Massachusetts State Guide

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. With a population approaching 6.5 million in a relatively small area, it is mostly urban and suburban in its eastern half but still primarily rural in the west. It is the most populous of the six New England states and contains the region's main urban center, Boston.

The first Europeans to settle New England landed in present-day Massachusetts. These settlers were Pilgrims and Puritans from England seeking religious freedom. The majority of early settlers came from within 60 miles of Haverhill, England. They founded Plymouth, Salem, and Boston, which soon became the hub of the region. A century and a half later, Massachusetts became known as the 'Cradle of Liberty' for the revolutionary ferment in Boston that helped spawn the war of the Thirteen Colonies for independence.

During the 19th century, Massachusetts transformed itself from a mainly agricultural economy to a manufacturing one, making use of its many rivers for power to operate factories for shoes, furniture, and clothing. Its economy declined in the early twentieth century when industry moved south in search of cheaper labor. A revitalization came in the 1970s when, nourished by the graduates of the area's many elite institutions of higher education, the Boston suburbs (particularly those around Route 128) became home to dozens of high-technology companies. Massachusetts' colleges and universities, as well as its technology sectors, continue to thrive.

The state is also considered a haven for progressive, liberal thought and often sends political candidates to the national scene, however, the four most recent presidential aspirants, Ted Kennedy, Michael Dukakis, Paul Tsongas, and John Kerry, were all unsuccessful. Massachusetts was the home state of US Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy, and the birth state of George H. W. Bush.

As of 2006, Massachusetts is the only state in the union to legalize marriage of gay and lesbian couples.

Massachusetts State Guide - Geography

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. At the southeastern corner of the state is a large, sandy, arm-shaped peninsula called Cape Cod. The islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket lie to the south of Cape Cod.

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. The name Massachusetts comes from the name of an Algonquian tribe, the Massachusett, that means "at or about the great hill" or "land of the blue hills."

Boston is the largest city, located at the innermost point of Massachusetts Bay, at the mouth of the Charles River, the longest river entirely within Massachusetts. Most of the population of the Boston metropolitan area (approximately 5,800,000) does not live in the city; eastern Massachusetts on the whole is fairly densely populated and largely suburban.

Western Massachusetts is more rural and sparsely populated, especially in the Berkshires, the branch of the Appalachian Mountains that dominates the western quarter of the state. The most populated part of western Massachusetts is the "Pioneer Valley," alongside the Connecticut River, which flows across western Massachusetts from north to south.

The fourteen counties, moving roughly from west to east, are Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Worcester, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket.

Areas under the control and management of the National Park Service include:

* Adams National Historical Park in Quincy
* Longfellow National Historic Site in Cambridge
* Appalachian National Scenic Trail
* Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell
* Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Worcester County
* Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Lincoln, and Lexington
* Boston African American National Historic Site in Boston
* New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in New Bedford
* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (in partnership with other agencies)
* Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor
* Boston National Historical Park
* Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem
* Cape Cod National Seashore
* Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Saugus
* Essex National Heritage Area around Salem
* Springfield Armory National Historic Site in Springfield
* Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline
* Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild and Scenic Rivers
* John F. Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline
* Westfield Wild and Scenic River near Westfield

Massachusetts State Guide - Climate

The climate of Massachusetts is a classic example of a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. With its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Massachusetts recieves a generous amount of precipitation throughout the year, but is slighter wetter during the winter. Summers are warm with average high temperatures in July above 80°F and overnight lows above 60° common throughout the state. Winters are cold, but generally less extreme on the coast with high temperatures in the winter averaging above freezing even in January, although areas further inland are much colder. The state does have extreme temperatures from time to time with 90 °F in the summer and below 0°F temperatures in the winter not being unusual.

The state does have its share of extreme weather with the state especially prone to Noreasters and other severe winter storms. Summers can bring thunderstorms with the state averaging around 30 days of thunderstorm activity per year. While not known as being a state with much tornadic activity, the state has had its share of destructive tornadoes with the western part of the state slightly more vulerable then coastal areas in the east. Massachusetts, like all of the United States eastern seaboard, is vulnerable to hurricanes, and perhaps because of its location further east in the Atlantic Ocean, has been historically more vulnerable than many states further south. In fact, Massachusetts has suffered a direct hit from a major hurricane three times since 1851, the same amount of direct hits suffered by the southern Atlantic state of Georgia. More often the state will be hit with former hurricanes which have weakened to tropical storm strength or become extratropical as the steering currents move the storms towards the northeast.

