HISTORY
New York was settled by the Dutch, who named their discovery New Amsterdam, in
1613. The Dutch claimed this new land mass as their own, quickly displacing the
people native to the area. The English seized the colony in 1664, renaming it
New York, after the Duke of York, the future King James II. On November 1, 1683,
the government was reorganized. The colony, then called the Province of New York
was divided into twelve counties, each of which was subdivided into towns. The
territory of New York extended much farther than present-day New York State,
having no official western boundary other than the Pacific Ocean. Two of New
York's eastern coastal counties, Cornwall and Dukes, later became parts of
Massachusetts and Maine. Counties were also ceded to Vermont before Vermont
entered the Union in 1791. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies
that became the United States. It was the 11th state to ratify the United States
Constitution, on July 26, 1788.At the center of great events and controversies
from the very beginning of our nation's history, the Colony of New York became a
state on April 20, 1777. New York adopted its first constitution 12 years before
the Federal Constitution was adopted. New York City was the first capital of the
United States and was the site of the inauguration of George Washington as
President on April 30, 1789. A third of the battles fought in the American
Revolution were in New York.
DEMOGRAPHICS New York is the third largest state in the union in
population with 19,227,088 people according to the U.S. Census. is a decrease of
26,097, or 0.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 277,809, or 1.5%, since
the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 527,876
people (that is 1,345,482 births minus 817,606 deaths) and a decrease due to net
migration of 334,093 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the
United States resulted in a net increase of 667,007 people, and migration within
the country produced a net loss of 1,001,100 people. The population growth is
sluggish due primarily to the continued migration to the Southern and Western
States, a fewer number of immigrants, the continued loss of jobs, and the fact
that New York is a very expensive place to live. New York still to this day is
only 30% developed with the rest of the state covered in Forests and Farms.
Current projections have Florida replacing New York as the 3rd most populous
state by 2010.
The 2000 Census revealed which ancestries were in which counties.
Italian-Americans make up the largest ancestral group in Staten Island and Long
Island, followed by Irish-Americans. Manhattan's leading ancestry group is
Irish-Americans, followed by Italian-Americans. Albany and southeast-central New
York is heavily Irish-American. In Buffalo and western New York,
German-Americans are the largest group; in the northern tip of the state,
French-Canadians.
GEOGRAPHY
Located in the northeastern portion of the United States it is usually
distinguished in print and in speech as New York State as apposed to just New
York. This is most often done to distinguish it from New York City, the states
most populous city. The state Capitol is in Albany and Its major cities and
towns include: New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse, Albany,
Niagara Falls, White Plains, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon, Schenectady, Utica,
Binghamton, Ithaca and Troy. Due to the dissemination of the two major
population centers in the state, people often refer to Upstate and Downstate New
York, as they are as different as two different states. New York is also the
site of the only extra-territorial enclave within the boundaries of the USA, the
United Nations compound on Manhattan's East River.
New York State's borders touch two Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario) one former
Great Lake (Lake Champlain), the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada,
three New England states (Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), the Atlantic
Ocean, and two Mid-Atlantic states (New Jersey and Pennsylvania). In addition,
Rhode Island shares a water border with New York State.
While best known for New York City's urban atmosphere, especially Manhattan's
skyscrapers, by contrast the rest of the state is dominated by farms, forests,
rivers, mountains, and lakes. Few people know that New York's Adirondack State
Park is larger than any National Park in the U.S. outside of Alaska.
ECONOMY New York City dominates the economy of the state. It is the leading center
of banking, finance and communication in the United States and is the location
of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street, Manhattan. The Bureau of
Economic Analysis estimates that in 2004, the total gross state product was $900
billion, second only to the state of California. Its 2004 Per Capita Personal
Income was $38,333, placing it 5th in the nation, and 6th in the World. New
York's agricultural outputs are dairy products, cattle and other livestock,
vegetables, nursery stock, and apples. Its industrial outputs are printing and
publishing, scientific instruments, electric equipment, machinery, chemical
products, and tourism. Many of the world's largest corporations locate their
headquarters home offices in Manhattan or in nearby Westchester County, New
York. The state also has a large manufacturing sector which includes printing,
garments, furs, railroad rolling stock, and bus style vehicles.
AGRICULTURE New York State is an agricultural leader, ranking
within the top five states for a number of products including dairy, apples,
cherries, cabbage, potatoes, onions, maple syrup and many other products. The
state is the largest producer of cabbage in the United States. The state has
about a quarter of its land in farms and produced 3.4 billion dollars in
agricultural products in 2001. New York State is the nation's second-largest
wine-producing state, behind California. The state surpassed Washington as the
2nd largest producer in 2004.
New York was heavily glaciated in the ice age leaving much of the state with
deep, fertile, though somewhat rocky soils. Row crops, including hay, corn,
wheat, oats, barley, and soybeans, are grown. Particularly in the western part
of the state, sweet corn, peas, carrots, squash, cucumbers and other vegetables
are grown. The Hudson and Mohawk valleys are known for pumpkins and blueberries.
The glaciers also left numerous swampy areas, which have been drained for the
rich humus soils called muck land which is mostly used for onions, potatoes,
celery and other vegetables. Dairy farms are present throughout much of the
state. Cheese is a major product, often produced by Amish or Mennonite farmers.
TRANSPORTATION New York boasts extensive transportation infrastructure. Engineering
difficulties due to the terrain of the state, and the unique issues of the city
brought on by urban crowding, have had to be overcome since the state was young.
Population expansion of the state generally followed the path of the early
waterways - first the Hudson River and then later the Erie Canal. Today,
railroad lines and the New York State Thruway follow the same general route.
Besides New York City, many of the other cities have urban and regional public
transportation. Syracuse is the smallest city in the United States to have a
commuter rail line, known as OnTrack. Buffalo also has a small subway system.
New York City is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, allowing
it to facilitate one of the most extensive subway and bus systems in the world.
It is also famous for many of its bridges and tunnels. New York City offers
visitors a bounty of famous streets and avenues. Many commuter railroad lines
enter and leave New York City, including the Long Island Rail Road, MTA
Metro-North, the PATH system and many of NJTransit's rail services.
EDUCATION The New York State Board of Regents, the University of the State of New York
and the State Education Department control all public primary and secondary
education in the state. Besides the many private colleges and universities in
the state, New York, like many other states, operates its own system of
institutions of higher learning known as the State University of New York (SUNY).
New York City operates the City University of New York (CUNY) in conjunction
with the state.
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