Delaware

Template:US state

Delaware is a state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state is named after Delaware Bay and River, which were named for Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (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.

Geography

Map of Delaware

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 Rhode Island.

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

The state of Delaware, together with the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and two counties of Virginia, form the Delmarva Peninsula, 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 cupola of the courthouse in New Castle, and is referred to as the Twelve-Mile Circle. 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. The wedge of land between the arc and the Maryland border was claimed by both Delaware and Pennsylvania until 1921, when Delaware's claim was confirmed.

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.

Topography

Delaware is on a level plain; the highest elevation 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 Atlantic Coastal Plain, the climate is moderated by the effects of the ocean. The state is somewhat of a transitional zone between a humid subtropical climate and a continental climate. Despite its small size (roughly 100 miles from its northernmost to southernmost points), there is significant variation in mean temperature and amount of snowfall. The southern portion of the state has a somewhat milder climate and a longer growing season than the northern portion. 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.

History

Native Americans

Before Delaware was settled by European colonists, the area was home to the Eastern Algonquian tribes known as the Unami Lenape or Delaware throughout the Delaware valley, and the Nanticoke along the rivers leading into the Chesapeake Bay. The Unami Lenape in the Delaware Valley were closely related to Munsee Lenape tribes along the Hudson River. 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 Susquehannock. With the loss of their lands on the Delaware River and the destruction of the Minqua by the Iroquois of the Five Nations in the 1670s, the remnants of the Lenape left the region and moved over the Alleghany Mountains by the mid-18th century.

Colonial Delaware

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

Only nine years later, in 1664, the Dutch were themselves forcibly removed by a British expedition under the direction of James, the Duke of York. Fighting off a prior claim by Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, Proprietor of Maryland, the Duke passed his somewhat dubious ownership on to William Penn 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 Philadelphia, 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. The fact that Delaware and Pennsylvania shared the same governor was not unique. During much of the colonial period New York and New Jersey shared the same governor, as did Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

American Revolution

Like the other middle colonies, the Lower Counties on the Delaware initially showed little enthusiasm for a break with Britain. 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 Parliament, 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 Thomas McKean denounced the Stamp Act in the strongest terms, and Kent County native John Dickinson, became the "Penman of the Revolution." Anticipating the Declaration of Independence, Patriot leaders Thomas McKean and Caesar Rodney convinced the Colonial Assembly to declare itself separated from British and Pennsylvania rule on June 15, 1776, but the person best representing Delaware's majority, George Read, 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 John Haslet, Delaware provided one of the premier regiments in the Continental Army, known as the "Delaware Blues" and nicknamed the "Blue Hen Chickens." In August 1777, General Sir William Howe led a British army through Delaware on his way to a victory at the Battle of Brandywine and capture of the city of Philadelphia. The only real engagement on Delaware soil was fought on September 3, 1777, 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 State President John McKinly 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 Loyalist 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 American Revolution, statesmen from Delaware were among the leading proponents of a strong central United States government with equal representation for each state. Once the Connecticut Compromise was reached—creating a U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives—the leaders in Delaware were able to easily secure ratification of the U.S. Constitution on December 7, 1787, 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 Quakers, and greater governmental regulation were all factors. Attempts to abolish slavery failed by narrow margins. By the 1860 census there were only about 1,800 slaves in a state of 90,000 people, including nearly 20,000 free African Americans. When he freed his slaves in 1777, 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 Peter Spencer in 1813 as the "Union Church of Africans," which is now the A.U.M.P. Church. The Big August Quarterly began in 1814 and is the oldest such cultural festival in the country.

During the American Civil War, Delaware was a slave state that remained in the Union (Delaware voted not to secede on January 3, 1861). 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

Historical populations Census Pop. %± 1790 59,096 – 1800 64,273 8.8% 1810 72,674 13.1% 1820 72,749 0.1% 1830 76,748 5.5% 1840 78,085 1.7% 1850 91,532 17.2% 1860 112,216 22.6% 1870 125,015 11.4% 1880 146,608 17.3% 1890 168,493 14.9% 1900 184,735 9.6% 1910 202,322 9.5% 1920 223,003 10.2% 1930 238,380 6.9% 1940 266,505 11.8% 1950 318,085 19.4% 1960 446,292 40.3% 1970 548,104 22.8% 1980 594,338 8.4% 1990 666,168 12.1% 2000 783,600 17.6% Est. 2006 853,476 8.9%