Massachusetts State Guide - History

* Colonial Massachusetts - Various Algonquian tribes inhabited the area prior to European settlement. Massachusetts became a single colony in 1692, the largest in New England, and one where many American institutions and traditions were formed. Unlike southern colonies, it was built around small towns rather than scattered farms. The Pilgrims settled the Plymouth Colony, and Puritan settlers traveled to Salem and later to Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. As the Puritans gradually secularized and became known as Yankees, the Congregational Church they founded continued to dominate most small towns. Late in the colonial period Baptist and other dissenting churches emerged, and the elites in Boston and other large towns turned to the Anglican and Unitarian religions. The colony, usually including present-day Maine, defeated some Indian tribes in King Philip's War in the 1670s and fought with Britain a series of French and Indian Wars that were characterized by brutal border raids and successful attacks on Canada.
* Pre-revolutionary events - Massachusetts was a center of the American Revolution, with actions by the patriots and counter-actions by the Crown (including the Intolerable Acts) a main reason for the unity of the Thirteen Colonies and the outbreak of war, starting with battles in and around Boston in 1775-76. Also see Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party.
* Battles of the American Revolution - Battles of Lexington and Concord, Siege of Boston, Battle of Bunker Hill.
* First Governor of the Commonwealth - John Hancock was the first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
* Shays' Rebellion - Western Massachusetts uprising after the Revolution.
* U.S. Constitution - On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
* Slavery - Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to abolish slavery, in a 1783 judicial interpretation of its 1780 constitution. A 1790 census showed a slave population of zero.
* District of Maine - On March 15, 1820, Maine was separated from Massachusetts, of which it had been a non-contiguous part, and entered the Union as the 23rd State. (See Missouri Compromise)
* U.S. Civil War - The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was one of the first African-American regiments in the U.S. military.
* The Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T) - Known as the Big Dig to locals, it is the most expensive single highway construction project in the United States. It has resulted in the death of one motorist due to ceiling tile collapse. The project began 1991, with construction ongoing.

Massachusetts State Guide - Population

As of 2005, Massachusetts has an estimated population of 6,398,743, which is a decrease of 8,639, or 0.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 49,638, or 0.8%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 131,329 people (that is 426,232 births minus 294,903 deaths) and a decrease from net migration of 73,741 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 162,674 people, and net migration within the country resulted in a loss of 236,415 people.

For example, while many native Bay Staters are leaving, Asian, Hispanic and African immigrants continue to fill in their place. And despite recent population decreases, the population is expected to reach 7.3 million by 2030. The population of Massachusetts in 2004 included 881,400 foreign-born residents.

About five out of six Bay Staters (5,327,337 people in 2005) live in Greater Boston, including the City of Boston, an inner ring of neighboring cities and towns, the North Shore, South Shore, and the interior northern, western, and southern suburbs. In addition, Greater Boston includes most of southeastern Massachusetts and central Massachusetts, or Worcester County. Eastern Massachusetts is more urban than central or Western Massachusetts, which is primarily rural, save for the city of Springfield. The center of population of Massachusetts is located in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick.

Massachusetts State Guide - Emigration and Immigration

High housing costs in Massachusetts have primarily contributed to increasing outmigration to neighboring New Hampshire and Rhode Island in addition to the Southern and Western states. Other factors cited include taxes, a better place to raise children, weather, and traffic.

On the other hand, Massachusetts is still one of the top states for immigrants. In fact, recent census data shows that the number of immigrants living in Massachusetts have increased over 15% from 2000 to 2005. The biggest influx are Brazilians and Latin Americans. According to the census, the population of Central Americans rose by 67.7 percent between 2000 and 2005, and the number of South Americans rose by 107.5 percent. And among South Americans, the largest group to increase appeared to be Brazilians, whose numbers rose by 131.4 percent, to 84,836. This surge of immigrants usually offset outmigration and provide an increasingly diverse cultural mix to the state's population.

