chose not to give an ethnic background</ref>
* 6.4% [[Italian-American|Italian]]
* 4.6% [[Scottish American|Scottish]]
* 0.4% [[native Americans in the United States|Native American]]<ref>http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/50000.html accessed [[October 4]], [[2007]]</ref>
Residents of British ancestry (especially English) live throughout most of Vermont. The northern part of the state maintains a significant percentage of people of French-Canadian ancestry.
In the last two decades, the Burlington area has welcomed the resettlement of several refugee communities. These include individuals and families from South East Asia, Bosnia, Sudan, Somalia, Burundi and Tibet. These communities have grown to include non-refugees and in some cases are several generations in the making.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}
According to the [[2000 U.S. Census]], 2.54% of the population aged 5 and over speak [[French language|French]] at home, while 1.00% speak [[Spanish language|Spanish]] [http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=50&mode=state_tops].
=== Religion ===
{| align="right" border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 1em; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
|+ '''Religious Distribution<ref>{{cite web | title=The Graduate Center, CUNY|work=American Religious Identification Survey | url=http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm | accessdate=2007-01-05}}</ref> of Vermont'''
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Religion
! Percentage
|-
|[[Christianity|Christian]]
|67%
|-
| [[Roman Catholicism in the United States|Roman Catholic]]
|38%
|-
| [[Protestantism|Protestant]]
|29%
|-
| [[Congregational church|Congregational]]/United Church of Christ
|6%
|-
| [[Methodism|Methodist]]
|6%
|-
| [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal]]
|4%
|-
| Other Christian
|4%
|-
| [[Baptist]]
|3%
|-
| Other Protestant
|2%
|-
| [[Assemblies of God]]
|1%
|-
| [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]]
|1%
|-
| [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]]
|1%
|-
| Non-Denominational
|1%
|-
|Other Religions
|2%
|-
|No Religion
|22%
|-
|Declined to answer
|8%
|-
|}
In colonial times, like many of its neighboring states, Vermont's largest religious affiliation was [[Congregationalism]]. In 1776, 63% of affiliated church members in Vermont were Congregationalists. At that time, however, only 9% of people belonged to a specific church due to the remotness of population centers. The Congregational [[United Church of Christ]] remains the largest Protestant denomination and Vermont has the largest percentage of this denomination of any state.<ref>{{cite web | title=Adherents.com | work=Religion in Vermont | url=http://www.adherents.com/loc/loc_vermont.html | accessdate=2007-01-05}}</ref>
Today more than two-thirds of Vermont residents identify themselves as [[Christianity|Christians]]. This number includes a body of Christian Lebanese stoneworkers who fled Moslem intolerance in their home country. The largest single religious body in the state is the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. A Catholic Church survey in 1990 reported that 25% of Vermonters were members of the Catholic Church, although more than that self-identify as Catholics.
Twenty-four percent of Vermonters attend church regularly. This low is matched only by New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite book | author = Sullivan, Will |title = A New Shade of Granit | publisher = US News and World Report | year = June 11, 2007}}</ref>
Over one-fifth of Vermonters identify themselves as non-religious, tying Vermont with Oregon as having the second-highest percentage of non-religious people in the United States. Only Washington State has a higher percentage.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
Almost one-third of Vermonters are self-identified [[Protestantism|Protestants]]. The largest Protestant denomination in the state is the United Church of Christ, and the second largest is the [[United Methodist Church]], followed by [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalians]], "other" Christians, and [[American Baptist Churches|Baptists]].
[[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] and [[Brigham Young]]—the first two leaders of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]—were both born in Vermont. Adherents to the Mormon faith, however, do not make up a single percentage point of Vermont's population. A memorial to Joseph Smith, at his birthplace in Sharon, is maintained by the LDS.
The state has 5,000 people of [[Jew]]ish faith - 3,000 in Burlington and 500 each in Montpelier-Barre and Rutland—and four [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and two [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] congregations.<ref>2001 ''Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia''</ref>
Vermont has the highest concentration of western-convert [[Buddhists]] in the country. It is home to several Buddhist retreat centers.<ref>http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/02/23/green_mountains_good_karma/ Buddhist retreat centers</ref>
Other religions include [[Quakers|The Society of Friends]], [[Shinto]], [[Wicca]], [[Islam]], and [[Paganism]].{{Fact|date=July 2008}}<!---this sentence should be deleted, not because these religions don't exist in Vt, but because they haven't been ennumerated by a scholarly source. Traces of every religion exists everywhere in the world, but that is no reason to name them all--->
== Economy ==
In 2007, Vermont was ranked 32nd among states in which to do business. It was 30th the previous year.<ref>{{cite book | author = Gram, David |title = Forbes ranks Vt. 30th (sic) for business | publisher = Burlington Free Press | year = July 14, 2007}}</ref><!---Forbes is the superior reference here. Should really replace this reference-->
In 2008, an economist said that the state had "a really stagnant economy, which is what we are forecasting for Vermont for the next 30 years."<ref>[http://burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS01/80628015 Burlington Free Press] retrieved June 30, 2008</ref>
According to the 2005 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Vermont’s [[gross state product]] (GSP) was $23 billion. This places the state 50th among the 50 states. It stood 38th in per capita GSP.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP_per_capita_%28nominal%29</ref><ref>Rankings tend to favor higher cost of living areas and downrate lower cost of living areas</ref> The per capita personal income was $32,770 in 2004.
Components of GSP were:<ref>Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% because of rounding</ref><ref>[http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrelarchive/2006/gsp1006.htm Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by State<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* Government - $3,083 million (13.4%)
* Real Estate, Rental and Leasing - $2,667 million (11.6%)
* Durable goods manufacturing - $2,210 million (9.6%)
* Health Care and Social Assistance - $2,170 million (9.4%)
* Retail trade - $1,934 million (8.4%)
* Finance and Insurance - $1,369 million (5.9%)
* Construction - $1,258 million (5.5%)
* Professional and technical services - $1,276 million (5.5%)
* Wholesale trade - $1,175 million (5.1%)
* Accommodations and Food Services - $1,035 million (4.5%)
* Information - $958 million (4.2%)
* Non-durable goods manufacturing - $711 million (3.1%)
* Other Services - $563 million (2.4%)
* Utilities - $553 million (2.4%)
* Educational Services - $478 million (2.1%)
* Transportation and Warehousing - $484 million (2.1%)
* Administrative and Waste Services - $436 million (1.9%)
* Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting - $375 million (1.6%)
* Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation - $194 million (.8%)
* Mining - $100 million (.4%)
* Management of Companies - $35 million (.2%)
Canada is Vermont's number one external trading partner, followed by Taiwan.<ref>{{cite book | author = Creaser, Richard |title = Illuzi learns about economy of Taiwan during visit | publisher = the Chronicle | year = October 24, 2007}}</ref>
Vermont is the only one of the contiguous 48 states without a [[Target Corporation|Target]] store.
