Massachusetts

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Flag of Massachusetts Flag of Massachusetts Seal Nickname(s): Bay State State Bird = Black-capped Chickadee Motto(s): Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (English: By the sword she seeks peace under liberty)
Official language(s)	English
Capital	Boston
Largest city	Boston
Area	Ranked 44th
- Total	10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)
- Width	183 miles (295 km)
- Length	113 miles (182 km)
- % water	13.3
- Latitude	41° 14′ N to 42° 53′ N
- Longitude	69° 56′ W to 73° 30′ W
Population	Ranked 13th in the U.S.
- Total	6,349,097
- Density	818/sq mi  (312.68/km2) Ranked 3rd in the U.S.
- Median income	$52,354 (9th)
Elevation
- Highest point	Mount Greylock 3,491 ft  (1,064 m)
- Mean	500 ft  (150 m)
- Lowest point	Atlantic Ocean 0 ft  (0 m)
Admission to Union	February 6, 1788 (6th)
Governor	Deval Patrick (D)
Lieutenant Governor	{{{Lieutenant Governor}}}
U.S. Senators	Edward Kennedy (D) John Kerry (D)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Abbreviations	MA Mass. US-MA
Web site	www.mass.gov

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Most of its population of 6.4 million live in the Boston metropolitan area. The eastern half of this relatively small state is mostly urban and suburban. The west is primarily rural, also with about 91% of its population in urban enclaves. Massachusetts is the most populous of the six New England states, having the top two most populated cities (Boston and Worcester) and ranks third in overall population density among the 50 states.

The first Europeans to settle New England landed in present-day Massachusetts. These settlers were primarily non-conformists (later called Pilgrims) and Puritans from England seeking religious freedom. They founded Plymouth, Salem, and Boston, which soon became the hub of the region, then the Pioneer Valley along the Connecticut River where the state's best agricultural land was concentrated. 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, the Massachusetts economy transformed from primarily agricultural to manufacturing, making use of its many rivers to power factories for shoes, furniture, and clothing that drew labor from Yankees on subsistence farms at first, and later drew upon immigrant labor from Europe. The country's first "company town," Lowell, was built in the early 1820s to accommodate the state's growing textile industry. The industrial economy declined in the early twentieth century with the movement of many manufacturing companies to the southern United States, to draw upon cheaper labor. A revitalization came in the late 1970s or early 1980s when, nourished by the graduates of the area's many elite institutions of higher education, the Boston suburbs (particularly those near Route 128) became home to dozens of high-technology companies. Wholesale and retail trade, transportation and public utilities also prospered in that era. Massachusetts's colleges and universities, as well as many of its technology sectors, continue to thrive.

Massachusetts has been a significant state in American history. The first battles of the American Revolution were fought in the Massachusetts towns of Concord and Lexington in 1775. The Boston Tea Party is an example of the protest spirit of the pre-revolutionary period. In the 19th century, the state became a bastion of social progressivism and a birthplace of the abolitionist movement that emancipated southern blacks from slavery. The Kennedy family was prominent in Massachusetts politics in the 20th century. In the 21st century, the state continues to lead the country in social and cultural change, and in November 2003 became the first state in the union to allow same-sex couples to marry.

Name

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett, whose name can be segmented as mass-adchu-s-et, where mass- is "large," -adchu- is "hill," -s- is a diminutive suffix meaning "small," and -et is a locative suffix, identifying a place. It has been translated as "at the great hill," "at the little big hill," or "at the range of hills," referring to the Blue Hills, or in particular, Great Blue Hill, located on the boundary of Milton and Canton, to the southwest of Boston. (c.f. the Narragansett name Massachusêuck; Ojibwe misajiwensed, "of the little big hill").. There are, however, a number of interpretations of the exact meaning of the word. The Jesuit missionary Father Rasles thought that it came from the word Messatossec, "Great-Hills-Mouth": "mess" (mass) meaning "great"; "atsco" (as chu or wad chu) meaning "hill"; and sec (sac or saco) meaning "mouth". The Reverend John Cotton used another variation: "mos" and "wetuset", meaning "Indian arrowhead", descriptive of the Native Americans hill home. Another explanation is that the word comes from "massa" meaning "great" and "wachusett", "mountain-place".