Massachusetts State Guide - Economy

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Massachusetts's gross state product in 2004 was US$318 billion. Per capita personal income in 2004 was US$42,102, making it the 2nd highest in the country behind Connecticut. Gross state product increased 2.6% from 2004 to 2005, below the national average of 3.5%.

Its agricultural outputs are seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, cranberries, tobacco and vegetables. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, scientific instruments, printing, and publishing. Thanks largely to the Ocean Spray cooperative, Massachusetts is the second largest cranberry producing state in the union (after Wisconsin). Other sectors vital to the Massachusetts economy include higher education, health care, financial services and tourism.

As of 2005, there were 6,100 farms in Massachusetts encompassing a total of 520,000 acres, averaging 85 acres apiece. Particular agricultural products of note include tobacco, animals and animal products, and fruits, tree nuts, and berries, for which the state is nationally ranked 11th, 16th, and 17th, respectively.

Massachusetts has a flat-rate personal income tax of 5.3%, with an exemption for income below a threshold that varies from year to year. The state imposes a 5% sales tax on retail sales of tangible personal property—except for groceries, clothing, and periodicals—in Massachusetts by any vendor. All real and tangible personal property located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is taxable unless specifically exempted by statute. The administration of the assessment and collection of all real and tangible personal property taxes in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is handled by the city and town assessor and collected in the jurisdiction where the property is located. Massachusetts imposes a tax on any gains from the sale or exchange of capital assets held for more than one year. The state also collects a 12% tax on interest (except interest from Massachusetts banks), dividends, gains from the sale or exchange of capital assets held for one year or less (short-term capital gains). There is no inheritance tax and limited Massachusetts estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.

Massachusetts State Guide - Law and Government

The Massachusetts Constitution was ratified in 1780 while the Revolutionary War was still in progress, nine years before the United States Constitution was adopted. Massachusetts has the oldest written Constitution now in use by any government in the world. It specifies three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.

The governor is head of the executive branch and serves as chief administrative officer of the state and as commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts National Guard. The current governor is Mitt Romney (Republican). Governor-elect Deval Patrick, a Democrat, will take office on January 4, 2007. All governors of Massachusetts are given the title His/Her Excellency, a carry-over from the Commonwealth's British past, despite titles being uncommon in American political traditions. Responsibilities of the governor include preparation of the annual budget, nomination of all judicial officers, the granting of pardons (with the approval of the governor's Council), appointments of the heads of most major state departments, and the acceptance or veto of each bill passed by the Legislature. Several executive offices have also been established, each headed by a secretary appointed by the governor, much like the president's cabinet.

The Governor's Council (also called the Executive Council) is composed of the Lieutenant Governor and eight councilors elected from councilor districts for a two-year term. It has the constitutional power to approve judicial appointments and pardons, to authorize expenditures from the Treasury, to approve the appointment of constitutional officers if a vacancy occurs when the legislature is not in session, and to compile and certify the results of statewide elections. It also approves the appointments of notaries public and justices of the peace.

The Massachusetts state legislature is formally styled as the "Great and General Court." (See Massachusetts General Court) Elected every two years, the General Court is made up of a Senate of 40 members and a House of Representatives of 160 members. The Massachusetts Senate is the second oldest democratic deliberative body in the world. Each branch elects its own leader from its membership. The Senate elects its president; the House its speaker. These officers exercise power through their appointments of majority floor leaders and whips (the minority party elects its leaders in a party caucus), their selection of chairs and all members of joint committees, and in their rulings as presiding officers. Joint committees of the General Court are made up of 6 senators and 15 representatives, with a Senate and House chair for each committee. These committees must hold hearings on all bills filed. Their report usually determines whether or not a bill will pass. Each chamber has its own Rules Committee and Ways and Means Committee and these are among the most important committee assignments.

Judicial appointments are held to the age of seventy. The Supreme Judicial Court, consisting of a chief justice and six associate justices, is the highest court in the Commonwealth; it is empowered to advise the governor and the legislature on questions of law. All trials are held in departments and divisions of a unified Trial Court, headed by a chief administrative justice assisted by an administrator of courts. It hears civil and criminal cases. Cases may be appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court or the Appeals Court for review of law, but findings of fact made by the Trial Court are final. The Superior Court, consisting of a chief justice and sixty-six associate justices, is the highest department of the Trial Court. Other departments are the District, Housing, Juvenile, Land, and Probate Courts.

