Before the Delaware coastline was explored and developed byEuropeans in the 17th century, the state was inhabited by severalNative American tribes, including theLenape in the north andNanticoke in the south. The state was first colonized byDutch traders atZwaanendael, near present-dayLewes, Delaware, in 1631. Delaware was one of theThirteen Colonies that participated in theAmerican Revolution againstGreat Britain, which established the United States as an independent nation. On December 7, 1787, Delaware was the first state to ratify theConstitution of the United States, earning it the nickname "The First State".[18]
Since the turn of the 20th century, Delaware has become an onshorecorporate haven whosecorporate laws are deemed appealing to corporations; over half of allNew York Stock Exchange-listed corporations and over three-fifths of theFortune 500 are legally incorporated in Delaware. Over 90% of all U.S. based companies that wentpublic in 2021 incorporated themselves in Delaware.[19]
Delaware was named after its location on the Delaware Bay, which in turn derived its name fromThomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577–1618), the first governor of theColony of Virginia. The Delaware people, a name used by Europeans forLenape people Indigenous to the Delaware Valley, also derive their name from the same source.
Before Delaware was settled by European colonists, the present-day state was home to the EasternAlgonquian tribes known as the UnamiLenape, or Delaware, who lived mostly along the coast, and theNanticoke who occupied much of the southernDelmarva Peninsula. John Smith also shows two Iroquoian tribes, the Kuskarawock andTockwogh, living north of the Nanticoke—they may have held small portions of land in the western part of the state before migrating across the Chesapeake Bay.[22] The Kuskarawocks were most likely theTuscarora.
The Unami Lenape in theDelaware Valley were closely related toMunsee Lenape tribes along theHudson River. They had a settled hunting and agricultural society, and they rapidly became middlemen in an increasingly frantic fur trade with their ancient enemy, the Minqua orSusquehannock. With the loss of their lands on theDelaware River and the destruction of the Minqua by theIroquois of the Five Nations in the 1670s, the remnants of the Lenape who wished to remain identified as such left the region and moved over theAllegheny Mountains by the mid-18th century. Generally, those who did not relocate out of the state of Delaware were baptized, became Christian and were grouped together with other persons of color in official records and in the minds of their non-Native American neighbors.[citation needed]
TheDutch were the first Europeans to settle in present-day Delaware in the middle region by establishing a trading post atZwaanendael, near the site ofLewes in 1631.[23] Within a year, all the settlers were killed in a dispute withNative American tribes living in the area. In 1638,New Sweden, aSwedish trading post and colony, was established atFort Christina (now inWilmington) byPeter Minuit at the head of a group of Swedes,Finns and Dutch. The colony of New Sweden lasted 17 years. In 1651, the Dutch, reinvigorated by the leadership ofPeter Stuyvesant, established a fort at present-dayNew Castle and, in 1655, they conquered the New Sweden colony, annexing it into the DutchNew Netherland.[24][25] Only nine years later, in 1664, the Dutch were conquered by a fleet of English ships by Sir Robert Carr under the direction ofJames, the Duke of York. Fighting off a prior claim byCecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore,Proprietor of Maryland, the Duke passed his somewhat dubious ownership on toWilliam Penn in 1682. Penn strongly desired access to the sea for hisPennsylvania province and leased what then came to be known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware"[24] from the Duke.
Penn established representative government and briefly combined his two possessions under one General Assembly in 1682. However, by 1704 the province of Pennsylvania had grown so large their representatives wanted to make decisions without the assent of the Lower Counties, and the two groups of representatives began meeting on their own, one atPhiladelphia, and the other at New Castle. Penn and his heirs remained proprietors of both and always appointed the same person Governor for their province of Pennsylvania and their territory of the Lower Counties. The fact that Delaware and Pennsylvania shared the same governor was not unique; from 1703 to 1738, New York and New Jersey shared a governor.[26] Massachusetts and New Hampshire also shared a governor for some time.[27]
Dependent in early years on indentured labor, Delaware imported more slaves as the number of English immigrants decreased with better economic conditions in England. The colony became a slave society and cultivated tobacco as a cash crop, although English immigrants continued to arrive.
A two-shilling, six-pence banknote issued by Delaware in 1777
Like the other middle colonies, the Lower Counties on the Delaware initially showed little enthusiasm for a break withBritain. The citizenry had a good relationship with the Proprietary government, and generally were allowed more independence of action in their Colonial Assembly than in other colonies. Merchants at the port of Wilmington had trading ties with the British.
New Castle lawyerThomas McKean denounced theStamp Act in the strongest terms, and Kent County nativeJohn Dickinson became the "Penman of the Revolution". Anticipating the Declaration of Independence,Patriot leaders Thomas McKean andCaesar Rodney convinced the Colonial Assembly to declare itself separated from British and Pennsylvania rule on June 15, 1776. The person best representing Delaware's majority,George Read, could not bring himself to vote for a Declaration of Independence. Only the dramatic overnight ride of Caesar Rodney gave the delegation the votes needed to cast Delaware's vote for independence.
