New Hampshire is one of the New England States of the United States. It is noted for its natural beauty and year-round outdoor activities. In summer, for example, vacationers flock to the state’s rugged mountains, blue lakes, sandy beaches, and quiet villages. In the fall, visitors tour the countryside ablaze with red, orange, and yellow leaves. In winter, skiers race down snow-covered slopes. The scenic beauty and other attractions bring millions of tourists from many parts of the world.
New Hampshire’s large granite deposits give it the nickname The Granite State. Concord is the capital of New Hampshire, and Manchester is the largest city.
New Hampshire was first settled in 1623. Early settlers traded in fish, lumber, and furs. They soon carved farms out of a wilderness and worked the land for food. Later, the people turned their skills and their state’s resources to industrial development. They cut down trees for the giant lumber and papermaking industries. They took minerals from the mountains and hills to start a mining industry. They used the rivers and lakes as sources of power for mills and factories. And they built ships along the state’s short Atlantic coastline. In all, the people of New Hampshire changed a wilderness into a farming society and then into a thriving industrial state.
Today, service industries play a major role in New Hampshire’s economy. Such activities as education, health care, real estate, retail trade, and tourism are important sources of income. The state’s low taxes have attracted many new businesses and residents.
New Hampshire and its people have played important roles in United States history. On Jan. 5, 1776, New Hampshire became the first of the 13 original colonies to adopt its own constitution. On June 21, 1788, it became the ninth state to ratify the United States Constitution. This act of ratification put the Constitution into effect. New Hampshire has traditionally held one of the nation’s earliest presidential primary elections.
The U.S. Navy’s first shipbuilding yard opened at Portsmouth in 1800. One of the country’s first tax-supported public libraries was established at Peterborough in 1833. In 1853, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire became the 14th president of the United States. Daniel Webster, a leading statesman and orator of the 1800’s, was born in New Hampshire. So was Alan B. Shepard, Jr., who, in 1961, became the first American astronaut to travel in space. Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire schoolteacher, was chosen to be the first “ordinary citizen” in space. In 1986, McAuliffe was among the seven crew members killed when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after take-off.
People
Population.
The 2020 United States census reported that New Hampshire had 1,377,529 people. The state’s population had increased about 41/2 percent over the 2010 census figure of 1,316,470. According to the 2020 census, New Hampshire ranks 41st in population among the 50 states.
About two-thirds of the state’s people live in metropolitan areas. New Hampshire has two metropolitan areas. These areas are Boston (Massachusetts)-Cambridge (Massachusetts)-Newton (Massachusetts) and Manchester-Nashua (see Metropolitan area). Manchester is the state’s largest city.
In addition to Manchester, New Hampshire has 12 other incorporated cities. These cities, in order of size, are: Nashua, Concord (the capital), Dover, Rochester, Keene, Portsmouth, Laconia, Lebanon, Claremont, Somersworth, Berlin, and Franklin.
Many of New Hampshire’s people are descendants of settlers who came from Canada and many European countries. The early settlers of New Hampshire came chiefly from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. After the American Civil War, thousands of French Canadians and European immigrants came to New Hampshire to work in the state’s mills, shops, and factories. Today, New Hampshire’s largest population groups include people of English, French, French-Canadian, German, Irish, and Italian descent. African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanic Americans together account for about 9 percent of New Hampshire’s population.
The people of New Hampshire, like other New Englanders, have long been called Yankees. This nickname calls to mind traits that are traditionally associated with the people of New England. These traits include business ability, thrift, conservatism, and inventiveness. See Yankee.
Schools.
The New Hampshire educational system dates from colonial days, when children of the settlers attended one-room schoolhouses. Some early schoolhouses still stand. Today’s public schools operate under laws passed in 1789 and substantially revised in 1919. A seven-member State Board of Education and a commissioner of education administer state laws and regulations. The governor and the executive council appoint the board of education members. The executive council approves the commissioner. School districts are governed by local school boards. Children from ages 6 to 18 must attend school in New Hampshire. For the number of students and teachers, see Education (table: U.S. students, teachers, and school expenditures).
