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The Empire State is a nickname for the
The Empire State is a nickname for the U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of New York, adopted in the 1800s. It has been incorporated into the names of several state buildings and events.
The source of the nickname is unknown and has puzzled many historians; as American writer Paul Eldridge
Paul Eldridge (May 5, 1888July 26, 1982) was an American poet, novelist, short story writer and teacher.
The son of Leon and Jeanette Eldridge ( Lafleur), he was born in Bucharest, Romania on May 5, 1888United States Bureau of Immigration and Nat ...
put it, "Who was the merry wag who crowned the State ... ? New York would certainly raise a monument to his memory, but he made his grandiose gesture and vanished forever."
Origin theories
The source of the term "Empire State" has been attributed to the state's wealth and resources, but there is some doubt regarding that. The 1940 ''Guide to the Empire State'' states that "it would gratify the people of New York if they could discover who first dared that spacious adjective." HistorianMilton M. Klein
Milton Martin Klein (15 August 1917 – 10 June 2004) was an American historian.
He was born in New York City on 15 August 1917 to Margaret and Edward Klein. Milton Klein earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the City College of New York. ...
proposed that the name may have accompanied the success of the Black Ball Line in 1818 "because of the signal advantage the regularity of shipping gave to New York's merchants over those in other coastal cities." He claims that, by 1820, it was clear that "Empire State" was in wide use, though he is doubtful that a clear origin of the term will ever be determined.
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
in a 1785 letter to James Duane
James Duane (February 6, 1733 – February 1, 1797) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, attorney, jurist, and American Revolutionary War, American Revolutionary leader from New York (state), New York. He serve ...
, New York City Mayor, called New York "the Seat of the Empire". Washington is said to have used the phrase "Pathway to Empire" when referring to the state in conversation with George Clinton, the New York Governor
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...
in the 1790s.
Historian Alexander Flick claimed that the title was used as early as 1819, coinciding with New York surpassing Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
in population and was "universally acknowledged and accepted" by 1825.
Namesakes
* TheEmpire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
, opened in 1931.
* The Empire State Trail
The Empire State Trail is a multi-use trail in New York State that was proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in January 2017 and completed in December 2020. The trail runs from Manhattan north to the Canadian border in Rouses Point near the northern t ...
, completed in 2020.
* The 1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...
dubbed the span between the Trylon and N.Y. State Exhibit as The Empire State Bridge.
* The main offices of state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
are located at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, the state capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
.
* Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
was known as the "Empire State of the South" during the antebellum
Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to:
United States history
* Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States
** Antebellum Georgia
** Antebellum South Carolina
** Antebellum Virginia
* Antebellum ...
period before the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. During this time, Georgia had the second-largest land area of any state east of the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
, and it was rapidly industrializing.
* The Empire State Express
The ''Empire State Express'' was one of the named passenger trains and onetime flagship of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad (a predecessor of the later New York Central Railroad). On September 14, 1891, it covered the 436 miles ...
of the New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
.
* The Empire Service
The ''Empire Service'' is an Inter-city rail service operated by Amtrak within the state of New York in the United States. The brand name originated with the New York Central Railroad in 1967. Trains on the line provide frequent daily service ...
, a rail line from New York City to Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
via Albany.
* SUNY Empire State College
Empire State College (SUNY Empire or ESC) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State College is a multi-site institution offering associate, ...
was established in 1971 in Saratoga Springs
Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...
.
* The Empire State Games
The Empire State Games are a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for amateur athletes from the state of New York, encompassing several divisions and allowing athletes of all ages to compete. It was a member of the National Congress of State ...
were established in 1978 as an Olympic-style competition for amateur athletes from New York.
* "Empire State" was on NY license plates
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificat ...
from 1951 through 1963 and from 2001 through 2020.
See also
* History of New York *List of U.S. state and territory nicknames
The following is a table of U.S. state, federal district and territory nicknames, including officially adopted nicknames and other traditional nicknames for the 50 U.S. states, the U.S. federal district, as well as five U.S. territories.
State, ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire State, origin of the name Nicknames New York (state) cultureEmpire State
The Empire State is a nickname for the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, adopted in the 1800s. It has been incorporated into the names of several state buildings and events.
The source of the nickname is unknown and has puzzled many his ...