49 Facts About New England

1.

New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

FactSnippet No. 466,118
2.

In 1620, the Pilgrims, Puritan Separatists from New England, established Plymouth Colony, the second successful English settlement in America, following the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia founded in 1607.

FactSnippet No. 466,119
3.

Southeastern New England is covered by a narrow coastal plain, while the western and northern regions are dominated by the rolling hills and worn-down peaks of the northern end of the Appalachian Mountains.

FactSnippet No. 466,120
4.

New England is one of the U S Census Bureau's nine regional divisions and the only multi-state region with clear, consistent boundaries.

FactSnippet No. 466,121
5.

New England Colonies were settled primarily by farmers who became relatively self-sufficient.

FactSnippet No. 466,122
6.

Later, New England's economy began to focus on crafts and trade, aided by the Puritan work ethic, in contrast to the Southern colonies which focused on agricultural production while importing finished goods from England.

FactSnippet No. 466,123
7.

Today, New England is defined as the six states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

FactSnippet No. 466,124
8.

Massachusetts and Connecticut were among the last refuges of the Federalist Party, and New England became the strongest bastion of the new Whig Party when the Second Party System began in the 1830s.

FactSnippet No. 466,125
9.

New England was key to the industrial revolution in the United States.

FactSnippet No. 466,126
10.

New England remained solidly Republican until Catholics began to mobilize behind the Democrats, especially in 1928, and up until the Republican party realigned its politics in a shift known as the Southern strategy.

FactSnippet No. 466,127
11.

The New England economy was radically transformed after World War II.

FactSnippet No. 466,128
12.

In 2000, New England had two of the ten poorest cities in the U S: the state capitals of Providence, Rhode Island and Hartford, Connecticut.

FactSnippet No. 466,129
13.

States of New England have a combined area, including water surfaces, of 71, 988 square miles, making the region slightly larger than the state of Washington and slightly smaller than Great Britain.

FactSnippet No. 466,130
14.

Maine alone constitutes nearly one-half of the total area of New England, yet is only the 39th-largest state, slightly smaller than Indiana.

FactSnippet No. 466,131
15.

New England's long rolling hills, mountains, and jagged coastline are glacial landforms resulting from the retreat of ice sheets approximately 18, 000 years ago, during the last glacial period.

FactSnippet No. 466,132
16.

Mount Washington in New England Hampshire is the highest peak in the Northeast, although it is not among the ten highest peaks in the eastern United States.

FactSnippet No. 466,133
17.

Lake Champlain, which forms part of the border between Vermont and New England York, is the largest lake in the region, followed by Moosehead Lake in Maine and Lake Winnipesaukee in New England Hampshire.

FactSnippet No. 466,134
18.

Greater Boston, which includes parts of southern New England Hampshire, has a total population of approximately 4.

FactSnippet No. 466,135
19.

In 2018, four of the six New England states were among the top ten states in the country in terms of taxes paid per taxpayer.

FactSnippet No. 466,136
20.

State and national elected officials in New England recently have been elected mainly from the Democratic Party.

FactSnippet No. 466,137
21.

In 2010, four of six of the New England states were polled as the most liberal in the United States.

FactSnippet No. 466,138
22.

In that time, New Hampshire has voted for Democratic nominees in every presidential election except 2000, when George W Bush narrowly won the state.

FactSnippet No. 466,139
23.

Judging purely by party registration rather than voting patterns, New England today is one of the most Democratic regions in the U S According to Gallup, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont are "solidly Democratic", Maine "leans Democratic", and New Hampshire is a swing state.

FactSnippet No. 466,140
24.

New England contains some of the oldest and most renowned institutions of higher learning in the United States and the world.

FactSnippet No. 466,141
25.

The University of Vermont, the fifth oldest university in New England, was founded in 1791, the same year that Vermont joined the Union.

FactSnippet No. 466,142
26.

At the pre-college level, New England is home to a number of American independent schools.

FactSnippet No. 466,143
27.

The concept of the elite "New England prep school" and the "preppy" lifestyle is an iconic part of the region's image.

FactSnippet No. 466,144
28.

New England is home to some of the oldest public schools in the nation and was the first region in the United States to implement universal compulsory schooling.

FactSnippet No. 466,145
29.

New England has a shared heritage and culture primarily shaped by waves of immigration from Europe.

FactSnippet No. 466,146
30.

Today, New England is the least religious region of the U S In 2009, less than half of those polled in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont claimed that religion was an important part of their daily lives.

FactSnippet No. 466,147
31.

Many of the first European colonists of New England had a maritime orientation toward whaling and fishing, in addition to farming.

FactSnippet No. 466,148
32.

New England has developed a distinct cuisine, dialect, architecture, and government.

FactSnippet No. 466,149
33.

New England cuisine has a reputation for its emphasis on seafood and dairy; clam chowder, lobster, and other products of the sea are among some of the region's most popular foods.

FactSnippet No. 466,150
34.

New England has largely preserved its regional character, especially in its historic places.

FactSnippet No. 466,151
35.

New England staples reflect the convergence of American Indian and Pilgrim cuisine, such as johnnycakes, succotash, cornbread and various seafood recipes.

FactSnippet No. 466,152
36.

Contra dancing and country square dancing are popular throughout New England, usually backed by live Irish, Acadian or other folk music.

FactSnippet No. 466,153
37.

New England was an important center of American classical music for some time.

FactSnippet No. 466,154
38.

Writers in New England produced many works on religious subjects, particularly on Puritan theology and poetry during colonial times and on Enlightenment ideas during the American Revolution.

FactSnippet No. 466,155
39.

The literature of New England has had an enduring influence on American literature in general, with themes that are emblematic of the larger concerns of American letters, such as religion, race, the individual versus society, social repression and nature.

FactSnippet No. 466,156
40.

New England has a rich history in filmmaking dating back to the dawn of the motion picture era at the turn of the 20th century, sometimes dubbed Hollywood East by film critics.

FactSnippet No. 466,157
41.

The New England region continued to churn out films at a pace above the national average for the duration of the 20th century, including blockbuster hits such as Jaws, Good Will Hunting and The Departed, all of which won Academy Awards.

FactSnippet No. 466,158
42.

The New England area became known for a number of themes that recurred in films made during this era, including the development of yankee characters, smalltown life contrasted with city values, seafaring tales, family secrets and haunted New England.

FactSnippet No. 466,159
43.

Since the turn of the millennium, Boston and the greater New England region have been home to the production of numerous films and television series, thanks in part to tax incentive programs put in place by local governments to attract filmmakers to the region.

FactSnippet No. 466,160
44.

Notable actors and actresses that have come from the New England area include Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Evans, Ryan O'Neal, Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks, Steve Carell, Ruth Gordon, John Krasinski, Edward Norton, Mark Wahlberg and Matthew Perry.

FactSnippet No. 466,161
45.

Many cities and towns across New England operate their own historical societies focused on historical preservation of local sites and the recording of local history.

FactSnippet No. 466,162
46.

New England has a strong heritage of athletics, and many internationally popular sports were invented and codified in the region, including basketball, volleyball, and American football.

FactSnippet No. 466,163
47.

The New England Patriots are based in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and are the most popular professional sports team in New England.

FactSnippet No. 466,164
48.

New England Patriots are the most popular professional sports team in New England.

FactSnippet No. 466,165
49.

Each of the New England states has its own Department of Transportation which plans and develops systems for transport, though some transportation authorities operate across state and municipal lines.

FactSnippet No. 466,166