Following the Battle of Brandywine, Wilmington was occupied by the British, andState PresidentJohn McKinly was taken prisoner. The British remained in control of the Delaware River for much of the rest of the war, disrupting commerce and providing encouragement to an activeLoyalist portion of the population, particularly in Sussex County. Because the British promised slaves of rebels freedom for fighting with them, escaped slaves flocked north to join their lines.[28]
Following theAmerican Revolution, statesmen from Delaware were among the leading proponents of a strong central United States with equal representation for each state.
Many colonial settlers came to Delaware fromMaryland andVirginia, where the population had been increasing rapidly. The economies of these colonies were chiefly based on labor-intensive tobacco and increasingly dependent on Africanslaves because of a decline in working class immigrants from England. Most of the English colonists had arrived asindentured servants (contracted for a fixed period to pay for their passage), and in the early years the line between servant and slave was fluid.[citation needed]
Most of the free African-American families in Delaware before the Revolution had migrated from Maryland to find more affordable land. They were descendants chiefly of relationships or marriages between white servant women and enslaved, servant or free African or African-American men.[29] Under slavery law, children took the social status of their mothers, so children born to white women were free, regardless of their paternity, just as children born to enslaved women were born into slavery. As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in England, more slaves were imported for labor and the caste lines hardened.
By the end of the colonial period, the number of enslaved people in Delaware began to decline. Shifts in the agriculture economy from tobacco to mixed farming resulted in less need for slaves' labor. In addition localMethodists andQuakers encouraged slaveholders to free their slaves following the American Revolution, and many did so in a surge of individual manumissions for idealistic reasons. By 1810, three-quarters of all blacks in Delaware were free. When John Dickinson freed his slaves in 1777, he was Delaware's largest slave owner with 37 slaves. In 1840, Delaware's population was 78,085 of whom 2,605 were slaves.[30] By 1860, the largest slaveholder owned 16 slaves.[31]
Although attempts to abolish slavery failed by narrow margins in the legislature, in practical terms the state had mostly ended the practice. By the1860 census on the verge of theCivil War, 91.7% of the black population were free;[32] 1,798 were slaves, as compared to 19,829 "free colored persons".[33]
Delaware voted againstsecession on January 3, 1861, and so remained in the Union. While most Delaware citizens who fought in the war served in the regiments of the state, some served in companies on the Confederate side inMaryland andVirginia Regiments. Delaware is notable for being the only slave state from which no Confederate regiments or militia groups were assembled.[citation needed] Delaware essentially freed the few slaves who were still in bondage shortly after the Civil War[further explanation needed] but rejected the13th,14th, and15th Amendments to the Constitution; the 13th Amendment was rejected on February 8, 1865, the 14th Amendment was rejected on February 8, 1867, and the 15th Amendment was rejected on March 18, 1869. Delaware officially ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments on February 12, 1901, decades after they had already come into force.[36]
During theReconstruction Era that followed theCivil War, DemocraticRedeemer governments led by the South'sBourbon aristocracy continued to dominate the region and imposed explicitlywhite supremacist regimes in the former slave states. The Delaware legislature declared Black people to be second-class citizens in 1866, and restricted their voting rights despite the 15th Amendment, ensuring continued Democratic success in the state throughout most of the 19th century.[37] Fearful that the1875 Civil Rights Act passed by Congress might establish racial equality, Delaware legislators passedJim Crow laws that mandatedsegregation in public facilities. The state's educational system was segregated by operation of law.[38] Delaware's segregation was written into the state constitution, which, while providing at Article X, Section 2, that "no distinction shall be made on account of race or color", nonetheless required that "separate schools for white and colored children shall be maintained."[39]
Beginning in the late 19th century, the Wilmington area grew into a manufacturing center. Investment in manufacturing in the city grew from $5.5 million in 1860 to $44 million in 1900.[40] The most notable manufacturer in the state was the chemical companyDuPont, which to this day is heavily credited with making the state what it is today in many ways.[41] Because of Wilmington's growth, local politicians from the city and New Castle County pressured the state government to adopt a new constitution providing the north with more representation. However, the subsequent 1897 constitution did not proportionally represent the north and continued to give the southern counties disproportionate influence.[42]
As manufacturing expanded, businesses became major players in state affairs and funders of politicians through families such as the Du Ponts. RepublicanJohn Addicks attempted to buy a US Senate seat multiple times in a rivalry with the Du Ponts until the passage of the17th Amendment.[43] The allegiance of industries with the Republican party allowed them to gain control of the state's governorship throughout most of the 20th century. The GOP ensured black people could vote because of their general support for Republicans and thus undid restrictions on Black suffrage.[44]
