New Hampshire is a state in the
New England region of the
northeastern United States. It is the
fifth smallest by area and the
tenth least populous of the fifty states. The state has no general sales tax, nor is personal income (other than interest and dividends) taxed at either the state or local level. It was the ninth state to ratify the
Constitution, on June 21, 1788.
Concord is the state capital and
Manchester is the largest city. The state was named after the English county of
Hampshire by Captain
John Mason. Historically, New Hampshire was a major center for textile manufacturing, shoemaking and papermaking. Numerous mills were located along rivers, especially the
Merrimack and the
Connecticut. The
New Hampshire primary is the first
primary in the
United States presidential election cycle.
This picture is a historical depiction of New Hampshire's coat of arms, as illustrated by American engraver Henry Mitchell in State Arms of the Union, published in 1876 by Louis Prang. The shield shows the frigate USS Raleigh, one of the first thirteen warships ordered by the Continental Congress for the Continental Navy, built in 1776 at Portsmouth. The ship is depicted on stocks, with a rising sun in the background, reflecting Portsmouth and the state having become a major shipbuilding center during the American Revolutionary War, while the yellow-colored spit of land is granite, representing both the state's rugged landscape and the sturdy character of its people. This design also appears in the seal of New Hampshire.Illustration credit: Henry Mitchell; restored by Andrew Shiva
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