Coordinates	29°55′12″N51°10′48″N
name	Delaware
fullname	State of Delaware
flag	Flag of Delaware.svg
flaglink	Flag
seal	Seal of Delaware.svg
map	Map of USA DE.svg
motto	Liberty and Independence
demonym	Delawarean
nickname	The First State; The Small Wonder;Blue Hen State; The Diamond State
former	Delaware Colony
capital	Dover
largestcity	Wilmington
largestmetroarea	Wilmington
largestcounty	Sussex
governor	Jack A. Markell (D)
lieutenant governor	Matthew P. Denn (D)
legislature	General Assembly
upperhouse	Senate
lowerhouse	House of Representatives
senators	Thomas R. Carper (D)Chris Coons (D)
representative	John C. Carney, Jr. (D)
postalabbreviation	DE
tradabbreviation	Del.
arearank	49th
totalarea	6,452
totalareaus	2,490
landarea	5,068
landareaus	1,954
landmark	Holy Trinity Church WaterArea 1,387
waterareaus	536
pcwater	21.5
poprank	45th
2000pop (old)	783,600
2000pop	897,934
densityrank	6th
2000density	170.87
2000densityus	442.6
medianhouseholdincome	$50,152
incomerank	12th
admittanceorder	1st
admittancedate	December 7, 1787
timezone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
longitude	75° 3′ W to 75° 47′ W
latitude	38° 27′ N to 39° 50′ N
width	48
widthus	30
length	154
lengthus	96
highestpoint	near Ebright Azimuth
highestelev	136.5
highestelevus	447.85
meanelev	18
meanelevus	59
lowestpoint	Atlantic Ocean
lowestelev	0
lowestelevus	0
isocode	US-DE
website	delaware.gov }}

boxwidth	25em
flag	Flag of Delaware.svg
name	Delaware
bird	Blue Hen Chicken
butterfly	Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
fish	Weakfish
flower	Peach blossom
insect	Ladybug
tree	American Holly
beverage	Milk
colors	Colonial Blue, Buff
fossil	Belemnite
mineral	Sillimanite
slogan	''It's Good Being First''
soil	Greenwich
song	''Our Delaware''
route marker	Elongated circle 1.svg
quarter	1999 DE Proof.png
quarterreleasedate	1999 }}

Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, to the east by New Jersey and to the north by Pennsylvania. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom what is now called Cape Henlopen was originally named.

Delaware is located in the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula and is the second smallest state in area (after Rhode Island). Estimates in 2007 rank the population of Delaware as 45th in the nation, but 6th in population density, with more than 60% of the population in New Castle County. Delaware is divided into three counties. From north to south, these three counties are New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. While the southern two counties have historically been predominantly agricultural, New Castle County has been more industrialized.

The state ranks second in civilian scientists and engineers as a percentage of the workforce and number of patents issued to companies or individuals per 1,000 workers. The history of the state's economic and industrial development is closely tied to the impact of the Du Pont family, founders and scions of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, one of the world’s largest chemical companies.

Before its coastline was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century, Delaware was inhabited by several groups of Native Americans, including the Lenape in the north and Nanticoke in the south. It was initially colonized by Dutch traders at Zwaanendael, located near the present town of Lewes, in 1631. Delaware was one of the 13 colonies participating in the American Revolution and on December 7, 1787, became the first state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby becoming known as ''The First State''.

Geography

Delaware is long and ranges from to across, totaling , making it the second-smallest state in the United States after Rhode Island. Delaware is bounded to the north by Pennsylvania; to the east by the Delaware River, Delaware Bay, New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean; and to the west and south by Maryland. Small portions of Delaware are also situated on the eastern side of the Delaware River sharing land boundaries with New Jersey. The state of Delaware, together with the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and two counties of Virginia, form the Delmarva Peninsula, which stretches down the Mid-Atlantic Coast.

The definition of the northern boundary of the state is unusual. Most of the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania was originally defined by an arc extending from the cupola of the courthouse in the city of New Castle. This boundary is often referred to as the Twelve-Mile Circle. This is the only nominally circular state boundary in the United States.

This border extends all the way east to the low-tide mark on the New Jersey shore, then continues south along the shoreline until it again reaches the 12-mile (19 km) arc in the south; then the boundary continues in a more conventional way in the middle of the main channel (thalweg) of the Delaware River. To the west, a portion of the arc extends past the easternmost edge of Maryland. The remaining western border runs slightly east of due south from its intersection with the arc. The Wedge of land between the northwest part of the arc and the Maryland border was claimed by both Delaware and Pennsylvania until 1921, when Delaware's claim was confirmed.

Topography

Delaware is on a level plain, with the lowest mean elevation of any state in the nation. Its highest elevation, located at Ebright Azimuth, near Concord High School, does not rise fully above sea level. The northernmost part of the state is part of the Appalachian Piedmont with hills and rolling surfaces. The fall line approximately follows the Robert Kirkwood Highway between Newark and Wilmington; south of this road is the Atlantic Coastal Plain with flat, sandy, and, in some parts, swampy ground. A ridge about in elevation extends along the western boundary of the state and separates between the watersheds that feed Delaware River and Bay to the east and the Chesapeake Bay to the west.

Climate

Since almost all of Delaware is a part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the effects of the ocean moderate its climate. The state is in a transitional zone between a humid subtropical climate and a continental climate. Despite its small size (roughly from its northernmost to southernmost points), there is significant variation in mean temperature and amount of snowfall between Sussex County and New Castle County. The southern portion of the state has a somewhat milder climate and a longer growing season than the northern portion of the state. Delaware's all time record high of was recorded at Millsboro on July 21, 1930; the all time record low of was also recorded at Millsboro on January 17, 1893.

Environment

The transitional climate of Delaware supports a wide variety of vegetation. In the northern third of the state are found Northeastern coastal forests, mixed oak forests typical of the northeastern United States. In the southern two-thirds of the state are found Middle Atlantic coastal forests. Trap Pond State Park in Sussex County, for example, supports what may be one of the northernmost stands of bald cypress.

Environmental management

Delaware provides government subsidy support for the clean-up of property "lightly contaminated" by hazardous waste, the proceeds for which come from a tax on wholesale petroleum sales.

History

Native Americans

Before Delaware was settled by European colonists, the area was home to the Eastern Algonquian tribes known as the Unami Lenape or Delaware throughout the Delaware valley, and the Nanticoke along the rivers leading into the Chesapeake Bay. The Unami Lenape in the Delaware Valley were closely related to Munsee Lenape tribes along the Hudson River. They had a settled hunting and agricultural society, and they rapidly became middlemen in an increasingly frantic fur trade with their ancient enemy, the Minqua or Susquehannock. With the loss of their lands on the Delaware River and the destruction of the Minqua by the Iroquois of the Five Nations in the 1670s, the remnants of the Lenape who wished to remain identified as such left the region and moved over the Alleghany Mountains by the mid-18th century. Generally, those who did not relocate out of the State of Delaware were baptized, became Christian and were grouped together with other persons of color in official records and in the minds of their non-Native American neighbors.

Colonial Delaware

The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in present-day Delaware in the Middle region by establishing a trading post at Zwaanendael, near the site of Lewes in 1631. Within a year all the settlers were killed in a dispute with area Indian tribes. In 1638 New Sweden, a Swedish trading post and colony, was established at Fort Christina (now in Wilmington) by Peter Minuit at the head of a group of Swedes, Finns and Dutch. The colony of New Sweden lasted for 17 years. In 1651, the Dutch, reinvigorated by the leadership of Peter Stuyvesant, established a fort at present-day New Castle, and in 1655 they conquered the New Sweden colony, annexing it into the Dutch New Netherland. Only nine years later, in 1664, the Dutch were conquered by a fleet of English ships by Sir Robert Carr under the direction of James, the Duke of York. Fighting off a prior claim by Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, Proprietor of Maryland, the Duke passed his somewhat dubious ownership on to William Penn in 1682. Penn strongly desired access to the sea for his Pennsylvania province and leased what then came to be known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" from the Duke.

Penn established representative government and briefly combined his two possessions under one General Assembly in 1682. However, by 1704 the Province of Pennsylvania had grown so large that their representatives wanted to make decisions without the assent of the Lower Counties and the two groups of representatives began meeting on their own, one at Philadelphia, and the other at New Castle. Penn and his heirs remained proprietors of both and always appointed the same person Governor for their Province of Pennsylvania and their territory of the Lower Counties. The fact that Delaware and Pennsylvania shared the same governor was not unique. From 1703-1738, New York and New Jersey shared a governor. Massachusetts and New Hampshire also shared a governor for some time.

Dependent in early years on indentured labor, Delaware imported more slaves as the number of English immigrants decreased with better economic conditions in England. The colony became a slave society and cultivated tobacco as a cash crop, although English immigrants continued to arrive.

American Revolution

Like the other middle colonies, the Lower Counties on the Delaware initially showed little enthusiasm for a break with Britain. The citizenry had a good relationship with the Proprietary government, and generally were allowed more independence of action in their Colonial Assembly than in other colonies. Merchants at the port of Wilmington had trading ties with the British.

So it was that New Castle lawyer Thomas McKean denounced the Stamp Act in the strongest terms, and Kent County native John Dickinson became the "Penman of the Revolution." Anticipating the Declaration of Independence, Patriot leaders Thomas McKean and Caesar Rodney convinced the Colonial Assembly to declare itself separated from British and Pennsylvania rule on June 15, 1776. The person best representing Delaware's majority, George Read, could not bring himself to vote for a Declaration of Independence. Only the dramatic overnight ride of Caesar Rodney gave the delegation the votes needed to cast Delaware's vote for independence.

Initially led by John Haslet, Delaware provided one of the premier regiments in the Continental Army, known as the "Delaware Blues" and nicknamed the "Blue Hen Chickens." In August 1777, General Sir William Howe led a British army through Delaware on his way to a victory at the Battle of Brandywine and capture of the city of Philadelphia. The only real engagement on Delaware soil was the Battle of Cooch's Bridge, fought on September 3, 1777, at Cooch's Bridge in New Castle County.

Following the Battle of Brandywine, Wilmington was occupied by the British, and State President John McKinly was taken prisoner. The British remained in control of the Delaware River for much of the rest of the war, disrupting commerce and providing encouragement to an active Loyalist portion of the population, particularly in Sussex County. Because the British promised slaves of rebels freedom for fighting with them, escaped slaves flocked north to join their lines.

Following the American Revolution, statesmen from Delaware were among the leading proponents of a strong central United States with equal representation for each state.

