Connecticut
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State flag
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CONNECTICUT,
southernmost of the New England states of the U.S., bounded
on the N by Massachusetts, on the E by Rhode Island, on the S by
Long Island Sound, and on the W by New York State.
Known as the Constitution State, because its delegates played
a crucial role in drawing up the U.S. Constitution at the Constitutional
Convention of 1787, Connecticut entered the Union on Jan. 9, 1788,
as the fifth of the original 13 states. By the mid-19th century
the state’s economy was dominated by manufacturing, and
Hartford, its capital, had become one of the chief centers of the
U.S. insurance industry. As the 21st century began, Connecticut was
particularly noted for producing aircraft engines, helicopters, submarines,
and firearms; information technologies and casino gambling have played
increasingly important roles in the state economy in recent years. In the 1990s
Connecticut was particularly noted for producing aircraft engines, helicopters,
submarines, and firearms. The state’s name is derived from an Algonquian
Indian term probably meaning “place of the long river,” referring to
the Connecticut River.
| CONNECTICUT STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
January 9, 1788; 5th state |
| CAPITAL: |
Hartford |
| MOTTO: |
Qui transtulit sustinet (He who transplanted still sustains) |
| NICKNAME: |
Constitution State |
| STATE SONG: |
“Yankee Doodle” |
| STATE TREE: |
White oak |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Mountain laurel |
| STATE BIRD: |
Robin |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
3,405,565; 29th among the states |
| AREA: |
14,357 sq km (5543 sq mi); 48th largest state; includes 1810 sq km (699 sq mi) of inland water |
| COASTLINE: |
995 km (618 mi) |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
725 m (2380 ft), on the southern slope of Mt. Frissell |
| LOWEST POINT: |
Sea level, at the Long Island Sound shore |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
7 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 5 representatives |
| GOVERNOR: |
M. Jodi Rell (Rep.); took office July 2004 |
Connecticut, with an area of 14,357 sq km (5543 sq mi),
is the 48th largest state in the U.S.; 0.5% of its land area
is owned by the federal government. The state has a rectangular
shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 145 km (about 90 mi)
from E to W and about 120 km (about 75 mi) from N to S. The surface
of Connecticut increases gradually from sea level along Long Island
Sound, in the S, to a high point of 725 m (2380 ft) in the NW, on
the S slope of Mt. Frissell. The mean elevation of the state is
approximately 152 m (approximately 500 ft). Its coastline on Long
Island Sound is 995 km (618 mi) long.
Connecticut has five major landform regions—the Taconic Mts.,
the Connecticut Valley Lowland, the Coastal Lowlands, the Western
New England Upland, and the Eastern New England Upland.
In the NW corner of Connecticut is the S end of the Taconic
Mts., which are predominantly in Massachusetts and New York. Underlain by
metamorphic rocks, the mountains contain steep slopes and narrow
valleys; soils are relatively infertile. The state’s highest
elevations are here.
In the middle of the state is the Connecticut Valley Lowland,
a river valley that extends N into Massachusetts. Some 40 to 56
km (some 25 to 35 mi) wide in Connecticut, the valley rises from
the Connecticut R. in a series of low terraces to form a smooth, level plain
of rich, fertile soils.
The Western New England Upland rises gradually from low elevations
in the S to nearly 460 m (about 1500 ft) in the N. Its surface is
rolling to hilly. The Eastern New England Upland is considerably
lower than the Western Upland, with maximum elevations seldom higher
than about 215 m (about 700 ft). Relief is less striking, with the
terrain best described as rolling to somewhat hilly. Continental
glaciation left both the Western Upland and the Eastern Upland covered
with acidic soils and numerous boulders.
No distinct change marks the boundary between the Coastal
Lowlands and the upland regions. Rather, the land rises gradually
from sea level to about 90 m (about 300 ft) and then merges with
the areas to the N. The coastline has many small bays and inlets.
Connecticut’s streams generally drain S toward Long
Island Sound. The principal river is the Connecticut, which flows
S through a broad lowland until Middletown, where it turns SE and
enters the Eastern New England Upland region. The Housatonic is
in W Connecticut; its main tributary is the Naugatuck R. The Thames
R., in E Connecticut, is formed where the Shetucket and Yantic rivers
converge.
Connecticut’s lakes are generally small bodies of
water formed by glacial action. Most of the lakes, including the
largest, are in the Western New England Upland. The two largest
bodies of water are both artificial: Lake Candlewood, near Danbury,
and Barkhamsted Reservoir, in the N.
