History of Connecticut facts for kids

The U.S. state of Connecticut started with three different settlements. These were founded by Puritans from Massachusetts and England. In 1663, they all joined together under one special document called a royal charter. Connecticut was known as the "land of steady habits" because its people were often traditional in politics, society, and religion. The colony grew rich from trade and farming, mostly done by its English Protestant population. The Congregational and Unitarian churches were very important here. Connecticut played a big part in the American Revolution. It also became a strong supporter of the Federalist Party, which focused on business and the U.S. Constitution.

The name "Connecticut" comes from a French version of the Algonkian word quinetucket. This word means "beside the long, tidal river."

Reverend Thomas Hooker and Reverend Samuel Stone led a group of about 100 people. In 1636, they founded the settlement of Hartford. It was named after Stone's hometown, Hertford, in England. Today, Thomas Hooker is called "the Father of Connecticut." He was a very important person in the early days of colonial New England. He was a great preacher and a smart writer. He was also one of the first settlers and founders of Hartford and Connecticut. Many people say he inspired the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut." Some even call this the world's first written democratic constitution. It set up a government where people chose their leaders.

Connecticut became a leader in the Industrial Revolution in the United States. Its many factories became famous worldwide for making advanced machines. Yale College was a major center for education and ideas. Scholars like Noah Webster and writers like Mark Twain (who lived in Connecticut) were important figures. Many Yankees moved west to New York and the Midwest in the early 1800s. At the same time, many immigrants came to Connecticut for factory jobs. Irish, English, and Italian people arrived in the 1800s. In the early 1900s, more immigrants came from eastern and southern Europe. Connecticut has usually been a "swing state" in politics. This means it often has a close balance between different political parties. Today, Connecticut is known for making jet engines, nuclear submarines, and advanced medicines.

Early Settlements in Connecticut

Many Algonquian tribes lived in this area before Europeans arrived. The Dutch were the first Europeans to come to Connecticut. In 1614, Adriaen Block explored the coast of Long Island Sound. He sailed up the Connecticut River to where the Park River meets it, which is now Hartford. By 1623, the new Dutch West India Company regularly traded for furs there. Ten years later, they built a fort to protect themselves from the Pequot Indians and the growing English colonies. This fort was called "House of Hope" or "Fort Hoop." But more and more English colonists arrived. In 1650, the Dutch agreed to leave in the Treaty of Hartford. By 1654, they were gone. The English took over the Dutch lands in 1664.

The first English settlers came from the Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. The original Connecticut Colony settlements were in Windsor (1633), Wethersfield (1634), and Hartford (1636). Springfield, Massachusetts was also part of Connecticut until 1640. Reverend Thomas Hooker led the Hartford settlement.

In 1631, the Earl of Warwick gave land to a group of investors. These investors included William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele and Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke. They paid for the Saybrook Colony to be built at the mouth of the Connecticut River. It was named after the two lords. Fort Saybrook was built there in 1636. Another group of Puritans left Massachusetts. They started the New Haven Colony further west on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in 1637. The Massachusetts colonies did not try to control their new settlements in Connecticut and Rhode Island. It was too hard to communicate and travel. It was also useful to have a place for people who didn't agree with their rules.

The English settlement at Windsor was a threat to Dutch trade. It was further upriver and easier for Native people to reach. In the fall and winter of 1633, the Dutch traveled upriver to modern Springfield, Massachusetts. They gave gifts to Native people to encourage them to trade at the Dutch post in Hartford. Sadly, they also spread smallpox. By the end of that winter, the Native population in the entire valley dropped from over 8,000 to less than 2,000. Europeans then moved into the fertile valley, taking advantage of this situation.

The Pequot War: A Major Conflict

Pequot War of 1637

The Pequot War was the first big fight between Native peoples and European settlers in New England. Diseases and trade pressures caused the Pequots to try and control the river tribes more tightly. More problems started involving the colonists in 1635. The next spring, a Pequot raid on Wethersfield made the three towns meet. After the Wethersfield raid, the war reached its peak. About 300 Pequot men, women, and children were burned in their village in Mystic.

On May 1, 1637, leaders from Connecticut Colony's river towns sent representatives. They met at the first General Court in Hartford. This was the beginning of self-government in Connecticut. They combined their soldiers under the command of John Mason from Windsor. They declared war on the Pequots. When the war ended, the Pequot tribe was largely destroyed. In the Treaty of Hartford in 1638, the New England colonies and their Native allies divided the Pequots' lands.

