Illustration of South Carolina state seal
The first permanent settlement in this State was made in 1670, at Port Royal, where the French Huguenots had failed three-quarters of a century before. The noble company who had received a charter for the settlement and government of the Carolinas employed the celebrated philosopher, John Locke, to draw up a philosophical plan of government, which they attempted to carry into effect to the great annoyance of the colonists. It proved impracticable, and was finally abandoned.
The French introduced the culture of the vine with success, and rice was brought at an early day from Madagascar, the cultivation of which became extensive.
Many vexations were endured by the colonists by the injudicious management of the proprietary government, and at length they, by petition, obtained a revocation of the charter, receiving, in 1720, a governor appointed by the crown. They endured for many years all the horrors of warfare with the Tuscarora Indians, whom they finally defeated and expelled. Rutledge, Sumpter, and Marion were distinguished leaders of the patriots during the occupation of the State by the British forces; employing with success a partisan warfare, and defying the efforts of a superior British force to hold the State in subjection.
The climate has been likened to that of Italy, and the products of the north and of the tropics are equally cultivated. The State abounds in agricultural and manufacturing resources, and has a fine commercial position.
South Carolina is one of the original thirteen States, andhas an area of 29,385 square miles, making 18,806,400 acres, with a population, in 1870, of 728,000, (over half colored,) which gives her five Members of Congress.
By an act of 1866, South Carolina was located in the fourth judicial circuit; it is divided into two judicial districts, called the Eastern and Western.
There are three collection districts in this State, and four ports of entry, to-wit: Georgetown, Charleston, Beaufort and Port Royal; but no ports of delivery.
The capital is Columbia. The State elections are held on the fourth Monday in November. The Legislature meets on the third Wednesday in October.
The enacting clause of the laws is as follows: “Be it enacted by the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives, now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by authority of the same.”
Illustration of Maryland state seal
This territory at first was included in the patent to the Virginia colony; but was, in 1632, re-patented to Lord Baltimore, an English nobleman, who had embraced the catholic faith, and sought, in the American wilderness, an asylum where he and his co-religionists might enjoy the freedom from persecution denied them in England. It was called Maryland from the queen of Charles I., King of England. A part of this patent was covered by that subsequently made to William Penn, and produced much trouble between the descendants of these men, and their respective colonies. A settlement was commenced, mainly by catholic gentlemen, in 1634, and called St. Mary’s, on a branch of the Potomac.
The wise liberality that distinguished the settlement of Pennsylvania marked all the earlier history of Maryland. They cultivated friendly relations with the natives and with their neighbors. Lord Baltimore was liberal in his expenditures forthe growing colony, and gave them a liberal government. When the civil war commenced in England, resulting in the death of Charles I. and the rise of Cromwell to power, the first troubles of the colonists of Maryland began, and continued until 1716, when the heirs of the original proprietor resumed their rights and maintained them until the Revolution.
This State was one of the original thirteen, and gave a hearty support to the patriot side during the war for freedom.
The surface of the country is, in great part, low and sandy; the climate agreeable and the soil favorable to agricultural pursuits. Her commercial position is excellent, being situated on either side of Chesapeake bay and bounded by the Potomac river on the west. The District of Columbia, containing the National Capital, was located on the last named river within her limits.
Maryland has an area of 11,124 square miles—equal to 7,119,360 acres. The population in 1870 was 780,806, which gives her six Representatives in Congress. By an act of Congress, passed in 1866, this State was put in the fourth judicial circuit, which is composed of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North and South Carolina. Maryland constitutes one judicial district; has ten ports of entry, viz.: Baltimore, Chester, Oxford, Vienna, Snow-Hill, Annapolis, Nottingham, St. Mary’s, Georgetown, and Havre de Grace; and twelve ports of delivery.
Annapolis is the capital. The State election is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The Legislature meets on the first Wednesday in January.
The enacting clause of the laws is as follows: “Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland.”
Illustration of New Hampshire state seal
This State is often called “The Old Granite State,” as well from its mountainous character as the resolute spirit of its inhabitants. It is small, having an area of only 9,280 square miles, which make 5,939,200 acres. Its population in 1870 was 318,300, entitling it to three Representatives in Congress.
