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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: VAN-VIR |
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VERMONT , a North Atlantic state of the United States of America, and one of the New ,England group, lying between latitude 42 44 and 45 0' 43" N., and between longitudes 3 35' and 5 29' E. from Washington. It is bounded N. by the Canadian province of Quebec, E. by the Connecticut river, which separates it from New Hampshire, S. by Massachusetts, and W. by New York and Lake Champlain, which separates it in part from New York. Its total area is 9564 sq. m., and of this 440 sq. m. is water surface. Surface.Vermont is a portion of the plateau-like New England upland, broken by mountain ranges, individual mountains and high hills, rising above the general upland surface, and by deep narro,v valleys, cut below that surface. The mean elevation of the ssvir. 33state above the sea is about moo ft. Extremes range from Io6 ft. at Maquam on the N.E. shore of Lake Champlain (96 ft.) to 4364 ft. at the summit of Mount Mansfield, about 25 M. E. of that lake. The most prominent feature of the surface is the Green Mountains, which extend nearly N. and S. through the state a little W. of the middle. From the Massachusetts border N. for two-thirds the length of the state the range is only slightly broken, but farther N. it is cut deep by the valleys of the Winooski and Lamoille rivers. The crest line is generally more than 2000 ft. high, considerable areas are above 2500 ft., and the following summits exceed 4000 ft.: Mount Mansfield, 4364 ft.; Killington Peak, 4241 ft.; Camel's Hump, 4088 ft.; Mount Lincoln, 4078 ft.; and Jay Peak, 4018 ft. West of the Green Mountains the Taconic Mountains form a nearly parallel (but distinct) range, extending from New York and Massachusetts N. nearly to the centre of Vermont; and a series of broken uplifts, known as the Red Sandrock Mountains, extend farther N. along the shore of Lake Champlain. The Taconic Mountains rise in very irregular masses to 1500-2000 ft., and reach their maximum elevation in Mount Equinox at 3816 ft. The Red Sandrock Mountains are similar to one another in form and structure, generally rounded on the N. and E., but with some rugged escarpments facing the lake; their highest point is Snake Mountain (1271 ft.) in Addison
Where the Green Mountain range is unbroken, in the S. two-thirds of the state, it forms a water-parting between the streams which flow W. or N.W. into Lake Champlain or the Hudson river and those flowing S.E. into the Connecticut river; but farther N. the line separating the Hudson-Champlain basin - from the Connecticut basin runs among the Granitic Mountains; and extending 25 m. S. from the Canadian border is a small area that is drained N. into Lake Memphremagog, the waters of which, like those of Lake Champlain, are tributary to the St Lawrence river. North of Massachusetts the Connecticut river is wholly within New HampshireVermont's eastern boundary is low-water mark on the W. bank of the Connecticut river. The largest and only navigable rivers of Vermont are among those flowing into Lake Champlain: the Missisquoi, the Lamoille, the Winooski and Otter Creek. The Batten Kill is the principal river flowing into the Hudson. The Deerfield, West, Williams, White, Passumpsic and Nulhegan rivers are the largest of the many streams which are tributary to the Connecticut. The Black, Barton and Clyde rivers flow into Lake Memphremagog. Vermont's rivers are generally swift, and in many places they are made very picturesque by their clear and sparkling waters, rapids, falls, gorges and wooded banks. Lake Champlain, which lies beautifully in the valley between the Green and Adirondack mountains, belongs mostly to Vermont. The state has a shore line upon it of 15o m. or more, and in its N. portion are numerous islands which are attractive resorts during the summer season. On the N. border of the state is Lake Memphremagog with islands, a rugged prominence known as Owl's Head on its W. border, Jay Peak, farther back, and a beautiful farming country to the eastward. There are also a large number of small lakes and ponds lying wholly within the state. Of these Lake Bomoseen in Rutland county and Willoughby Lake in Orleans county are the largest. Willoughby Lake is about 6 m. long by 1i 2 m. wide, and its situation between two rugged mountains makes a scene of great natural beauty. All the lakes of the state were formed by glaciation. Fauna.The most common wild animals are