History of Vermont facts for kids

Mount Mansfield, at 4,393 feet (1,339 m), is the highest point in Vermont. Other high points are Killington Peak, Mount Ellen, Mount Abraham, and Camel's Hump. The lowest point in the state is Lake Champlain at 95 feet (29 m). The state's average elevation is 1,000 feet (300 m).

The history of Vermont is quite old, starting over 450 million years ago when the land was covered by ancient seas. Later, Native Americans lived here as hunter-gatherers and then in settled villages. Vermont became the 14th state to join the United States in 1791, after being an independent republic for a short time following the American Revolutionary War. Vermont was strongly against slavery and fought for the Union during the American Civil War.

Early Times: Seas, Ice, and First Peoples

Vermont was covered by shallow seas many times, starting from the Cambrian and Devonian periods. Most of the rocks formed in these seas were later pushed up to create mountains. You can find many fossils in the Lake Champlain area from these ancient seas.

After the last Ice Age, huge glaciers, sometimes 2 miles (3.2 km) thick, melted away. This melting created a large body of water called Lake Vermont, which later became the Champlain Sea. This sea was salty because it connected to the ocean. Scientists have found shells of sea creatures and even bones of beluga whales in the Lake Champlain region from this time.

Lake Vermont also connected to a large glacial lake in the west, near where the Great Lakes are today. This allowed fish from the west to enter Vermont, which is why Vermont has more native fish species (78!) than any other New England state. About half of these fish originally came from the west.

Native American Life

Not much is known about Vermont's history before Europeans arrived. From about 7000 to 1000 BC, during the Archaic Period, Native Americans moved around all year, hunting and gathering food. From 1000 BC to 1600 AD, during the Woodland Period, people started living in villages and trading with each other. They also developed new tools like pottery and the bow and arrow.

The western part of Vermont was home to Algonquian-speaking tribes, including the Mohican and Abenaki peoples. Between 1534 and 1609, the Iroquois Mohawks pushed many smaller tribes out of the Champlain Valley. The Mohawks then used the area for hunting and often fought with the remaining Abenaki.

European Arrival and the Name "Vermont"

French explorer Samuel de Champlain explored the area of what is now Lake Champlain. He named the mountains les Verts Monts, which means "the Green Mountains." This is where Vermont gets its name!

In 1609, Champlain helped his Abenaki allies by shooting an Iroquois chief. This made the Iroquois permanent enemies of the French, which later caused France to lose much of its land in the New World, including Vermont, after the French and Indian War in 1763.

France claimed Vermont as part of New France. In 1666, they built Fort Sainte Anne on Isle La Motte. This was the first European settlement in Vermont and the site of the first Roman Catholic church service.

Later, in 1690, Dutch and British settlers from Albany built a trading post called the De Warm Stockade at Chimney Point. This was across the lake from Crown Point, New York.

Conflicts and New Settlements

For many years, there were fights between the English colonies to the south and the French colony to the north. Vermont was a wild frontier during this time.

Early British Settlements

The first permanent British settlement in Vermont was Fort Dummer, built in 1724 in the southeastern part of the state. It protected nearby towns like Dummerston and Brattleboro. These settlements were started by people from Massachusetts and Connecticut. The second British settlement, Bennington, was not built until 37 years later.

During the French and Indian War (1755–1761), some Vermont settlers joined the British to fight the French. In 1759, Rogers' Rangers launched an attack against an Abenaki village in Quebec from Lake Champlain.

After France lost the French and Indian War, the Treaty of Paris in 1763 gave control of the entire region to the British.

Land Disputes and the Vermont Republic

After the war, many new settlers came to Vermont. The population grew from 300 people in 1763 to 85,000 by 1791! Travel became easier with the Crown Point Road stretching across the Green Mountains.

Competing Land Claims

Three British colonies claimed the land that is now Vermont:

• Province of Massachusetts Bay: Based on an old charter from 1629.
• Province of New York: Based on land granted to the Duke of York in 1664.
• Province of New Hampshire: Its western border was never clearly defined.

In 1749, New Hampshire's governor, Benning Wentworth, started issuing many land grants, called the New Hampshire Grants. Many of these were in western Vermont, close to New York. One of these towns was named Bennington after him.

However, in 1764, King George III decided that the border between New Hampshire and New York should be along the west bank of the Connecticut River. This meant that New York now claimed all of Vermont. New York then said that the New Hampshire land grants were not valid and forced settlers to buy their land again from New York.

The Green Mountain Boys

This made the settlers who had bought land from New Hampshire very angry. In 1770, Ethan Allen, along with his brothers Ira and Levi, and Seth Warner, formed an informal militia called the Green Mountain Boys. Their goal was to protect the original New Hampshire settlers from the new settlers and officials from New York.

A big conflict happened in Bennington when a sheriff from Albany, New York, arrived with 750 men to take a farmer's land. The local residents gathered about 300 armed men to resist. The sheriff was told, "If you attempt it, you are a dead man," and he returned to Albany.