Slavery and race

Many colonial settlers came to Delaware from Maryland and Virginia, which had been experiencing a population boom. The economies of these colonies were chiefly based on tobacco culture and were increasingly dependent on slave labor for its intensive cultivation. Most of the English colonists arrived as indentured servants, hiring themselves out as laborers for a fixed period to pay for their passage. In the early years the line between indentured servants and African slaves or laborers was fluid. Most of the free African-American families in Delaware before the Revolution had migrated from Maryland to find more affordable land. They were descendants chiefly of relationships or marriages between servant women and enslaved, servant or free African or African-American men. As the flow of indentured laborers to the colony decreased with improving economic conditions in England, more slaves were imported for labor.

At the end of the colonial period, the number of enslaved people in Delaware began to decline. Shifts in the agriculture economy from tobacco to mixed farming created less need for slaves' labor. Local Methodists and Quakers encouraged slaveholders to free their slaves following the American Revolution, and many did so in a surge of individual manumissions for idealistic reasons. By 1810 three-quarters of all blacks in Delaware were free. When John Dickinson freed his slaves in 1777, he was Delaware's largest slave owner with 37 slaves. By 1860 the largest slaveholder owned only 16 slaves.

Although attempts to abolish slavery failed by narrow margins in the legislature, in practical terms, the state had mostly ended the practice. By the 1860 census on the verge of the Civil War, 91.7 percent of the black population, or nearly 20,000 people, were free.

The independent black denomination was chartered by freed slave Peter Spencer in 1813 as the "Union Church of Africans". This followed the 1793 establishment of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, which had ties to the Methodist Episcopal Church until 1816. Spencer built a church in Wilmington for the new denomination. This was renamed the African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, more commonly known as the A.U.M.P. Church. Begun by Spencer in 1814, the annual gathering of the Big August Quarterly still draws people together in a religious and cultural festival, the oldest such cultural festival in the nation.

At the onset of the Civil War, Delaware was only nominally a slave state, and it remained in the Union. Delaware voted against secession on January 3, 1861. As the governor said, Delaware had been the first state to embrace the Union by ratifying the Constitution and would be the last to leave it. While most Delaware citizens who fought in the war served in the regiments of the state, some served in companies on the Confederate side in Maryland and Virginia Regiments. Delaware is notable for being the only slave state from which no Confederate regiments or militia groups were assembled. It freed the remaining 1,000 or so Delaware slaves with the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution in December 1865.

Demographics

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Delaware had a population of 897,934. In terms of race and ethnicity, the state was 68.9% White (65.3% Non-Hispanic White Alone), 21.4% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.2% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 3.4% from Some Other Race, and 2.7% from Two or More Races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 8.2% of the population.

Delaware is the sixth most densely populated state, with a population density of 442.6 people per square mile, 356.4 per square mile more than the national average, and ranking 45th in population. Only the states of Delaware, West Virginia, Vermont, Maine, North Dakota, and Wyoming do not have a single city with a population over 100,000 as of the 2007 census estimates. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of Townsend.

Languages

As of 2000, 91% of Delaware residents age 5 and older speak only English at home; 5% speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken language at 0.7%, followed by Chinese at 0.5% and German at 0.5%.

Legislation had been proposed in both the House and the Senate in Delaware to designate English as the official language. Neither bill was passed in the legislature.

Religion

The religious affiliations of the people of Delaware are:

Methodist – 20%

Baptist – 19%

No Religion – 17%

Roman Catholic – 9%

Lutheran – 4%

Presbyterian – 3%

Pentecostal – 3%

Episcopalian/Anglican - 2%

Seventh-day Adventist - 2%

Churches of Christ - 1%

Other Christian – 3%

Muslim - 2%

Jewish - 1%

Other – 5%

Refused - 9%

(Source: American Religious Identification Survey, City University of New York)

As of the year 2000, The Association of Religion Data Archives reported that the three largest denominational groups in Delaware are Catholic, Mainline Protestant, and Evangelical Protestant. The Catholic Church has the highest number of adherents in Delaware (at 151,740), followed by the United Methodist Church with 59,471 members reported and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), reporting 14,880 adherents. The religious body with the largest number of congregations is the United Methodist Church (with 162 congregations) followed by the Catholic Church (with 46 congregations).

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware oversee the parishes within their denominations. The A.U.M.P. Church, the oldest African-American denomination in the nation, was founded in Wilmington. It still has a substantial presence in the state. Reflecting new immigrant populations, an Islamic mosque has been built in the Ogletown area, and a Hindu temple in Hockessin.

Economy

The gross state product of Delaware in 2003 was $49 billion.

Affluence

+ Average sale price for new & existing homes (in US$)
!DE County!!March 2010!!March 2011
New Castle	229,000
Sussex	323,000
Kent	186,000

The per capita personal income was $34,199, ranking 9th in the nation. In 2005, the average weekly wage was $937, ranking 7th in the nation.

In common with many counties in the United States, each of the three Delaware counties have experienced a year-on-year decreasing in the sales price of new and existing homes when comparing 2010 to 2011.

Agriculture

Delaware's agricultural output consists of poultry, nursery stock, soybeans, dairy products and corn. Its industrial outputs include chemical products, automobiles, processed foods, paper products, and rubber and plastic products. Delaware's economy generally outperforms the national average of the United States.

Industries

As of January 2011, the state's unemployment rate was 8.5%. The state's largest employers are:

government (State of Delaware, New Castle County)

education (University of Delaware)

banking (Bank of America, Wilmington Trust, First USA / Bank One / JPMorgan Chase, AIG, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Barclays plc)

chemical and pharmaceutical companies (E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Syngenta, AstraZeneca, and Hercules, Inc.)

healthcare (Christiana Care Health System, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children)

:, there are approximately 2,800 doctors practicing in the state.

automotive manufacturing (Fisker Automotive)

farming, specifically chicken farming in Sussex County (Perdue Farms, Mountaire Farms, Allen Family Foods)

The Dover Air Force Base, located next to the state capital of Dover, is one of the largest Air Force bases in the country and is a major employer in Delaware. In addition to its other responsibilities in the USAF Air Mobility Command, this air base serves as the entry point and mortuary for American military personnel, and some U.S. government civilians, who die overseas.

Incorporation in Delaware

Over 50% of US publicly traded corporations and 60% of the Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware; the state's attractiveness as a corporate haven is largely because of its business-friendly corporation law. Franchise taxes on Delaware corporations supply about one-fifth of its state revenue. Although Delaware is ranked first tax haven in the world by Tax Justice Network, it is not listed on the OECD's 2009 "Black List", despite objections of Luxembourg's and Switzerland's authorities.

Food and drink

Title 4, chapter 7 of the Delaware Code stipulates that alcoholic liquor only be sold in specifically licensed establishments, and only between 9:00 AM and 1:00 AM. Until 2003, Delaware was among the several states enforcing blue laws and banned sale of liquor on Sunday.

Transportation

The transportation system in Delaware is under the governance and supervision of the Delaware Department of Transportation, also known as "DelDOT". DelDOT manages programs such as a Delaware Adopt-a-Highway program, major road route snow removal, traffic control infrastructure (signs and signals), toll road management, Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, the Delaware Transit Corporation (branded as "DART First State", the state government public transportation organization), among others. Almost 90 percent of the state's public roadway miles are under the direct maintenance of DelDOT which far exceeds the United States national average of 20 percent for state department of transportation maintenance responsibility; the remaining public road miles are under the supervision of individual municipalities.

Roads

One major branch of the U.S. Interstate Highway System, Interstate 95, crosses Delaware southwest-to-northeast across New Castle County. In addition to I-95, there are six U.S. highways that serve Delaware: U.S. Route 9, U.S. Route 13, U.S. Route 40, U.S. Route 113, U.S. Route 202, and U.S. Route 301. There are also several state highways that cross the state of Delaware; a few of them include Delaware Route 1, Delaware Route 9, and Delaware Route 404. U.S. 13 and DE Rt 1 are primary north-south highways connecting Wilmington and Pennsylvania with Maryland, with DE 1 serving as the main route between Wilmington and the Delaware beaches. DE Rt. 9 is a north-south highway connecting Dover and Wilmington via a scenic route along the Delaware Bay. U.S. 40, is a primary east-west route, connecting Maryland with New Jersey. DE Rt. 404 is another primary east-west highway connecting the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland with the Delaware beaches. The state also operates two toll highways, the Delaware Turnpike, which is Interstate 95, between Maryland and New Castle and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, which is DE Rt. 1, between Wilmington and Dover.

A bicycle route, Delaware Bicycle Route 1, spans the north-south length of the state from the Maryland border in Fenwick Island to the Pennsylvania border north of Montchanin. It is the first of several signed bike routes planned in Delaware.

Delaware has around 1,450 bridges, ninety-five percent of which are under the supervision of DelDOT. About 30 percent of all Delaware bridges were built prior to 1950 and about 60 percent of the number are included in the National Bridge Inventory. Some bridges not under DelDOT supervision includes the four bridges on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which is under the bi-state Delaware River and Bay Authority.

It has been noted that the tar and chip composition of secondary roads in Sussex County make them more prone to deterioration than asphalt roadways found in the rest of the state. Among these roads, Sussex (county road) 238 is among the most problematic.

Ferries

There are three ferries that operate in the state of Delaware:

Cape May-Lewes Ferry crosses the mouth of the Delaware Bay between Lewes, Delaware and Cape May, New Jersey.

Woodland Ferry is a cable ferry that crosses the Nanticoke River southwest of Seaford.

Three Forts Ferry Crossing connects Delaware City with Fort Delaware and Fort Mott in New Jersey

Rail and bus

thumb|left|A Norfolk Southern locomotive in [[Dover, Delaware|Dover.]]Amtrak has two stations in Delaware along the Northeast Corridor; the relatively quiet Newark Rail Station in Newark, and the busier Wilmington Rail Station in Wilmington. The Northeast Corridor is also served by SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Line of Regional Rail, which serves Claymont, Wilmington, Churchmans Crossing, and Newark. The major freight railroad in Delaware is the Class 1 Norfolk Southern, which provides service to most of Delaware. It connects with two shortline railroads, the Delaware Coast Line Railway and the Maryland & Delaware Railroad. These two shortlines serve local customers in Sussex County. Another Class 1 railroad, CSX, passes through northern New Castle County parallel to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor.

