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Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the United States of America. Its
official name is The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its nickame is the Bay State. Other nicknames are the Old
Colony State, and less commonly the Puritan state and the Baked Bean state.
Its U.S. postal abbreviation is MA and its traditional abbreviation is Mass.
Several ships have been named USS Massachusetts in
honor of this state.
The Commonwealth
Preamble to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, 1780
"We, therefore, the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the
Universe, in affording us, in the course of His Providence, an opportunity, deliberately and peaceably, without fraud, violence
or surprize, on entering into an Original, explicit, and Solemn Compact with each other; and of forming a new Constitution of
Civil Government, for Ourselves and Posterity, and devoutly imploring His direction in so interesting a design, Do agree upon,
ordain and establish, the following Declaration of Rights, and Frame of Government, as the Constitution of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts."
-written by John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Bowdoin.
Massachusetts, like Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky, is called a "Commonwealth". Commonwealths are states, but the
reverse is not true. Legally, Massachusetts is a commonwealth because the term is contained in the Constitution. In the era
leading to 1780, when the state Constitution was ratified, a popular term for a whole body of people constituting a nation or
state was the word "Commonwealth." This term was the preferred usage of some political writers. There also may have been some
anti-monarchic sentiment in using the word "Commonwealth." The name, which in the eighteenth century was used to mean "republic",
can be traced to the second draft of the state Constitution, written by John Adams and accepted by the people in 1780. In this
second draft, Part Two of the Constitution, under the heading "Frame of Government", states, "that the people...form themselves
into a free, sovereign, and independent body politic, or state by the name of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts." The people had
overwhelmingly rejected the first draft of the Constitution in 1778, and in that draft and all acts and resolves up to the time
between 1776 and 1780, the name "State of Massachusetts Bay" had been used.
John Adams utilized this term when framing the Massachusetts Constitution, therefore. In his "Life and Works", Adams, wrote:
"There is, however, a peculiar sense in which the words republic, commonwealth, popular state, are used by English and French
writers, who mean by them a democracy, a government in one centre, and that centre a single assembly, chosen at stated periods by
the people and invested with the whole sovereignty, the whole legislative, executive and judicial power to be included in a body
or by committees as they shall think proper." See Symbols of Massachusetts (http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf1a.htm)
Massachusetts is commonly referred to by residents both as "the state" and as "the Commonwealth." For example, on March 22nd,
2005, one Boston Globe story said that opponents of a proposal saw it as "burdening the state with more law schools than it
needs," while another published the same day noted that "the Commonwealth faces difficult spending choices."
History
The colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett,
whose name means "a large hill place". The Pilgrims established their settlement at
Plymouth in 1620, arriving on the Mayflower. They were soon followed by the Puritans, who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Massachusetts was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. Although the Puritans came to
Massachusetts for religious freedom, they were not tolerant of any other religion than theirs. People such as Anne Hutchinson, Roger Williams, and Thomas Hooker left
Massachusetts and went South because of the Puritans' lack of religious tolerance. Williams ended up founding the colony of
Rhode Island and Hooker founded Connecticut.
On February 9, 1775 the British Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in rebellion and sent
additional troops to restore order.
An African-American named Crispus Attucks from Framingham was one of the first Americans killed during the American Revolution, in Boston on
March 5, 1770, at an event that has come to be
called the Boston Massacre.
A Constitutional Convention drew up a Constitution drafted in the main by John
Adams, and the people ratified it on June 15, 1780.
On February 6, 1788 Massachusetts
became the sixth state to ratify the United States
Constitution.
On March 15, 1820 the area of Maine was separated from Massachusetts, of which it had been a non-contiguous part, and entered
the Union as a State in its own right.
According to a 1790 census, Massachusetts had a zero population of slaves.
Massachusetts contains many historic houses (See Historic houses in Massachusetts for more
details).
See also: Basketball, Battle of Lexington and Concord, Battle of Bunker Hill, Christian
Science, Moxie, Patriot's
Day, Puritanism, Salem Witch Trials, Shays' Rebellion,
Siege of Boston, Thanksgiving, Transcendentalism, Volleyball, and Western Massachusetts.
Law and Government
See: Massachusetts Constitution, List of Massachusetts Governors The
capital of Massachusetts is Boston and the governor of the state is Mitt
Romney (Republican). The state does not maintain an official governor's residence. Massachusetts's two U.S. senators are Edward Kennedy (Democrat) and John Kerry (Democrat); as of
the 2001 redistricting, Massachusetts has ten seats in the United States House of
Representatives. The state legislature is formally styled the
"Great and General Court of the
Commonwealth"; the highest court is the "Supreme Judicial Court".
The laws of Massachusetts are created by the Great and General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the commonwealth's
elected bicameral legislative body, and are interpreted by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. They are made up of
282 chapters.