===Agriculture===
[[Image:Craft Breweries Per Capita (US).png|thumb|left|200px|Vermont ranks first nationally in [[Vermont beer and breweries|craft breweries]] per capita.<ref>[http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/statistics.html Craft Brewing Industry Statistics<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>]]Agriculture contributes $2.6 billion,<ref>Figure includes the possible economic affect on all other areas in addition to Agriculture. This explains the wide variance with the figure in GSP above</ref> about 12%, directly and indirectly to the state's economy.<ref>{{cite web | title=Vermont Sustainable Agriculture Council | work=Vermont's Agriculture: Generating Wealth from the Land | url=http://www.uvm.edu/~susagctr/CouncilReport05.PDF | accessdate=2007-01-06}}</ref>
Over the past two centuries logging has fallen off as over-cutting and the exploitation of other forests made Vermont's forest less attractive. Loss of farms has had the beneficial effect of allowing Vermont's land and forest to recover. The accompanying lack of industry has allowed Vermont to avoid many of the ill-effects of 20th century industrial busts, effects that still plague neighboring states. Today, most of Vermont's forests consist of second-growth.
Of the remaining industries, [[dairy farming]] is the primary source of agricultural income.
In the last half of the twentienth century, developers have had plans to build [[Condominium (housing)|condos]] and houses on what was relatively inexpensive, open land. Vermont's government has responded with a series of laws controlling development and with some pioneering initiatives to prevent the loss of Vermont's dairy industry.
In 1947 there were 11,206 dairy farms in the state. In 2003 there were fewer than 1,500, a decline of 80%. The number of cattle had declined by 40%. However, milk production had doubled in the same period due to tripling the production per cow.<ref>http://www.vermontdairy.com/dairy_industry/farms/numbers</ref> In 2007, there were 1,087 farms left, down from 1,138 in 2006. While milk production rose, Vermont's market share declined. Within a group of states supplying the Boston-NYC market,<ref>called "federal order one"</ref> Vermont was third with a 10.6% share of the market.<ref>New York has 44.9%, Pennsylvania has 32.9%</ref><ref>{{cite book | author = Dunbar, Bethany |title = Vermont Milk Commission takes a look at hauling costs | publisher = the Chronicle | year = November 14, 2007}}</ref>
A significant amount of milk is shipped into the Boston market. Therefore the Commonwealth of Massachusetts certifies that Vermont farms meet Massachusetts sanitary standards. Without this certification, a farmer may not sell milk for distribution into the bulk market.<ref>[http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/627/627.F2d.606.79-7759.79-7113.1070.1098.html LeClair vs Saunders] retrieved [[April 21]], [[1980]]</ref>
An important and growing part of Vermont's economy is the manufacture and sale of artisan foods, fancy foods, and novelty items trading in part upon the Vermont "brand" which the state
<!---Is is trademarked? Is there a citation/footnote that can be used? ---->
manages and defends. Examples of these specialty exports include [[Cabot Cheese]], the [[Vermont Teddy Bear Company]], [[Fine Paints of Europe]], Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, several [[Vermont beer and breweries|micro breweries]], ginseng growers, [[Burton Snowboards]], [[Lake Champlain Chocolates]], [[King Arthur Flour]], and [[Ben & Jerry's|Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream]].
In 2001, Vermont produced 275,000 US gallons (1,040,000 L) of maple syrup, about one-quarter of U.S. production. For 2005 that number was 410,000 accounting for 37% of national production.<ref>((cite web | author = Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Assoc. | title=Maple Facts |url=http://www.vermontmaple.org/maplefacts.html | access date = 2007-04-08))</ref>
In 2000, only 3% of the state's working population was still engaged in agriculture.<ref>{{cite book | author = Liz Halloran | title = Vermont's War | publisher = US News and World Report, [[January 22]], page 45 | year = 2007}}</ref>
Wine industry started in Vermont in 1985. There are 14 wineries today.<ref>{{cite book | author = Curran, John |title = Winemakers hope new state council will help them grow | publisher = Burlington Free Press | year = July 29, 2007}}</ref>
===Manufacturing===
[[IBM]], in Essex Junction, is Vermont's largest for-profit employer. It provides 25% of all manufacturing jobs in Vermont. In 2007 it employed 6,800 workers.<ref>[http://www.acinet.org/oview6.asp?soccode=&stfips=50&from=State&id=11&nodeid=12 America's Career Infonet]accessed [[February 3]], [[2008]]</ref> It is responsible for $1 billion of the state's annual economy.<ref>''The Burlington Free Press'', [[February 28]], [[2007]], page 8C, "IBM:Enriching economy for 50 years."</ref>
===Health===
An increasingly aging population is expected to improve this industry's position in the state economy. In 2008, [[Fletcher Allen Health Care]] was the second highest employer of people in the state.<ref>{{cite book | author = McLean, Dan |title = IBM won't be No. 1 employer for much longer | publisher = Burlington Free Press | year = June 29, 2008}}</ref>
===Housing===
In 2007 Vermont was the 17th highest state in the nation for mortgage affordability. However, in 41 other states, inhabitants contributed within plus or minus 4% of Vermont's 18.4% of household income to a mortgage.<ref>{{cite web | title=Vermont Business Roundtable|work=Housing Prices, Availability, and Affordability in Vermont | url=http://www.vtroundtable.org/Portals/0/housingreport.pdf | accessdate=2007-01-07}}</ref>
Housing prices did not rise that much during the early 2000s. As a result, the collapse in real estate values was not that precipitous either. While foreclosure rose significantly in 2007, the state stood 50th (last) in ratio of foreclosure filings to households.<ref>{{cite book | author = Braithwaite, Chris |title = Vermont weathers mortgage storm | publisher = the Chronicle | year = December 19, 2007}}</ref>
In 2007, Vermont was best in the country for construction of new energy efficient homes as evaluated by the [[EPA]] under the [[Energy Star]] program.<ref>{{cite book | author = Gresser, Joseph |title = Vermont is top in N.E. for new energy efficient homes | publisher = the Chronicle | year = October 3, 2007}}</ref>
===Labor===
As of 2006, there were 305,000 workers in Vermont. 11% of these are unionized.<ref>[http://www.empirecenter.org/2007/01/unions_shrink_e.php Unions Shrink Even in NY, Data Show<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>A separate study shows over 325,000 workers in [[2000]] !http://www.bishca.state.vt.us/hcadiv/Data_Reports/healthinsurmarket/SurveyVTFamilyHealth2000/DataTables126_146/128_WorkingStatewideOfferFirm.PDF</ref>
A 2007 survey claimed that Vermonters were the least satisfied with their job in the nation and were the most likely to be making plans to leave.<ref>[http://aol.salary.com/careersandwork/salary/articles/atcl_careeradvice.asp?atc=593 Salary.com Job salaries- Performance reviews- Compensation software]</ref>
===Insurance===
[[Captive insurance]] plays an increasingly large role in Vermont's economy. With this form of alternative insurance, large corporations or industry associations form standalone insurance companies to insure their own risks, thereby substantially reducing their insurance premiums and gaining a significant measure of control over types of risks to be covered. There are also significant tax advantages to be gained from the formation and operation of captive insurance companies. According to the Insurance Information Institute, Vermont in 2004 was the world's third-largest domicile for captive insurance companies, following [[Bermuda]] and the [[Cayman Islands]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Insurance Information Institute|work=Captives & Other Risk-Financing Options | url=http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/test3/?table_sort_745148=2 | accessdate=2007-01-07}}</ref>
===Tourism===
Tourism is a large industry in the state. In winter, the ski resorts [[Mount Mansfield|Stowe]], [[Smugglers' Notch]], [[Killington Ski Resort]], [[Mad River Glen]], [[Sugarbush]], [[Stratton, Vermont|Stratton]], [[Jay Peak Resort|Jay Peak]], [[Okemo Mountain|Okemo]], [[Suicide Six]], [[Mount Snow]] and [[Bromley Mountain|Bromley]] host skiers from around the globe, although their largest markets are the Boston, Montreal and New York metropolitan areas. In the summer, resort towns like [[Stowe, Vermont|Stowe]], [[Manchester, Vermont|Manchester]], [[Wilmington, Vermont|Wilmington]] and [[Woodstock, Vermont|Woodstock]] host visitors. Resorts, hotels, restaurants, and shops, designed to attract tourists, employ people year-round.
