Delaware

Delaware is a  located on the  in the  region of the. The state is named after and, which were named for  (1577–1618). Population estimates by the Census Bureau for 2005 place the population of Delaware at 843,524. Despite being the 45th most populous state, it is the seventh most densely populated state, with a population density of 320 more people per square mile than the national average, ranking ahead of states such as Florida, California, and Texas.

State symbols
The state's motto, "" is inscribed on the coat of arms, which is incorporated into both the and the. The state's official nickname, "The First State" commemorates the fact that on, , Delaware became the first of the 13 original states to ratify the. Delaware has also been called the "Blue Hen State", referring to the official state bird, the, which was carried with the Delaware Revolutionary War soldiers for entertainment fighting, and the "Diamond State". Along with other traditional symbols such as an official state tree (the ) and flower (the ), legislature has adopted the, the first star on the ever to be registered to an American State.

Geography


Delaware is 96 miles long and ranges from 9 to 35 miles across, totaling 1,954 square miles and making it the second-smallest state in the United States after.

Delaware is bounded to the north by, to the east by the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, and the  and to the west and south by. Small portions of Delaware are also situated on the far, or eastern, side of the Delaware River, and these small parcels share land boundaries with.

The state of Delaware, together with the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and two counties of, form the , a geographical unit stretching far down the Mid-Atlantic Coast.

The definition of the northern boundary of the state is highly unusual. Most of the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania is defined by an arc extending 12 miles (19 km) from the of the courthouse in, and is referred to as the. This is the only true-arc political boundary in the United States. This border extends all of the way to the low-tide mark on the New Jersey shore, which continues down the shoreline until it again reaches the twelve-mile arc in the south; then the boundary continues in a more conventional way in the middle of the main channel of the Delaware River Estuary. A portion of this arc extends into Maryland to the west, and the remaining western border is a tangent to this arc that runs a bit to the east. of land between the arc and the Maryland border was claimed by both Delaware and Pennsylvania until 1921, when Delaware's claim was confirmed.

Delaware is subdivided into three counties: from north to south,, and .See also: 


 * Main articles:, , , 

Topography
Delaware is on a level plain; the highest elevation, located at, near Concord High School, Wilmington, does not even rise 450 feet above sea level. The northern part is associated with the Appalachian Piedmont and is full of hills with rolling surfaces. South of Newark and Wilmington, the state follows the Atlantic Coastal Plain with flat, sandy, and, in some parts, swampy ground. A ridge about 75 to 80 feet in altitude extends along the western boundary of the state and is the drainage divide between the two major water bodies of the Delaware River and several streams falling into Chesapeake Bay in the west.

Climate
Since almost all of Delaware is a part of the, the climate is moderated by the effects of the ocean. The state is somewhat of a transitional zone between a and a. Despite its small size (roughly 100 miles from its northernmost to southernmost points), there is significant variation in mean temperature and amount of snowfall between Sussex County and New Castle County. The southern portion of the State has a somewhat milder climate and a longer growing season than the northern portion of the State. Furthermore, the transitional climate of Delaware supports a surprising variety of vegetation. At Trap Pond State Park in Sussex County, bald cypress grow—this is thought to be one of the northernmost stands of these trees. The vegetation in New Castle County, on the other hand, is more typical of that of the northeastern United States. All parts of Delaware have relatively hot, humid summers. While Sussex and Kent Counties are considered to fall in the humid subtropical climate zone, there is some debate about whether northern New Castle County falls in the humid subtropical climate zone or warm continental climate.

Native Americans
Before Delaware was settled by European colonists, the area was home to the Eastern tribes known as the   or Delaware throughout the Delaware valley, and the  along the rivers leading into the. The Unami Lenape in the Delaware Valley were closely related to Lenape tribes along the. They had a settled hunting and agricultural society, and they rapidly became middlemen in an increasingly frantic fur trade with their ancient enemy, the Minqua or. With the loss of their lands on the Delaware River and the destruction of the Minqua by the of the  in the 1670s, the remnants of the Lenape left the region and moved over the  by the mid-18th century.