Connecticut has a humid continental climate. The average yearly temperature
along the coast is 10.6° C (51° F), and in the
NW it is 7.2° C (45° F); for most of the rest
of the state the yearly mean temperature ranges between 8.3° C
and 9.4° C (47° F and 49° F). The recorded temperature
in Connecticut has ranged from –35.6° C (–32° F),
in 1943 at Falls Village, to 40.6° C (105° F), in
1995 at Danbury.
Throughout most of the state, yearly precipitation varies
between about 1120 and 1220 mm (about 44 and 48 in), but it increases
to about 1270 mm (about 50 in) in the higher elevations of the NW.
Annual snowfall varies from about 635 mm (about 25 in) on the coast
to about 2030 mm (about 80 in) in the uplands. Violent storms in
the state are rare, but several hurricanes have struck along the
coast. A tornado, rare for this region, touched down N of Hartford
in 1979 and did extensive damage.
| CONNECTICUT AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Bridgeport |
Hartford |
| Average January temperature range |
–5° to 2.8° C |
23° to 37° F |
–8.9° to 0.6° C |
16° to 33° F |
| Average July temperature range |
18.9° to 27.8° C |
66° to 82° F |
16.1° to 28.9° C |
61° to 84° F |
| Average annual temperature |
11.1° C |
52° F |
9.4° C |
49° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
991 mm |
39 in |
1092 mm |
43 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
686 mm |
27 in |
1346 mm |
53 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
118 |
129 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
69% |
65% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
101 |
78 |
Although nearly 60% of Connecticut is wooded, the
state contains little timber of commercial value. Northern hardwoods,
such as beech, birch, maple, and oak, predominate, and some conifers
are intermixed.
The principal mammals of Connecticut are deer, rabbit, squirrel,
fox, chipmunk, otter, and woodchuck. Among the larger game birds
are pheasant, grouse, and duck. Other birds include robin, blue
jay, woodpecker, crow, warbler, and sparrow. Clams, oysters, striped
bass, and bluefish are found in the marine waters of Long Island
Sound, and shad, perch, pickerel, bass, and trout inhabit the freshwater
rivers and lakes.
Connecticut’s mineral deposits are limited, and many
are only of historical importance. The latter include iron ore,
copper, tungsten, lead, and silver. The principal minerals of economic
value include stone, sand, gravel, and clay, which are
widely distributed over the state.
According to the 2000 census, Connecticut had 3,405,565 inhabitants,
an increase of 3.6% over 1990. The average population density
in 2000 was 271.4 sq km (702.9 per sq mi) of land area, making Connecticut
one of the most densely populated states in the U.S. Whites made up 81.6% of the
population and blacks 9.1%; additional groups included
9639 American Indians and Alaska Natives, 82,313 Asians, and 1366
Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. (These figures do
not include the 2.2% of the population who reported more
than one race.) In the 2000 census, 320,323 persons, about 9.4% of
the population, reported being of Hispanic ancestry. The largest
cities were Bridgeport; New Haven; Hartford, the capital; Stamford;
and Waterbury.
According to a 2000 survey, Roman Catholics comprised
about 40% of Connecticut’s total population and nearly 70% of all religious
adherents in the state. Other leading religious groups included adherents of the
United Church of Christ (3.7% of the population), Jews (3.2%), and Episcopalians (2.2%).
The 2000 census found that about 88% of the population lived in areas
then broadly defined as urban, and the rest lived in rural areas.
| POPULATION OF CONNECTICUT SINCE 1790 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1790 |
238,000 |
3% |
| 1820 |
275,000 |
6% |
| 1850 |
371,000 |
16% |
| 1880 |
623,000 |
42% |
| 1900 |
908,000 |
60% |
| 1920 |
1,381,000 |
68% |
| 1940 |
1,709,000 |
68% |
| 1960 |
2,535,000 |
78% |
| 1980 |
3,108,000 |
79% |
| 1990 |
3,287,116 |
79% |
| 2000 |
3,405,565 |
88% |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN CONNECTICUT |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Bridgeport |
139,529 |
141,686 |
| New Haven |
123,626 |
130,474 |
| Hartford |
121,578 |
139,739 |
| Stamford |
117,083 |
108,056 |
| Waterbury |
107,271 |
108,961 |
| Norwalk |
82,951 |
78,331 |
| Danbury |
74,848 |
65,585 |
| New Britain |
71,538 |
75,491 |
| West Hartford |
63,589 |
60,110 |
| Greenwich |
61,101 |
58,441 |
Connecticut has numerous educational and cultural institutions,
some of which were founded in colonial times.