[[Image:LakeChamplain.jpg|thumb|280px|left|Lake Champlain.]]
Summer camps contribute to Vermont's tourist economy. [[Trout]] fishing, lake fishing, and [[ice fishing]] draw outdoor enthusiasts to the state, as does the hiking on the [[Long Trail]]. In winter, nordic and backcountry skiers visit to travel the length of the state on the [[Catamount Trail]]. Several [[horse show]]s are annual events. Vermont's state parks, historic sites, museums, golf courses, and new boutique hotels with spas were designed to attract tourists.
===Quarrying===
The towns of [[Rutland (town), Vermont|Rutland]] and [[Barre (town), Vermont|Barre]] are the traditional centers of marble and granite quarrying and carving in the U.S. For many years Vermont was also the headquarters of the smallest union in the U.S., the Stonecutters Association, of about 500 members. The first marble quarry in America was on Mount Aeolus overlooking East Dorset.<ref>[http://www.virtualvermont.com/towns/dorset.html VirtualVermont.com]</ref>
Up the western side of the state runs the "Marble Valley" joining up with the "Slate Valley" that runs from just inside New York across from Chimney Point until it meets the "Granite Valley" that runs west past Barre, home of the Rock of Ages quarry, the largest granite quarry in America.
Vermont is the largest producer of slate in the country.<ref>[http://www.apartmentlinks.com/VT/Vermont.html ApartmentLinks.com]</ref>
Production of dimension stone is the greatest producer of revenues by quarrying.
===Taxes===
In 2007 Vermont stood 14th highest out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for state and local taxation, with a per capita load of $3,681. The national average was $3,447.<ref>DatabankUSA,''AARP Bulletin'', April 2007, compiled from figures from the US
<!---Okay to change this after investigating why the rankings used different per capita tax loads. Be sure to give a footnote/reference. These are just statistics. No one is trying to rain on anyone's parade here.--->Census</ref> However, CNNMoney ranked Vermont highest in the nation based on the percentage of per capita income. The rankings showed Vermont had a per capita tax load of $5,387, 14.1% of the per capita income of $38,306.<ref>[http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/pf/0704/gallery.tax_friendliest/8.html Tax-Friendly Places 2007 | 8 | CNNMoney.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Vermont collects personal [[income tax]] in a progressive structure of five different income brackets, ranging from 3.6% to 9.5%.
Vermont's general [[sales tax]] rate is 6%, which is imposed on sales of tangible personal property, amusement charges, fabrication charges, some public utility charges and some service contracts (some towns and cities impose an additional 1% Local Option Tax). There are 46 exemptions from the tax which include medical items, food, manufacturing machinery, equipment and fuel, residential fuel and electricity, clothing, and shoes. A [[use tax]] is imposed on the buyer at the same rate as the sales tax. The buyer pays the use tax when the sellers fails to collect the sales tax or the items are purchased from a source where no tax is collected. The use tax applies to items taxable under the sales tax. [[Property tax]]es are imposed for the support of education and municipal services.
Vermont does not assess tax on [[intangible property|intangible]] [[personal property]]. Vermont does not collect [[inheritance taxes]]; however, its [[estate tax]] is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws and therefore the state still imposes its own estate tax.
===Government finances===
Vermont is the only state in the union not to have a balanced budget requirement.<ref>[http://www.ncsl.org/programs/fiscal/balbuda.htm State Balanced Budget Requirements: Provisions and Practice<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 2007, Moody's Investors Service gave its top rating of Aaa to the state.<ref>Burlington Free Press, [[February 6]], [[2007]], Business, page 7A, ''Moody's gives highest bond rating to Vermont.''</ref>
== Transportation ==
Vermont's main mode of travel is by automobile. Individual communities and counties have public transit, but their breadth of coverage is frequently limited. [[Greyhound Lines]] services a number of small towns. Two [[Amtrak]] trains serve Vermont. The [[Ethan Allen Express]] serves Rutland and Fair Haven, while the [[Vermonter]] serves [[Saint Albans]], [[Essex Junction]], [[Waterbury]], [[Montpelier]], [[Randolph]], [[White River Junction]], [[Windsor]], [[Bellows Falls]] and [[Brattleboro, Vermont|Brattleboro]].
For a more detailed explanation see a [[List of Routes in Vermont]].
===Major routes===
====North-South routes====
* [[Image:I-89.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 89]] - Runs northwestward from White River Junction to serve both Montpelier and Burlington en route to the Canadian border.
* [[Image:I-91.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 91]] - Runs northward from the Massachusetts border to the Canadian border, connecting [[Brattleboro, Vermont|Brattleboro]], White River Junction, St. Johnsbury, and Newport.
* [[Image:I-93.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 93]] - Has its northern terminus at I-91 in St. Johnsbury and connects the northern part of the state with New Hampshire and points south.