New Haven Colony: A Short-Lived Settlement (1638-1664)

In 1637, a group of London merchants and their families moved to Boston. They were unhappy with the Church of England and wanted to start a new settlement. Their leaders were John Davenport, a Puritan minister, and Theophilus Eaton, a rich merchant. They knew about religion and business, but not farming. The good port locations in Massachusetts were already taken. But after the Pequot Indians were removed, there were good harbors on Long Island Sound. Eaton found a good spot in spring 1638 and named it New Haven. It seemed perfect for trade. It had a good port between Boston and the Dutch city of New Amsterdam (now New York City). It also had good access to furs from Hartford and Springfield. The settlers had no official charter or permission. They also did not buy land rights from the local Indians. Legally, they were just living on the land without permission. Minister Davenport was a smart person who went to Oxford. He started a grammar school and wanted to build a college, but he couldn't. The leaders tried many business ideas, but they all failed. A lot of their money was lost when a big ship carrying £5000 in goods sank in 1646.

The New Haven colony faced many problems. The biggest issue was that it never had a legal right to exist, meaning no charter. The larger, stronger Connecticut Colony to the north got a Royal charter in 1662. It used its military power to take over New Haven. New Haven also had other weaknesses. Its leaders were businessmen, but they could never build a big or profitable trade. Their farming was not good, and the location was isolated. Farming on the poor soil of the colony led to poverty. New Haven's government only allowed church members to vote. This made many people unhappy. People started to realize that the New Haven colony was not going to succeed. Eventually, in 1662-64, the towns of New Haven joined the Connecticut Colony. They gave up their strict religious government but became a well-integrated part of Connecticut.

Connecticut's Fundamental Orders and Growth

The three River Towns (Wethersfield, Windsor, and Hartford) created a government when they faced war. On January 14, 1639, free men from these towns approved the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut." John Fiske called this "the first written constitution known to history that created a government." He said it marked the start of American democracy. He also said that Thomas Hooker deserves to be called its father. The U.S. government today is very similar to Connecticut's early government. The colony grew quickly under this new system.

On April 22, 1662, the Connecticut Colony received a Royal Charter. This document confirmed the self-government they had created with the Fundamental Orders. The only big change was that it created one Connecticut government. Its southern border was at the Long Island Sound. This included what is now Suffolk County on Long Island. Its western border was the Pacific Ocean. This meant the charter still conflicted with the New Netherland colony.

Success in the fierce Pequot War helped ease tensions with Native Americans for a while. King Philip's War (1675–1676) spread from Massachusetts into Connecticut. Connecticut sent soldiers and supplies. This victory removed any remaining powerful Native American influences in Connecticut. Colonists saw some Native Americans as a deadly threat. They fought in both the Pequot War and King Philip's War to remove them. More than three-fourths of all adult men served in the military in some way.

The Dominion of New England and the Charter Oak

In 1686, Sir Edmund Andros became the Royal Governor of the Dominion of New England. Andros said his power was greater than Connecticut's 1662 charter. At first, Connecticut ignored him. But in late October 1687, Andros arrived with troops and ships. Governor Robert Treat had no choice but to call the assembly. Andros met with the governor and the General Court on the evening of October 31, 1687.

The Charter Oak in Hartford

Governor Andros praised their hard work and government. But after he read his orders, he demanded their charter. As they put it on the table, someone blew out all the candles. When the light came back, the charter was gone. Legend says it was hidden in the Charter Oak. Sir Edmund named four people to his Council for the Government of New England. Then he went to his capital in Boston.

Andros thought New York and Massachusetts were the most important parts of his Dominion. So, he mostly ignored Connecticut. Aside from some taxes sent to Boston, Connecticut also mostly ignored the new government. When news arrived that the Glorious Revolution had put William and Mary on the throne, the people of Boston arrested Andros. They sent him back to England. The Connecticut court met on May 9, 1689. They voted to bring back the old charter. They also reelected Robert Treat as governor every year until 1698.

Land Disputes and Borders

According to the 1650 Treaty of Hartford with the Dutch, Connecticut's western border went north from the west side of Greenwich Bay. It was "provided the said line come not within 10 miles (16 km) of Hudson River." However, Connecticut's original charter in 1662 gave it all the land to the "South Sea" (the Pacific Ocean).

This meant Connecticut had land disputes with states between it and the Pacific. On March 12, 1664, a patent gave the Duke of York (later James II) "all the land from the west side of Connecticut River to the east side of Delaware Bay." In October 1664, Connecticut and New York agreed to give Long Island to New York. They set the border between Connecticut and New York as a line from the Mamaroneck River "north-northwest to the line of the Massachusetts." This line would cross the Hudson River near Peekskill and the Massachusetts border near the northwest corner of current Ulster County, New York. This agreement was never fully accepted, and border disputes continued.