The public school system in Connecticut was established
in 1650 with the passage of a law that required towns with more than 50
families to maintain an elementary school and towns with more than 100
families to maintain a secondary school as well. In the early 2000s
Connecticut public schools enrolled more than 400,000 pupils in pre-kindergarten
through eighth grade and some 160,000 students in grades 9-12.
In 1702 the Collegiate School, later Yale University,
was opened in Killingworth (now Clinton); the school was relocated in
New Haven in 1716 and took the Yale name two years later. In the early 2000s
Connecticut’s degree-granting institutions of higher education had a combined
enrollment of more than 160,000 students. Among them, besides Yale, were the
University of Connecticut (1881), in Storrs; Trinity College (1823), in Hartford;
the University of Bridgeport (1927), in Bridgeport; Connecticut College (1911)
and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (1876), both in New London; Fairfield University (1942)
in Fairfield; and Wesleyan University (1831), in Middletown.
Connecticut houses a wide diversity of cultural
institutions, including the oldest free public art museum in the U.S.,
the Wadsworth Atheneum (1842), in Hartford. Other noteworthy museums
are the Yale University Art Gallery (1832), Yale’s Peabody Museum of
Natural History (1866), and the Yale Center for British Art (1977), all
in New Haven; the Shore Line Trolley Museum (1945), in East Haven; the
American Clock and Watch Museum (1952), in Bristol; the Barnum Museum
(1893), in Bridgeport, featuring displays on circus history; and the
Connecticut Historical Society museum (1825), in Hartford. In addition,
Hartford is the home of ballet and opera companies and a symphony
orchestra. New Haven contains the Yale University library (1701), which
in 2005-06 had 11.9 million bound volumes. The State Library (1850), in
Hartford, also has notable collections of books and documents. Leading
theatrical companies include the Yale Repertory and Long Wharf
theaters, both in New Haven; Goodspeed Musicals, in East Haddam; and
the Hartford Stage Company, in Hartford.
Many of Connecticut’s historical sites commemorate
Indian groups or events of the American Revolution. Fort Shantok
State Park, near Norwich, includes the site of an old Mohegan Indian
village; Groton Monument, in Groton, honors revolutionary war patriots
killed by the British; and the Nathan Hale Homestead, in Coventry,
exhibits furnishings of the famous American revolutionary officer’s
family. Mystic Seaport, in Mystic, features a re-creation of a 19th-century
whaling town.
Connecticut’s recreational activities encompass many
outdoor sports. The coastline along Long Island Sound is noted for its
beaches and boating and fishing facilities, and the state’s rivers and
woods attract many fishers and hunters. Lime Rock Park is an
automobile-racing center, and the state contains several popular ski
areas. Casinos such as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, on Indian reservations
in the southeastern part of the state, feature gambling and other
entertainment, attracting many visitors.
The first radio station in the state, WDRC in Hartford, began to
broadcast in 1922, and the first television station, WNHC (now WTHN-TV)
in New Haven, began operations in 1948. The Hartford Courant, which
first appeared in 1764 as the Connecticut Courant, is
one of the oldest continuously published newspapers in the U.S.
In 2004 Connecticut had 17 daily newspapers with a total paid
circulation of about 680,000. Influential dailies, in addition to
the Courant, included the New Haven Register;
The Herald, published in New Britain; The Day, published
in New London; and the News-Times, published in Danbury.
In 2003 an estimated 69% of Connecticut households
had one or more computers, and 44% had Internet access.
Connecticut is governed under a constitution adopted in 1965,
as amended. Three earlier constitutions had been adopted in 1639,
1662, and 1818. An amendment to the constitution may be proposed
by the legislature or by a constitutional convention. To become
effective, a proposed amendment must be approved by a majority of
the persons voting on the issue in an election.
The chief executive of Connecticut is a governor, who is popularly
elected to a 4-year term. No specified limit is put on the number
of terms a governor may serve. The same conditions apply to the
lieutenant governor, who succeeds the governor should the latter
resign, die, or be removed from office. Also elected to the state’s
executive department are the secretary of state, attorney general,
treasurer, and comptroller.
The bicameral Connecticut General Assembly is divided into
a senate and a house of representatives. The 36 members of the senate
and 151 members of the house are popularly elected to 2-year terms.
Special sessions of the General Assembly may be called by the governor
or by a majority of each chamber of the state legislature.
