Editing Connecticut (section)

===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>