Talk:Delaware

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[edit] Delaware was not a colony, just a state.

Delaware was nothing ever but a boundary dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania--one time part of a deed to the Duke of York, but never its own geographic entity until becoming a state. There is no reason to deny its position as the first of the 13th states, but all the more reason to keep it out of the colonial category. There were only 12 colonies rebelling, with estranged Delaware's exit from Pennsylvania beginning a trend that emancipated Vermont/Kentucky/Maine etc from parent polities (New York, Virginia, Massachusetts etc). Let's not get hazy on this, but more exacting and forthright. Hasbro 00:55, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

It's surprising that no one has taken up the cause of defending colonial Delaware, but at least this interesting but non-factual tidbit hasn't creeped into the article. Of course it was a colony - it was founded in the 17th century as New Sweden and only later did it become embroiled in boundary disputes and political power struggles and such. Like its neighbors Pennsylvania and Maryland, it was never a royal colony. Now, on to the current bit of misinformation in the article... it is not historically inaccurate to say that Delaware is "The First State", nor that it was the first to ratify the current constitution, nor that it was the first to ratify the former Articles of Confederation. However, it would be inaccurate to apply the historic ride of Caesar Rodney to cast Delaware's decisive vote for America's independence to the reason for being called "The First State". HokieRNB 21:34, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
It is historically inaccurate to call it the first state because of the constitution. I don't think, that Rodney's ride was why Delaware is called the first state. However, it is Historically Accurate to call Delaware the First State -- because it was the first state to approve the Articles of Confederation. Perhaps "Historically Inaccurate" is too contentious. I have changed it to "technically inaccurate"137.131.130.84 23:11, 10 January 2007 (UTC)
The other 12 colonies are ranked based on their ratification of the Constitution, why should Delaware be different. Not that matters, it's first either way.--Hgebel 15:33, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
Sorry for the late response. I would just like to note that, even before Delaware formally withdrew from Pennsylvania, it had it's own delegation in the Continental Congress; it was clearly considered to be a separate colony by the Congress and I can't find any suggestion that Pennsylvania disputed this status. Delaware had it's own legislature from 1704. Certainly it is ridiculous to imply that Maine and Vermont were "emancipated" from parent entities. Vermont had no parent entity, it was founded without a charter on land that was disputed between New York and New Hampshire. If it can be said to have any parent entity that entity would be New Hampshire, which issued the original settlement grants. Although neither New York nor New Hampshire were happy with (or recognized) the Vermont Republic, neither successfully excised any control over the area and it was admitted to the Union more or less as an independent Republic not as a former part of New York or New Hampshire (this admission solved two problems, ending the boundary dispute and adding a free state to counterbalance the admission of Kentucky which was also about to be admitted to the Union.) Maine was admitted to the Union to counterbalance the admission of slave state Missouri, not because it was following some example set by any previous state (if it was following any example it would have been the example of Vermont). Kentucky it the only state of the four to have been both a definitive subsidiary part of a parent entity and to leave that entity at it's own citizen's request.--Hgebel 01:49, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
That is significantly better wording. HokieRNB 00:59, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New proposed WikiProject

There is now a proposed WikiProject to deal with the state of Delaware at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals#Delaware. Any parties interested in taking part in such a project should indicate as much there, so that we can know if there is sufficient interest to create it. Thank you. Badbilltucker 16:52, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Missing image link in the infobox?

The title says it all. Hangfromthefloor 00:52, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Slave State?

"During the American Civil War, Delaware was a slave state that remained in the Union (Delaware voted not to secede on January 3, 1861). "

Does Delaware deserve to be called a slave state? It was really split half and half. North was anti, south was pro. I suggest reworking the sentence/paragraph. Any suggestions? Eleigh33 00:30, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't necessarily think so. All the slave states, from Alabama to Delaware, had dissenters and anti-slavers. It doesn't necessarily make it noteworthy, though, because there was no official legislation legally splitting the state. If they wanted to, they could have slaves in Wilmington; it just was taboo in the city by that point. So, if you want to mention something quick, go ahead, but definitely don't change the context, as Delaware (despite popular opinion) was 100% a slave state until the 13th Amendment (remember: the Emancipation Proclamation was only for the rebelling states, and said that states still loyal could keep the status quo)...sorry! EaglesFanInTampa (formerly Jimbo) 13:51, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Border state is the accepted term. Raul654 17:04, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

