March 30th, 2010 | 
Author: The state of New Hampshire was originally a colony which was founded on a land grant given to Captain John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges by the Council for New England in 1622. Its first settlement was at Odiorne’s Point near Portsmouth and was called Pannaway Plantation. The first settlers were a group of English fishermen under David Thompson in 1623 who built a fort, a manor house and some other buildings mainly for fish processing.
Settlers of Pannaway later moved to the Portsmouth region and named their new settlement Strawberry Banke. Cocheco at Dover Neck was the other plantation set up at the time. Religious leaders founded the seacoast plantations of Hampton and Exeter in 1638. In 1631 Captain Thomas Wiggin was appointed the governor of the Upper Plantation which comprised of present-day Dover, Durham and Stratham.
Most of the settlers turned to fish and timber as a source of livelihood. After the death of John Mason, New Hampshire’s four plantations were forced to accept Massachusetts’ rule for a period of 40 years. Meanwhile the ownership title bounced from owner to owner. This region was witness to continuous strife between Native Americans and white settlers. By the middle of the 1700s white settlers’ supremacy had been established.
By 1760 there were 61 New Hampshire towns, most named nostalgically after British towns. Eighty-six more New Hampshire towns came into being by 1775.
New Hampshire was a British colony for 150 years. It revolted against the British rule during the American Revolution. The raid on Fort William and Mary in 1774 in Portsmouth Harbor was the only battle fought here. This raid is also referred to as the first battle of the Revolutionary War.
New Hampshire’s colonial history is ridden with tales of greed, fear and survival on one hand and honor, spirit and invention on the other.
New Hampshire has the distinction of having been home to America’s 14th President- Franklin Pierce. The election of 1852 saw this New Hampshire lawyer reach the White House. Since 1952 New Hampshire has been the holding the presidential primary in every presidential election year.
New Hampshire had been a textile stronghold till the late 1950s. However, with the collapse of the textile industry New Hampshire changed focus to technology.
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Recently, this year, the governor appointed a “Task Force for the Recruitment and Retention of a Young Workforce for the State of New Hampshire”, obviously to try to find new ways to encourage young marrieds to move to the state. The task force came up with some ideas about how to bring people into the state, but in doing so, they stepped on a sacred cow. The state motto is “Live Free, or die.” It’s a quote from a Revolutionary War hero, General John Stark, who made the statement in 1809. The entire quotation from General Stark was “Live Free or die. Death is not the worst of evils.” It’s a bold statement, and the people of New Hampshire have been proud to adopt it. It was officially adopted as the state motto in 1945, at the successful conclusion of World War II. It is displayed on all entrances to the state, and on the license plates of the cars. Or rather it was displayed until the Task Force came up with their conclusions. They stated
“Our State portrays an unfriendly message that every individual has to succeed on their own, rather than count on a support system for assistance. Live free or die is not a friendly, supporting message that appeals to young people.” Their recommendation was to change the state motto to “You’re going to love it here.” Now, that’s a very nice thing to say, and it is true, anyone going to New Hampshire will love it there. But, one of the main reasons you will love New Hampshire is the spirit of the people. Now, I will admit that they have been very lax lately. A lot of liberals from Massachusetts and New York have moved to New Hampshire, and gotten themselves elected into key positions in the state. They sneaked in a lot of laws that had people grumbling, like civil unions, and lately, gay marriages, but by and large, the citizens thought to themselves, “Well, it doesn’t affect me. No big deal.” And isn’t that the way it always is? We don’t react, until it hits us right smack in the face.