The public transportation system, DART First State, was named "Most Outstanding Public Transportation System" in 2003 by the American Public Transportation Association. Coverage of the system is broad within northern New Castle County with close association to major highways in Kent and Sussex counties. The system includes bus, subsidized passenger rail operated by Philadelphia transit agency SEPTA, and subsidized taxi and paratransit modes, the latter consisting of a state-wide door-to-door bus service for the elderly and disabled.

Air

Delaware is the only state in the United States without commercial air service. New Castle Airport near Wilmington has been served by commercial airlines in the past, the last being Skybus Airlines, which provided service to Columbus, Ohio and Greensboro, North Carolina from March 7, 2008 until its bankruptcy on April 5, 2008.

Delaware is centrally situated in the Northeast Corridor region of cities along I-95. Therefore, Delaware commercial airline passengers most frequently use Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) for domestic and international transit. Residents of Sussex County will also use Wicomico Regional Airport, as it is located less than from the Delaware border. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) are also within a radius of New Castle County.

The large Dover Air Force Base of the USAF Air Mobility Command is located in the central part of the state, and it is the home of the 436th Airlift Wing and the 512th Airlift Wing.

Other general aviation airports in Delaware include Summit Airport near Middletown, Delaware Airpark near Cheswold, and Sussex County Airport near Georgetown.

Law and government

Delaware's fourth and current constitution, adopted in 1897, provides for executive, judicial and legislative branches.

Legislative branch

The Delaware General Assembly consists of a House of Representatives with 41 members and a Senate with 21 members. It sits in Dover, the state capital. Representatives are elected to two-year terms, while senators are elected to four-year terms. The Senate confirms judicial and other nominees appointed by the governor.

Delaware's U.S. Senators are Thomas R. Carper (Democrat) and Chris Coons (Democrat). Delaware's single U.S. Representative is John Carney (Democrat).

Judicial branch

The Delaware Constitution establishes a number of courts:

The Delaware Supreme Court is the state's highest court.

The Delaware Superior Court is the state's trial court of general jurisdiction.

The Delaware Court of Chancery deals primarily in corporate disputes.

The Family Court handles domestic and custody matters.

The Delaware Court of Common Pleas has jurisdiction over a limited class of civil and criminal matters.

Minor non-constitutional courts include the Justice of the Peace Courts and Aldermen's Courts.

Significantly, Delaware has one of the few remaining Courts of Chancery in the nation, which has jurisdiction over equity cases, the vast majority of which are corporate disputes, many relating to mergers and acquisitions. The Court of Chancery and the Supreme Court have developed a worldwide reputation for rendering concise opinions concerning corporate law which generally (but not always) grant broad discretion to corporate boards of directors and officers. In addition, the Delaware General Corporation Law, which forms the basis of the Courts' opinions, is widely regarded as giving great flexibility to corporations to manage their affairs. For these reasons, Delaware is considered to have the most business-friendly legal system in the United States; therefore a great number of companies are incorporated in Delaware, including 60% of the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Delaware was the last US state to use judicial corporal punishment, in 1952.

Executive branch

The executive branch is headed by the Governor of Delaware. The present governor is Jack A. Markell (Democrat), who took office January 20, 2009. The lieutenant governor is Matthew P. Denn. The governor presents a "State of the State" speech to a joint session of the Delaware legislature annually.

Counties

Delaware is subdivided into three counties; from north to south they are New Castle, Kent County and Sussex. This is the fewest among all states, with Rhode Island having five counties. Each county elects its own legislative body (known in New Castle and Sussex counties as County Council, and in Kent County as Levy Court), which deal primarily in zoning and development issues. Most functions which are handled on a county-by-county basis in other states — such as court and law enforcement — have been centralized in Delaware, leading to a significant concentration of power in the Delaware state government. The counties were historically divided into hundreds, which were used as tax reporting and voting districts until the 1960s, but now serve no administrative role, their only current official legal use being in real-estate title descriptions.

Politics

+ Presidential elections results
! Year	Republican Party (United States)>Republican	Democratic Party (United States)>Democratic
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The Democratic Party holds a plurality of registrations in Delaware. Until the 2000 presidential election, the state tended to be a Presidential bellwether, sending its three electoral votes to the winning candidate since 1952. Bucking that trend, however, in 2000 and again in 2004, Delaware voted for the Democratic candidate. In the 2000 election Delaware voted with the winner of the popular vote, Al Gore, who subsequently lost the Electoral College to George W. Bush. John Kerry won Delaware by eight percentage points with 53.5% of the vote in 2004. In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama defeated Republican John McCain in Delaware 62.63% to 37.37%. Obama's running mate was Joe Biden, who had represented Delaware in the United States Senate since 1973.

For a period of time the Republican Party was the dominant political party in the state due in part to the influence of the du Pont family. Ralph Nader assembled a working group to investigate ties between Delaware's politicians and industrialists and published its findings in the book ''The Company State''.

The nominees of the Democratic Party have won the past four gubernatorial elections. Democrats presently hold eight of the nine statewide elected offices, while the Republicans hold only one statewide office, State Auditor.

Freedom of information

Each of the 50 states of the United States has passed some form of freedom of information legislation, which provides a mechanism for the general public to request information of the government. In 2011, Delaware passed legislation placing a 15 business day time limit on addressing freedom-of-information requests, to either produce information or an explanation of why such information would take longer than this time to produce.

Government revenue

Delaware has six different income tax brackets, ranging from 2.2% to 5.95%. The state does not assess sales tax on consumers. The state does, however, impose a tax on the gross receipts of most businesses. Business and occupational license tax rates range from 0.096% to 1.92%, depending on the category of business activity.

Delaware does not assess a state-level tax on real or personal property. Real estate is subject to county property taxes, school district property taxes, vocational school district taxes, and, if located within an incorporated area, municipal property taxes.

Gambling provides significant revenue to the state. For instance, the casino at Delaware Park Racetrack provided more than $100 million USD to the state in 2010.

Municipalities

Wilmington is the state's largest city and its economic hub. It is located within commuting distance of both Philadelphia and Baltimore. All regions of Delaware are enjoying phenomenal growth, with Dover and the beach resorts expanding at a rapid rate.

Counties

Kent

New Castle

Sussex

Cities

Delaware City

Dover

Harrington

Lewes

Middletown

Milford

New Castle

Newark

Rehoboth Beach

Seaford

Wilmington

Towns

Bellefonte

Bethany Beach

Bethel

Blades

Bowers

Bridgeville

Camden

Cheswold

Clayton

Dagsboro

Delmar

Dewey Beach

Ellendale

Elsmere

Towns ''(cont.)''

Farmington

Felton

Fenwick Island

Frankford

Frederica

Georgetown

Greenwood

Hartly

Henlopen Acres

Houston

Kenton

Laurel

Leipsic

Little Creek

Magnolia

Millsboro

Millville

Milton

Newport

Ocean View

Odessa

Selbyville

Slaughter Beach

Smyrna

South Bethany

Townsend

Viola

Woodside

Wyoming

Villages

Arden

Ardencroft

Ardentown

Unincorporated places

Bear

Brookside

Christiana

Clarksville

Claymont

Dover Base Housing

Edgemoor

Glasgow

Greenville

Gumboro

Harbeson

Highland Acres

Hockessin

Kent Acres

Lincoln City

Long Neck

Marshallton

North Star

Omar

Pike Creek

Rising Sun-Lebanon

Riverview

Rodney Village

Roxana

Saint Georges

Stanton

Wilmington Manor

Woodside East

Yorklyn

Top 10 richest places in Delaware

Ranked by per capita income

#Greenville: $83,223 #Henlopen Acres: $82,091 #South Bethany: $53,624 #Dewey Beach: $51,958 #Fenwick Island: $44,415 #Bethany Beach: $41,306 #Hockessin: $40,516 #North Star: $39,677 #Rehoboth Beach: $38,494 #Ardentown: $35,577

Education

Delaware was the origin of ''Belton v. Gebhart'', one of the four cases which was combined into ''Brown v. Board of Education'', the Supreme Court of the United States decision that led to the end of segregated public schools. Significantly, ''Belton'' was the only case in which the state court found for the plaintiffs, thereby ruling that segregation was unconstitutional.

Unlike many states, Delaware's educational system is centralized in a state Superintendent of Education, with local school boards retaining control over taxation and some curriculum decisions.

As of 2011, the Delaware Department of Education had authorized the founding of 25 charter schools in the state, among them one all-girls facility.

Discipline

A study in 2010 indicated that while black students made up 32% of public school attendees, they accounted for 55% of the students who were suspended or expelled.

Colleges and universities

Delaware College of Art and Design Delaware State University Delaware Technical & Community College Drexel University at Wilmington Goldey-Beacom College

University of Delaware Wesley College Widener University School of Law Wilmington University

Sister cities and states

Delaware's sister state in Japan is Miyagi Prefecture.

Media

Television

There are no network broadcast-television stations operating solely in Delaware. A local PBS station from Philadelphia (but licensed to Wilmington), WHYY-TV, maintains a studio and broadcasting facility in Wilmington and Dover, while ION Television affiliate WPPX is licensed to Wilmington but maintains their offices in Philadelphia and their digital transmitter outside of that city and an analog tower in New Jersey. Philadelphia's ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV, maintains a news bureau in downtown Wilmington. The northern part of the state is served by network stations in Philadelphia and the southern part by network stations in Baltimore and Salisbury, Maryland. Salisbury's CBS affiliate, WBOC-TV, maintains bureaus in Dover and Milton.

Tourism

While Delaware has no places designated as national parks, national seashores, national battlefields, national memorials, or national monuments, it does have several museums, wildlife refuges, parks, houses, lighthouses, and other historic places. Delaware is home to the second longest twin span suspension bridge in the world, the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

Rehoboth Beach, together with the towns of Lewes, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island, comprise Delaware's beach resorts. Rehoboth Beach often bills itself as "The Nation's Summer Capital" because it is a frequent summer vacation destination for Washington, D.C., residents as well as visitors from Maryland, Virginia, and in lesser numbers, Pennsylvania. Vacationers are drawn for many reasons, including the town's charm, artistic appeal, nightlife, and tax free shopping.

Delaware is home to several festivals, fairs, and events. Some of the more notable festivals are the Riverfest held in Seaford, the World Championship Punkin Chunkin held at various locations throughout the county since 1986, the Rehoboth Beach Chocolate Festival, the Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral to mark the end of summer, the Apple Scrapple Festival held in Bridgeville, the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, the Sea Witch Halloween Festival and Parade in Rehoboth Beach, the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, the Nanticoke Indian Pow Wow in Oak Orchard, and the Return Day Parade held after every election in Georgetown.