* [[Image:US 5.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 5]] - Travels south to north along the eastern border of the state, parallel to I-91 for its entire length in the state.
* [[Image:US 7.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 7]] - Travels south to north along the western border of the state. U.S. 7 parallels I-89 from Burlington northward to the Canadian border.
====East-West routes====
* [[Image:US 2.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 2]] - Crosses northern Vermont from west to east and connects the population centers of Burlington, Montpelier, and St. Johnsbury.
* [[Image:US 4.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 4]] - Crosses Vermont from west to east and connects the city of Rutland with Killington and White River Junction.
* [[Image:US 302.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 302]] - Travels eastward from Montpelier and Barre, through New Hampshire and points east.
* [[Image:Vermont 100.svg|20px]] [[Vermont Route 100]] - Runs south to north almost directly through the center of the state, providing a route along the full length of the Green Mountains.
A 2005-6 study ranked Vermont 37th out of the states for "cost-effective road maintenance", a decline of 13 places since 2004-5.<ref>[http://www.reason.org/ps360.pdf Microsoft Word - ps360final.doc<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Federal data indicates that 16% of Vermont's 2,691 bridges had been rated structurally deficient by the state in 2006.<ref>{{cite book | author = |title = State to inspect bridges similar to Minn. span | publisher = Burlington Free Press | year = August 4, 2007}} page 1B</ref> In 2007 Vermont had the sixth worst percentage of structurally deficient bridges in the country.<ref>{{cite book | author = Creaser, Richard |title = The bridges of Orleans County await repair | publisher = the Chronicle | year = November 14, 2007}}</ref>
===Local community public and private transportation===
* Addison County has the ACTR (Addison County Transit Resources) out of Middlebury, also serving Bristol and Vergennes.
* Bennington County features the GME (American Red Cross Green Mountain Express) out of Bennington and the YT (Yankee Trails) running out of Rensselaer, New York.
* Brattleboro in Windham county is served by the BeeLine (Brattleboro Town Bus). [[Windham]] is served, out of West Dover, by the MOOver (Deerfield Valley Transit Association, DVTA).
* Burlington (home of the [[University of Vermont]]) has CCTA (Chittenden County Transportation Authority) and CATS (University of Vermont Campus Area Transportation System).
* Colchester in Chittenden County is serviced by the SSTA (Special Services Transportation Agency).* Rutland County has the Bus (Marble Valley Regional Transit District, MVRTD) out of Rutland.
* Ludlow (in Windsor County) is served by the LMTS (Ludlow Municipal Transit System). Windsor is also served by Advanced Transit (AT) out of Wilder and the CRT (Connecticut River Transit) out of Springfield, which also serves parts of Windham County.
* Stowe, in Lamoille county, is serviced by STS (Stowe Trolley System, Village Mountain Shuttle, Morrisville Shuttle).
* STS (Stagecoach Transportation Services) out of Randolph in Orange County also serves parts of Windsor County.
* In [[Washington County, Vermont|Washington]] the [[GMTA|Green Mountain Transit Authority]] runs out of the capital city, Montpelier.
* The Network (Northwest Vermont Public Transit Network, NVPT) running out of Saint Albans, services Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.
* The RCT (Rural Community Transportation) runs out of Saint Johnsbury and services Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille and Orleans Counties. This is a non-profit organization largely staffed by volunteers who are paid for mileage only to provide transportation for medical reasons, school, and to the elderly. There is a shuttle bus linking the various local networks.<ref name="2007rpt">{{cite book | author = |title = Annual City & School Report, City of Newport, Vermont | publisher = Memphremagog Press, Inc., Newport, Vermont | year = 2007}}</ref>
* There is ferry service to New York State from Burlington, Charlotte, Grand Isle, and Shoreham. All but the Shoreham ferry are operated by the [[Lake Champlain Transportation Company]].
===Airports===
Vermont is served by two commercial airports:
* [[Burlington International Airport]] is the largest in the state, with regular flights to [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Chicago]], [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], [[Detroit]], [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]], [[New York City]], [[Philadelphia]], and [[Washington, DC]].{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
* [[Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport]] has regular flights to Boston.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
==Media==
* See [[List of newspapers in Vermont]]
* See [[List of radio stations in Vermont]]
* See [[List of television stations in Vermont]].
==Utilities and communication==
* Broadband coverage as of 2006<ref>[http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070208/NEWS01/702080306/1009/NEWS05 Burlington Free Press.com | Top Stories<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><!--<ref>Rural Vt. wants it's broadband,''Burlington Free Press'',February 8, 2007, page 1A</ref> -->
** Total Coverage = 87%
** Cable = 68%
** DSL = 69%
** Wireless Internet Service Provider = 24%
(Above percentages are of population, not of land area.)
Cell phone coverage in the state, generally, outside of the major metropolitan areas is weak due to interference from mountains, the attempt to serve a small rural population living in a large area rendering investment in improvements uneconomical, and environmentalists' opposition to towers.<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3675/is_200310/ai_n9323531 Cell Service in Vermont: Can't hear the tourist for the trees | Vermont Business Magazine | Find Articles at BNET.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Unicel]], focusing on rural areas, has better coverage.<ref>[http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070105/085242.shtml Techdirt: Vermont's Muni Broadband Plan Sounds Half Right<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
In summer of 2007, Verizon Wireless announced that it would purchase Unicel (Rural Cellular) in Vermont and 14 other states for $2.67 billion dollars during the first half of 2008. Some state officials and Unicel subscribers have opposed this purchase.<ref>[http://www.saveunicel.com Save Unicel]</ref>
In May 2007, Vermont passed measures intended to make broadband (3 mbits minimum) together with cellular coverage universally available to all citizens with the intention of having the first e-state in the Union by 2010.<ref>[http://blog.tomevslin.com/2007/01/vermont_the_fir.html A Synopsis of the extent of the measure to extend broadband]</ref>
In 2008 [[Comcast]] started to extend additional cable access throughout the state.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3675/is_200602/ai_n17179866 Bnet Business Network] accessed [[February 21]], [[2008]]</ref> In 2007, 2/3 of all Vermonters had access to cable. At the end of this 2008 initiative, 90% of Vermonters will have access.
== Law and government ==
{{main|Government of Vermont}}
Vermont is represented in the [[United States Congress]] by two senators and one representative.
The state is governed by a constitution which divides governmental duties into three branches, typical of a US state: legislative, executive and judicial. All members of the executive and legislative branch serve two-year terms including the governor and 50 senators. There are no [[term limit]]s for any office. The state capital is in Montpelier.