deer, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, skunks, woodchucks and muskrats. There are some porcupines, red foxes, minks and martens, but the moose, wolf and lynx are practically extinct. The ruffed grouse (or " partridge ") is the most common of game birds, but woodcock, ducks and geese are quite common. Prominent among a great variety of song-birds and insectivorous birds are the robin, blue bird, cat bird, sparrows, meadow-lark, bobolink, thrushes, chickadee, wrens, brown thrasher, gold finch, cedar wax-wing, flycatchers, nuthatches, flicker (golden-winged woodpecker), downy and hairy woodpeckers, rose-breasted grosbeak, Baltimore oriole, barn-swallow, chimney swift, purple martin, purple finch (linnet), vireos and several species of warblers. Birds of- prey comprise several species of hawks and owls, and a few eagles. A few sturgeon are taken in Lake Champlain. The lakes, ponds and streams afford some of the best trout fishing in the country, and many of them also abound in pickerel, pike, perch, black bass and land-locked salmon. "There is a state fish and game commissioner, and the state has a fish II hatchery at Roxbury and a forest and game farm at Sharon. There are Federal hatcheries at Swanton (for pike perch and yellow perch) and at Holden (for trout). Flora.Vermont (vent mont), the Green Mountain State, was so named from the evergreen forests of its mountains, whose principal trees are spruce and fir on the upper slopes and white pine and hemlock on the lower. Among deciduous trees the state is noted for its sugar maples; birch and beech are common on the hills, and oaks, elm, hickory, ash, poplar, basswood, willow, chestnut and butternut on the less elevated areas. Among indigenous fruit-bearing trees, shrubs, vines and plants are the plum, cherry, grape, blackberry, raspberry, cranberry and strawberry. A few of the medicinal plants are ginseng, pleurisy root, snake root, blood root, blue flag and marshmallow. Orchids are very prominent among a great variety of flowering plants. Along the shore of Lake Champlain are a few species of maritime plants that remain from the time when portions of western Vermont were covered by the sea, and on the upper slopes of some of the higher mountains are a few Alpine species; these, however, are much less numerous on the Green Mountains of Vermont than on the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The state's lumber trade was important until 189o, when the white pine was nearly exhausted, although there were still spruce and hemlock. Climate.The state usually has long and severe winters and cool summers, but sudden changes of temperature are common at all seasons. The mean temperature for January, the coldest month, is only 17 F.; for the three winter months it is 19 F., and for the five months from November to March inclusive it is 24.3 F. For July, the warmest month, the mean temperature is 68 F.; for the entire year it is 43 F. Extremes of temperature have ranged from -36 F. at Woodstock, Windsor county, in February 1896 to 97 F. at Cornwall, Addison
Soil.The soil is for the most part glacial drift, composed of clay, sand and gravel, and varying greatly in depth. On the higher elevations it is generally stony and sterile, but in the valleys and on many of the lower hills, where it consists largely of clay and sand, it is quite productive. The best soils are in the west section, where limestone clays or shell marls are common. Forests.--Vermont was heavily forested with white pine, spruce and hemlock, and, in the southern part of the state and along the shore of Lake Champlain, with some hard woods. The white pine had been much cut off by 1890 and it is no longer commercially important. The woodland area of the state in 1900 was estimated to be 3900 sq. m., about 43 % of the land area of the state. Fisheries.Lake Champlain furnishes the only commerical fishing grounds in Vermont, with the exceptions of small catches of white fish in Lake Bomoseen, Lake St Catherine in Rutland county and Lake Memphremagog. The total catch in 1895 was 208,139 lb, valued at $716o, and in 1902 was 528,682 lb, valued at $37,669. The capital invested in fisheries in 1902 was $9417, and the number of men employed, 145. The most valuable fish taken was wall
wall
