Delaware

Delaware is a U. S. state located in the mid-Atlantic or northeastern regions of the United States of America. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor. It was the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, doing so on 7 December 1787, and has since promoted itself as "The First State". Its capital city is Dover.

Liberty and Independence (motto)

Quotes about Delaware



 * Tonight -- tonight, I want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together -- a future where the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and the biggest corporations no longer get the -- all the tax breaks. And, by the way, I understand corporations. I come from a state that has more corporations invested than every one of your states in the state -- the United States combined. And I represented it for 36 years. I'm not anti-corporation. But I grew up in a home where trickle-down economics didn't put much on my dad's kitchen table. That's why I'm determined to turn things around so the middle class does well. When they do well, the poor have a way up and the wealthy still do very well. We all do well. And there's more to do to make sure you're feeling the benefits of all we're doing
 * Joe Biden, 2024 State of the Union Address, 7 March 2024


 * These people were of all races, colors, and creeds. French were in the north and in the Carolinas.  Dutch had built the town on Manhattan island, and their patroons' estates in the Hudson valley; now they were building their own cabins in the Mohawk Indian country that is now New York State.  Germans had settled in the Jerseys and in the far west, beyond Philadelphia.  Germans and Scotch-Irish were climbing the Carolina mountains; Swedes were in Delaware, English and French and Dutch and Irish were settled in Massachusetts, the New Hampshire Grants, Connecticut, and Virginia.  Mingled with all these were Italians, Portuguese, Finns, Arabs, Armenians, Russians, Greeks, and Africans from a dozen very different African peoples and cultures.  Black, brown, yellow and white, all these peoples were some of them free and some of them slaves.  Also they were intermarried with the American Indians.
 * Rose Wilder Lane, §1 of "The Third Attempt," ch. V of Pt. Two of The Discovery of Freedom: Man's Struggle Against Authority (New York: The John Day Company, 1943), pp. 153–154.


 * In the meanwhile, the leading political dispute centered on the three lower counties of (non-Quaker) Delaware. Delaware, eager for self-government of its own, objected to all of its judges being named by the central government in Philadelphia.  This dispute, becoming prominent in late 1690, reached its high point when Pennsylvania was forced to reassume government.  Now a single governor would appoint Delaware's officials.  Bitter at this turn of affairs and at the idea of a tax to support a Pennsylvania governor, the Delaware counties immediately decided to secede and to found their own self-governing colony.  The reimposition of government had directly provoked secession by Delaware.  Governor Lloyd did his best to induce the seceding counties to return, promising, in fact, that they would never be forced by the central government to pay any of his salary and that they would be allowed full local self-government without central interference.  Delaware preferred, however, to assure itself of noninterference by remaining independent.
 * Murray N. Rothbard, "Government Returns to Pennsylvania," ch. 64 of Pt. V of Conceived in Liberty vol. 1 (Arlington House, 1975), p. 496. Cf. pp. 504–505 for information on the actual secession of Delaware.


 * Where Pennsylvania went, little Delaware could not be far behind. The two were almost one province, having the same proprietary governor.  Delaware, too, had retained its old assembly and governmental structure after Lexington and Concord.  Its three delegates to the Continental Congress were Thomas McKean, a radical; George Read, an archconservative; and Ceasar Rodney  [sic], a centrist.  By the end of 1775, Rodney had shiftedleftward, winning the delegation for the American cause.  Pennsylvania's opting for independence quickly convinced Delaware.  On June 14, McKean presented to the Delaware Assembly the May 15 resolution of Congress along with the recent resolutions of Pennsylvania.  On June 15, Delaware removed the restrictions that prohibited its delegates from voting for independence, which had been in force since March 1775, when the delegates were instructed to aim for reconciliation with the mother country.  Now, in imitation of the Pennsylvania Assembly's resolve of June 8, the Delaware Assembly ordered its delegates to concur with other delegates in favoring whatever measures may be necessary for the interest of America.  The way was clear for the Delaware delegation to vote for independence.
 * Murray N. Rothbard, "The Struggle in Pennsylvania and Delaware," ch. 31 of Pt. IV of Conceived in Liberty vol. 4 (Arlington House, 1979), pp. 168–169. Cf. ch. 33, p. 177 for Delaware's actual role in passing the Resolution for Independency on 2 July 1776.


 * Marge: I can't believe it!  We won another contest! Homer:  The Simpsons are going to Delaware! Lisa:  I wanna see Wilmington! Bart:  I wanna visit a screen-door factory!
 * The Simpson family (voiced by Julie Kavner, Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, and Nancy Cartwright) in "Behind the Laughter," The Simpsons (S11E22, 21 May 2000), written by Tim Long, George Meyer, Mike Scully, & Matt Selman.


 * Or imagine being able to be magically whisked away to…Delaware. "Hi, I'm in…Delaware."
 * Wayne Campbell (played by Mike Myers) in Wayne's World (14 February 1992), screenplay by Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner, and Terry Turner.

State song
The official state song of Delaware is "Our Delaware," with lyrics by George B. Hynson and Donn Devine and music by Will M. S. Brown.
 * For the sun is shining over Our beloved Delaware

Other music

 * 'Cause I was aware as a square in Delaware
 * Public Enemy, "Here I Go," There's a Poison Goin' On.... (20 July 1999), tr. 4.
 * Send it off through Delaware Just make it fair for the legionnaires
 * Red Hot Chili Peppers, "We Turn Red," The Getaway (17 June 2016), tr. 3.

Motto

 * Liberty and Independence
 * See Facts & Symbols at Delaware.gov.