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 About
New York (NY) State
HISTORY
New
York was
settled by the Dutch, who named their discovery New Amsterdam, in 1613. The
Dutch claimed this new land mass as their own, quickly displacing the people
native to the area. The English seized the colony in 1664, renaming it New York,
after the Duke of York, the future King James II. On November 1, 1683, the
government was reorganized. The colony, then called the Province of New York was
divided into twelve counties, each of which was subdivided into towns. The
territory of New York extended much farther than present-day New York State,
having no official western boundary other than the Pacific Ocean. Two of New
York's eastern coastal counties, Cornwall and Dukes, later became parts of
Massachusetts and Maine. Counties were also ceded to Vermont before Vermont
entered the Union in 1791. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies
that became the United States. It was the 11th state to ratify the
United States Constitution, on July 26, 1788.At the center of great events
and controversies from the very beginning of our nation's history, the Colony of
New York became a state on April 20, 1777. New York adopted its first
constitution 12 years before the Federal Constitution was adopted. New York City
was the first capital of the United States and was the site of the inauguration
of George Washington as President on April 30, 1789. A third of the battles
fought in the American Revolution were in New York.
DEMOGRAPHICS
New York
is the third
largest state in the union in population with 19,227,088 people according to the
U.S. Census. is a decrease of
26,097, or 0.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 277,809, or 1.5%, since
the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 527,876
people (that is 1,345,482 births minus 817,606 deaths) and a decrease due to net
migration of 334,093 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the
United States resulted in a net increase of 667,007 people, and migration within
the country produced a net loss of 1,001,100 people. The population growth is
sluggish due primarily to the continued migration to the Southern and Western
States, a fewer number of immigrants, the continued loss of jobs, and the fact
that New York is a very expensive place to live. New York still to this day is
only 30% developed with the rest of the state covered in Forests and Farms.
Current projections have Florida replacing New York as the 3rd most populous
state by 2010.
The 2000
Census revealed which ancestries were in which counties. Italian-Americans make
up the largest ancestral group in Staten Island and Long Island, followed by
Irish-Americans. Manhattan's leading ancestry group is Irish-Americans, followed
by Italian-Americans. Albany and southeast-central New York is heavily
Irish-American. In Buffalo and western New York, German-Americans are the
largest group; in the northern tip of the state, French-Canadians.
GEOGRAPHY
Located in the northeastern portion of the United States it is usually
distinguished in print and in speech as New York State as apposed to just New
York. This is most often done to distinguish it from
New York City, the states most
populous city. The state Capitol is in
Albany and Its major cities and
towns include: New York City,
Buffalo,
Rochester,
Yonkers,
Syracuse,
Albany,
Niagara Falls,
White Plains,
New Rochelle,
Mount Vernon,
Schenectady,
Utica,
Binghamton,
Ithaca and
Troy. Due to the dissemination of the two major population centers in the
state, people often refer to Upstate and Downstate New York, as they are as
different as two different states. New York is also the site of the only
extra-territorial enclave within the boundaries of the USA, the United Nations
compound on Manhattan's East River.
New York
State's borders touch two Great Lakes (Erie and Ontario) one former Great Lake
(Lake Champlain), the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada, three New
England states (Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), the Atlantic Ocean,
and two Mid-Atlantic states (New Jersey and Pennsylvania). In addition, Rhode
Island shares a water border with New York State.
While best known for New
York City's urban atmosphere, especially Manhattan's skyscrapers, by contrast
the rest of the state is dominated by farms, forests, rivers, mountains, and
lakes. Few people know that New York's Adirondack State Park is larger than any
National Park in the U.S. outside of Alaska.
ECONOMY
New York City
dominates the economy of the state. It is the leading center of banking, finance
and communication in the United States and is the location of the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wall Street, Manhattan.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that in 2004, the total gross
state product was $900 billion, second only to the state of California. Its 2004
Per Capita Personal Income was $38,333, placing it 5th in the nation, and 6th in
the World. New York's agricultural outputs are dairy products, cattle and other
livestock, vegetables, nursery stock, and apples. Its industrial outputs are
printing and publishing, scientific instruments, electric equipment, machinery,
chemical products, and tourism. Many of the world's largest corporations locate
their headquarters home offices in Manhattan or in nearby
Westchester County, New York. The state also has a large manufacturing
sector which includes printing, garments, furs, railroad rolling stock, and bus
style vehicles.
AGRICULTURE
New York
State is an agricultural leader, ranking within the top five states for a number
of products including dairy, apples, cherries, cabbage, potatoes, onions, maple
syrup and many other products. The state is the largest producer of cabbage in
the United States. The state has about a quarter of its land in farms and
produced 3.4 billion dollars in
agricultural products in 2001. New
York State is the nation's second-largest wine-producing state, behind
California. The state surpassed Washington as the 2nd largest producer in 2004.
New York was heavily
glaciated in the ice age leaving much of the state with deep, fertile, though
somewhat rocky soils. Row crops, including hay, corn, wheat, oats, barley, and
soybeans, are grown. Particularly in the western part of the state, sweet corn,
peas, carrots, squash, cucumbers and other vegetables are grown. The Hudson and
Mohawk valleys are known for pumpkins and blueberries. The glaciers also left
numerous swampy areas, which have been drained for the rich humus soils called
muck land which is mostly used for onions, potatoes, celery and other
vegetables. Dairy farms are present throughout much of the state. Cheese is a
major product, often produced by Amish or Mennonite farmers.
TRANSPORTATION
New York boasts extensive transportation infrastructure. Engineering
difficulties due to the terrain of the state, and the unique issues of the city
brought on by urban crowding, have had to be overcome since the state was young.
Population expansion of the state generally followed the path of the early
waterways - first the Hudson River and then later the Erie Canal. Today,
railroad lines and the New York State Thruway follow the same general route.
Besides New York City, many of the other cities have urban and regional public
transportation. Syracuse is the smallest city in the United States to have a
commuter rail line, known as OnTrack. Buffalo also has a small subway system.
New York City is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, allowing
it to facilitate one of the most extensive subway and bus systems in the world.
It is also famous for many of its bridges and tunnels. New York City offers
visitors a bounty of famous streets and avenues. Many commuter railroad lines
enter and leave New York City, including the Long Island Rail Road, MTA
Metro-North, the PATH system and many of NJTransit's rail services.
EDUCATION
The
New York State Board of Regents, the
University of the State of New York
and the State Education Department control all public primary and secondary
education in the state. Besides the many private colleges and universities in
the state, New York, like many other states, operates its own system of
institutions of higher learning known as the
State University of New York (SUNY).
New York City operates the
City University of New York (CUNY) in
conjunction with the state.
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