Editing Connecticut (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Connecticut}}
[[File:Ctcolony.png|thumb|upright=1.7|A map of the Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook colonies]]

===First people===
The name Connecticut is derived from the [[Mohegan-Pequot language|Mohegan-Pequot]] word that has been translated as "long tidal river" and "upon the long river",<ref name="Project">{{cite book |author=Federal Writers' Project |title=Connecticut: A Guide to Its Roads, Lore and People |url = {{Google books|CPYfSsQ-WE4C|page=3|plainurl=yes}} |access-date=September 23, 2010 |publisher=US History Publishers |isbn = 978-1-60354-007-0 |year=1938 |page = 3 }}</ref> both referring to the [[Connecticut River]]. Evidence of human presence in the Connecticut region dates to as far back as 10,000 years ago. Stone tools were used for hunting, fishing, and woodworking.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thebarnesmuseum.org/blog/prehistoric-artifacts-from-connecticut | title=Prehistoric Artifacts from Connecticut }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ctexplored.org/the-first-immigrants-the-english/ | title=The First Immigrants, the English | date=May 23, 2022 }}</ref> Semi-nomadic in lifestyle, these peoples moved seasonally to take advantage of various resources in the area.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://connecticuthistory.org/overland-travel-in-connecticut-from-footpaths-to-interstates/ | title=Overland Travel in Connecticut, from Footpaths to Interstates - Connecticut History &#124; a CTHumanities Project | date=January 2, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nativetech.org/Nipmuc/niacfaq.html | title=FAQ for the Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut }}</ref> They shared languages based on [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Connecticut/111242#258058.toc |title=Connecticut: Colonization |work=Britannica Academic |access-date=October 18, 2022}}</ref> The Connecticut region was inhabited by many [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes that can be grouped into the [[Nipmuc]], the Sequin or "River Indians" (which included the [[Tunxis]], [[Schaghticoke people|Schaghticoke]], [[Podunk people|Podunk]], [[Wangunk]], [[Hammonasset people|Hammonasset]], and [[Quinnipiac]]), the [[Mattabesec]] or "Wappinger Confederacy" and the [[Pequot|Pequot-Mohegan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/nativeamericans/cttribes|title=LibGuides Home: Native American Research: List of Historical Connecticut Tribes|first=History &|last=Genealogy|website=Libguides.ctstatelibrary.org|access-date=April 17, 2021|archive-date=October 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026190248/https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/nativeamericans/cttribes|url-status=live}}</ref> Some of these groups still reside in Connecticut, including the [[Mohegan people|Mohegans]], the [[Pequot people|Pequots]], and the [[Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation|Paugusetts]].<ref>"[http://www.cslib.org/tribes.htm Connecticut Native American Tribes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927185519/http://www.cslib.org/tribes.htm |date=September 27, 2013 }}", Connecticut State Library. Retrieved May 16, 2014.</ref>

===Colonial period===

{{Main|New Netherland|Saybrook Colony|Connecticut Colony|New Haven Colony|New England Confederation|Dominion of New England}}

Dutchman [[Adriaen Block]] was the first European explorer in Connecticut.<ref>{{cite journal|last2=Varekamp|first2=Daphne|date=Spring–Summer 2006|title=Adriaen Block, The Discovery of Long Island Sound and the New Netherlands Colony: What Drove the Course of History?|url=http://seagrant.uconn.edu/publications/magazines/wracklines/springsummer06/block.pdf|journal=Wrack Lines|volume=6|issue=1|access-date=May 16, 2014|last1=Varekamp|first1=Johan|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231223638/http://seagrant.uconn.edu/publications/magazines/wracklines/springsummer06/block.pdf|archive-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref> He explored the region in 1614. [[Dutch colonization of the Americas|Dutch]] fur traders then sailed up the [[Connecticut River]], calling it Versche Rivier ("Fresh River") and building a fort at Dutch Point in Hartford, which they named "House of Hope" ({{langx|nl|Huis van Hoop}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colonialwarsct.org/1614.htm|title=1614 Adriaen|website=The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut|access-date=May 16, 2014|archive-date=May 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517135338/http://colonialwarsct.org/1614.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:3c Connecticut Tercentenary,The Charter Oak single, 1935 issue.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|On April 26, 1935, the U.S. Post Office issued a postage stamp commemorating the 300th anniversary of the initial settlement of the Connecticut colony.]]
The Connecticut Colony originally consisted of several smaller settlements in Windsor, Wethersfield, Saybrook, Hartford, and New Haven. The first English settlers came in 1633 and settled at Windsor, then at Wethersfield the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cslib.org/earlysettlers.htm|title=Early Settlers of Connecticut|publisher=Connecticut State Library|access-date=July 25, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420061052/http://www.cslib.org/earlysettlers.htm|archive-date=April 20, 2010}}</ref> [[John Winthrop the Younger]] of Massachusetts received a commission to create [[Saybrook Colony]] at the mouth of the Connecticut River in 1635.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saybrookhistory.org/web_page.php?id=13|title=Brief History of Old Saybrook|website=Old Saybrook Historical Society|access-date=May 16, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140516202750/http://www.saybrookhistory.org/web_page.php?id=13|archive-date=May 16, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A large group of [[Puritan]]s arrived in 1636 from [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]], led by [[Thomas Hooker]], who established the [[Connecticut Colony]] at Hartford.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colonialwarsct.org/1636.htm|title=1636-Hartford|website=The Society of Colonial Wars in Connecticut|access-date=May 16, 2014|archive-date=February 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211004109/http://colonialwarsct.org/1636.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Fundamental Orders of Connecticut]] were adopted in January 1639, and have been described as the first constitutional document in America.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=3188&q=392608 |title=STATE OF CONNECTICUT Sites º Seals º Symbols |access-date=January 25, 2008 |author=Secretary of the State of Connecticut |author-link=Secretary of the State of Connecticut |year=2007 |work=the Connecticut State Register and Manual |publisher=[[State of Connecticut]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926135650/http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=3188&q=392608 |archive-date=September 26, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Quinnipiack Colony<ref>{{cite book|url={{google books|wmdJAAAAMAAJ|plainurl=yes|page=176}}|title=New Englander and Yale Review|date=1887|publisher=W.L. Kingsley|volume=47|pages=176–177|editor-last2=Kingsley|editor-first2=William Lathrop|editor-last3=Fisher|editor-first3=George Park|editor-last4=Dwight|editor-first4=Timothy|display-editors=3|editor-first1=Edward Royall|editor-last1=Tyler}}</ref> was established by [[John Davenport (clergyman)|John Davenport]], [[Theophilus Eaton]], and others at New Haven in March 1638. The New Haven Colony had its own constitution called "The Fundamental Agreement of the New Haven Colony", signed on June 4, 1639.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ct01.asp|title=Fundamental Agreement, or Original Constitution of the Colony of New Haven, June 4, 1639|website=The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy|publisher=Yale Law School|access-date=May 16, 2014|date=December 18, 1998|archive-date=August 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808131901/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ct01.asp|url-status=live}}</ref>

