During the Great Depression（1929－1939），thousands of Delawareans lost their jobs．The federal government provided jobs building roads and parks．World War II（1939－1945）also helped end the Depression．Delaware provided soldiers，ships and gunpowder（黑色火药，有烟火药）．Du Pont chemist Wallace Carothers discovered nylon in 1938，which was then used to produce parachutes（降落伞）．
Delaware’s economy grew rapidly during the 1950s and 1960s．In 1951，the Delaware Memorial Bridge opened making travel to and from the state much easier．Many factories expanded and large new corporations，such as Chrysler（克莱斯勒汽车），General Foods，and General Motors，moved into Delaware．The state’s population also increased dramatically，reaching almost 450，000in 1960．
Although a southern state，Delaware began desegregation（废止种族歧视）of schools before the Supreme Court ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional in 1954．In 1950，black students were allowed to attend the University of Delaware．By 1952，black and white students began attending the same high schools．All segregation of restaurants and public facilities ended in 1963．Many black people moved to Delaware during this time；several settled in Wilmington．
Environmental improvements were made during the 1970s．In 1971，the Coastal Zone Act was passed that banned construction of industrial plants along the Delaware coastline．This protected beaches and helped to improve water and air pollution．In 1973，about 1，500abandoned homes in Wilmington were sold for a dollar，with the requirement to fix up the building．Several new homeowners moved back to the city．Legislature districts were redrawn in 1971and 1981．
A mild economic depression during the 1970s found many Delawareans without work．The Financial Center Development Act of 1981allowed many out－of－state banks to have headquarters in Delaware．More than 20，000new jobs were created．In 1980，the state adopted a constitutional limit that restricted government spending to 95per cent of the government’s expected revenue．This improved the state’s economy．The tourist industry also increased．By 1993，more Delawareans had jobs than ever before．
Governor州长
自从2001年任德拉瓦州州长以来，Ruth Ann Minner已为本州办了许多实事。主要体现在：提高学校教学质量，保护环境，改善人们的医疗保险，抗击癌症和提供就业的机会上。他在本州人民心中享有很高的威望。在私人生活上，他喜欢和三个儿子和妻子呆在一起还有他的七个外甥和外甥女。
Since taking office in 2001，Governor Ruth Ann Minner has worked to get things done in Delaware by improving schools，preserving and protecting the environment，improving health care and fighting cancer as well as creating and keeping jobs．
In education，Gov．Minner sent an extra165million into classrooms in her first term，with special reading teachers in every elementary school，after－school programs and new teachers，books and computers．As a result，more students are meeting our high standards in every grade and in every subject than four years ago．
The Environmental Right－To－Know Act，repeat offender law，and the first－ever regulation of aboveground storage tanks are part of Gov．Minner’s initiatives to reduce industrial pollution and make industry in Delaware more accountable．The Governor also advocated for and signed a law holding industrial managers and officials personally liable for negligent（疏忽的，粗心大意的）industrial accidents that harm people．
Gov．Minner has championed a comprehensive fight against high cancer rates，with 15million so far for increased education，screening and treatment，the creation of a cancer registry to identify cancer case “hot spots”or environmental causes，a first－in－the－nation program to pay for cancer treatment for those who can’t afford it，and the Clean Indoor Air Act，which has reduced cancerous pollutants in Delaware’s restaurants，bars and casinos by more than 90percent．
The first Minner term saw more than 12，000jobs created or kept in Delaware，with employers like AAA Mid－Atlantic，Wal－Mart and Invista choosing the state over dozens of other sites．She also expanded opportunities for small business，especially women－and minority－owned companies in the state．
Gov．Minner also steered the state through what experts have called the worst fiscal crisis for states since World War II．During the national economic recession，while other states reduced school to one day a week，dropped health care for families and laid off thousands of employees，Gov．Minner cut hundreds of millions of dollars out of the state budget without drastic effects on services and without raising taxes on average Delawareans．Her leadership was recognized nationally and made Delaware one of just a few states to weather the recession in sound shape．
In her second term，Gov．Minner wants to continue her efforts to move Delaware forward．She wants to put math and science specialists in middle schools to focus on those areas and build the Delaware Teachers Corps to put quality teachers in classrooms．She wants to reduce levels of mercury in Delaware’s air and water and prevent developers from rolling back her Livable Delaware rules．She wants to keep reducing the number of uninsured in Delaware and ensure that the state’s fight against cancer continues．And her New Economy Initiative is designed to jumpstart Delaware’s economy，with private and government support for manufacturing plants，in high－technology businesses and in new startup（［计］启动）companies．
Born in Slaughter Neck in Sussex County，Ruth Ann left school at age 16to help on her family’s farm，later marrying Frank Ingram．Widowed suddenly at 32with three sons to raise，she worked two jobs while going to school，earning her G．E．D．She built a family towing business with her second husband，Roger Minner．Roger died of lung cancer in 1991．Ruth Ann began in politics stuffing envelopes，then worked as an aide in the state legislature and as receptionist（招待员，传达员）to then－Gov．Sherman Tribbitt．She was elected to four terms in the state House of Representatives beginning in 1974，to three terms in the state Senate beginning in 1982and to two terms as Lieutenant Governor in 1992and 1996．