Culture and Entertainement

Festivals

Sports

!Club	!Sport	!League
Wilmington Blue Rocks	Baseball	Minor League Baseball
Delaware Griffins		Women's Professional Football League
Central Delaware SA Future	Soccer	Women's Premier Soccer League
Delaware Dynasty	Soccer	USL Premier Development League
Diamond State Roller Girls	Roller Derby	Women's Flat Track Derby Association

As Delaware has no franchises in the major America professional sports leaguess, many Delawareans follow either Philadelphia or Baltimore teams, depending on their location within the state. The University of Delaware's football team has a large following throughout the state with the Delaware State University and Wesley College (Delaware)Wesley College teams also enjoying a smaller degree of support.

Delaware is home to Dover International Speedway and Dover Downs. DIS, also known as the ''Monster Mile'', hosts two NASCAR races each year. Dover Downs is a popular harness racing facility. It is the only co-located horse and car-racing facility in the nation, with the Dover Downs track is located inside the DIS track.

Delaware has been home to professional wrestling outfit Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). CZW has been affiliated with the annual Tournament of Death and ECWA with its annual Super 8 Tournament.

Delaware is home to the Diamond State Games, an amateur Olympic-style sports festival. The event is open to athletes of all ages and is also open to residents beyond the borders of Delaware. The Diamond State Games were created in 2001 and participation levels average roughly 2500 per year in 12 contested sports.

Delaware Native Americans

Delaware is also the name of a Native American group (called in their own language Lenni Lenape) that was influential in the colonial period of the United States and is today headquartered in Cheswold, Kent County, Delaware. A band of the Nanticoke tribe of American Indians today resides in Sussex County and is headquartered in Millsboro, Sussex County, Delaware.

Namesakes

Several ships have been named USS ''Delaware'' in honor of this state.

Notable Delawareans

See also

List of places in Delaware

National Register of Historic Places listings in Delaware

References

External links

State of Delaware official website

Delaware Tourism homepage

Delaware Map Data

Energy & Environmental Data for Delaware

USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Delaware

U.S. Census Bureau

Delaware State Facts

2000 Census of Population and Housing for Delaware, U.S. Census Bureau

Delaware State Databases - Annotated list of searchable databases produced by Delaware state agencies and compiled by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association.

{{S-ttl|title = List of U.S. states by date of statehood | years = Ratified Constitution on December 7, 1787 (1st)}}

Category:States of the United States Category:Former British colonies Category:States and territories established in 1787

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Coordinates	29°55′12″N51°10′48″N
Name	Kyle Thomas Busch
Birth date	May 02, 1985
birth place	Las Vegas, Nevada
cup car team	18 – Joe Gibbs Racing
previous year	2010
prev cup pos	8th
best cup pos	5th – 2007
cup wins	23
cup top tens	114
cup poles	8
first cup race	2004 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 (Las Vegas)
first cup win	2005 Sony HD 500 (California)
last cup win	2011 Pure Michigan 400 (Michigan)
busch car team	18– Joe Gibbs Racing
prev busch year	2010
prev busch pos	3rd
best busch pos	1st – 2009
first busch race	2003 Carquest Auto Parts 300 (Charlotte)
first busch win	2004 Funai 250 (Richmond)
last busch win	2011 Food City 250 (Bristol )
busch wins	50
busch top tens	140
busch poles	23
truck car team	18– Kyle Busch Motorsports
first truck race	2001 Power Stroke Diesel 200 (Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis)
first truck win	2005 Quaker Steak and Lube 200 (Charlotte)
last truck win	2011 UNOH 225 (Kentucky)
prev truck year	2010
prev truck pos	14th
best truck pos	14th – 2008/2010
truck wins	29
truck top tens	73
truck poles	12
awards	2004 Busch Series Rookie of the Year2005 NEXTEL Cup Series Rookie of the Year 2008 Southern 500 Winner 2009 Nationwide Series Champion
updated	July 16, 2011 }}

Kyle Thomas Busch aka:"Rowdy" or "Shrub" (born May 2, 1985) is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series, and the No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra for his own team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

He currently holds the modern-era record for most race wins in a season across the top three NASCAR series with twenty-four wins, which he accomplished in 2010. On August 21, 2010, Busch became the first driver to win in all three of NASCAR's top three touring series in the same weekend (Bristol). Busch became the first driver in Nationwide series history to lead more than 10,000 laps. Busch also holds the record for the most NASCAR Nationwide Series wins with 50, surpassing Mark Martin's 49.

Busch is also only the second driver to ever win on his birthday, winning the 2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russell Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway, which was run on his 24th birthday. Cale Yarborough was the first.

Kyle Busch married Samantha Sarcinella on December 31, 2010 in Chicago. Sarcinella is a native of St. John, Indiana and a graduate of Purdue University.

He is the younger brother of 2004 Nextel Cup Series champion Kurt Busch.

Early life

Kyle Busch's first driving lessons came at the age of 6 when he drove around the cul-de-sac of his family's Las Vegas neighborhood in a makeshift go-kart. Although he was too small to reach the throttle, Busch still was able to pick up the basics from his father Tom, who controlled the gas pedal as his young son steered the kart. Throughout his childhood, Busch spent many hours as an apprentice to his father and older brother Kurt in the family garage learning to build and repair race cars. By the age of 10, he was a full-fledged mechanic and served as crew chief of his older brother's dwarf car team.

In 1998, shortly after his 13th birthday, Busch's driving career officially began. From 1999 through 2001, Busch earned more than 65 wins in legends car racing as he racked up two track championships at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's "Bullring" before moving to late models. He captured 10 victories in late model competition at the Bullring in 2001.

Early career

At the age of 16, Busch began competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series) for Roush Racing as a replacement for Nathan Haseleu and Chuck Hossfeld, who were released midway in the 2001 season. He made his debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park, impressing many people with a 9th place finish. In his second race at Chicago Motor Speedway, he was leading with less than 20 laps to go and was on his way to winning the race, until his truck ran out of fuel with 12 laps to go.

Busch was the fastest in practice for a 2001 Craftsman Truck Series race at California Speedway in Fontana, CA, when he was ejected from the track by CART officials because the American Racing Wheels 200 was part of a CART weekend featuring the Marlboro 500 CART FedEx Championship Series event. Marlboro threw Busch out of the garage because of an interpretation of the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, prohibiting people under 18 years of age in participating in events sponsored by tobacco companies. He earned two top-10 finishes in six starts in the #99 Eldon Ford F-150 in what had been scheduled to be a full-season campaign for 2002.

Six weeks after the incident, NASCAR imposed a minimum age of 18 years starting in 2002 to prevent future incidents from happening again, because Winston was the premier series sponsor at the time. When the age requirements were put in place, Busch switched from NASCAR to the American Speed Association (ASA) series, finishing 8th in points.

In 2002, Busch graduated a year early with honors from Durango High School in Las Vegas, Nevada to focus on his driving career. That same year, he made his debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway, finishing twelfth in the #22 WP Motorsports Chevrolet.

In 2003, Busch signed a driver development contract with Hendrick Motorsports, and drove seven ARCA races in their #87 ditech entry. He won his first two races at Nashville Superspeedway and Kentucky Speedway, and won his most recent ARCA race the following year at Daytona.

He is often nicknamed "Shrub", since he is the younger brother of NASCAR driver Kurt Busch and a small bush is called a shrub.

NASCAR career

2003–2007

Upon turning 18, Busch partnered with Hendrick Motorsports to run six NASCAR Busch Series races at selected tracks, running the #87 Ditech.com Chevrolet Monte Carlo for NEMCO Motorsports. During his seat time in that ride, Busch finished a Busch Series career-high second in his first NASCAR Busch Series race at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in May 2003.

Busch's first full-time season began in 2004, as he competed in the Lowe's car vacated by Brian Vickers, who had moved up to the NEXTEL Cup series. Busch clinched Rookie of the Year honors in the series, receiving his first top-10 finish of the season at the second race in Rockingham, won his first pole of the season in the fifth race, and claimed his first victory at the Richmond International Raceway at the Funai 250 in May. Busch went on to claim five wins in 2004, making him the record holder of most races won by a driver in their rookie season, and finished second to Martin Truex, Jr. in the overall points. Busch also qualified for six Nextel Cup races out of nine attempts in 2004 in the #84 Carquest Chevrolet for Hendrick, his highest finish being 24th at California Speedway.

After the announcement that long time Hendrick NEXTEL Cup series driver Terry Labonte would be running a limited schedule in 2005 and 2006, Busch was picked to take over the #5 Kellogg's/Carquest Auto Parts Chevrolet Monte Carlo, crew chiefed by Alan Gustafson. He won his first career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race on September 4 in the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway, driving for Rick Hendrick. At the end of the season Busch won the 2005 Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year with 2 wins and a 20th place points finish. The earlier win at Fontana made Busch eligible to become a part of the 20 NASCAR Triple Threats, a group of drivers who have won a race in NASCAR's top three divisions. At the time, he was the youngest-ever winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, at 20 years, 125 days, a mark that has since been eclipsed by current teammate Joey Logano. He also became the youngest pole sitter in NEXTEL Cup history after winning the pole for the 2005 Auto Club 500.

Busch returned to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2005 for a limited number of races in Billy Ballew Motorsports's Chevrolets, winning his first career truck series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 20, 2005, becoming the youngest driver to win a Truck Series race, at 20 years 19 days. He would also win the truck race at Dover International Speedway, and the fall race in Atlanta Motor Speedway, both 200-mile races. In addition, he ran a limited schedule in the Busch Series driving the #5 and #57 for Hendrick. He won at Lowe's Motor Speedway; but did not qualify for the race at Texas Motor Speedway, a track he had won the pole at one year earlier.

In 2006, he took the victory in the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, and qualified for the Chase for the Cup during the last race before the 2006 Chase at Richmond International Raceway, in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, where he finished second after leading the most laps. He entered the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup fourth in Cup points. Busch started the first race of the Chase mid-pack in the 43 car field at the New Hampshire International Speedway but got caught up in an incident on lap four when he and the #66 Best Buy Chevrolet of Jeff Green made contact, knocking his front suspension out of line, and eventually spun out and wrecked the car. Busch followed up the next week at Dover International Speedway with an initially strong run before an engine failure took him out of the race. Busch then went to the Kansas Speedway and led several laps before being caught for speeding on pit road and finished in the bottom half of the top-ten. He finished the season in tenth place in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup standings, 448 points behind champion Jimmie Johnson. His winnings for the 2006 season sum up to $5,537,337. Busch is currently the youngest driver to make the NASCAR NEXTEL Chase for the Cup.

