Encyclopedia
New York is a
state in the
northeastern United States. It is sometimes called
New York State when there is need to distinguish it from
New York City. Because of the preponderance of the population concentrated in the southern portion around New York City, the state is often regionalized into
Upstate and
Downstate.
Geography
New York's borders touch two
Great Lakes ; one former Great Lake ; the provinces of
Ontario and
Quebec in
Canada; three
New England states ; the
Atlantic Ocean, and two
Mid-Atlantic states . In addition,
Rhode Island shares a water border with New York.
New York is also the site of the only extra-territorial
enclave within the boundaries of the U.S., the
United Nations compound on
Manhattan's East River.
The southern tip of New York State—
New York City, its suburbs including
Long Island, and the southern portion of the Hudson Valley—can be considered to form the central core of a "megalopolis," a super-city stretching from the northern suburbs of
Boston to the southern suburbs of
Washington D.C. and therefore occasionally called "
BosWash". First described by Jean Gottmann in 1961 as a new phenomenon in the history of world urbanization, the megalopolis is characterized by a coalescence of previous already-large cities of the
Eastern Seaboard: a heavy specialization on tertiary activity related to government, trade, law, education, finance, publishing and control of economic activity; plus a growth pattern not so much of more population and more area as more intensive use of already existing urbanized area and ever more sophisticated links from one specialty to another. Several other groups of megalopolis-type super-cities exist in the world, but that centered around New York City was the first described and still is the best example.
While the state is best known for
New York City's urban atmosphere, especially
Manhattan's skyscrapers, most of the state is in fact dominated by farms, forests, rivers, mountains, and lakes. New York's
Adirondack State Park is larger than any
U.S. National Park outside of
Alaska.
Niagara Falls, on the Niagara River as it flows from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, is a popular attraction. The
Hudson River begins with
Lake Tear of the Clouds and flows south through the eastern part of the state without draining Lakes George or
Champlain. Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the
Richelieu and then the
St Lawrence Rivers. Four of New York City's five boroughs are on the three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River:
Manhattan Island,
Staten Island, and
Long Island.
"Upstate" is a common term for New York State counties north of suburban Westchester and Rockland counties. Upstate New York typically includes the
Catskill and
Adirondack Mountains, the
Shawangunk Ridge, the
Finger Lakes and the
Great Lakes in the west; and
Lake Champlain, Lake George, and
Oneida Lake in the northeast; and rivers such as the
Delaware,
Genesee, Hudson,
Mohawk, and
Susquehanna. The highest elevation in New York is
Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks.
History
The area was long inhabited by the Lenape; Lenape in canoes met
Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first
European explorer to enter
New York Harbor, in 1524.
Giovanni da Verrazzano named this place New
Angouleme in the honor of the
French king
Francis I .
A
French explorer and mapper,
Samuel de Champlain, described his explorations through New York in 1608. A year later
Henry Hudson, an
Englishman working for the Dutch, claimed the area in the name of the
Netherlands. It was to be called
New Netherlands.
Early settlement
The first European settlers in the area now known as the State of New York were
Dutch settlers in the colony known as
New Amsterdam, beginning in 1613. These settlers were claiming this land as theirs, marginalizing the aboriginal inhabitants who had been living there since the
Pleistocene epoch. The
English traded the modern-day country of
Suriname for New Amsterdam in 1664; they renamed it
New York, after the
Duke of York, the future King
James II. On November 1, 1683, the government was reorganized. The colony, then called the Province of New York, was divided into twelve
counties, each of which was subdivided into towns. The territory of New York extended much farther than present-day New York State, having no official western boundary other than the Pacific Ocean. Two of New York's eastern coastal counties, Cornwall and Dukes, later became parts of
Massachusetts and
Maine. Counties were also ceded to
Vermont before Vermont entered the Union in 1791.
Statehood
New York was one of the original
thirteen colonies that became the
United States. It was the 11th state to ratify the
United States Constitution, on July 26, 1788.
Origin
The Dutch, who began to establish trading-posts on the
Hudson River in 1613, claimed jurisdiction over the territory between the
Connecticut and the
Delaware Rivers, which they called
New Netherlands. The government was vested in "
The United New Netherland Company," chartered in 1614, and then in "The Dutch West India Company," chartered in 1622.