Each settlement was an independent political entity, established without official sanction of the English Crown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colonialwarsct.org/1638_new_haven.htm|title=1638—New Haven—The Independent Colony|website=The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut|access-date=May 16, 2014|archive-date=November 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115210256/http://www.colonialwarsct.org/1638_new_haven.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1662, Winthrop traveled to England and obtained a charter from [[Charles II of England|Charles{{nbsp}}II]] which united the settlements of Connecticut.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colonialwarsct.org/1662.htm|title=1662-Charter for Connecticut|website=The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut|access-date=May 16, 2014|archive-date=May 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516233559/http://colonialwarsct.org/1662.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Historically significant colonial settlements included [[Windsor, Connecticut|Windsor]] (1633), [[Wethersfield, Connecticut|Wethersfield]] (1634), [[Deep River, Connecticut|Saybrook]] (1635), [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] (1636), [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]] (1638), [[Fairfield, Connecticut|Fairfield]] (1639), [[Guilford, Connecticut|Guilford]] (1639), [[Milford, Connecticut|Milford]] (1639), [[Stratford, Connecticut|Stratford]] (1639), [[Farmington, Connecticut|Farmington]] (1640), [[Stamford, Connecticut|Stamford]] (1641), and [[New London, Connecticut|New London]] (1646).

The [[Pequot War]] marked the first significant clash between colonists and Native Americans in New England. The Pequot had been aggressively extending their area of control at the expense of the Wampanoag to the north, Narragansett (east), Connecticut River Valley Algonquian tribes and the Mohegan (west), and Lenape Algonquian people (south).<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |last=Estes |first=Roberta |date=2012-09-10 |title=The 1637 Pequot War |url=https://nativeheritageproject.com/2012/09/10/the-1637-pequot-war/ |access-date=2024-11-18 |website=Native Heritage Project |language=en}}</ref> Meanwhile, the Pequot had been reacting with increasing aggression to colonial territorial expansion. In response to the 1636 murder of an English privateer and his crew, followed by the murder of a trader,<ref name="auto2"/> colonists raided a Pequot village on [[Block Island]]. The Pequots laid siege to Saybrook Colony's garrison that autumn, then raided Wethersfield in the spring of 1637. Organizing a band of militia and allies from the Mohegan and Narragansett tribes, colonists declared war and attacked a Pequot village on the [[Mystic River (Connecticut)|Mystic River]]. Death toll estimates range between 300 and 700 Pequots. After suffering another major loss at a battle in [[Fairfield, Connecticut|Fairfield]], the Pequots sued for peace.<ref>{{cite book|url={{google books|YHVwmVKjhaoC|plainurl=yes|page=31}}|title=America's Beginnings: The Dramatic Events that Shaped a Nation's Character|last=Williams|first=Tony|date=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-0487-4|pages=32–34}}</ref>

Connecticut's original Charter in 1662 granted it all the land to the "South Sea"—that is, to the Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{cite web |website=A Chronology of US Historical Documents |url=http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/colony.shtml |title=Connecticut Colony Charter of 1662 |publisher=University of Oklahoma, College of Law |date=March 14, 2006 |access-date=July 25, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723222151/http://www.law.ou.edu/ushistory/colony.shtml |archive-date=July 23, 2010 }}</ref> The [[Treaty of Hartford (1650)|Hartford Treaty]] with the Dutch was signed on September 19, 1650, but never ratified by the British, stated the western boundary of Connecticut ran north from [[Greenwich, Connecticut|Greenwich Bay]] for a distance of {{convert|20|mile|km}},<ref name="BOWEN">{{cite book |last=Bowen |first=Clarence Winthrop |url={{google books|XJUNAAAAQAAJ|plainurl=yes|page=17}} |title=The Boundary Disputes of Connecticut |date=1882 | publisher=James R. Osgood and Company | place=Boston | pages=17–18}}</ref><ref name="FLICK">{{cite book |editor-first=Alexander C. |editor-last=Flick |title=History of the State of New York |volume=2 |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |year=1933 |pages=50–57}}</ref> "provided the said line come not within {{convert|10|mi|disp=sqbr}} of Hudson River".<ref name="BOWEN"/><ref name="FLICK"/> This agreement was observed by both sides until war erupted between England and The Netherlands in 1652. Conflict continued concerning colonial limits until the [[James II of England|Duke of York]] captured [[New Netherland]] in 1664.<ref name="BOWEN"/><ref name="FLICK"/>

Most Colonial royal grants were for long east–west strips. Connecticut took its grant seriously and established a ninth county between the [[Susquehanna River]] and [[Delaware River]] named [[Westmoreland County, Connecticut|Westmoreland County]]. This resulted in the brief [[Pennamite-Yankee Wars]] with [[Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://colonialwarsct.org/1769.htm |title=1769—The Pennamite Wars |website=The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut |access-date=May 16, 2014 |archive-date=October 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007000010/http://colonialwarsct.org/1769.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Yale College was established in 1701, providing Connecticut with an important institution to educate clergy and civil leaders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yale.edu/about-yale/traditions-history|title=Traditions & History|website=Yale University|access-date=May 17, 2014|archive-date=October 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021235949/http://www.yale.edu/about-yale/traditions-history|url-status=live}}</ref> The Congregational church dominated religious life in the colony and, by extension, town affairs in many parts.<ref>{{cite book|title=Connecticut: A History|url=https://archive.org/details/connecticutbicen00roth|url-access=registration|last=Roth|first=David M.|date=1979|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co|isbn=978-0-3933-3174-5|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/connecticutbicen00roth/page/40 40–41]}}</ref>

With more than {{convert|600|mi}} of coastline including along its navigable rivers,<ref>{{cite book|author=United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|title=The Coastline of the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=omJjbP-BuYkC&pg=PP2|year=1975|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|pages=2–|access-date=April 19, 2020|archive-date=July 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729155941/https://books.google.com/books?id=omJjbP-BuYkC&pg=PP2|url-status=live}}</ref> Connecticut developed during its colonial years the antecedents of a maritime tradition that would later produce booms in shipbuilding, marine transport, naval support, seafood production, and leisure boating.