Massachusetts State Guide - Politics

During the first half of the 1900s, Boston was socially conservative and strongly under the influence of Methodist minister J. Frank Chase and his New England Watch and Ward Society, founded in 1878. In 1903, the Old Corner Bookstore was raided and fined for selling Boccaccio's Decameron. Howard Johnson's got its start when Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude was banned in Boston, and the production had to be moved to Quincy. In 1927, works by Sinclair Lewis, Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, and Sherwood Anderson were removed from bookstore shelves. "Banned in Boston" on a book's cover could actually boost sales. Burlesque artists such as Sally Rand needed to modify their act when performing at Boston's Old Howard Casino. The clean version of a performance used to be known as the "Boston version." By 1929, the Watch and Ward society was perceived to be in decline when it failed in its attempt to ban Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, but as late as 1935 it succeeded in banning Lillian Hellman's play The Children's Hour. Censorship was enforced by city officials, notably the "city censor" within the Boston Licensing Division. That position was held by Richard J. Sinnott from 1959 until the office was abolished on March 2, 1982. In modern times, few such puritanical social mores persist. Massachusetts has since gained a reputation as being a politically liberal state and is often used as an archetype of liberalism.

Massachusetts is the home of the Kennedy family of political fame, and routinely votes for the Democratic Party in federal elections: it is the most populous state to have an all-Democratic Congressional delegation (ten representatives and two senators). Massachusetts's U.S. senators (since 1985) are Edward Kennedy (Democrat) and John Kerry (Democrat). As of the 2006 election, the Republican party holds less than 15% of the seats in both legislative houses of the General Court: in the House, the balance is 141 Democratic to 19 Republican, and in the Senate, 35-5.

Although Republicans held the governor's office continuously from 1991 to 2007, they have been among the most liberal Republican leaders in the nation, especially William Weld (the first of four recent Republican governors). Two of these governors, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift, took office when their predecessors resigned to take other positions. In presidential elections, Massachusetts supported Republicans until 1912, from 1916 through 1924, in the 1950s, and in 1980 and 1984. From 1988 through 2004, Massachusetts has supported Democratic presidential candidates, most recently giving native son John Kerry 61.9% of the vote and his largest margin of victory in any state. (It should be noted, however, John Kerry's margin of victory in the District of Columbia was much higher in 2004.) During the 1972 election, Massachusetts was the only state to give its electoral votes to George McGovern, the Democratic nominee (The District of Columbia also voted for McGovern).

Following a November 2003 decision of the state's Supreme Court, Massachusetts became the first (and so far only) 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.

Massachusetts State Guide - Education

Massachusetts is known for having one of the best public school systems in the nation. It was the first state to mandate a public education system, with the passage of the Old Deluder Satan Act in 1647; this mandate was later made a part of the state constitution in 1789. Massachusetts is home to the country's oldest high school, English High School, oldest university (Harvard University), and oldest public library (Boston Public Library). It has one of the lowest high-school dropout rates in the nation and the highest percentage of students who go on to college after high-school accorcing to US census data. It is also one of the highest-scoring states on advanced placement tests. In 2004, Massachusetts' high school students ranked 1st in the nation for test scores relating to the fields of math and science.

Massachusetts contains only 2.5% of the U.S. population but is home to many of its most renowned preparatory schools, colleges, and universities[4] (see full list of colleges and universities in Massachusetts). There are 62 colleges located in the greater Boston area alone. The population of metropolitan Boston and of the Five Colleges area in Western Massachusetts, in particular, surges during the school year.