Busch repeated his Lowe's victory in 2006 in a truck painted to resemble the Rowdy Burns car from Days of Thunder, in a tribute to Bobby Hamilton (who was the stunt driver for the character), who was in the midst of a cancer battle which would later take his life. In addition, he ran nearly the entire 2006 season in the #5 Lowe's/Shop-Vac Chevy, winning one race and finishing seventh in points despite skipping one race.

Busch became the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver to win in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow at the 2007 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He also scored Hendrick Motorsports their 200th NASCAR win (in all series), and also scored Chevrolet's 600th NASCAR victory, the first by the Chevrolet Impala since Wendell Scott's 1963 win in Jacksonville, Florida. At the Aaron's 312 Busch Race at Talladega, Busch went on a wild ride down the backstretch when he got turned into teammate Casey Mears' car by Tony Stewart. The car spun towards the outside wall and flipped onto its roof. The car then slid down the track and hit the turn 3 grass, flipping side over side. The car flipped a total of seven times, but Busch walked away unscathed. In the Nextel All-Star Challenge at the Lowe's Motor Speedway, he and older brother Kurt Busch got together, knocking them both out of the race. In June 2007, Busch announced his plans to leave Hendrick Motorsports after the 2007 season. The two sides had been working on a contract extension but eventually agreed mutually to part ways. It was announced the same day that Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be replacing him at Hendrick Motorsports. However, days later Busch stated that he had no idea he was going to be released. It was announced two months later that Busch had chosen Joe Gibbs Racing for his team in the 2008 season. He replaced J. J. Yeley in the #18 Toyota Camry, with M&M's coming over from Yates Racing as the primary sponsor. In the Busch Series, he ran nineteen races and won four times, garnering a sixteenth-place points finish. He also made eleven starts in the Craftsman Truck Series for Billy Ballew in the #51 Flanders Beef Patties truck, winning 3 times.

2008–Present

Busch's tenure with Gibbs started off with leading the most laps (86) in the 50th Annual Daytona 500 before finishing 4th. He followed that with another 4th place finish in the Auto Club 500. As a result, he took the lead in the points standings for the first time in his career. Busch led 173 of the 325 laps and won the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was the 5th career win for Busch, and the first Sprint Cup points race victory for Toyota.

On August 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards tapped Busch's rear bumper on lap 470/500 to take the lead Busch had owned for most of the race. After the race, Busch pulled alongside to bump into Edwards repeatedly, to "let him know I didn't appreciate the way he passed me." Edwards responded by spinning out Busch. The following week, NASCAR announced that both Edwards and Busch were being placed on probation for the off-track argument.

Busch's hopes for his first championship were dashed by two consecutive DNF's at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Dover International Speedway, wiping out his 20-point lead and dropping him to 12th in points. However, Busch ralled back with top fives and gained two more spots to close out his first season with JGR 10th in points. Busch had a career-high eight wins and twenty-one top-tens that season.

Busch also ran 30 Nationwide races, and along with Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart helped win the 2008 Nationwide series Owners Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing for the number 20 car. He ran in the series for three different teams and in 4 different numbers, running Braun Racing's number 32 with Beringer and Dollar General sponsorship, the 92 Toyota with Zippo BLU sponsorship for D'Hondt Motorsports in the Zippo 200, and for Joe Gibbs Racing in the number 18 with sponsorship from Interstate Batteries, DLP, Z-Line Designs and Southern Farm Bureau Insurance and the number 20 with Doosan Infracore, Farm Bureau and Z-Line as sponsors.

Busch accumulated 4 poles, 20 top tens and 18 top fives in his partial season, and won 10 races which tied the Nationwide series record for most wins in a season with Sam Ard, who had accomplished the feat some 24 years earlier. In the Craftsman Truck Series, Busch finished second in the Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway, and followed it up a week later with a win in the San Bernardino County 200 at the newly named Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Two weeks later at Atlanta, he raced to another win in the American Commercial Lines 200. Busch acquired his 2nd Craftsman Truck Series pole in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. His 3rd win of the 2008 truck series season was at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

On February 12 2009, Busch won the second Gatorade Duel at Daytona. This was the first qualifying race win for Busch, allowing him to start fourth in the 51st Daytona 500. Busch led 88 laps, leading the most for the second year in a row. However, he was taken out on lap 125 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned into Brian Vickers' car, starting a chain reaction crash that sent Vickers into Busch's car, wrecking it, and several other lead lap cars. The following week, Busch made NASCAR history, becoming the first person in the history of the sport to win races in two of NASCAR's touring series in the same day by winning the San Bernardino County 200 in the afternoon and the Stater Brothers 300 in the evening. The next week, he won the 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in his hometown. After the race, he and his brother exchanged a long, passionate hug, perhaps signaling the end of their feud. Darrell Waltrip was quoted as saying it was the "sweetest thing he had ever seen". Busch was the first to win three Cup races in 2009, collecting his third win at Richmond International Raceway. With his win in the 2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400, Busch joined Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win on their birthday.

Busch was involved in a violent wreck at the end of the 2009 Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway. While leading on the final lap, only yards from the finish line, Tony Stewart and Busch made contact, sending Busch spinning hard into the outside wall, his car nearly flipping over, which was then hit by Kasey Kahne, sending the car up on its nose. Busch took another hard hit in the driver's side from teammate Joey Logano before spinning to a stop in the infield. Stewart won the race. Busch would finsh 5th at Richmond, but he missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup by 8 points. Brian Vickers would get the last spot.

In the Nationwide Series on November 21, 2009, Kyle Busch won both the Nationwide Series finale and his first NASCAR Championship, becoming the first driver since Sam Ard in 1983 to win the season finale and the championship in the same year. Busch finished the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series season with 9 wins, 25 top 5's, and 30 top 10's.

Busch's 2009 season in the newly-renamed Camping World Truck Series started off much like the 2008 season had. Finishing second in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway to Todd Bodine, as they had finished in 2008, Busch then dominated the San Bernardino County 200 a week later at Auto Club Speedway, winning the pole and leading 95 of 100 laps. Bodine finished second – again, the same as the two had finished in this race the year before. The following race, the American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Busch again won the pole, and overcame an ill-handling truck as well as transmission problems to take the lead in the closing laps. Busch was able to hold off Kevin Harvick to win the race for the second year in a row. It was his fourth win in five Truck Series starts at Atlanta.

On December 11, 2009, Kyle Busch announced the formation of Kyle Busch Motorsports that will field two teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010. KBM will have two truck teams running in the series. The #18 Toyota Tundra was to be driven by Busch part time, with the remainder of races to be driven by Brian Ickler. The second truck, the #56 Toyota Tundra, was to be driven by Tayler Malsam. However, after both Ickler and Malsam accepted jobs to drive in the Nationwide Series, and while suffering financial troubles due to lack of sponsorship, Busch withdrew the #56 from competition and has hired various drivers such as Johnny Benson and Kasey Kahne as well as Brian Ickler to fill in on #18 when Busch wasn't driving it himself.

On August 21, 2010, Kyle Busch became the first driver in NASCAR history to win all 3 NASCAR tour events in one weekend. This was achieved at Bristol with a win for the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series, and the Sprint Cup Series. Busch started 19th in his Doublemint Toyota. He worked his way to the front, but Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart led him until a caution came out. Stewart checked up, allowing Tony Raines in the #37 car to hit his rear bumper, losing him the lead and the race. On the restart, Busch passed Johnson for the lead, but soon after Johnson was turned into the wall by Juan Pablo Montoya. Kyle Busch continued on to win the race leading the most laps and setting yet another record. Now Kyle is one of the most dominant forces in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Series. In the Nationwide series he won 11 races in 2010, breaking the all-time record for most Nationwide Series wins in a season previously held by Sam Ard with 10. On October 30, 2010, Busch scored a controversial victory in the Camping World Truck Series Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, which saw Busch's truck wiggle below the track's double-yellow "out-of-bounds" line as Busch made the winning pass on second-place finisher Aric Almirola at the finish line.

For 2011, Busch's Speedweeks started off on a low note, as he crashed out of the Budweiser Shootout along with teammate Joey Logano. Busch also raced in all 3 NASCAR events at Daytona, finishing 5th in the Truck Race, 7th in the Nationwide race, and 8th in the Daytona 500. The next week at Phoenix, Busch dominated the Truck race and led every single lap in the Bashas' Supermarkets 200. Kyle Would also Sweep the weekend at Bristol in the Nationwide and Cup Series on the March 19th and March 20 Race Weekend at Thunder Valley. On April 30, 2011, Kyle won at Richmond International Raceway, capturing his 2nd win in the 2011 season. Following an on-track incident with Kevin Harvick during and after the Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway, Kyle was fined $25,000 and put on probation for 4 races (plus the All-Star Race).

Following the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, pit reporter Ray Dunlap tweeted, “Hot news from the track. Grandpa Childress put a whipping on Kyle Busch in the truck garage". Dunlap mistakenly referred to him as "kubu", which is Twitter shorthand for Kurt Busch, who was not involved.

It is believed that Kyle Busch's post-race bump of Joey Coulter, who drove the #22 Richard Childress Racing-owned Chevrolet Silverado, was in response to Coulter passing Busch on the final lap. About 30 minutes after the race, witnesses say that Childress came up to Busch, put him in a head lock and started punching him. Busch, who was still on probation at the time of the incident, did not violate his probation. Childress, however, was fined $150,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until December 31, 2011. Busch said in an interview that he did not hit Coulter's truck intentionally and that it was a congratulatory bump. He also said that he would pay Childress for the damage on Coulter's truck.

On August 21, 2011, Busch won the Pure Michigan 400 for his 4th victory of the 2011 season and became the first man to clinch a spot in the Chase. Jeff Gordon was the class of the field late, but after a late race debris caution, Busch beat Gordon and Matt Kenseth out of the pits and held off Jimmie Johnson for the win.

On August 26, 2011 Kyle Busch won the Nationwide Series at Bristol Motor Speedway surpassing Mark Martin for the most Nationwide series wins ever, with 50, and also simultaneously became the first driver to win three consecutive races at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Nationwide Series. He also won this race in one of the closest finishes in series history, as he won the race by 0.019 seconds over teammate Joey Logano.