Disputes with New York and Pennsylvania

Map showing the Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies and the CT-NY dispute

The Governor of New York issued arrest warrants for people in Greenwich, Rye, and Stamford. He also started a settlement north of Tarrytown in May 1682. Connecticut believed this land was theirs. Finally, on November 28, 1683, the states made a new agreement. The border was set 20 miles (32 km) east of the Hudson River, north to Massachusetts. To respect the wishes of the people, the 61,660 acres (249.5 km2) east of the Byram River, known as the Connecticut Panhandle, were given to Connecticut. In return, Rye went to New York. Also, a 1.81-mile (2.91 km) wide strip of land running north from Ridgefield to Massachusetts was given to New York. This strip, next to Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester Counties, New York, is called the "Oblong."

A map showing Connecticut's western land claims.

In the 1750s, Connecticut's western frontier was still beyond New York. In 1754, the Susquehannah Company of Windham, Connecticut bought land from a group of Native Americans. This land was along the Susquehanna River and covered about one-third of present-day Pennsylvania. This plan was not liked by Pennsylvania or by many people in Connecticut. The Deputy Governor feared that pushing these claims would risk the colony's charter. In 1769, Wilkes-Barre was founded by John Durkee and 240 Connecticut settlers. The British government finally ruled that "no Connecticut settlements could be made until the royal pleasure was known." In 1773, the issue was settled in favor of Connecticut. Westmoreland, Connecticut was established as a town and later a county.

Pennsylvania did not agree with the ruling. Open fighting broke out between them and Connecticut. In July 1778, an attack killed about 150 settlers and forced thousands to flee. While they tried to get their land back, they were always pushed away. Finally, in December 1783, a group ruled in favor of Pennsylvania. After legal battles, in 1786, Connecticut gave up its claims to Congress. In return, it was freed from war debt. It also kept rights to land further west in present-day Ohio. This land became known as the Western Reserve. Pennsylvania gave the individual Connecticut settlers legal titles to their land.

The Western Reserve, which Connecticut received in exchange for its Pennsylvania claims in 1786, was a strip of land in northeast Ohio. It was 120 miles (190 km) wide from east to west, bordering Lake Erie and Pennsylvania. Connecticut owned this land until it sold it to the Connecticut Land Company in 1795 for $1,200,000. This company then resold parts of the land to settlers. In 1796, the first settlers, led by Moses Cleaveland, started a community that became Cleveland, Ohio. Soon, the area was called "New Connecticut."

A 25-mile (40 km) wide area at the western end of the Western Reserve was set aside in 1792. This was to help people from Danbury, New Haven, Fairfield, Norwalk, and New London. They had lost a lot when British raids burned their homes during the War of Independence. This area became known as the Firelands. By this time, most of the people who were supposed to get this help were either dead or too old to move there. The Firelands now include Erie and Huron Counties, and part of Ashland County, Ohio.

Connecticut's Conservative Traditions

Connecticut was known as the "land of steady habits." A conservative group of leaders controlled colonial affairs. Ideas of freedom and democracy grew slowly. They were encouraged by business owners and new religious freedom from the First Great Awakening.

Yale College was founded in 1701 to train ministers and leaders. It moved around before settling in New Haven. Just as Yale College was central to Connecticut's intellectual life, the Congregational church was central to religion. It was the official church until 1818. Everyone in town had to go to Sunday services and pay taxes to support it. Or they had to prove they supported another Protestant church.

New rules made the Congregational church even stronger and more traditional. The Saybrook Platform was a new set of rules for the Congregational church in 1708. Religious and community leaders in Connecticut around 1700 were worried about a decline in personal religious devotion. The colonial government supported a meeting in Saybrook. Eight Yale trustees and other important people attended. They wrote rules that rejected extreme localism that came from England. They replaced it with a system like the Presbyterians had. The Congregational church would now be led by local groups of ministers and lay leaders. These groups would examine new ministers and watch over their behavior. The larger groups could discipline churches and settle disputes. This made power more centralized, which worried many local church members. However, the official groups expelled churches that refused to follow. This system lasted until the mid-1800s, long after Congregationalism was no longer the official church in Connecticut.

The Saybrook Platform was a move to bring back traditional ways. It went against changes that started with the Half-Way Covenant and would lead to the First Great Awakening in the 1740s. The Great Awakening caused a big split among Congregationalists. "New Lights" welcomed the religious revivals. "Old Lights" used government power to stop them. Theologically, New Lights believed everyone could be saved through a religious conversion. Old Lights believed everyone's fate was already decided, and revivals were false religion.

