The state of Vermont is known for its people’s independent nature. The state’s residents were strongly against slavery, and one day the legislature of the state of Georgia even voted with a bit of humor that ‘the entire state of Vermont should be turned into an island region to be towed out into sea’.
Vermont people are politically hyper correct, and the state’s legislature declared war on Germany even before the U.S. government did. Every winter, the beautiful Green Mountains are attracting tens of thousands of winter sports enthusiasts and also the summer season draws in many more tourists.
In Vermont, the farming industry is more important than in any of the other states in New England, and as almost three-quarters of the state’s soil is covered with forests, the lumbering and wood processing industries are major economic factors.
Also the quarrying of marble, slate and granite contributes considerably to Vermont’s economy and just about one third of its people live in urban settings. To find GED schools in Vermont, click here.
Quick Facts about Vermont
– Vermont claims the only U.S. originated horse breed (the Moorage horse).
– Leads the nation in marble production.
– Vermont is a world-renown granite center.
– Leads America in the production of maple syrup.
– In Vermont, the first U.S. patent was issued.
Vermont Brief history
Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer, was the first European to set foot on the area of present-day Vermont in 1609. He came across a beautifully situated lake that he gave his name, Lake Champlain, and in 1666, de La Motte, a French captain, had built a stronghold on what is now Lake Champlain’s La Moire Island. Then in 1690 the British started to construct a fortress at Chimney Point.
Fort Durnmer, an outpost fort, was founded in 1724, and this was actually Vermont’s first permanent European settlement. England’s King George II issued a proclamation in 1741 that seemed to include the region in New Hampshire territory, but there were fierce disputes over the boundaries. Then in 1764, the new English King, George III, decided that the boundaries came at the Connecticut River, which meant that the area of Vermont had become New York territory.
New Hampshire’s owners of grants were contesting the claims of New York, and the Green Mountain Boys of Ethane Allen supported their resistance, and in 1771 they withstood an attack by New York troops. In 1775, on May 10th, Allen together with Colonel Benedict Arnold overtook Fort Ticonderoga in what appeared to be probably the earliest action of the Revolution.
Fort Ticonderoga was recaptured again on July 6th, 1777 by John Burgoyne, a British general, and he went after Arthur St. Claire, the responsible American general. The next day, however, the Americans would defeat John Burgoyne’s forces in the Battle of Hubbardton. This is actually the only revolutionary battle that took place on Vermont soil.
That same year, in August, there was the Battle of Bennington, but this one was fought on New York territory and was led by Vermont’s Seth Warner and General John Stark. In this battle, men from Vermont were playing a key role. During the Revolution, Indian attacks were terrorizing the region at that time and burning, plundering were happening frequently in 1780.
From 1777 to 1791 Vermont was actually an independent republic, though that was never recognized by New York or the Continental Congress, and in 1791, on March 4th, several disputes were settled so Vermont could be added to the Union as the first state after the original 13 colonies.
The War of 1812 was finally bringing American control to the region of Lake Chaplain through the 1814 Battle of Plattsburgh, and British rule of Vermont was definitely a thing of the past.
Vermont’s people had always opposed slavery, and in 1861 Vermont Senator Jacob Coleman introduced the first war powers act of Lincoln. At the Battle of Gettysburg, at the times of the Civil War, Vermont’s armed forces were playing a crucial role, and in 1881, Chestier Arthur of Vermont was elected president of the United States.
Vermont’s residents became so enraged in 1941 at the brutal Nazi regime in Germany that they declared war on that nation actually two months earlier than the United States, and nearly 50,000 Vermont service men and women went to war of whom more than 1,200 gave their lives.