New England

Lore & Background

New England comprises six states in the northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bounded by New York to the west, the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the north and northeast, and the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Maine, and Long Island Sound to the east, southeast, and southwest. Boston is the region’s largest city and the capital of Massachusetts; the broader Boston–Worcester–Providence combined statistical area contains over half of New England’s population, including Worcester (the second-largest city), Manchester (New Hampshire’s largest), and Providence (Rhode Island’s capital and largest city). The physical geography varies from a narrow coastal plain in the southeast to rolling hills and worn-down Appalachian peaks in the west and north. The Atlantic fall line lies near the coast, allowing many cities to harness water power from rivers like the Connecticut River, which runs north to south through the region. Each state is divided into small towns, many governed by town meetings; unincorporated areas exist only in parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. New England is one of the U.S. Census Bureau’s nine regional divisions, the only multi-state region with clear, consistent boundaries, and maintains a strong cultural identity blending Puritanism with liberalism, agrarian life with industry, and isolation with immigration.

Reader's Guide

The region later led the movement to abolish slavery and was the first area of the United States transformed by the Industrial Revolution, which initially centered on the Blackstone and Merrimack river valleys. Its physical geography is diverse: a narrow coastal plain covers southeastern New England, while the western and northern areas feature the rolling hills and worn-down peaks of the northern Appalachian Mountains. The Atlantic fall line lies close to the coast, allowing numerous cities to harness water power from rivers like the Connecticut River, which bisects the region from north to south. Each state is generally subdivided into small municipalities known as towns, many governed by town meetings; unincorporated areas exist only in parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. New England is one of the U.S. Census Bureau’s nine regional divisions and the only multi-state region with clear, consistent boundaries. It maintains a strong cultural identity, often contrasted between Puritanism and liberalism, agrarian life and industry, isolation and immigration. The region’s history includes the Pilgrims establishing Plymouth Colony in 1620, followed by Puritans founding Massachusetts Bay Colony a decade later. Over 126 years, English colonists and their Iroquois allies fought four French and Indian Wars against the French and their Algonquian allies. In the late 18th century, political leaders initiated resistance to British taxes, leading to the first battles of the American Revolutionary War in 1775 and the expulsion of British authorities in spring 1776.

Did You Know?

• Pre-contact Native American groups spoke Eastern Algonquian languages, including the Abenakis, Mi'kmaq, Penobscot, Pequots, Mohegans, Narragansetts, Nipmucs, Pocumtucks, and Wampanoags.