Colonial Delaware
The were the first Europeans to settle in present-day Delaware by establishing a trading post at, near the site of  in 1631. Within a year all the settlers were killed in a dispute with. In 1638 a trading post and colony was established at  (now in ) by the Dutchman  at the head of a group of Swedes,  and Dutch. Thirteen years later the Dutch, reinvigorated by the leadership of, established a new fort in 1651 at present-day , and in 1655 they took over the entire Swedish colony, incorporating it into the Dutch.

Only nine years later, in 1664, the Dutch were themselves forcibly removed by a expedition under the direction of. Fighting off a prior claim by, Proprietor of , the Duke passed his somewhat dubious ownership on to in 1682. Penn strongly desired access to the sea for his Pennsylvania province and leased what then came to be known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" from the Duke.

Penn established representative government and briefly combined his two possessions under one General Assembly in 1682. However, by 1704 the Province of Pennsylvania had grown so large that their representatives wanted to make decisions without the assent of the Lower Counties and the two groups of representatives began meeting on their own, one at, and the other at New Castle. Penn and his heirs remained Proprietors of both and always appointed the same person Governor for their Province of Pennsylvania and their territory of the Lower Counties.

American Revolution
Like the other middle colonies, the Lower Counties on the Delaware initially showed little enthusiasm for a break with. The citizenry had a good relationship with the Proprietary government, and generally were allowed more independence of action in their Colonial Assembly than in other colonies. Nevertheless, there was strong objection to the seemingly arbitrary measures of, and it was well understood that the territory's very existence as a separate entity depended upon its keeping step with its powerful neighbors, especially Pennsylvania.

So it was that New Castle lawyer denounced the  in the strongest terms, and Kent County native, became the "Penman of the Revolution." Anticipating the Declaration of Independence, leaders Thomas McKean and  convinced the Colonial Assembly to declare itself separated from British and Pennsylvania rule on, , but the person best representing Delaware's majority, , could not bring himself to vote for a Declaration of Independence. Only the dramatic overnight ride of Caesar Rodney gave the delegation the votes needed to cast Delaware's vote for Independence. Once the Declaration was adopted, however, Read signed the document.

Initially led by, Delaware provided one of the premier regiments in the , known as the "Delaware Blues" and nicknamed the "s." In August 1777, led a British army through Delaware on his way to a victory at the  and capture of the city of Philadelphia. The only real engagement on Delaware soil was fought on, , at Cooch's Bridge in New Castle County. It is believed to be the first time that the Stars and Stripes was flown in battle.

Following the Battle of Brandywine, Wilmington was occupied by the British, and  was taken prisoner. The British remained in control of the Delaware River for much of the rest of the war, disrupting commerce and providing encouragement to an active portion of the population, particularly in Sussex County. Only the repeated military activities of State President Caesar Rodney were able to control them.

Following the, statesmen from Delaware were among the leading proponents of a strong central United States government with equal representation for each state. Once the was reached—creating a  and —the leaders in Delaware were able to easily secure ratification of the U.S. Constitution on, , making Delaware the first state to do so.

Slavery and race
Many colonial settlers came from Maryland and Virginia which had been experiencing a population boom. The economies of these colonies were largely based on tobacco and were increasingly dependent on slave labor. At the end of the colonial period, slavery in Delaware began a precipitous decline. Shifts in the agriculture economy, the efforts of local Methodists and s, and greater governmental regulation were all factors. Attempts to abolish slavery failed by narrow margins. By the there were only about 1,800 slaves in a state of 90,000 people, including nearly 20,000 free. When he freed his slaves in, John Dickinson was Delaware's largest slave owner with 37 slaves. By 1860 the largest owner had 16 slaves.

The oldest black church in the country was chartered in Delaware by former slave in 1813 as the "," which is now the. The began in 1814 and is the oldest such cultural festival in the country.

During the, Delaware was a slave state that remained in the Union (Delaware voted not to secede on , ). Delaware had been the first state to embrace the Union by ratifying the constitution and would be the last to leave it, according to Delaware's governor at the time. While most Delaware citizens who fought in the war served in the regiments of the state, some served in companies on the Confederate side in Maryland and Virginia Regiments. Delaware is notable for being the only slave state not to assemble Confederate regiments or militia groups on its own.