Massachusetts is called the Bay State after Massachusetts Bay, the site of the Puritans’ colony. Those early settlers from Europe provide the state with other nicknames, including the Pilgrim State and the Puritan State .

Massachusetts is officially 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.

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. Elevations increase towards the north and west and the highest point in the state is Mount Greylock at 3,491 feet near the state's northwest corner.

The uplands, which range includes New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and eastern New York are interrupted by the downfaulted Pioneer Valley along the Connecticut River, the largest river that flows through Massachusetts, and further west by the Housatonic Valley separating the Berkshire Hills from the Taconic Range along the western border with New York. The Berkshire Hills are also commonly referred to as the Berkshire Massif.

Boston is 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 4.4 million) does not live in the city proper; eastern Massachusetts on the whole is fairly densely populated and largely suburban as far west as Worcester.

Central Massachusetts encompasses Worcester county, and includes the cities of Worcester, Fitchburg, Leominster and small upland towns, forests, and small farms. Old Sturbridge Village, a re-creation of an 1830s' rural New England settlement, is also located in central Massachusetts. The Quabbin Reservoir borders the western side of the county, and is the main water supply for the eastern part of the state.

The Pioneer Valley along the Connecticut River in Western Massachusetts is urbanized from the Connecticut border (and greater Hartford) to north as far as Northampton, and includes Springfield, West Springfield, Westfield, and Holyoke. Pioneer Valley economy and population was influenced by agriculturally productive Connecticut River Valley land in the 17th and 18th century, water power for the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and expansion of higher education in the 20th century. Five of the nation's most prestigious liberal arts schools are within mere minutes of one another in that area. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Hampshire College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and Amherst College dot this region of Western Massachusetts. Together, they form an incomparable consortium that is as rich in its cultural offerings as it is in its unadulterated academia.

The remainder of the state west of Pioneer Valley is mainly uplands, a range of small mountains known as the Berkshires, summer home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Lenox), Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Norman Rockwell Museum (Stockbridge), Monument Mountain and Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. It largely remained in aboriginal hands until the 18th century when Scotch-Irish settlers arrived and found the more productive lands already settled, so they chose to work in the mines and furnaces. Availability of better land in western New York and then the Northwest Territories soon put the upland agricultural population into decline. Available water power lead to 19th century settlement along upland rivers. Pittsfield and North Adams grew into small cities, with a number of smaller mill towns along the Westfield River.

The geographic center of the state is in the town of Rutland, in Worcester county. The National Park Service administers a number of natural and historical sites in Massachusetts

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. All but two of the Commonwealth's fourteen counties are named for British counties, cities, or nobles.

Climate

Massachusetts has a humid continental climate, with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Massachusetts receives about 40 inches of rain annually, fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, slightly 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 entire state has cold winters and moderately warm summers, but the Berkshires in the west have both the coldest winters and the coolest summers. 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 record high temperature in the state is 107°F (42°C), established at Chester and New Bedford on 2 August 1975; the record low is –35°F (–37°C), registered at Chester on 12 January 1981.