The government, controlled by the Old Lights, passed a law in 1742. It limited ministers from leading revivals. Another law stopped the opening of a New Light seminary. Many New Light preachers were put in jail or fined. The New Lights fought back by organizing politically in each town. Although the religious issues calmed down after 1748, the New Light versus Old Light conflict affected other issues, like money and problems with the British Empire. However, these divisions did not play a role in the American Revolution, which both sides supported.

Being a soldier was not highly respected in Connecticut. But London needed help in its many wars against France. So, the colony sent soldiers to Canada from 1709-1711 during Queen Anne's War. Connecticut continued this practice for the rest of the century. Leaders used money rewards to encourage poor men to volunteer for temporary service.

Governor Jonathan Trumbull

Governor Jonathan Trumbull was elected every year from 1769 to 1784. Connecticut's political system was almost unchanged by the Revolution.

The American Revolution (1775–1789)

The conservative leaders strongly supported the American Revolution. There were few people who supported the British (Loyalists). Connecticut chose four delegates for the Second Continental Congress. These delegates signed the United States Declaration of Independence: Samuel Huntington, Roger Sherman, William Williams, and Oliver Wolcott.

In 1775, after battles between British soldiers and Massachusetts militia at Lexington and Concord, Connecticut's government approved six new regiments. About 1,200 Connecticut troops were at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775.

In 1777, the British learned about Continental Army supplies in Danbury. They landed about 2,000 troops in Westport. These troops marched to Danbury and destroyed many supplies and homes. On their way back, Continental Army troops and militia, led by General David Wooster and General Benedict Arnold, fought the British at Ridgefield in 1777. This battle stopped the British from trying more large landings for the rest of the war.

For the winter of 1778-79, General George Washington decided to divide the Continental Army into three groups around New York City. British General Henry Clinton was staying there for the winter. Major General Israel Putnam chose Redding as the winter camp for about 3,000 regular soldiers and militia. The Redding camp allowed Putnam's soldiers to guard the supply depot in Danbury. It also supported operations along Long Island Sound and the Hudson River Valley. Some of the men had spent the previous winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Soldiers at the Redding camp faced supply shortages, cold weather, and a lot of snow. Some historians call this camp "Connecticut's Valley Forge."

Connecticut was also a base for raids against Long Island. These raids were planned by Samuel Holden Parsons and Benjamin Tallmadge. The state provided men and supplies for the war, especially to Washington's army near New York City. British General William Tryon raided the Connecticut coast in July 1779. He attacked New Haven, Norwalk, and Fairfield. The French General Comte de Rochambeau celebrated the first Catholic Mass in Connecticut at Lebanon in summer 1781. He was marching through the state from Rhode Island to meet General George Washington in Dobbs Ferry, New York. New London and Groton Heights were raided in September 1781 by Connecticut native and traitor Benedict Arnold.

Early National Period (1789–1818)

New England was a strong area for the Federalist Party. One historian explained how well-organized it was in Connecticut. The state officers, assistants, and most of the Assembly were Federalists. Every county had a sheriff and deputies. All state, county, and town judges were often active Federalist workers. Every town had several justices of the peace, school directors, and town officers ready to work for the party. Every church had a "standing agent" who could convince many voters. Military officers, lawyers, professors, and teachers were also strong supporters. In total, about a thousand or eleven hundred people who held jobs could be counted on for their own votes and enough others to win an election. This was the Federalist machine.

Because the Federalists were so strong, the Republicans had to work harder to win. In 1806, the state Republican leaders sent instructions to town leaders for upcoming elections. Each town manager was told to appoint a district manager in every part of his town. They had to make sure each manager would do their duty. Then, the town manager had to make lists. These lists included the number of taxpayers, eligible voters, how many were "decided republicans," "decided federalists," or "doubtful." They also counted supporters who could not vote yet but might qualify later. These detailed lists went to the county manager. The county managers then sent overall numbers to the state manager. Using these lists, managers were told to get all eligible voters to town meetings. They also helped young men qualify to vote. At the yearly town meeting, managers had to "notice what republicans are present, and see that each stays and votes till the whole business is ended." Each district manager had to report absent Republicans and why they were gone. Most importantly, managers had to choose candidates for local elections. They also printed and gave out the party's voting tickets. The state manager made sure party newspapers went to each town for distribution. This highly organized effort to get people to vote would be familiar today. But it was the first of its kind in the world.