Demographics


The five largest ancestries in Delaware are: (19.2%),  (16.6%),  (14.3%),  (12.1%),  (9.3%). Delaware has the highest proportion of African American residents of any state north of Maryland, and had the largest population of s (17%) prior to the Civil War.

The of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of.

Languages
As of 2000, 90.5% of Delaware residents age 5 and older speak only at home; 4.7% speak. is the third most spoken language at 0.7%, followed by at 0.5% and  at 0.5%.

In 2006, legislation was proposed in Delaware that would designate English as the.

Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Delaware are:

(source: American Religious Identification Survey, City University of New York)
 * – 20%
 * – 19%
 * – 4%
 * – 3%
 * – 3%
 * - 2%
 * - 2%
 * - 1%
 * – 3%
 * – 9%
 * - 2%
 * - 1%
 * Other – 5%
 * No Religion – 17%
 * Refused - 9%

Delaware is home to the and the. The A.U.M.P. Church, the oldest African-American denomination in the nation, was founded in Wilmington and still has a very substantial presence in the state. Delaware also hosts an  in the  area, as well as a  temple in.

Delaware is home to approximately 20,000, who are served by the in Brandywine (outside of Wilmington) and by a number of educational, social and cultural agencies supported by the  of Delaware. Synagogues include Congregation Beth Emeth (Reform) in Wilmington, Congregation Beth El (Reconstructionist) in Newark, and Congregation Beth Shalom (Conservative) in Wilmington, Congregation Beth Sholom (Conservative) in Dover, and Adas Kodesh Shel Emeth (Traditional) in Wilmington. There is also a community center and synagogue in Brandywine.

Economy
The gross state product of Delaware in 2003 was $49 billion. The per capita personal income was $34,199, ranking 9th in the nation. In 2005, the average weekly wage was $937, ranking 7th in the nation.

Delaware's agricultural output consists of, nursery stock, , products and. Its industrial outputs include products, s,  products, and  and  products. Delaware's economy generally outperforms the national economy of the United States.

The state's largest employers are:


 * government (State of Delaware, New Castle County)
 * education
 * chemical and pharmaceutical companies (,, , and )
 * banking (,, /  / , , , )
 * automotive manufacturing
 * farming, specifically chicken farming in Sussex County (, Mountaire Farms)

, located in the state capital of, is one of the largest Air Force bases in the country and is a major employer in Delaware. In addition to its other responsibilities, the base serves as the entry point and for American military persons (and some U.S. government civilians) who die overseas.

Delaware has 6 different brackets, ranging from 2.2% to 5.95%. The state does not assess on consumers. The state does, however, impose a tax on the gross receipts of most businesses. Business and occupational license tax rates range from 0.096% to 1.92%, depending on the category of business activity.

Delaware does not assess a state-level tax on real or personal property. is subject to county es, school district property taxes, vocational school district taxes, and, if located within an incorporated area, municipal property taxes.

Title 4, chapter 7 of the Delaware Code stipulates that alcoholic liquor only be sold in specifically licensed establishments, and only between 9:00 AM and 1:00 AM.

Transportation
The transportation system in Delaware is under the governance and supervision of the, also known as "DelDOT". DelDOT manages programs such as a Delaware program, major road route snow removal, traffic control infrastructure (signs and signals), toll road management, Delaware, the Delaware Transit Corporation (branded as "DART First State", the state government public transportation organization), among others. Almost ninety percent of the state's public roadway miles are under the direct maintenance of DelDOT which far exceeds the United States national average of twenty percent for state department of transportation maintenance responsibility; the remaining public road miles are under the supervision of individual municipalities.

One major branch of the U.S., , crosses Delaware southwest-to-northeast across New Castle County. In addition to I-95, there are six that serve Delaware:, , , , , and. There are also several that cross the state of Delaware; a few of them include, , and. U.S. 13 and DE Rt. 1 are primary north-south highways connecting Wilmington and Pennsylvania with Maryland, with DE 1 serving as the main route between Wilmington and the Delaware beaches. DE Rt. 9 is a north-south highway connecting Dover and Wilmington via a scenic route along the. U.S. 40, is a primary east-west route, connecting Maryland with New Jersey. DE Rt. 404 is another primary east-west highway connecting the in Maryland with the Delaware beaches. The state also operates two toll highways, the, which is Interstate 95 between Maryland and New Castle and the , which is DE Rt. 1 between Dover and Interstate 95 between Wilmington and.