Historical records list the ''Tryall'' as the first vessel built in Connecticut Colony, in 1649 at a site on the Connecticut River in present-day Wethersfield.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wethersfieldhistory.org/history/ |website=Wethersfield Historical Society |title=History |access-date=April 18, 2020 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728183151/https://www.wethersfieldhistory.org/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the two decades leading up to 1776 and the American Revolution, Connecticut boatyards launched about 100 [[sloop]]s, [[schooner]]s and [[brig]]s according to a database of U.S. customs records maintained online by the [[Mystic Seaport|Mystic Seaport Museum]], the largest being the 180-ton ''Patient Mary'' launched in New Haven in 1763.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://research.mysticseaport.org/databases/ct-ships/|website=Mystic Seaport Museum|title=Connecticut Ship Database, 1789–1939|date=August 10, 2016|access-date=April 18, 2020|archive-date=January 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123105205/https://research.mysticseaport.org/databases/ct-ships/|url-status=live}}</ref> Connecticut's first [[lighthouse]] was constructed in 1760 at the mouth of the [[Thames River (Connecticut)|Thames River]] with the [[New London Harbor Light]]house.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/oldest-lighthouse-new-england-state/|website=New England Historical Society|title=The Oldest Lighthouse in Each New England State|date=January 20, 2018|access-date=April 18, 2020|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728192350/https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/oldest-lighthouse-new-england-state/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====American Revolution====

{{Main|American Revolutionary War}}
[[File:LowsCTmap.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.15|A 1799 map of Connecticut which shows [[The Oblong]], from ''[[Low's Encyclopaedia]]'']]

Connecticut designated four delegates to the [[Second Continental Congress]] who signed the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]: [[Samuel Huntington (statesman)|Samuel Huntington]], [[Roger Sherman]], [[William Williams (Continental Congress)|William Williams]], and [[Oliver Wolcott]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_signers_gallery_facts.pdf |title=Signers of the Declaration of Independence |website=Charters of Freedom |publisher=National Archives |access-date=May 16, 2014 |archive-date=July 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714194721/http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_signers_gallery_facts.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Connecticut's legislature authorized the outfitting of six new regiments in 1775, in the wake of the clashes between British regulars and Massachusetts militia at Lexington and Concord. There were some 1,200 Connecticut troops on hand at the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]] in June 1775.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/hillprelim.html |title=Battle of Bunker's Hill Preliminary Study |website=Military Science, Cadet Resources |publisher=Worcester Polytechnic Institute |access-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518174520/http://www.wpi.edu/academics/military/hillprelim.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1775, [[David Bushnell (inventor)|David Bushnell]] invented the [[Turtle (submersible)|''Turtle'']] which the following year launched the first submarine attack in history, unsuccessfully against a British warship at anchor in New York Harbor.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Roland|first1=Alex|title=Bushnell's Submarine: American Original or European Import?|journal=Technology and Culture|date=1977|volume=18|issue=2|page=159|doi=10.2307/3103954|jstor=3103954|s2cid=112333776  |issn = 0040-165X }}</ref>

In 1777, the British got word of [[Continental Army]] supplies in [[Danbury, Connecticut|Danbury]], and they landed an expeditionary force of some 2,000 troops in [[Westport, Connecticut|Westport]]. This force then marched to Danbury and destroyed homes and much of the depot. Continental Army troops and militia led by General [[David Wooster]] and General [[Benedict Arnold]] engaged them on their return march at [[Battle of Ridgefield|Ridgefield]] in 1777.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/accountoftryonsr00case#page/n3/mode/2up |last=Case |first=James R. |title=An Account of Tryon's Raid on Danbury in April, 1777 |location=Danbury, Connecticut |date=1927 |access-date=October 24, 2015}}</ref> For the winter of 1778–79, General [[George Washington]] decided to split the Continental Army into three divisions encircling [[New York City]], where British General Sir [[Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)|Henry Clinton]] had taken up winter quarters.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Poirier|first1=David A.|title=Camp Reading: Logistics of a Revolutionary War Winter Encampment|journal=Northeast Historical Archaeology|date=1976|volume=5|issue=1|pages=40–52|doi=10.22191/neha/vol5/iss1/5|doi-access=free}}</ref> Major General [[Israel Putnam]] chose Redding as the winter encampment quarters for some 3,000 regulars and militia under his command. The Redding encampment allowed Putnam's soldiers to guard the replenished supply depot in [[Danbury, Connecticut|Danbury]] and to support any operations along Long Island Sound and the [[Hudson River]] Valley.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://putnampark.org/park-history/ |title=Park History |website=Putnam Memorial State Park |access-date=April 27, 2014 |archive-date=January 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129021812/http://putnampark.org/park-history |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of the men were veterans of the winter encampment at [[Valley Forge]], [[Pennsylvania]], the previous winter. Soldiers at the Redding camp endured supply shortages, cold temperatures, and significant snow, with some historians dubbing the encampment "Connecticut's Valley Forge".<ref>{{cite book |last1=O'Keefe |first1=Thomas C. |editor1-last=Johnson |editor1-first=James M. |editor2-last=Pryslopski |editor2-first=Christopher |editor3-last=Villani |editor3-first=Andrew |title=Key to the Northern Country: The Hudson River Valley in the American Revolution |date=August 1, 2013 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |chapter-url={{google books|NfADAAAAQBAJ|plainurl=yes|page=241}} |access-date=February 17, 2015 |chapter=George Washington and the Redding Encampments}}</ref>

