New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America named after the southern English county of Hampshire. The state ranks 44th in land area, 46th in total area of the 50 states, and 41st in population. It was one of the original Thirteen Colonies and became the ninth state to ratify the United States Constitution on June 21, 1788. New Hampshire was the first U.S. state to have its own state constitution, and is the only state with neither a general sales tax nor a personal income tax.
It is internationally famous for the New Hampshire primary, the first primary in the quadrennial U.S. presidential election cycle.
Its license plates carry the state motto: "Live Free or Die." The state nickname is "The Granite State," in reference both to its geology and to its tradition of self-sufficiency. Several other official nicknames exist but are rarely used.
A number of famous individuals come from New Hampshire, such as Senator Daniel Webster, editor Horace Greeley, founder of the Christian Science religion Mary Baker Eddy, author Dan Brown, and comedians Adam Sandler, Sarah Silverman, and Seth Meyers. New Hampshire has produced one president, Franklin Pierce.
New Hampshire's recreational attractions include skiing and other winter sports, observing the spectacular fall foliage, summer cottages along many lakes, motor sports at the New Hampshire International Speedway, home of NASCAR events and the Loudon Classic, and Bike Week, a popular motorcycle rally associated with the Loudon Classic, held in Laconia in June.
The colony that became the state of New Hampshire was founded on a land grant given in 1622 by the Council for New England to Captain John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges (who founded Maine). The colony was named New Hampshire after the English county of Hampshire. It was first settled at Odiorne's Point in Rye (near Portsmouth) by a group of fishermen from England under David Thompson in 1623, just three years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. The settlers built a fort, manor house and other buildings, some for fish processing, on Flake Hill. They called the settlement Pannaway Plantation. The first native Newhampshireman, John Thompson, was born there. (Note: this was the conclusion of several early historians, however we now know that John Thompson was baptised at St. Andrew's Parish in Plymouth, England in 1619. Most likely the first English child born in New Hampshire was Agnes Hilton, daughter of William Hilton, born at Dover in 1625.)
David Thompson had been sent by Mason, to be followed a few years later by Edward and William Hilton. They led an expedition to the vicinity of Dover, which they called Northam. Mason died in 1635 without ever seeing the colony he founded. Settlers from Pannaway, moving to the Portsmouth region later and combining with an expedition of the new Laconia Company (formed 1629) under Captain Neal, called their new settlement Strawbery Banke. In 1638 Exeter was founded by John Wheelright.
In 1631, Captain Thomas Wiggin served as the first governor of the Upper Plantation (comprising modern-day Dover, Durham and Stratham). All the towns agreed to unite in 1639, but meanwhile Massachusetts had claimed the territory. In 1641 an agreement was reached with Massachusetts to come under its jurisdiction. Home rule of the towns was allowed. In 1653 Strawbery Bank petitioned the General Court of Massachusetts to change its name to Portsmouth, which was granted.
The relationship between Massachusetts and the independent Newhampshiremen was controversial and tenuous. In 1679 the king separated them and Upper Plantation became the "Royal Province" with John Cutt as governor. They were reunited in 1686 and redivided in 1691. The "Royal Province" continued until 1698 when it came once more under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts with Joseph Dudley as Governor. In 1741 New Hampshire returned to its royal provincial status with a governor of its own, Benning Wentworth, who was its governor from 1741 to 1766.
New Hampshire was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. It was the first state to declare its independence, and the historic attack on Fort William and Mary (now Fort Constitution) helped supply the cannon and ammunition needed for the Battle of Bunker Hill that took place north of Boston a few months later. New Hampshire would raise three regiments for the Continental Army, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd New Hampshire regiments. New Hampshire Militia units would be called up to fight at the Battle of Bunker Hill, Battle of Bennington, Saratoga Campaign and the Battle of Rhode Island. John Paul Jones' ship the Sloop-of-war USS Ranger and the frigate USS Raleigh were built in Portsmouth, New Hampshire along with other naval ships for the Continental Navy and Privateers to hunt down British merchant shipping.
On January 5, 1776, the Provincial Congress of New Hampshire, meeting in Exeter, New Hampshire ratified the first state constitution in the soon-to-be United States, six months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
In the 1830s, New Hampshire saw two major news stories: the founding of the Republic of Indian Stream on its northern border with Canada over the unresolved post-revolutionary war border issue.
Abolitionists from Dartmouth College founded the experimental, interracial Noyes Academy in Canaan, New Hampshire in 1835. Rural opponents of the school eventually dragged the school away with oxen before lighting in ablaze to protest integrated education, within months of the school's founding.
Abolitionist sentiment was a strong undercurrent in the state, with significant support given the Free Soil party of John P. Hale. However the conservative Jacksonian Democrats usually maintained control, under the leadership of editor Isaac Hill. In 1856 the new Republican Party headed by Amos Tuck produced a political revolution.
The textile industry was hard hit by the depression and growing competition from southern mills. The closing of the Amoskeag Mills in 1935 was a major blow to Manchester, as was the closing of the former Nashua Manufacturing Corp. mill in Nashua in 1949.
The replacement of the Nashua textile mill with defense electronics contractor Sanders Associates in 1952 and the arrival of minicomputer giant Digital Equipment Corporation in the early 1970s helped lead the way toward southern New Hampshire's role as a high-tech adjunct of the Route 128 corridor.
The post-World War II decades have also seen New Hampshire increase its economic and cultural links with the greater Boston, Massachusetts region. This reflects a national trend, in which improved highway networks have helped metropolitan areas expand into formerly rural areas or small nearby cities.
