🏁Delaware

The First State

Delaware was the first state to ratify the United States Constitution, on December 7, 1787 — five days before Pennsylvania and six months before the document took legal effect. That distinction gave the state its official nickname, "The First State," made law in 2002. It remains the second-smallest state by area and among the most economically important, hosting more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies as incorporation home.

Before the Revolution

Henry Hudson sailed into Delaware Bay in 1609 and named it for Lord De La Warr, then governor of Virginia. The region was colonized first by Dutch traders (1631), then by Swedes who founded New Sweden at Fort Christina in 1638, then by the Dutch again, and finally by the English in 1664. Delaware remained administratively linked to Pennsylvania — as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" — until it established its own assembly in 1704.

Revolution and the Constitution

Delaware's delegates to the Continental Congress pushed for independence in 1776. Caesar Rodney's midnight ride from Dover to Philadelphia in July 1776 to cast the tie-breaking Delaware vote for independence became one of the Revolution's enduring episodes. After the war, Delaware was the first state to ratify the proposed Constitution — unanimously — on December 7, 1787.

DuPont and Chemistry

French immigrant Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours founded a gunpowder mill on the Brandywine River in 1802. The DuPont Company became one of the largest chemical companies in the world, headquartered in Wilmington. Delaware's economy and politics were shaped for more than a century by DuPont and its related enterprises. The family also founded the University of Delaware's endowment and the Hagley and Winterthur museums.

A Corporate Capital

Delaware's Court of Chancery — a specialized business court with no juries — has made the state the preferred jurisdiction for American corporations. More than 1.8 million business entities are incorporated in Delaware, including over two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, despite the state having just under a million residents.

Delaware Facts

• Delaware is divided into just three counties: New Castle, Kent, and Sussex.
• The only U.S. state named for a person is Washington, but Delaware is one of several named for a British noble — Lord De La Warr.
• Joe Biden, the 46th U.S. president, represented Delaware in the Senate for 36 years before becoming vice president and then president.
• Delaware's lowest point is sea level, and its highest "peak" — Ebright Azimuth — is only 448 feet.
• The state has no sales tax.

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