Delaware Population Density Map

Demographics of Delaware (csv)
By race	White	Black	AIAN	Asian	NHPI
AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native   -   NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
2000 (total population)	77.65%	20.28%	0.79%	2.43%	0.09%
2000 (Hispanic only)	4.10%	0.59%	0.12%	0.04%	0.02%
2005 (total population)	76.01%	21.51%	0.79%	3.01%	0.09%
2005 (Hispanic only)	5.39%	0.58%	0.14%	0.04%	0.02%
Growth 2000-2005 (total population)	5.37%	14.20%	7.91%	33.58%	12.73%
Growth 2000-2005 (non-Hispanic only)	3.36%	14.46%	4.94%	34.00%	15.17%
Growth 2000-2005 (Hispanic only)	41.33%	5.47%	24.81%	8.81%	2.86%

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

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

Languages

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

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

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Delaware are:

• Methodist – 20%
• Baptist – 19%
• Lutheran – 4%
• Presbyterian – 3%
• Pentecostal – 3%
• Episcopalian/Anglican - 2%
• Seventh-day Adventist - 2%
• Churches of Christ - 1%
• Other Christian – 3%
• Roman Catholic – 9%
• Muslim - 2%
• Jewish - 1%
• Other – 5%
• No Religion – 17%
• Refused - 9%

(source: American Religious Identification Survey, City University of New York)

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.

Economy

"Picking Peaches in Delaware" from an 1878 issue of Harper's Weekly

Delaware's agricultural output consists of poultry, nursery stock, soybeans, dairy products and corn. Its industrial outputs include chemical products, processed foods, paper products, and rubber and plastic products. Delaware's economy generally outperforms the national economy of the United States.

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

The state's largest employers are:

• government (State of Delaware, New Castle County)
• education (University of Delaware)
• chemical and pharmaceutical companies (E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Syngenta, AstraZeneca, and Hercules, Inc.)
• banking (Bank of America, Wilmington Trust, First USA / Bank One / JPMorgan Chase, AIG, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank)
• automotive manufacturing (General Motors, DaimlerChrysler)
• farming, specifically chicken farming in Sussex County (Perdue Farms, Mountaire Farms)

Dover Air Force Base, located in the state capital of Dover, 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 mortuary for American military persons (and some U.S. government civilians) who die overseas.

The state does not assess sales tax on consumers. The state does, however, impose a tax on the gross receipts of most businesses. Delaware does not assess a state-level tax on real or personal property. Real estate is subject to county property taxes, school district property taxes, vocational school district taxes, and, if located within an incorporated area, municipal property taxes.

Law and government

Presidential elections results

Year	Republican	Democratic
2004	45.75% 171,660	53.35% 200,152
2000	41.90% 137,288	54.96% 180,068
1996	36.58% 99,062	51.82% 140,955
1992	35.33% 102,313	43.52% 126,054
1988	55.88% 139,639	43.48% 108,647
1984	59.78% 152,190	39.93% 101,656
1980	47.21% 111,252	44.87% 105,754
1976	46.57% 109,831	51.98% 122,596
1972	59.60% 140,357	39.18% 92,283
1968	45.12% 96,714	41.61% 89,194
1964	38.78% 78,078	60.95% 122,704
1960	49.00% 96,373	50.63% 99,590

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

Legislative branch

Delaware General Assembly consists of a House of Representatives with 41 members and a Senate 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 Delaware Supreme Court is the state's highest court.
• The Superior Court of Delaware is the state's trial court of general jurisdiction.
• The Court of Chancery 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 Justice of the Peace Courts and Aldermen's Courts.

Significantly, Delaware has one of the few remaining Courts of Chancery in the nation, which has jurisdiction over equity cases, the vast majority of which are corporate disputes, many relating to mergers and acquisitions. The Court of Chancery 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 Delaware General Corporation Law, 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 incorporated in Delaware, including 60% of the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Executive branch

The executive branch is headed by the Governor of Delaware. The present governor is Ruth Ann Minner (Democrat), who was elected as the state's first female governor in 2000. The lieutenant governor is John C. Carney, Jr.. Delaware's U.S. Senators are Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (Democrat) and Thomas R. Carper (Democrat). Delaware's single US Representative is Michael N. Castle (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 hundreds, which were used as tax reporting and voting districts until the 1960s, but now serve no administrative role, their only current official legal use being in real-estate title descriptions.