Massachusetts law maintains a distinction between "cities" and "towns"; the largest town in population is Framingham. Politically, the only difference between a
town and a city is that a town is governed under the Town Meeting or
Representative Town Meeting form of government, whereas a city has a city council (and may or may not have a mayor, a city
manager, or both). This distinction dates to the 1820s; prior to that, all municipalities
were governed by Town Meeting. There are now a number of municipalities which are legally
cities and thus have city councils, but retained the word "town" in their names, including Agawam, Methuen, Watertown,
Weymouth, and Westfield. These cities are legally styled "the City
Known as the Town of X". Massachusetts has a very limited home rule mechanism; in
order to exercise jurisdiction outside of these bounds, a municipality must petition the General Court for special legislation
giving it that authority.
Massachusetts municipalities are subject to a budgetary law known as "Proposition 2˝", by which they may not increase
expenditures by more than 2˝% per annum without the approval of the voters in a plebiscite.
Massachusetts has a reputation as being a politically liberal state, and often
used as an archetype of liberalism in the U.S. It is the home of the Kennedy family of political fame, and routinely votes for the Democratic Party in federal elections.
As of 2004, it is by far the largest U.S. state to be represented by only one
political party in U.S. Congress.
Although Republicans have held
the governor's office continously from 1991 to the present, many of these
(especially William Weld, the first of the recent lineage of Republican
governors) are considered among the most moderate or progressive Republicans in the nation.
During the 2004 Presidential Election, Massachusetts was the target of many regionalist attacks during the campaign trail.
When informed that the Democratic National
Convention would be in Boston, House Majority Leader
Dick Armey remarked, "If I were a Democrat, I suspect I'd feel a heck of a lot
more comfortable in Boston than, say, America." While campaigning in the western part of the country, President Bush would often
jab, "My opponent says he's in touch with the West, but sometimes I think he means Western Massachusetts." The stump speech that
he used at many of his campaign stops included many such disparaging remarks directed at Massachusetts and New England in
general.
Following a November 2003 decision of the state's Supreme Court,
Massachusetts became the first state to issue same-sex marriage
licenses on May 17, 2004. See the articles on
same-sex marriage in the
United States and same-sex
marriage in Massachusetts.
Geography
See: List of Massachusetts
counties
Massachusetts is bordered on the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, on the west by New York, on the south
by Connecticut and Rhode
Island, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. The islands of
Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket lie off the southeast coast. Boston is the largest city; however, most of the population of the Boston metropolitan area
(approximately 5,800,000) does not live in the city.
Massachusetts is known as the Bay State because of the several large bays that give its coastline its distinctive shape: Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay on the state's
east coast, and Buzzards Bay to the south. A few cities and towns on the
Massachusetts–Rhode Island border are also adjacent to Narragansett Bay.
Economy
Massachusetts total gross state product for 1999 was $262 billion, placing it
11th in the nation. As of 2002, its Per Capita Personal Income was $39,244 or
third in the nation. [1] (http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/regional/statelocal.htm)
Its agricultural outputs are seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, cranberries, and vegetables. Its industrial outputs are
machinery, electric equipment, scientific instruments, printing, and publishing. Massachusetts produces most of the cranberries
sold in the U.S. Other sectors vital to the Massachusetts economy include
higher education, health care, financial services and
tourism.
Demographics
The population of Massachusetts (According to 2003 Census Bureau estimates) is: 6,433,422.
The racial makeup of the state is:
The five largest ancestries in Massachusetts are Irish (22.5%), Italian (13.5%), English
(11.4%), French (8%), German (5.9%).
Religion
The religious affiliations of the people of Massachusetts are:
- Roman Catholic – 54%
- Protestant – 27%
- Other Christian – 1%
- Other Religions – 5% (Mostly Jewish)
- Non-Religious – 8%
The three largest Protestant denominations in Massachusetts are: Baptist (4% of
total state population), Episcopalian (3%), Methodist & Congregationalist (tied
2%).
Important cities and towns
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a total of 50 cities and 301 towns, grouped into 14 counties. Massachusetts cities and
towns of historical or cultural importance include
25 Richest Places in Massachusetts
Ranked by per capita income
1 Weston, Massachusetts $79,640
2 Dover, Massachusetts $64,899
3 Carlisle, Massachusetts $59,559
4 New Seabury, Massachusetts $59,130
5 Sherborn, Massachusetts $58,055
6 Sudbury, Massachusetts $53,285
7 Wellesley, Massachusetts $52,866
8 Wayland, Massachusetts $52,717
9 Concord, Massachusetts $51,477
10 Winchester, Massachusetts $50,414
11 Mount Washington, Massachusetts
$50,149
12 Lincoln, Massachusetts $49,095
13 Boxford, Massachusetts $48,846
14 Popponesset Island,
Massachusetts $48,815
15 Manchester-by-the-Sea,
Massachusetts $47,910
16 Marblehead, Massachusetts $46,738
17 Lexington, Massachusetts $46,119
18 Newton, Massachusetts $45,708
19 Swampscott, Massachusetts $45,487
20 Cordaville, Massachusetts $45,129
21 Needham, Massachusetts $44,549
22 Brookline, Massachusetts $44,327
23 Southborough, Massachusetts
$44,310
24 West Concord, Massachusetts
$43,271
25 Cohasset, Massachusetts $42,909
See complete list of Massachusetts
places
Massachusetts towns and counties
Massachusetts shares with the six New England states,
plus New York and New Jersey, a
governmental structure known as the "New England town."