There are three types of incorporated municipalities in Vermont, towns, cities and villages. Like most of New England, there is slight provision for autonomous county government. Counties and county seats are merely convenient repositories for various government services such as County and State Courts, with several elected officers such as a State's Attorney and Sheriff. All county services are directly funded by the State of Vermont. The next effective governmental level below state government are municipalities. Most of these are towns.<ref>[http://www.sec.state.vt.us/municipal/pubs/who'swho.html town offices]</ref>
An in-depth evaluation of government ranked Vermont high compared to other states. It ranked highest in "small discrete issues and huge global ones." It performed poorly in the issues in-between and planning for the future.<ref>[http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Grading-the-States-2008.pdf Pew Report 2008] accessed [[March 26]], [[2008]]</ref>
=== Political ===
{{main|Politics of Vermont}}<!---please ensure that your contribution has been vetted in the main article before summarizing it here.---->
{{seealso|United States Congressional Delegations from Vermont|Category:Vermont elections}}
Vermonters have been known for their political independence. Vermont is one of four states that were once [[Republic of Vermont|independent]] (the others being Texas, California, and Hawaii). It has sometimes voted contrarian in national elections. Notably, Vermont is the only state to have voted for a presidential candidate from the [[Anti-Masonic Party]], and Vermont was one of only two states to vote against [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in all four of his presidential campaigns (the other was [[Maine]]).
Vermont's unique history and history of independent political thought has led to movements for the establishment of the [[Second Vermont Republic]] and other plans advocating [[secession]].<ref>These relatively small political movements are similar in nature to those found in [[California]], [[Hawaii]], [[Louisiana]], and [[Texas]]; although the historical contexts are variant.</ref> In 2007, about 13% of Vermont's population supported Vermont's withdrawal from the Republic. The percentage who supported this in 2005 was 8%.<ref>[http://www.vermontrepublic.org Second Vermont Republic<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/06/03/in_vermont_nascent_secession_movement_gains_traction In Vermont, nascent secession movement gains traction - Boston.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Republicans dominated Vermont politics from the party's founding in 1854 until the mid-1970s. Prior to the 1960s, rural interests dominated the legislature. As a result, cities, particularly the older sections of Burlington and Winooski, were neglected and fell into decay. People began to move out to newer suburbs.
In the meantime, many people had moved in from out of state. Much of this immigration included the arrival of more liberal political influences of the urban areas of New York and New England in Vermont.<ref>{{cite web | title=The World|work=Rise of the Democratic Party | url=http://www.vt-world.com/Archive/2004/February_18_2004/Features.htm | accessdate=2006-12-25}}</ref>
After the legislature was redistricted under one-person, one-vote, it passed legislation to accommodate these new arrivals.
This legislation was the Land Use and Development Law ([[Act 250 (US law)|Act 250]]) in 1970. The law, which was the first of its kind in the nation, created nine District Environmental Commissions consisting of private citizens, appointed by the Governor, who must approve land development and subdivision plans that would have a significant impact on the state's environment and many small communities.
As a result of Act 250, Vermont was the last state to get a Wal-Mart (there are four, as of March 2008, but only the Williston store was new construction).
Another case involves the recent controversy over the adoption of [[civil union]]s, an institution which grants same-sex couples nearly all the rights and privileges of [[marriage]]. In ''[[Baker v. Vermont]]'' (1999), the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that, under the [[Constitution of Vermont]], the state must either allow [[same-sex marriage]] or provide a [[separate but equal]] status for them. The state legislature chose the second option by creating the institution of [[civil union]]; the bill was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor [[Howard Dean]].
Vermont is one of only two states represented by a member of the United States Congress who does not currently associate with a political party: [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Bernie Sanders]] describes his political views as [[socialism|socialist]], but caucuses with the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] in the selection of the Senate leadership.<ref>Powell, Michael. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/04/AR2006110401124.html Exceedingly Social, But Doesn't Like Parties. ''The Washington Post'' [[November 5]], [[2006]].</ref>
In the early 1960s many [[progressivism|progressive]] Vermont Republicans and newcomers to the state helped bolster the state's small Democratic Party. Until 1992, Vermont had supported a Democrat for president only once since the party's founding—in [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s 1964 landslide victory against [[Barry Goldwater]]. In 1992, it supported Democrat [[Bill Clinton]] for president and has voted for Democrats in every presidential election since. Vermont gave John Kerry his fourth-largest margin of victory in 2004. He won the state's popular vote by 20 percentage points over incumbent [[George W. Bush]], taking almost 59% of the vote. [[Essex County, Vermont|Essex County]] in the state's northeastern section was the only county to vote for Bush. Vermont still remains the only state that President Bush has not visited.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/28/vermont.banning.bush.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview Activists in Vermont town want Bush, Cheney subject to arrest - CNN.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
On the other hand, Republican Governor Douglas won all counties but Windham in the 2006 election. Vermonters are frequent ticket-splitters.<ref>{{cite web | title=Vermont General Elections|work=For Governor | url=http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/2006GEGov.xls | accessdate=2006-12-28}}</ref>
In 2007, when confronted with an allegedly liberal issue, assisted suicide for the terminally ill, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives rejected the measure by a vote of 82-63.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54843 It's sudden death in Vermont for assisted suicide proposal<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Minor parties flourish. Rules which eliminate smaller parties from the ballot in most states do not exist in Vermont. As a result, voters often have extensive choices for general elections.
