Amanda Terwilliger, age 11, of Wilmington, Del., for her question:

HOW DID DELAWARE RECEIVE ITS NAME?

Delaware is called "The First State" because it was the first to ratify the Constitution of the United States in 1787. The state took its name from the bay which lies to the east. The bay was named for Lord De La Warr, Virginia's first governor. Only one other state is smaller in area than Delaware. But what it doesn't have in size, Delaware makes up for in many other ways.

The state became important as a manufacturing center back in colonial times. Today Delaware's most important industry is the manufacture of chemicals. Wilmington, the state's largest city, is known as the chemical capital of the world.

Textiles have been important in Delaware since 1790. Today the state turns out wool, cotton, nylon, jute, imitation silk and other textiles. The cloth is used in the manufacture of clothing, window shades, book covers and other cloth products. Wilmington has the largest textile dying and finishing plant in the world.

In addition, Delaware can brag about such industries as food processing, braided hose, vulcanized fiber and glazed kid, a leather product that is used in shoes and women's gloves.

One of the largest oil refineries in the world is located just south of Wilmington.

First inhabitants of the area were Indians including the Nanticokes, the Leni Lenape (or "Delawares") and the Minquans. The first European settlers were the Dutch in 1631 and the Swedes in 1638. The English, Scotch and Irish then started to arrive in large numbers and by the time of the American Revolution in 1776, the English were in the majority.

For years the three counties of Delaware were part of Pennsylvania. But Delaware was given its own separate legislature in 1704 although until 1776, when it became a state, it had the same governor as Pennsylvania.

The first celebration of Independence Day in the United States was held on July 5, 1776, in Delaware's capital city, Dover.

Many men from Delaware fought in the American Revolution. Only one battle was fought on the state's soil, however. It was the Battle of Cooch's Bridge in 1777. During this battle, the United States flag was flown for the first time.

The soldiers from Delaware were nicknamed the "Blue Hen's Chickens" and since then, the blue hen has been named the state bird.

The state was once divided into about a hundred counties, each about the size of a township. Today the breakdown is used only to identify the location of property. The state now has only three counties: New Castle, Sussex and Kent.

At one time criminals were punished in Delaware by whipping. The whipping post wasn't officially abolished until 1972.