District of Maine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids District of Maine |
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| Part of Massachusetts | |||||||||
| 1780–1820 | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
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• Established
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25 October 1780 | ||||||||
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• British occupation of the east
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September 1814–February 1815 | ||||||||
| March 6, 1820 | |||||||||
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• Statehood
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15 March 1820 | ||||||||
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| Today part of |  Maine |
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The District of Maine was a special area that later became the U.S. state of Maine. It existed from October 25, 1780, until March 15, 1820. On that date, Maine joined the United States as its 23rd state. Before it became a district, this land was part of the British province of Massachusetts Bay. After the American Revolution, it was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Contents
Early History of Maine
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1760 | 20,000 | — |
| 1770 | 31,257 | +56.3% |
| 1780 | 49,138 | +57.2% |
| 1790 | 96,540 | +96.5% |
| 1800 | 151,719 | +57.2% |
| 1810 | 228,705 | +50.7% |
| 1820 | 298,335 | +30.4% |
| Source: 1760–1780; 1790–1820 | ||
The first European settlement in this area was in 1607. It was started by the Plymouth Company. This settlement was along the coast between the Merrimack River and Kennebec River. In 1622, this area officially became the province of Maine.
How Maine's Borders Changed
In 1629, the land was divided. The area between the Piscataqua River and Merrimack rivers became the province of New Hampshire. Over time, different parts of Maine were given out as land grants by English kings. These parts included New Somersetshire, Lygonia, and Falmouth.
By the 1650s, the province of Maine became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This started with the creation of York County, Massachusetts. This county stretched from the Piscataqua River to just east of the Presumpscot River. Eventually, York County grew to cover almost all of what is now Maine. Because it was so large, it was divided in 1760. This created Cumberland and Lincoln counties.
French and English Claims
The northeastern part of present-day Maine was home to Maliseet Indians and French settlers from Acadia. In 1664, the lands between the Kennebec and Saint Croix rivers were given to the Duke of York. These lands were managed as Cornwall County, part of his Province of New York.
For many years, England and France fought over who owned western Maine. This fighting sometimes turned violent. It finally ended when the British won the French and Indian War. After this war, in 1692, all of what is now Maine became part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Becoming a District
When Massachusetts wrote its own state constitution in 1780, it created the District of Maine. This district was set up to manage its northern counties. Its western border was the Piscataqua River, and its eastern border was the Saint Croix River.
By 1820, the District of Maine had been divided even further. New counties were created, including Hancock, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, Somerset, and Washington.
The Push for Statehood
People in Maine started wanting to become their own state as early as 1785. Over the next few years, several meetings were held to make this happen. Starting in 1792, people voted five times on statehood. However, none of these votes reached the number needed to pass.
During the War of 1812, British and Canadian forces took over a large part of Maine. This included everything from the Penobscot River east to the New Brunswick border. Their goal was to make this area part of Canada, calling it the Colony of New Ireland. Massachusetts did not respond strongly enough to this invasion. This weak response made more people in Maine want to become a separate state.
Maine Becomes a State
On June 19, 1819, the Massachusetts General Court (their state legislature) passed a law. This law allowed the District of Maine to separate from Massachusetts. The next month, on July 19, voters in Maine approved becoming a state. The vote was 17,091 for statehood and 7,132 against.
| County | For statehood | For status quo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | PCT | Votes | PCT | |
| Cumberland | 3,315 | 70.4% | 1,394 | 29.6% |
| Hancock | 820 | 51.9% | 761 | 48.1% |
| Kennebec | 3,950 | 86.0% | 641 | 14.0% |
| Lincoln | 2,523 | 62.2% | 1,534 | 37.8% |
| Oxford | 1,893 | 77.5% | 550 | 22.5% |
| Penobscot | 584 | 71.7% | 231 | 28.3% |
| Somerset | 1,440 | 85.9% | 237 | 14.1% |
| Washington | 480 | 77.7% | 138 | 22.3% |
| York | 2,086 | 55.9% | 1,646 | 44.1% |
| Total: | 17,091 | 70.6% | 7,132 | 29.4% |
The results of this election were given to the Massachusetts Governor's Council on August 24, 1819. In October 1819, 210 delegates met for the Maine Constitutional Convention. They all agreed on the new Maine Constitution. On February 25, 1820, Massachusetts officially accepted that Maine would soon become a state.
The Missouri Compromise
When Maine asked to become a state, there was an equal number of free states and slave states in the U.S. Congress. Members of Congress who supported slavery worried that adding another free state, Maine, would upset this balance. They would only support Maine becoming a state if Missouri Territory, where slavery was allowed, could also join as a slave state.
This led to the Missouri Compromise. This agreement allowed Missouri to join the Union as a slave state and Maine to join as a free state. Maine officially became the nation's 23rd state on March 15, 1820.
