History of Delaware facts for kids

The history of Delaware covers hundreds of years of fascinating events. Delaware is a small state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Even though it is the second-smallest state by land area, Delaware played a huge role in the founding of the nation. It was the very first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, earning it the official nickname "The First State."

Before Europeans arrived, Native American tribes lived on the land for generations. In the 1600s, explorers and settlers from the Netherlands, Sweden, and England crossed the Atlantic Ocean. These groups competed to build trading posts and colonies along the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. Over time, Delaware grew from three small colonial counties into an active center of trade, industry, and agriculture.

Indigenous Peoples and Early Inhabitants

Who Lived in Delaware First?

Long before European ships arrived, diverse Native American nations lived across the Delmarva Peninsula. The largest group in the northern and central areas was the Lenni Lenape, which means "Original People." English settlers later called them the Delaware Indians.

To the south, along the rivers and bays, lived the Nanticoke tribe. The Susquehannock people lived further to the west and northwest. These groups understood the local forests, waterways, and seasons exceptionally well.

Daily Life and Natural Resources

The native peoples built communities centered around seasonal resources. During the spring and summer, they planted crops such as corn, beans, and squash. These three crops were known as the "Three Sisters" because they grew well together.

Native families lived in longhouses or smaller rounded homes called wigwams. These homes were made from sapling frames covered with bark sheets or woven reed mats.

In autumn and winter, tribal members hunted deer, wild turkeys, and small game. They also fished in the rivers and gathered shellfish like oysters and clams along the coast. Native paths through the forests often became the first roads used by later European settlers.

European Exploration and Early Settlements

Delaware was named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an early governor of Virginia.

How Delaware Got Its Name

In 1497, the explorer John Cabot sailed along parts of North America under the English flag. More than a century later, Captain John Smith mapped portions of the coastline.

English leaders claimed the area as part of the Colony of Virginia. The bay and river were named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. He served as the governor of Virginia from 1610 to 1618. In time, the entire region took on the name Delaware.

A 1639 Dutch map showing Zwaanendael Colony and Delaware Bay.

Dutch Explorers and Trading Posts

The Dutch also laid claim to the region based on the voyage of Henry Hudson in 1609. Hudson had explored the Delaware Bay for the Dutch East India Company before heading north up the Hudson River.

The Dutch West India Company established several trading posts to buy valuable animal furs from native hunters:

• Fort Wilhelmus (1624), built on Burlington Island.
• Fort Nassau (1626), built near modern Gloucester City, New Jersey.
• Zwaanendael Colony (1631), established near modern Lewes, Delaware.

The name Zwaanendael meant "Valley of Swans." Sadly, misunderstandings quickly led to conflicts between the Dutch settlers and the local native population. Within a year, the settlement was completely destroyed.

The Colony of New Sweden

In 1638, a new group of Europeans entered the region under the Swedish flag. Peter Minuit, an experienced leader who had previously worked for the Dutch, led two ships named the Kalmar Nyckel and the Fogel Grip.

Minuit sailed up the Minquas Kill (now the Christina River) and established Fort Christina. This site is located in modern-day Wilmington. Minuit bought land from the local Lenape leaders and named the region New Sweden.

Swedish and Finnish settlers introduced important building styles to North America, including the classic log cabin. They cut interlocking notches in tree trunks to build warm, sturdy homes.

New Sweden grew steadily. In 1643, Governor Johan Björnsson Printz arrived to expand the colony. Printz moved the colonial capital north to Tinicum Island, strengthening Swedish farms along the Delaware River.

Dutch Takeover and New Netherland

The Dutch never accepted Sweden's claim to the Delaware valley. In 1651, the Dutch governor of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, built Fort Casimir at modern New Castle.

In 1654, a new Swedish governor named Johan Risingh sailed up the river and captured Fort Casimir without firing a shot. He renamed it Fort Trinity.

