Connecticut

B

Legislative

The General Assembly, as the state legislature is called, consists of a 36-member Senate and a 151-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses are elected for two-year terms. The General Assembly meets in Hartford every year. It may also be convened in special session, which may be called by the governor or a majority of each chamber of the assembly.

C

Judicial

The highest court in the state is the supreme court, which is solely a court of appeal. A chief justice and six associate justices, who are appointed for eight-year terms, sit on the supreme court. The state’s trial court is the superior court, to which judges are appointed for eight-year terms. Under a 1976 law, the common pleas and juvenile courts were merged into the superior court.

D

Local Government

Connecticut’s local government units are called towns, although, as in New England generally, they are quite similar to townships elsewhere in the nation and may include several incorporated and unincorporated communities. The towns have different forms of local government. Most of the small towns are governed by selectmen, elected by the towns’ voters, who assemble annually to act on town affairs; the first selectman is the chief administrative officer. Some of the larger towns and cities have adopted the council and town or city manager form of administration. Other large towns and cities are governed by mayors and councils or boards of aldermen.

The principle of home rule is very strong in Connecticut towns with each community tightly controlling land use, education, and police. This has led to a resistance to regional government, particularly since the abolishment of county government in 1960. The eight counties are still recognized as geographical divisions of the state by the federal government and the state court system.

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E

National Representation

Connecticut elects two U.S. senators and five members of the U.S. House of Representatives. In presidential elections the state has seven electoral votes.

VIII

History

A

Early Inhabitants

At the beginning of the 17th century, Connecticut was the home of a number of different Native American groups, all of whom spoke related Algonquian languages. Archaeological sites indicate these people lived largely by hunting deer, catching fish and shellfish, and growing corn, beans, and squash. They migrated from forest to coastal areas to take advantage of seasonal resources. The total native population is estimated at about 7,000 people in the early 1600s, after an epidemic that decimated Native Americans throughout New England.

Most powerful among the Connecticut people were the Pequot, who lived in the east and along the shore of Long Island Sound, an area they had conquered from other native groups at the end of the 1500s. Early in the 1600s, a number of Pequots split off from the main group. Led by a chief named Uncas, they called themselves Mohegan, and controlled an area near the Thames River.

Other native groups were the Nipmuc in the northeastern sections of Connecticut; the Niantic along the eastern coast; and the Hammonasset, Quinnipiac, Paugussett, Siwanoy, Podunk, Poquonock, Massacoe, and Tunxi in the central and western sections.

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