Introduction to History of Vermont
Vermont was occupied as early as 9000 B.C. The first known inhabitants were Eskimos, who arrived thousands of years ago. Archeologists have found traces of their culture at several sites. They were succeeded by prehistoric Indians called Pre-Algonquians, who engaged in fishing and hunting. Around 2000 B.C., they were driven out by Indians referred to as the Old Algonquians, who inhabited the area until about the 13th century A.D. When the French arrived in the region in the 17th century, they encountered the Abnakis and the Mahicans (both Algonquian tribes) and tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy.
Important dates in Vermont1609 Samuel de Champlain claimed the Vermont region for France.1724 Massachusetts established Fort Dummer, the first permanent white settlement in the Vermont region.1763 England gained control of Vermont.1775 Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British in the Revolutionary War.1777 Vermont declared itself an independent republic.1791 Vermont became the 14th state on March 4.1823 The opening of the Champlain Canal created a water route from Vermont to New York City.1881 Chester A. Arthur, born in Fairfield, became the 21st president of the United States.1923 Calvin Coolidge, born in Plymouth Notch, became the 30th president of the United States.1962 Philip H. Hoff became the first Democrat to win election as governor of Vermont since 1853.1970 The Vermont legislature passed the Environmental Control Law. This law permitted Vermont to limit major developments that could harm the state's environment.1984 Madeleine M. Kunin became the first woman to be elected governor of Vermont.2000 Vermont became the first state to allow a civil union, similar to marriage, for two people of the same sex.European Exploration
Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer, was probably the first European to enter the region. In 1609 he led an expedition south from Canada through the lake that was later named for him. He laid claim to the lake and the territory east and south of it for France. However, it was not until nearly 60 years later that the French attempted settlement. In 1666 a fort and religious shrine were built on Isle La Motte in the northern part of Lake Champlain, but the settlement was later abandoned. The first permanent white settlement was made in 1724 by English colonists from Massachusetts. They established Fort Dummer, near what is now Brattleboro. In 1731 the French built a fort at Crown Point in New York and a small village opposite it on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain.
During the French and Indian War (1754-63), the Champlain Valley, which was sparsely settled, was invaded by both British and French troops. Following its defeat by Great Britain, France relinquished all of its interests in the region.
Independence and Statehood
The territory was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York as a result of vaguely defined boundaries in the royal charters of the two colonies. In 1764 England ruled in favor of New York, and attempts were made to drive out those settlers who held land grants from New Hampshire. In 1770 the settlers of the so-called New Hampshire Grants organized a military force known as the Green Mountain Boys, under the leadership of Ethan Allen, to harass holders of New York land grants.
At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, there were about 10,000 people in the area between the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain. The Green Mountain Boys formed a regiment in the struggle against the British. A small group from the Vermont regiment, led by Allen and Benedict Arnold, captured Fort Ticonderoga without bloodshed in 1775. In 1777 the Green Mountain Boys helped defeat German and Tory forces in the Battle of Bennington. (
While the war was being fought, New Hampshire dropped its claim to Vermont, but New York persisted. In July, 1777, Vermont settlers held a convention at Windsor, drew up a constitution, and proclaimed their independence. Thomas Chittenden was elected the first governor. The Continental Congress was petitioned for recognition but refused to grant Vermont statehood because of New York's unsettled claims. For 14 years, Vermont existed as the independent republic of New Connecticut. In 1790 the boundary disputes were settled, and on March 4, 1791, Vermont was admitted to the Union as the 14th state. A new constitution was adopted in 1793. The state legislature met at different locations until 1805, when Montpelier was made the permanent capital.
In the first two decades of statehood, Vermont was the fastest-growing state in the nation. Population increased from about 85,000 in 1790 to 218,000 in 1810, with most of the new settlers coming from southern New England. In the early 1800's, the people of Vermont were mainly native-born Congregationalists who supported the Federalist party. (They later became solidly Whig and then Republican.) The economy was largely agricultural, and most people lived on self-sufficient farms.
