Subdivisions: 8
counties
Founded: January 9, 1788 (5th state)
Area: Ranked 48th
• Total: 14,356 km²
• Land: 12,548 km²
• Water: 1,809 km²
Altitude:
• Average: 152 m a.s.l.
Population (2020): Ranked 29th
• Total: 3,605,9441
• Density: 250 hab./km²
Capital Hartford
Population 124,775
Largest city: Bridgeport
Other names:
"The Constitution State"
"The Nutmeg State"
Motto: "Qui transtulit sustinet" (Latin for "He who
transplanted us sustains us")
The origin of the name "Connecticut" comes
from the Mohegan word Quinnehtujqut, meaning "Place of the
Long River." The first Europeans to permanently settle in
the region were English Puritans from Massachusetts in 1633.
The Nutmeg State is another popular nickname, and residents
of this state are known nationally as a "nutmegger."
Official language: English.
The Hispanic and Latino population increased from 13.4% to
17.3% (spanish language). The Black population increased
from 10.1% to 10.8%. The Asian population grew from 3.8% to
4.8%. Non-Hispanic whites decreased from 77.6% of the total
in 2010 to 66.4% in 2020. Connecticut's Hispanic population
grew approximately 30% between 2010 and 2020, increasing by
144,000 people. The white population decreased by 377,000.
Fairfield County is the most diverse county in the state,
with 61% identifying as non-Hispanic white and 39% from
other racial and ethnic groups.
SOURCE OF INCOME
Its main source of income is the provision of economic, financial, and real
estate services. The state capital, Hartford, is known nationally as Insurance
City due to the large number of insurance companies located there.
FORMATION AND CONSTITUTION
It was one of the Thirteen Colonies originally established by the United
Kingdom. The Connecticut Colony was the first subdivision located in what is now
the United States of America to have a written constitution, called the
Fundamental Orders, or First Orders, adopted on January 14, 1639. This colonial
constitution would serve as the basis for the formation of the American
Constitution.
Because of these events, the state is nicknamed The Constitution State, and the
Great Compromise of 1787 became known nationally as the Connecticut Compromise.
On January 9, 1788, it became the fifth American state.
FORMATION PROCESS
The first permanent European settlement in present-day
Connecticut was founded by English settlers from
Massachusetts. Some towns founded by these settlers include
Hartford, New London, Saybrook, Wethersfield, and Windsor,
during the 1630s. In 1636, Hartford, Wethersfield, and
Windsor joined together to form a single colony, the
Connecticut Colony. Two years later, New Haven was founded
as a new colony. Other small towns scattered throughout
present-day Connecticut joined the New Haven Colony in 1662.
A STAIN ON HISTORY
During the first decade of colonization, European outsiders
suffered constant attacks from the Native American Pequot
tribe, who viewed Europeans as a threat. The conflict
between the Pequot and the English settlers in Connecticut
became known as the Pequot War. In 1637, John Mason, aided
by the Mohegan and Narragansett Native American tribes,
destroyed the main Pequot settlement and burned 600 men,
women, and children alive at their stronghold on the Mystic
River.
Comment: This massacre could have been avoided if someone had
preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, but even so, it exposes
the evil in the hearts of men and deters the goodwill of
others.
End of Commentary.
POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Many of the colonists had left England in search of political and religious freedom. In 1638, Thomas Hooker worked for the end of theocracy (a theocracy where rulers are directed by God and His word) and the implementation of a democratic form of government. In 1639, Connecticut adopted the "Fundamental Mandates." This document is considered by many to be the first written constitution on American soil.
EARLY ECONOMIC PROSPERITY
Until the 1670s, Connecticut's economy was based on subsistence farming. From then on, the colony began exporting agricultural and artisanal products to other English colonies in the region. Manufacturing would become an important source of income for the colony during the early 18th century, when it became a center for ship and clock making.
BEGINNING OF INDEPENDENCE
During the 1760s, various British actions, such as the imposition of taxes, sparked revolts in the Thirteen Colonies, triggering the American Revolutionary War in 1775.
Connecticut ratified the Articles of Confederation—the predecessor to the current United States Constitution—on July 9, 1778. Connecticut was extremely vulnerable to British counterattacks across its coastline in Long Island Sound, given its extensive coastline and the proximity of Long Island to the south, which was then under British control. It possessed a strong maritime force, largely thanks to its strong shipbuilding industry, although it was thanks to the fact that many of its vessels were ceded to other American forces. This created friction among Connecticut's political leaders over whether the defense of the state or the country was more important. It was the only one of the Thirteen Colonies that did not go through a revolution, thanks to its strong political structure, which gave it considerable political independence from the United Kingdom, and to the then governor of Connecticut, Johnattan Trumbull, who supported the American rebels.
A HISTORICAL EXAMPLE PROVING THAT WHEN PEOPLE ARE
DIVIDED, THEY ARE VERY WEAK; WHEN UNITED, THEY ARE STRONG.
