ConnecticutLauren Salgado

Samantha Sproul

Founding

 Was the 5th state

Became a state on January 9,1788

One of the original thirteen colonies

Connecticut was first inhabited by Native American Tribes before the settlers came

People got kicked out of Massachusetts for being to religious and came to Connecticut

The name Connecticut comes from a Native American word "Quinatucquet," which meant "Beside the Long Tidal River

In 1614 The first Europeans to land in on Connecticut were Dutch traders who were sailing on the Connecticut river

By 1633 they purchased land from the Pequot Tribe and made a permanent settlement

Continued…

Many settlers from Massachusetts came to Connecticut, fell in love with the scenery and decided to purchase land along the river from the Mohegan Indians

Later there was trouble between the Indians and the settlers. The Pequot tribe wanted the land that was sold to the settlers by the Mohegan Indians.

In 1637 The settlers declared war on the native Americans

20 years later the settlers built a colony in Connecticut

The Settlers were upset with the way England was being run so they decided to leave

The Connecticut state flag displays the Arms of the State on each side. The field is azure blue. Three supported grape vines are depicted on the shield, each bearing three bunches of grapes. The shield is outlined in gold and silver and is decorated with clusters of white oak leaves and acorns. A white streamer, cleft at each end and bordered in gold and brown, is displayed below the shield. The motto of the state of Connecticut is lettered in dark blue on the streamer. It reads Qui Transtulit Sustinet (He who transplanted still sustains).

Connecticut Social Structure

The social structures that existed in Connecticut before our time were the following

Slavery of the Native Americans and Blacks

Men also had more freedom than women

Connecticut was home to many “Sundown” towns, these towns only allowed white residents to inhabit the neighborhoods

There are still a few to this day, but a majority of them no longer exist

Religion

Connecticut became home to many puritan emigrants from Massachusetts in 1636 led by Thomas Hooker

Looking for freedom from persecution and puritan intolerance

Religion wasn’t a personal or spiritual decision on people’s parts it had a political aspect to it

Religion had great influence over daily lives

Puritan was the only legal religion until 1708

In 1708 the colony let go of their authority and allowed individuals to practice other religions

These individuals no longer had to pay taxes to the state Congregational Church as long as they contributed to their other churches

If Sunday service was not attended than colonists were fined

The tax dollars collected supported the Congregational Church and the ministers

Religion Continued

Ministers had a large amount of power over the colony

In the 1730s and 1740s the Great Awakening occurred, led by Jonathan Edwards

This was a chain of religious revivals resulting in changes to religious doctrines

Religion was now being seen as a more individual decision

People no longer focused on the doctrines forced upon them by the Congregational Church, but rather focused on a relationship with god

Other religions such as Anglicans, Baptists, and Methodists strengthened at this time and more churches were formed

George Whitefield Jonathan Edwards were powerful ministers during this time

Media

News and information was passed on and learned through newspapers

The first newspaper was published in 1755 – Connecticut Gazette

In 1764 the Connecticut Courant was published (now the Hartford Courant) and is the longest continuously published newspaper in America

Newspapers weren’t all local news, there was a lot of news from Europe as well as some news from the other colonies

Newspapers had advertising for things such as medicines

Sometimes there were stories or poems that would be published

Deaths of important people were announced, but marriages and births were not

Local people were rarely talked about, it was more geared towards important figures

Commercial Considerations

Major industries were wheat, corn, and fishing

Known for fur trapping because of the amount of forests they have

Not known for good farmland (the farms they did have were small and for individual families)

Fishing, shipbuilding, lumbering, and fur trading

A part of the triangle trade – sold Rum for African American slaves

America’s first steam engine boat, the Navy’s submarine, and the cotton gin all began in Connecticut

Other Facts

Inventor Eli Whitney began manufacturing his cotton gins, which revolutionized the economy of the South, at New Haven in 1793.

Largest City – Bridgeport

Area - 5,544 square miles [Connecticut is the48th biggest state in the US

Population - 3,405,565 (as of 2000) [Connecticut is the 29th most populous state in the USA]

Name for Residents – Connecticuters

Major Industries - agriculture, industry (especially insurance), tourism

Presidential Birthplace - George Walker Bush was born in New Haven on July 6, 1946 (he was the 43rd US President, serving from 2001 until 2009).

Nickname is the constitution state

Historical Sites

http://www.watchmojo.com/index.php?id=8310

Maps of Connecticut

Map of Connecticut, by Frances A. Henshaw, from Frances A. Henshaw's Book of Penmanship Executed at the Middlebury Female Academy April 29, 1828.

Works Cited

http://www.rcs.k12.va.us/csjh/colonies.htm

http://www.timepage.org/spl/13colony.html

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/colonialamerica/a/colamoverview.htm

http://www.ehow.com/about_4569508_religion-connecticut-during-colonial-times.html

http://www.ehow.com/about_4569352_inventions-colonial-life-connecticut.html

http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?article=8324

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_social_structure_in_colonial_Connecticut

http://www.ctrivervalley.com/Maps-of-Connecticut-CT/index.html