Because of trade carried on with the British in Canada, there was opposition, particularly in the northern part of the state, to the War of 1812. However, during the war, Vermonters repulsed British warships off Burlington in 1813, and in 1814 a British fleet was defeated in an engagement on Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh, New York.
In the 1810's, many small factories and mills were established and towns and villages developed. The opening of the Champlain-Hudson Canal (1823) and the Erie Canal (1825) and the construction of early railroad lines in the 1840's facilitated trade. They also stimulated outward migration, mainly of farmers leaving the rocky farmlands of Vermont for better lands in the Midwest and the West.
The period from the 1820's to the Civil War was a time of social ferment in Vermont. Beginning in the late 1820's, the Anti-Masonic movement became a disrupting force in the political life of the state. Feelings against the secrecy and political power of the Masons ran higher here than anywhere else in the country. The Anti-Masonic party controlled the governorship, 1831-35, and because of the strength of the anti-Masonic movement, many Masonic groups within the state decided to dissolve. (
By the 1830's, abolitionist sentiment had also become strong in Vermont. Many runaway slaves were aided by the Underground Railroad in the state. In 1837 the state legislature enacted an antislavery resolution. About half of Vermont's men of military age—some 35,000—joined the Union Army during the Civil War (1861-65). In proportion to the size of its population, Vermont lost more men in battle than any other state—one out of seven. In addition, the cost of the Civil War to Vermont was high in economic terms. The state legislature appropriated some 9 million dollars, a large proportion of its tax revenues, to be spent on the war effort. Vermont was the scene of a minor skirmish in 1864, when escaped Confederate prisoners based in Canada attacked St. Albans, looting its banks.
Confederate Raid on St. Albans. Escaped Confederate prisoners attacked St. Albans, Vermont, from Canada in 1864, making off with more than $200,000 from its banks.In 1867 St. Albans was used as a base of operations by the Fenians, an Irish political group who hoped to separate Canada from Great Britain. (
In the post-Civil War period, there was some industrialization, especially in the field of paper manufacturing, and some growth in the mining of granite, marble, and slate. Immigration of Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Scottish workers helped to offset the loss of two out of five native-born Vermonters, mainly farmers and their families, who left the state in each decade of the last half of the 19th century. The new immigrants settled in urban areas, and such places as St. Johnsburg, Rutland, and Barre grew dramatically during the late 19th century as local industries prospered.
Modern Development
Despite industrial expansion and urban growth, Vermont remained predominantly agricultural and rural. In 1900 about 80 per cent of the population lived on farms or in small villages. Dairy farming was the mainstay of the economy.
During World War I, Vermont's industries contributed cloth, tools, and lumber to the war effort. In 1927 the state was hit by the worst flooding in its history, which caused widespread damage. This economic setback was followed by the Great Depression of the 1930's. Recovery was spurred by World War II, when manufacturing—particularly of tools and precision instruments—expanded greatly. After the war, the state's resort business grew rapidly.
Beginning in the late 1950's, there was significant growth in population and in industrialization and tourism. By the 1960's, industry had replaced agriculture as the state's primary source of income. In the 1970's, various state agencies and conservation groups joined forces to protect the natural environment from unplanned development. In the 1980's, the legislature enacted several environmental measures, including laws providing for the cleanup of hazardous-waste dumps and for sewage-treatment improvements.
In the late 20th century, the Environmental Control Law was put into effect, allowing the state to limit industrial developments that could be detrimental to the natural landscape. While manufacturing and tourism contributed greatly to the economy at the time, some Vermonters were concerned and favored maintaining the rural environment. Several political events of note also took place from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Patrick J. Leahy, in 1974, was the first Democrat from Vermont to be elected to the U.S. Senate since the 1880s. In 1984, Madeleine M. Kunin became the first female governor of the state. The 1992 and 1996 presidential elections received Democratic electoral votes from Vermont for the second and third times. And in 1999, in a remarkable and controversial decision, the Vermont Supreme Court granted homosexual couples the same rights and benefits as heterosexual ones under the state government. This was followed in 2000 by a bill that allows homosexual couples to enter into civil unions, entitling them to many of the same rights as married couples.