50 Years of 50 States: Vermont

Nickname: The Green Mountain State
Date Ratified: March 4, 1791 (14th)
Capital: Montpelier

Map of Vermont

• Vermont was the 1st state outside of the original 13 colonies to be admitted to the Union.
• Vermont is one of only 4 states to have existed as a sovereign nation prior to admittance. The Vermont Republic existed between 1777 and 1791, and performed all of the functions of a sovereign nation, including issuing currency and running a postal service. The Vermont Republic even appointed ambassadors to France, the Netherlands, and the fledgling United States.
• The Vermont Republic also has the distinction of writing the first constitution in the New World which would outlaw slavery and allow universal male suffrage regardless of property ownership.
• Montpelier is currently the smallest capital city in the U.S. with a population of only 8000 people.
• Vermont voted overwhelmingly for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, with 76% of Vermonters voting for him. The next closest state was Minnesota, where Lincoln only garned 63% of the vote.
• In 2009, Vermont became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage without being forced to do so by a court.
• The current state flag of Vermont was adopted in 1923:

Flag of Vermont

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