Delaware benefited greatly from World War I because of the state's large gunpowder industry. DuPont, the most dominant business in the state by WWI, produced an estimated 40% of all gunpowder used by the Allies during the war. It produced nylon in the state after the war and began investments intoGeneral Motors.[45] Additionally, the company invested heavily in the expansion of public schools in the state and colleges such as theUniversity of Delaware in the 1910s and 1920s. This included primary and secondary schools for Black people and women.[46] Delaware suffered less during theGreat Depression than other states, but the depression spurred further migration from the rural south to urban areas.[47]
Like in World War I, the state enjoyed a big stimulus to its gunpowder and shipyard industries in World War II. New job opportunities during and after the war in the Wilmington area coaxed Black people from the southern counties to move to the city. The proportion of blacks constituting the city's population rose from 15% in 1950 to over 50% by 1980.[48] The surge of Black migrants to the north sparkedwhite flight, in which middle class whites moved from the city to suburban areas, leading tode facto segregation of Northern Delaware's society. In the 1940s and 1950s, Delaware attempted to integrate its schools, although the last segregated school in the state did not close until 1970.[49] TheUniversity of Delaware admitted its first black student in 1948, and local courts ruled that primary schools had to be integrated. Delaware's integration efforts partially inspired the US Supreme Court's decision inBrown v. Board of Education, which found racial segregation in United Statespublic schools to be unconstitutional.[50] The result of theBrown ruling was that Delaware became fully integrated, albeit with time and much effort.
In October 1954, the city ofMilford became the scene of one of the country's first pro-segregationboycotts after eleven Black students were enrolled in the previously all-whiteMilford High School. Mass protests continued in Milford; the school board eventually ceded to the protestors, expelling the Black students.[51][52][53] The ensuing unrest, which includedcross burnings, rallies, and pro-segregation demonstrations, contributed todesegregation in most of Southern Delaware being delayed for another ten years.Sussex County did not start closing or integrating its segregated schools until 1965, 11 years after theBrown ruling.[54] Throughout the state, integration only encouraged more white flight, and poor economic conditions for the black population led to some violence during the 1960s. Riots broke out in Wilmington in 1967 and again in1968 in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, after which the National Guard occupied the city for nine months to prevent further violence.[55]
Since WWII, the state has been generally economically prosperous and enjoyed relatively high per capita income because of its location between major cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, DC.[56] Its population grew rapidly, particularly in the suburbs in the north where New Castle county became an extension of thePhiladelphia metropolitan area.[57] Americans, including migrants from Puerto Rico, and immigrants from Latin America flocked to the state. By 1990, only 50% of Delaware's population consisted of natives to the state.[58]
Delaware is 96 miles (154 km) long and ranges from 9 to 35 miles (14 to 56 km) across, with a land area of 1,982 square miles (5,130 km2)[59] and a total area of 2,489 square miles (6,450 km2),[60] making it the second-smallest state by either metric in the United States afterRhode Island. Delaware is bounded to the north byPennsylvania; to the east by theDelaware River,Delaware Bay,New Jersey, and the Atlantic Ocean; and to the west and south byMaryland. Small portions of Delaware are also situated on the eastern side of the Delaware River sharing land boundaries with New Jersey. The state of Delaware, together with theEastern Shore counties of Maryland andtwo counties of Virginia, form theDelmarva Peninsula, which stretches down the Mid-Atlantic Coast.
The definition of the northern boundary of the state is unusual. Most of the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania was originally defined by an arc extending 12 miles (19.3 km) from thecupola of the courthouse in the city ofNew Castle.[61] This boundary is often referred to as theTwelve-Mile Circle.[b] Although the Twelve-Mile Circle is often claimed to be the only territorial boundary in the U.S. that is a truearc, the Mexican boundary with Texas includes several arcs,[62] and many cities in the South (such asPlains, Georgia)[63] also have circular boundaries.
This border extends all the way east to the low-tide mark on the New Jersey shore, then continues south along the shoreline until it again reaches the 12-mile (19 km) arc in the south; then the boundary continues in a more conventional way in the middle of the main channel (thalweg) of the Delaware River.
On the west, Delaware and Maryland are mostly separated by a line running from the midpoint of theTranspeninsular Line, going slightly west of due north up to its tangent point on theTwelve-Mile Circle. The border follows the Circle for a short distance and then continues in a straight line due north until reaching the southern border of Pennsylvania.[64]The Wedge of land between the northwest part of the arc and the Maryland border was claimed by both Delaware and Pennsylvania until 1921, when Delaware's claim was confirmed.
Delaware is on a level plain, with the lowest mean elevation of any state in the nation.[65] Its highest elevation, located atEbright Azimuth, nearConcord High School, is less than 450 feet (140 m) above sea level.[65] The northernmost part of the state is part of thePiedmont Plateau with hills and rolling surfaces.