A political issue has been Act 60, which balances taxation for education funding. This has resulted in the town of [[Killington, Vermont secession movement|Killington]] trying to secede from Vermont and join [[New Hampshire]] due to what the locals say is an unfair tax burden.<ref>[http://www.nhpr.org/node/8429 Killington Secession Not Too Popular in VT | New Hampshire Public Radio]</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/03/02/killington.secession.ap/ CNN.com - Killington residents vote to secede from Vermont - [[March 4]], [[2004]]]</ref>
A movement favors separating Vermont from the U.S. or making it the 11<sup>th</sup> province of Canada. Some suggest the state should join Canada due to its liberal policies as opposed to remaining with the U.S.<ref>http://www.vermontcanada.org/reasons.html Vermont Canada retrieved on [[June 6]], [[2007]]</ref><ref>http://baheyeldin.com/canada/state-of-vermont-wants-to-join-canada.html retrieved on [[June 6]], [[2007]]</ref>
The Vermont constitution and the courts supports the right of a person to walk (fish and hunt) on any unposted, unfenced land. That is trespass must be proven by the owner; it is not automatically assumed.<ref>[http://www.usconstitution.net/vtconst.html#Section67 Vermont Constitution] retrieved [[May 29]], [[2008]]</ref>
===Taxation===
Property taxes are levied by towns based on fair market appraisal. Rates vary from .97% on homesteaded property in Ferdinand, Essex County, to 2.72% on nonresidents property in Barre City.<ref>{{PDFlink|http://www.vermontproperty.com/newsltr/2005effectivetaxrates.pdf|111 [[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- application/pdf, 113965 bytes -->}}</ref> Statewide towns average 1.77% to 1.82% tax rate. To equitably support education, some towns are required by [[Act 60 (Vermont law)|Act 60]] to send some of their collected taxes to be redistributed to school districts lacking adequate support.<ref>[http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/laws/act60.html Laws & Regulations: Act 60 Links & Resources<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
====State lotteries====
Money from state lotteries supply 2% of the annual expenditures for education.<ref>[http://www.vtlottery.com/faqs/faqs.asp#q1 Vermont Lottery - FAQ's<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070128/NEWS/701280392/1041/LEGISLATURE Lawmakers faced with thorny choices: Rutland Herald Online<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Prior to 1998, profits from the lottery went to the state government's general fund but since then all profits are required to be spent on education.<ref>http://www.vtlottery.com/faqs/faqs.asp</ref>
==Public health and safety==
<!---Not the greatest name for a subsection but needed a place for health rating.--->
Vermont was ranked number two in the nation for safety. Crime statistics on violence were used for the criteria.<ref>[http://money.aol.com/mortgage/safest-states-to-live-in Morgan Quitno Press]</ref> Vermont has some of the least restrictive gun control laws in the country. A permit or license is not required for the purchase or concealed carry of a firearm (including handguns) by any law-abiding citizen.<ref>[http://www.atg.state.vt.us/display.php?smod=21 Selected Vermont laws governing the use and possession of firearms]</ref><ref>[http://www.bradycampaign.org/legislation/state/viewstate.php?st=vt#ccw Brady Campaign on Vermont gun laws]</ref>
In 2007 Vermont was ranked number one in the nation as the healthiest place to live for the sixth time in seven years. Criteria included low teenage birth rate, strong health coverage, the lowest AIDS rate in the country, and 18 other factors.<ref>[http://money.aol.com/mortgage/healthiest-states Healthiest States 2007 - AOL Money & Finance<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 2007, Vermont was ranked among the best five states in the country for preventing "premature death" in people under 75 years of age. The rate of survival was twice that of the five lowest performing states.<ref>[http://body.aol.com/news/articles/_a/south-lags-in-report-card-on-health-care/20070613144709990001 South Lags In Report Card on Health Care - AOL Body<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
In 2007, Vermont was ranked the third safest state for highway fatalities.<ref>[http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=NEWS&template=wiki&text=Vermont Vermont information] Times Daily, retrieved on [[2007-10-14]]</ref>
In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency cited Chittenden and Bennington as counties with 70 parts of smog per billion which is undesirable.<ref>Overberg, Paul,''Hundreds of counties would fail smog standards'',USA Today, [[June 22]], [[2007]]</ref>
In northern Vermont particulaly, moose are not uncommon, including in urban areas.<ref>[http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/NEWS02/305110002/-1/MULTIMEDIA Burlington Free Press] retrieved June 30, 2008</ref> Residents are aware of the potential danger and no one has been injured in rare chance encounters.<!--I made up that last part which is probably true. I wanted to add bear but couldn't find a reference. While sentence may hardly belong here, I didn't see where else--->
==Education==
<!---we need a "Education in Vermont" that we can roll some of this stuff out to--->
Vermont was named the nation's smartest state in 2005 and 2006.<ref>{{cite book | author = Walsh, Molly |title = Vermont doing better than most | publisher = Burlington Free Press | year = June 8, 2007}}</ref> In 2006, there was a gap between state testing standards and national which is biased in favor of the state standards by 30%, on average. This puts Vermont 11th best in the nation. Most states have a higher bias.<ref>{{cite book | author = King, Ledyard |title = State tests put image ahead of performance | publisher = Burlington Free Press | year = June 8, 2007}}</ref> However, when allowance for race is considered, a 2007 US Government list of test scores shows Vermont white fourth graders performed 25th in the nation for reading (229), 26th for math (247).<ref>[http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/nde/statecomp/ US Department of Education] retrieved July 6, 2008</ref> White eight graders scored 18th for math (292) and 12th for reading (273). The first three scores were not considered statistically significant from average. White eighth graders scored significantly above average in reading. Statistics for blacks students were not comparable because of their small representation in the testing.
The state authorized two more pre-K grades to the school system for the benefit of three and four year olds. Entry to these two grades is capped.<ref>{{cite book | author = McClaughry, John |title = Pending: a 15-year public school system | publisher = the Chronicle | year = June 13, 2007}}</ref>
According to one study, enrollment in kindergarten through 12th grade has declined by nearly 10 percent during the 1990s. During the same period total staff numbers have increased by more than 20 percent. Per pupil spending grew from $6,073 in 1990 to $13,664 in 2006.<ref>http://www.vermonttiger.com/content/files/vpeex_summary.pdf retrieved [[July 9]], [[2007]]</ref> A study by the Census Bureau lists Vermont with the fourth highest expenditure per pupil in the country at $11,835 for 2005.<ref>http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/010125.html accessed [[September 15]], [[2007]]</ref>
In 2008, there were 19,145 full-time equivalent teachers and 94,114 students in public schools.<ref>{{cite book | author = Walsh, Molly |title = School taxes increasing this year | publisher = Burlington Free Press | year = July 6, 2008}}</ref> Teacher-pupil ratio is 11.12:1.
===Academies and grammar schools===
Vermont's 1777 constitution was the first in English-speaking North America to mandate public funding for universal education. This requirement was first met by elementary-level village schools with sessions held in the cooler months to accommodate farm work. Most schools educated similar numbers of girls and boys. Conditions in these schools varied, and the highest level of instruction was tenth grade. By the end of the eighteenth century, grammar schools, instructing students in English, algebra, geometry, Greek, and Latin, had been established at Bennington, Burlington, Castleton, Middlebury, Montpelier, and Windsor. These grammar schools were of a higher caliber than the smaller villages' schools, and the level of education at some was equivalent to college level.
By the middle nineteenth century, an expansion in settlement and the population of the state, coupled with increased prosperity, brought grammar schools to all corners of Vermont. Even the most remote Northeast Kingdom had established high-school-level instruction in Brownington, Craftsbury, Danville, Hardwick, and Newport. Many of these established grammar schools and academies, though not entirely public, received funds from area town governments in exchange for education of their students. As a system of public funding for primary and secondary education took root, many of these schools became municipal public schools. Several remained private, becoming private high-school-level academies, and several become colleges; the Orange County Grammar School became [[Vermont Technical College]], the Rutland County Grammar School became [[Castleton State College]], the Lamoille County Grammar School became [[Johnson State College]], and the Addison County Grammar School became [[Middlebury College]].