Dartmouth, New Hampshire’s oldest college, ranks among the 10 oldest U.S. universities and colleges. It was chartered in 1769.
Libraries.
In 1833, Peterborough founded a free, tax-supported public library. Many historians believe that this was the first library of its kind in the United States. However, other historians claim that a library founded in Salisbury, Connecticut, was the first of this kind in the nation.
Today, almost every New Hampshire town has at least one public library. Large New Hampshire libraries include the State Library in Concord, the Manchester City Library, and the Nashua Public Library
Museums.
The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester has a fine collection of American and European art. Its collection includes the Zimmerman House, the only residence in New England designed by the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Canterbury Shaker Village is a restored religious community near Concord. Strawbery Banke, in Portsmouth, is a historic seaside community operated as a museum.
Visitor’s guide
Visitors to New Hampshire enjoy a great variety of recreational activities in seven major vacation areas: the Great North Woods region, the White Mountains region, the Lakes region, the Seacoast region, the Merrimack Valley region, the Monadnock region, and the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee region. Visitors to the Great North Woods enjoy fishing, hunting, boating, and snowmobiling. The White Mountains, also in the north, attract skiers, hikers, campers, and sightseers. The Lakes region of central New Hampshire provides fun for water-sports enthusiasts. The Seacoast region of the southeast has several beaches along the Atlantic Coast. Also in the south is the Merrimack Valley, where most of New Hampshire’s chief cities are located. The Monadnock region, in the southwest, includes many natural beauty spots and some of the state’s most interesting towns and villages. Many historic sites and educational institutions are in the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee region in the west.
Shopping is a popular activity among visitors to the state. New Hampshire has no general sales tax.
Many of New Hampshire’s most popular annual events are sports contests. One of the state’s best-known annual events is the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair at Mount Sunapee Resort.
Land and climate
Land regions.
New Hampshire has three main land regions. They are (1) the Coastal Lowlands, (2) the Eastern New England Upland, and (3) the White Mountains Region.
The Coastal Lowlands
covers the extreme southeastern corner of the state. It is part of a larger land region of the same name that covers the entire New England coast. In New Hampshire, the region extends from 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometers) inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Along the coast, beaches provide popular recreational areas. Rivers winding through the Coastal Lowlands have long supplied water power for the region’s industrial development. Great Bay is part of the Coastal Lowlands. Thousands of ducks and geese stop at the bay during their annual migrations.
The Eastern New England Upland
covers most of southern New Hampshire. The entire Eastern New England Upland stretches from northern Maine to eastern Connecticut. In New Hampshire, the region consists of three areas: (1) the Merrimack Valley, (2) the Hills and Lakes region, and (3) the New Hampshire part of the Connecticut River Valley.
The Merrimack Valley extends northward from the Massachusetts border to central New Hampshire. It is named for the Merrimack River, which winds through the hilly, uneven valley. Large crops of hay and fruits grow in the rich soil between the hills. Many of the state’s chief mill and factory towns are in the valley.
The Hills and Lakes region surrounds the Merrimack Valley on the east, north, and west. It extends in a broad half-circle from Maine almost to the Vermont border. Most of New Hampshire’s large lakes nestle among forested hills in the region.
The Connecticut River Valley stretches in a long narrow strip down New Hampshire’s western border. The Connecticut River flows through the area for 211 miles (340 kilometers). Rich farmland lies in the lowlands. Hardwood forests cover the hills. Hydroelectric plants supply power for public utilities. Their dams form long lakes in the valley.
The White Mountains Region
lies north of the Eastern New England Upland. It has rugged mountains separated by narrow river valleys. Spruce, fir, and yellow birch provide wood for New Hampshire’s paper mills and other wood products industries. The White Mountains attract summer and winter tourists.
An area of forest-covered hills in Coos County forms the northernmost part of the region. Lumbering and paper manufacturing are this area’s chief industries. Dairy and potato farms thrive in the west. See White Mountains.
Coastline.
