New Hampshire

About New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a small U.S. state in northern New England. It is located east of Vermont, north of Massachusetts, south of Quebec, Canada, and west of Maine and the North Atlantic Ocean. The state ranks 46th of the 50 states in land area (23,249 km2) and 41st in population (around 1.3 million by a 2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimate). It is the site of the New Hampshire primary, the first primary in the U.S. presidential elections, and has probably the most famous of all state mottos: “Live free or die.” Antebellum New Hampshire produced numerous youth who went on to become famous national leaders after moving to Boston or New York, including Senator Daniel Webster, editor Horace Greeley, and Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science religion.

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. See also: Province of New Hampshire

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 there were no battles here. 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 Democrats to change the rules.)
New Hampshire

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