Special Programs at New Castle Court House Museum
This New Castle Court House Museum, owned and operated by the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, presents History Revival: To Give My Voice in the Matter of Independence on Thursday, September 3, 7-8 pm. The program provides a broad overview of Delaware’s colonial history and identity, the colonists’ reaction to the news of independence, and the challenges that Delawareans faced in the years that followed.
As the seminal document of the founding of the United States, the revolutionary ideas contained in the Declaration of Independence suggested momentous change and uncertainty for those living in the colonies. Many embraced the cause of independence and revolution, while others remained loyal to the British Empire and to the Crown.
But what was life in Delaware like during and following the War of Independence? What factors and conditions influenced the political leanings of the early settlers? In what ways were the diverse populations living in the colonies able to participate in public life during such tumultuous times?
This discussion by historian Chuck Fithian, former Curator of Archaeology for the Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs, will reflect on Delaware’s complex Revolutionary War history, and the ways its people started to “begin the world over again.”
History is revisited yet again with an exploration of Delaware’s First State Constitution at the site of its creation, the New Castle Court House turned Museum, on September 26 at 12 noon. Commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary, Creating a New State: Delaware’s First State Constitution takes visitors back in time to the dawn of the republic.
On May 15, 1776, the Second Continental Congress recommended that colonial assemblies establish governments that operated independently of the British. One month later the assembly of the Counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex upon the Delaware passed a resolution based on this recommendation, effectively establishing a government separate from Great Britain and Pennsylvania. However, nothing immediately changed, as the counties did not yet have their own constitution to guide governance.
On July 27, 1776, three days after the Declaration of Independence was read at the New Castle Courthouse, then the seat of government in the lower Counties, the assembly resolved to formulate a new government. Elections for delegates were held in each of the three counties that August, however not without resulting in tumult when Sussex County sent two elected delegates to the New Castle convention. After spirited discussion one state of Sussex delegate was accepted over the other, and the convention could then focus on the creation of the first Delaware constitution.
Deliberations during the constitutional convention centered on a variety of topics, including executive power, the rights of the Freemen of Delaware and slavery. The Delaware Constitution that was subsequently approved on September 20, 1776, established the Delaware State and served as the enduring legal basis for future Delaware constitutions.
In commemoration, a New Castle Court House Museum Interpreter will explore this seminal document and its impact on the future of Delaware State Government.