New Hampshire has a coast along the Atlantic of 18 miles (29 kilometers). This is the shortest coastline of any state bordering an ocean. Hampton, Rye, and other beaches lie along the shore. A group of islands called the Isles of Shoals lies 9 miles (14 kilometers) offshore. Four—Lunging, Seavey, Star, and White—belong to New Hampshire. The others are part of Maine.
Mountains.
The Presidential Range of the White Mountains has the highest peaks in New England. Mount Washington is the highest mountain in this 86-peak range and reaches 6,288 feet (1,917 meters) (see Mount Washington). Several other peaks in the Presidential Range are more than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) high. These include Mount Adams, 5,798 feet (1,767 meters); Mount Jefferson, 5,715 feet (1,742 meters); Mount Clay, 5,532 feet (1,686 meters); Mount Monroe, 5,385 feet (1,641 meters); and Mount Madison, 5,363 feet (1,635 meters). The Franconia Range, also in the White Mountains, includes Cannon Mountain, once the site of a beloved New Hampshire landmark. A rock formation near the mountaintop resembled a man’s profile. The formation was called the Old Man of the Mountain (or Great Stone Face). But the rocks fell away in 2003.
New Hampshire’s mountains include five monadnocks. A monadnock is made up of rock that did not wear down when all the land around it was leveled by erosion. The monadnocks and their heights are Mount Moosilauke, 4,810 feet (1,466 meters); Mount Monadnock, 3,165 feet (965 meters); Mount Cardigan, 3,121 feet (951 meters); Mount Kearsarge, 2,937 feet (895 meters); and Sunapee Mountain, 2,743 feet (836 meters).
Rivers and lakes.
New Hampshire’s chief rivers rise in the mountainous north. The Connecticut River begins near the Canadian border and flows generally southward. It separates New Hampshire and Vermont. After leaving New Hampshire, the 407-mile (655-kilometer) river cuts across Massachusetts and Connecticut and empties into Long Island Sound (see Connecticut River). The Pemigewasset River flows south from Franconia Notch. The Merrimack River is formed where the Pemigewasset meets the Winnipesaukee River at Franklin. The Merrimack flows south into Massachusetts and then empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The Androscoggin and Saco rivers flow through northeastern New Hampshire, and then cross into Maine. The Piscataqua and Salmon Falls rivers, in the southeast, form part of the New Hampshire-Maine border and empty into Portsmouth Harbor.
About 1,300 lakes lie scattered throughout the state’s hills and mountains. The largest, Lake Winnipesaukee, is about 70 square miles (180 square kilometers) and has many islands. Other lakes include Ossipee, Squam, Sunapee, Umbagog (partly in Maine), and Winnisquam.
Plant and animal life.
Forests cover about 85 percent of New Hampshire. Valuable trees include ashes, basswoods, beeches, birches, cedars, elms, firs, hemlocks, maples, oaks, pines, spruces, and tamaracks. Shrubs and flowering plants thrive in the state’s forests. Shrubs include American elders, blueberries, mountain laurel, and sumacs. Wildflowers, which grow throughout the state, include black-eyed Susans, daisies, fireweed, gentians, goldenrod, purple trillium, violets, and wild asters.
Beavers, chipmunks, deer, foxes, mink, rabbits, raccoons, and squirrels are common throughout New Hampshire. Black bears and moose live in the northern forests. Game birds include ducks, geese, pheasants, ruffed grouse, and woodcocks. Among the many birds that nest in the state are bluebirds, purple finches, robins, sparrows, and warblers.
New Hampshire’s freshwater fish include brook, brown, lake, and rainbow trout; largemouth and small-mouth bass; and landlocked salmon, pickerel, perch, whitefish, and bullheads. Saltwater fish include bluefish, cunner, cusk, flounder, haddock, hake, mackerel, pollock, striped bass, and tuna. The state’s coastal waters have clams, lobsters, oysters, and shrimp.
Climate.
New Hampshire has cool summers with low humidity. In winter, heavy snow falls in much of the state. January temperatures average about 13 °F (–11 °C) in the north and about 22 °F (-6 °C) in the south. The state’s lowest temperature, –50 °F (–46 °C), was recorded at Mount Washington on Jan. 22, 1885. July temperatures average about 66 °F (19 °C) in the north and 71 °F (22 °C) in the south. The state’s highest temperature, 106 °F (41 °C), was recorded at Nashua on July 4, 1911. 
