Originally settled in 1607 by the Plymouth Company, the coastal areas of western Maine first became the Province of Maine in 1622 land patent. Eastern Maine north of the Kennebec River was more sparsely settled and was known in the 17th century as the Territory of Sagadahock. The province within its current boundaries became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652, and was part of the State of Massachusetts when the United States was formed. Because it was physically separated from the rest of Massachusetts and was growing in population at a rapid rate, it became the 23rd state along with Missouri on March 15, 1820. This has become known as the Missouri Compromise because admitting both states into the union kept the balance between slave and free states. Maine's original capital was Portland until 1832, when it was moved to the more geographically central city of Augusta.

The capital of Maine is Augusta.

Maine's politics are notable for several reasons. In the 1930s, it was one of very few states which remained dominated by the Republican Party. In the 1936 presidential election, Franklin Roosevelt received the Electoral Votes of every state other than Maine and Vermont. Maine voters tend to accept independent and third-party candidates more frequently than most states. Maine has had two independent Governors recently (James B. Longley from 1975 to 1979 and Angus King from 1995 to 2003). The Reform Party of Ross Perot achieved a great deal of success in Maine in the 1992 and 1996 Presidential elections: in 1992 Perot came in second in Maine to Bill Clinton, despite the longtime presence of the Bush family summer home in Kennebunkport, and in 1996, Maine was again Perot's best state.

To the south and east is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the northeast is New Brunswick, a province of Canada. The Canadian province of Quebec is to the northwest. Maine is the northernmost state in the New England region and the easternmost state in the country (the easternmost city in the United States is Eastport, Maine), bordered on the west by New Hampshire. It is the only state that borders exactly one other state. Its largest lake is Moosehead Lake, and its highest mountain is Mt. Katahdin, which is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

Maine's total gross state product for 2001 was $37.4 billion, placing it 43rd in the nation. Its per capita personal income for 2000 was $25,623, 36th in the nation.

Maine's agricultural outputs are seafood (notably lobsters), poultry and eggs, dairy products, cattle, blueberries, apples, and maple sugar. Aroostook County is known for its potato crops. Its industrial outputs are paper, lumber, and wood products, electronic equipment, leather products, food processing, textiles, and tourism. Naval shipbuilding and construction remain key as well, with Bath Iron Works in Bath and Portsmouth Naval Yard in Kittery.

As of 2000, the state's population was 1,274,923.

Population > 100,000 (urbanized area)

• Portland

• Bates College
• Bowdoin College
• Central Maine Community College
• Colby College
• College of the Atlantic
• Husson College
• Maine College of Art
• Maine Maritime Academy
• St. Joseph's College
• Southern Maine Community College
• Thomas College
• Unity College
• University of Maine System
  • University of Maine at Augusta
  • University of Maine at Farmington
  • University of Maine at Fort Kent
  • University of Maine at Machias
  • University of Maine University of Maine at Presque Isle
  • University of Southern Maine
• University of New England

• Portland Sea Dogs, minor league baseball
• Portland Pirates, minor league hockey

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