"Slave state" was a reference to the state's laws, not the state's customs. Slavery was legal in Delaware, therefore Delaware was a "slave state". Raul is correct in pointing out that "Border state" was the term for " a slave state that remained in the Union", but the term "border state" should be explained at least once in the article. Αργυριου (talk) 17:08, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
Slavery was still legal in the state, but by 1860 91.7 percent of the blacks in Delaware were free (Kolchin, American Slavery, 1994, p.82)--Parkwells (talk) 12:50, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] visitdelaware.com

http://www.visitdelaware.com Was removed as spam. The visitdelaware site is official official site of DEDO (delaware economic development office - a government agency). The site contains all sort sorts useful information about the state and various "attractions" within the state. Is is also where a person can go get more information on the state.

Re-added. Veinor (talk to me) 22:35, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Punkin Chunking

In the festivals section there is mention of hydraulic machines - I do not believe this to be the case - I have been for several years and have never heard of a hydraulic punk'n chunker. Is there any data behind the inclusion of this? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Spandox (talk • contribs) 15:48, 2 March 2007 (UTC).

yo i need info for my state project love, iaintplayin

humandictionary01@yahoo.com


RE:HYDRAULICS- there is no hydraulic category in the official competition, someone possibly confused the air cannons with hydraulics? Anyhow the official classes are: Air, centfrifugal, catapult, trebuchet, human power, and torsion, There are also various youth categories. <http://www.punkinchunkin.com/results2006.htm>. I'll go ahead and update the section. Eleigh33 20:42, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

Probably somebody confused the words pneumatic and hydraulic.--Hgebel 00:29, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More stuff to add

State Song: Our Delaware

The official state song consist of a poem "Our Delaware" containing three verses in honor of each county of the State, written by George B. Hynson; a fourth verse in praise of the State and pledging the loyalties of its citizens, written by Donn Devine; and a musical score composed specifically for the state song by Will M. S. Brown".


State Colors:

State Color - Colonial BlueState Color - Buff Colonial blue and buff —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Spandox (talk • contribs) 14:59, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] Delaware Region

My recent embellishment of a change was reverted with the note that a citation was needed. A citation is present already. Therefore, I will revert the recent change. The diff in question that I will revert: DIFF. --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 11:15, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

The designation of Delaware as a "Middle Atlantic State" dates to at least a year ago (see this diff), while the footnote has been in place for at least the last several months (see [1]). I think it is helpful to clarify the different designations, but the state should not just be reassigned to the Southern states without some discussion. HokieRNB 13:33, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
See also these survey results for more on the topic. HokieRNB 14:18, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
Well, first off, the diffs you provide above are not the correct ones, it seems, but that is a minor matter. The whole point here revolves around the understandable desire to not just use the US Census Bureau designation in the leading sentence of the article. That's reasonable and the "/"-based revision is fine ... although some word-smithing might not be out of order. All in all, I think your reversion was unthinking reflex (particularly considering the addition I had in fact made to the footnote) and your second edit was more thoughtful and appropriate. --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 20:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "The State of..."

This addition is unnecessary. It makes the definition read, "The state of Delaware... is a state..." Would you say "the city of Wilmington is a city..."? Or "the country of England is a country..."? I am going to change it back again on the Delaware page, and hopefully take a look at other states and make them consistent. HokieRNB 18:02, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