Connecticut’s highest court, the supreme court, is made
up of a chief justice and six associate judges; there are ten
intermediate appellate court judges, one of whom serves as chief court
administrator. The major trial court is the superior court, with 180
judges. The judges of all these courts are appointed to 8-year
terms by the legislature, from nominations submitted by the governor,
who must choose from a list of recommendations by a judicial selection
commission; judges are reappointed through a similar procedure. The state’s
123 probate courts are presided over by judges popularly elected to 4-year terms.
In the mid-2000s, Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns
served as the state’s chief units of local government.
Most of the towns were governed by popularly elected selectmen, and
a majority of the cities employed the mayor-council form of government.
The state’s eight counties had few governmental functions
and served primarily as divisions of the judicial system. In the early
2000s the state also had 17 school districts and 384 special districts.
Connecticut elects two senators and five representatives to
the U.S. Congress. The state has seven electoral votes in presidential
elections.
In both state and national elections, Republican
candidates were more often victorious from the 1850s to the 1930s. During
the mid-20th century the Democrats had gained in strength; during the
1950s and '60s the state party organization played an influential role
in national Democratic politics; a strongly Democratic trend in recent decades.
Thomas J. Dodd (1907-71), a Democrat who represented Connecticut for two
terms (1959-71) in the U.S. Senate, was censured by that body in 1967 for
financial misconduct; his son, Christopher Dodd (1944-), a U.S. senator since
1981, was a dark horse candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
First elected to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in 1988, Joseph I. Lieberman won
a third term in 2000 while running unsuccessfully for vice-president on the
Democratic ticket with Al Gore; he lost his Senate primary to an antiwar Democrat in
August 2006, but retained his seat by running as an independent in the November general election.
Since the 18th century Connecticut has been an
important center of manufacturing, which by the mid-19th century was
the state’s leading economic activity. During the early 2000s
Connecticut also had large commercial and service sectors, and a number
of major corporations maintained their headquarters in the state,
notably in Fairfield Co., in the SW. In addition, the state’s large
insurance industry, centered in Hartford, was a major contributor to
its economy. In the early 2000s, Connecticut’s annual personal income per
capita ranked first among the 50 states.
| CONNECTICUT STATE ECONOMY |
| STATE BUDGET(in thousands) |
| General revenue |
$19,518,768 |
| General expenditure |
$19,523,465 |
| Accumulated debt |
$22,574,585 |
 |
| STATE TAXES PER CAPITA |
$2,941 |
|
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$47,819 |
|
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
8.1% |
|
| EMPLOYMENT DISTRIBUTION |
| Management, business, finance |
275,000 |
| Professional and related |
397,000 |
| Services |
255,000 |
| Sales and related |
196,000 |
| Office and administrative support |
257,000 |
| Farming, fishing, forestry |
NA |
| Construction and extraction |
95,000 |
| Installation, maintenance, repair |
48,000 |
| Production |
107,000 |
| Transportation and moving |
72,000 |
|
| GROSS STATE PRODUCT |
$194.5 billion |
|
| NET FARM INCOME |
$93 million |
| Principal products |
greenhouse products, dairy products, eggs |
Farming, which is of relatively little economic
importance in Connecticut, is concentrated principally in the
Connecticut R. valley. The state contains about 4000 farms, with an
average size of 35 ha (86 acres). Greenhouse and nursery products (such
as flowers and shrubs) and dairy products together account for nearly
half of annual farm cash receipts in Connecticut. Chicken eggs, beef
cattle, tobacco, sweet corn, apples, hay, and peaches generate much of
the rest of the farm income.
Forestry activities were once carried on extensively in
Connecticut, but following the depletion of the state’s virgin timber,
commercial forestry declined sharply. Although forests covered nearly
three-fifths of the state in the early 2000s, the trees generally were
not large enough to support major wood-processing industries.
Fishing as a commercial venture has relatively little
importance in Connecticut. Harvesting of oysters and hard-shell clams
is conducted along Long Island Sound. Flounder, cod, menhaden, porgy,
whiting, and lobster are also caught. Commercial fishing brought in
about $36 million in 2004
Connecticut’s mining industry has declined sharply
since colonial times, when it was active in the production of iron ore.
In the early 2000s most of the mineral production in the state
consisted of stone, sand, and gravel, all of which were used locally as
building materials.