The state has its share of extreme weather, prone to Nor'easters and to severe winter storms. Summers can bring thunderstorms, averaging around 30 days of thunderstorm activity per year. Massachusetts lies in the “prevailing westerlies,” the belt of generally eastward air movement, which encircles the globe in the mid-latitudes. Embedded in this circulation are extensive masses of air originating in more northerly or southerly latitudes and interacting to produce frequent significant storm systems. Relative to most other sections of the country, a large number of such storms pass over or near to Massachusetts. The majority of air masses affecting this State belong to three types: cold, dry air pouring down from subarctic North America; warm, moist air streaming up on a long journey from the Gulf of Mexico, and subtropical waters (Gulf Stream) to the east; and cool, damp air moving in from the North Atlantic. Massachusetts has had its share of destructive tornadoes, with the western part of the state slightly more vulnerable than coastal areas in the east. Massachusetts, like the entire United States eastern seaboard, is vulnerable to hurricanes. Although its location is farther east in the Atlantic Ocean than states farther south, Massachusetts has suffered a direct hit from a major hurricane three times since 1851, the same number of direct hits suffered by their neighbor, Connecticut, as well as the southern Atlantic state of Georgia. More often hurricanes weakened to tropical storm strength pass through Massachusetts.

The weather of Massachusetts is highly varied throughout the year. As with most New England states, it has a very cold winter, usually within 10-20 degrees of freezing and with a high chance of snowfall. The spring and summers are fairly mild, with occasional heat waves exceeding one hundred degrees.

Flora and Fauna

The primary biome of inland Massachusetts is temperate deciduous forest. Maple, birch, beech, oak, pine, hemlock, and larch cover the Massachusetts uplands. Common shrubs include rhodora, mountain laurel, and shadbush. Various ferns, maidenhair and osmund among them, grow throughout the state. Typical wildflowers include the Maryland meadow beauty and false loosestrife, as well as several varieties of orchid, lily, goldenrod, and aster. Listed as threatened or endangered plants in 2003 were northeastern bulrush, sandplain gerardia, and small whorled pogonia. However, much of the state has been logged, leaving only traces of old growth forest in isolated pockets. Secondary growth has regenerated in many woodlots and forests, particularly in the western half of Massachusetts.

Piping Plover frequent Massachusetts dunes and beaches

Urbanization, particularly in the eastern half of the state, has affected much of Massachusetts. Gray Wolf, Elk, Wolverine and Mountain Lion once occurred here but have long since disappeared. However, there are wildlife species that are adapting to the changing setting. Coyote, white-tailed deer, raccoon, striped skunk, river otter, gray fox, porcupine, and wild turkey are now found in suburbs of major cities and are increasing in population. Black Bear continue to thrive in many of the state forests of western Massachusetts, and moose have repopulated a portion of north-central Mass due to a combination of forest cutting practices and protection from hunting which created ideal habitats and allowed for high reproduction and survival rates. Peregrine Falcon can be found nesting on artificial platforms on many of the state's tallest buildings in larges cities such as Boston, Worcester and Springfield.

The Atlantic Flyway is the primary migration route for bird species, spanning the entire Atlantic coast from Canada to past Florida. Common Loon are a relatively recent addition to the breeding bird list, their nests at the Wachusett Reservoir in central Massachusetts are considered the most southerly in the world population of this species. A significant portion of the eastern population of Long-tailed Duck winter off the island of Nantucket. Small offshore islands are home to a significant population of breeding Roseate Terns, and some beaches are important breeding areas to the endangered Piping Plover. These breeding areas have successfully increased the population by more than 50 percent during the 1990 to 1992, from 139 pairs to 213 pairs .

North Atlantic Right Whale

Massachusetts has an extensive coastline with a declining commercial fishery out to the continental shelf. Atlantic cod, haddock, oysters, scallops and American lobster are species harvested here. Harbor Seals and gray seals have large nurseries near Monomoy Island and other islands in Nantucket Sound. Finally, a significant number of the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales summer on feeding grounds in Cape Cod Bay. The Cape Cod coasts are also rich in a variety of shellfish, including clams, mussels, shrimps, and oysters. Whale watching is a popular summer activity off the coast of Massachusetts. Boats regularly sail to Stellwagen Bank to view species such as Humpback Whale, Fin Whale, Minke Whale and Atlantic White-sided Dolphin.

