Search results
Jun 10, 2011 · June 10, 2011 | By Delaware Today. The state’s geographic position and its north-south split between industrial and agricultural economies reflected the split in the country as a whole. This year marks the beginning of a nationwide, four-year commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.
- Overview
- Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction
- Influence of the du Pont family
- Development of the contemporary state
Throughout the first half of the 19th century, Delawareans became increasingly divided over the issue of slavery. Induced by both economic and religious motives, many slave owners freed their bondsmen during those years, but a few stubbornly refused. Delaware was a crossroads where abolitionists maintained a thriving line of the Underground Railroad to assist escapees, while other Delawareans engaged in the equally illegal capture of free blacks to be shipped southward into slavery. Thus, in 1860, on the eve of the American Civil War, the number of slaves in Delaware had been reduced to about 1,800, while the number of the state’s free blacks had grown to some 20,000.
Although Pres. Abraham Lincoln’s policy of refusing to recognize secession did not find favour with a majority of Delawareans, the state never seriously considered joining the Confederacy. Many Delawareans favoured the Union cause, although men from the state served in the armies of both sides. Fort Delaware, built on a small island in the Delaware River to protect Wilmington and Philadelphia in the 1850s, became one of the Union’s major prisoner-of-war camps.
Throughout the first half of the 19th century, Delawareans became increasingly divided over the issue of slavery. Induced by both economic and religious motives, many slave owners freed their bondsmen during those years, but a few stubbornly refused. Delaware was a crossroads where abolitionists maintained a thriving line of the Underground Railroad to assist escapees, while other Delawareans engaged in the equally illegal capture of free blacks to be shipped southward into slavery. Thus, in 1860, on the eve of the American Civil War, the number of slaves in Delaware had been reduced to about 1,800, while the number of the state’s free blacks had grown to some 20,000.
Although Pres. Abraham Lincoln’s policy of refusing to recognize secession did not find favour with a majority of Delawareans, the state never seriously considered joining the Confederacy. Many Delawareans favoured the Union cause, although men from the state served in the armies of both sides. Fort Delaware, built on a small island in the Delaware River to protect Wilmington and Philadelphia in the 1850s, became one of the Union’s major prisoner-of-war camps.
In the early 20th century the du Pont family and their gunpowder company dominated Delaware’s development. The DuPont Company, the country’s largest producer of explosives, earned enormous profits through its sales to both the United States and its allies during World War I. Several du Ponts used their wealth to benefit the state. T. Coleman du Pon...
During the second half of the 20th century, Delaware changed significantly. Population flowed from Wilmington to its suburbs. Resort and retirement communities developed along the Atlantic coast in the southeast portion of the state. Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court integrated the state’s public schools and established a more equitable distribution of seats in the state legislature. Delaware became a leader in environmentalism when it adopted its Coastal Zone Act in 1971 to prevent heavy industrialization along the coast. Credit-card banking replaced the chemical industry as the leading private employer in the state.
Politically, the state is a bellwether in presidential elections. In elections for offices at the state level, Delawareans tend to vote for candidates on the basis of their qualifications as individuals rather than as representatives of their respective parties. Nationally prominent Delawareans in politics have included Senators William V. Roth, a Republican known for the Roth IRA, and Joseph Biden, a leading Democrat. In 2001 Delaware elected its first female governor, Ruth Ann Minner.
People also ask
How did the Civil War affect Delaware?
Was Delaware a Confederate state?
Was Delaware a sideshow to the Civil War?
How many slaves did Delaware have in 1860?
Sep 7, 2015 · Delaware mirrored the nation during the Civil War. The state was somewhat divided in its loyalties with the northern part of the state closely connected with the Union and the southern portion more aligned with the Confederacy.
- Mark Eichmann
May 12, 2016 · Civil War Profiles: Delaware during the Civil War: A Confederate viewpoint. Tom Ryan. May 12, 2016 Updated Jun 4, 2020. The May 2016 meeting of the Georgetown Historical Society hosted Jeffrey Plummer, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Camp #2068, based in Seaford.
During the Civil War, Fort Delaware, on Pea Patch Island in Delaware City, housed roughly 33,000 prisoners-of-war, mainly Confederate soldiers. The prisoners had few resources and little contact with the outside world. Julia Jefferson of New Castle and her friends wanted Delaware to support the Confederacy. When
During the Civil War, Delaware was a slave state that remained in the Union. (Delaware voters voted not to secede on January 3, 1861.) Although most Delaware citizens who fought in the Civil War served in regiments on the Union side, some did, in fact, serve in Delaware companies on the Confederate side in the Maryland and Virginia Regiments ...
May 10, 2011 · Published May 10, 2011 at 4:59 PM EDT. April 12 th, 1861, the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, officially starting the Civil War. Delaware was a slave state, but ended up supporting the Union forces in a four-year conflict that claimed the lives of more than 600,000 people.