2011 Results

Sprint Cup Series

2011 PreSeason Races
! #	! Date	! Race	! Track	! Start	! Finish	! Points
	02/12/2011	Budweiser Shootout	Daytona International Speedway	21st	16th	—
	02/17/2011	Gatorade Duel – Race 2	Daytona International Speedway	13th	4th	—
2011 Regular Season – Races 1 – 26
! #	! Date	! Race	! Track	! Start	! Finish	! Points
1	02/20/2011	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	10th	8th	7th
2	02/27/2011	Subway Fresh Fit 500	Phoenix International Raceway	4th	2nd	1st
3	03/06/2011	Kobalt Tools 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	5th	38th	14th
4	03/20/2011	Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City	Bristol Motor Speedway	12th	1st	6th
5	03/27/2011	Auto Club 400	Auto Club Speedway	8th	3rd	4th
6	04/03/2011	Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500	Martinsville Speedway	11th	3rd	1st
7	04/09/2011	Samsung Mobile 500	Texas Motor Raceway	11th	16th	2nd
8	04/17/2011	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway	34th	35th	6th
9	04/30/2011	Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400	Richmond International Raceway	20th	1st	3rd
10	05/07/2011	Showtime Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	14th	11th	3rd
11	05/15/2011	Fedex 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks	Dover International Speedway	7th	4th	3rd
	05/21/2011	Sprint All-Star Race	Charlotte Motor Speedway	1st	2nd	—
12	05/29/2011	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	21st	32nd	5th
13	06/05/2011	STP 400	Kansas Speedway	3rd	12th	5th
14	06/12/2011	Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500	Pocono Speedway	34th	3rd	5th
15	06/19/2011	Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400	Michigan International Speedway	24th	3rd	4th
16	06/26/2011	Toyota / Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway	19th	11th	5th
17	07/02/2011	Coke Zero 400	Daytona International Speedway	38th	5th	3rd
18	07/09/2011	Quaker State 400	Kentucky Speedway	1st	1st	1st
19	07/17/2011	Lenox Industrial Tools 301	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	19th	'''36th	5th
20	07/31/2011	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Raceway	29th	10th	4th
21	08/07/2011	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway	11th	2nd	3rd
22	08/14/2011	Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen	Watkins Glen International	1st	3rd	1st
23	08/21/2011	Pure Michigan 400	Michigan International Speedway	17th	1st	1st
24	08/27/2011	Irwin Tools Night Race	Bristol Motor Speedway	-	-	-
25	09/04/2011	AdvoCare 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	-	-	-
26	09/10/2011	Air Guard 400	Richmond International Raceway	-	-	-
2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup – Races 27 – 36
! #	! Date	! Race	! Track	! Start	! Finish	! Points
27	09/18/2011	Geico 400	Chicagoland Speedway	-	-	-
28	09/25/2011	Sylvania 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	-	-	-
29	10/02/2011	AAA 400	Dover International Speedway	-	-	-
30	10/09/2011	Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas Speedway	-	-	-
31	10/15/2011	Bank of America 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	-	-	-
32	10/23/2011	AMP Energy 500	Talladega Superspeedway	-	-	-
33	10/30/2011	Tums Bring It On 500	Martinsville Speedway	-	-	-
34	11/06/2011	AAA Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	-	-	-
35	11/13/2011	Kobalt Tools 500	Phoenix International Speedway	-	-	-
36	11/20/2011	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	-	-	-

Nationwide Series

2011 Season – Races 1 – 34
! #	! Date	! Race	! Track	! Start	! Finish
1	02/19/2011	Drive4COPD 300	Daytona International Speedway	8th	7th
2	02/26/2011	Bashas' Supermarkets 200	Phoenix International Raceway	1st	1st
3	03/05/2011	Sam's Town 300	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	2nd	30th
4	03/19/2011	Scotts EZ Seed 300	Bristol Motor Speedway	5th	1st
5	03/26/2011	Royal Purple 300	Auto Club Speedway	7th	1st
6	04/08/2011	O'Reilly Auto Parts 300	Texas Motor Speedway	8th	34th
7	04/16/2011	Aaron's 312	Talladega Superspeedway	22nd	1st
8	04/23/2011	Nashville 300	Nashville Superspeedway	6th	2nd
9	04/29/2011	Bubba Burger 250	Richmond International Raceway	DNA	DNA
10	05/06/2011	Royal Purple 200	Darlington Raceway	1st	1st
11	05/14/2011	5-Hour Energy 200	Dover International Speedway	13th	2nd
12	05/22/2011	Iowa John Deere Dealers 250	Iowa Speedway	DNA	DNA
13	05/28/2011	Top Gear 300	Charlotte Motor Speedway	4th	3rd
14	06/04/2011	STP 300	Chicagoland Speedway	DNA	DNA
15	06/18/2011	Michigan 250	Michigan International Speedway	12th	3rd
16	06/25/2011	Bucyrus 200	Road America	DNA	DNA
17	07/01/2011	Subway Jalapeño 250	Daytona International Speedway	14th	4th
18	07/08/2011	Feed the Children 300	Kentucky Speedway	41st	3rd
19	07/16/2011	New England 200	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	5th	1st
20	07/23/2011	Federated Auto Parts 300	Nashville Superspeedway	-	-
21	07/30/2011	Kroger 200	Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis	-	-
22	08/06/2011	U.S. Cellular 250	Iowa Speedway	-	-
23	08/13/2011	Zippo 200	Watkins Glen International	-	-
24	08/20/2011	NAPA Auto Parts 200	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve	-	-
25	08/26/2011	Food City 250	Bristol Motor Speedway	-	-
26	09/03/2011	Great Clips 300	Atlanta Motor Speedway	-	-
27	09/09/2011	Virginia 529 College Savings 250	Richmond International Raceway	-	-
28	09/17/2011	Dollar General 300	Chicagoland Speedway	-	-
29	10/01/2011	OneMain Financial 200	Dover International Speedway	-	-
30	10/08/2011	Kansas Lottery 300	Kansas Speedway	-	-
31	10/14/2011	Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage	Charlotte Motor Speedway	-	-
32	11/05/2011	O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge	Texas Motor Speedway	-	-
33	11/12/2011	Wypall 200	Phoenix International Raceway	-	-
34	11/19/2011	Ford 300	Homestead-Miami Speedway	-	-

DNA means the driver did not attempt the race

Camping World Truck Series

2011 Season – Races 1 – 25
! #	! Date	! Race	! Track	! Start	! Finish
1	02/18/2011	NextEra Energy Resources 250	Daytona International Speedway	21st	5th
2	02/25/2011	Lucas Oil 150	Phoenix International Raceway	3rd	1st
3	03/12/2011	Too Tough To Tame 200	Darlington Raceway	DNA	DNA
4	04/02/2011	Kroger 250	Martinsville Speedway	5th	2nd
5	04/22/2011	Bully Hill Vineyards 200	Nashville Superspeedway	1st	1st
6	05/13/2011	Lucas Oil 200	Dover International Speedway	3rd	1st
7	05/20/2011	North Carolina Education Lottery 200	Charlotte Motor Speedway	6th	1st
8	06/04/2011	O'Reilly Auto Parts 250	Kansas Speedway	11th	6th
9	06/10/2011	WinStar World Casino 400	Texas Motor Speedway	DNA	DNA
10	07/07/2011	Kentucky 225	Kentucky Speedway	8th	1st
11	07/16/2011	Iowa 200	Iowa Speedway	DNA	DNA
12	07/22/2011	Nashville 200	Nashville Superspeedway	-	-
13	07/29/2011	Indianapolis 200	Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis	-	-
14	08/06/2011	Pocono Mountains 125	Pocono Raceway	-	-
15	08/20/2011	VFW 200	Michigan International Speedway	-	-
16	08/24/2011	O'Reilly Auto Parts 200	Bristol Motor Speedway	-	-
17	09/02/2011	Atlanta 200	Atlanta Motor Speedway	-	-
18	09/16/2011	Chicago 225	Chicagoland Speedway	-	-
19	09/24/2011	F.W. Webb 175	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	-	-
20	10/01/2011	Kentucky 225	Kentucky Speedway	-	-
21	10/15/2011	Smith's 350	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	-	-
22	10/22/2011	Talladega 250	Talladega Superspeedway	-	-
23	10/29/2011	Kroger 200	Martinsville Speedway	-	-
24	11/04/2011	WinStar World Casino 350K	Texas Motor Speedway	-	-
25	11/18/2011	Ford 200	Homestead-Miami Speedway	-	-

DNA means the driver did not attempt the race

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Statistics

Races 6 36 36 36 36 36 36 23 245

Year	|	Wins	Poles	Top 5	Top 10	DNF	Avg. Finish	Avg. Start	Winnings	Season Rank	Team(s)
	2004	|	0	0	0	0	4	35.2	27.2	$394,489	52nd	Hendrick Motorsports
	2005	|	2	1	9	13	8	21.0	18.6	$4,730,471	20th	Hendrick Motorsports
	2006	|	1	1	10	18	2	15.5	14.9	$6,077,337	10th	Hendrick Motorsports
	2007	|	1	0	11	20	2	14.1	15.0	$6,475,098	5th	Hendrick Motorsports
	2008	|	8	2	17	21	2	12.5	11.9	$8,276,725	10th	Joe Gibbs Racing
	2009	|	4	1	9	13	2	15.4	12.2	$6,945,752	13th	Joe Gibbs Racing
	2010	|	3	2	10	18	3	14.0	15.8	$7,447,367	8th	Joe Gibbs Racing
	2011	|	4	1	13	15	3	10.5	15.3	$3,982,665	1st	Joe Gibbs Racing
colspan="11" style="background:grey; height:5px;"
Totals	|	23	8	79	118	25	15.4	15.1	$44,329,904

(Data current as of August 22nd, 2011)

Formula One

Busch was one of three American drivers under consideration to drive for the US-based Formula One team US F1, along with Alexander Rossi and Jonathan Summerton before the team folded due to economic issues. Busch was supposed to have a test drive in Toyota F1 car at the end of 2008 season, but could not make it in the end because of Nationwide Series banquet.

Kyle Busch Foundation

According to the KBFoundation Mission Statement, The Kyle Busch Foundation is dedicated to providing essential tools for less fortunate children throughout the country. KBF will concentrate its efforts on assisting organizations in fostering a safe environment for children to live, learn and challenge themselves as well as seeing that day to day needs are met. His foundation sponsors his #51 late model which is driven by Alex Haase. Busch also has personal sponsorship deals in place with NOS Energy Drink and Electric Visual, with both appearing on his late model at one time or another.

During the 2008 season, Busch announced the "Kyle's Miles" program, inviting consumers to go to www.dogsrule.com. Kyle's Miles is a team-up with Pedigree to help dogs in shelters and breed rescue organizations.