Connecticut did well during this time. Its seaports were busy, and the first textile factories were built. The American Embargo and the British blockade during the War of 1812 greatly hurt the export business. This helped the Federalists, who strongly opposed the Embargo and the war. The stop of imports from Britain led to fast growth in factories. These factories made textiles and machines to replace what was imported. Eli Whitney of New Haven was a leader among engineers and inventors. He helped make Connecticut a world leader in machine tools and industrial technology. The state was known for its traditional politics, shown by its Federalist party and Timothy Dwight at Yale College. The most important thinkers were Dwight and Noah Webster, who wrote his famous dictionary in New Haven. Religious tensions divided the state. The official Congregational Church, working with the Federalists, tried to keep its power. The failure of the Hartford Convention in 1814 hurt the Federalists. They were finally defeated by the Republicans in 1817.

Modernization and Industry in Connecticut

Until this time, Connecticut had followed its 1662 Charter. But after the American colonies became independent over forty years earlier, much of the Charter was no longer useful. In 1818, a new constitution was adopted. This was the first written law in Connecticut to separate church and state. It gave all religions equal rights. The governor's powers were also increased. Courts became more independent by allowing judges to serve for life.

Connecticut had natural advantages like plenty of flowing water and navigable rivers. With a strong work ethic, it quickly became a leader in industry. Between 1790 (when the U.S. patent system started) and 1930, Connecticut had more patents per person than any other state. In the 1800s, when the U.S. had one patent for every three thousand people, Connecticut inventors received one patent for every 700–1000 residents. Connecticut's first recorded invention was a lapidary machine by Abel Buell of Killingworth in 1765.

Abolition and Integration Efforts

Starting in the 1830s, and speeding up when Connecticut fully ended slavery in 1848, African Americans from inside and outside the state began moving to cities. They sought jobs and opportunities. They formed new neighborhoods, like Bridgeport's Little Liberia.

In 1832, Quaker schoolteacher Prudence Crandall started the first integrated schoolhouse in the United States. She admitted Sarah Harris, the daughter of a free African American farmer, to her boarding school in Canterbury. Many important townspeople objected. They pressured Crandall to remove Harris from the school, but Crandall refused. The families of the white students took their daughters out of the school. Because of this, Crandall stopped teaching white girls completely. She opened her school only to African American girls. In 1995, the Connecticut General Assembly named Prudence Crandall the state's official heroine.

Civil War Era in Connecticut

1895 map from Rand McNally

Connecticut factories were very important in supplying the Union forces during the American Civil War. They made rifles, cannons, ammunition, and military materiel. The state provided 55,000 men. They formed thirty full infantry regiments. This included two U.S. Colored Troops regiments made up of black men and white officers. Two heavy artillery regiments served as infantry later in the war. Connecticut also supplied three light artillery batteries and one cavalry regiment. The Navy attracted 250 officers and 2,100 men. Several Connecticut men became Union generals. Gideon Welles was a moderate whom Lincoln made Secretary of the Navy. Many soldiers died: 2,088 were killed in battle, 2,801 died from disease, and 689 died in Confederate prison camps.

Politics became very intense during the war. A wave of national unity in 1861 brought thousands of volunteers from every town and city. However, as the war became a fight to end slavery, many Democrats (especially Irish Catholics) pulled back. The Democrats took a peace stance. This group included many Copperheads who were willing to let the South leave the Union. The closely fought 1863 election for governor was narrowly won by the Republicans.

Connecticut's large industry, dense population, flat land, closeness to big cities, and wealth made it good for building railroads. This started in 1839. By 1840, 102 miles (164 km) of track were in use. This grew to 402 miles (647 km) in 1850 and 601 miles (967 km) in 1860. After the Civil War, many small local lines joined together to form the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. People often called it "the Consolidated." It aimed to control all transportation, including city streetcar lines, inter-urban trolleys, and ships on Long Island Sound. It was very profitable until it was bought out in 1903 and poorly managed.

Twentieth Century Changes

Railroads and the Rise of Automobiles

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, known as the New Haven, was the main way to travel in Connecticut after 1872. New York's top banker, J. P. Morgan, grew up in Hartford. He was very interested in the New England economy. Starting in the 1890s, Morgan began funding the major New England railroads. He divided territories so they would not compete. In 1903, he brought in Charles Sanger Mellen as president (1903-1913). Morgan's money supported the goal to buy and combine the main railway lines of New England. They wanted to merge their operations, lower costs, electrify busy routes, and modernize the system. With less competition and lower costs, they expected higher profits. The New Haven bought 50 smaller companies, including steamship lines. It built a network of light rails (electric trolleys) that provided transportation between cities for all of southern New England. By 1912, the New Haven operated over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of track and had 120,000 employees. It almost completely controlled traffic from Boston to New York City.