Agriculture.Vermont is largely an agricultural state: in 1900, out of a total of 134,933 perscns engaged in gainful occupations, 49,82o were engaged in agriculture, 36,18o in manufacturing and mechanical pursuits, 23,028 in domestic and personal service, 18,889 in trade and transportation, and 7016 in professional service; and of a total land area of 9124 sq. m., 7382 sq. m. (4,724,400 acres) were included in farms. The percentage of improved farm land; as in Maine, New York and Pennsylvania, increased from 1850 until 1890 and decreased after 189o; and in 1900 out of a total acreage of 4,724,400 acres only 2,126,624 acres (45%) were improved. Of the 33,104 farms in the state in 1900, 25,982 were farmed by their owners, 1373 by part owners, 314 by owners and tenants, 2424 by cash tenants, '396 by share tenants, and 615 by managers; 637 farms had mor. than 500 acres, 3431 were between 26o and 500 acres, 5512 between 175 and 26o acres, 10,215 between ion and 175 acres, 6513 between 5o and too acres, 3511between 20 and 50 acres, and 3285 less than 20 acres; and dairy produce was the principal source of income of more than one-half of these (16,700), live stock the principal source of income of 7323 farms, and hay and grain of 2519 farms. The general sterility of the soil except along rivers and the bases of hills has made intensive cultivation always necessary, and the competition of new and rich western farm lands has made the agriculture of Vermont develop further toward specialization in dairying and raising live stock. In 1910 there were 495,000 neat cattle (285,000 milch cows), 94,000 horses (average value, $106), 229,000 sheep and 95,000 swine. The horses of Vermont have been famous in the development of American racing stocks; the Morgan stock is best known, and other famous Vermont strains are Messenger and Black Hawk. Hay and forage are the most important crops, and Vermont grasses for grazing have been favourably known since the close of the 18th century. In 1909 on 879,000 acres a crop of hay (excluding forage) was raised' valued at $16,155,000. The cereals are relatively unimportant. The largest cereal crop is oats, of which, in 1909, 2,608,000 bushels (valued at $1,304,000) were produced on 81,000 acres. Mines and Quarries.The principal mineral resource of Vermont is its building and monumental stone, including marble and granite and a small amount of limestone. The value of the total amount of stone produced in 1908 in Vermont was $7,152,624. Vermont marble is the best and most plentiful in the United States. It has been quarried since 1785; marble monuments were first manufactured about 1808; and at South Dorset in 1818 marble seems first to have been sawed in blocks, the earlier method having been chiselling. It is found generally throughout the western part of the state. The principal supply is in West Rutland, Proctor and Pittsford; this, the " Rutland marble," is a duller, less lustrous white, and of a greater durability than the Carrara
Woodbury and Calais (also in Washington county) and part of those of South Ryegate, Kirby and Newark (Caledonia county), are of the biotite type ; they are grey, except the stone from Newark, which is pinkish. Of the quartz-monzonite type are the whitish granites of Bethel and Rochester (Windsor county) and Randolph Orange county), the light grey of Dummerston (Windham county), and the darker greys of Cabot (Washington county), Derby (Orleans county), Hardwick and Groton (Caledonia county). and Topsham (Orange county). The olive green syenite found on Mount Ascutney, near the Connecticut river, in Windsor county, is a hornblendeaugite. Other important granite quarries are near Williamstown, Dummerston, Berlin and Woodbury . The total value of the output of granite in the state in 1908 was $2,451,933. In 1908 the output of limestone was valued at $20,731 ; there are limestone quarries in Washington and Orange counties and on Isle La Motte. Slate-quarrying and cutting is carried on in the south-western part of the state, in Rutland county; there are important quarries at Fair Haven, Poultney, Castleton, Wells and Pawlet. In Washing-ton county there are quarries near Northfield. The industry began about 184o, though one quarry had been opened as early as 1805. There are two green varieties, called in the trade " sea-green " and " unfading green, " the former being used for a cheap roofing slate; and there are purplish varieties. In 1908,the value of slate produced was $1,710,491 (out of a total production for the United States of $6,316,817).Manufactures.The first important industry of the state was " rafting " lumber from Vermont through Lake Champlain and the Richelieu and St Lawrence rivers to Quebec. Burlington became a great lumber market for a trade moving in the direction of Boston after the Richelieu river was blocked to navigation and railway transportation began, and in 1882 Burlington was the third