This historic house belonging to Ethan Allen is now an exhibit at the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington. Photo by Kyle Neece.
PART 1: From 1777-1791, Vermont operated as an independent republic before joining the United States.
by Kyle Neece, Community News Service
A winding road through lush green trees leads to the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum. Inside, mannequins wear old garments, flippable laminated pages display written history and cultural artifacts hang in frames on the walls. The museum holds the story of how Vermont was admitted to the union.
This Fourth of July, Vermont, along with the rest of the country, will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the formation of the U.S. But the story of how Vermont became the 14th state includes a little-known chapter. From 1777 to 1791, Vermont was considered an independent republic. According to historians, this time period contributed to a unique sense of patriotism within Vermont.
“There are many things that overlap to make us Americans, but there is something distinctive about life here for 250 years,” said J. Kevin Graffagnino, a historian and author who has worked for many historical societies and has curated various Vermont history collections. “Knowing how we got here tells you a lot about what it means to be a Vermonter.”
Vermont’s journey to statehood began with a conflict over land between the provinces of New York and New Hampshire. The land was called the New Hampshire Grants, which was claimed by the provincial governor Benning Wentworth from 1749 to 1764. Land along the Connecticut River was claimed by both the provinces of New York and New Hampshire, which sparked a dispute between the two entities.
Conflict arose in 1771 when New Yorkers sent sheriffs to claim present-day Bennington, land that had already been bought by Connecticut and Massachusetts settlers. This kick-started the formation of the Green Mountain Boys, a militia led by Vermont folk hero Ethan Allen, to defend their homeland in the first of many conflicts over the next four years.
Vermonters wanted to join the newly-formed union, but their land remained a matter of dispute. During the American Revolution, which began in 1775, the Green Mountain Boys seized Fort Ticonderoga with the hope that proving their loyalty to the cause would convince Congress to grant them statehood.
But Congress continued to be hesitant. So on Jan. 15 1777, a group of future Vermonters assembled in Windsor to declare an independent republic. The group created a new constitution that was formally adopted on July 8 of that year. Vermont’s constitution was the first written national constitution drafted in North America, the first to prohibit slavery and the first to give all male residents the right to vote.
Even so, the future Vermonters set their eyes toward statehood, according to Graffagnino, the historian. The people thought of themselves as “living in a state and waiting for the United States to accept them into the union.”
“‘Republic’ is an iffy word for Vermont in that period, because the people ultimately wanted to become part of the United States,” Graffagnino said.
A map of New England in 1780, when Vermont (top left and to the right of New York) was considered independent. Photo by Kyle Neece.
In 1778, Congress still refused to admit Vermont into the U.S due to lingering disputes about land and the ownership of slaves. The republic operated independently until 1791, coining its own money, providing postal services, maintaining a militia and managing its own affairs without outside interference.
At the same time, the Revolutionary War was in full swing, which brought hardship to Vermonters.
“People were dying en masse in the army and in families from smallpox, tuberculosis and typhus. They didn’t know it was caused by germs,” said historian Glenn Fay, who serves on the board of the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum.
“People were poor, and the economy was terrible; barter was rampant,” Fay continued. “So it was a pretty, pretty grim lifestyle.”
In 1791, 14 years after forming their own republic, Vermonters finally obtained what they sought: to be a state in the union. The decision was made when Congress decided it needed a slave-free state to counterbalance the slave-holding state of Kentucky, which would be admitted in 1792.
“They were very early in having localized governments and grassroots organizations,” Fay said. “They were very early in saying they should not have slavery or enslaved people.”
The new state of Vermont elected Thomas Chittenden, who had led the republic, as its first governor. Since his election, the Vermont Constitution has been amended 53 times.
Fay said he sees these same traits of activism, independence and perseverance in present-day Vermonters. The revolutionaries — who hammered out details in forums, meeting houses and taverns — laid the foundation for Vermont’s belief in local government, he said.
Reflecting on Vermont’s history, “we can learn that this is how democracy works,” Fay said. “It’s about courage, conviction and what we believe in.”
To Graffagnino, the state’s history provides important context as today’s leaders wrestle with modern issues.
“If you don’t know how we got here, you don’t know how to take us forward,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons history really matters. It helps us build a better future.”
Editor’s note: J. Kevin Graffagnino works as a history consultant for the Community News Service.
Community News Service is a University of Vermont journalism internship
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