Located in the Northeastern region of the U.S. and bordered by Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Atlantic Ocean, Delaware is the second smallest, the sixth least populous, but the sixth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It is interesting that most of the boundary with Pennsylvania was defined by an arc extending 12 miles from the cupola of the courthouse in the city of New Castle. Its name comes from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, Virginia's first colonial governor.
Delaware is on a level plain, with the lowest mean elevation of any state in the nation. Its highest elevation doesn't rise fully 140m above sea level. Its capital city is Dover, and its largest city is Wilmington. Because of its business-friendly corporation law, more than 50% of all U.S. publicly traded companies and 63% of the Fortune 500 are incorporated in Delaware. On the other hand, while the southern two counties have historically been predominantly agricultural, the third, New Castle, has been more industrialized.
Before its coastline was explored by Europeans in the 16th century, Delaware was inhabited by several groups of Native Americans, including the Lenape in the north and Nanticoke in the south. Initially colonized by Dutch and Swedish, it was conquered in 1664 by English. Delaware was one of the 13 colonies participating in the American Revolution and on December 7, 1787, became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby becoming known as The First State.
Although attempts to abolish slavery failed by narrow margins in the legislature, in practical terms, the state had mostly ended the practice. By the 1860 census on the verge of the Civil War, 91.7% of the black population were free. Delaware voted against secession in 1861 and so remained in the Union. However, Delaware legislators passed Jim Crow laws in 1875, which virtually made black Delawareans second-class citizens. Only in 1968 Delaware became fully integrated, after a long time and with much effort.
About the stamps
All four stamps, depicting Flower Fly, Dogbane Beetle, Monarch Caterpillar, and Velvet Ant, are part of the series Insects and Spiders, about which I wrote here.
References
Delaware - Wikipedia
Sender: Denise
Sent from Greenvale (New York / United States), on 23.02.2015
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