History

ERIN - This history section may be too short. However, we don't need every little detail. Please check out this: Wikipedia History on Mass. Extract most important events. Make a note of how I did Kansas - not a full year to year account, but critical events were listed. Mary. END OF NOTE.

Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882)

Massachusetts was originally inhabited by several Algonquian tribes: the Wampanoag, Nauset, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Pennacook, Mahican, and some Narragansett and Pequot. These indigenous people were decimated by waves of smallpox inadvertently brought to the New World by Sir Herbert Popham and his ship to the Saco Maine area in 1616.

The first European settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, established their settlement at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the native Wampanoag. Most early settlers came from within 60 miles of Haverhill, England. The Pilgrims were soon followed by Puritans who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony at present-day Boston. The Puritans, whose beliefs included exclusive understanding of the literal truth of the Bible, came to Massachusetts for religious freedom. Dissenters such as Anne Hutchinson, Roger Williams, and Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts because of the Puritan society's lack of religious tolerance. Williams founded the colony of Rhode Island, and Hooker founded Connecticut.

Native American-European racial tensions led to King Philip's War 1675-76. There were major campaigns in the Pioneer Valley and Plymouth Colony, as well as an unsuccessful expedition against Quebec under William Phips in 1690. Massachusetts became a single colony in 1692, the largest in New England, and one where many American institutions and traditions were formed. The colony fought alongside British regulars in a series of French and Indian Wars that were characterized by brutal border raids and successful attacks on British forces in New France (present-day Canada).

Percy's Rescue at Lexington by Ralph Earl and Amos Doolittle from 1775.

Massachusetts was a center of the movement for independence from Great Britain. With actions by patriots such as Sam Adams and John Hancock followed by counter-actions by the Crown were a main reason for the unity of the Thirteen Colonies and the outbreak of the American Revolution, starting with battles in and around Boston in 1775-76. After independence and during the formative years of independent American government, Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in the western half of the state from 1786 to 1787. The rebels were mostly small farmers angered by crushing war debt and taxes which resulted from their lack of representation in congress. Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to abolish slavery, in a 1783 judicial interpretation of its 1780 constitution.

On March 15, 1820, Maine separated from Massachusetts, of which it had been a non-contiguous part, and entered the Union as the 23rd State as a result of the ratification of the Missouri Compromise. Massachusetts became a national and world leader in industrialization, with its mastery of machine tools and textiles. Horace Mann made the state system of schools the national model. Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson made major contributions to American thought. Members of the Trancendentalism movement, they emphasized the importance of the natural world to humanity.

In the years leading up to the Civil War, Massachusetts was a center of temperance and abolitionist activity within the United States. Antagonism to their views resulted in anti-abolitionist riots in Massachusetts between 1835 and 1837. The works of abolitionists contributed to subsequent actions of the state during the Civil War. Massachusetts was the first state to recruit, train, and arm a black regiment with white officers, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

Massachusetts entered the twentieth century with a strong industrial economy, but by the 1920s low-wage competition from the South, followed by the Great Depression, led to the collapse of Massachusetts’ two main industries, shoes and textiles. In the years following World War II, Massachusetts was transformed from a factory system to a largely service and high-tech based economy. In the ensuing years, government contracts, private investment, and research facilities led to a new and improved industrial climate, with reduced unemployment and increased per capita income. Suburbanization flourished, as the Route 128 corridor became dotted with research developments. In 1987 the state received federal funding for the $14.6 billion Central Artery/Tunnel Project. Known colloquially as the "the Big Dig," it was at the time the biggest federal highway project ever approved.

Law, government and politics

State House (Boston)

Law

The Massachusetts Constitution was ratified in 1780 while the Revolutionary War was in progress, four years after the Articles of Confederation was drafted, and seven years before the present United States Constitution was ratified in 1787. 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.

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 is the first state in the union to mandate health insurance for all its citizens. (See Massachusetts 2006 Health Reform Statute for more details.)

