nPostednon January 9, 2016
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nConnecticutnbecame the fifth state to ratify the brand-new U.S. Constitution onnthis date in 1788.
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nTwonyears before becoming a state, Connecticut gave up its claim to landsnwest to the Mississippi. I never even knew the colony of Connecticutnhad ever claimed these lands! But apparently most of the Britishncolonies established on the east coast during the 1600s and the earlyn1700s were established by royal proclamation or charter – and theirnnorthern and southern boundaries were often carefully defined; theirneastern boundaries, obviously, were established by the Atlantic Oceannitself; but their western boundaries were a bit “iffy.”
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nSomenof the colonies had no western boundary defined at all.
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nButnsome of the colonies were specifically set up as stretching “fromnsea to sea.” (I’m not sure if anyone “got” that that would benone heck of a long colony, stretching from the Atlantic to thenPacific more than 2,000 miles!)
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nWhethernor not the western boundary of a particular colony was defined,nobviously the land was very much in dispute. You know that NativenAmericans of many different groups lived in North America; also, anynone region was likely to be claimed by more than one colony and/ornEuropean power.
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Intruly thought that Connecticut, since it runs into New York – whichnwas settled by the Dutch in the very early 1600s and was conquered bynEngland in 1664, and therefore established as a British colony notnmuch more than two decades after Connecticut was founded – wouldnnot be one of those colonies claiming western lands. However,nConnecticut DID lay claims to a Connecticut-sized strip of land allnthe way to the Mississippi River. It settled a boundary dispute withnNew York in 1683, gave up its claim to what is now the top half ofnPennsylvania in 1786, gave up lands stretching from Lake Erie to thenMississippi River also in 1786, and finally ceded a bit that is nownOhio in 1800! n
Intruly thought that Connecticut, since it runs into New York – whichnwas settled by the Dutch in the very early 1600s and was conquered bynEngland in 1664, and therefore established as a British colony notnmuch more than two decades after Connecticut was founded – wouldnnot be one of those colonies claiming western lands. However,nConnecticut DID lay claims to a Connecticut-sized strip of land allnthe way to the Mississippi River. It settled a boundary dispute withnNew York in 1683, gave up its claim to what is now the top half ofnPennsylvania in 1786, gave up lands stretching from Lake Erie to thenMississippi River also in 1786, and finally ceded a bit that is nownOhio in 1800! nn
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nChecknout these two maps to see what I’m talking about!
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nLearn more about Connecticut…
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nMynhusband and I love to check out famous universities when we can. Mynfavorite university campus in the U.S., so far at least, is Yale University,nwhich is located in New Haven, Connecticut. If you want to do anvirtual tour of Yale, try this or this other video.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nYadnyanKasada Ceremony in Indonesia
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nNationalnStatic Electricity Day
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nBalloonnAscension Day
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nAnniversarynof Columbus spotting mermaids (supposedly!)
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Plannahead:
Plannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on:
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nJanuaryn birthdays
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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