lumber centre in the United States. Mountain streams furnish important water-power, and the typical factory of Vermont has long been a sawmill run by a water-wheel. The value of sawmill products in 1905 was $5,888,441, and of planing-mill products $3,080,117. Closely connected with the manufacture of lumber is the making of paper and wood pulp, centralized at Bellows Falls, with water-power on the Connecticut river and with the raw materials near; the product was valued in 1905 at $3,831,448. Dairy industries have rapidly increased in value: in 1905 the value of butter and cheese was $6,416,44, more than any other single industry under the census classification. If a less arbitrary classification be followed the principal manufacturing industries would be stone manufacture and textiles. The first marble quarry was opened in Dorset in 1785 and a second at Middlebury in 1805; and the first granite was quarried in 1812. Barre is the centre of the granite business, and the region about Rutland, especially Proctor, is the principal seat of the marble industry. The product of stone manufactures in 1905 was $9,570,436. Vermont wAs almost the last of the New England states to develop textile manufactures, though the manufacture of woollen goods was begun in 1824. The greatest development was between 1900 and 19o5; the total value of textiles in the former year was $5,407,217 (woollen goods, $2,572,646; hosiery and knit goods, $1,834,685; cotton goods, $999,886) and in the latter was 7,773,612 (woollen goods, $4,698,405; hosiery and knit goods, $1,988,685; and cotton goods, $1,086,522). Other important manufactures are: flour and grist mill products, foundry and machine-shop products, furniture, patent medicines and compounds, roofing materials, and scales and balances, manufactured especially at St Johnsbury. Transportation and Commerce.Railway transportation is supplied to Vermont by parallel lines crossing diagonally every part of the state at about equal intervals and running in general in a N.W. and S.E. direction, and by lines running N. and S. respectively along the eastern and western borders of the state. The railway map of the state thus has roughly the appearance of a gridiron. The principal railways are: the lines operated by the Boston & Maine system, extending along the eastern border from Brattleboro through Bellows Falls, and St Johnsbury to the Canada boundary (Vermont Valley, Sullivan County, and Connecticut & Passumpsic Rivers railways), with a line, the St Johnsbury & Lake Champlain railway, extending across the northern part of the state from Lunenburg to Maguam Bay; the Central Vermont railway (Grand Trunk system) which crosses the state diagonally from S.E. to N .W., connecting Burlington, Montpelier and St Albans and affording connexion to the north with Montreal and to the south over trackage shared with the Boston & Maine, with the New London Northern which is leased by this road, and the Rutland railway (New York Central system) extending along the western edge of the state and connecting Rutland with Burlington to the north and with Bellows Falls and Bennington to the south. These railways provide outlets for through freight and passenger traffic southward to Boston and New York, and to the north to St Johns and Montreal. The southern part of the state was early opened to railways, the Sullivan County railway (operated by the Boston & Maine) having been opened in 1849; and in 185o the state had 290 M. of railway ; in 1870, 614 M.; in 1890, 991.42 M.; and on the Ist of January 1909, 1093.43 M. Water communication is afforded by Lake Champlain to the south, for seven months of the year, by way of the Champlain canal, via Whitehall, New York, to Troy and the Hudson river and the Atlantic coast, and to the north by way of the Richelieu river and the Chambly canal to the St Lawrence. The commerce of the lake consists principally of coal, wood pulp and building material, besides general merchandise. The only river with traffic of commercial importance is Otter Creek, flowing northwards into the southern part of Lake Champlain and having a navigable length of 8 m. to Vergennes, with a depth to this point of 8 ft. at low water. The commerce on Lake Champlain is carried on chiefly through Burlington, the port of entry for the Vermont customs district. The tonnage of the commerce of this port amounted, according to the reports of the United States army engineers, to 107,421 tons in 1904 and to 249,174 tons in 1908, of which in the latter year nearly 8o% was lumber. Population.The population of Vermont in 1890 