The state was also the launching site for a number of raids against Long Island orchestrated by [[Samuel Holden Parsons]] and [[Benjamin Tallmadge]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Charles Samuel |title=Life and Letters of Samuel Holden Parsons: Major-General in the Continental Army and Chief Judge of the Northwestern Territory, 1737–1789 |year=1905 |publisher=Otseningo Publishing |location=Binghamton, New York |page=110 |url={{google books|llssAAAAMAAJ|plainurl=yes|page=10}} |access-date=February 17, 2015}}</ref> and provided soldiers and material for the war effort, especially to Washington's army outside New York City. General [[William Tryon]] [[Tryon's raid|raided the Connecticut coast]] in July 1779, focusing on New Haven, Norwalk, and Fairfield.<ref>{{cite book |last=Townshend |first=Charles H. |title=British Invasion of New Haven, Connecticut |location=New Haven, Connecticut |publisher=Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, Printers |date=1879 |url=https://archive.org/stream/britishinvasiono00towniala#page/n3/mode/2up |access-date=May 17, 2014}}</ref> New London and Groton Heights [[Battle of Groton Heights|were raided]] in September 1781 by Benedict Arnold, who had turned traitor to the British.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.hogriver.org/issues/v04n04/benedictarnold.htm |last=Baker |first=Edward |title=Benedict Arnold Turns and Burns New London |journal=Hog River Journal |date=Fall 2006 |volume=4 |issue=4 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=July 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713150615/http://www.hogriver.org/issues/v04n04/benedictarnold.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

At the outset of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress assigned [[Nathaniel Shaw|Nathaniel Shaw Jr.]] of New London as its naval agent in charge of recruiting [[privateer]]s to seize British vessels as opportunities presented, with nearly 50 operating out of the Thames River which eventually drew the reprisal from the British force led by Arnold.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nlchs.org/about/shaw-mansion/ |website=New London County Historical Society |title=The Shaw Mansion |access-date=April 18, 2020 |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728223349/https://www.nlchs.org/about/shaw-mansion/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Early statehood ===

====Early national period and industrial revolution====

Connecticut [[History of the United States Constitution#Ratification of the Constitution|ratified]] the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]] on January 9, 1788, becoming the fifth state.<ref name="AboutCT" />

The state prospered during the era following the American Revolution, as mills and textile factories were built and seaports flourished from trade<ref>{{cite book|last1=La Bella|first1=Laura|url={{google books|ZYJtf6CoCs4C|plainurl=yes|page=17}}|title=Connecticut: Past and Present|date=August 15, 2010|publisher=[[Rosen Publishing]]|location=New York|page=17|access-date=February 17, 2015}}</ref> and fisheries. After Congress established in 1790 the predecessor to the [[United States Revenue Cutter Service|U.S. Revenue Cutter Service]] that would evolve into the U.S. Coast Guard, President Washington assigned Jonathan Maltbie as one of seven masters to enforce customs regulations, with Maltbie monitoring the southern New England coast with a 48-foot [[cutter (boat)|cutter]] sloop named [[USRC Argus|''Argus'']].<ref>{{cite web|date=November 29, 2018|title=The Long Blue Line: Argus—first "Heritage" Class Offshore Patrol Cutter|url=https://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2018/11/tlbl-argus-first-opc-namesake/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728223445/https://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2018/11/tlbl-argus-first-opc-namesake/|archive-date=July 28, 2020|access-date=April 18, 2020|website=Coast Guard Compass}}</ref>

In 1786, Connecticut ceded territory to the U.S. government that became part of the [[Northwest Territory]]. The state retained land extending across the northern part of present-day Ohio called the [[Connecticut Western Reserve]].<ref name="United States Summary 2010, page V-5">{{cite report|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf|title=User Notes by Table: Table 12|date=September 2010|publisher=United States Census Bureau|page=V-5|access-date=May 16, 2014|work=United States Summary: 2010, Population and Housing Unit Counts|archive-date=October 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019110435/http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-2-1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The Western Reserve section was settled largely by people from Connecticut, and they brought Connecticut place names to Ohio.

Connecticut made agreements with Pennsylvania and New York which extinguished the land claims within those states' boundaries and created the [[Connecticut Panhandle]]. The state then ceded the Western Reserve in 1800 to the federal government,<ref name="United States Summary 2010, page V-5" /> which brought it to its present boundaries (other than minor adjustments with Massachusetts).

===19th century===
For the first time in 1800, Connecticut shipwrights launched more than 100 vessels in a single year. Over the following decade to the doorstep of renewed hostilities with Britain that sparked the War of 1812, Connecticut boatyards constructed close to 1,000 vessels, the most productive stretch of any decade in the 19th century.<ref name="auto"/>

During the war, the British launched raids in [[Stonington, Connecticut|Stonington]] and [[Essex, Connecticut|Essex]] and [[blockade]]d vessels in the Thames River. [[Derby, Connecticut|Derby]] native [[Isaac Hull]] became Connecticut's best-known naval figure to win renown during the conflict, as captain of the {{USS|Constitution}}.

The British blockade during the [[War of 1812]] hurt exports and bolstered the influence of Federalists who opposed the war.<ref>{{cite book |first1=James |last1=Boyland |first2=Glenn S. |last2=Gordinier |first3=Meredith |last3=Mason Brown |display-authors=etal |title=The Rockets' Red Glare: The War of 1812 and Connecticut |publisher=New London County Historical Society |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-9853-6240-9 }}</ref> The cessation of imports from Britain stimulated the construction of factories to manufacture textiles and machinery. Connecticut came to be recognized as a major center for manufacturing, due in part to the inventions of [[Eli Whitney]] and other early innovators of the [[Industrial Revolution]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Charles R. |title=The Dawn of Innovation: The First American Industrial Revolution |date=2012 |publisher=[[PublicAffairs]] |page=136 |url={{Google books|n97K02J6eQgC|plainurl=yes|page=136}} |isbn=978-1-6103-9049-1 |access-date=February 17, 2015 }}</ref>

