🍁New Hampshire

The Granite State

New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution — the deciding vote that put the new government into effect. Its rugged White Mountains, deep woods, and rocky Atlantic coast have supported granite quarries, textile mills, and hardy politics. The state's motto — "Live Free or Die" — appears on its license plates and reflects both its libertarian political culture and its long tradition of town-meeting democracy.

First in the Nation

New Hampshire was the first colony to establish a government independent of Britain, drafting a constitution in January 1776 — six months before the Declaration of Independence. It was also the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, on June 21, 1788, which put the document into effect (nine of thirteen states were required). The state has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary since 1920, guaranteed by state law that moves the primary ahead of any rival.

White Mountains

The White Mountains cover the northern third of the state. Mount Washington, at 6,288 feet, is the highest peak in the Northeast. A 1934 wind gust at its summit of 231 mph held the world record for the fastest surface wind speed on Earth for 62 years. The Mount Washington Cog Railway, opened in 1869, was the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway.

Textiles and Granite

Manchester's Amoskeag Manufacturing Company was at one time the largest textile producer in the world, with mills lining the Merrimack River. The mills peaked around World War I and declined steadily thereafter. New Hampshire was also the source of most of the granite used in federal buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C. — giving the state its nickname.

The Primary

Every four years, presidential candidates spend months campaigning across New Hampshire's small towns, meeting voters in diners and living rooms. The January or February primary has made and broken candidacies. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, John McCain, and Donald Trump all won the New Hampshire primary on their way to their parties' nominations.

New Hampshire Facts

• New Hampshire has no broad-based sales tax and no personal income tax.
• The Old Man of the Mountain, a stone profile in the White Mountains, was the state's iconic symbol until it collapsed in 2003.
• Alan Shepard, the first American in space (1961), was born in Derry.
• Franklin Pierce, the 14th president, was born in Hillsborough. He is the only president to have been born in New Hampshire.
• The state has the shortest ocean coastline of any state with a coast — just 13 miles.

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