was 332,422; in 1900, 343,641; and in 191o, 355,956.1 Of the total population in 1900, 298, 077 were native whites, 44,747 were foreign-born, 826 were negroes and 39 were Chinese. Of the inhabitants born in the United States, 19,974 were natives of New York, 9675 were natives of New Hampshire and 9111 were natives of Massachusetts. Of the foreign=born, 14,924 were French Canadians, ro,616 were English Canadians and 7453 were Irish. Of the total population, I17,344 were of foreign parentage (i.e. either one or both i According to previous censuses, the population was as follows: (1790) 85,425; (1800) 154,465; (181o) 217,895; (1820) 235,981; (1830) 280,652; (1840) 291,948; (1850) 314,120; (186o) 315,098; (1870) 330,551; (188o) 332,286. The increase between 185o and lone was remarkably small.parents were foreign-born) and 27,226 were of French Canadian and 20,228 of Irish parentage, both on the father's and on the mother's side. Of 147,223 communicants of all churches in 1906, the largest number, 82,272, were Roman Catholics, 22,109 were Congregationalists, 17,471 Methodist Episcopalians, 8450 Baptists, 1501 Free Baptists and 5278 Protestant Episcopalians. The principal cities are Burlington, Rutland, Barre, Montpelier (the capital) and St Albans. Administration.Vermont has been governed under the constitution of 1777, that of 1786 and that of 1793, with twenty-eight amendments, of which the first was adopted in 1828, the second to thirteenth in 1836, the fourteenth to twenty-third in 185o, the twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth in 187o, and the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth in 1883. The administrative officers of the state are a governor, a lieutenant-governor, a secretary of state, a state treasurer, and an auditor of accounts, elected by popular vote, and an inspector of finance, a commissioner of taxes, a superintendent of education, a fish and game commissioner, three railroad commissioners, and various boards and commissions, of whom some are elected by the General Assembly and some are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. All elections and appointments are biennial. The governor has limited powers of appointment and pardon and a veto power which may be over-ridden by a majority vote in each house. The legislative department consists of a senate of 30 members, apportioned among the counties according to population, but with the proviso that each county must have at least one senator, and a House of Representatives of 245 members, one from each township. Since 1870 elections and legislative sessions have been biennial. The powers of the two houses are equal except that revenue measures must originate in the House of Representatives. The judiciary is composed of a supreme court of seven members, a court of chancery, a county court in each county, a probate court in each probate district, and justices of the peace. The judges of the supreme court are elected biennially by the General Assembly, and all the other judicial officers are elected by the people. Sessions of the supreme court are held in each county once a year in addition to the general session which meets at some central place selected by the judges. The court of chancery is held by the judges of the supreme court, the county by a supreme court judge with the aid of two associates elected by the people of the county. For the administration of local affairs the state is divided into 14 counties and 245 townships. There is no special board of commissioners or supervisors as in most of the other states, the county authority being the assistant judges of the county court. The assistant judges, the sheriff and the state's attorney are elected annually by popular vote. The county treasurer is elected by the assistant judges. The more important township officials are a moderator, a board of selectmen, a clerk, a treasurer and a superintendent of schools. Any community containing thirty or more houses may, with the approval of the selectmen of the town, receive a separate village organization. Their officials are a clerk, five trustees, a collector of taxes and a treasurer. All citizens of the United States residing in Vermont are citizens of the state. The right of suffrage is confined by the constitution to adult male citizens who have resided in the state for one year. Women have the right to vote in all elections relating to schools and school officers in cities, towns and graded school districts, and also the right to be elected to any local school position or to the office of township clerk. The