Delaware General Information
GENERAL
Abbreviated as DE on ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG, Delaware is a US state. Delaware is called the “First State” because it was here that the first of the 13 colonies ratified the American Constitution. The date of ratification is December 7, 1787.
Nickname
First State – Diamond State, Blue Wonder
Capital
Dover
Biggest town
Wilmington
Area
Rank (within the US): 49th out of 50 states
Total: 6,452 km²
Land: 5,068 km²
Water (%): 1,387 km² (21.5%)
Residents
Rank (within the US): 45th out of 50 states
Total (2000): 783,600
Density: 155 / km²
State membership
1st place
Since: December 7, 1787
GEOGRAPHY
Time zone: Eastern: UTC -5 / -4
Latitude: 38 ° 27’N to 49 ° 50’N
Longitude 75 ° 2’W to 75 ° 47’W
Width: 48 km
Length: 161 km
Highest position: 137 m
Average location: 18 m
Lowest position: 0 m
Delaware borders Pennsylvania to the north. The eastern border with New Jersey is formed by the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean; to the west and south is the state of Maryland. The largest city is Wilmington while the capital is Dover. One of the largest US air force bases is located near Dover.
The Delaware is a major river in the eastern United States. It rises in New York State, then forms the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania and finally flows into the Atlantic Ocean in Delaware Bay, which separates New Jersey from Delaware.
HISTORY
In 1609 Henry Hudson reached the Delaware River with his ship. However, the first European settlers did not come until 1631 and established a Dutch trading post as “Zwaanendael” (or “Swaanendael”, today’s Lewes). The area was called “New Sweden” because a colony of Swedes (under Peter Minuit) was established here in 1638 near Fort Christina (today’s Wilmington). When the Swedish colony became a commercial competitor for the Dutch, Peter Stuyvesant (then governor) decided to drive out the Swedes and set up the Neu-Amstel colony. In 1664 the English conquered the colony and added it as part of their own colony, New York. The name “Delaware” comes from the title of the first governor of the colony of Virginia, Sir Thomas West, Lord de la Warr.
In 1704 the “three smaller districts” got their own parliament, and in 1710 their own administrative council. The Mason-Dixon Line, created by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon between 1763 and 1767 to define the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, now represents the border between Delaware and Maryland. Many of the 80 limestone boundary stones remain. Delaware was one of the 13 colonies that rose against the British in the American Revolution. After the revolution began in 1776, the three counties became the state of “Delaware”. In 1792, Delaware received the first constitution.
The oldest black church in the country was founded in Delaware by the former slave Peter Spencer in 1813 as the “Union Church of Africans”. During the Civil War, Delaware remained in the United States as a slave-owning state (The Delaware vote on January 3, 1861 did not achieve the required majority). Eight months after the end of the Civil War, on February 18, 1865, Delaware refused to approve the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. It was not until February 12, 1901, that Delaware ratified the appendix to the constitution.
POLITICS
Constitution and Administration
Delaware’s fourth current constitution was adopted in 1897 and provides legislative, executive and judicial bodies. The legislature consists of a House of Representatives with 41 members and a Senate with 21 members. The head of the executive branch is the governor of Delaware and the judiciary has a hierarchy of courts with the highest court of the state at the top.
Delaware consists of only three counties: Kent, New Castle, and Sussex.
POPULATION
83% of the population in Delaware is white and 17% is black. Otherwise 16,000 Spaniards and an Asian minority live there.
Lenni Lenape (Indian)
The Lenni Lenape are an Indian minority who are also known as the Delawaren in German. They were very influential during the early days of the United States
ECONOMY
The gross national product in 1999 was 34 billion US dollars (42nd place among the US states). The per capita income in 2000 was $ 31,255. The agricultural products of Delaware are mainly poultry, soybeans, dairy products and corn. Industry includes the important chemical industry, food processing and paper processing. Delaware is known as the seat of numerous large US corporations.
OTHERS
State bird: blue hen
State flower: peach blossom
State tree: American holly
Delaware Counties and County Seats
According to Countryaah, there are a total of 3 counties in the state of Delaware.
- Kent County (County Seat: Dover)
- New Castle County (County Seat: Wilmington)
- Sussex County (County Seat: Georgetown)