Morgan's desire for a monopoly angered reformers during the Progressive Era. One notable opponent was Boston lawyer Louis Brandeis, who fought the New Haven for years. Mellen's harsh methods upset the public. They also led to high prices for buying companies and costly construction. The number of accidents increased when they tried to save money on maintenance. Debt grew from $14 million in 1903 to $242 million in 1913. Also in 1913, the federal government sued them for being a monopoly. They were forced to give up their trolley systems. The arrival of cars, trucks, and buses after 1910 greatly reduced the New Haven's profits. The line went bankrupt in 1935. It was reorganized and made smaller. It went bankrupt again in 1961. In 1969, it merged into the Penn Central system, which also went bankrupt. The remaining parts of the system are now part of Conrail.

The car revolution happened much faster than anyone expected, especially the railroads. In 1915, Connecticut had 40,000 cars. Five years later, it had 120,000. Trucks grew even faster, from 7,000 to 24,000. Local governments started improving roads. Business owners opened car dealerships, gas stations, repair shops, and motels.

Politics and World War I

Republicans controlled state politics after 1896. They had a strong hold on the government because of a rule that gave each small rural town one representative. This meant small towns could easily outvote the growing cities. While Republicans sometimes disagreed among themselves, they united for elections. Democrats had more internal disagreements, especially about the liberal ideas of William Jennings Bryan. They were weaker in general elections. Rural Yankee Democrats fought with urban Irish Democrats for control of the state party. Most factory workers voted Republican, except for Irish Catholics who were Democrats. So, most industrial cities voted Republican.

In 1910, the Democrats elected their candidate for governor, Simeon Eben Baldwin. He was a well-known professor at Yale Law School. As Republicans split between President William Taft and former president Theodore Roosevelt, Democrats did well in 1912. They won the state for president, reelected Baldwin, won all five congressional districts with Irish candidates, and took the state Senate. Only the House, which was unfairly divided and controlled by rural areas, remained Republican. The state did not participate much in the "progressive era." Democrats passed only one liberal law. It set up a system for worker's compensation. In 1914, Republicans regrouped and took back control of state politics. J. Henry Roraback was the Republican state leader from 1912 until his death in 1937. His political organization was "efficient, conservative, careful with money, and in absolute control." Until the New Deal coalition of the 1930s brought ethnic voters strongly into the Democratic Party, Roraback was unbeatable. He had a strong rural organization, money from businesses, traditional policies, and a structured party. Connecticut was the last state (in 1955) to adopt the party primary system. It was only used if a losing candidate wanted to challenge the state convention's choice.

When World War I began in 1914, Connecticut's large machine industry received big orders from British, Canadian, French, and U.S. forces. The biggest weapons companies were Remington in Bridgeport, Winchester in New Haven, and Colt in Hartford. There was also a large federal arsenal in Bridgeport.

The state strongly supported the American war effort in 1917-1918. People bought many war bonds, and war industries grew even more. There was also a focus on increasing food production on farms. Thousands of state, local, and volunteer groups helped with the war effort. They were coordinated by the Connecticut State Council of Defense. Young men were eager to serve, whether as volunteers or draftees.

As the war ended, the worldwide epidemic of "Spanish Flu" hit the state. Many people died because Connecticut was a travel hub. It was also heavily urbanized, so germs spread faster. Many recent immigrants lived in crowded areas. An estimated 8,500-9,000 people died, about one percent of the population. About one-quarter of the population caught the disease.

Immigrants and Ethnicity in the Early 20th Century

Connecticut factories in Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, and Hartford attracted European immigrants. The largest groups were Italian, Polish, and other Eastern Europeans. They brought Catholic workers to a state that was historically Protestant. Many Jewish immigrants also arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s. By 1910, almost 30% of Connecticut's population was born in other countries.

These ethnic groups supported World War I. (The small number of German Americans tried to stay quiet, facing hostility after the U.S. entered the war.) Ethnic organizations supported programs to help new immigrants become Americanized. Since civilian travel across the Atlantic was almost impossible from 1914-1920, the flow of new immigrants stopped. Recently arrived Italians, Poles, and others had to cancel plans to return to their home villages. They moved into higher-paying jobs in the weapons industry. They became more settled in American society and became permanent residents. Instead of identifying with their old villages, Italians developed new pride in being both American and Italian. Their children, born in the U.S. and speaking two languages, did well financially in the prosperous 1920s. Poles joined the military in large numbers and strongly supported war bonds. They were partly motivated by the government's promise to support an independent Poland, which happened after the war.

Some people in the 1920s, called Nativists, opposed the new immigrants. They saw them as a threat to the state's traditional values. The Ku Klux Klan had a small anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant following in Connecticut in the 1920s. It reached about 15,000 members before it collapsed nationwide in 1926 due to scandals involving its top leaders.