--copied from HokieRNB's talk page--

It is common English use to introduce the full official name of an entity on first use and the common name on subsequent uses. For example: "The Commonwealth of Pennsyslvania, commonly known as Pennsyslvania, is one of the 50 states of the United States of America". I work for one of the U.S. states, and I am required to use the official state name for all correspondence. Please see U.S. state#List_of_states. --Buaidh 18:44, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
I agree with Buaidh, and I don't think you should be reverting people who change it back to the way it was before you changed things. It's Bold-revert-discuss, not Bold-revert-revert-discuss. I went to the Delaware talk page expecting, at least, to find a discussion among editors of that article, but all that's there is an announcement by you that this is what you're going to do. It seems you've stopped, but i would recommend not restarting until a consensus is reached. IMO, the official name should be used first, then the common name. I can't spend much time on this today, but I strongly suspect this is already addressed in the WP:MOS somewhere; I'll look it up if someone else hasn't done so by tomorrow morning. Should this discussion be here, or on Delaware's talk page? --barneca (talk) 19:14, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
The best I could find with limited time is WP:Lead section#Bold title, which gives and example of:
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom or UK) occupies part of the British Isles in northwestern Europe ...
Also, for a different example of the same theory, but different article type, look at Jimmy Carter, which starts out:
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924(1924-10-01)), was the 39th...
I still think the MOS somewhere addresses US states, specifically, but can't find it and have to go. A message left on the appropriate MOS talk page might get some good feedback. --barneca (talk) 19:34, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

--end of copy from talk page--

My concern is more with the flow of the lead sentence, which when rendered the way that it is being changed by Buaidh would be akin to having the aforementioned example starting -

President James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. ... was the 39th President of ...

"State of..." is part of an official title, but the name of the state is still simply "Delaware". Likewise I would have the same concern if the first example defined "the United Kingdom of ..." as a kingdom. I will desist from making further changes until there is consensus. Thanks. HokieRNB 21:27, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

I've looked, and am evidently wrong that there is a specific section of WP:MOS related to the lead sentence of a geographic article. I still think the UK example I gave above, combined with the vast majority of state and country articles I looked at, favor leading with The State of Delaware...
However, I now understand your point better. I think with some judicious rewording, we could satify both criteria; starting with the official name, without always saying "The State of Delaware is a state...".
Lastly, I should mention that I didn't realize that Buaidh had changed the wording on Delaware first, so my snide comment above about Bold-revert-revert-discuss should probably have been directed at him, not HokieRNB (I only noticed what was going on at Pennsylvania), or better yet, not said at all since it was a just a minor 1RR dustup. Sorry for the minor snottiness. --barneca (talk) 12:28, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Point of order #1: many of the US state articles you may have looked at were recently edited by [[User:Buaidh|Buaidh] to add the "official designation" using the edit summary "fixed IPA" or "moved template" or "moved references". I only reverted the first 10 (by order of ratification). So if we are going to assess the wikipedia convention on lead sentences in US state articles, it probably ought to consider the articles prior to yesterday's editing spree. HokieRNB 13:02, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Point of order #2: since the outcome has import for 50 articles, is there a better more centralized place for this discussion? HokieRNB 13:02, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
(ec) I've thought about this a tiny bit more, and have two additional points:
  • There is a Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. states, and it sort of, but not quite, addresses this near the bottom of the page. It seems to imply that as long as the official name is mentioned somewhere in the introduction, it doesn't necessarily need to be the first reference (supporting HokieRNB).
  • Probably most important: as picky as I am, and as much as I'd like to see a uniform phrasing across all articles, the fact of the matter is that people who care about this kind of thing have their own states on their watchlists, and those groups are going to come to different consensuses (consensa? consensi?), depending on regional preference. For example, I can pretty much guarantee that every state with "Commonwealth" in its official name is going to lead with the official name. Trying to impose a uniform phrasing is going to be, at the end of the day, nearly impossible. If you look at the pages Buaidh and HokieRNB editted yesterday, almost all of them have already been reverted to whatever they were before. If you really, really want to try to standardize this, probably the place to go is bringing it up at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject U.S. states. As for me, now that I've realized that ultimately the first line is probably going to be what is was the day before yesterday, I'll wait to see if others have comments, or if it is brought up at the WikiProject, before thinking about it more. --barneca (talk) 13:17, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
My primary purpose was to add the IPA pronunciations of the official state titles. I also moved the US state template to the top of the article and expanded the state template.
To revert ten edits without discussion is a bit aggressive and a huge waste of my time.
Please see Talk:U.S._state#Official_and_Common_State_Names. Thanks, Buaidh 14:46, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
It is only a waste of your time if you insist on going back and editing them to add the official designation portion ("The State of") to the state names. It's probably not necessary to offer readers 46 versions of the correct way to pronouce "state of". I agree with barneca, let's leave the lead line the way it was with regard to the title, and add the IPA pronunciations for the common name of the state only. HokieRNB 15:26, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
I have done as you commanded. Anything else sir? --Buaidh 13:13, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
It's difficult to tell in print, but I would guess from your comment you feel there was an implied command from someone. I just want to clarify that to the best of my knowledge, each request or suggestion I made included a "please" and invited further discussion. At any rate, I hope you are not intending to be condescending, and if you feel that I was toward you, please let me know. I was hoping that this discussion would generate comments from other users, but I think it is clear from the bulk of the US state articles that consensus is to open with the common name of the state. Only a handful (most notably the four commonwealths, Indiana, Illinois, and California) opened with the official title. HokieRNB 16:07, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Incorporation