Connecticut established a thriving industrial complex in the
colonial period, largely because its fast-flowing streams and waterfalls
could easily be harnessed for power. Nails were produced early in
the 18th century, and brass making was introduced in 1749. Weapons
manufactured in Connecticut were used to fight the British during
the American Revolution. In the 1790s the state was known for its
hats (made at Danbury) and timepieces (produced primarily at Watertown).
Eli Whitney, a Connecticut resident, developed the cotton gin and
introduced the use of interchangeable parts in the manufacturing process.
The state’s armaments industry was an important supplier
of firearms during the two world wars.
As of 2000, 195,000 workers were employed in manufacturing,
a decline of more than 40,000 from the year 2000. Connecticut’s leading
manufactures include aerospace equipment, fabricated metal products,
machinery, and electronic items. Most of the state’s industries are
concentrated in Fairfield, Hartford, and New Haven counties; the cities
of Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, New Britain, Waterbury, Stamford,
and Norwalk are leading manufacturing centers.
In the early 2000s Connecticut earned nearly $7 billion
annually from tourism. Many visitors are attracted each year by
Connecticut’s green hills, lovely lakes, and beautifully preserved old
towns and villages. The indented shore of Long Island Sound and the
wooded Litchfield Hills in the NW are among the major resort areas in
the state. Connecticut maintains a system of more than 50 state parks,
the most popular of which include Gillette Castle State Park, in
Haddam; Hammonassett Beach State Park, in Madison; Sherwood Island
State Park, in Westport; and Dinosaur State Park, in Rocky Hill.
Winter-sports enthusiasts in large numbers visit the state’s several
ski areas. The casinos and associated entertainment facilities of SE
Connecticut draw visitors from New York and other nearby states.
The transportation system of Connecticut is highly
developed. The state has about 33,550 km (about 20,850 mi) of roads and
highways, including about 1550 km (about 965 mi) of national highway
system roads. Connecticut also is served by about 930 km (about 580 mi)
of operated railroad track, and many residents commute to work in New
York City by rail. There were 54 airports, 92 heliports, and 5 seaplane
bases in 2005; the busiest air terminal is Bradley International Airport,
located near Windsor Locks, about midway between Hartford and
Springfield, Mass. New Haven, Bridgeport, and New London have port
facilities. Considerable freight is shipped on the Connecticut R.
between Hartford and Long Island Sound. Year-round ferry services link
the state with Long Island.
In 2003 electricity generating facilities in Connecticut
had a total capacity of about 7.6 million kw and produced some 30 billion kwh
of electricity each year. The state has a highly developed system of nuclear-power
plants, with close to 55% of its electricity produced in such facilities.
Conventional steam installations, fired by fossil fuels, generate close to 40% of
the total electrical output, with small amounts produced by hydroelectric
facilities and other sources.
The Indians who lived in the area before the coming of the
Europeans belonged to the Algonquian group. They referred to the
region they had settled as Quinnetukut, probably meaning “place
of the long river,” and the state’s name is derived
from this word. Between 6000 and 7000 Indians made up the 16 tribes
found in Connecticut. With the exception of the Pequots, who resisted
European encroachment, Connecticut’s Indians dwelt in peace
with the settlers. They lived mostly by hunting, gathering, and
fishing; their agriculture was limited to raising corn, pumpkins,
beans, sweet potatoes, and squash.
The Connecticut River valley, first explored by the Dutchman Adriaen
Block in 1614, remained a fur-trading area until the mid-1620s,
when the Dutch fortified several localities. The Dutch were followed
by the English under Edward Winslow of Plymouth, who established
a settlement at Windsor in 1635. Interest in the fertile soils and
rich timber stands of Connecticut soon spread among the Massachusetts
colonists, and many of them moved here. The largest migration was
led by the Congregationalist clergyman Thomas Hooker in June 1636,
when the Newtown community relocated itself at Hartford. This influx
aroused the Pequot Indians, and they were subsequently exterminated
in a war with the settlers (1636–37).
Under a Massachusetts General Court decree of March 1636,
Connecticut settlers were able to create a form of self-government
that continued until supplemented by the Fundamental Orders of 1639.
These orders created a system of government under which the people
became the base of authority; two general courts were established
and charged with legislative and administrative functions. The governor
and magistrates were to be elected by “vote of the country.” There
was no specific religious requirement for citizenship.
The Fundamental Orders remained the basis for government
until the colony was reorganized by the royal charter of 1662. Under the charter,
Connecticut’s boundaries were extended on the east to Narragansett Bay
and, on the south, to Long Island Sound. Up to that time, New Haven had been
a separate colony, having had its beginnings under John Davenport, who founded
a settlement there in March 1638. The New Haven officials encouraged the foundation
of Milford, Branford, Guilford, Stamford, Southhold (on Long Island),
and other settlements that were included in the New Haven Colony.