A bicycle route,, spans the north-south length of the state from the Maryland border in to the Pennsylvania border north of. It is the first of several signed bike routes planned in Delaware.

Delaware has around 1,450 bridges, of which ninety-five percent are under the supervision of DelDOT. About thirty percent of all Delaware bridges were built prior to 1950 and about sixty percent of the number are included in the. Some bridges not under DelDOT supervision includes the four bridges on the, which is under the jurisdiction of the , and the , which is under the bi-state.

The public transportation system,, was named "Most Outstanding Public Transportation System" in 2003 by the. Coverage of the system is broad within northern New Castle County with close association to major highways in Kent and Sussex Counties. The system includes bus, subsidized passenger rail operated by Philadelphia transit agency, subsidized taxi and paratransit modes, the latter consisting of a state-wide door-to-door bus service for the elderly and disabled. Passenger rail service on SEPTA's  line is limited to a single southwest-to-northeast line on the  in New Castle County serving, Wilmington, , and Newark.

There are three ferries that operate in the state of Delaware:
 * crosses the mouth of the Delaware Bay between Lewes, Delaware and.
 * is a cable ferry that crosses the southwest of.
 * connects with  and  in

has two stations in Delaware along the Northeast Corridor; the relatively quiet in Newark, and the busier  in Wilmington. The major freight railroad in Delaware is the Class 1, which provides service to most of Delaware. It connects with two shortline railroads, the and the. These two shortlines serve local customers in Sussex County. Another Class 1 railroad,, passes through northern New Castle County parallel to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor.

Delaware is the only state in the country without commercial air service. On, , Atlantic Southeast Airline, a subsidiary of , began two-a-day flights between Atlanta's Hartsfield International to. However, the flights ended on,.

Law and government
Delaware's fourth and current constitution, adopted in 1897, provides for executive, judicial and legislative branches.

Legislative branch
consists of a with 41 members and a  with 21 members. It sits in Dover, the state capital. Representatives are elected to two-year terms, while senators are elected to four-year terms. The Senate confirms judicial and other nominees appointed by the governor.

Judicial branch
The Delaware Constitution establishes a number of courts:
 * The is the state's highest court.
 * The is the state's trial court of general jurisdiction.
 * The deals primarily in corporate disputes.
 * The Family Court handles domestic and custody matters.
 * The Court of Common Pleas has jurisdiction over a limited class of civil and criminal matters.

Minor non-constitutional courts include the Courts and Aldermen's Courts.

Significantly, Delaware has one of the few remaining Courts of in the nation, which has jurisdiction over  cases, the vast majority of which are corporate disputes, many relating to. The and the Supreme Court have developed a worldwide reputation for rendering concise opinions concerning corporate law which generally (but not always) grant broad discretion to corporate boards of directors and officers. In addition, the, which forms the basis of the Courts' opinions, is widely regarded as giving great flexibility to corporations to manage their affairs. For these reasons, Delaware is considered to have the most business-friendly legal system in the United States; therefore a great number of companies are, including 60% of the companies listed on the.

Executive branch
The executive branch is headed by the. The present governor is (Democrat), who was elected as the state's first female governor in 2000. The lieutenant governor is. Delaware's U.S. Senators are (Democrat) and  (Democrat). Delaware's single US Representative is (Republican).

Delaware has three counties: Kent County, New Castle County, and Sussex County. Each county elects its own legislative body (known in New Castle and Sussex counties as County Council, and in Kent County as Levy Court), which deal primarily in zoning and development issues. Most functions which are handled on a county-by-county basis in other states — such as court and law enforcement — have been centralized in Delaware, leading to a significant concentration of power in the Delaware state government. The counties were historically divided into, which were used as tax reporting and s until the , but now serve no administrative role, their only current official legal use being in real-estate title descriptions.