Government

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 Deval Patrick. 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 the "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 said to be 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 give advisory opinions to 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 Justice for Administrative and Management, 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's U.S. senators are Edward Kennedy (D) and John Kerry (D). The 10 Members of the states delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives are John Olver (D), Richard Neal (D), Jim McGovern (D), Barney Frank (D), Marty Meehan (D), John F. Tierney (D), Ed Markey (D), Mike Capuano (D), Stephen Lynch (D), and Bill Delahunt (D). Federal court cases are heard in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Appeals are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

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, hence the usage of the phrase "Massachusetts liberal."

Massachusetts is the home of the Kennedy family, 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); this also makes Massachusetts the largest state to have a solid delegation of either party. As of the 2006 election, the Republican party holds less than 13% 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 mostly been among the most progressive 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 the resignation of President Nixon in 1974, a famous bumper sticker was sold in Boston saying "Don't blame me, I'm from Massachusetts."

Demographics

Population

Massachusetts had an estimated 2006 population of 6,437,193, an increase of 3,826, or 0.1%, from the prior year and an increase of 88,088, or 1.4%, since the year 2000. This includes an increase since the last census of 289,521 people (839,120 births minus 549,599 deaths) and a decrease from net migration of 89,812 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 165,435 people, and net migration within the country resulted in a loss of 257,580 people.

Massachusetts, as is the same in most states, has seen both population increases and decreases in recent years. For example, while some Bay Staters are leaving, others including Asian, Hispanic and African immigrants, arrive to replace them. Massachusetts’s foreign-born population increased by 21.4 percent between 2000 and 2006. During that period Massachusetts gained over 165,000 immigrants, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in the state to over 938,000. Massachusetts in 2006 included 938,590 foreign-born residents.

Most Bay Staters live within a sixty-mile radius of the State House on Beacon Hill, often called Greater Boston: the City of Boston, neighboring cities and towns, the North Shore, South Shore, the northern, western, and southern suburbs, and most of southeastern and central Massachusetts. The 40-mile corridor between Boston and Worcester is called "Massachusetts Main Street." Eastern Massachusetts is more urban than Western Massachusetts, which is primarily rural, save for the cities of Springfield, and Northampton, which serve as centers of population density in the Pioneer Valley. The center of population of Massachusetts is located in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick.

Massachusetts Population Density Map

Race, ancestry, and language

Demographics of Massachusetts (csv)
By race	White	Black	AIAN	Asian	NHPI
AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native   -   NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
2000 (total population)	89.23%	6.97%	0.62%	4.22%	0.15%
2000 (Hispanic only)	5.64%	1.09%	0.12%	0.06%	0.05%
2005 (total population)	87.89%	7.58%	0.65%	5.13%	0.17%
2005 (Hispanic only)	6.63%	1.29%	0.14%	0.07%	0.05%
Growth 2000-2005 (total population)	-0.73%	9.65%	4.39%	22.61%	13.10%
Growth 2000-2005 (non-Hispanic only)	-2.03%	7.84%	2.72%	22.74%	14.37%
Growth 2000-2005 (Hispanic only)	18.51%	19.43%	11.24%	13.47%	10.30%

The five largest reported ancestries - as of the 2000 census -in Massachusetts are: Irish (22.5%), Italian (13.5%), French/French Canadian (8%) English (11.4%), German (5.9%).