Since Delaware's favorable laws regarding incorporation have led many companies to incorporate there (those that haven't fled offshore for even more favorable laws), would it be appropriate for there to be a discussion of this in the economy section of the article? It would seem that Delaware did this to attract income, and I think that's worth mentioning somewhere as it makes it unique economy-wise among the states.

[edit] National Historic Sites

This statement--"Delaware has no national parks, national seashores, national historic sites, national battlefields, national memorials, or national monuments"--is contradicted by this entry: Category:List_of_National_Historic_Landmarks_by_state. The NPS website has a complete list, and note explaining: "The numerous designations within the National Park System sometime confuse visitors. The names are created in the Congressional legislation authorizing the sites or by the president, who proclaims "national monuments" under the Antiquities Act of 1906. Many names are descriptive -- lakeshores, seashores, battlefields --but others cannot be neatly categorized because of the diversity of resources within them. In 1970, Congress elaborated on the 1916 National Park Service Organic Act, saying all units of the system have equal legal standing in a national system." http://www.nps.gov/nhl/designations/Lists/DE01.pdf —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.168.131.24 (talk) 09:28, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] First to ratify what ??

This nickname officially refers to the fact that Delaware was the first to ratify the United States Constitution.[6] Even though the states were already known as such prior to the Constitution, the motto itself is still historically accurate, as Delaware was indeed the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, the first document legally naming the new American political entities as "states"


The preceding statement as it stands is nonsensical. The "articles of confederation" was a completely separate document to the "United States Constitution". For which of these was Delaware the first state to ratify ?? Eregli bob 04:02, 12 October 2007 (UTC)

This rather awkward wording is the result of a compromise with an editor who took great issue with the idea of the "First State" referring to the ratification of the Constitution, since the Articles of Confederation predated it. Thus, the first state would have been whichever was the first to ratify the earlier document. Delaware was first on both accounts. The nickname is officially attributed to Delaware's being first to ratify the constitution, however, the historical veracity of it being the "first" state can be attributed to it being the first to ratify the articles of confederation. HokieRNB 13:54, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Diamond State?

isn't the diamond state Arkansas? - Schrandit 15:30, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Although never officially designated as such, Arkansas may have previously used "The Diamond State" as a nickname based on the fact that it contains the only diamond mine in North America. The diamond is the official state gem of Arkansas, but its official nickname is "The Natural State". Delaware, on the other hand, comprises all but one hit in the first two pages of a Google search for the term. The only Arkansas hit is for a gay social group. HokieRNB 15:44, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
On the other hand, the comment regarding Jefferson does not appear to have a reliable source - otherwise there would be a document that quotes him. My view is that the name is derived from the state flag - see its description Tedickey 15:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
makes sense, I was going by their state quarter, and the page Diamond State - Schrandit 16:13, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
The Jefferson source is quoted most often by Delaware-related pages, including the State's official Government Information Center and the News Journal's Delaware almanac, and is published in a 2002 book by Jay D. Winans (ISBN 1930954999), making it significantly more reliable than an individual personally surmising that it is somehow related to the design of the state flag. HokieRNB 16:51, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
None of which are even second-hand reports - they're all reporting rumors without giving an original source of the information (and noting that they're acknowleging that they don't have an original source via terms such as "legend" and "attributed to"). Jefferson wrote a lot - if he said something in a speech, it's probably written down. Lacking a _reliable_ source, the best one can do for this is to qualify the comments. My comment on the flag description might be useful in case there is related material to search there; a search for reliable information regarding Jefferson+Delaware appears to produce only rumors (and copies thereof) Tedickey 17:16, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I somehow woke up in Dixie Land