New Hampshire gets about 43 inches (109 centimeters) of precipitation a year. The state’s average yearly snowfall ranges from about 50 inches (130 centimeters) near the Atlantic Ocean to over 100 inches (250 centimeters) in the north and west.
Economy
Service industries provide the largest portion of New Hampshire’s gross domestic product—the total value of goods and services produced in the state in a year. Manufacturing also ranks high among the economic activities. New Hampshire’s beautiful seacoast, lakes, mountains, and unspoiled wilderness attract many visitors.
New Hampshire’s low tax rates have attracted many new businesses and residents. The state has no general sales or income taxes. Residents pay a personal income tax only on dividend or interest income, not on ordinary income. Thousands of people who work in Massachusetts live in New Hampshire to take advantage of the low taxes.
Natural resources.
New Hampshire’s climate and soils support dense forests. Minerals are found in many areas of the state, but the mining output is small.
Soil.
Rock and a thin layer of soil cover most of New Hampshire’s hills and mountains. The soil in New Hampshire’s valleys is chiefly clay and loam, and coarse gravel and sand. The clay and loam support farm crops. The gravel and sand supply low-cost roadbuilding material.
Forests.
Forests cover about 80 percent of New Hampshire. Commercially valuable softwood trees include balsam firs, cedars, hemlocks, spruces, tamaracks, and white pines. Valuable hardwoods include ashes, basswoods, beeches, birches, maples, and oaks.
Minerals.
New Hampshire’s chief mineral resources include its deposits of granite, sand and gravel, and traprock. Large quantities of gray, pink, and other kinds of granite give New Hampshire the nickname of the Granite State.
Service industries
account for the majority of the state’s employment and gross domestic product. These industries operate in towns and cities throughout the state, especially in southern New Hampshire.
Concord, the state capital, is the center of government activities. Manchester is the major insurance and banking center. Many hotels, restaurants, and retail trade establishments are also in the Manchester area. The White Mountains and the lake and coastal areas of New Hampshire have many resorts. The Portsmouth area is the home of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. 
Manufacturing.
Computer and electronic products are among the state’s leading products. Electronics, such as microchips and networking equipment, are made in the Manchester area. Plants in Nashua make military communication systems.
Fabricated metal products, including ball bearings and machine shop products, are made in the Manchester area. Southern New Hampshire produces printing and metalworking machinery, equipment for making lenses and other optical instruments, and other machinery products. New Hampshire also produces chocolates, concrete products, glass products, lighting equipment, and medical equipment.
Agriculture.
Farmland covers less than 10 percent of New Hampshire. Greenhouse and nursery products are one of the state’s leading sources of farm income. Hay is New Hampshire’s leading field crop, apples are the leading fruit crop, and sweet corn is the leading vegetable. Maple syrup is also a major farm product.
Dairy farming is New Hampshire’s most important livestock activity. Dairy farms operate throughout the state, but they are especially numerous in the west along the Connecticut River. Other livestock products in New Hampshire include beef cattle, eggs, and hogs.
Mining.
Sand and gravel are the state’s chief mineral products. They are found in all of the state’s counties, but production is heaviest in the south-central part of the state.
Granite is also important. Several parts of the state have granite quarries. The Concord quarries, in Merrimack County, have supplied granite for many famous buildings in the United States.
Electric power and utilities.
The Seabrook Nuclear Power plant supplies about 50 percent of the state’s power needs. Plants that burn coal or natural gas and plants that use renewable energy provide most of the rest of the state’s electric power. Hydroelectric plants operate on the Connecticut and Merrimack rivers.
Transportation.
New Hampshire’s first railroad began operating in 1838. Many rail lines provide freight service in the state today. Amtrak passenger trains serve a number of the state’s cities and towns. New Hampshire’s largest airport is in Manchester.