Massachusetts has one of the highest populations of Swedish and Irish ancestry in the nation. Massachusetts also has large communities of people of Finnish (Fitchburg/Gardner); Armenian, Lebanese (Worcester); Italian and French descent. Other influential ethnicities are Greek Americans, Lithuanian Americans and Polish Americans. Massachusetts "Yankees," of colonial English ancestry, still have a strong presence. Franco-Bay Staters are the largest group in parts of western and central Massachusetts. Boston has a large African-American population, and its largest immigrant group is Haitians. Fall River and New Bedford on the south coast have large populations of people with Portuguese, Brazilian, and Cape Verdean heritage, which is also very prevalent in the Brockton area. There is a growing Brazilian population in the Boston area (especially in Framingham) and also an abundant population of Brazilians thrive in Cape Cod especially in Barnstable, Falmouth, and Yarmouth. Lowell, in the northeast of the state, is home to the second largest Cambodian (Khmer) community in the country, outside of Long Beach, California. Although most of the Native Americans intermarried or died in King Philip's War (1675), the Wampanoag tribe maintains reservations at Aquinnah, Grafton, on Martha's Vineyard, and Mashpee. The Nipmuck maintain two state-recognized reservations in the central part of the state. Other Wampanoags and other Native people live scattered around the state outside of reservations.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 6.21% of the population aged 5 and over speak Spanish at home, while 2.68% speak Portuguese, 1.44% French, and 1.00% Italian

Religion

Massachusetts was founded and settled by the Pilgrims in 1620 with the establishment of the Plymouth colony, and the Puritans in the 17th century. The descendants of the Puritans belong to many different churches; in the direct line of inheritance are the Congregational/United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalist churches. The Puritan Congregational Church remained the established church until an amendment to the state constitution was passed in 1833. However, both of these denominations are noted for their strong support of social justice, civil rights, and moral issues, including strong and early advocacy of abolition of slavery, women's rights, and (after 2000) legal recognition of gay marriage. The world headquarters of the Unitarian-Universalist Church is located on Beacon Hill in Boston. Today Protestants make up less than 1/3 of the state's population. Roman Catholics now predominate because of massive immigration from Ireland, Quebec, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. A large Jewish population came to the Boston area 1880-1920. Mary Baker Eddy made the Boston Mother Church of Christian Science the world headquarters. Buddhists, pagans, Hindus, Seventh-Day Adventists, Muslims, and Mormons also can be found. Krepalu and the Insight Meditation Center (Barre) are examples of non-western religious centers in Massachusetts.

The religious affiliations of the people of Massachusetts (as of 2001) are shown in the table below:

• Christian – 76.5%
  • Catholic – 24.5%
  • Protestant – 45.2%
    • Congregational/United Church of Christ – 0.7%
    • Baptist – 16.3%
    • Episcopal – 1.7%
    • Methodist – 6.8%
    • Pentecostal – 2.1%
    • Other Protestant or general Protestant – 17.6%
  • Other Christian – 6.8%
• Jewish – 1.3%
• Unitarian – 1.3%
• Other Religions – 2.1%
• Non-Religious – 18.8%

Emigration and Immigration

The latest estimated 2006 population Census figures show that Massachusetts has grown by 1.4 percent, to 6,437,193, since 2000. This growth is attributable to the fact that Massachusetts continues to attract top scholars and researchers as well as immigrants.

High housing costs, taxes, weather, and traffic in Massachusetts have contributed to emigration to the Boston exburbs, to neighboring New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and to Southern and Western regions of the United States.

Recent census data shows that the number of immigrants living in Massachusetts has increased over 15% from 2000 to 2005. The biggest influxes 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 tends to offset emigration, and, of course, given the 350,000 increase in population in the Commonwealth between 1990 and 2000, many immigrants to Massachusetts come from elsewhere in the USA.

Following the shift to a high-tech economy and the numerous factory closures, few jobs remain for low skilled male workers, who are dropping out of the workforce in large numbers. The percentage of men in the labor force fell from 77.7% in 1989 to 72.8% in 2005. This national trend is most pronounced in Massachusetts. In the case of men without high school diplomas, 10% have left the labor force between 1990 and 2000, compared with 1.9 percent of those with bachelor's degrees and 1.8 percent of those with master's degrees.

Economy

Massachusetts state quarter.