Colleges and universities

* American International College
* Amherst College
* Babson College
* Bay Path College
* Berklee College of Music
* Bentley College
* Boston College
* Boston University
* Brandeis University
* Bridgewater State College
* Bunker Hill Community College
* Clark University
* College of the Holy Cross
* Emerson College
* Emmanuel College
* Endicott College
* Fitchburg State College
* Forsyth Institute
* Framingham State College
* Gordon College
* Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
* Greenfield Community College
* Hampshire College
* Harvard University
* Massachusetts Bay Community College
* Massachusetts College of Art
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology
* Merrimack College
* Middlesex Community College
* Montserrat College of Art
* Mount Holyoke College
* Mount Wachusett Community College
* New England Institute of Art
* Northeastern University
* North Shore Community College
* Radcliffe College
* Salem State College
* Simmons College
* Smith College
* Springfield College
* Stonehill College
* Suffolk University
* Tufts University
* University of Massachusetts Amherst
* University of Massachusetts Boston
* University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
* University of Massachusetts Lowell
* University of Massachusetts Medical School
* Wellesley College
* Wentworth Institute of Technology
* Western New England College
* Westfield State College
* Wheelock College
* Williams College
* Worcester Polytechnic Institute
* Worcester State College
* Wheaton College

Massachusetts State Guide - Sports

The following table lists the professional sports teams in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is also the home to the Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield), the Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke), and the Cape Cod Baseball League.

* Club - Sports - League - Venue
* Boston Red Sox - Baseball - Major League Baseball: American League - Fenway Park
* Brockton Rox - Baseball - Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball - Campanelli Stadium
* Lowell Spinners - Baseball - Single-A Minor League Baseball - Edward A. LeLacheur Park
* North Shore Spirit - Baseball - Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball - Fraser Field
* Worcester Tornadoes - Baseball - Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball - Fitton Field
* Boston Celtics - Basketball - National Basketball Association: Eastern Conference - TD Banknorth Garden
* Cape Cod Frenzy - Basketball - American Basketball Association - TBA
* Bay State Warriors - Football - Independent Women's Football League - Hormel Stadium
* New England Patriots - Football - National Football League - Gillette Stadium
* Boston Bruins - Ice Hockey - National Hockey League - TD Banknorth Garden
* Lowell Devils - Ice Hockey - American Hockey League - Tsongas Arena
* Springfield Falcons - Ice Hockey - American Hockey League - MassMutual Center
* Worcester Sharks - Ice Hockey - American Hockey League - DCU Center
* Boston Cannons - Lacrosse - Major League Lacrosse - Nickerson Field
* Boston Braves - Rugby - American National Rugby League - New England
* New England Revolution - Soccer - Major League Soccer - Gillette Stadium

Massachusetts State Guide - Miscellaneous Topics

The Commonwealth's nickname is the Bay State. Other nicknames are the Old Colony State, and less commonly the Puritan state and the Baked Bean state. On December 18, 1990, the Legislature decided that the people of the Commonwealth would be designated as Bay Staters.

Seven ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Massachusetts in honor of this state.

When the Governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the office of Governor remains vacant for the rest of the 4 year term. The Lieutenant Governor does not succeed but only discharges powers and duties as Acting Governor.

The front doors of the state house are only opened when a governor leaves office or a head of state comes to visit the State House. It is also traditionally opened for the return of flags from Massachusetts regiments at the end of wars. The tradition of the ceremonial door originated when leaving governor Benjamin Butler kicked open the front door and walked out by himself in 1884.

Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade is the second-largest in the country, annually attracting more than 850,000 spectators.

Massachusetts is the first state in the union to mandate health insurance for all its citizens. See Chapter 58 for more details.

The Boston Cream Donut is the official Donut of the Commonwealth. For other official symbols, see List of official symbols of Massachusetts.

In Harry Potter the Fitchburg Finches, mentioned in the Quidditch Through the Ages replica school book, are from Massachusetts.

Massachusetts State Guide - Name

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett, whose name can be segmented as mass-adchu-et, where mass is "great", adchu is "hill" and et is a locative suffix. It has been translated as "at the great hill," "at the place of large hills," or "at the range of hills," with reference to the Blue Hills, or in particular, Great Blue Hill, located on the boundary of Milton and Canton, to the southwest of Boston. The current form of the name results from assimilation.

Massachusetts State Guide - Commonwealth

Massachusetts officially designates itself a "commonwealth." Colloquially, it is often referred to simply as "the Commonwealth," although "state" is used interchangeably. While this designation is part of the state's official name, it has no practical implications. Massachusetts has the same position and powers within the United States as other states and a similar form of internal government.

Article Source: Wikipedia