The state has an extensive system of roads and highways. The New Hampshire Turnpike parallels the seacoast. The Spaulding Turnpike extends the seacoast turnpike from Portsmouth to the Union area. The Everett Turnpike links Concord and Massachusetts. Interstate 89 connects Concord to Vermont.
Communication.
New Hampshire’s first newspaper, the New Hampshire Gazette, began publication in 1756 at Portsmouth. Today, the state’s leading newspapers include the Concord Monitor, Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover, The Keene Sentinel, the New Hampshire Union Leader of Manchester, the Portsmouth Herald, and The Telegraph of Nashua.
Government
Constitution
of New Hampshire took effect in 1784. It replaced a temporary constitution that had been adopted in 1776. Constitutional amendments may be proposed by a three-fifths vote of each house of the New Hampshire state legislature, or by a constitutional convention. To become law, a proposed constitutional amendment needs the approval of two-thirds of the people voting on the issue in an election. A majority of the members of both houses of the New Hampshire legislature may propose a constitutional convention. The proposal must be approved by two-thirds of the citizens voting on it. If no constitutional amendment is proposed, the question of holding a convention must be voted on by New Hampshire residents every 10 years.
Executive.
The governor of New Hampshire holds office for a two-year term. A governor may be reelected any number of times.
The executive branch of the New Hampshire government is somewhat unusual. The state has no lieutenant governor. However, it does have an Executive Council, which is made up of five members. Members of the Executive Council are elected by the people to two-year terms. Most major executive officials appointed by the governor must be approved by the Executive Council. These officials include the attorney general and the heads of many departments and commissions. The New Hampshire legislature elects the secretary of state and state treasurer to two-year terms.
Legislature
is called the General Court. By law, it consists of a 24-member Senate and a 400-member House of Representatives. The U.S. House of Representatives is the only legislative body in the country with more members than the New Hampshire House. New Hampshire’s House districts are drawn so that each of the 400 representatives represents a roughly equal number of state residents. A legislator may represent one town or ward (city division) or be elected at-large as one of several legislators representing a number of towns or wards. House districts must not split town or ward boundaries. Representatives serve two-year terms. Voters in each of the 24 senatorial districts elect one senator to a two-year term. The senatorial districts are also based on population. 
Legislative sessions begin the Wednesday after the first Tuesday of January. The governor or the General Court can call special sessions of the legislature.
Courts.
The Supreme Court of New Hampshire has a chief justice and four associate justices. It is the state’s only appellate court. The next lower court, the Superior Court, operates in 11 sites in the state—two in Hillsborough County and one in each other county. It is the only New Hampshire court that allows for trials by jury. A probate judge presides over each of the 10 probate courts, one in each county. The state also has municipal and district courts. The governor, with approval of the Executive Council, appoints all state and local judges. Judges may serve until they are 70 years old.
Local government
in New Hampshire operates as one of the purest forms of democracy in the world. The state’s 222 towns are nicknamed “little republics.” They are so named because they have almost complete self-government. Each year, the voters assemble for a town meeting at which they can participate directly in governmental decisions. Voters elect town officials, approve budgets, and make decisions on other local business. The chief administrative officials at the town level are the selectmen. Most of the towns have three selectmen. Selectmen serve three-year terms. A few towns have abandoned or modified the traditional form of government by giving greater power to an elected council and, in some cases, to an appointed executive.
New Hampshire’s 13 incorporated cities use either the mayor-council or city-manager form of government. The cities have home rule. That is, they are free to write and amend their own charters. Each of the state’s 10 counties also has its own government. County officials include the sheriff, attorney, treasurer, register of deeds, register of probate, and county commissioners. These officials are elected to two-year terms.
Revenue.
Taxes account for about one-third of the state government’s general revenue (income). Much of the rest comes from federal government grants and programs. Charges for government services are another important source of income. The state collects no general sales tax. Residents pay personal income tax only on dividend and interest income, not on ordinary income. Taxes on corporate income, motor fuels, and tobacco sales are important sources of tax revenue. A lottery helps finance public schools. But the state’s contribution to schools is low, and towns and cities rely heavily on local property taxes to fund public schools.
Politics.