Crane Paper Company in Dalton produces the paper material used for printing U. S. Federal Reserve notes

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Massachusetts's gross state product in 2005 was US $325 billion. Per capita personal income in 2005 was US$43,702, making it the 3rd highest, just behind that of Connecticut and New Jersey. Gross state product increased 2.6% from 2004 to 2005, below the national average of 3.5%.

Sectors vital to the Massachusetts economy include higher education, biotechnology, finance, health care, financial services and tourism. Route 128 was a main center for the development of minicomputers. Massachusetts was the home of many of the largest computer companies such as Digital Equipment Corporation, Data General, and Wang Laboratories situated around Route 128 and 495. Most of the larger companies fell into decline after the rise of the personal computer, which was based in large part on software such as Visicalc and Lotus 1-2-3 and hardware technology such as memory and operating systems developed by many of these companies. High technology remains an important sector, though few of the largest technology companies are based here.

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).

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. PDF

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. The 5% sales tax is charged on clothing that costs more than $150.00. Only the amount over $150.00 is taxed. 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 the sale or exchange of capital assets held for one year or less (short-term capital gains). Interest from non-Massachusetts banks is no longer taxed at 12%, but the first $100 of interest from Massachusetts banks is tax exempt from even the 5.3% tax. There is no inheritance tax and limited Massachusetts estate tax related to federal estate tax collection.

Transportation

A major airport in the state is Logan International Airport. The airport is a hub for major airlines such as American Airlines. Interstate highways crossing the state include: I-91, I-291, I-84, I-95, I-495, I-195, I-395, I-93, I-290, I-190, and I-90. Other major thoroughfares are U.S. Route 1, Route 2, Route 3, U.S. Route 3, U.S. Route 6, U.S. Route 20, and Route 24. A massive undertaking to depress I-93 in the Boston downtown area called the Big Dig has brought the city's highway system under public scrutiny over the last decade. Public transportation in the form of a subway system and longer distance Commuter Rail in the Boston metro area is operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority but mostly runs through the Greater Boston area, including service to Worcester and Providence, Rhode Island. Fifteen other regional transit authorities provide public transportation, mostly outside the MBTA service area. [1] The Greater Springfield area is serviced by the Pioneer Valley Transportation Authority (PVTA).In addition, the Springfield area will finally receive its own commuter rail service around 2010, with service south to Hartford and New Haven in Connecticut, and perhaps commuter service to Boston at a later date.

On July 16th,2007, Skybus Airlines, a low cost airline that flys the Airbus A-319, began flying out of Westover Metropolitan Airport/Air Force Base in Chicopee, just northwest of Springfield. There is one flight a day, to Columbus,Ohio. From there, passengers can connect to several other flights to airports throughout the country.

Cities and towns

There are 50 cities and 301 towns in Massachusetts, grouped into 14 counties. Eleven communities which call themselves "towns" are, by law, cities since they have traded the town meeting form of government for a mayor-council or manager-council form. Boston is the state capital and largest city. It is the nation's 11th largest metropolitan area. Cities over 100,000 in population (2004 estimates) include Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, and Cambridge. Massachusetts shares the governmental structure known as the New England town with the five other New England states, as well as New York and New Jersey.

Education

Massachusetts has historically had a strong commitment to education. It was the first state to require municipalities to appoint a teacher or establish a grammar school (albeit paid by the parents of the pupils) with the passage of the Massachusetts Education Law of 1647; this mandate was later made a part of the state constitution in 1789. The town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts has been noted to be the birthplace of public education in North America.^{[citation needed]} Massachusetts is home to the country's oldest high school, Boston Latin School (founded 1635), America's first publicly funded high school, Dedham, Massachusetts (founded 1643), oldest college, now called Harvard University (founded 1636), and oldest municipally supported free library, Boston Public Library (founded 1848). Massachusetts was the first state to pass compulsory school attendance laws (1852) The per-student public expenditure for elementary and secondary schools (kindergarten through grade 12) was 5th in the nation in 2004, at $11,681.

