The Struggle for Identity | HOME: The Story of Maine

Have you ever wondered how Maine got its boundaries, or why it looks the way it does on a map? The idea of Maine’s independence from Massachusetts had its detractors, not just from the so-called slave states but even from within, and the northern and northeastern borders were still in dispute over two decades after Maine became a state in 1820. This installment of HOME: The Story of Maine explores the tug-of-war with Canada, Britain and Massachusetts over Maine’s boundaries and provides a historical perspective on the bloodless “Aroostook War” of 1839 that eventually drew a line through Madawaska and Edmunston, New Brunswick and resulted in the creation of the military outposts of Fort Fairfield and Fort Kent. Also examined in this program is the quick rise of Eastport as a thriving sea port to facilitate the illegal shipping of lumber to Britain in violation of President Thomas Jefferson’s trade embargo, which crippled Maine’s early forest economy. Maine Public, every day it's local. http://www.mainepublic.org