===Educating teachers===
In the 1860s a shortage of qualified teachers brought the establishment of state "normal schools," a term based on the French term ''école normale'' – a school to train teachers. The grammar schools at Castleton, Johnson, and Randolph Center became normal schools, additional normal schools were established in Concord and Lyndonville. Additional post secondary schools instructing students to become teachers were called seminaries. While several were nominally associated with Protestant churches, none were seminaries in the sense of training ministers. These seminars also graduated teachers to staff Vermont's growing number of primary and secondary schools.
===The one-room school house===
The one-room school house, born of small multi-age rural populations, continued well into the twentieth century. Rural towns without a single central village often built two to a half-dozen school houses across their terrain. Much of this came from a lack of transportation and a need for students to return home by mid afternoon for farm chores. By 1920 all public schools, including the one-room school houses, were regulated by the state government. In the early 1930s state legislation established a review and certification program similar to accreditation. Schools were issued regulations about teacher education and curriculum. Education quality in rural areas was maintained through a program called Vermont Standard Schools. Rural school houses meeting certification requirements displayed a green and white plaque with the Vermont coat of arms and the words "Vermont Standard School."
===Higher education===
During the period of the [[Vermont Republic]] several towns on the east side of the Connecticut River were part of Vermont. This included Hanover, and Dartmouth College. Statehood brought about establishment of the Connecticut River as a natural border. Having lost Dartmouth College, Ira Allen established the [[University of Vermont]] (UVM) in 1791 to complement the smaller college at Castleton. By the mid-twentieth century all but one of the state normal schools, and many of the seminaries, had become four-year colleges of liberal arts and sciences. Experimentation at the University of Vermont by George Perkins Marsh, and later the influence of Vermont born philosopher and educator [[John Dewey]] brought about the concepts of electives and learning by doing. Today Vermont has five colleges within the [[Vermont State Colleges]] system, [[University of Vermont|UVM]], fourteen other private, degree-granting colleges, including [[Middlebury College]], a private, co-educational liberal arts college founded in 1800, [[Champlain College]], a Burlington college founded in 1878, the [[Vermont Law School]] at Royalton, and [[Norwich University]], the oldest private military college in the United States and birthplace of [[ROTC]], founded in 1819.
== Sports ==
The largest professional franchise is the [[Vermont Lake Monsters]], a single-A [[minor league baseball]] of the [[Washington Nationals]], based in [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]]. They were named the Vermont Expos prior to 2006.<ref>[http://www.vermontlakemonsters.com/team/where/ Lake Monsters website]</ref>
The [[Vermont Frost Heaves]], the 2007 national champions, are a franchise of the [[American Basketball Association (2000-)|American Basketball Association]] (Blue Conference), and have been based in [[Barre (city), Vermont|Barre]] and [[Burlington, Vermont|Burlington]] since the fall of 2006.
Vermont is home to a semi-professional football team, the Ice Storm,<ref>[http://www.vermonticestorm.com Vermont Ice Storm] Home Page</ref> based in [[South Hero, Vermont|South Hero]].<ref>The term "semi-pro" is somewhat misleading since League rules prohibit paying team members. In fact, members pay to play.</ref> It plays its home games at the Colchester High School stadium. It is a member of the [[Empire Football League]].
The [[Vermont Voltage]] is a [[USL Premier Development League]] soccer club that plays in [[St. Albans (city), Vermont|St. Albans]].
==Cultural pursuits==
Vermont festivals include the Vermont Maple Festival, Festival on the Green [http://www.festivalonthegreen.org/], the Enosburg Falls Dairy Festival, the Apple Festival (held each Columbus Day Weekend), the [[Marlboro Music School and Festival|Marlboro Music Festival]], and the [[Vermont Mozart Festival]]. The [[Vermont Symphony Orchestra]] is supported by the state and performs throughout the area. The Poetry Society of Vermont publishes a literary magazine called ''The Green Mountain Troubadore'' which encourages submissions from members of various ages. Every year they hold various contests - one being for high school age young people. The [[Brattleboro, Vermont|Brattleboro]]-based [[Vermont Theatre Company]] presents an annual summer Shakespeare festival. Brattleboro also hosts the summertime Strolling of the Heifers parade which celebrates Vermont's unique dairy culture. Montpelier is home to the annual [[Green Mountain Film Festival]].
In the Northeast Kingdom, the [[Bread and Puppet Theatre]] holds weekly shows in Glover in a natural outdoor amphitheater.
One of Vermont's best known musical exports was the group [[Phish]], whose members met while attending school in Vermont and played its final concert in the state.
== State symbols ==
{{main|State symbols of Vermont}}
[[Image:Hermitthrush63.jpg|280px|thumb|right|The [[hermit thrush]] is Vermont's [[List of U.S. state birds|state bird]].]]
State symbols include:
* [[State song]] - "[[These Green Mountains]],"
* Unofficial favorite state song - [[Moonlight in Vermont (song)|Moonlight in Vermont]]
* State amphibian - [[Northern Leopard Frog]]
* [[List of U.S. state birds|State bird]] - [[hermit thrush]]
* [[Beverage]] - [[milk]]
* [[Fossil]] - the [[beluga]]
* [[Gemstone|gem]] - [[garnet|grossular garnet]]
* [[Pie]] - [[apple pie]]
* [[Soil]] - "Tunbridge Soil Series"
* [[State fish]]
** the cold-water fish, the [[brook trout]]
** the warm-water fish, the [[walleye]]
* [[State flower]] - [[Clover|red clover]]
* State mammal - [[Morgan horse]]
* State [[mineral]] - [[talc]]
* State reptile - [[Painted Turtle]]
* State rock - [[granite]], [[marble]], and [[slate]]
* [[State tree]] - [[sugar maple]]
Vermont is distinct for being among only three U.S. states with both a [[Great Seal of Vermont|state seal]] and a [[Coat of arms of Vermont|coat of arms.]] Vermont is the only U.S. state to have a heraldically correct [[blazon]] describing its coat of arms.
== Notable Vermonters ==
{{main|List of people from Vermont}}
Vermont is the birthplace of former presidents [[Calvin Coolidge]] and [[Chester A. Arthur]].
=== Notable fictional Vermonters ===
*Vermont was the original home of the fictional villain [[Simon Legree]] in the novel ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]''.
*Vermont was also the home of Dick Loudon, [[Bob Newhart]]'s character on the late 1980s sitcom ''[[Newhart]]''.
