New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a small U.S. state in northern New England. It is located east of Vermont, north of Massachusetts, south of Quebec, Canada, and west of Maine and the North Atlantic Ocean. The state ranks 46th of the 50 states in land area (23,249 km2) and 41st in population (around 1.3 million by a 2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimate). It is the site of the New Hampshire primary, the first primary in the U.S. presidential elections, and has probably the most famous of all state mottos: "Live free or die," quoted from Revolutionary War hero John Stark's response to a letter honoring him for the Battle of Bennington.

Law and Government

The New Hampshire state capital is Concord, which has also been known over time by the names Rumford and Penacook. The governor of New Hampshire is John Lynch (Democrat). New Hampshire's two U.S. senators are Judd Gregg (Republican) and John E. Sununu (Republican), whose father John H. Sununu was governor of the state from 1983–1988. List of New Hampshire Governors. New Hampshire and Vermont are the only states that still elect governors to two-year, rather than four-year, terms.

Related Topics:
Concord - John Lynch - Judd Gregg - John E. Sununu - John H. Sununu - 1983 - 1988 - List of New Hampshire Governors - Vermont

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New Hampshire has historically been dominated by the Republican Party. However, in national elections it has become a swing state. In 2004, New Hampshire narrowly gave its four electoral votes to John Kerry with 50.2% of the vote. In the 2000 presidential election, New Hampshire narrowly supported George W. Bush. The state supported Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but prior to that had only strayed from the Republican party for three candidates—Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Unlike other northeastern states, Republicans still dominate most local and state offices. Democratic strength is greatest in Strafford, Cheshire, Grafton, and Merrimack counties.

Related Topics:
George W. Bush - Woodrow Wilson - Franklin D. Roosevelt - Lyndon B. Johnson

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Unlike most states, New Hampshire does not have a Lieutenant Governor; the Senate President serves as "acting governor" whenever the governor is out of the state, or otherwise unable to perform the duties of the office. Instead, New Hampshire has a bifurcated executive branch, consisting of the Governor and a five-member Executive Council that is a holdover from the Governor's Council of the Colonial era. The Executive Council's duties include voting on state contracts worth more than $5,000, "advising and consenting" to the governor's nominations to major state positions such as department heads and all judgeships.

Related Topics:
Lieutenant Governor - Executive Council - Governor's Council

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The New Hampshire state legislature, called the General Court, is made up of the House of Representatives and Senate. The House of Representative has 400 members in the House, which is reportedly the third-largest legislative body in the English-speaking world, behind only the United States House of Representatives and the British House of Commons. By contrast, the Senate has just 24 members.

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State representatives and senators are paid $100 a year, plus mileage and bonuses for committee assignments, effectively making the state legislators volunteers. Because of the amount of pay, many New Hampshire lawmakers are either wealthy or retired.

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New Hampshire's government has earned the positive attention of residents in neighboring Vermont: Killington, Vermont has twice voted to secede from Vermont and join New Hampshire—a largely symbolic act, since secession would require the agreement of both states' legislatures and the U.S. Congress. Supporters of the secession note that almost all Vermont towns were first chartered by New Hampshire, and point out that these two states already have some unusual cross-border links, including the only two interstate school districts in the United States.

Related Topics:
Killington, Vermont - Vermont - U.S. Congress

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Although the state retains the death penalty, the last execution was conducted in 1939, see List of individuals executed in New Hampshire. In 2000, the General Court passed HB1548-FN, which would have abolished capital punishment but it was vetoed by Governor Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat. In 2005, a law passed raising the minimum age for capital punishment from 17 to 18 years-old, fueled largely by the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Roper v. Simmons (2005). In the state, 17 year-olds who commit misdemeanors or felonies are automatically tried as adults.

Related Topics:
List of individuals executed in New Hampshire - Capital punishment - Jeanne Shaheen - United States Supreme Court - Roper v. Simmons - Misdemeanors - Felonies

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New Hampshire has a Libertarian-like political tradition that values individual freedom and weak state governmental powers, although the Libertarian party does not do well in elections when compared to the Democrat and Republican parties. Much of the authority in the state is in the hands of municipal governments. In 1995, with the passage of Senate Bill 2, municipalities were able to continue conducting town meetings the traditional way, or change to ballot voting.

Related Topics:
Libertarian - State - Town meetings

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