This action angered Peter Stuyvesant. In the summer of 1655, Stuyvesant returned with a fleet of seven armed ships and hundreds of soldiers. The Dutch easily captured Fort Christina and Fort Trinity. New Sweden came to an end, and the territory joined Dutch New Netherland.

English Rule and the Lower Counties

The Duke of York's Expedition

Dutch control over the region did not last very long. In 1664, James, Duke of York, brother of King Charles II, sent an English fleet to North America.

The English easily captured New Amsterdam (which they renamed New York) and took control of the Delaware River settlements. The English crown established legal authority over the area, though everyday life for the Dutch, Swedish, and Finnish colonists changed very little at first.

William Penn and the Three Lower Counties

In 1681, King Charles II gave William Penn a large land charter to establish the Province of Pennsylvania. Penn was a Quaker who wanted to create a society based on religious tolerance and fair laws.

However, Pennsylvania had no direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. Penn realized his new colony needed water routes for trade. In 1682, he convinced the Duke of York to lease him the three counties along the western shore of the Delaware River:

• New Castle County in the north
• Kent County in the center
• Sussex County in the south

These regions were known collectively as the "Three Lower Counties on the Delaware." Penn landed at New Castle in October 1682 to take formal possession of his lands.

A Separate Assembly in 1704

Penn initially tried to govern Pennsylvania and the Lower Counties under one combined assembly. Half the representatives met from the Pennsylvania counties, and half from the Delaware counties.

Soon, friction developed between the two groups. The Lower Counties had a smaller population and different agricultural interests than growing Philadelphia. The delegates also disliked traveling long distances to alternate legislative sessions between New Castle and Philadelphia.

In 1704, William Penn granted permission for the Lower Counties to form their own independent legislature. They met in New Castle to write local laws. Although Delaware and Pennsylvania maintained separate legislatures, they continued to share the same royal governor until 1776.

Resolving Border Disputes: The Mason–Dixon Line

For nearly a century, the Penn family argued with the Calvert family, who owned Maryland. The Calverts claimed that Maryland's original charter extended all the way to the Delaware Bay, which included all of Delaware.

To settle the legal dispute, the families hired two English astronomers and surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. Between 1763 and 1767, Mason and Dixon surveyed the boundaries:

• The Transpeninsular Line established the southern border of Delaware.
• The Mason–Dixon line fixed the western border between Delaware and Maryland.
• The Twelve-Mile Circle formed an arc-shaped northern border around the town of New Castle, separating Delaware from Pennsylvania.

A tiny sliver of land called the Wedge remained under debate between Delaware and Pennsylvania until both states formally settled it in 1921.

The American Revolution

Moving Toward Independence

By the 1770s, many colonists in Delaware grew upset with unfair taxes and laws passed by the British Parliament without colonial representation. Delaware sent delegates to both the First and Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

On June 15, 1776, the Delaware Assembly passed a resolution ending all British royal authority over the colony. This date is celebrated as Separation Day in Delaware.

When the Continental Congress voted on the United States Declaration of Independence in July 1776, Delaware's three delegates were divided. Thomas McKean favored independence, while George Read was hesitant.

The third delegate, Caesar Rodney, was at his home near Dover. McKean sent an urgent message asking him to come at once. Rodney rode 80 miles (129 km) on horseback through a stormy night to reach Philadelphia just in time to cast the deciding vote for Delaware in favor of independence.

The Battle of Cooch's Bridge

The only major land battle of the Revolutionary War fought within Delaware occurred on September 3, 1777, at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge near Newark.

British General William Howe had landed thousands of British and Hessian soldiers in Maryland. They were marching toward Philadelphia.

American General George Washington positioned marksmen under General William Maxwell near Cooch's Bridge to slow the British advance. The Americans fought bravely from hidden positions in the woods before running low on ammunition and safely retreating. Tradition holds that the newly designed American Stars and Stripes flag was first flown in battle at Cooch's Bridge.

