Modern Development

Despite industrial expansion and urban growth, Vermont remained predominantly agricultural and rural. In 1900 about 80 per cent of the population lived on farms or in small villages. Dairy farming was the mainstay of the economy.

During World War I, Vermont's industries contributed cloth, tools, and lumber to the war effort. In 1927 the state was hit by the worst flooding in its history, which caused widespread damage. This economic setback was followed by the Great Depression of the 1930's. Recovery was spurred by World War II, when manufacturing—particularly of tools and precision instruments—expanded greatly. After the war, the state's resort business grew rapidly.

Beginning in the late 1950's, there was significant growth in population and in industrialization and tourism. By the 1960's, industry had replaced agriculture as the state's primary source of income. In the 1970's, various state agencies and conservation groups joined forces to protect the natural environment from unplanned development. In the 1980's, the legislature enacted several environmental measures, including laws providing for the cleanup of hazardous-waste dumps and for sewage-treatment improvements.

In the late 20th century, the Environmental Control Law was put into effect, allowing the state to limit industrial developments that could be detrimental to the natural landscape. While manufacturing and tourism contributed greatly to the economy at the time, some Vermonters were concerned and favored maintaining the rural environment. Several political events of note also took place from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Patrick J. Leahy, in 1974, was the first Democrat from Vermont to be elected to the U.S. Senate since the 1880s. In 1984, Madeleine M. Kunin became the first female governor of the state. The 1992 and 1996 presidential elections received Democratic electoral votes from Vermont for the second and third times. And in 1999, in a remarkable and controversial decision, the Vermont Supreme Court granted homosexual couples the same rights and benefits as heterosexual ones under the state government. This was followed in 2000 by a bill that allows homosexual couples to enter into civil unions, entitling them to many of the same rights as married couples.