The war led to the development of fast [[clipper]]s that helped extend the reach of New England merchants to the Pacific and Indian oceans. The first half of the 19th century saw as well a rapid rise in whaling, with New London emerging as one of the New England industry's three biggest home ports after [[Nantucket, Massachusetts|Nantucket]] and [[New Bedford, Massachusetts|New Bedford]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Surowiecki |first1=John |date=March 1982 |title=A History of Connecticut's Coast |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CZIC-f94-s87-1982/html/CZIC-f94-s87-1982.htm |pages=15 |access-date=April 17, 2020 |journal= |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728192854/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CZIC-f94-s87-1982/html/CZIC-f94-s87-1982.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The state was known for its political conservatism, typified by its Federalist party and the Yale College of [[Timothy Dwight IV|Timothy Dwight]]. The foremost intellectuals were Dwight and [[Noah Webster]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Elliott |first=Emory |title=Revolutionary Writers: Literature and Authority in the New Republic, 1725–1810 |date=1986 |orig-year=1982 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=14 |url={{google books|WmI6avgH0GoC|plainurl=yes|page=14}} |access-date=February 17, 2015}}</ref> who compiled his great dictionary in New Haven. Religious tensions polarized the state, as the Congregational Church struggled to maintain traditional viewpoints, in alliance with the Federalists. The failure of the [[Hartford Convention]] in 1814 hurt the Federalist cause, with the [[Democratic-Republican Party]] gaining control in 1817.<ref>{{cite book |url = https://archive.org/stream/shortaccountofha00lyma#page/n1/mode/2up |last=Lyman |first=Theodore |title=A Short Account of the Hartford Convention |date=1823 |location=Boston |publisher=O. Everett, publisher |access-date=May 17, 2014 }}</ref>

Connecticut had been governed under the "[[Fundamental Orders of Connecticut|Fundamental Orders]]" since 1639, but the state adopted a new constitution in 1818.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/Content/constitutions/1818Constitution.htm |title=The Constitution of Connecticut (1818) |publisher=Connecticut General Assembly |access-date=May 16, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150504111454/http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/Content/constitutions/1818Constitution.htm |archive-date=May 4, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Civil War era====

{{Main|Connecticut in the American Civil War}}
[[File:View of New London, Connecticut, from the Shore Road.jpg|thumb|View of New London in 1854]]

Connecticut manufacturers played a major role in supplying the Union forces with weapons and supplies during the [[Union (American Civil War)|Civil War]]. The state furnished 55,000 men, formed into thirty full regiments of infantry, including two in the [[U.S. Colored Troops]], with several Connecticut men becoming generals. The Navy attracted 250 officers and 2,100 men, and Glastonbury native [[Gideon Welles]] was Secretary of the Navy. [[James H. Ward]] of Hartford was the first U.S. Naval Officer killed in the Civil War.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://norwich.typepad.com/museum/2012/08/james-h-ward-first-us-navy-officer-killed-in-the-civil-war.html |title=James H. Ward, First U.S. Navy Officer Killed in the Civil War |website=Sullivan Museum and History Center |publisher=Norwich University |date=August 20, 2012 |access-date=October 26, 2015 |archive-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910132549/http://norwich.typepad.com/museum/2012/08/james-h-ward-first-us-navy-officer-killed-in-the-civil-war.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Connecticut casualties included 2,088 killed in combat, 2,801 dying from disease, and 689 dying in Confederate prison camps.<ref>{{cite book |last=Van Dusen |first=Albert E. |title=Connecticut |url=https://archive.org/details/connecticut00vand |publisher=Random House |year=1961 |edition=1st |pages = [https://archive.org/details/connecticut00vand/page/224 224–238] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Matthew |last=Warshauer |title=Connecticut in the American Civil War: Slavery, Sacrifice, and Survival |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |date=2011 |url={{google books|Ymuv133JwrEC|plainurl=yes}} |isbn=978-0-8195-7139-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=William Augustus |last1=Croffut |first2=John Moses |last2=Morris |author-link2=John Moses Morris |title=The Military and Civil History of Connecticut During the War of 1861–65 |url = {{Google books|3TUyuhpp9zoC|plainurl=yes}} |year=1869 }}</ref>

A surge of national unity in 1861 brought thousands flocking to the colors from every town and city. However, as the war became a crusade to end slavery, many Democrats (especially Irish Catholics) pulled back. The Democrats took a pro-slavery position and included many [[Copperhead (politics)|Copperheads]] willing to let the South secede. The intensely fought 1863 election for governor was narrowly won by the Republicans.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Joanna D. |last=Cowden |title=The Politics of Dissent: Civil War Democrats in Connecticut |journal=New England Quarterly |date=December 1983 |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=538–554 |doi=10.2307/365104 |jstor=365104}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Jarlath Robert |last=Lane |title=A Political History of Connecticut During the Civil War |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |date=1941}}</ref>

====Second industrial revolution====

[[File:Connecticut1895.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|1895 map from [[Rand McNally]]]]

Connecticut's extensive industry, dense population, flat terrain, and wealth encouraged the construction of railroads starting in 1839. By 1840, {{convert|102|mile|km}} of line were in operation, growing to {{convert|402|mile|km}} in 1850 and {{convert|601|mile|km}} in 1860.<ref>{{cite book |first=Edward Chase |last=Kirkland |title=Men, Cities and Transportation, A Study of New England History 1820–1900 |publisher=Harvard University Press |date=1948 |volume=2 |pages=72–110, 288–306}}</ref>

The [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad]], called the ''New Haven'' or "The Consolidated", became the dominant Connecticut railroad company after 1872. [[J. P. Morgan]] began financing the major New England railroads in the 1890s, dividing territory so that they would not compete. The New Haven purchased 50 smaller companies, including steamship lines, and built a network of light rails (electrified trolleys) that provided inter-urban transportation for all of southern New England. By 1912, the New Haven operated over {{convert|2000|mile|km}} of track with 120,000 employees.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/asc/findaids/NHRR_Smallformat/MSS19910133.html |title=New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Small Format Photograph and Postcard Collection |website=Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center |publisher=University of Connecticut Libraries |access-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130921094350/http://doddcenter.uconn.edu/asc/findaids/NHRR_Smallformat/MSS19910133.html |archive-date=September 21, 2013 }}</ref>