Since almost all of Delaware is a part of theAtlantic coastal plain, the effects of the ocean moderate its climate. The state lies in thehumid subtropical climate (KöppenCfa) zone. Despite its small size (roughly 100 miles (160 km) from its northernmost to southernmost points), there is significant variation in mean temperature and amount of snowfall between Sussex County and New Castle County. Moderated by the Atlantic Ocean andDelaware Bay, the southern portion of the state has a milder climate and a longer growing season than the northern portion of the state.
Summers are long, hot, and humid in Delaware, often with intense (but brief) late day thundershowers. Delaware averages 2,300 hrs of sunshine annually (higher than the USA average). Winters are modestly cool to cold in northern Delaware, and cool to mild in southern Delaware. The normal seasonal snowfall ranges from about 20.0 inches in Wilmington to only 10.0 inches in Lewes. In many winters no snow will fall in coastal Delaware. Northern Delaware falls into USDA Garden Zone 7a, while southern and coastal areas fall into USDA zone 7b and 8a. The milder climate in southern Delaware allows forsubtropicalflora such as thewindmill palm,needle palm, anddwarf palmetto.
Delaware's all-time record high of 110 °F (43 °C) was recorded atMillsboro on July 21, 1930. The all-time record low of −17 °F (−27 °C) was also recorded at Millsboro, on January 17, 1893. Thehardiness zones are 7B and 8A at theDelaware Beaches.
The transitional climate of Delaware supports a wide variety of vegetation. In the northern third of the state are foundNortheastern coastal forests and mixedoak forests typical of the northeastern United States.[67] In the southern two-thirds of the state are foundMiddle Atlantic coastal forests.[67]Trap Pond State Park, along with areas in other parts of Sussex County, for example, support the northernmost stands ofbald cypress trees in North America.
Wilmington is the state's most populous city (70,635) and its economic hub. It is located within commuting distance of both Philadelphia and Baltimore. Dover is the state capital and the second most populous city (38,079).
Delaware is the sixth most densely populated state, with a population density of 442.6 people per square mile, 356.4 per square mile more than the national average, and ranking 45th in population. Delaware is one of five U.S. states (Maine,Vermont,West Virginia,Wyoming) that do not have a single city with a population over 100,000 as of the 2010 census.[81] Thecenter of population of Delaware is in New Castle County, in the town ofTownsend.[82]
The 2022American Community Survey estimated the state had a racial and ethnic makeup of 60.6% non-Hispanic whites, 23.6% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian or Alaska Native, 4.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.9% multiracial, and 10.1% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.[86]
In the Native American community, the state has a Native American group, called in their own languageLenape, which was influential in the colonial period of the United States and is today headquartered in Cheswold, Kent County, Delaware.[87] A band of the Nanticoke tribe of American Indians today resides in Sussex County and is headquartered in Millsboro, Sussex County, Delaware.[88]
Delaware's population mainly consisted of people from the British Isles, African slaves, Germans and a few remaining Native Americans during the colonial era. Irish, Germans, Italians, Poles, and Russian Jewish immigrants were attracted by the industries in the Wilmington area. In the late 20th century a Puerto Rican community formed in Wilmington. Guatemalan people migrated to Sussex county to work in Delaware's poultry industry. A group of Native Americans in Delaware of mixed ethnicity, theMoors, live in Cheswold. The descendants of the Nanticoke people live around Millsboro. There is also a small numbers of Asians in New Castle county who work as scientific and engineering professionals.[89]
Since 2016, data for births ofWhite Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in oneHispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
In 2000, 91% of Delaware residents of age5 and older spoke only English at home; 5% spoke Spanish. French was the third most spoken language, used by 0.7% of the population, followed by Chinese (0.5%) and German (0.5%). Legislation has been proposed in both the House and the Senate in Delaware to designate English as theofficial language.[106][107] Neither bill was passed in the legislature.