In many states, a town is a compact incorporated area. Between the towns are
unincorporated areas, usually quite large, which do not belong to any town. In contrast, the state is completely apportioned into
counties. County governments have significant importance, particularly to those living
outside towns, and often perform major functions such as operating airports.
In contrast, the cities and towns of Massachusetts divide up all of the land between them and there are no "unincorporated"
areas or population centers. This complicates comparisons with other states, as most residents identify strongly with the town or
city in which they reside, and not with the "populated places" as defined and used in the U.S. Census Bureau, which in most data products
considers towns to be minor civil divisions, equivalent to
townships in other states (usually with much weaker forms of government). However, many residents also identify with
neighborhoods, villages, or other districts of their towns.
By the 1990s, most functions of county governments (including operation of courts and road maintenance) had been taken over by
the state, and most county governments were seen as inefficient and outmoded. The government of Suffolk County was substantially integrated
with the city government of Boston more than one
hundred years ago, to the extent that the members of the Boston city
council are ex officio the Suffolk County Commissioners, and Boston's treasurer and auditor fulfill the same offices
for the county. Thus, residents of the other three Suffolk County communities do not have a voice on the county commission, but
all the county expenses are paid by the city of Boston.
The government of Nantucket
County, which is geographically coterminous with the Town of Nantucket, is operated along similar lines- the town selectman
(executive branch) act as the county commissioners.
Mismanagement of Middlesex
County's public hospital in the mid 1990s left that county on the brink of insolvency, and in 1997 the legislature stepped in
by assuming all assets and obligations of the county. The government of Middlesex County was officially abolished on July 11, 1997. Later that year, the Franklin County Commission voted itself out
of existence. The law abolishing Middlesex County also provided for the elimination of Hampden County and Worcester County on July 1, 1998. This law was later amended to abolish Hampshire County on January 1, 1999; Essex County on July 1 of that same year; and
Berkshire County on July 1, 2000.
Chapter 34B of the Massachusetts General Laws (http://www.state.ma.us/legis/laws/mgl/gl-34B-toc.htm) provides that other counties may also
vote to abolish themselves, or to reorganize as a "regional council of governments", as Hampshire and Franklin Counties have done. The governments
of Bristol, Plymouth, and Norfolk Counties remain substantially
unchanged. Barnstable and
Dukes Counties have adopted modern county
charters, enabling them to act as efficient regional governments.
Education and research
Massachusetts contains only 2.5% of the U.S. population, but is home to many of its most renowned preparatory schools, colleges, and universities[2] (http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/state/) (see full list of
colleges and universities in Massachusetts). Eight Boston-area institutions (Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, Tufts, and UMass/Boston) call themselves
"research universities;" they became, according to them, "engines of economic growth" following World War II, and currently
contribute $7 billion annually to the local economy [3] (http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2003/econimpact.html). The population of metropolitan Boston
surges noticeably during the school year due to the concentration of colleges and universities in the area (see list of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston).
Massachusetts is home to one Ivy League university, Harvard; and three of the Seven Sisters: Mount
Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley. Technology-oriented universities include MIT, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and University of Massachusetts Lowell, which includes the former Lowell Institute of
Technology ("Lowell Tech"). Notable Massachusetts colleges that are outside the eastern Massachusetts area include the Five Colleges of the Pioneer Valley (Mount Holyoke, Smith, Amherst, Hampshire and the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts) and Williams, along with Worcester
State College. Music schools include Berklee
and the New England Conservatory.
Massachusetts also is home to well-known independent research institutions, including Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution and the Marine Biological
Laboratory.
Famous politicians and public figures from Massachusetts
Professional sports teams
State songs
Massachusetts recognizes three official state songs:
- Official Song: "All Hail to Massachusetts" (Arthur J. Marsh);
- Official Folk Song: "Massachusetts" (Arlo Guthrie)
- Official Patriotic Song: "My Massachusetts, Because of You Our Land is Free" (Bernard Davidson)
Legal holidays
Note that these are not national holidays and are just state holidays.
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