The first settlement was founded at Dover, in 1624, by the English. It suffered much from Indian wars, and its growth was slow. It was made a separate province in 1680, having previously been under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. It was one of the original thirteen States, and took an active and vigorous part in the Revolutionary War.
Its soil is light and unfavorable to agriculture, but furnishes good pasturage and produces fine cattle. It contains the White Mountains, the highest in New England. Its streams are utilized for manufacturing purposes. Quarries of marble and granite abound. Minerals, and precious stones of several varieties are found in various parts of the State. The hardy and enterprising sons to whom it has given birth are to be found in every State in the Union.
It lies in the first judicial circuit; constitutes one judicial district; and is embraced in one collection district, and therefore has but one port of entry. There are three ports of delivery.
The capital is Concord. The Legislature assembles on the first Monday in June, the State election being held the second Tuesday in March.
The enacting clause of the laws runs thus: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened.”
Illustration of New Jersey state seal
This State was first settled at Bergen by the Swedes sent over by the Christian hero-king, Gustavus Adolphus, in the year 1638. They, however, soon fell under the control of the Dutch, who claimed the territory. The next settlement was made at Elizabethtown, from Long Island, in 1664. New Jersey came into the hands of the English along with New Netherlands, but soon became an independent province; Philip Carteret becoming its first governor, in 1665. It was for some time under the control of the celebrated Quaker, William Penn, received a liberal form of government, and, not suffering from the Indians enjoyed prosperity for many years. Afterwards it passed through various vicissitudes in its government, was for a time joined to New York, but recovered its independent existence in 1738; and was one of the original thirteen States, taking a very prominent part in the Revolution. Its territory, lying between New York and Philadelphia, was the field on which the hostile armies fought and manouvered, for some years. It ratified the Constitution unanimously, December 18th, 1787. It has been rewarded for its patriotism and devotion to liberty by unbroken prosperity. Its manufactures are in a flourishing state. Its vicinity to the great commercial centres of the Atlantic coast; the mildness of its climate, and the adaptation of its soil to the growth of fruit and vegetables have made it the Garden State of the Union. Its agricultural wealth is much increased by its abundant beds of marl and peat. The extreme north is hilly and the extreme south low and sandy. Education receives much attention.
It has an area of 8,320 square miles, or 5,324,800 acres.The population, by the census of 1870, was 905,794, which gives her seven Representatives in Congress.
This State lies in the third judicial circuit, and forms one judicial district. There are six ports of entry, and as many collection districts; and also eight ports of delivery.
Its capital is Trenton. The State election is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and the Legislature assembles the second Tuesday in January.
The form of the enacting clause is as follows: “Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey.”
Illustration of Massachusetts state seal
The “Bay State,” so named from the deep encroachments of the sea on her eastern border, was settled in 1620, at Plymouth, by English Puritans; a class of sternly pious men, who abandoned England to find freedom of worship in the savage wilds of America. They were men of great resolution and intelligence, and succeeded in imbuing the new colony with a fair degree of their own virtue. They suffered much, at first, from deprivation of the comforts they had left in England, and from the hostility of the Indians. They were too much in earnest to be tolerant, and persecutions of pretended witches, of Quakers and Baptists, have given them an unenviable notoriety.
This State was a leading one among the original thirteen, and the first to take up arms and to be invaded by the British forces at the commencement of the War of the Revolution. Her influence on the national character has been great.
This State is the first in the Union for cotton and woolen manufactures, its cotton mills alone employing about twenty-five thousand hands. In extent of all its manufactures it is third in the Union. The soil is sterile in great part, but the energy of the people finds abundant other sources of wealth. Commerce and fisheries receive much attention, and produce much wealth.
Education is carefully attended to, and its public school system a model for other States. She has an area of 7,800 square miles. Her population in 1870 was 1,457,351, and entitles her to eleven Members of Congress. It is in the first judicial circuit, and forms one judicial district. There are fourteen ports of entry, and twenty-five ports of delivery in this State.
Boston is the Capital, the metropolis of New England, and an important center of intellectual and business energy. The Legislature meets on the first Wednesday in January, and the State elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in January.
The enacting clause is: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:”
[2]Elected Vice President, and when inaugurated Mr. Boutwell was elected to fill out the unexpired term.