Legal Troubles

On May 24, 2011, Busch was cited for reckless driving and speeding in Troutman, North Carolina, driving 128 MPH in a 45 MPH zone.He claims he got carried away test driving a Lexus LFA and issued a public apology.

On August 23, 2011, Busch received a $1,000 fine and had his license suspended for 45 days after he pleaded guilty to speeding. Busch also will have to serve 30 hours of community service and serve 1 year of unsupervised probation.

References

External links

Samantha Busch's Agent is Domenick Nati

Kyle Busch's Official Website

Category:1985 births Category:American Speed Association drivers Category:ARCA drivers Category:Hendrick Motorsports drivers Category:Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Category:Living people Category:NASCAR drivers Category:NASCAR Nationwide Series champions Category:NASCAR owners Category:NASCAR Rookies of the Year Category:People from the Las Vegas metropolitan area Category:Racecar drivers from Nevada Category:Roush Racing drivers

de:Kyle Busch es:Kyle Busch fr:Kyle Busch it:Kyle Busch nl:Kyle Busch ja:カイル・ブッシュ no:Kyle Busch pl:Kyle Busch pt:Kyle Busch simple:Kyle Busch sv:Kyle Busch tl:Kyle Busch

Coordinates	29°55′12″N51°10′48″N
name	Libbie Schrader
background	solo_singer
born	Portland, Oregon, U.S.
origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, piano
genre	Folk, pop
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	2001–present
associated acts	Think of England
website	LibbieSchrader.com }}

Elizabeth Brooke Schrader, professionally known as Libbie Schrader, is an award-winning singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn.

Schrader grew up in Portland, Oregon and moved to California to attend Pomona College, from which she graduated in 2001. That same year, Schrader's group, The Wash, won the inaugural Pantene Pro-Voice Competition. In 2002, Schrader's former group ''Think of England'' was chosen to be a part of Jewel's Soul City Café program, and opened three shows on her This Way tour.

After Schrader went solo, she was a featured artist on MySpace in early 2006, and appeared in the ''Gilmore Girls'' episode "Partings" later that year.

Discography

Albums

''Letters to Boys'' (2004, self-released)

''Taking the Fall'' (2005, self-released)

''Libbie Schrader'' (2007, self-released)

'' Magdaline'' (2011, self-released)

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:Musicians from Oregon

tl:Libbie Schrader

Coordinates	29°55′12″N51°10′48″N
Group	Seminole
Poptime	est. 18,600 Seminole Nation of Oklahoma 15,572 enrolled Seminole Tribe of Florida Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida
Popplace	United States (Oklahoma, Florida)
Rels	Protestantism, Catholicism, Green Corn Ceremony
Langs	English, Mikasuki, Creek
Related	Miccosukee, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek) }}

The Seminole are a Native American tribe originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in the early 18th century. The word ''Seminole'' is a corruption of ''cimarrón'', a Spanish term for "runaway" or "wild one", historically used for certain Indian groups in Florida. The Seminole are closely related to the Miccosukee, who were recognized as a separate tribe in 1962.

After an initial period of colonization in Florida, during which they distanced themselves increasingly from other Creek groups, the Seminole established a thriving trade network during the British and second Spanish periods (roughly 1767–1821). The tribe expanded considerably during this time, and was further supplemented from the late 18th century with the appearance of the Black Seminoles – free blacks and escaped slaves who settled in communities near Seminole towns, where they paid tribute to the Indians in exchange for protection. However, tensions grew between the Seminole and the United States to the north, leading to a series of conflicts known as the Seminole Wars (1818–1858). Over the course of the wars most Seminoles were forced to relocate west of the Mississippi River in a process of Indian removal. Perhaps fewer than 200 Seminoles remained in Florida, but those who did fostered a resurgence in traditional customs and a culture of staunch independence.

Seminole culture is largely derived from Creek culture. Most Seminoles speak the Mikasuki language, with some (such as those living on the Brighton Seminole Reservation) speaking Creek; English is also prevalent today. The most important ceremony is the Green Corn Dance, which is celebrated largely as it is among the Creeks; other notable Creek-derived traditions include use of the black drink and ritual smoking of tobacco. As the Seminole adapted to the Florida environment, they developed their own local traditions, such as the construction of open air thatched-roof houses known as chickees.

The Seminoles who moved west of the Mississippi largely settled in what is now Oklahoma. Today most are enrolled with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, while others belong to unorganized groups. The Florida Seminoles reestablished limited relations with the U.S. government in the late 19th century, and eventually received of reservation land in Florida. However, few Seminole had interest in moving to reservations until the 1940s, when many Seminole Christians relocated to them in order to establish their own churches. Reservation governments were founded, and the Seminole Tribe of Florida received federal recognition in 1957. However, the recognition caused conflict with a group living along the Tamiami Trail, who did not feel appropriately represented; they sought federal recognition as the Miccosukee Tribe, which they received in 1962.

History

In the late 18th century, the Lower Creeks, a tribe of Muscogee people, began to migrate into Florida to evade the dominance of the Upper Creeks, effectively displacing the Calusa and Mayaimi tribes with the aid of the Spanish who moved many of them to Cuba, where the tribes' populations were soon decimated by disease. The Seminole intermingled with the Choctaw and other few remaining indigenous people there, some recently arrived as refugees after the Yamasee War, such as the Yuchi, Yamasee and others. In a process of ethnogenesis, they formed a new culture which they called "Seminole", a derivative of the ''Mvskoke''' (a Creek language) word ''simano-li'', an adaptation of the Spanish ''cimarrón'' which means "wild" (in their case, "wild men"), or "runaway" [men]. The Seminole were a heterogeneous tribe made up of mostly Lower Creeks from Georgia, Mikasuki-speaking Muscogees, escaped African-American slaves, and to a lesser extent, Indians from other tribes and even white Americans. The unified Seminole spoke two languages: Creek and Mikasuki (a modern dialect similar to Hitchiti), two different members of the Muscogean Native American languages family, a language group that includes Choctaw and Chickasaw.

During the colonial years, the Seminole were on good terms with both the Spanish and the British. In 1784, the treaty ending the American Revolutionary War transferred British rule of Florida to Spain. The Spanish Empire's decline enabled the Seminole to settle more deeply into Florida. They were led by a dynasty of chiefs founded in the 18th century by Cowkeeper. This dynasty lasted until 1842, when the US forced the majority of Seminoles to move from Florida to the Indian Territory (modern Oklahoma) after the Second Seminole War.

There is also a village of Black Seminoles who have lived at Red Bays on Andros Island in the Bahamas since the 1820s.

Religion

Seminole tribes generally follow Christianity, both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, and their traditional Native religion, which is expressed through the stomp dance and the Green Corn Ceremony. Indigenous peoples have practiced Green Corn ceremonies for centuries. Contemporary southeastern Native American tribes, such as the Seminole and Muscogee Creek, still practice these ceremonies. A high degree of syncretism exists between Christianity and traditional Seminole religion, and Seminole Christian churches often sing hymns in the traditional languages.

In the 1950s, federal projects prompted the tribe's reorganization. They created organizations within tribal governance to promote modernization. As Christian pastors began preaching on reservations, Green Corn Ceremony attendance decreased. This created tension between religiously traditional Seminoles and those who began adopting Christianity. In the 1960s and 1970s, some tribal members on reservations, such as the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation, viewed organized Christianity as a threat to their traditions. Tribal reorganization appeared to be one factor in facilitating Christian conversion, but that also represented social changes of a new generation.

By the 1980s, Seminole communities were concerned about loss of language and tradition. Many tribal members began to revive the observance of traditional Green Corn Dance ceremonies, and some moved away from Christianity. By 2000 religious tension between Green Corn Dance attendees and Christians (particularly Baptists) decreased. Some Seminole families participate in both religions.

Seminole Wars

After attacks by Spanish settlers on Indian towns, Indians began raiding Georgia settlements, purportedly at the behest of the Spanish. In the early 19th century, the U.S. Army made increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish territory to recapture escaped slaves. General Andrew Jackson's 1817–1818 campaign against the Seminole Indians became known as the First Seminole War. Following the war, the United States effectively controlled East Florida.

In 1819 the United States and Spain signed the Adams-Onís Treaty, which took effect in 1821. According to its terms, the United States acquired Florida and, in exchange, renounced all claims to Texas. Andrew Jackson was named military governor of Florida. As European-American settlement increased after the treaty, settlers pressured the Federal government to remove the Indians from Florida. Slaveholders resented that Indian tribes harbored runaway black slaves, and more settlers wanted access to desirable Indian lands. Georgian slaveholders wanted the "maroons" and fugitive slaves living among the Seminoles, known today as Black Seminoles, returned to slavery.

In 1832, the United States government signed the Treaty of Paynes Landing with a few of the Seminole chiefs. They promised lands west of the Mississippi River if the chiefs agreed to leave Florida voluntarily with their peoples. The Seminoles who remained, prepared for war. White settlers continued to press for removal.

In 1835, the U.S. Army arrived to enforce the treaty. Seminole leader Osceola led the vastly outnumbered resistance during the Second Seminole War. Drawing on a population of about 4,000 Seminole Indians and 800 allied Black Seminoles, he mustered at most 1,400 warriors (Andrew Jackson estimated they had only 900). They countered combined U.S. Army and militia forces that ranged from 6,000 troops at the outset to 9,000 at the peak of deployment in 1837. To survive, the Seminole allies employed guerrilla tactics with devastating effect against U.S. forces. Osceola was arrested when he came under a flag of truce to negotiations in 1837. He died in jail less than a year later. His body was buried without his head.

Other war chiefs, such as Halleck Tustenuggee and Jumper, and Black Seminoles Abraham and John Horse, continued the Seminole resistance against the army. After a full decade of fighting, the war ended in 1842. Scholars estimate the U.S. government spent about $40,000,000 on the war, at the time a huge sum. Many Indians were forcibly exiled to Creek lands west of the Mississippi; others retreated into the Everglades. In the end, the government gave up trying to subjugate the Seminoles and left the estimated fewer than 500 survivors in peace.

Contemporary

During the Seminole Wars, the Seminole people began to break apart due to the conflict and differences in ideology. The Seminole population had also been growing significantly, though it was diminished by the wars. With the division of the Seminole tribe, some traditions such as powwow trails and ceremonies were maintained among them. The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida described below are fully independent nations that operate in their own spheres.