In 1649, a convention of the settlers petitioned the "Lords States-General of the United Netherlands" to grant them "suitable burgher government, such as their High Mightinesses shall consider adapted to this province, and resembling somewhat the government of our Fatherland," with certain permanent privileges and exemptions, that they might pursue "the trade of our country, as well along the coast from Terra Nova to Cape Florida as to the
West Indies and
Europe, whenever our Lord God shall be pleased to permit."
The directors of the West India Company resented this attempt to shake their rule and wrote their director and council at New Amsterdam: "We have already connived as much as possible at the many impertinences of some restless spirits, in the hope that they might be shamed by our discreetness and benevolence, but, perceiving that all kindnesses do not avail, we must, therefore, have recourse to God to Nature and the Law. We accordingly hereby charge and command your Honors whenever you shall certainly discover any Clandestine Meetings, Conventicles or machinations against our States government or that of our country that you proceed against such malignants in proportion to their crimes."
These grants embraced all the lands between the west bank of the
Connecticut River and the east bank of the
Delaware.
The
Duke of York previously purchased in 1663 the grant of
Long Island and other islands on the
New England coast made in 1635 to the Earl of Stirling, and in 1664 he equipped an armed expedition which took possession of
New Amsterdam, which was thenceforth called New York. This conquest was confirmed by the treaty of Breda, in July 1667. In July 1673, a Dutch fleet recaptured New York and held it until it was restored to the English by the treaty of Westminster in February, 1674. The second grant was obtained by in the New York state Library.
Constitution
The New York constitution was based on its colonial charter. This constitution was framed by a convention which assembled at
White Plains, New York on July 10, 1776, and after repeated adjournments and changes of location, terminated its labors at
Kingston, New York on Sunday evening, April 20, 1777, when the constitution was adopted with but one dissenting vote. It was not submitted to the people for ratification. It was drafted by John Jay.
This constitution was a combination document, containing its Declaration of Independence from
Great Britain, and its Constitutional Law. It called for a weak
bicameral legislature and a strong executive branch. It retained provisions from the colonial charter such as the substantial property qualification for voting and the ability of the governor to disband the elected legislature. This imbalance of power between the branches of state government kept the elite firmly in control, and disenfranchised most New Yorkers who would fight the
Revolutionary War. Slavery was legal in New York until 1827.
Under this constitution, the Assembly had a provision for a maximum of 70 Members, with the following apportionment:
- For the city and county of New York, nine.
- The city and county of Albany, ten
- The county of Dutchess, seven.
- The county of Westchester, six.
- The county of Ulster, six.
- The county of Suffolk , five.
- The county of Queens , four.
- The county of Orange , four.
- The county of Kings , two.
- The county of Richmond , two.
- Tryon County , six.
- Charlotte County , four.
- Cumberland County , three.
- Gloucester County , two.
This apportionment was to stand unchanged until a period of seven years from the end of the Revolution had expired, whereupon a census was held to correct the apportionment.
On the subject of Disenfranchisement, Article VII of the new constitution had the following to say:
VII. That every
male inhabitant of full age, who shall have personally
resided within one of the counties of this State for six months immediately preceding the day of election, shall, at such election, be entitled to vote for representatives of the said county in assembly; if, during the time aforesaid, he shall have been a
freeholder, possessing a freehold of the value of twenty pounds, within the said county, or have rented a tenement therein of the yearly value of forty shillings, and been rated and actually paid taxes to this State: Provided always, That every person who now is a
freeman of the city of Albany, or who was made a
freeman of the city of New York on or before the fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, and shall be actually and usually resident in the said cities, respectively, shall be entitled to vote for representatives in assembly within his said place of residence.
- For more information on this constitution, see: New York State Constitutions
Westward expansion
The western part of New York had been settled by the six nations of the
Iroquois Confederacy for at least 500 years before Europeans came. The Iroquois had maintained the area between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes as a grassland prairie, which abounded in wild game including grazing
American Bison herds. In colonial times, the Iroquois were prosperously growing corn, vegetables and orchards, and keeping cows and hogs; fish were also abundant.
The colonial charter of New York granted unlimited westward expansion.
Massachusetts' charter had the same provision, causing territorial disputes between the colonies and with the Iroquois. During the
revolution, four of the Iroquois nations fought on the side of the British. In 1779, Major General
John Sullivan was sent to defeat the Iroquois. The Sullivan Expedition moved northward through the
Finger Lakes and
Genesee Country, burning all the Iroquois communities and destroying their crops and orchards. Refugees fled to
Fort Niagara where they spent the following winter in hunger and misery. Hundreds died of exposure, hunger and disease. After the war, many moved to
Canada.
