“4 original Rock n Roll Bands October 28, 1982,” concert flyer. Joe Snow Punk Rock Collection – Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries

Contemporary United States (1978–present)

The challenges faced by America in the late 20th century manifested themselves in various ways throughout Connecticut. A divisive military conflict in Vietnam led to passionate protests throughout the state while the emerging global economy created new international conglomerations that ushered many of Connecticut’s most prominent industries (such as brass and textile production) into obsolescence. In addition, the national energy crisis brought about calls for increased investments in alternative energy sources which met with mixed favor in Connecticut (as demonstrated by the stories of Haddam Neck and Cockenoe Island). It was also a period in which the state looked to rebound from a financial crisis through the introduction of legalized gambling and its first permanent state income tax.

Featured

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive poster of Victor Manuel Gerena

Financing a Free Puerto Rico: The Great Wells Fargo Heist of 1983

On September 12, 1983, an employee at the Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, committed what was, at the time, the largest cash robbery in American history. …[more]

Learn More

“The Marquis de Lafayette’s 1824-1825 Tour.” Museum of the American Revolution. https://www.amrevmuseum.org/the-marquis-de-lafayette-s-1824-1825-united-states-tour.
“Lafayette 200.” https://lafayette200.org/.
“Connecticut Lafayette Trail.” https://lafayettecttrail.org/.
“Governor Jodi Rell Executive Orders, 2006.” Connecticut Digital Archive. https://collections.ctdigitalarchive.org/node/203328.
“M. Jodi Rell.” Connecticut State Library. https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/governors/Rell.
“LGBTQIA+ Ridgefield Oral History.” Connecticut Digital Archive. https://ctdigitalarchive.org/node/3901648?search=lgbtq.
“The State Motto.” CT.gov. https://portal.ct.gov/about/state-symbols/the-state-motto.
“The Colonial Seal.” CT.gov. https://portal.ct.gov/about/state-symbols/the-colonial-seal.
“The Great Seal.” CT.gov. https://portal.ct.gov/about/state-symbols/the-great-seal.
“The Original Seal.” CT.gov. https://portal.ct.gov/about/state-symbols/the-original-seal.
Connecticut State Register and Manual. 2024. Secretary of the State of Connecticut. https://portal.ct.gov/sots/register-manual/register-manual/connecticut-state-register--manual.
“Rogers Studio & Museum.” New Canaan Historical Society. https://nchistory.org/portfolio/rogers-studio/.
“New Canaan Historical Society.” 2017. https://nchistory.org/.
“The History of the Pequot War.” 2009. Battlefields of the Pequot War. https://pequotwar.org/.
“Edward Hopkins: Governor of the Colony of Connecticut.” Connecticut State Library. https://ctstatelibrary.org/edward-hopkins/.
“Pioneers of a Town, a State, a Nation.” Ancient Burying Ground Association. https://ancientburyingground.com/pioneers/.
Haynes, John, Edward Hopkins, Roger Ludlow, Miantonomo, and Uncas. 1638. “Treaty of Hartford (Copy).” https://01jpt7h6p877a5a3ntv5jjxxws.app-platform-1.refbytes.com/s/yale-indian-papers/item/4249#lg=1&slide=0.
Lund, Judith N., Elizabeth A. Josephson, Randall R. Reeves, and Tim D. Smith. “American Offshore Whaling Voyages: A Database.” https://nmdl.org/projects/aowv/.
Schroer, Blanche Higgins, and S. Sydney Bradford. 1974. “National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: The Charles W. Morgan.” https://catalog.archives.gov/id/132353683.
“Synopsis of the Voyages of the Charles W. Morgan.” Mystic Seaport Museum. https://research.mysticseaport.org/info/ib66-1/.
“Charles W. Morgan Crew Lists.” Mystic Seaport Museum. https://research.mysticseaport.org/databases/cwm-crew-lists/.
“Charles W. Morgan.” Mystic Seaport Museum. https://mysticseaport.org/explore/morgan/.
“Meadowood.” Trust for Public Land. https://www.tpl.org/our-work/meadowood.
“MLK in CT.” Simsbury Free Library. https://www.mlkinct.com/.
“Connecticut: History of the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state/connecticut.
“Capital Punishment in Connecticut.” Connecticut State Library. https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/c.php?g=213850&p=1415443#s-lg-box-4287911.
“New London Landmarks.” https://www.newlondonlandmarks.org/.
“New London County Historical Society.” https://www.nlchs.org/.
“Hygienic Art, Inc.” https://www.hygienic.org/.
“Keeler Tavern Museum.” http://keelertavernmuseum.org/.
“Ridgefield Historical Society.” https://ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org/.
“Liberties & Legends.” Museum of Connecticut History. https://museumofcthistory.org/liberties-legends/.
“Charter of the Colony of Connecticut 1662.” 1900. https://www.cga.ct.gov/hco/books/Charter_of_the_Colony_of_CT_1662.pdf.
“The State Tree.” CT.Gov. https://portal.ct.gov/about/state-symbols/the-state-tree.
“List of Groton Inhabitants Killed in the Fort, 1781.” 1781. https://hdl.handle.net/11134/3808545.
“Welcome to Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park.” Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park Foundation, Inc. https://www.fortgriswold.org/.
“Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park.” CT Parks. https://ctparks.com/parks/fort-griswold-battlefield-state-park.
“Connecticut General Assembly.” CT.gov. https://www.cga.ct.gov/.
“The State Capitol.” CT.gov. https://portal.ct.gov/about/state-symbols/the-state-capitol.
“The Genius of Connecticut: The Old and the New.” State Capitol Preservation & Restoration Commission. https://www.cga.ct.gov/cprc/genius.asp.
“The Connecticut State Capitol.” State Capitol Preservation & Restoration Commission. https://www.cga.ct.gov/cprc/history.asp.
“Privateers.” Connecticut State Library. https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/c.php?g=1338606&p=9889224.
“Records of Connecticut Maritime Courts, 1777-1783.” Mystic Seaport Museum Collections & Research. https://research.mysticseaport.org/coll/coll371/.
“New London County Historical Society.” New London County Historical Society. https://www.nlchs.org/.
“National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses Records.” The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts. https://archives.nypl.org/scm/20744.
“Martha Minerva Franklin Gravesite.” Connecticut Freedom Trail. https://ctfreedomtrail.org/connecticut-freedom-trail-sites/martha-minerva-franklin-gravesite/.
“Martha Minerva Franklin.” Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame. https://www.cwhf.org/inductees/martha-minerva-franklin.
“Wide-Awake Head-Quarters, 311 Main Street. Hartford, Nov. 12, 1860. to the Republican Wide-Awake Ladies, of Hartford.” 1860. http://hdl.handle.net/11134/40002:20948.
Skeels, Samantha. “Millions of Stories: Edgar Smith Yergason.” Connecticut Museum of History and Culture Blog. https://www.connecticutmuseum.org/millions-of-stories-edgar-smith-yergason/ (February 13, 2025).
“7 Are Injured by Rocks as Connecticut Rally by Klan Is Broken Up.” 1981. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/22/nyregion/7-are-injured-by-rocks-as-connecticut-rally-by-klan-is-broken-up.html (June 22, 2015).