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Connecticut is a small state in the northeastern part of the United States, bordered by New York, Massachusetts, Long Island Sound, and Rhode Island. Its capital is Hartford, and major cities include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, and Waterbury. The state has a rich history, with the first inhabitants being Paleo-Indians and Native Americans of the Algonquian language group. The first Europeans arrived in the mid-1630s, and Connecticut played a significant role in the American Revolutionary War. Connecticut joined the Union in 1788 and has several state emblems, including the Mountain Laurel as the state flower and the White Oak as the state tree.
Connecticut is one of the fifty states that make up the United States of America and one of six New England states in the northeastern part of the country, along with Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. It is bordered by New York to the west, Massachusetts to the north, Long Island Sound to the south, and Rhode Island to the east. Hartford is the capital and third largest city. Other major cities in Connecticut are Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford and Waterbury.
Connecticut is 48th of the 50 states by size with an area of 4,844.80 square miles (12,547.97 sq km), but ranks 29th by population with 3,405,565 in the 2000 census. It is fifth among the states by density of population. The first inhabitants of Connecticut were, first and foremost, Paleo-Indians, approximately 10,000 years ago. These were followed by Native Americans of the Algonquian language group including the Pequot, Nipmuc and Mohegan, from whose word Quinnehtukqut meaning “Place of the Long River” or “By the River of the Long Tide” the state name emerged.
The first Europeans came to establish trading posts in Connecticut, with the first permanent settlers arriving from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the mid-1630s. Those settlers joined the New Haven Colony in 1665, and during these early times, relations with the Native Americans were generally good. The state’s production during the American Revolutionary War earned it the nickname “Supply State”.
Nathan Hale, the hero of the state, was a Connecticut spy who was captured and hanged by the British, who reportedly ended his life with the famous line: “I’m only sorry I have only one life to lose for the my country”. The Connecticut Compromise at the 1787 Constitutional Convention was instrumental in securing the historic settlement that forged the United States of America. Another nickname for Connecticut is the “Constitutional State.”
Connecticut joined the Union on January 9, 1788, the fifth of the original thirteen states to do so. The correct name for a Connecticut resident is Connecticuter. Connecticut’s state motto is Qui transtulit sustinet, which means “He who has transplanted still sustains.” The motto appears on the state coat of arms, which shows three vines, bearing fruit. On the state flag, the arms are reproduced on a blue field with a gold border. Other state emblems include the following:
State Flower: Mountain Laurel
State Bird: Robin
State Tree: White Oak, specifically, the Charter Oak in which the Charter was hidden in 1687, when the first heads of state refused to give it to the agent of the English king James II.
State Song: “Yankee Doodle”
State insect: praying mantis
State animal: sperm whale
