New Hampshire
New Hampshire | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | United States |
| Admitted to the Union | June 21, 1788 (9th) |
| Capital | Concord |
| Largest city | Manchester |
| Government | |
| • Governor | John Lynch (D) |
| • Upper house | {{{Upperhouse}}} |
| • Lower house | {{{Lowerhouse}}} |
| U.S. senators | Judd Gregg (R) John Sununu (R) |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,235,786 |
| • Density | 125/sq mi (53.20/km2) |
| Language | |
| • Official language | English |
| Traditional abbreviation | N.H. |
| Latitude | 42°40'N to 45°18'N |
| Longitude | 70°37'W to 72°37'W |
New Hampshire is a U.S. state located in the Northeast United States.
Geography
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New Hampshire is part of the New England region. It is bounded by Quebec, Canada to the north and northwest; Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east; Massachusetts to the south; and Vermont to the west. New Hampshire's major regions are the Great North Woods, the White Mountains, the Lakes Region, the Seacoast, the Merrimack Valley, the Monadnock Region, and the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee area. New Hampshire has the shortest ocean coastline of any U.S. state, with a coastline of 18 miles (29 km).
New Hampshire was home to the famous rock formation called the Old Man of the Mountain, a face-like profile in Franconia Notch, until May 2003, when the formation, an icon of the state, fell apart.
The White Mountains range in New Hampshire spans the north-central portion of the state, with Mount Washington being the tallest in the northeastern U.S., and other mountains like Mount Madison and Mount Adams surrounding it. With hurricane-force winds every third day (on the average), over 100 recorded deaths among visitors, and conspicuous krummholz (dwarf, matted trees much like a carpet of bonsai trees), the upper reaches of Mount Washington claim the distinction of the "worst weather on earth." In consequence, a non-profit observatory is located on the peak for the purposes of observing the harsh environmental conditions.
In the flatter southwest corner of New Hampshire another feature, the prominent landmark and tourist attraction of Mount Monadnock, has given its name to a general class of earth-forms—a monadnock signifying, in geomorphology, any isolated resistant peak rising from a less resistant eroded plain.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail passes through New Hampshire, and the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site is located in Cornish.
Major rivers include the 110-mile (177-km) Merrimack River, which bisects the lower half of the state north-south and ends up in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Its major tributaries include the Contoocook River, Pemigewasset River, and Winnipesaukee River. The 410-mile (670-km) Connecticut River, which starts at New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes and flows south to Connecticut, defines the western border with Vermont. Oddly, the state border is not in the center of that river, as is usually the case, but lies at the low-water mark on the Vermont side; so New Hampshire actually owns the entire river where it runs adjacent to Vermont. The "northwesternmost headwaters" of the Connecticut also define the Canadian border with New Hampshire.
The Piscataqua River and its several tributaries form the state's only significant ocean port where they flow into the Atlantic at Portsmouth. The Salmon Falls River and the Piscataqua define the southern portion of the border with Maine. The state has an ongoing boundary dispute with Maine in the area of Portsmouth Harbor, with New Hampshire claiming dominion over several islands (now known as Seavey Island) that include the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as well as to the Maine towns of Kittery and Berwick.
The largest lake is Lake Winnipesaukee, which covers 72 square miles (186 km²) in the east-central part of New Hampshire.
Hampton Beach is a popular local summer destination. About 10 miles (16 km) offshore are the Isles of Shoals, nine small islands (4 belonging to the state) best known as the site of a 19th-century art colony founded by poet Celia Thaxter, as well as the alleged location of one of the buried treasures of the pirate Blackbeard.
It is the second-most-forested state in the country, after Maine, in terms of percentage of land covered by woods. This change was caused by the abandonment of farms by owners during the 20th century as many farmers took wage jobs in urban areas or moved to more productive areas. The return of woodlands from open fields forms the subject of many poems by Robert Frost, while the emigration is consistent with the results of New Hampshire native and newspaper legend Horace Greeley's famous advice: "Go west, young man."
The northern third of the state, locally referred to as "north of the notches" in reference to White Mountain passes that channel traffic, contains less than 5% of the state's population, suffers from relatively high poverty rates, and is losing population as the logging and paper industries decline. However, the tourist industry, in particular visitors who go to northern New Hampshire to take advantage of the lengthy ski season in the winter, have brought in revenue that helps to offset the losses from mill closures.
History
New Hampshire was explored 1600-1605 and first settled in 1623. By 1631 the Upper Plantation comprised modern-day Dover, Durham and Stratham; in 1679 it became the "Royal Province." Indian raids were a serious problem before 1763.
It was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. It was the first state to declare its independence, but the only battle fought there was the raid on Fort William and Mary, December 14, 1774 in Portsmouth Harbor, which netted the rebellion sizable quantities of gunpowder, small arms, and cannon (General Sullivan, leader of the raid, described it as, "remainder of the powder, the small arms, bayonets, and cartouch-boxes, together with the cannon and ordnance stores") over the course of two nights. This raid was preceded by a warning to local patriots the previous day, by Paul Revere on December 13, 1774 that the fort was to be reinforced by troops sailing from Boston. This raid is widely regarded (outside Massachusetts) as the first battle of the Revolutionary War. According to unverified accounts, the gunpowder was later used at the Battle of Bunker Hill, transported there by Major Demerit, who was one of several NH patriots who stored the powder in their homes until it was transported elsewhere for use in revolutionary activities.