Days later, the British army marched into Pennsylvania and defeated Washington's forces at the Battle of Brandywine, leading to the capture of Philadelphia.

The Delaware Regiment

Delaware soldiers in the Continental Army earned a proud reputation for courage and discipline. Led by commanders like Colonel John Haslet and Colonel David Hall, the Delaware Regiment fought in major battles across New York, New Jersey, and the Southern campaigns.

The soldiers were nicknamed the "Delaware Blues" because of their smart blue coats faced with red. They were also called "The Blue Hen's Chicks," named after aggressive fighting roosters carried by some soldiers. The Blue Hen eventually became the official state bird of Delaware.

The Treaty of Paris in 1783 officially ended the war, securing American independence.

The First State and Early Growth

Ratifying the United States Constitution

After winning independence, the young country was governed by the Articles of Confederation. This system proved too weak to manage national finances or foreign policy. In 1787, leaders met at the Constitutional Convention to write a new framework for government.

Smaller states like Delaware were worried that larger states like Virginia and Pennsylvania would control the national government. Delaware's delegates, including John Dickinson and Gunning Bedford Jr., fought hard for equal representation. This led to the creation of the United States Senate, where every state receives two senators regardless of population.

Delaware was pleased with the new Constitution. On December 7, 1787, thirty delegates met in Dover and voted unanimously to ratify the document. Because it was the very first state to do so, Delaware earned the proud title of "The First State."

Industrial Growth on the Brandywine

During the early 1800s, northern Delaware became a busy manufacturing center. The fast-flowing waters of the Brandywine River powered early grain mills and textile factories.

In 1800, a French chemist named Éleuthère Irénée du Pont arrived in the United States. He noticed that American gunpowder was of poor quality compared to European powder. In 1802, he purchased land along the Brandywine River near Wilmington and established the DuPont gunpowder mills.

The mills grew into the largest gunpowder supplier in the country. The DuPont company expanded its business over the next two centuries, transforming into a global leader in chemistry and materials science.

Canals and Railroads

Transportation improvements in the 1800s helped connect Delaware's farms and factories to larger regional markets.

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was constructed between 1802 and 1829. This 14 miles (23 km) waterway cut across the Delmarva Peninsula, connecting the Delaware River to the Chesapeake Bay. It saved merchant ships hundreds of miles of open-ocean travel around Cape Charles.

In the 1830s and 1840s, the arrival of railroads further sped up the movement of goods. Farmers in Kent and Sussex counties could quickly transport fresh peaches, corn, and vegetables to growing cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore.

African American Heritage and the Underground Railroad

Delaware had a complex history regarding freedom and slavery. Although Delaware was legally a slave state, many landowners freed enslaved individuals in the late 1700s and early 1800s, inspired by Quaker beliefs and Revolutionary ideals.

By 1810, more than half of Delaware's Black population was free. By 1860, over 90% of the Black community was free.

In 1813, Peter Spencer founded the Union Church of Africans in Wilmington. This was the first independent Black Christian denomination chartered in the United States. In 1814, Spencer started the Big August Quarterly, a religious and cultural gathering that remains the oldest continuously celebrated African American festival in the country.

Delaware also played an important role in the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses helping people escape from slavery to northern free states and Canada. Famous conductor Harriet Tubman made multiple journeys through Delaware to guide freedom seekers north. In Wilmington, a Quaker merchant named Thomas Garrett worked with Tubman and helped more than 2,700 people reach safety.

Delaware During the American Civil War

A Divided Border State

When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Delaware was in a unique position. It was a border slave state located right on the edge of the Union.

Southern states sent representatives asking Delaware to join the Confederacy, but Delaware leaders firmly rejected secession. The state legislature voted on January 3, 1861, to remain loyal to the United States.