Under the new royal charter New Haven’s independence ceased.
In 1685 Connecticut authorities were informed by King James
II that the colony was scheduled for inclusion in a newly formed
Dominion of New England. When the royal governor, Edmund Andros,
appeared in person in October 1687 to accept the surrender of Connecticut’s
charter, the document, according to local legend, was “secreted
in a large hollow tree,” the Charter Oak. Connecticut remained
part of the dominion until King James was overthrown by the Glorious
Revolution of 1688–89.
In the late 17th century and much of the 18th, extensions
in the North American colonies of conflicts in Europe brought renewed
attacks by Indians, now allied with the French. At the beginning
of the French and Indian War in 1754, Connecticut settlers organized
a subdivision of the colony in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania,
under Connecticut control until 1786.
Connecticut vigorously opposed the Stamp Act and figured prominently
in the American Revolution. The colony officially severed its ties
with Great Britain in July 1776, and the following October Connecticut
became an independent state. More than 40,000 of its men served
in the revolutionary army. The British burned Danbury in 1777 and
pillaged New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk in 1779. In September
1781, British troops commanded by Benedict Arnold largely destroyed
New London and Groton by fire.
After peace was restored in 1783, Connecticut sought political
adjustment to the Articles of Confederation. At the Constitutional
Convention, held in Philadelphia in 1787, its delegates introduced
the Connecticut Compromise, by which each state would have equal
representation in the U.S. Senate and proportional representation
in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The War of 1812 proved unpopular in Connecticut. When Massachusetts
issued a call for delegates to gather and oppose the war, Connecticut
approved and offered a site for the meeting. The Hartford Convention subsequently
urged the adoption of several constitutional amendments curbing
the powers of the federal government, but none was adopted. The
state revised its own constitution in 1818. At that time the government
was divided into executive, legislative, and judicial branches;
veto power was granted to the governor; and the Congregational church,
which had become the state’s official religious body in
the preceding century, was disestablished.
Connecticut abolished slavery in 1848. In the presidential election
of 1860, it supported Abraham Lincoln, and during the American Civil
War it supplied both men and ammunition to the Union. The war brought
economic prosperity to the state, and the expansion of its industries,
banking, and railroads also changed the nature of its agricultural
pursuits. By the 1870s subsistence farming was giving way to specialization,
brought on by urbanization, increased population, industrialization,
and competition from farms in the Midwest. Industrialization was
accompanied by an influx of immigrants. By 1910 the foreign-born
constituted about 30 percent of the population of 1,114,756, most coming
from Ireland, Italy, Russia, Germany, and Austria.
In the 20th century specialized industries that had been established
in the state during the 19th century expanded; included were those
that produced steel and brass fittings, firearms, silverware, and
clocks. Hartford became a leading insurance center of the U.S. Developments
after World War II wrought further changes, making the state one
of the principal U.S. producers of aircraft parts, submarines, and
instruments for the U.S. space program.
A new constitution was drafted by constitutional
convention during the summer of 1965 and approved by referendum in
December. This document redressed an imbalance in legislative apportionment
that had allowed a small minority of voters in small towns and rural
areas to dominate the General Assembly. In the 1980s the state’s income
per capitawas among the highest in the U.S., and its unemployment rate was
among the lowest.
In the early 1990s, the finance, insurance,
and real estate markets were hit hard by recession, and cutbacks
in defense spending forced the closure of several defense contractors.
To balance the budget, the state was forced, for the first time,
to impose a tax on earned income. The success of several casinos
opened by Indian tribes on reservations in southeastern Connecticut
in the 1990s led to economic growth in the region and spurred development,
mainly in nearby urban areas.
Connecticut's governors were predominantly Democrats from the
1950s through the '80s. In 1990, however, Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (1931– ),
a liberal Republican when he served (1971-89) in the U.S. Senate, was elected to
the governorship as an independent. He was succeeded in 1995 by John G. Rowland
(1957– ), the first Republican governor in 20 years. Rowland won reelection in
1998 and 2002 but stepped down in mid-2004 after allegations of financial misconduct
had triggered a federal criminal probe and the initiation of impeachment proceedings
in the state legislature; he subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of corruption
and was sentenced to a year in prison. His successor, Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell (1946– ),
also a Republican, took office in July 2004; she won reelection to a full term in November 2006.