In March 1775, violence broke out in Westminster when a New York judge arrived. Angry citizens took over the courthouse, leading to the deaths of two men in what was called the "Westminster Massacre".

Vermont Declares Independence

In the summer of 1776, representatives from the New Hampshire Grants met and decided to declare their land an independent "district." On January 15, 1777, they met again in Westminster and declared themselves an independent republic. For the first six months, it was called New Connecticut, but then they adopted the name "Vermont."

On July 8, 1777, the Constitution of Vermont was adopted. This was a very important document because it was the first written constitution in North America to:

• Call for the end of slavery (for adults).
• Allow all men to vote, even if they didn't own land.
• Call for public schools.

The building where this constitution was drafted, the Windsor Tavern, is now preserved as the Old Constitution House, a state historic site.

Revolutionary War and Vermont's Role

The battles of Bennington and Saratoga were major turning points in the American Revolutionary War. They were the first big defeat for a British army and convinced France to help the American rebels.

The Battle of Bennington

The Battle of Bennington, fought on August 16, 1777, was a key event for Vermont. The new Vermont government faced challenges from New York, New Hampshire, Great Britain, and even the new United States, none of whom recognized its independence.

In the summer of 1777, the British army, led by General John Burgoyne, was moving south from Quebec. They captured Fort Ticonderoga and pushed the American army back. Burgoyne heard that there were many horses, food, and weapons stored in Bennington. He sent about 2,600 men to seize these supplies.

However, General John Stark's New Hampshire troops were already heading to Bennington to join forces with Vermont and western Massachusetts militias, led by Colonel Seth Warner. The combined American forces, under General Stark, attacked the British near Hoosick, New York. General Stark famously told his men: "There are your enemies, the redcoats and the Tories. They are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow!"

In a fierce, all-day battle, the American farmers defeated the British, killing or capturing 900 men. Burgoyne's army never recovered from this loss and eventually surrendered at Saratoga on October 17. "Bennington Battle Day" is now a holiday in Vermont.

Vermont as an Independent Republic

Vermont governed itself as an independent republic for 14 years. Thomas Chittenden was the chief leader of Vermont during most of this time (1778–1789 and 1790–1791). During the 1780s, Chittenden and other leaders had talks with the British governor of Quebec about Vermont possibly becoming a British province, but these talks ended when the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781.

The first General Assembly in Vermont created two counties: Bennington in the west and Unity in the east. They also decided to use the common law of England as the basis for their legal system. To pay for the militia, they voted to take land from people who supported the British (called Tories) and sell it. This was the first "tax" in the state.

The first newspaper in Vermont, the weekly Vermont Gazette, was published in 1781. In 1784, the state set up a postal service connecting several towns to Albany, New York.

Joining the United States

In 1791, Vermont officially joined the federal Union as the 14th state. It was the first state to join after the original thirteen colonies. Vermont joined as a free state, balancing out Kentucky, which was admitted later that year as a slaveholding state.

In June 1791, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison visited Vermont.

War of 1812

Because Vermont was close to Canada, people were worried during the War of 1812. At one point, 5,000 troops were stationed in Burlington, which was more than the number of residents! About 500 of these soldiers died from disease. The war was not very popular in Vermont because it seemed to be about faraway ocean issues.

Economic Changes in the 1800s

In 1812, Merino sheep were brought to Vermont. This led to a big boom in wool production. By 1837, there were 1,000,000 sheep in the state! However, the price of wool dropped, and Vermont couldn't compete with more efficient sheep farms in western states, so the sheep industry declined.

In 1846, construction began on Vermont's first railroad, the Central Vermont Railway, in Northfield.

By 1860, Vermont was a leading producer of hops (used in brewing beer). This crop helped replace the sheep trade. However, hops production also declined due to plant diseases, competition from California, and the start of national prohibition (a ban on alcohol).

Civil War Era

Vermont played a strong role in the American Civil War.

Abolitionist Movement

In 1843, escaped slaves hid on a farm in Shaftsbury, which was the first recorded instance of the Underground Railroad in Vermont.

Vermont was strongly against slavery. A Vermont Senate report in 1854 questioned how any government could favor the rights of one group of people over another. This report helped the abolitionist movement grow in the state. Vermont became a strong supporter of the new Republican Party and voted for President Abraham Lincoln in 1860, giving him his largest victory margin of any state.

Vermonters in the War

More than 28,100 Vermonters served in volunteer units during the Civil War. Vermont provided 17 infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, and other units. Instead of creating new units, Vermont regularly sent new recruits to keep its existing units at full strength. Many soldiers had never left their home county before going to war.

Nearly 5,000 Vermonters also served in units from other states, or in the United States Army and United States Navy. This included 166 black Vermonters, out of a total black population of 709 in the state, who served in units like the 54th Massachusetts Infantry (Colored). Vermonters fought in almost every major battle of the war.