Although Delaware remained in the Union, its residents were divided:

• Northern New Castle County had strong commercial and railroad ties to northern industrial cities and strongly supported the Union.
• Southern Kent and Sussex counties were rural agricultural communities where many citizens held southern sympathies.

Napoleon B. Knight of the 1st Delaware Cavalry during the Civil War.

Soldiers and Military Support

Despite having a population of only about 112,000 people in 1860, Delaware contributed over 12,000 soldiers to the Union army. Delaware units fought bravely in major battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg.

A small number of Delaware citizens slipped across state lines to join Confederate regiments in Maryland and Virginia. However, Delaware was the only slave state from which the Confederacy could not organize a complete regiment.

The DuPont powder mills along the Brandywine River were vital to the Union war effort, supplying millions of pounds of gunpowder to the army and navy. To protect this critical industry, Union troops guarded northern Delaware bridges, mills, and railways throughout the conflict.

Post-War Amendments

Following the end of the Civil War in 1865, the United States passed constitutional amendments to end slavery and protect civil rights:

• The 13th Amendment abolished slavery.
• The 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the law.
• The 15th Amendment protected the right of citizens to vote.

Delaware's state government initially resisted these measures and voted against ratifying the amendments during the 1860s. However, when enough other states voted in favor, the amendments became national law. Delaware later ratified these historic amendments symbolically in 1901.

Industrial Growth and the Modern Era

Late Nineteenth-Century Developments

During the late 1800s, Wilmington expanded into a major manufacturing hub. Shipyards along the Christina and Delaware rivers built steel-hulled steamships.

Other factories in Delaware produced railroad cars, vulcanized fiber, leather goods, and industrial machinery. Delaware’s agriculture also transformed as farmers specialized in poultry, dairy, and truck farming.

Corporate Leadership and Business Laws

In 1899, Delaware passed the General Corporation Law. This set of modern rules made it simple and fair for businesses to organize, incorporate, and operate.

The state also established the Delaware Court of Chancery, a specialized court focusing on business and corporate disputes with experienced judges instead of juries.

Because of its reliable and predictable legal system, Delaware became the preferred incorporation state for many American businesses. Today, more than half of all publicly traded companies in the United States and the majority of Fortune 500 businesses are legally registered in Delaware.

The Civil Rights Movement: Gebhart v. Belton

For many decades, public schools in Delaware and other states were separated by race under state laws. In 1951, African American parents in Claymont and Hockessin challenged these unequal conditions in court.

The lawsuit, known as Gebhart v. Belton, was heard by Delaware Chancellor Collins J. Seitz. In 1952, Seitz ruled that the segregated schools for Black students were unconstitutionally inferior to white schools and ordered immediate integration.

The Delaware Supreme Court upheld this historic decision. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States and became one of five cases combined into the landmark 1954 ruling Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional nationwide.

School desegregation met resistance in some local communities, including protests in Milford during 1954. Dedicated parents, educators, and civil rights advocates continued their work, and full integration of Delaware public schools was successfully achieved over the following years.

Delaware in Modern Times

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Delaware's economy continued to modernize:

• Financial Services: In 1981, Delaware passed the Financial Center Development Act, attracting major national banks and credit card companies to Wilmington and Newark.
• Aviation and Defense: Dover Air Force Base became a central logistics hub for the United States Air Force, operating large cargo transport planes.
• Tourism and Coastal Recreation: Coastal towns like Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, and Lewes became popular vacation destinations, known for clean shores, state parks, and historic lighthouses.
• Science and Agriculture: Delaware remains a leader in chemical research, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural production, especially poultry farming on the Delmarva Peninsula.

From its early days as an indigenous homeland and European trading outpost to its vital role as "The First State," Delaware has played an enduring part in American history.

Delaware Historical Timeline

See Also

In Spanish: Historia de Delaware para niños

• Colonial history of the United States
• Thirteen Colonies
• New Sweden
• Province of Pennsylvania
• Delaware in the American Civil War