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Inside 'The First State,' Delaware
FOX 29's Jenn Lee visits historic New Castle and explores how the State of Delaware came to be known as The First State.
NEW CASTLE COUNTY, D.E, - As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, FOX 29 is exploring the rich history that’s available right here in the Delaware Valley.
What we know:
This time, we sought out the experts to find out how the State of Delaware came to be known as The First State.
We interviewed Dick Carter, the Chairman of the Delaware Heritage Commission, and Rebecca Fay, the Director of Education for the Delaware Historical Society.
Carter said after the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. The new United States were governed by the Articles of Confederation, but it established a weak central government.
"In 1787, the powers that be decided the Articles needed some major improvements, so they called a convention in Philadelphia at what’s now called Independence Hall," said Carter. "Instead of improving the Articles of Confederation, they threw them in the garbage can and did a completely new document which is now known as the Constitution of the United States of America."
During the Constitutional Convention, Fay said The Great Compromise established an agreement between large states and small states who were disputing over representation in the U.S. Congress.
"A couple things about Delaware. We’re very close to Philadelphia, so we were able to kind of call a state convention to approve it very quickly, but also the new Constitution was better for the state than the Articles of Confederation were because of Delaware’s size," said Fay. Delaware was represented more equally under the Constitution in the legislature."
Carter showed us a copy of Delaware’s official ratification document which was signed by the 30 delegates elected to the state convention.
"This was done as I said at Battell’s Tavern in Dover in no doubt with liquid refreshment along the way and it’s signed by the ten delegates from each of the three counties," said Cater. "There were two copies of this made. One copy was sent to the National Government which was then headquartered in Philadelphia, and the other copy was saved by the State of Delaware and is still in our archives."
On December 7, 1787 Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and continues to carry that legacy present day.
"Thus becoming the first state of the thirteen to ratify the new constitution which entitled us to claim all these centuries that we’re the First State," said Carter.
"To be part of such an important history can be inspiring for a lot of people, so I think that’s one of the reasons why Delawareans are so proud of being the First State," said Fay.
What's next:
FOX 29 will continue exploring all of the interesting moments in history that paint the story of our country’s beginnings leading up to the semi-quincentennial celebrations next year.