original method of revising the constitution was adopted from Pennsylvania (see History), and it was retained long after Pennsylvania had abandoned it. Thirteen censors chosen septennially were empowered to suggest amendments and to call a convention to pass upon them. The censors, being elected on a general ticket, were always more progressive than the convention, which was chosen on the principle of equal township representation. In spite of the repeated recommendations of the censors, the convention refused to abolish the collegiate executive and the unicameral legislative system until 1836. Propositions to establish the judiciary on a more permanent tenure were also voted down in 1814, 1822, 1857 and 187o, and the state still elects its judges for two years' terms. On its own suggestion, the council of censors was abolished in 187o and the present method of amending the constitution was adopted. Every tenth year, beginning in 188o, the Senate is authorized to propose amendments, which proposals, if concurred in by the majority of the members of the House of Representatives, are published in the principal newspapers of the state. If they are again approved by a majority of each house in the next General Assembly, they are submitted finally to a direct popular vote, a majority of the votes cast being decisive. Miscellaneous Laws.A married woman may hold her separate property, carry on business, sue and be sued the same as if she were single, except that in conveying or mortgaging her real estate she must be joined by her husband. A widow has a dower interest
Education.The public-school system is under the supervision of a state superintendent of education, elected biennially by the General Assembly, and local schools are under union superintendents and in a few cases under town superintendents. The district system was displaced in 1893 by a township system. The revenues for educational purposes are derived mainly from a state tax of 8% on the general list, from local taxes, and from the interest
Charitable and Penal Institutions.The charitable and penal institutions of the state are controlled by separate boards of directors, but all are subject to the general supervision of a board of visitors composed of the governor, lieutenant-governor and speaker of the House of Representatives, and a woman appointed by the governor. There are a state prison at Windsor (1808), a house of correction at Rutland (1878), an industrial school at Vergennes (1866), and hospitals for the insane at Brattleboro (1836) and Waterbury (1891). Biennial appropriations are made for the support of the deaf and dumb, the blind and imbecile children at various institutions in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Finance.The chief sources of revenue for the state are a corporation tax, a collateral inheritance tax (1904) and a licence tax. There is no general property tax except a special levy of 8 % on the general list for school purposes and 5 % for the construction of roads. For the year ending on the 3oth of June 1908 the total receipts were $1,822,390, the expenditures were $1,871,166. The state is practically free from debt, the only obligation of this character being $135,500 in 6% bonds, payable in 191o, which were issued in behalf of the Agricultural College. The banking institutions are supervised by an inspector of finance, who reports annually to the General Assembly. There were no banks in the state until 1806, when a state bank (controlled by the state) was established which was finally closed up in 1845, although as early as 1812 a law was passed to close it. The first private state bank was opened in 1817 ; an act of 1831 provided for a safety fund guaranteeing bank circulations and derived from a 41% tax on capital stock and a too tax on profits; but this law was modified in 1842, the tax being removed from banks giving specie guarantees; and a free banking act was passed in 1851. Owing to the high rate of taxation on deposits, a considerable part of the savings of the people is sent into other states.History.Samuel de Champlain, as governor of Quebec, entered what is now Vermont in July 16o9 in an expedition against the Iroquois, and thus laid the basis for the French claim. In 1665 the French built a fort on Isle la Motte. The first English settlement was probably made at Chimney Point, in Addison township, in 1690 by a party from Albany. The first permanent white settlement was established by Massachusetts at Fort Dummer (near the present Dummer, in the south-eastern part of the present town of Brattleboro) in 