New Hampshire existed in Massachusetts's shadow from its founding. It had close economic, political, and cultural ties to its southern neighbor and the same person served as governor of both colonies until 1740. Benning Wentworth, appointed that year, ran New Hampshire as an Anglican oligarchy for twenty-six years—the longest governorship among the thirteen colonies—balancing Crown demands with those of his seacoast merchant base, even turning a blind eye to smuggling and illegal timber cutting. As settlement expanded into the Connecticut Valley, his grip on the interior weakened, and new centers of opposition grew among settlers with stronger ties to Connecticut and Massachusetts than to Portsmouth. The Coercive Acts of 1774 outraged opinion throughout the colony. Towns organized relief for besieged Boston, and in December 1774 militia raided Fort William and Mary for gunpowder. After the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Wentworth fled to a British ship and dissolved the Assembly. New Hampshire then drafted what it claims as the first state constitution, adopted January 5, 1776.
Interviewees
-
Eliga Gould
- Professor of History, University of New Hampshire