Vermont suffered significant losses: 1,832 men were killed or mortally wounded in battle, and another 3,362 died from disease, in prison, or other causes, for a total of 5,194 deaths. Over 2,200 Vermonters were taken prisoner, and 615 of them died in captivity.

The St. Albans Raid, the northernmost land action of the war, took place in Vermont.

After the Civil War and Into the 20th Century

The years after the Civil War (1864–1885) saw both economic growth and challenges.

Vermont's railroads expanded and connected to national systems. Farming output and exports increased, and incomes rose. However, Vermont also felt the effects of economic downturns, especially the Panic of 1873, which caused many young Vermonters to leave the state.

Women's Voting Rights

The idea of equal rights, which was highlighted during the slavery debate, also led to calls for women's suffrage (the right for women to vote). The first election where women could vote in Vermont was on December 18, 1880. Women were first allowed to vote in town elections and then in state legislative races.

20th Century Changes

In 1902, Vermont changed its alcohol laws, allowing towns to decide whether to sell alcoholic beverages. This replaced the earlier statewide ban from 1853.

In 1923, the state passed a law limiting the regular workweek for women and children to 58 hours.

Major Floods

A large-scale flood occurred in November 1927. This disaster caused 85 deaths, with 84 of them in Vermont. Another flood in 1973 killed two people and caused millions of dollars in damage.

Wildlife and Environment

After World War II, the widespread use of DDT to kill insects led to a decrease in various wildlife, including birds and larger animals like moose and bears. When DDT was banned in 1972, many birds and larger mammals began to recover. For example, the bear population doubled from the 1980s to 6,000 by 2013.

Vermont in the 21st Century

In 2007, even though three-quarters of the state was against the Iraq War, Vermont had the highest rate of deaths in the nation among its soldiers. This was due to many volunteers and the participation of the Vermont National Guard.

During the late-2000s recession, Vermont's median household income dropped significantly, one of the largest drops in the nation.

In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene caused widespread flooding, especially in southern Vermont. It closed at least 260 roads. The federal government provided over $235 million in aid for recovery and repairs.

On April 25, 2000, the Vermont General Assembly passed a law that allowed gay and lesbian couples to have civil unions, giving them the same state-sanctioned benefits as marriage. This decision followed a ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court.

How Vermont Votes: A History

Early Voting Trends (1791–1860)

In its early years, Vermont generally supported the Jeffersonian Party, which later became the Democratic Party. However, in the 1830s, Vermont stopped voting Democratic, partly due to concerns about political parties and growing opposition to the spread of slavery. The state then voted for parties like the Anti-Masonic Party and the Whig Party, before becoming a strong supporter of the Republican Party.

Vermont citizens first started voting directly for presidential electors in 1828.

Political Leadership (1830–1916)

From the mid-1850s, when the Republican Party was founded, until 1958, Vermont elected only Republicans to statewide office.

In the past, politicians hoping for statewide office usually had to be nominated at a state convention. This system was often controlled by certain groups or even families. Until 1870, all state officials were elected for one-year terms, which then changed to two-year terms. Governors usually served only one two-year term.

Because the Green Mountains divide Vermont, politicians often followed an unwritten rule called the "mountain rule." This meant that the Lieutenant Governor and Governor would take turns living on opposite sides of the state to ensure both areas were represented.

Changes in Elections (1916–Present)

People became annoyed with the system of a few people choosing leaders, so statewide primary elections were introduced in 1916.

In 1962, Philip Hoff was elected Governor, becoming the first Democrat to hold that office since before the Civil War. This marked a big change in Vermont politics.

The population of Vermont had changed, with many new residents from other states who often voted Democratic. Also, in 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that voting districts must be based on "one-man, one-vote." This meant that cities, which had been underrepresented, now had a fair share of votes in the state legislature.

Today, no party nominee can be sure of winning an election. Governors now often serve as long as they can, rather than just one or two terms. Vermonters have often switched between Democratic and Republican governors since 1962.

Transportation History

Getting around mountainous Vermont was a big challenge for early settlers. Even today, public transportation can be difficult for many Vermonters.

The state highway system was created in 1931.

In 2008, the Vermont Transit Lines bus company, a part of Greyhound Lines, stopped operating. Limited bus service continued under Greyhound, and now subsidized regional organizations provide some service, especially for those needing medical treatment.

Images for kids

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  The flag of the Green Mountain Boys

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  Vellum manuscript of the Constitution of Vermont, 1777. This constitution was amended in 1786, and again in 1793, two years after Vermont's admission to the federal union in 1791.

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  The gold leaf dome of the Vermont State House in Montpelier is visible for many miles around the city. This is the third State House on the site, and like the second, was built in the Greek Revival architectural style. It was completed in 1857. Montpelier became the state capital in 1805.