1724. Similar outposts were located during the next few years at Sartwell's Fort and Bridgman's Fort in the township of Vernon (Windham county) and at Fort Hill in the township of Putney (N. of Brattleboro, in Windham county). The territory in which these settlements had been made was involved in the boundary dispute between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, which was settled in 1741 by a decision of the king in council favourable to New Hampshire (q.v.). The extension of the southern boundary line by this decision due westward until it met His Majesty's other governments gave rise, however, to a controversy with New York. New Hampshire claimed that her territory extended as far to the west as those of Massachusetts and Connecticut, whereas New York, under the charter of 1664, claimed eastward to the Connecticut river. New York pro-tested against the Bennington grant in 1749, but the question did not become serious until the chief obstacle to settlement was removed by the conquest of Canada in 176o-61. From 1761 to 1763 Governor John Wentworth of New Hampshire issued ro8 grants, and settlements were established in Brattleboro, Putney, Westminster, Halifax, Marlborough, Wilmington, New Fane, Rockingham, Townshend, Vernon (Hinsdale) and Dummerston (all in Windham county, except Vernon, which is in Cheshire county). A privy council decree recognizing the claims of New York was issued on the loth of July 1764, and the settlers were soon afterwards ordered to surrender their patents and repurchase the land from the proper authorities at Albany. Under the leadership of Ethan Allen, Seth Warner and Remember Baker (1737-1775), they refused obedience and took up arms in defence of their rights. About the close of 1771 Colonel Allen organized a regular military force among the inhabitants of the district W. of the mountains, which came to be known as the Green Mountain Boys. The trouble was soon complicated by the conflict with the mother country. On the 13th of March 1775, a riot occurred at Westminster between the people of Cumberland county and the royal authorities, in which two of the people were killed. The Green Mountain Boys, with some help from Connecticut, captured Fort Ticonderoga on the loth of May 1775, and took part in the Canadian expedition of 1775 under Montgomery and Schuyler. Within the state itself battles were fought at Hubbardton on the 7th of July and Bennington on the 16th of August 1777. The representatives of the towns assembled in convention at Dorset and Westminster in 1776 (Jan. 16-17, July 24-25, September 25-28, October 30), and on the 15th of January 1777 adopted a declaration of independence, assumed the name New Connecticut and appointed Dr Jonas Fay (1737-1818), Thomas Chittenden (1730-1797), Hemon Allen (1740-1788), Dr Reuben Jones and Jacob Bayley a committee to submit their proceedings to the Continental Congress. The chief adviser of the committee in Philadelphia was Dr Thomas Young, a prominent physician, who had helped to draft the Pennsylvania constitution of 1776. Young advised them to call their state Vermont, and he also sent through them a circular letter, dated the 11th of April 1777, urging the people to adopt a state constitution on the Pennsylvania model. The advice was followed. A convention met at Windsor (July 2-8, 1777), and drafted a document which contained almost all of the important provisions of the constitution of Pennsylvania, such as a unicameral legislature, a plural executive and a council of censors, which was not abolished until 1870. One important variation, however, was a clause in the bill of rights providing for the abolition of slavery, Vermont being the first state in America to take such action. The first legislature of the state met at Windsor in March 1778, and voted to admit sixteen towns east of the Connecticut river which were dissatisfied with the rule of New Hampshire. As a result, New York and New Hampshire formed a secret agreement to divide the state between them-selves, the mountains to be the line of division. In this crisis the British government through General Sir Frederick Haldimand offered to recognize Vermont as a separate province and to give her very liberal terms provided she would desert the other states. IO29 1884-1886 i886-1888 1888-1890 1890-1892 1892-1894 1894-1896 1896-1898 . 