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Vintage American State / Area New York History of New York

History of New York

Before European settlement in the New York State area, Native American tribes inhabited the area. The Wappani or Wappinger Tribe of Native Americans were an Algonquin speaking tribe living in the Hudson River area. There were somewhat nomadic around the Hudson River but planted maize in Manhattan during the summer. People that spoke the Iroquoian language inhabited most of the rest of the state. These were people from separate and unique tribes that all were part of the Six Nations of Iroquois Confederacy.

Giovanni da Verrazano arrived in 1524 and Henry Hudson’s expedition landed in what is today New York City in 1609. Both found the Wappani to be a friendly people.

The region came to have Dutch forts at Fort Orange, near the site of the present-day capital of Albany in 1614, and was colonized by the Dutch in 1624 at both Albany and Manhattan. It was conquered by the English in 1664 and was then named New York in honor of the Duke of York.

About one third of all of the battles of the Revolutionary War took place in New York. It became an independent state on July 9, 1776, enacted its own constitution in 1777 and became the 11 th state to join the Union of the United States of America on July 26, 1788 when it approved of and ratified the United States Constitution.

Each colony or territory entering into the Union of the United States of American must first ratify or approve this entry by their own local congress. The local congress must also ratify or approve acceptance of the Constitution of the United States of America.

This country is built as a union of states by design and declaration in the Constitution. Each state has sovereignty over it’s own territory and people except in those situations outlined in the U.S. Constitution in which the state gives over its own sovereignty to that of the federal government for the good of its people and the good of all the states combined.

It is interesting to note that each state had to approve joining the Union while the existing Union also approves acceptance of the new state.