New Hampshire became a Republican state shortly before the American Civil War (1861-1865). Previously, the state had usually voted Democratic. But most of New Hampshire’s people opposed slavery and joined the antislavery Republicans. From 1856 to the late 1900’s, Republicans dominated elections for state and local offices. New Hampshire also reliably voted Republican in presidential elections during this time. However, Democrats have made major electoral gains in the state since the 1990’s.
History
Early days.
About 5,000 Indigenous (native) Americans probably lived in what is now New Hampshire before the Europeans came. Most belonged to two branches of the Algonquian family—the Abenaki and the Pennacook. The Abenaki branch included the Ossipee and the Pequawket tribes. The Pennacook included the Amoskeag, Nashua, Piscataqua, Souhegan, and Squamscot tribes. New Hampshire peoples built wigwams of bark and skins. They hunted and fished, and farmed small fields of corn. The tribes lived together in peace, but often warred against their common enemy, the Iroquois.
Exploration.
Historians do not know who were the first Europeans to reach New Hampshire. But wide-scale exploration of the area began in the early 1600’s. In 1603, Martin Pring of England sailed a trading ship up the Piscataqua River. Pring and his crew may have landed in Portsmouth. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain landed on the New Hampshire coast in 1605. In 1614, the English captain John Smith reached the Isles of Shoals. He named them Smith’s Isles.
Settlement.
In 1619, England’s King James I founded the Council for New England to encourage American settlement. The council granted David Thomson land in present-day New Hampshire. In 1623, Thomson and his followers settled at Odiorne’s Point (now a part of Rye). Edward Hilton settled Hilton’s Point (now Dover) in the 1620’s. Some historians believe these settlements began at the same time. Others think Hilton’s began later. Other early settlements include Strawbery Banke (now Portsmouth), established in 1630; and Exeter and Hampton, founded in 1638.
In 1622, the Council for New England gave John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges a large tract of land in present-day New Hampshire and Maine. In 1629, the land was divided between the two men. In 1634, Mason and Gorges gained more land in the area. Mason called his land New Hampshire, after his native county, Hampshire, England. New Hampshire was made part of Massachusetts in 1641. But in 1680, King Charles II of England made New Hampshire a separate province. The king appointed John Cutt as New Hampshire’s first provincial governor (then called president).
French and Indian wars
were fought in New Hampshire and the rest of New England off and on from 1689 to 1763. The French and their Indigenous allies battled to gain control of the area from the British. Indigenous people at the time were commonly known as Indians. Led by Indigenous guides, French forces pushed down from Canada. Robert Rogers, the leader of a group of soldiers called Rogers’s Rangers, and John Stark, both of New Hampshire, won fame as colonial military leaders during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). See French and Indian wars.
Colonial New Hampshire was a rural society. Most of the people kept busy clearing the wilderness, building houses, and growing food. In 1767, when New Hampshire took its first census, the colony had 52,700 people. The King of Britain appointed the governor and governor’s council. But the people elected assemblymen to represent them in colonial affairs.
The American Revolution.
During the 1760’s, Britain passed a series of laws that caused unrest in New Hampshire and the other American colonies. Most of these laws either imposed severe taxes or restricted colonial trade. In December 1774, Paul Revere rode to New Hampshire to warn of a British military build-up in Massachusetts. A band of New Hampshire residents, led by John Sullivan, seized military supplies from a British fort in New Castle. This was one of the first armed actions by colonists against the British.
After the American Revolution broke out in Massachusetts in 1775, hundreds of New Hampshire “minutemen” hurried to Boston to fight the British. New Hampshire was the only one of the 13 original colonies in which no actual fighting occurred.
New Hampshire became the first colony to form a government wholly independent of Britain. It did so on Jan. 5, 1776, when it adopted a temporary constitution. On July 9, 1778, New Hampshire ratified the Articles of Confederation (the forerunner of the United States Constitution). On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. New Hampshire’s ratification put the Constitution into effect. 
The 1800’s.