Depression and War Years

Some bridges on the Merritt Parkway were built by workers paid by the US Works Progress Administration

With more people losing jobs in cities and rural areas, people became unhappy with Republican leaders. Connecticut Democrats saw a chance to regain power. The leader of this movement was Yale English professor Governor Wilbur Lucius Cross (1931–1939). He followed many of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policies. He created new public services, helped with building projects, and set a minimum wage. The Merritt Parkway was built during this time as part of the investment in infrastructure.

In 1938, the state Democratic Party faced problems. The Republicans elected Governor Raymond E. Baldwin. Connecticut became a state where both parties were very competitive.

On September 21, 1938, the most damaging storm in New England history hit eastern Connecticut. Hundreds of people died. The center of the "Long Island Express" hurricane passed just west of New Haven. It destroyed the Connecticut shoreline between Old Saybrook and Stonington. This area did not have the protection from wind and waves that Long Island, New York, provided to the western coast. The hurricane caused huge damage to buildings, homes, and businesses. In New London, a 500-foot sailing ship was pushed into a warehouse, causing a big fire. Heavy rain caused the Connecticut River to flood downtown Hartford and East Hartford. An estimated 50,000 trees fell onto roads.

The lingering Great Depression soon ended as the United States invested in its defense industry before and during World War II (1941–1945). Roosevelt's call for America to be the Arsenal of Democracy led to amazing growth in industries related to weapons. These included airplane engines, radio, radar, special fuses, rifles, and many other products. Pratt and Whitney made airplane engines. Cheney sewed silk parachutes. Electric Boat built submarines. This was in addition to traditional manufacturing like guns, ships, uniforms, and artillery. Connecticut made 4.1 percent of all U.S. military weapons during World War II. It ranked ninth among the 48 states. Ken Burns focused on Waterbury's weapons production in his 2007 miniseries The War. Most weapons production ended in 1945. But new industries had started because of the war. Manufacturing of high-tech electronics and airplane parts continued.

Postwar Prosperity and Challenges

Connecticut's suburbs grew as people moved to newer homes using government-funded highways. Its cities reached their peak in the 1950s. Then they slowly declined as people spread out into wider areas. Connecticut built the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), and other important weapons for The Pentagon. In the early 1960s, more jobs meant the state had the highest income per person in the nation. The better standard of living could be seen in the suburban neighborhoods developing outside major cities. Building major highways like the Connecticut Turnpike, with federal money, led to small towns becoming places for large residential and retail growth. This trend continues today, with offices also moving to new locations.

Fairfield County, known as Connecticut's Gold Coast, was a favorite place for many executives who worked in New York City. It attracted many company headquarters from New York, especially in the 1970s, when Connecticut had no state income tax. Connecticut offered plenty of affordable office space, a good quality of life for people who didn't want to live in New York City, and excellent public schools. The state did not offer any tax breaks for companies to move their headquarters.

Connecticut industrial workers were very well-paid. Many worked in defense industries, building nuclear submarines at Electric Boat shipyards, helicopters at Sikorsky, and jet engines at Pratt & Whitney. Labor unions were very powerful after the war, reaching their peak influence in the early 1970s. Since then, private sector labor unions have greatly decreased in size and influence. This is because industries declined as factories closed and jobs moved out of state and overseas. Public-sector unions, covering teachers, police, and city and state employees, have become more powerful. They have influence in the Democratic Party.

The decline of industry left many industrial centers with empty factories and high unemployment. As wealthier white people moved to suburbs, African Americans and Latino people made up a larger part of city populations. This reflected their later arrival during the Great Migration and immigration. They also had difficulty finding and moving to other jobs. They had gained middle-class status through good-paying industrial jobs but became stuck. African Americans and Latinos inherited aging city areas that were no longer a high priority for the state or private industry. By the 1980s, crime and urban decay were big problems. These poor conditions led to strong movements pushing to improve poor neighborhoods and desegregate city school systems. These systems were surrounded by mostly white suburbs. In 1987, Hartford became the first U.S. city to elect an African-American woman as mayor, Carrie Saxon Perry.