A 2012 Gallup poll found that Delaware's proportion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults stood at 3.4% of the population. This constitutes a total LGBT adult population estimate of 23,698 people. The number of same-sex couple households in 2010 stood at 2,646. This grew by 41.65% from a decade earlier.[108][not specific enough to verify] On July 1, 2013, same-sex marriage was legalized, and all civil unions were converted into marriages.[109][better source needed]
The predominant religion practiced in Delaware isChristianity. A 2014 estimate by thePew Research Center found that members ofProtestant churches accounted for almost half of the population,[111] though theRoman Catholic Church was the largest single denomination in the state. By 2020, thePublic Religion Research Institute determined 61% of the population was Christian.[112] In 2022, the Public Religion Research Institute's survey revealed 60% were Christian, followed byJews (3%),Hindus (1%), andNew Agers (1%).[110]
TheAssociation of Religion Data Archives reported in 2010 that the three largest Christian denominational groups in Delaware by number of adherents are theCatholic Church at 182,532 adherents, theUnited Methodist Church with 53,656 members reported, and non-denominationalevangelical Protestants, who numbered 22,973.[113] In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives reported the largest Christian denominations were the Catholic Church with 197,094; non-denominational Protestants with 49,392, and United Methodists with 39,959.[114]
Delaware is home to anAmish community which resides west ofDover inKent County, consisting of nine church districts and about 1,650 people. The Amish first settled in Kent County in 1915. In recent years, increasing development has led to the decline in the number of Amish living in the community.[115][116][117]
A 2012 survey of religious attitudes in the United States found that 34% of Delaware residents considered themselves "moderately religious", 33% "very religious", and 33% as "non-religious".[118] At the 2014Pew Research survey, 23% of the population were irreligious; the 2020 Public Religion Research Institute's survey determined 31% of the population were irreligious.[112] In 2022, the same study showed 33% of the population as irreligious.[110]
Average sale price for new and existing homes (in U.S. dollars)[119]
DE County
March 2010
March 2011
New Castle
229,000
216,000
Sussex
323,000
296,000
Kent
186,000
178,000
According to a 2020 study by Kiplinger, Delaware had the 17th most millionaires per capita in the United States; altogether, there were 25,937 such individuals. The median income for Delaware households as of 2020 was $64,805.[120][121]
More than half of all U.S. publicly traded companies, and 63% of theFortune 500, areincorporated in Delaware.[131] The state's attractiveness as acorporate haven is largely because of its business-friendlycorporation law.Franchise taxes on Delaware corporations supply about a fifth of the state's revenue.[132] Although "USA (Delaware)" ranked as the world's most opaque jurisdiction on theTax Justice Network's 2009 Financial Secrecy Index,[133] the same group's 2011 Index ranks the U.S. fifth and does not specify Delaware.[134] In Delaware, there are more than a million registered corporations,[131] meaning there are more corporations than people.
Title 4, chapter 7 of the Delaware Code stipulates that alcoholic liquor be sold only in specifically licensed establishments, and only between 9:00a.m. and 1:00a.m.[135] Until 2003, Delaware was among the several states enforcingblue laws and banned the sale of liquor on Sunday.[136]
No standalone television stations are based solely in Delaware. The northern part of the state is served by network stations inPhiladelphia and the southern part by network stations inSalisbury, Maryland. Philadelphia'sABC affiliate,WPVI-TV, maintains a news bureau in downtown Wilmington. Salisbury'sCBS affiliate,WBOC-TV, maintains bureaus in Dover and Milton. Three Philadelphia-market stations—PBS memberWHYY-TV,Ion affiliateWPPX, andMeTV affiliateWDPN-TV—all have Wilmington as theircity of license, but maintain transmitters at the market antenna farm inRoxborough, Philadelphia and do not produce any Delaware-centric programming.
There are a numerous radio stations licensed in Delaware.WDDE 91.1 FM,WDEL 1150AM,WHGE-LP 95.3 FM, WILM 1450 AM,WVCW 99.5,WMPH 91.7 FM,WSTW 93.7 FM,WTMC 1380 AM andWWTX 1290AM are licensed from Wilmington.WRDX 92.9 FM is licensed from Smyrna.WDOV 1410AM,WDSD 94.7 FM and WRTX 91.7 FM are licensed from Dover.
Rehoboth Beach, together with the towns ofLewes,Dewey Beach,Bethany Beach,South Bethany, andFenwick Island, compriseDelaware's beach resorts. Rehoboth Beach often bills itself as "The Nation's Summer Capital" because it is a frequent summer vacation destination for Washington, D.C., residents as well as visitors from Maryland, Virginia, and in lesser numbers, Pennsylvania. Vacationers are drawn for many reasons, including the town's charm, artistic appeal, nightlife, and tax-free shopping. According to SeaGrant Delaware, the Delaware beaches generate $6.9billion annually and over $711million in tax revenue.[138]
Delaware is home to several festivals, fairs, and events. Some of the more notable festivals are the Riverfest held inSeaford, the World ChampionshipPunkin Chunkin formerly held at various locations throughout the state since 1986, the Rehoboth Beach Chocolate Festival, the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral to mark the end of summer, the Apple Scrapple Festival held inBridgeville, theClifford Brown Jazz Festival in Wilmington, the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, the Sea Witch Halloween Festival and Parade in Rehoboth Beach, the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, the Nanticoke Indian Pow Wow inOak Orchard,Firefly Music Festival, and the Return Day Parade held after every election inGeorgetown.
