About Connecticut

Connecticut takes its name from the Connecticut River, which the Algonquian-speaking peoples of the region called "Quinnehtukqut," meaning "beside the long tidal river" or "at the long tidal river." English colonists from Massachusetts followed the river into the interior in the 1630s and adopted the indigenous name for the river and the region, adapting its spelling to approximate the Algonquian sounds. The name was recorded in various English spellings before settling into its current form. Connecticut is one of several states whose name reflects the Algonquian geographical knowledge that European settlers depended on as they moved through unfamiliar terrain.

Connecticut is one of the smallest states in the country and one of the most consequential. Wedged between New York and Massachusetts, it punches far above its weight in history, wealth, education, and national influence. The fifth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution, it was already a center of American political thought before the nation itself existed.

The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, adopted in 1639, are considered by many historians to be the first written constitution in history, a document that established government by the consent of the governed more than a century before the U.S. Constitution. That legacy of principled self-governance gave Connecticut its nickname and shaped its character ever since.

Today, Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states per capita in the nation. Southwestern Connecticut's Gold Coast is home to hedge funds and corporate headquarters; Hartford anchors the global insurance industry; Groton builds the Navy's nuclear submarines; and New Haven is home to Yale University, one of the world's great research institutions.