The Democratic Party holds a of registrations in Delaware. Until the Presidential election, the state tended to be a Presidential, sending its three  to the winning candidate for over 50 years in a row. Bucking that trend, however, in 2000 and again in 2004 Delaware voted for the Democratic candidate. In the 2000 election Delaware voted with the winner of the popular vote,, who subsequently lost the Electoral Vote to (see  for more information.)  won Delaware by eight percentage points with 53.5% of the vote in 2004.

Historically, the Republican Party had an immense influence on Delaware politics, due in large part to the wealthy. assembled a to investigate ties between Delaware's politicians and industrialists, resulting in a book published in 1968 entitled The Company State. As DuPont's political influence has declined, so has that of the Delaware Republican Party. The Democrats have won the past four gubernatorial elections and currently hold seven of the nine statewide elected offices (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, Attorney General, and two U.S. Senators), while the Republicans hold the remaining two (the state's at-large House seat and the office of Auditor). However, this belies the fact that the Democratic Party gains most of its votes from heavily-developed New Castle County, whereas the lesser-populated Kent and Sussex Counties vote Republican.


 * ''See also:

Municipalities
Wilmington is the state's largest city and its economic hub. It is located within commuting distance of both Philadelphia and Baltimore. Despite Wilmington's size, all regions of Delaware are enjoying phenomenal growth, with Dover and the beach resorts expanding immensely.

Villages




Top 10 richest places in Delaware
Ranked by


 * $83,223
 * $82,091
 * $53,624
 * $51,958
 * $44,415
 * $41,306
 * $40,516
 * $39,677
 * $38,494
 * $35,577

Education
Delaware was the origin of , one of the four cases which was combined into, the decision that led to the end of  public schools. Significantly, Belton was the only case in which the state court found for the plaintiffs, thereby ruling that segregation was unconstitutional. Even more ironically, Delaware's segregated school system was substantially supported by donations from the wealthy du Pont family beginning with the Civil War, when the 's profits grew thanks to a high demand for its gunpowder products.

Unlike many states, Delaware's educational system is centralized in a state Superintendent of Education, with local school boards retaining control over taxation and some curriculum decisions.

A "three-tiered diploma" system fostered by Governor Ruth Ann Minner, which awarded "basic," "standard," and "distinguished" high-school diplomas based on a student's performance in the Delaware Student Testing Program, was recently discontinued by the General Assembly after many Delawareans questioned its fairness.

Media
There are no network broadcast-television stations operating solely in Delaware. A public-television station from Philadelphia (but licensed to Wilmington),, maintains a studio and broadcasting facility in Wilmington and Dover. Philadelphia's affiliate,, maintains a news bureau in downtown Wilmington. The northern part of the state is served by network stations in Philadelphia and the southern part by network stations in and. Salisbury's affiliate,, maintains bureaus in Dover and Milton.

Tourism
While Delaware has no places designated as national parks, national seashores, national battlefields, national memorials, or national monuments, it does have several. In addition, there are a number of other places of interest such as botanical gardens, museums, wildlife refuges, parks, houses, lighthouses, and other historic places. Delaware also boasts the longest in the world. The state was playfully mocked for its lack of renown as a vacation destination in the movie  and the TV show, The Simpsons.

Festivals
The is an annual religious festival held in Wilmington, Delaware, and is sometimes called "Big Quarterly" or "August Quarterly." The festival began in 1814 by in connection with the "quarterly" meeting (or "conference") of the. Out of the four meetings during the year, the one in August became the "annual conference" of the Church when ministers' assignments for the next year were announced, among other business — it was a time for free blacks and slaves alike to come together (from the multi-state area) and celebrate their faith with singing, dancing, testifying, and feasting. It is the oldest such celebration in the country. Senator Biden's remarks on the significance of the "Big Quarterly" were published in the Congressional Record for  (Vol. 127, No. 117) and for   (Vol 130, No. 106).

The Delaware State Fair (also known as the Harrington fair) is popular with families and the agriculture industries. It is Delaware's biggest and only state fair that comes in the last two weeks of July. People come from all over the Tri-State area to take part in a Delaware tradition. Along with the fair on the Delaware State Fair Grounds is the horse racing track, casiono, and the Grand Stand. Some of the shows that go on in the Grand Stand are concerts which Yellow Card has performed, Demolition Derbys, Circus performances, and even stand comedy by Bill Cosby.