In 2015, tourism in Delaware generated $3.1billion, which makes up five percent of the state's GDP. Delaware saw 8.5million visitors in 2015, with the tourism industry employing 41,730 people, making it the 4th largest private employer in the state. Major origin markets for Delaware tourists include Philadelphia,Baltimore, New York City, Washington, D.C., andHarrisburg, with 97% of tourists arriving to the state by car and 75% of tourists coming from a distance of 200 miles (320 km) or less.[139]
Delaware is also home to two large sporting venues.Dover Motor Speedway is a race track in Dover, andFrawley Stadium in Wilmington is the home of theWilmington Blue Rocks, a Minor League Baseball team that is currently affiliated with the Washington Nationals.
In the early 1920s,Pierre S. du Pont served as president of the state board of education. At the time, state law prohibited money raised from white taxpayers from being used to support the state's schools for black children. Appalled by the condition of the black schools, du Pont donated four million dollars to construct 86 new school buildings.[140]
Delaware was the origin ofBelton v. Gebhart (1952), one of the four cases which were combined intoBrown v. Board of Education, theSupreme Court of the United States decision that led to the end of officiallysegregated public schools. Significantly,Belton was the only case in which the state court found for the plaintiffs, thereby ruling that segregation is unconstitutional.
Unlike many states, Delaware's educational system is centralized in a state Superintendent of Education, with local school boards retaining control over taxation and some curriculum decisions. This centralized system, combined with the small size of the state, likely contributed to Delaware becoming the first state, after completion of a three-year, $30million program ending in 1999, to wire every K-12 classroom in the state to the Internet.[141]
As of 2011[update], the Delaware Department of Education had authorized the founding of 25 charter schools in the state, one of them beingall-girls.[142]
In 2010, Delaware had the largest percentage of students attending private schools of places within the United States.[143]
All teachers in the State's public school districts are unionized.[144] As of January 2012[update], none of the State's charter schools are members of a teachersunion.[144] One of the State's teachers' unions is Delaware State Education Association (DSEA).[144]
Delaware'slicense plate design, introduced in 1959, is the longest-running one in U.S. history.[145]
The transportation system in Delaware is under the governance and supervision of theDelaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).[146][147] Funding for DelDOT projects is drawn, in part, from the Delaware Transportation Trust Fund, established in 1987 to help stabilize transportation funding; the availability of the Trust led to a gradual separation of DelDOT operations from other Delaware state operations.[148] DelDOT manages programs such as a DelawareAdopt-a-Highway program, major road route snow removal, traffic control infrastructure (signs and signals), toll road management, DelawareDivision of Motor Vehicles, the Delaware Transit Corporation (branded as "DART First State", the state government public transportation organization), and others.
In 2009, DelDOT maintained 13,507 lane-miles, totaling 89 percent of the state's public roadway system, the rest being under the supervision of individual municipalities. This far exceeds the national average (20 percent) for state department of transportation maintenance responsibility.[149]
One major branch of the U.S.Interstate Highway System,Interstate95 (I-95), crosses Delaware southwest-to-northeast across New Castle County. TwoAuxiliary Interstate Highway routes are also located in the state.Interstate 495 (I-495) is an eastern bypass of Wilmington.Interstate 295 (I-295) is a bypass of Philadelphia which begins south of Wilmington. In addition to Interstate highways, there are sixU.S. highways that serve Delaware:U.S.9,U.S.13,U.S.40,U.S.113,U.S.202, andU.S.301. There are also several state highways that cross the state of Delaware; a few of them includeDE1,DE9, andDE404. U.S.13 and DE1 are primary north–south highways connecting Wilmington and Pennsylvania with Maryland, with DE1 serving as the main route between Wilmington and theDelaware beaches. DE9 is a north–south highway connecting Dover and Wilmington via a scenic route along theDelaware Bay. U.S.40 is a primary east–west route, connecting Maryland with New Jersey. DE404 is another primary east–west highway connecting theChesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland with the Delaware beaches. The state also operates three toll highways, the Delaware Turnpike, which is I-95, between Maryland and New Castle; the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, which is DE1, between Wilmington and Dover; and the U.S. 301 toll road between the Maryland border and DE1 in New Castle County.