New Hampshire remained an agricultural state from 1800 until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. But it began an industrial growth that has continued to the present day. In the 1830’s, the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company built 30 textile mills in Manchester, along both sides of the Merrimack River. Manchester became New Hampshire’s largest industrial center and, in 1846, the state’s first incorporated city. Portsmouth developed as a leading clipper-ship port in the early 1800’s, and the first railroad opened in 1838. During the 1850’s, businessmen built hosiery plants, woolen mills, and factories that made boots and shoes, machine tools, and wood products.
Several people from New Hampshire gained national fame during this period. They included Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, and Daniel Webster, a leading orator and U.S. senator.
New Hampshire was a leading opponent of slavery. About 34,000 state residents served with the Union forces during the American Civil War, and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard built ships that blockaded Southern ports.
Industrial development increased greatly after the Civil War ended in 1865. The textile, woodworking, and leather industries were among those that grew at record rates. Thousands of French-Canadian and European immigrants came to New Hampshire to fill the labor needs caused by expansion of mills and factories. At the same time, many farmers left the state to claim free land in the West. Farming activity decreased in New Hampshire as industry grew.
The early 1900’s.
During World War I (1914-1918), the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard built warships. New Hampshire’s cotton and woolen textile industries declined in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Leather and shoe manufacturing became the state’s leading industry. New Hampshire greatly improved its highway system during the 1920’s, and private utility companies built hydroelectric plants in the state. The Great Depression of the 1930’s slowed the growth of New Hampshire’s economy. Conditions improved after the depression eased in the late 1930’s.
The mid-1900’s.
During World War II (1939-1945), Portsmouth built submarines and repaired warships, and New Hampshire’s textile mills supplied materials for military uniforms. These economic activities helped end depression conditions. In 1944, representatives of 44 nations held the historic International Monetary Conference at Bretton Woods in the White Mountains. They planned postwar world trade and simplified the transfer of money among nations. In addition, they drew up plans for two United Nations agencies—the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. See Bretton Woods. 
New Hampshire became increasingly urban and industrial during the mid-1900’s. In the 1950’s, the state approved the formation of a Business Development Corporation and established an Industrial Park Authority. These two agencies worked to aid new businesses. They also tried to attract industry to New Hampshire.
New Hampshire’s once important shoe industry declined sharply because of competition from other states and other countries, especially Italy. But the rapid growth of New Hampshire’s electronics industry more than made up for losses in the shoe industry.
In 1961, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., of New Hampshire became the first American to travel in space. Shepard was born in East Derry. 
In 1963, New Hampshire adopted the first legal lottery in the United States since the 1890’s. The first lottery was held in September 1964. The state uses the profits from the lottery to help pay for public education.
The late 1900’s.
Christa McAuliffe, a Concord high school teacher, was chosen to be the first “ordinary citizen” in space. She was among the seven crew members killed when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after take-off on Jan. 28, 1986. See McAuliffe, Christa.
During most of the 1980’s, New Hampshire experienced economic prosperity and rapid population growth, especially in the southern part of the state. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, however, a national recession resulted in the loss of many jobs, particularly in the areas of real estate, banking, and the defense industry. The state’s economy improved in the mid-1990’s.
In 1996, voters elected New Hampshire’s first woman governor, Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen was reelected twice and held office until 2003.
The early 2000’s.
New Hampshire has remained one of the few states that does not collect a general individual income tax or a general sales tax. Residents pay a personal income tax only on dividend and interest income, not on ordinary income. This low-tax policy helps attract new industries and other businesses. But low taxes result in less money to pay for state-funded programs and services and less money for school funding and other aid to local communities.
In 2003, New Hampshire suffered the loss of its best-known symbol, the Old Man in the Mountain. The Old Man, also called the Great Stone Face, was a natural stone profile of a man’s face that erosion had carved in Cannon Mountain. The rocks forming the profile fell away in May. 
The New Hampshire legislature legalized same-sex marriage in 2009. In 2015, the practice became legal throughout the country after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states cannot ban same-sex marriage.
The spread of the respiratory disease COVID-19 led to major economic and social disruptions in New Hampshire beginning in 2020. By early 2023, nearly 400,000 cases of COVID-19 had been recorded in New Hampshire, and about 3,000 residents of the state had died from the disease.