Why does Wikipedia allow the United States Census Bureau's designation to trump all other regional definitions? Delaware is much more closely associated with the cultural Northeast or Mid-Atlantic than the south. I have moved all the categorizations I could find to reflect Delaware's status as part of the Northeast. Elpiseos 19:16, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Not to be an jerk, but because this is an encyclopedia. If something is defined by the US Government as being part of the South that pretty well makes it part of the South. The description of the south I read made sure to explain that though Delaware was not closely affiliated with the South it is still legally part of it. - Schrandit 19:37, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Agree - there's no point in scraping up random google hits and claiming that they're reliable sources to cite for recategorizing the topic.Tedickey 19:46, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
That is just one agency of the U.S. government. The majority of others (including the OMB) don't see it the same way. Nor do many Delawareans. Nor do many non-Delawareans. Elpiseos 19:59, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Oh. Really. Which of those URLs is a page devoted to proving your point (that the Census Bureau is making a mistake)? None of them. Tedickey 20:04, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Each URL points to a page showing how the entity has defined a particular region to include Delaware. I'm not suggesting that the Census Bureau is wrong. I'm suggesting that Wikipedia is not honor-bound to accept their definition as the consensus for what region Delaware most closely identifies with. For instance, the Southern Education Foundation doesn't see Delaware as part of their region. The government of Delaware aligns itself with the Northeast (see [2] and [3], for example). Elpiseos 20:15, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Well, you've got 49 other states to fixup so they're no longer using the Census categories. Perhaps after you've "fixed" a few more, someone will drive the point into your head. Bye. Tedickey 20:43, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the tip, but since I'm not interested in how other states are categorized, I think I'll focus my attention on Delaware. Besides, there is probably very little doubt over the consensus (for instance) that South Carolina is a part of the cultural, geographical, and historical south. The USCB would align well with the OMB and the vast majority of other state and federal agencies on most of the states, but in Delaware, it just doesn't seem to fit. Elpiseos 20:47, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

I'd like to weigh in as a native of Delaware and express my agreement that Delaware is no more a part of the "South" than Philadelphia is. However, as I've pointed out in comments regarding an earlier issue, it doesn't so much matter what I think, but rather what has the backing of reliable sources. If the sources don't agree, then the fact should either be removed altogether, or relegated to the footnotes. It remains undisputed that Delaware is along the eastern coast of the U.S. and it might be best to leave it at that. HokieRNB 21:08, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