1898-1900 1900-1902 1902-1904 1904-1906 19061908 19081910 1910 Ethan Allen (q.v.) and some of the other leaders seemed inclined to accept these overtures, but for various reasons, the chief of which was the general success of the American cause, the scheme was soon abandoned. The difficulties with New Hampshire were adjusted in 1782, the west bank of the Connecticut being accepted as the final boundary, but New York refused to abandon her claims until 1790. In the meantime, Vermont continued as an independent state without any recognition from Congress until its admission into the Union on the 4th of March 1791. The legislature wandered about from town to town until r8o8, when the capital was permanently located at Montpelier. In presidential campaigns the state has been Federalist, 1792-1800; Democratic-Republican, 1804-1820; Adams-Republican, 1824-1828; Anti-Masonic, 1832; Whig, 1836-1852; and Republican since 1856. During the War of 1812 Vermont troops took part in the battles of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, Lake Erie and Plattsburgh; but the only engagement in the state itself was the defence of Fort Cassin (at the mouth of Otter Creek in the N.W. corner of the present Addison county) in 1813. On the 19th of October 1864 a small band of Confederate soldiers under Lieutenant B. H. Young crossed the frontier from Canada and raided the town of St Albans. A few of the inhabitants were wounded and one was killed and about $200,000 was taken from the vaults, of the local banks. St Albans was also the headquarters of an attempted Fenian invasion of Canada in 187o. Since 1815 a considerable proportion of the native stock has migrated to the W., but the loss has been partially offset by an influx of French Canadians. The wool-growing industry has been almost entirely destroyed by the competition of Australia and the West, and the people are now engaged mainly in dairy-farming, timbering, granite- and marble-quarrying, and in keeping summer boarders.GOVERNORS Thomas Chittenden . . 17781789 Moses Robinson . 17891790 Thomas Chittenden,l Federalist . 17901797 Paul Brigham, acting-governor, Federalist 1797 Isaac Tichenor, Federalist . 1797180'7 Israel Smith, Democratic-Republican . 18071808Isaac Tichenor, Federalist . 18o818o9 Jonas Galusha, Democratic-Republican . . 18o91813 Martin Chittenden, Federalist . 18131815 Jonas Galusha, Democratic-Republican . . 1815-1820 Richard Skinner, . 182o1823 Cornelius P. Van Ness, . 18231826 Ezra Butler, Adams-Clay . 1826-1828 Samuel C. Crafts, Adams-Clay. . 1828-1831 William A. Palmer, Anti-Masonic Fusion. . 18311835 Silas H. Jennison,' acting-governor, Whig . 18351836 Silas H. Jennison, Whig i8361841 Charles Paine, . 18411843 John Mattocks, . 1843-1844 William Slade, . 1844-1846 Horace Eaton, . 18461848 Carlos Coolidge, . 1848185o Charles K. Williams, . 18501852 Erastus Fairbanks, . ,8521853 John S. Robinson, , 185311854 Stephen Royce, Republican . 18541856 Ryland Fletcher, . 1856-1858 Hiland Hall
Erastus Fairbanks, r86o1861 Frederick Holbrook, . 18611863 J. Gregory Smith, . 1863-1865 Paul Dillingham, . 1865-1867 John B. Page, . 18671869 Peter T. Washburn,' Republican 18691870 George W. Hendee, acting-governor, Republican 187o John W. Stewart, Republican 18701872 Julius Convers, 18721874 Asahel Peck, 1874-1876 Horace Fairbanks, 18761878 Redfield Proctor, 1878188o Roswell Farnham
John L. Barstow, 18821884 Died in office on the 25th of August 1797; succeeded by the lieutenant-governor. 2 As there was no governor elected by the people, Jennison as lieutenant-governor elect acted as governor. ' Died in office on the 7th of February 187o: succeeded by the lieutenant-governor. Samuel . Pilrsree, Republican Ebenezer J. Ormsbee, William P. Dillingham, Carroll S. Page, Levi K. Fuller, Urban A. Woodbury, Josiah Grout, Edward C. Smith, William W. Stickney, John G. McCullough, Charles J. Bell, Fletcher D. Proctor, George H. Prouty, John A. Mead, For the government of the state see The Revised Laws of Vermont (Rutland, 1881); the Vermont Legislative Directory, published biennially at Montpelier; the biennial reports of the secretary of state, the auditor, the treasurer, the commissioner of state taxes, the superintendent of education, the supervisors of the insane, &c., and the annual reports of the inspector of finance. See also L. H. Meader, The Council of Censors (Providence, 1899) ; F. A. Wood, The History of Taxation in Vermont (New York, 1894), and G. G. Bush, History of Education in Vermont (Washington, 1900). For a general bibliography of Vermont history see M. D. Gilman, Bibliography of Vermont (Burlington, 1897). The standard authorities for the period before 1791 are: Ira Allen, Natural and Political History of the State of Vermont (London, 1898) ; B. H. Hall
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