A bicycle route,Delaware Bicycle Route 1, spans the north–south length of the state from the Maryland border inFenwick Island to the Pennsylvania border north ofMontchanin. It is the first of several signed bike routes planned in Delaware.[150]
It has been noted that thetar and chip composition of secondary roads in Sussex County makes them more prone todeterioration than are theasphalt roadways in almost the rest of the state.[156] Among these roads, Sussex (county road) 236 is among the most problematic.[156]
The last north–south passenger trains through the main part of Delaware was thePennsylvania Railroad's local Wilmington-Delmar train in 1965.[158][159] This was a successor to theDel-Mar-Va Express andCavalier, which had run from Philadelphia through the state's interior, to the end of the Delmarva Peninsula until the mid-1950s.[160][161]
TheDART First State public transportation system was named "Most Outstanding Public Transportation System" in 2003 by theAmerican Public Transportation Association. Coverage of the system is broad within northern New Castle County with close association to major highways in Kent and Sussex counties. The system includes bus, subsidized passenger rail operated by Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA, and subsidized taxi andparatransit modes. The paratransit system, consisting of a statewide door-to-door bus service for the elderly and disabled, has been described by a Delaware state report as "the most generous paratransit system in the United States".[148] As of 2012[update], fees for the paratransit service have not changed since 1988.[148]
As of 2023[update], Delaware is served exclusively byAvelo Airlines out ofWilmington Airport, launching five routes to Florida on February 1.[162][163] This put an end to an eight-month period during which Delaware had no scheduled air service, one of several since 1991.[164] Various airlines had served Wilmington Airport, the latest departure beingFrontier Airlines in June 2022.[165]
TheDelaware General Assembly consists of aHouse of Representatives with 41 members and aSenate with 21 members. It sits in Dover, the state capital. Representatives are elected to two-year terms, while senators are elected to four-year terms. The Senate confirms judicial and other nominees appointed by the governor.
Minor non-constitutional courts include theJustice of the Peace Courts and Aldermen's Courts.
Significantly, Delaware has one of the few remaining Courts ofChancery in the nation, which has jurisdiction overequity cases, the vast majority of which are corporate disputes, many relating tomergers and acquisitions. TheCourt of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court have developed a worldwide reputation for rendering concise opinions concerningcorporate law which generally (but not always) grant broad discretion to corporate boards of directors and officers. In addition, theDelaware General Corporation Law, which forms the basis of the Courts' opinions, is widely regarded as giving great flexibility to corporations to manage their affairs. For these reasons, Delaware is considered to have the most business-friendly legal system in the United States; therefore a great number of companies areincorporated in Delaware, including 60% of the companies listed on theNew York Stock Exchange.[167]
Delaware is subdivided intothree counties; from north to south they areNew Castle,Kent andSussex. This is the fewest among all states. Each county elects its own legislative body (known in New Castle and Sussex counties asCounty Council, and in Kent County asLevy Court), which deal primarily in zoning and development issues. Most functions which are handled on a county-by-county basis in other states—such as court and law enforcement—have been centralized in Delaware, leading to a significant concentration of power in the Delaware state government. The counties were historically divided intohundreds, which were used as tax reporting and voting districts until the 1960s, but now serve no administrative role, their only current official legal use being in real estate title descriptions.[170]
Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States and aU.S. senator from Delaware from 1973 to 2009
TheDemocratic Party holds aplurality of registrations in Delaware. Currently, Democrats hold all positions of authority in Delaware, as well as majorities in the state Senate and House. The Democrats have held the governorship since 1993, having won the last seven gubernatorial elections. Democrats presently hold all the nine statewide elected offices, while the Republicans last won any statewide offices in 2014,State Auditor andState Treasurer.
During the second half of the 20th century, Delaware was a bellwether state, voting for the winner of every presidential election from1952 through1996. Delaware's bellwether status came to an end when Delaware voted forAl Gore in2000 by 13%. Subsequent elections have continued to demonstrate Delaware's current strong Democratic lean:John Kerry carried the First State by 8% in2004;Barack Obama carried it by 25% and by 19% in his two elections of2008 and2012; andHillary Clinton carried it by 11% as she lost the Electoral College in2016. In 2020, Delaware native (and Barack Obama's former vice president and running mate) Joe Biden headed the Democratic ticket; he carried his home state by just shy of 19% en route to a national 4.5% win.[171]
The dominant factor in Delaware's political shift has been the strong Democratic trend in heavily urbanizedNew Castle County, home to 55% of Delaware's population. New Castle County has not voted Republican in a presidential election since1988, and has given Democrats over 60% of its vote in every election from 2004 on. In 1992, 2000, 2004, and 2016, the Republican presidential candidate carried both Kent and Sussex but lost by double digits each time in New Castle County, which was a large enough margin to tip the state to the Democrats. New Castle County also elects a substantial majority of the state legislature; 27 of the 41 state house districts and 14 of the 21 state senate districts are based in New Castle County.
In a 2020 study, Delaware was ranked as the 18th hardest state for citizens to vote in.[172]
Each of the 50 states of the United States has passed some form of freedom of information legislation, which provides a mechanism for the general public to request information of the government.[173] In 2011 Delaware passed legislation placing a 15 business day time limit on addressing freedom-of-information requests, to either produce information or an explanation of why such information would take longer than this time to produce.[174] A bill aimed at restricting Freedom of Information Act requests, Senate Bill 155, was discussed in committee.[175]
Delaware has six differentincome tax brackets, ranging from 2.2% to 5.95%. The state does not assesssales tax on consumers. The state does, however, impose a tax on the gross receipts of most businesses. Business and occupational license tax rates range from 0.096% to 1.92%, depending on the category of business activity.
