November 22, 2006 -- Often called New York state to distinguish it from super-metropolis New York city, it became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution on July 26, 1788. Its capital is Albany.
The territory that would become New York was once home to the Lenape nation and the Iroquois Confederacy, which settled the land 500 years before the first European explorers arrived.
Giovanni da Verrazano first explored the territory in 1524, naming it Nouvelle Angouleme. Samuel de Champlain explored it in 1608. The following year, English explorer Henry Hudson, in search of a waterway to the Orient, arrived in what is now New York Harbor. In 1624, the West India Company sent 30 Dutch families to the new territory, which was called New Netherland.
The province of New York was much bigger than the state is today, extending far into the undiscovered west and including parts of what is now Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Vermont and Maine. Today's New York takes up 54,520 square miles.
In 1626, Peter Minuit, the general director of New Netherland, arranged to buy the island of Manhattan - all 14,000 acres - from the Lenape for trinkets valued at about $24. A month later, the first African slaves arrived to help clear the land, which was now called New Amsterdam.
In 1647, Dutch leader Peter Stuyvesant arrived with an iron fist to put an end to the colony's rampant crime and restore order.
He also implemented slavery as a major means of commerce.
Forty years of Dutch rule came to an end in 1664, when British troops came into the harbor ready to take control. Rather than risk defeat, Stuyvesant surrendered without a fight. New Amsterdam was renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York and for the next 119 years, the colony remained under British rule.
New York was never content to be controlled by the British and was a hotbed of protest.
On July 26, 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution. During the Revolutionary War (1776-1781), New York would see one-third of the battles.
New York's future was brilliantly shaped by West Indian native Alexander Hamilton, who opposed slavery and advocated freedom for all the colonies. He established New York as the commercial capital of the nation. He also founded the New York Post. Hamilton, with James Madison and John Jay, drafted the Federalist Papers, which would serve as a blueprint for New York's future as well as the new nation's.
New York Gov. George DeWitt proposed building a canal to connect the Hudson River to Lake Erie. Work on the canal, which would ultimately connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, began in 1827 and was finished in 1825, bringing a wealth of commercial trade to the state.
Today, New York is the nation's media and financial capital. Dairy is its most important farming product and, believe it or not, the state is the nation's leader in cabbage production. Top industries include printing, publishing, scientific instruments, electronics and machinery.
When most people think of New York, they think of Manhattan, with its world-class shops, restaurants and museums, but the state is dominated by lakes, farms, forests, rivers and mountains. New York's Adirondack Park is the largest U.S. park outside of Alaska - larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier and Olympic
Parks combined.
New York Fun Facts:
State insect: Ladybug
State beverage: Milk
State reptile: Snapping turtle
State gem: Garnet
State animal: Beaver
* The nation's first pizzeria, Lombardi's, opened in lower Manhattan in 1905 and is still going strong.
* Big Apple, a term coined by jazz musicians, means playing the big time.
* The nation's oldest cattle ranch was started on Long Island in 1747.
* New York is home to 58 species of wild orchids.
* The nation's first railroad ran 11 miles between Albany and Schenectady.
ACTIVITES
WHAT'S your favorite thing about New York? Write an essay on why you think our state is great.
USE the Internet to learn more about the history of New York.
READ about Peter Stuyvesant, Peter Minuit and Alexander Hamilton. How did these men shape the history of New York and how is their influence still felt today?
ELA 1c, 2b, 3c, 3d, 4a, 4b, 5a Social Studies Standard 1, 2, 3
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