The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and before American independence had been part of the British province of Massachusetts Bay.

Maine was part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until 1820 when it voted to secede from Massachusetts to become a separate state. On March 15, 1820, under the Missouri Compromise, Maine was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state.

Maine's demographics changed dramatically in the early 1800s. Determined to pay off its war debt to the new U.S. government, Massachusetts raised money by selling off public land in Maine. Thousands of farm families left the increasingly crowded Bay …

Jan 19, 2025 · New England, region, northeastern United States, including the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region was named by Captain John Smith, who explored its shores in 1614 for some London merchants.

Maine statehood resulted from the grievances of a divided people. It took a war and six tries before Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820.

The first movement to separate emerged soon after the American Revolution when Maine’s political and business leaders, largely located in the bustling coastal towns, hoped to preserve the existing power structure, except with themselves at the top rather than the Massachusetts elites.

Maine was at one time part of Massachusetts. It became its own state in 1820, becoming the 23rd state admitted to the United States of America, although its northern borders were not finalized until 1842.

Coastal merchants, who held the balance of political power at the time, resisted the separation movement until the War of 1812 showed that Massachusetts was unable or unwilling to provide adequate protection for the people of the district against British raids.

On March 15, 1820, Maine entered the Union as the 23rd state. Delegates to the Maine state constitutional convention had met in October 1819 and used the Massachusetts constitution of 1780 as their model, yet they modified it on several important matters.

Nov 16, 2020 · With stipulations, including a deadline that Congress accept Maine as a state by March 4, 1820, Massachusetts agreed to allow the District of Maine to go its own way.