Oklahoma Seminoles

As a result of the Second Seminole War (1835–1842) about 3,800 Seminoles and maroons were forcibly removed to Indian Territory (the modern state of Oklahoma). The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma now has about 6,000 enrolled members, who are divided into fourteen bands. Two are called "Freedmen Bands" (also "Black Seminoles") because they descended in part from escaped slaves who were freed after the Civil War. Band membership is matrilineal: children are members of their mother's band. The group is ruled by an elected council, with two members from each band. The capital is at Wewoka, Oklahoma. Recently tribal citizenship disputes have arisen related to the membership status of "Seminole Freedmen" in Oklahoma.

Florida Seminoles

The remaining few hundred Seminoles survived in the Florida swamplands avoiding removal. They lived in the Everglades, to isolate themselves from European-Americans. Seminoles continued their distinctive life, such as "clan-based matrilocal residence in scattered thatched-roof chickee camps." Today, the 21st century descendants of the Seminole proudly note the Seminole were never officially conquered. That is one source of the nation's sovereign rights.

After the Third Seminole War, the Seminoles in Florida divided into two groups; those who were more traditional and those willing to adapt to the reservations. Those who accepted reservation lands and made adaptations were recognized as the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Those who preferred the more traditional lifestyle organized themselves as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Other Seminoles not affiliated with either of the federally recognized groups are known as Traditional or Independent Seminoles.

Seminole Tribe of Florida

The Seminole worked to adapt, but they were highly affected by the rapidly changing American environment. Natural disasters magnified changes from the governmental drainage project of the Everglades. Residential, agricultural and business development changed the "natural, social, political, and economic environment" of the Seminole. In the 1930s, the Seminole slowly began to move onto federally designated reservation lands within the region. The US government had purchased lands and put them in trust for Seminole use. Initially, few Seminoles had any interest in moving to the reservation land or in establishing more formal relations with the government. Some feared that if they moved onto reservations, they would be forced to move to Oklahoma. Others accepted the move in hopes of stability, jobs promised by the Indian New Deal, or as new converts to Christianity.

Beginning in the 1940s, however, more Seminoles began to move to the reservations. A major catalyst for this was the conversion of many Seminole to Christianity, following missionary effort spearheaded by the Creek Baptist evangelist Stanley Smith. For the new converts, relocating to the reservations afforded them the opportunity to establish their own churches. Reservation Seminoles began forming tribal governments and forming ties with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1957 the nation reorganized and established formal relations with the US government as the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The Seminole Tribe of Florida is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida. They control several reservations: Big Cypress, Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation, Dania, Florida State Reservation, and Tampa Reservation.

Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida

The relocation to reservations and the federal recognition of the Seminole Tribe of Florida – a move largely supported by residents of the reservations – caused antiphathy between the reservation Seminole and those who had chosen not to move. In particularly, a group known as the Trail Indians, who lived along the Tamiami Trail, felt disenfranchised by the situation. This was exacerbated in 1950 when some reservation Seminoles filed a land claim suit against the federal government that was not supported by the Trail Indians.

Following the recognition of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Trail Indians decided to organize their own separate tribal government. They sought recognition as the Miccosukee Tribe, as they spoke the Mikasuki (Miccosukee) language. They received full recognition in 1962, and received their own reservation land, collectively known as the Miccosukee Indian Reservation. The Miccosukee Tribe set up a reservation on the northern border of Everglades National Park, about west of Miami.

Commerce

In the United States 2000 Census, 12,431 people reported themselves as Seminole American Indian. An additional 15,000 people identified themselves as Seminoles in combination with some other tribal affiliation or race.

The Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida entered into agreements with the US government in 1957 and 1962, respectively, confirming their sovereignty over tribal lands and agreeing to compensation for seized territory. The Seminole have been engaged in stock raising since the mid-1930s, when they received cattle from western Indians. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) hoped that the cattle raising would teach Seminoles to become citizens using agricultural settlements. The BIA also hoped that this program would lead to Seminole self-sufficiency. Cattle owners realized that by using their cattle as equity, they could engage in "new capital-intensive pursuits", such as housing. Since then, the tribes have developed economies based chiefly on sales of duty-free tobacco, heritage and resort tourism, and gambling. On December 7, 2006, they purchased the Hard Rock Cafe chain of restaurants.

Florida experienced a population boom in the early 20th century when the Flagler railroad to Miami was completed. The state became a growing destination for tourists and many resort towns were established. In the years that followed, many Seminoles worked in the cultural tourism trade. By the 1920s, many Seminoles were involved in service jobs. In addition, they were able to market their culture by selling traditional craft products (made mostly by women) and by exhibitions of traditional skills, such as wrestling alligators (by men). Some of the crafts included woodcarving, basket weaving, beadworking, patchworking, and palmetto-doll making. These crafts are still practiced today.

Fewer Seminole rely on crafts for income because gaming has become so lucrative. The Miccosukee Tribe has sustained itself by owning and operating a casino, resort, a golf club, several museum attractions, and the "Indian Village". At the "Indian Village", Miccosukee demonstrate traditional, pre-contact lifestyles to educate people about their culture.

"In 1979, the Seminoles opened the first casino on Indian land, ushering in what has become a multibillion-dollar industry operated by numerous tribes nationwide." This casino was the first tribally operated bingo hall in North America. Since its establishment, gaming has become an important source of revenue for tribal governments. Tribal gaming has provided secure employment, and the revenues have supported higher education, health insurance, services for the elderly, and personal income. In more recent years, income from the gaming industry has funded major economic projects such as sugarcane fields, citrus groves, cattle, ecotourism, and commercial agriculture. This has culminated in the purchase by the Seminole Tribe of Florida of Hard Rock Cafe, which previously they had licensed for several of their casinos.

The Seminole are reflected in numerous Florida place names:

Seminole County;

Osceola County;

Seminole, a city in Pinellas County; and

Seminole, a small community in Okaloosa County.

Florida State University connection

The image and name of the Seminole Osceola serves as a symbol for Florida State University (FSU). Several high school athletic programs in the state use the nickname "Seminoles".

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) prohibition against use of Native American logos, signs in stadiums, cheerleader and band uniforms, and mascots as presumed "hostile and abusive" was attempted against FSU and the Seminoles. It is considered on a case-by-case basis elsewhere. FSU was exempted after the threat of litigation by the administration at FSU because the university had an agreement with the 3,100-member Seminole Tribe of Florida of the relationship and details of the images used. During the dispute, the Oklahoma Seminole also endorsed use of the name and image.

The "war chant" cheer made by spectators at FSU football games includes the "tomahawk chop", a gesture invented by the fans. At first they pointed to the goal line, encouraging the team to score, but over time, the gesture imitated a tomahawk swinging down. Traditionally, the Seminole seldom used tomahawks. Before converting to modern weaponry, Seminole ancestors used spears with flint, bone or cane tips, war clubs studded with sharks' teeth, and bows and arrows.

See also

''Seminole (clipper)'', 1865 clipper ship

Notes

References

Adams, Mikaëla M., “Savage Foes, Noble Warriors, and Frail Remnants: Florida Seminoles in the White Imagination, 1865–1934,” ''Florida Historical Quarterly,'' 87 (Winter 2009), 404–35.

Cattelino, Jessica R. ''High Stakes: Florida Seminole Gaming and Sovereignty.'' Durham: Duke University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8223-4227-4

Clark, C. Blue. "Native Christianity Since 1800." Sturtevant, William C., general editor and Raymond D. Fogelson, volume editor. ''Handbook of North American Indians: Southeast. Volume 14.'' Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 2004. ISBN 0-16-072300-0.

Mahon, John K.; Brent R. Weisman (1996). "Florida's Seminole and Miccosukee Peoples". In Gannon, Michael (Ed.). ''The New History of Florida'', pp. 183–206. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813014158.

External links

Seminole Nation of Oklahoma official website

Seminole Tribe of Florida official site

Seminole Clothing Patchwork

The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida official site

Hitchiti-Mikasuki Creation Story

Annual Seminole Nation Days Celebration

Aponke Resources for the study of Hitchiti and Mikasuki

History of the Seminole People of Florida by Patricia R. Wickman, Ph.D.

Seminole Portraits Hand colored lithographs of some of the major Seminole leaders of the Second Seminole War (1835–1842). From the State Library & Archives of Florida.

Seminole Doll Making Seminole doll maker Mary B. Billie. Interview in Seminole and English with photos. From the State Library & Archives of Florida.

Alligator Dance Audio of Seminole elder Billy Bowlegs III performing traditional dance and song in 1954. (Track 16 of CD.) From the State Library & Archives of Florida.

Seminole history from the Florida Department of State

John Horse and the Black Seminoles, First Black Rebels to Beat American Slavery

The Seminole Indians of Florida, by Clay MacCauley, 1884, Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of Ethnology, from Project Gutenberg

Category:Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Category:Native American tribes in Florida Category:Native American tribes in Oklahoma Category:Native American history of Florida Category:Native American history of Oklahoma Category:Federally recognized tribes in the United States

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Nicole Brewer (born April 15, 1983) is a former Miss Pennsylvania from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who now works as a news reporter.

As a junior and senior in college, Brewer won two local pageant titles, including Miss Central Pennsylvania 2004 and Miss Allegheny Valley 2005. In her second attempt at the state title, she won the Miss Pennsylvania 2005 title on July 2, 2005 in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. On January 21, 2006, Nicole competed in the nationally televised Miss America pageant, making it into the top ten final contestants, ultimately losing to Jennifer Berry of Oklahoma.

Brewer graduated from Marple Newtown Senior High School in 2001 and Millersville University of Pennsylvania in 2005, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in speech communications. During her college years, Brewer was president of the National Broadcasting Society. She also served as business manager for the University cable station, MUTV and as a lead anchor for News 99. Brewer interned at WGAL-TV in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and worked as a special assignment reporter for GATV, Public, educational, and government access (PEG) community access cable television station in Greeley, Colorado.

Nicole Brewer will join CBS 3’s Eyewitness News team on April 1 as the first local TV reporter reporting primarily for a website, CBS3.COM and as a contributor to Wake Up News on The CW Philly, Vice-President and News Director Susan Schiller has announced. Before joining CBS 3, Brewer had been a feature reporter and producer for the nightly news magazine Tempo at WLVT-TV, the PBS station in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A native of Philadelphia, Brewer grew up in the Overbrook section of the city. Active in the community, she is a volunteer for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America organization.

References

External links

Miss Pennsylvania official website

CBS 3 Eyewitness News

Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Living people Category:Miss America 2006 delegates Category:1983 births