Canals
Transportation in western New York was difficult before canals were built in the early part of the
nineteenth century. The
Hudson and
Mohawk Rivers could be navigated only as far as Central New York. While the
St. Lawrence River could be navigated to
Lake Ontario, the way westward to the other
Great Lakes was blocked by
Niagara Falls, and so the only route to western New York was over land. Governor
DeWitt Clinton strongly advocated building a canal to connect the Hudson River with
Lake Erie, and thus all the
Great Lakes. Work commenced in 1817, and the
Erie Canal was finished in 1825. The canal opened up vast areas of New York to commerce and settlement, and enabled port cities such as
Buffalo to grow and prosper. The
Welland Canal was completed in 1833, bypassing
Niagara Falls to connect Lakes Ontario and Erie.
Sullivan's men returned from the campaign to
Pennsylvania and
New England to tell of the enormous wealth of this new territory. Many of them were given
land grants in gratitude for their service in the Revolution. From 1786 through 1797 several groups of wealthy land speculators entered into agreements with one another, with neighboring states, and with the
Indians to obtain title to vast tracts of land in western New York. Some purchases of
Iroquois lands are the subject of numerous modern-day land claims by the individual nations of the six nations.
Demographics
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, New York was the third largest state in population after
California and
Texas, with an estimated population of 19,254,630 , which is an increase of 27,542, or 0.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 277,809, or 1.5%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 527,876 people and a decrease from net migration of 334,093 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 667,007 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of about 502,155. New York is said to be the slowest growing large state. However, current statistics estimate that by 2050, New York's population will be 20.8 milllion, yet this will still be behind California, Texas and Florida. New York has experienced a downfall in jobs, but with government help, the state's people who once left are now returning.
Racial and ancestral makeup
According to 2004 estimate, 20.4% of the population was foreign-born.
The top ancestry groups in New York are
African American ,
Italian ,
Irish , and
German ,
New York contains the country's largest
Dominican population and largest
Puerto Rican population .
Brooklyn and the
Bronx are home to many
African-Americans and
Queens has a large population of Latin American origin, as well as the state's largest
Asian-American population.
The 2000 Census revealed which ancestries were in which counties.
Italian-Americans make up the largest ancestral group in Staten Island and Long Island, followed by
Irish-Americans. Manhattan's leading ancestry group is Irish-Americans, followed by Italian-Americans. Albany and southeast-central New York are heavily Irish-American and Italian-American. In Buffalo and western New York,
German-Americans are the largest group; in the northern tip of the state, French-Canadians.
6.5% of New York's population were reported as under 5 years of age, 24.7% under 18, and 12.9% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.8% of the population.
The bulk of New York's population lives within two hours of
New York City. According to the July 1, 2004 Census Bureau Estimate,
New York City and its six closest New York State satellite counties have a combined population of 12,626,200 people, or 65.67% of the state's population.
New York State has a higher number of Italian-Americans than any other U.S. state.
Religion
As of 2006, the religious affiliations of New York citizens were:
40.0% Protestant,
38.9% Roman Catholic,
7.3% Baptist,
6.1% Methodist,
5.5% Episcopal,
3.2% Presbyterian,
17.9% Non-religious
3.4% Jewish,
2.0% Muslim,
The Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan contains the shrine and burial place of
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini , the patron saint of immigrants and the first American citizen to be canonized.
At Chautauqua Lake in the southwestern portion of the state is the
Chautauqua Institution, co-founded by Methodist Reverend John Vincent and devoted to adult continuing education in an uplifting setting, as that ambiance was understood in the last half of the Nineteenth Century. The Institution, which still exists, offers to a predominantly middle class and Mid-American clientele a very high standard of intellectual summer lectures, mixed with certain elements of folksy religious camp meetings, such as outdoor recreation and musical events. While some aspects of this pedagogy may seem quaint today, the Institution helped assure that high intellectual achievement would be recognized as consistent with the value system of an emerging powerful
Midwest, and was one of several ways that
Upstate New York served between the
Civil War and
World War II as a transmitting intermediary between the standards of the East Coast and the interior agricultural regions of the central states.
Important cities and towns
New York City is both the largest city in the
United States, and home to over two-fifths of the population of the entire state.
Albany is the state capital, and the
Town of Hempstead is its largest civil township.
Its major cities and towns are:
