CONNECTICUT, FLAG OF

U.S. state flag consisting of a blue field (background) with a central coat of arms incorporating three grapevines; a ribbon below the arms contains an inscription in Latin. The coat of arms is based on the 1711 seal of the colony of Connecticut. Its three grapevines are thought to represent either the colonies of Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook or the first three area towns established by Europeans (Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor). The significance of the design is indicated by the Latin inscription below, Qui transtulit sustinet (He who transplanted still sustains), a motto based on the 80th psalm of the Bible. The basic flag design in use today was first displayed at the time of the American Revolution (177583), although the background colour then was red. During the Civil War (186165) blue was the standard background shade for regimental colours, and many citizens thought of those military flags as representative of the state. Consequently, a flag with a blue background was later flown over the state capitol during sessions of the legislature. That design was the basis for a recommendation to the legislature that resulted in the adoption of the current flag in June 1897. Whitney Smith History Colonization In contrast to many of the other New England areas, relations between Indians and the early settlers in Connecticut were good. Trading posts were established along the Connecticut River by the Dutch from New Amsterdam and by the English from the Plymouth colony, but the first permanent European settlers in the state came from the Massachusetts Bay colony to the middle Connecticut Valley during 163335 and to the SaybrookNew Haven coastal strip during 163538. In 1665 the Connecticut River settlements and the New Haven colony were united, and the general outline of the state emerged, although its borders were not finally demarcated until 1881, more than 200 years later. The New Haven colony was unsuccessful in an attempt to settle Delaware Bay, and the united Connecticut colony, despite its charter provisions, lost its claim to a strip of land extending to the Pacific. Following the American Revolution, settlers from Connecticut, with claims in the Midwest, were among the first to move into an area that became known as the Western Reserve, now northeastern Ohio. Political, economic, and social maturation The political development of the colony began with the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1638), a civil covenant by the settlers establishing the system by which the river towns of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield agreed to govern themselves. The orders created an annual assembly of legislators and provided for the election of a governor. This was superseded by the royal charter of 1662, a liberal document that provided for virtual self-government by the propertied men of orthodox faith in the colony. It served Connecticut well until it was replaced by the state constitution adopted in 1818, a document that after being amended many times was replaced by a new constitution in 1965, reflecting the more complex needs of contemporary government. The Congregational church was disestablished by the constitution of 1818. Connecticut remained an agricultural region of farms with a few small urban areasHartford, New Haven, New London, and Middletownuntil the early 19th century. The economy began to change, however, after 1800, when textile factories were established, and, by 1850, employees in manufacturing outnumbered those in agriculture. The shift to manufacturing had been aided by the inventive genius of a number of Connecticut residents. Eli Whitney, well known for his invention of the cotton gin in 1794, developed the idea of machine-made parts for guns. An order for muskets from the federal government enabled him to build a musket factory in Hamden. The principle of interchangeable parts, adapted to clock manufacturing by Eli Terry of Plymouth in 1802, rapidly became basic to all manufacturing. The economic, social, and political innovations that emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries were often resisted at first, but eventually they were accepted. Slavery, first attacked by legislation in 1784, was not abolished completely until 1848. The constitution of 1818 granted suffrage to men with certain property qualifications, but women's suffrage came only through federal enactment in 1920. Connecticut's concentration of military and small-arms manufacture contributed much to the nation's efforts in World Wars I and II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. While Connecticut has a healthy two-party system, Democrats have dominated state politics since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Governors Wilbur Cross, Chester Bowles, Abraham Ribicoff, and John Dempsey all presided over periods of unprecedented economic development, school construction, civil rights activity, and increased health and social services. In 1974 Ella Grasso became the first woman in any state elected in her own right to the office of governor. Connecticut displays sharp contrasts between areas of great wealth and deep poverty. The central cities of Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport are particularly affected. In this sense there are two Connecticuts. Closing the gap remains the state's major challenge. Joseph Bixby Hoyt Honorable Irving J. Stolberg