[2]Elected Vice President, and when inaugurated Mr. Boutwell was elected to fill out the unexpired term.
[2]Elected Vice President, and when inaugurated Mr. Boutwell was elected to fill out the unexpired term.
Illustration of Connecticut state seal
This State takes its name from its principal river, which, entering from the north, runs through the State nearly in the center. It was settled in 1633 from Massachusetts, the fertility of the valley of the Connecticut attracting them to brave the perils of conflict with the Indians, and with the Dutch, settled where New York now stands, who laid claim to it. The Dutch withdrew, the Indians were subdued in many bloodybattles, and a Puritan State—exceeding, if possible, the religious strictness of the Massachusetts colony, and not behind her in energy, in virtue, in attention to education, and love of liberty—soon grew up to wealth and prosperity.
A decisive battle in 1636, on the Mystic river, annihilated the Pequod Indians.
Connecticut, in 1700, followed the example set by Massachusetts in 1638, by founding Yale college, which, to this day, very fairly rivals Harvard in the former State. Both have contributed largely to the intelligence and culture of the American people. It took a leading part in the Revolution; ratified the constitution June 9th, 1788; and has displayed the zeal in promoting the public good that has been so prominent in the cultivation of her educational and material interests.
The surface of the State is uneven and rocky. Manufactures and commerce are the leading interests, although agriculture is not neglected. It is rich in minerals. Gold, silver, lead, iron, copper and bismuth are found, while marble, of fine quality, and granite abound.
Its area is small, embracing only 4,674 square miles, or 2,991,360 acres. It has four representatives in Congress. The population in 1870 was 537,418. It is part of the second judicial circuit, and constitutes one judicial district. She has five ports of entry, and five collection districts, with twenty-two ports of delivery.
It has had two capitals ever since the first two colonies, established at Hartford and New Haven, were united; and holds her State election on the first Monday in April. The Legislature meets the first Wednesday in May.
The enacting clause runs thus: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened.”
Illustration of Delaware state seal
The first settlement of Delaware was made by the Swedes,in pursuance of the policy of the valiant Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. European wars, in which he was engaged, and in which he lost his life in 1633, deferred the project, but it was carried into effect in 1638, near the present city of Wilmington. They extended their settlements from the entrance of Delaware bay far up the river, until the Dutch, from New Netherlands, who claimed the country, attacked and reduced them to submission, uniting New Sweden, as it had been called, to their own colony, in the year 1655. It fell, with that colony, into the hands of the English in 1664. It was included in the grant made to William Penn, in 1692. It was long attached to Pennsylvania, but in 1703 received permission to form a separate government, on the wise and liberal plan pursued by Penn. This form of government continued through the Revolutionary war.
The surface of the State is level, or gently undulating, the climate is agreeable, except that, in winter, the sea breeze is somewhat harsh; the soil is sandy but fertile. Grain and fruit are raised, peaches being produced in great profusion. Her commercial and manufacturing business is limited, and she is destitute of mineral wealth.
It is next to Rhode Island in size, containing the small area of 2,120 square miles, or 1,356,800 acres. Population 125,015.
Illustration of Rhode Island state seal
This is the smallest of the States, having an area of but 1,306 square miles, or 835,840 acres.
It was settled in 1636 by Roger Williams, and became an avowed place of refuge for persecuted christians of all names, but especially for Baptists, among whom Mr. Williams was a leader. It was chartered as a separate colony in 1644, and the excellent constitution framed under it lasted until 1818. Itwas one of the original thirteen States and took an earnest share in the struggles of the revolution, though it was not represented in the convention that framed the Constitution, and did not ratify it until 1790.
Its citizens are mainly engaged in the manufacturing and commercial pursuits for which their excellent harbors and streams furnish eminent facilities. It has always been prosperous, its people being distinguished for industry and activity. Its population was, in 1870, 217,356.
Rhode Island forms part of the first judicial circuit; constitutes one judicial district; and has three ports of entry, and seven of delivery. It has two capitals, having been originally formed of two separate colonies. These are Providence and Newport. The election for State officers is held on the first Wednesday in April. The Legislature is held twice in the year, in May and January. The style of her enacting clause is: “It is enacted by the General Assembly, as follows.”