Meanwhile, throughout the 1770s, Pennsylvania, which still
claimed the Susquehanna River region, carried out several
attacks against settlers in the Susquehanna region,
culminating in an attack in December 1778, in which
approximately 150 settlers were killed and thousands forced
to flee. Connecticut attempted several times to recapture
the region, without success, and the various groups of
settlers who attempted to settle in the region were
subsequently expelled by Pennsylvania militias. The same
year the American Revolution ended, in 1783, the U.S.
government ruled that the Susquehanna River region was
rightfully Pennsylvania's. Connecticut then quickly claimed
the region located immediately west of the Susquehanna River
region of Pennsylvania, in the northeast of the present-day
state of Ohio, although it had sold these lands to investors
in 1796, with the proceeds from the sale being used for
educational purposes.
ORIGIN OF THE
ELECTORAL VOTING SYSTEM
At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Connecticut
representatives favored a strong centralized government and
played a pivotal role in shaping the current United States
Congress. Large states like New York wanted state
representation in Congress based on population, while
smaller states wanted equal representation. Connecticut
representatives were the main proponents of adopting a mixed
system, resulting in the Great Compromise, also known as the
Connecticut Compromise.
Connecticut was
blessed by talented, open-minded, and inventive people.
Until the 1800s, Connecticut had a strong consumer goods
industry. Most of this industry, however, used artisanal
production methods. Beginning in the early 19th century, it
underwent a period of rapid industrial expansion.
In 1808, Eli Terry invented the world's first mass-produced
clock and watch method.
In 1810, the state's first textile
factory opened. Samuel Colt founded an armament factory in
1836.
In 1839, Charles Goodyear discovered the method of
vulcanizing rubber. By then, Connecticut was a national
textile industry hub. An efficient transportation system was
an important factor in the rapid industrialization of the
19th century. Between the 1830s and 1860s, the state
received a large number of Canadian and European immigrants,
mainly Irish.
IMMIGRANTS AND MIGRANTS
STRENGTHENED THE COUNTRY
Connecticut actively supported the Union during the American
Civil War. More than 50,000 men from the state joined the
Union troops. The war further accelerated Connecticut's
industrialization process. This, coupled with the state's
small size, meant that after the war, industry surpassed
agriculture as the state's primary source of income and
accelerated the migration of the population from the
countryside to the cities. During the 1870s, more than half
of the population lived in cities. During the final decades
of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century,
large numbers of immigrants settled, primarily German,
Irish, and Italian. Most of these new residents settled in
the cities. By the end of the 1900s, more than half of the
population lived in cities, and nearly 30% of the state's
population was born outside the country.
SURPRISING HOW A PHYSICALLY SMALL STATE IS A WORLD POWER
1910-1970
In 1910, New London became the headquarters of the United
States Coast Guard, which had previously been located in
Maryland and Massachusetts. The United States Navy
established a base in Groton in 1917. During World War I,
several armament factories were built in the state.
Economic prosperity continued throughout the 1920s, with the
state's continued industrialization. However, the Great
Depression of the 1930s caused a major economic recession in
the state, the effects of which were minimized throughout
the end of the decade thanks to socioeconomic measures, such
as social assistance programs and public programs. World War
II brought a renewed period of economic prosperity, which
continues to this day.
During the war, it was one of the
main producers of weapons in general, mainly components for
aircraft, ships, and submarines.
Connecticut, the most prosperous in the 1960s
Equivalent to a strong high-tech industry, Connecticut was
actively involved in the development of nuclear technologies
during the 1950s and beyond. The first nuclear submarine in
history, the USS Nautilus, was built in Connecticut (in
Groton) in 1954.
In the late 1960s, Connecticut became the
first US state to supply submarines for the US Navy.
Equipped with a strong, diversified economy, Connecticut
became the state with the highest per capita income in the
country beginning in the 1960s.
Intelligence to Diversify the Economy and Maintain
Welfare
Its strong economy allowed it to spend more on education,
public health, and transportation. However, rapid population
growth, primarily of African Americans from the American
South and Hispanic immigrants, led to social problems in the
state's major cities and a drastic increase in public
spending. In 1971, Connecticut instituted an income tax,
although massive public protests forced the state to repeal
this law (and instead raise taxes on consumer products). In
1979, a financial aid program was established for school
districts experiencing serious financial difficulties. In
1991, an income tax was reinstated, legalizing the
construction of casinos. Meanwhile, the end of the Cold War
led to fewer orders for military vessels in Connecticut,
then one of the state's main sources of revenue. This,
however, had few negative effects, thanks to its strong,
diversified economy.
REFLECTION FOR ALL PEOPLES OF THE EARTH
I take Connecticut as a good example, and I suggest you
compare your towns or countries and ask yourselves the
following questions:
What has prevented us
from having the same or better economy and stability?
What prevents this from happening now?
I
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, that if you ask Him, He will
give you the answer.
Your brother and friend, Victor de los Santos Alemañy
Minister of the Lord
The Gospel for All Ministry
In 1810, the state's first textile
factory opened. Samuel Colt founded an armament factory in
1836.
In 1839, Charles Goodyear discovered the method of
vulcanizing rubber. By then, Connecticut was a national
textile industry hub. An efficient transportation system was
an important factor in the rapid industrialization of the
19th century. Between the 1830s and 1860s, the state
received a large number of Canadian and European immigrants,
mainly Irish.