*Vermont was the home of Pollyanna and her Aunt Polly in the novel ''[[Pollyanna]]''.<ref>[http://www.histage.com/searchdetails.asp?strPlayno=8080 Book review]</ref>
==See also==
*[[List of Vermont-related topics]]
{{portal|Vermont|Great seal of Vermont bw.png}}
{{clear}}
<!-- Please place links to all topics directly related to the State of Vermont in the [[List of Vermont-related topics]] -->
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==Bibliography==
<div class="references-small">
* Albers, Jan ''Hands on the Land: A History of the Vermont Landscape.'' MIT Press: 2000. ISBN 0-262-01175-1.
* {{cite book |last=Allen |first=Ira |authorlink=Ira Allen |title=The natural and political history of the State of Vermont, one of the United States of America |origyear=1798 |year=1969 |publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Company |isbn=0-8048-0419-2 }}
* Bryan, Frank, and John McClaughry. "The Vermont Papers: Recreating Democracy on a Human Scale." Chelsea Green Publishing: 1989. ISBN 0-930031-19-9.
* Cohen, David Elliot, and Rick Smolan. ''Vermont 24/7.'' DK Publishing: 2004. ISBN 0-7566-0086-3.
* Coffin, Howard. ''Full Duty: Vermonters in the Civil War.'' The Countryman Press: 1995. ISBN 0-88150-349-5.
* Doyle, William T. "The Vermont Political Tradition and Those Who Helped Make It." Doyle Publisher: 1987. ISBN 0-9615486-1-4.
* Duffy, John J., et al. ''Vermont: An Illustrated History.'' American Historical Press: 2000. ISBN 1-892724-08-1.
* Duffy, John J., et al. ''The Vermont Encyclopedia.'' University Press of New England: 2003. ISBN 1-58465-086-9.
* [[Federal Writers' Project]] of the [[Works Progress Administration]] for the State of Vermont. ''Vermont: A guide to the Green Mountain State.'' Houghton Mifflin: 1937.
* Grant, Kim, et al. ''Vermont: An Explorer's Guide.'' The Countryman Press: 2002. ISBN 0-88150-519-6.
* Hunter, Preston. [http://www.adherents.com/loc/loc_vermont.html "Religion in Vermont"]. Adherents.com.
* Klyza, Christopher McGrory, and Stephen C. Trombulak. ''The Story of Vermont: A Natural and Cultural History''. University Press of New England: 1999. ISBN 0-87451-936-5.
* Potash, P. Jeffrey, et al. ''Freedom and Unity: A History of Vermont.'' Vermont Historical Society: 2004. ISBN 0-934720-49-5.
* Meeks, Harold A. ''Vermont's Land and Resources'', The New England Press: 1968. ISBN 0-933050-40-2.
* Rodgers, Steve. ''Country Towns of Vermont.'' McGraw-Hill: 1998. ISBN 1-56626-195-3.
* Sherman, Joe. ''Fast Lane on a Dirt Road: A Contemporary History of Vermont.'' Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 2000. ISBN 1-890132-74-8.
* Sletcher, Michael. ''New England.'' Westport, CT, 2004.
* ''Vermont Atlas & Gazetteer.'' DeLorme: 2000. ISBN 0-89933-322-2.
* {{cite book |last=Van de Water |first=Frederic Franklyn |title=The Reluctant Republic: Vermont 1724–1791 |year=1974 |publisher=The Countryman Press |isbn=0-914378-02-3 }}
</div>
==External links==
{{sisterlinks}}
'''Government'''
*[http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/state_energy_profiles.cfm?sid=VT Energy Data & Statistics for Vermont]
*[http://www.vermontagriculture.com/ Vermont Agriculture]
*[http://www.labor.vermont.gov/ Vermont Department of Labor]
*[http://www.vermont.gov Vermont government official website]
*[http://www.vlct.org/ Vermont League of Cities and Towns]
*[http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/VT.htm Vermont State Facts]
'''Maps and Demographics'''
*[http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/vermont/history.php Earthquake facts, Vermont]
*[http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=VT USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Vermont]
*[http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/50000.html "Vermont QuickFacts" U.S. Census Bureau].
'''Tourism & recreation'''
*[http://www.skimaven.com/ Skimaven ski blog] All about alpine, backcountry and cross-country skiing in Vermont.
*[http://www.travel-vermont.com/ Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing]
<!---spam?
'''Business'''
*[http://www.vtchamber.com Vermont Chamber of Commerce]--->
'''Culture & history'''
*[http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/centralvermont/ Central Vermont: Explore History in the Heart of the Green Mountains, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary]
*[http://www.vermontartscouncil.org/ Vermont Arts Council]
*{{dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/Vermont/|Vermont}}
*[http://www.vermonthistory.org/ Vermont Historical Society].
'''Online Media'''
*[http://www.radiofreevermont.org Radio Free Vermont]
{{-}}
{{Vermont|expand}}
{{United States}}
{{succession
| preceded = [[Rhode Island]]
| office = [[List of U.S. states by date of statehood]]
| years = Admitted on [[March 4]], [[1791]] (14th)
| succeeded = [[Kentucky]]
}}
{{coor title d|44|N|72.7|W|region:US-VT_type:state}}
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[[he:ורמונט]]
[[pam:Vermont]]
[[ka:ვერმონტი]]
[[kw:Vermont]]
[[ht:Vèmont]]
[[ku:Vermont]]
[[lad:Vermont]]
[[la:Mons Viridis]]
[[lv:Vērmonta]]
[[lt:Vermontas]]
[[lij:Vermont]]
[[hu:Vermont]]
[[mk:Вермонт]]
[[mi:Vermont]]
[[mr:व्हरमाँट]]
[[ms:Vermont]]
[[nl:Vermont]]
[[ja:バーモント州]]
[[no:Vermont]]
[[nn:Vermont]]
[[oc:Vermont]]
[[uz:Vermont]]
[[pms:Vermont]]
[[nds:Vermont]]
[[pl:Vermont]]
[[pt:Vermont]]
[[ro:Vermont (stat SUA)]]
[[ru:Вермонт]]
[[sa:वर्मांट]]
[[sq:Vermont]]
[[simple:Vermont]]
[[sk:Vermont]]
[[sl:Vermont]]
[[sr:Вермонт]]
[[sh:Vermont]]
[[fi:Vermont]]
[[sv:Vermont]]
[[ta:வெர்மான்ட்]]
[[th:มลรัฐเวอร์มอนต์]]
[[vi:Vermont]]
[[tr:Vermont]]
[[uk:Вермонт]]
[[ur:ورمونٹ]]
[[vec:Vermont]]
[[vo:Vermont]]
[[wuu:活蒙托]]
[[yi:ווערמאנט]]
[[diq:Vermont]]
[[bat-smg:Vermuonts]]
[[zh:佛蒙特州]]