As steam-powered passenger ships proliferated after the Civil War, [[Noank, Connecticut|Noank]] would produce the two largest built in Connecticut during the 19th century, with the 332-foot wooden steam [[steam paddler|paddle wheeler]] ''Rhode Island'' launched in 1882, and the 345-foot paddle wheeler ''Connecticut'' seven years later. Connecticut shipyards would launch more than 165 steam-powered vessels in the 19th century.<ref name="auto"/>

In 1875, the first telephone exchange in the world was established in New Haven.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://connecticuthistory.org/the-first-commercial-telephone-exchange-today-in-history/ |title=First Commercial Telephone Exchange |website=Connecticut History |access-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-date=April 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425042046/http://connecticuthistory.org/the-first-commercial-telephone-exchange-today-in-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===20th century===
====World War I====

When World War I broke out in 1914, Connecticut became a major supplier of weaponry to the U.S. military; by 1918, 80% of the state's industries were producing goods for the war effort.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=The Industrial Northeast: Connecticut |chapter-url={{Google books|EP7bDoZcGTIC|plainurl=yes|page=107}} |last=Breen |first=William J. |title=Labor Market Politics and the Great War: The Department of Labor, the States and the First U.S. Employment Service, 1907–1933 |location=Kent, Ohio |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=1997 |page=107 |access-date=May 29, 2014}}</ref> [[Remington Arms]] in Bridgeport produced half the small-arms cartridges used by the U.S. Army,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/world-war-i/ |title=World War I |website=Connecticut History |date=May 13, 2012 |access-date=May 28, 2014 |archive-date=July 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703130403/http://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/world-war-i/ |url-status=live }}</ref> with other major suppliers including [[Winchester Repeating Arms Company|Winchester]] in New Haven and [[Colt's Manufacturing Company|Colt]] in Hartford.{{sfn|Van Dusen|1961|pp=266–268}}

Connecticut was also an important U.S. Navy supplier, with [[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat]] receiving orders for 85 submarines,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gdeb.com/about/history/ |title=EB History |publisher=General Dynamics Electric Boat |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019070946/http://www.gdeb.com/about/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lake Torpedo Boat]] building more than 20 subs,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/laketorpedo.htm |title=Lake Torpedo Boat Company, Bridgeport CT |website=Shipbuilding History |access-date=May 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141246/https://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/laketorpedo.htm |archive-date=July 14, 2014 }}</ref> and the [[Groton Iron Works]] building freighters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://connecticuthistory.org/freighter-worcester-launched-today-in-history/ |title=Freighter Worcester Launched |website=Connecticut History |access-date=May 28, 2014 |archive-date=April 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425063301/http://connecticuthistory.org/freighter-worcester-launched-today-in-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 21, 1916, the Navy made Groton the site for its East Coast submarine base and school.

The state enthusiastically supported the American war effort in 1917 and 1918 with large purchases of war bonds, a further expansion of industry, and an emphasis on increasing food production on the farms. Thousands of state, local, and volunteer groups mobilized for the war effort and were coordinated by the Connecticut State Council of Defense.<ref>{{cite journal |first=William J. |last=Breen |title=Mobilization and Cooperative Federalism: The Connecticut State Council of Defense, 1917-1919 |journal=Historian |date=1979 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=58–84 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-6563.1979.tb00574.x}}</ref> Manufacturers wrestled with manpower shortages; Waterbury's American Brass and Manufacturing Company was running at half capacity, so the federal government agreed to furlough soldiers to work there.{{sfn|Breen|1997|page=116}}

====Interwar period====

In 1919, J. Henry Roraback started the [[Northeast Utilities|Connecticut Light & Power Co.]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Connecticut Light and Power Co. History |work=International Directory of Company Histories |volume=13 |publisher=St. James Press |date=1996 |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/connecticut-light-and-power-co-history/ |access-date=October 24, 2015 |archive-date=September 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920060048/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/connecticut-light-and-power-co-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which became the state's dominant electric utility. In 1925, [[Frederick Rentschler]] spurred the creation of [[Pratt & Whitney]] in Hartford to develop engines for aircraft; the company became an important military supplier in World War{{nbsp}}II and one of the three major manufacturers of jet engines in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nationalaviation.org/rentschler-frederick/ |title=Frederick Rentschler |website=The National Aviation Hall of Fame |access-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141014043025/http://www.nationalaviation.org/rentschler-frederick/ |archive-date=October 14, 2014 }}</ref>

On September 21, 1938, the most destructive storm in New England history struck eastern Connecticut, killing hundreds of people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.gov/okx/1938HurricaneHome |title=The Great New England Hurricane of 1938 |website=National Weather Service |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=February 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228115012/http://www.weather.gov/okx/1938HurricaneHome |url-status=live }}</ref> The eye of the [[1938 New England hurricane|"Long Island Express"]] passed just west of New Haven and devastated the Connecticut shoreline between Old Saybrook and Stonington from the full force of wind and waves, even though they had partial protection by Long Island. The hurricane caused extensive damage to infrastructure, homes, and businesses. In New London, a {{convert|500|ft|m|adj=on}} sailing ship was driven into a warehouse complex, causing a major fire. Heavy rainfall caused the Connecticut River to flood downtown Hartford and East Hartford. An estimated 50,000 trees fell onto roadways.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/nyregion/remembering-the-great-hurricane-of-38.html |title=Remembering the Great Hurricane of '38 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 21, 2003 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=July 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715173224/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/nyregion/remembering-the-great-hurricane-of-38.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====World War II====

