What If New England Was A Country? Very Educated And Very Rich

New England is one of the most quintessentially American regions. So much so that's it's hard to break it away from the United States as its own country. But at the same time, few other regions in the USA have as strong a regional culture as New Englanders do. In this video we go through the history of New England and then break down the would be country by size, population, demographics, cities, and economy.

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Aric Shelby
Clayton Smalley (Wikimedia)
Jozef Paff
Luka Rodriguez
Nick Allen (Wikimedia)
Thesouthernhistorian45 (Wikimedia)

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[KenMattsson]

Worcester is pronounced like “Wuh-ster”

Also a lot of people think that New Englanders aren’t nice because we’re more reserved. A phrase used here about us is “Good fences make good neighbors” in that we don’t pry into other people’s business and give them space. It’s also said that New Englanders are “nice but not kind” like we’ll tell you you shouldn’t have done something that made you drive into a snowbank, but we’ll also shovel you out of the snowbank. This is why a lot of us here see the “kind but not nice” mentality of other areas as fake and hypocritical.

[syd]

Being from Maine is funny, people picture lighthouses and coastline but most of it is woods, fields, flea markets and self storage facilities. I'd never live anywhere else, but the romantic idea of Maine is mostly for vacationers and rich people.

[DFM]

As a lifelong new Englander the education aspect really hits home. I spent my life there but now teach college freshmen at a southern state school. A lot of these kids who grew up in states with much less of an educational culture, who are college freshmen, would fail a Massachusetts 9th grade literacy exam

[chef_moquin]

I remember talking with friends about MCAS, the Massachusetts standard test all students have to take in high school. We all thought how easy the test was compared to our expectations. Turns out it’s one of the hardest standard tests amongst all the other states in the country. Not to mention when common core was announced it was actually a lower standard then Massachusetts current standard

[fanboygamere]

I’m from New Hampshire & I always kinda thought New England was boring, but seeing all this really makes me realize how much I Lucked out by being born here

[jaker.]

Fun Fact: If New England were independent, it would be the 14th strongest economy in the world. A huge amount of money for such a small region.

[carey-gregory]

I've lived all over this country in 10 states, spread out from TN to FL, NM, WA, IN, TX, NC, CT, GA, and NH. So I'm kind of familiar with most of the regions of this country. I've lived in CT for the last 30+ years, and if civil war ever comes to this country again, I'll be perfectly fine with becoming a citizen of the United States of New England.

[gabbleratchet]

One of the most significant factors in the development of New England culture is the fact that it was settled mostly by families (as opposed single men seeking their fortune and women brought over to be brides, as in other colonies). These families were often related by marriage before they left England. They were, on average, more educated (with strong connections to Cambridge University) and tended to be wealthier than typical settlers in the other colonies. It’s known as the Great Migration and it fuses the region together because those families are so interconnected.

When I moved to a new village in Connecticut, I met a guy who was related to me…from back in 17th century; our families had founded a village in Massachusetts together in 1638 and, of course, intermarried at some point and then spread out. It’s pretty remarkable.

[benheath]

Great video Geoff! Just want to add a correction that the Native American tribes you mentioned were not "wiped out". They are still here and have been living and fighting for their culture and way of life for the centuries since first contact.

[mywaterfountain]

An addition to the education part, there's also the NESCAC schools ("the Small Ivys"), mostly located in New England, and which are typically listed among the most prestigious division three schools in the country.

Also, grew by Worcester and loving the pronunciation here. 😉

[Marchant]

I love New England because it is where I was raised, but also it's one of the most beautiful areas in America from its virtually incomparable autumns to its rugged shoreline -- unlike the rest of the Eastern seaboard -- to its colonial architecture.

[ScottA]

Worcester (Whus-tah) is the second largest city in New England. When I was in early elementary school, living 20 miles outside of Boston) I had more of an understanding that I was from a place called New England rather than the United States. We would learn about the history of New England and the US and then take field trips to see the places where things occurred b/c they were so close.
I think by the beginning of third grade I had figured out that I lived in both New England AND the United States. Very glad on both accounts 😊

[MrSomervillen]

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the time NE came closest to seceding: the Hartford Convention! During the run up to the War of 1812, New England Federalists were seriously concerned about the direction of the country and considered secession, but decided against it

[trapoza]

I’ve lived in Massachusetts my whole life. Some folks who live here don’t appreciate how special and unique this part of the world is. You don’t really get it until you travel around the country. I myself am guilty of this. Especially when the winter winds and snow is howling! But on the whole, New England is a great place to live. Beautiful beaches. Very good schools. And, yes, the people do tend to be a little snooty for sure, but they seem to have a lot of “local pride”. Thanks for the reminder of just how fortunate I was to be born and raised here. And raise a family here as well. ❤

[ginahanley]

As a life-long resident of New England, I would be perfectly happy if the New England states formed their own country.

[mr.factoid]

the fact that even native English speakers mispronounce Worcester is a testament to how drunk we were when we named that city 😆

[esxo]

Definitely one of the most successful regions of the country, all the other states can learn a lot from New England

[ALIYNAAA]

I live in New England and I think it’s really funny how people perceive us as like, lighthouses, and pretty trees, what I am familiar with is Dunkin’ Donuts, and suburbs lol

[jamiemunn]

Education in the North East is phenomenal! I was born in N.C. and an average student. When we moved to NH, I was well below the standards and had to really improve quickly. I wish our country would hold the same cultural standard for education as in the NE. BTW the true tri-state is NH, VT, ME!

[jenniferbates]

As a Rhode Islander, this video was really cool! It's also so nice to see it all laid out in a video. There are so many more historical events to go over, too. Like the burning of the HMS Gaspee in 1772.