March 4: Vermont Becomes the 14th State (1791)
Prayer Idea
Pray for the people and government of Vermont.
History Note
The thirteen British colonies that fought against the British government during the American Revolution formed a federal government under the Articles of Confederation in 1781. The thirteen colonies became the thirteen United States. They created a new form of government under the U.S. Constitution, which went into effect on March 4, 1789.
During the American Revolution, in January of 1777, people living in what was then northeastern New York State had broken away and declared themselves the independent Republic of New Connecticut. That summer they changed the name to Vermont, from the French phrase les verts monts, meaning “Green Mountains.”
The other states did not recognize Vermont at the time, and it functioned as its own small country. In 1790 New York agreed to recognize Vermont upon the payment of $30,000 to settle some disputes about land ownership. Vermont applied in 1791 to the U.S. Congress to become a new state. Congress approved with this short law:
The state of Vermont having petitioned the Congress to be admitted a member of the United States, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, and it is hereby enacted and declared, That on the fourth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, the said state, by the name and style of “The State of Vermont,” shall be received and admitted into this Union, as a new and entire member of the United States of America.
By the way, in 1795, after Kentucky also became a state, the U.S. government changed the flag to have fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. This flag was “The Star-Spangled Banner” that inspired the writing of the U.S. national anthem. As new states were added, Congress decided to keep adding stars for new states but go back to having thirteen stripes.
Settlers established the community of Peacham, Vermont, in 1776.
Learn More
Vermont adopted “These Green Mountains” by Diane Martin and Rita Buglass Gluck as its state song in 2000. This recording from 2020 features Vermont students.
Learn more about Vermont at Homeschool History.