Every year, the ( for Singers Alliance) holds a three day long. Although the cultural significance of the Sängerbund has diminished over the years, the festival is extremely popular and attracts visitors from all over the East Coast.

The city of Wilmington is home to several ethnic festivals, including the Puerto Rican Festival, which includes a parade, the Polish Festival, the Greek Festival held at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, and the Italian Festival held at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church. Wilmington's substantial population supports a yearly  Parade in March as well as a summer Polish Festival, hosted by 's Roman Catholic Church. The Italian Festival is held in an area of Wilmington known as Little Italy by Saint Anthony's Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, and covers several blocks. It runs from sunup to sundown for a week, and features Italian food, merchandise, live music, bars, amusement park rides, and the All Saints parade on the closing night of the festival.

In, the end of the summer season is honored each year with a traditional down the town's. And at the end of October, holds its annual. Rehoboth Beach also hosts the every February and the  in November.

The is a free jazz music festival held annually at Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware. The first festival was held in 1989 on the open lawn in the central area of the city and has remained free to the public. The event is held in honor of Clifford Brown who died in a traffic accident in 1956.

The is a carnival-style festival held each May in Wilmington's Rockford Park. The Flower Market is a three-day long festival which serves as a fundraiser for charitable organizations which benefit Delaware's children.

Another unique tradition is Sussex County's, where specially grown pumpkins are shot from devices such as air-powered cannons, trebuchets, catapults, and various other contraptions. The goal is to see which device can hurl a pumpkin the greatest distance, with some currently reaching distances of almost a mile. The carnival atmosphere is themed in pumpkins with more and more attractions added each year.

During the second weekend in October, hosts the annual. The fun begins Friday night with a carnival, food court and street dance. Saturday morning starts out with an all you can eat scrapple breakfast. Other activities include kids' games, scrapple chunkin, scrapple carving, live entertainment, car show, tractor pull, trade show, and craft shows. When you get hungry the food court has apple fritters, scrapple sandwiches, crabcake sandwiches, oyster sandwiches, hamburgers and hotdogs, barbecue beef sandwiches, boardwalk fries, apple dumplings, ice cream and more. On the second Saturday in March each year the at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center features chocolate made by professionals, amateurs, bakeries, and children.

Another unique Delaware rite is, which occurs every two years on the Thursday following the November general election. Believed to be the only event of its kind in the United States, and recognized as such by Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., and the U.S. Congress, it is a continuation of a tradition that dates back to Delaware's earliest days in the 18th century. Residents of Sussex County at that time would travel to Georgetown, the county seat, to cast their ballots and then wait, in the days following, to hear the results, or "returns." Today, the immediacy of television, newspapers, radio and the Internet would make such an event obsolete, but it has thrived as a matter of tradition and celebration. Festivities include the reading of election results from the balcony by the town crier, a parade in which winners and losers ride together, the roasting of an ox behind the courthouse, and the ceremonial burying of the hatchet in sand from Lewes Beach.

Sports
In place of in-state professional sports teams, many Delawareans follow either Philadelphia or Baltimore teams, depending on their location within the state, with Philadelphia teams receiving the largest fan following, though before the entered the NFL, the  had a significant fan base in Sussex County and the Baltimore Colts had a significant fan base in northern counties. In addition, the University of Delaware's football team has a loyal following throughout the state, with Delaware State University's team enjoying popularity on a much lesser scale.

Delaware is home to and. DIS, also known as the Monster Mile, hosts two races each year. Dover Downs is a popular facility. In what may be the only co-located horse and car-racing facility in the nation, the Dover Downs track is located inside the DIS track.

Delaware has been home to professional wrestling outfit, particularly the annual Tournament of Death, and , particularly the annual.

Delaware is home to the Diamond State Games, an amateur Olympic-style sports festival. The event is open to athletes of all ages and is also open to residents beyond the borders of Delaware. The Diamond State Games were created in 2001 and participation levels average roughly 2500 per year in 12 contested sports.

Delaware Native Americans
Delaware is also the name of a group (called in their own name ) that was very influential in the dawning days of the United States. A band of the Nanticoke tribe of Indians still remains in Sussex County.

Namesakes

 * The was named in honor of this state.