The advent of [[lend-lease]] in support of Britain helped lift Connecticut from the Great Depression,<ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://content.library.ccsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ccsutheses/id/1014 |last=Brandi |first=Anthony P. |type=Masters of Arts |title=Lend-lease: FDR's Most Unheralded Achievement and Connecticut's Unprecedented Response to it |publisher=Central Connecticut State University |date=May 2007 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518012251/http://content.library.ccsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ccsutheses/id/1014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> with the state a major production center for weaponry and supplies used in [[World War II|World War{{nbsp}}II]]. Connecticut manufactured 4.1% of total U.S. military armaments produced during the war, ranking ninth among the 48 states,<ref>{{cite book |author1-link = Whiz Kids (Department of Defense) |last1=Peck |first1=Merton J. |author2-link = Frederic M. Scherer |last2=Scherer |first2=Frederic M. |title=The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis |year=1962 |publisher=[[Harvard Business School]] |page = 111 }}</ref> with major factories including [[Colt's Manufacturing Company|Colt]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.courant.com/2012/08/19/colt-manufacturing-a-timeline-2/ |title=Colt Manufacturing: A Timeline |work=Hartford Courant |date=August 19, 2012 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517225233/http://articles.courant.com/2012-08-19/business/hc-colt-timeline-20120817_1_colt-firearms-firearms-division-rampant-colt |url-status=live }}</ref> for firearms, [[Pratt & Whitney]] for aircraft engines, [[Vought|Chance Vought]] for fighter planes, [[Hamilton Standard]] for propellers,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/world-war-ii/ |title = World War II |website = Connecticut History |date = May 13, 2012 |access-date = May 17, 2014 |archive-date = July 3, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140703125946/http://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/world-war-ii/ |url-status = live }}</ref> and [[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat]] for submarines and PT boats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gdeb.com/about/history/ |title=EB History |website=General Dynamics Electric Boat |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019070946/http://www.gdeb.com/about/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In Bridgeport, General Electric produced a significant new weapon to combat tanks: the [[bazooka]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://connecticuthistory.org/the-bazooka-changes-war/ |title=The Bazooka Changes War |website=Connecticut History |access-date=May 28, 2014 |archive-date=July 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727200928/http://connecticuthistory.org/the-bazooka-changes-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 13, 1940, [[Igor Sikorsky]] made an untethered flight of the first practical [[helicopter]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/VS-300_Helicopter.php |title=VS-300 Helicopter |website=Sikorsky Archives |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518053613/http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/VS-300_Helicopter.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The helicopter saw limited use in World War II, but future military production made [[Sikorsky Aircraft]]'s [[Stratford, Connecticut|Stratford]] plant Connecticut's largest single manufacturing site by the start of the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sikorsky Aircraft Corp ~ Employer Information |website=Labor Market Information |publisher=Connecticut Department of Labor |url=http://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/EmpSearchDet.asp?intEmpID=144196 |date=March 17, 2015 |access-date=October 24, 2015 |archive-date=December 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231223637/http://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/EmpSearchDet.asp?intEmpID=144196 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Post-World War II economic expansion====

Connecticut lost some wartime factories following the end of hostilities, but the state shared in a general post-war expansion that included the construction of highways<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=1380&Q=259704 |title=Interstate Highways Given New Life by Federal Aid Highway Acts |website=Department of Transportation |publisher=State of Connecticut |date=September 9, 2003 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517194607/http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=1380&Q=259704 |url-status=live }}</ref> and resulting in middle-class growth in suburban areas.

[[Prescott Bush]] represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate from 1952 to 1963; his son [[George H. W. Bush]] and grandson [[George W. Bush]] both became presidents of the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/The-President-and-Family/The-Bush-Family.aspx |title=The Bush Family |website=George W. Bush Library |publisher=Southern Methodist University |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518021233/http://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/The-President-and-Family/The-Bush-Family.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1965, Connecticut ratified its [[Connecticut Constitution|current constitution]], replacing the document that had served since 1818.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.cslib.org/constitutionalAmends/ |title=The Connecticut Constitution, 1965-2005: Legislative History of Amendments |access-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130806024527/http://www.cslib.org/constitutionalAmends/ |archive-date=August 6, 2013 }} "The Connecticut Constitution, 1965–2008: Legislative History of Amendments", Connecticut State Library. Retrieved May 16, 2014.</ref>

In 1968, commercial operation began for the Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in [[Haddam Neck, Connecticut|Haddam]]; in 1970, the [[Millstone Nuclear Power Plant|Millstone Nuclear Power Station]] began operations in [[Waterford, Connecticut|Waterford]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Gammell |first=Ben |url=http://wnpr.org/post/connecticut-yankee-and-millstone-46-years-nuclear-power |title=Connecticut Yankee and Millstone: 46 Years of Nuclear Power |work=[[WNPR]] |date=January 31, 2014 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517235435/http://wnpr.org/post/connecticut-yankee-and-millstone-46-years-nuclear-power |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1974, Connecticut elected Democratic Governor [[Ella T. Grasso]], who became the first woman in any state to be elected governor without being the wife or widow of a previous governor.<ref name=Pumont>{{cite book |first=Jon E. |last=Purmont |title=Ella Grasso: Connecticut's Pioneering Governor |date=2012 |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |url={{google books|Pos7XDsZauUC|plainurl=yes}} |isbn=978-0-8195-7344-5}}</ref>

====Late 20th century====
{{Expand section|date=October 2021}}
Connecticut's dependence on the defense industry posed an economic challenge at the end of the [[Cold War]]. The resulting budget crisis helped elect [[Lowell Weicker]] as governor on a third-party ticket in 1990. Weicker's remedy was a state income tax which proved effective in balancing the budget, but only for the short-term. He did not run for a second term, in part because of this politically unpopular move.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cslib.org/gov/weickerl.htm |title=Lowell Weicker, Governor of Connecticut |access-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324093619/http://www.cslib.org/gov/weickerl.htm |archive-date=March 24, 2014 }} "Lowell Weicker Governor of Connecticut, 1991–1995", Connecticut State Library, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2014.</ref>

In 1992, initial construction was completed on [[Foxwoods Resort Casino|Foxwoods Casino]] at the [[Mashantucket Pequots]] reservation in eastern Connecticut, which became the largest casino in the Western Hemisphere. [[Mohegan Sun]] followed four years later.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ct.gov/dcp/cwp/view.asp?a=4107&q=482860 |title=Legalized Gambling |website=Department of Consumer Protection |publisher=State of Connecticut |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518064205/http://www.ct.gov/dcp/cwp/view.asp?a=4107&q=482860 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Early 21st century===