New Hampshire was a Jacksonian stronghold; the state sent Franklin Pierce to the White House in the election of 1852. Industrialization took the form of numerous textile mills, which in turn attracted large flows of immigrants from Quebec (the "French Canadians") and Ireland. The northern parts of the state produced lumber and the mountains provided tourist attractions. After 1960, the textile industry collapsed, but the economy rebounded as a center of high technology and a service provider.
Since 1952, New Hampshire gained national and international attention for its presidential primary held early in every presidential election year. It immediately became the most important testing grounds for candidates for the Republican and Democratic nominations. The media give New Hampshire (and Iowa) about half of all the attention paid to all states in the primary process, magnifying the state's decision power (and spurring repeated efforts by out-of-state politicians to change the rules.)
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Population | ||
| 1790 | 141,885 | ||
| 1800 | 183,858 | ||
| 1810 | 214,460 | ||
| 1820 | 244,161 | ||
| 1830 | 269,328 | ||
| 1840 | 284,574 | ||
| 1850 | 317,976 | ||
| 1860 | 326,073 | ||
| 1870 | 318,300 | ||
| 1880 | 346,991 | ||
| 1890 | 376,530 | ||
| 1900 | 411,588 | ||
| 1910 | 430,572 | ||
| 1920 | 443,083 | ||
| 1930 | 465,293 | ||
| 1940 | 491,524 | ||
| 1950 | 533,242 | ||
| 1960 | 606,921 | ||
| 1970 | 737,681 | ||
| 1980 | 920,610 | ||
| 1990 | 1,109,252 | ||
| 2000 | 1,235,786 | ||
As of 2005, New Hampshire has an estimated population of 1,309,940, which is an increase of 10,771, or 0.8%, from the prior year and an increase of 74,154, or 6.0%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 23,872 people (that is 75,060 births minus 51,188 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 51,968 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 11,107 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 40,861 people.
As of 2004, the population includes 64,000 foreign-born (4.9%).
 The racial makeup of the state is:
The five largest ancestry groups in New Hampshire are: Irish (19.4%), British (18%), French (14.6%), French Canadian (10.6%), German (8.6%). People of old colonial ("Yankee") ancestry live throughout most of New Hampshire. The large Irish American and French-Canadian elements are the children and grand-children of mill workers, and they still live in the former mill towns, like Manchester. New Hampshire has the highest percentage of residents of French/French-Canadian ancestry of any state. The fastest growth is along the southern border, which is within commuting range of Boston and other Massachusetts cities. |
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of New Hampshire are:
- Christian – 80%
- Roman Catholic – 35%
- Protestant – 43%
- Congregational/United Church of Christ – 7%
- Baptist – 7%
- Episcopal – 4%
- Methodist – 3%
- Other Protestant or general Protestant – 22%
- Other Christian – 2%
- Jewish – <1%
- Other Religions – 1%
- Non-Religious – 19%
- See also List of people from New Hampshire
Economy
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that New Hampshire's total state product in 2003 was $49 billion. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $35,140, 7th in the nation. Its agricultural outputs are dairy products, nursery stock, cattle, apples, and eggs. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electric equipment, rubber and plastic products, and tourism.
New Hampshire experienced a significant shift in its economic base during the last century. Historically, the base was comprised of the traditional New England manufactures of textiles, shoe-making, and small machining shops drawing upon low-wage labor from nearby small farms and from parts of Quebec. Today, these sectors contribute only 2% for textiles, 2% for leather goods, and 9% for machining of the state's total manufacturing dollar value (Source: U.S. Economic Census for 1997, Manufacturing, New Hampshire). They experienced a sharp decline due to obsolete plants and the lure of cheaper wages in the South.
The current New Hampshire economy is largely driven by fiscal policy. The state has no sales tax, no personal income tax (the state does tax, at a 5 percent rate, income from dividends and interest) and advocates a frugal budget, thereby attracting commuters, light industry, specialty horticulture, retail customers and service firms from other jurisdictions with higher tax policies, notably from neighboring Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine (and to a lesser extent, New York). Efforts to diversify the state's general economy have been ongoing.
Additionally, New Hampshire's lack of a broad-based tax system (aside from the controversial state-wide property tax) has resulted in the state's local communities having some of the nation's highest property taxes. Overall, New Hampshire remains ranked 49th among states in combined average state and local tax burden. Nevertheless, ongoing efforts from unhappy homeowners for property tax relief continues. They have argued that Massachusetts (and other neighboring states) residents are shopping in their state tax free, and New Hampshire homeowners are paying them for the privilege.
Law and government
The governor of New Hampshire is John Lynch (Democrat). New Hampshire's two U.S. senators are Judd Gregg (Republican) and John E. Sununu (Republican).
New Hampshire has a bifurcated executive branch, consisting of the governor and a five-member Executive Council which votes on state contracts over $5,000 and "advises and consents" to the governor's nominations to major state positions such as department heads and all judgeships and pardon requests. New Hampshire does not have a Lieutenant Governor; the Senate President serves as "Acting Governor" whenever the governor is unable to perform the duties.
The New Hampshire General Court is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representative i