The Democratic Party holds a plurality of registrations in Delaware. Until the 2000 Presidential election, the state tended to be a Presidential bellwether, sending its three electoral votes 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, Al Gore, who subsequently lost the Electoral Vote to George W. Bush (see United States Presidential Election, 2000 for more information.) John Kerry 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 du Pont family. Ralph Nader assembled a working group 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: United States presidential election, 2004, in Delaware

Miscellaneous topics

Media

There are no network broadcast-television stations operating solely in Delaware. A local PBS from Philadelphia (but licensed to Wilmington), WHYY-TV, maintains a studio and broadcasting facility in Wilmington and Dover. Philadelphia's ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV, 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 Baltimore and Salisbury, Maryland. Salisbury's CBS affiliate, WBOC-TV, 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 National Historic Landmarks. 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 twin span suspension bridge in the world. The state was playfully mocked for its lack of renown as a vacation destination in the movie Wayne's World and the TV show, The Simpsons.

Festivals

The Big August Quarterly is an annual religious festival held in Wilmington, Delaware, and is sometimes called "Big Quarterly" or "August Quarterly." The festival began in 1814 by Peter Spencer in connection with the "quarterly" meeting (or "conference") of the African Union Church. 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 30 July 1981 (Vol. 127, No. 117) and for 9 August 1984 (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 Delaware Sängerbund (German for Singers Alliance) holds a three day long Oktoberfest. 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 Polish-American population supports a yearly Pulaski Day Parade in March as well as a summer Polish Festival, hosted by Saint Hedwig'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 Bethany Beach, the end of the summer season is honored each year with a traditional jazz funeral down the town's boardwalk. And at the end of October, Rehoboth Beach holds its annual Sea Witch Halloween and Fiddlers' Festival. Rehoboth Beach also hosts the Polar Bear Plunge every February and the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival in November.

The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival 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 Wilmington Flower Market 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 Punkin Chunkin, 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, Bridgeville hosts the annual Apple Scrapple Festival. 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 Chocolate Festival at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center features chocolate made by professionals, amateurs, bakeries, and children.

Another unique Delaware rite is Return Day, 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 Sussex County Courthouse 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

Club	Sport	League
Wilmington Blue Rocks	Baseball	Minor League Baseball
Delaware Griffins	Football	Women's Professional Football League
Delaware Smash	Tennis	World Team Tennis
Central Delaware SA Future	Soccer	Women's Premier Soccer League
Delaware Dynasty	Soccer	USL Premier Development League
Wilmington City Ruff Rollers	Roller Derby	Women's Flat Track Derby Association

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 Baltimore Ravens entered the NFL, the Washington Redskins 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 Dover International Speedway and Dover Downs. DIS, also known as the Monster Mile, hosts two NASCAR races each year. Dover Downs is a popular harness racing 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 CZW, particularly the annual Tournament of Death, and ECWA, particularly the annual Super 8 Tournament.

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 Native American group (called in their own name Lenni Lenape) 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 USS Delaware was named in honor of this state.

See also

Delaware Portal

• Committee of 100 (Delaware)
• Delaware Academy of Medicine
• Delaware census statistical areas
• Delaware Colony
• Delaware corporation
• Delaware State Police
• Delaware state symbols
• Kalmar Nyckel
• List of bands from Delaware
• List of Delaware Hundreds
• Lower Counties on the Delaware
• Music of Delaware
• Notable people from Delaware
• Scouting in Delaware
• Winterthur Museum
• Some neighboring states contain locations named Delaware Township or Delaware County.

External links

All links retrieved December 13, 2007.

• State of Delaware homepage
• Delaware Tourism homepage
• Delaware Map Data
• Delaware Population Projections
• The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation & Tall Ship Kalmar Nyckel.
• U.S. Senate site with the full U.S. Constitution and the Thirteenth Amendment "Slavery and Involuntary Servitude"
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Delaware
• U.S. Census Bureau
• Delaware Newspapers
• Delaware State Facts
• Delaware Academy of Medicine
• HealthyDE.org

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Preceded by: First state

List of U.S. states by date of statehood Ratified Constitution on December 7, 1787 (1st)

Succeeded by: Pennsylvania

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