When Did Vermont Become a State?

Vermont is one of the six states of the New England region of northeastern United States the others being Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Vermont is the sixth-smallest state by area and the second smallest by population. Its capital Montpellier is the least populous state capital in the country. The state is the leading producer of maple syrup in the country and was ranked the safest state in 2016. Vermont joined the Union on March 4, 1791, as the 14th state.

Settlement Of Vermont

Native Americans first settled Vermont between 7000 and 1000 BC. The Algonquian tribes including the Abenaki and Mohican people settled in west Vermont where they traded in bows and arrows. The Cowasucks settled in north Eastern Vermont while the Sokoki settled in the southern regions. The French were the first Europeans to explore Vermont where they established the first European settlement at Fort Sainte Anne in 1666. In 1724 the first British settlement was established at Fort Dummer. The tension between the French and the Native Americans escalated into an armed conflict sparking the French and Indian War of 1755–1761.

Vermont Becomes A State

The 13 colonies seeking independence from Britain were too focused on the Revolutionary War to notice that Vermont was seeking independence of its own. The Continental Congress and the state of New York rejected the idea of establishing a new state, forcing the territory to exist as an independent state from 1777 to 1791. The British tried severally to negotiate with the United States over the possibility of the territory becoming part of the British province of Quebec, but the Americans rejected the idea. In 1791 Vermont paid $30,000 dollars to the state of New York as compensation for the land and was after that allowed to join the Union as a state. On March 4, 1791, Vermont was officially admitted as the 14th state of the United States and the first state to be admitted outside the original 13 colonies.

The American Civil War

In 1854 Vermont passed a resolution abolishing the slavery movement in the state while questioning how the government could let people enslave others. A majority of the citizens supported the abolishment of slavery and in 1860 overwhelmingly voted for Abraham Lincoln. About 28,000 Vermonters served in the United States Navy and Army during the Civil War. About 1,800 men were either killed or mortally wounded during the war while a further 2,200 were taken as prisoners of war.