Delaware does not assess a state-level tax on real or personal property. Real estate is subject to countyproperty taxes, school district property taxes, vocational school district taxes, and, if located within an incorporated area, municipal property taxes.
Delaware is home toDover Motor Speedway andBally's Dover. Dover Motor Speedway, also known as theMonster Mile, is one of only 10 tracks in the nation to have hosted 100 or moreNASCAR Cup Series races. Bally's Dover is a popularharness racing facility. It is the only co-located horse- and car-racing facility in the nation, with the Bally's Dover track located inside the Dover Motor Speedway track.
Delaware is represented inrugby by the Delaware Black Foxes, a 2015 expansion club.
^Because of surveying errors, the actual line is several compound arcs with centers at different points in New Castle.
^Note: there is a glitch surrounding the display of Delaware's religious tradition data onPublic Religion Research Institute. Click the "list" option if results show "N/A". Do not remove pie chart.
^"The First to Ratify" would be more accurate, as the beginnings of the states themselves date back to the Declaration of Independence, celebrated July 4, 1776, when what was to become the State of Delaware was still the three lower counties of Pennsylvania with the governor in Philadelphia, and not establishing independence from that body untilSeptember 20, 1776. According to Delaware's own website, "Delaware became a state in 1776, just two months after the signing of theDeclaration of Independence." (ref-pdf ) Delaware was the last of theThirteen Colonies to establish itself as a state following the end of the Revolutionary War. TheDelaware State Quarter is minted with this nickname, but showsCaesar Rodney on horseback in commemoration of his role as the final delegate to arrive at theContinental Congress inPhiladelphia for the historic vote for independence on July 4, 1776, which was adopted unanimously by the 56 delegates. Delaware was the12th of the 13 states to ratify theArticles of Confederation, which pre-dated theUnited States Constitution.
^Charlotte Morabito (March 13, 2023)."Here's why more than 60% of Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware".CNBC. RetrievedAugust 2, 2024.When you want to go global and you've incorporated in Canada, no one is going to look at you at all," said Cleanster.com co-founder and CEO Gloria Oppong. "Delaware protects both ourselves, the entrepreneurs, and also the investors eventually that are going to be joining on.
^Ware DeGidio, Wanda (2011). Ware DeGidio, Wanda (ed.).Ware Family History: Descendants from Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Kings and Queens, and Presidents of the United States. Wanda DeGidio. p. 10.ISBN978-1-4010-9930-5.
^Ware DeGidio, Wanda (2011). Ware DeGidio, Wanda (ed.).Ware Family History: Descendants from Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Kings and Queens, and Presidents of the United States. Wanda DeGidio. p. 10.ISBN978-1-4010-9930-5.
^Scheltema, Gajus; Westerhuijs, Heleen, eds. (2011),Exploring Historic Dutch New York, New York: Museum of the City of New York/Dover,ISBN978-0-486-48637-6
^Lurie, Mappen M (2004),Encyclopedia of New Jersey, Rutgers University Press, p. 327,ISBN978-0-8135-3325-4
^Mayo, LS (1921),John Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire: 1767–1775, Harvard University Press, p. 5
^"1860 Federal Census",Historical Census Browser, University of Virginia Library, archived fromthe original on October 11, 2014, retrievedNovember 30, 2012
^Montgomery, Jeff (May 14, 2011)."Cleaning up contamination".The News Journal. New Castle, Delaware. DelawareOnline.Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. RetrievedMay 14, 2011.The first online page is archived; the page containing information related here is not in the archived version.
^Center for New Media and Promotions (C2PO)."2010 Census Data".census.gov. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^SB 129, State of Delaware,archived from the original on March 10, 2010, retrievedMay 9, 2008, assigned on June 13, 2007, to Senate Education Committee.
^HB 436, State of Delaware,archived from the original on March 10, 2010, retrievedMay 9, 2008, stricken on June 15, 2006,
^"Amish Population Profile, 2018".Elizabethtown College, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. August 7, 2018. Archived fromthe original on February 5, 2019. RetrievedJanuary 29, 2019.
^"Amish Countryside". Kent County & Greater Dover, Delaware Convention and Visitors Bureau. Archived fromthe original on November 23, 2016. RetrievedNovember 22, 2016.
^"Delaware Economy at a Glance"(database report). United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. RetrievedMarch 10, 2015.
^Staff (Delaware Department of Transportation Public Relations) (2005).Delaware Transportation Facts 2005(PDF). DelDOT Division of Planning. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on September 9, 2008.
^All named trains were gone by the end of 1957"Pennsylvania Railroad, Table 65".Official Guide of the Railways.90 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1957.
^"The Hundreds of Delaware".Department of State: Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs. Delaware State Archives. Archived fromthe original on June 17, 2010. RetrievedSeptember 28, 2010.
Delaware State Databases—Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Delaware state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association
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