In 2000, presidential candidate [[Al Gore]] chose Senator [[Joe Lieberman]] as his running mate, marking the first time that a major party presidential ticket included someone of the Jewish faith.<ref>{{cite news |first=Brian |last=Knowlton |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/08/news/08iht-veep.2.t.html |title=Gore's Choice for His Running Mate: Moderate Senator Who Scorned Clinton: Selecting Lieberman Is Seen as Bold Move; Religion May Be Issue |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 8, 2000 |access-date=May 21, 2014 |archive-date=May 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522233903/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/08/news/08iht-veep.2.t.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Gore and Lieberman fell five votes short of [[George W. Bush]] and [[Dick Cheney]] in the Electoral College. In the terrorist [[September 11 attacks|attacks of September 11, 2001]], 65 state residents were killed, mostly [[Fairfield County, Connecticut|Fairfield County]] residents who were working in the [[World Trade Center (1973-2001)|World Trade Center]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Area victims of 9/11 |work=The Advocate |location=Stamford, Connecticut |date=September 9, 2011 |url=http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Area-victims-of-9-11-2162856.php |access-date=June 6, 2016 |archive-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028144322/https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Area-victims-of-9-11-2162856.php |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2004, Republican Governor [[John G. Rowland]] resigned during a corruption investigation, later pleading guilty to federal charges.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/21/connecticut.governor/ |title=Connecticut Governor Announces Resignation |work=CNN |date=June 21, 2004 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304210828/http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/21/connecticut.governor/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/ex-gov-rowland-pleads-guilty-to-corruption/ |title=Ex-Gov. Rowland Pleads Guilty to Corruption |work=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |date=December 23, 2004 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=November 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108080933/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2004/12/23/ex-gov-rowland-pleads-guilty-to-corruption/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Connecticut was hit by three major storms in just over 14 months in 2011 and 2012, with all three causing extensive property damage and electric outages. [[Hurricane Irene]] struck Connecticut August 28, and damage totaled $235 million.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hurricane-irene-year-storm-cost-15-8-damage-florida-new-york-caribbean-article-1.1145302 |title=Hurricane Irene one year later: Storm cost $15.8 in damage from Florida to New York to the Caribbean |location=New York |work=Daily News |agency=Associated Press |date=August 27, 2012 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=November 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116093242/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hurricane-irene-year-storm-cost-15-8-damage-florida-new-york-caribbean-article-1.1145302 |url-status=live }}</ref> Two months later, the [[2011 Halloween nor'easter|"Halloween nor'easter"]] dropped extensive snow onto trees, resulting in snapped branches and trunks that damaged power lines; some areas were without electricity for 11 days.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/05-31-2012-ne-outage-report.pdf |title=Report on Transmission Facility Outages During the Northeast Snowstorm of October 29–30, 2011: Causes and Recommendations |publisher=[[Federal Energy Regulatory Commission]] and [[North American Electric Reliability Corporation]] |date=May 12, 2012 |pages=8–16 |access-date=May 3, 2014 |archive-date=February 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224084107/http://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/05-31-2012-ne-outage-report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Hurricane Sandy]] hit New Jersey and passed over Connecticut with hurricane-force winds and tides up to 12 feet above normal. Many coastal buildings were damaged or destroyed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/ |title=Hurricane Sandy Fast Facts |work=CNN |date=July 13, 2013 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518044327/http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sandy's winds drove storm surges into streets and cut power to 98% of homes and businesses, with more than $360 million in damage.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2012/11/16/270954.htm |title=Conn. Gov.: State's Damage From Superstorm Sandy $360M and Climbing |work=Insurance Journal |date=November 16, 2012 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518062130/http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2012/11/16/270954.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

On December 14, 2012, [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting|Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people]] at [[Sandy Hook Elementary School]] in [[Newtown, Connecticut|Newtown]], and then killed himself.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Jonathan |last1=Dienst |first2=Shimon |last2=Prokupecz |title=27 Dead, Including 20 Children, in Conn. School Shooting: Police |work=NBC New York |agency=Associated Press |date=December 14, 2012 |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Shooting-Reported-at-Connecticut-School-183501531.html |access-date=June 6, 2016 |archive-date=November 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102052430/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Shooting-Reported-at-Connecticut-School-183501531.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The massacre spurred [[Gun control after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting|renewed efforts]] by activists for tighter laws on gun ownership nationally.<ref>{{cite news |title=State Gun Laws Enacted in the Year Since Newtown |work=The New York Times |date=December 10, 2013 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/10/us/state-gun-laws-enacted-in-the-year-since-newtown.html |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516222510/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/10/us/state-gun-laws-enacted-in-the-year-since-newtown.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the summer and fall of 2016, Connecticut experienced a drought in many parts of the state, causing some water-use bans. As of {{Start date|2016|11|15}}, 45% of the state was listed at Severe Drought by the U.S. Drought Monitor, including almost all of [[Hartford County, Connecticut|Hartford]] and [[Litchfield County, Connecticut|Litchfield]] counties. All the rest of the state was in Moderate Drought or Severe Drought, including [[Middlesex County, Connecticut|Middlesex]], [[Fairfield County, Connecticut|Fairfield]], [[New London County, Connecticut|New London]], [[New Haven County, Connecticut|New Haven]], [[Windham County, Connecticut|Windham]], and [[Tolland County, Connecticut|Tolland]] counties. This affected the agricultural economy in the state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CT|title=United States Drought Monitor > Home > State Drought Monitor|website=droughtmonitor.unl.edu|access-date=September 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003203723/http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CT|archive-date=October 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nhregister.com/environment-and-nature/20160917/as-connecticuts-drought-worsens-officials-again-urge-water-conservation|title=As Connecticut's drought worsens, officials again urge water conservation|newspaper=New Haven Register |access-date=September 22, 2016|date=September 17, 2016|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923031245/http://www.nhregister.com/environment-and-nature/20160917/as-connecticuts-drought-worsens-officials-again-urge-water-conservation|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Water-Company-Issues-Mandatory-Water-Ban-for-Mystic-Stonington-Customers-393761821.html|title=Water Company Issues Mandatory Water Ban for Parts of CT|date=September 16, 2016 |access-date=September 22, 2016|archive-date=September 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923045533/http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Water-Company-Issues-Mandatory-Water-Ban-for-Mystic-Stonington-Customers-393761821.html|url-status=live}}</ref>