It might be. But then consider the next one to come along and point out that most of Delaware is not actually on the coast, but is really adjacent to New Jersey.Tedickey 21:12, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
Don't try to make that argument to people who actually live in beach towns in Delaware. Are you suggesting they don't swim in the Atlantic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.141.166.233 (talk) 23:00, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
That's a rhetorical question of course (since I wasn't arguing). But since you ask, a quick check with google shows around 90 miles from Cape Lewes to the upper end of Delaware - not Atlantic coast, since it's Delaware Bay. The distance the other way (noting that the bulk of the population is in the upper end), is less than a third of that distance. Weighing in the population figures (I looked them up - did you?), it's clear that most of Delaware both area and population is not on the coast, but between Delaware Bay and Maryland. A couple of corners on each end are interfacing to Pennsylvania and the Atlantic Ocean. (This disregards the people who then will show up and claim that everything east of the ridgeline of the Applachians is "coast", etc.) Tedickey 23:31, 2 November 2007 (UTC)
That could be the most illogical bits of information I've ever seen put together to try to pass off as a cohesive thought. Why not dissect the state of California and make the argument that since you can't see the ocean from most places in the state it must not be a "Pacific Coast state"?
California has appreciably more coastline (and geographic diversity) than Delaware, whose Atlantic coastline is shorter than San Francisco Bay. Your DNS implies you're in north-NJ. Does that mean you believe you're on Delaware Bay? Tedickey 01:03, 3 November 2007 (UTC)
God forbid. I mean about being in northern New Jersey. What I do believe is that it's ludicrous to attempt to claim that New Jersey is not bounded by the Delaware River simply because there is a majority of it that is not. It doesn't change the fact that New Jersey is bounded by the Delaware River. So in any list of states along the Delaware River, New Jersey must ipso facto be included. In the same way, any list of states being designated as "Atlantic Coast" states must include Delaware. It has coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore it is an Atlantic state. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.141.166.233 (talk) 01:15, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Back to the original point of this thread, must Wikipedia accept the definition imposed by USCB as the a priori way of categorizing states by region? I disagree with Schrandit and don't believe there is legal standing that makes Delaware part of the south, and no one that I've ever asked has even considered putting Delaware into that category. It's either in the Northeast or it's in the Middle Atlantic. Most people who aren't familiar with the state actually consider it part of New England, but then many don't even realize it's a state. Go figure. Maher-shalal-hashbaz 01:25, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Legally was a poor choice of word on my behalf, but never the less this is an encyclopedia and Delaware is classified by the American government as part of the South. I think both the Delaware and the Southern United States article make a good mention of Delaware cultural links with the Northeastern United States but none the less it is historically and geographically part of the South and I believe should remain classified as such. - Schrandit 17:26, 7 November 2007 (UTC)
I think you are mistaken. Historically, states have been considered part of the south if they were below the Mason-Dixon line, which Delaware is not. (It's east of it.) I think if you take a brief straw poll, you would find that very few people, if any, would identify the "South" as a regional distinction for Delaware as a state. In today's culture, it's very much a part of the metropolitan corridor between Washington, D.C. and New York City. The "American government" does not classify Delaware as part of the South... if anything the consensus among government agencies is to classify it as Northeastern. Only one agency is cited as identifying Delaware with the South, and that is the USCB. In fact, the U.S. Library of Congress (which should be considered a fairly reliable source) puts Delaware into the following categories: Atlantic States; East; Middle Atlantic States; Northeastern States. The Princeton Review includes Delaware in the Northeast region for institutions of higher learning. Although it doesn't explicitly mention Delaware, BBC includes Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia in its description of Northeastern United States weather conditions. Google does not consider Delaware in its categorization scheme for South and Southeast, but rather in both the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. How many sources does it take to demonstrate that USCB does not represent consensus? Maher-shalal-hashbaz 20:04, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

The problem here is that Delaware is really neither of the Northeast nor the South; the cultural "boundary", such as it is (and these things are always fuzzy) runs along the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. This presents a quandary; most of the geographic territory of the state is Southern, but the vast majority of the population live in the environs of Wilmington, Newark, and New Castle, north of the canal. (Dover is something of a special case in itself, for being the capital and hosting Dover Air Force Base, both of which rotate the population more than usual even in America.)

I don't have a problem per se with Wikipedia deciding that population trumps acreage, but a wider consensus should be sought, perhaps with a post to the village pump? —CComMack (t–c) 05:10, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] All about Delaware

    The state animal is  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.253.20.29 (talk) 20:22, 9 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Population density in introduction

The article currently says: Despite ranking 45th in population, it is the seventh most densely populated state, with a population density of 320 more people per square mile than the national average, ranking ahead of states such as Florida, California, and Texas. This section makes it sound like there is a correlation between density and absolute numbers of population when, in fact, it's much easier for small states to rank highly in population density lists. I suggest to remove "despite" and the larger state names and just mention the ranking positions in some way.--134.130.4.46 (talk) 12:19, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Economy

Given the state's long tradition of industry, especially chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and finance, couldn't a different image than people picking peaches be found?--Parkwells (talk) 13:10, 12 May 2008 (UTC)