Politics in the Late 20th Century

Connecticut had very strong state political parties. The Republican Party was led by figures like A. Searle Pinney. John Moran Bailey was the state chairman of the Democrats from 1946 until his death in 1975. He was also the party's national chairman from 1961 to 1968. These party leaders controlled their groups in the legislature. They also ran the state meetings that chose candidates for top offices. The old WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) group was still important in rural Connecticut. But Catholics made up 44% of the state's population and controlled all the industrial cities. With ethnic groups loyal to the Democratic Party, and labor unions at their strongest, the Democratic Party strongly supported the New Deal coalition and its liberalism. The Republican Party was somewhat liberal, like Senator Prescott Bush. He was a wealthy Yankee whose son and grandson later became presidents from their new conservative base in Texas. Connecticut had trouble defining its identity. It had no major sports teams, and its media was dominated by TV stations from New York, Providence, Rhode Island, and Springfield, Massachusetts. Bailey's connection to the liberal part of the Democratic Party was Ella T. Grasso. He helped her move from the legislature to Secretary of State, to Congress, and finally to governor.

Bailey's usual success in choosing the state's candidates was upset in 1970. The Republican candidate for governor, Congressman Thomas Joseph Meskill, defeated a less impressive Democrat. More complicated was the situation of Senator Thomas J. Dodd, a Democrat. He had faced issues with how he handled campaign funds. Dodd lost the Democratic primary. But he ran as an independent and split the vote. This meant that liberal Republican Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. won the Senate seat with 42% of the vote. Bailey had an easier time in 1974 getting Senator Abe Ribicoff reelected. In 1950, Ribicoff was elected as the first Jewish and non-WASP governor in the state's history. Weicker was reelected many times until he was narrowly defeated in 1988. He was elected governor in 1990 as an independent.

In 1974, Democrats elected Ella T. Grasso as governor. She was the daughter of Italian immigrants. She was the first woman in any state to be elected governor on her own. She was reelected in 1978. She faced a big crisis in 1978 when "The Blizzard of 78" dropped 30 inches (76 cm) of snow across the state. This crippled highways and made almost all roads impassable. She "Closed the State" by official order. She forbade all use of public roads by businesses and citizens, closing all businesses. This meant residents were mostly restricted to their homes. This helped rescue and cleanup teams. It also allowed cleanup and emergency services for people stuck at home to proceed. The crisis ended on the third day. Grasso received praise from all parts of the state for her leadership and strength.

Late 20th Century Economic Shifts

Connecticut's reliance on the defense industry became an economic challenge when the Cold War ended. The resulting budget crisis helped elect Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. as Governor on a third-party ticket in 1990. Weicker had campaigned against a state income tax. But his solution to the budget crisis, a state income tax, helped balance the budget. However, it was not popular politically. Weicker retired after one term.

Until the late 1800s, Connecticut agriculture included tobacco farms. Many immigrant families from the West Indies, Puerto Rico, and the black South worked on these farms. In the off-season, they went to cities for temporary apartments, schooling, and services. But with the decline of tobacco, they moved to cities permanently.

With newly recognized land, the Pequots started plans to build a multi-million-dollar casino complex. It would be on reservation land. The Foxwoods Casino was finished in 1992. The huge amount of money it earned made the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation one of the richest in the country. With this new money, great educational and cultural projects were started. This included building the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. The Mohegan Reservation also gained official recognition soon after. In 1994, they opened another successful casino (Mohegan Sun) near Uncasville. The economic downturn that began in 2007 greatly reduced their earnings. By 2012, both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods were deeply in debt.

Casinos show how the economy shifted from manufacturing to entertainment. Other examples include ESPN, financial services like hedge funds, and pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer.

Connecticut in the 21st Century

In the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, 65 Connecticut residents were killed. Most were Fairfield County residents working in the World Trade Center. Greenwich lost 12 residents. Stamford and Norwalk each lost nine. Darien lost six. A state memorial was later set up at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport. The New York City skyline can be seen from the park.

In April 2005, Connecticut passed a law that gave all rights of marriage to same-sex couples. In October 2008, the Supreme Court of Connecticut ordered same-sex marriage to be legal.

In 2011 and 2012, Connecticut was hit by three major storms in just over 14 months. All three caused a lot of property damage and power outages. Hurricane Irene struck Connecticut on August 28, 2011. The storm was blamed for the deaths of three residents. Damage totaled $235 million, including 20 houses destroyed in East Haven. Two months later in late October, the "Halloween nor'easter" dropped a lot of snow onto trees that still had leaves. This caused many branches and trunks to snap, damaging property and power lines. Some areas did not get electricity back for 11 days. Hurricane Sandy had strong winds when it reached Connecticut on October 29, 2012. Four deaths were blamed on the storm. Sandy's winds pushed storm surges into coastal streets, toppled trees, and cut power to 98 percent of homes and businesses. It caused over $360 million in damage.

Images for kids

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  The New Haven system

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  A 1942 advertisement for recreational lodging in Goshen.

See also

In Spanish: Historia de Connecticut para niños