Massachusetts is home to many well-known preparatory schools, colleges, and universities. There are more than 40 colleges located in the greater Boston area alone. Ten colleges and universitites are located in the greater Worcester area. The University of Massachusetts (nicknamed UMass) is the five-campus public university system of the Commonwealth. The population of metropolitan Boston and Worcester, and of the Five Colleges area in Western Massachusetts, in particular, surges during the school year.

Massachusetts has also made many strides towards Fire Safety education by creating the S.A.F.E. program (Student Awareness of Fire Education) which teaches children from grades K through 12 the importance of fire safety and what to do in the event of a fire.

Media

There are two major television media markets located in Massachusetts. The Boston/Worcester market is the 7th largest in the United States. All major networks are represented. The other market surrounds the Springfield area. Some communities in Berkshire county are serviced by the Albany, New York market, and some southeastern Massachusetts communities are serviced by the Providence, Rhode Island market. The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the Springfield Republican are the Commonwealths largest daily newspapers. In addition, there are many community dailies and weeklies found throughout the state. There are a number of major radio stations (AM 50,000 watts, FM over 20,000 watts) which service Massachusetts, along with many more regional and community based stations. Some colleges and universities also operate campus television and radio stations, and print their own newspaper.

Sports and recreation

Organized sport

The 100^th running of the Boston Marathon, 1996

Masssachusetts has a long history with amateur athletics and professional teams. Most of the major professional teams have won multiple championships in their respective leagues. Massachusetts teams have won 5 Stanley Cups (Boston Bruins), 16 NBA Championships (Boston Celtics), 3 Super Bowls (New England Patriots), and 7 World Series (6 Boston Red Sox, 1 Boston Braves). Because these games were invented in Massachusetts, the state is also the home to the Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield), the Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke), and the Cape Cod Baseball League. It is also home to prestigious sports events such as the Boston Marathon, the Eastern Sprints on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, and the Head of the Charles Regatta. The Falmouth Road Race in running and the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic in bicycle racing are also very popular events with long histories.

The PGA Deutsche Bank Championship and the Champions Tour Bank of America Championship are regular professional golf tour stops in the state. Massachusetts has played host to 9 US Opens, 4 US Womens Opens, 2 Ryder Cups, and 1 Senior Open.

Many colleges and universities in Massachusetts are active in college athletics. There are a number of NCAA Division I members in the state for multiple sports: Boston College , Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Outdoor recreation

Boating activities such as sailing and yachting are popular all along the Massachusetts coast and its offshore islands. Hiking and cross-country skiing are also popular activities in many of the states undeveloped lands. The Appalachian Trail, the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, the Midstate Trail, and the Bay Circuit Trail are all long distance hiking trails that run the length of the state. The Tully Trail, an 18-mile loop in the North Quabbin Region (through the towns of Athol, Orange, Warwick and Royalston) incorporates waterfalls and vistas. A handful of downhill skiing operators still maintain slopes here, although many skiers drive to major resorts in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine for the weekend. Sport fishing still remains a strong outdoor activity. Spincasting during the warmer months and ice fishing during winter on inland lakes and ponds, Flyfishing inland rivers for trout, surf casting for striped bass and bluefish and deep sea fishing for cod and haddock all remain popular. Hunting, primarily for whitetail deer and waterfowl continues to attract a number of residents.

Bibliography

Overviews and Surveys

• Brown, Richard D. and Jack Tager. Massachusetts: A Concise History (2002)
• Hall, Donald. ed. The Encyclopedia of New England (2005)
• Works Progress Administration. Guide to Massachusetts (1939)

Secondary Sources

• Abrams, Richard M. Conservatism in a Progressive Era: Massachusetts Politics, 1900-1912 (1964)
• Adams, James Truslow. Revolutionary New England, 1691-1776 (1923)
• Adams, James Truslow. New England in the Republic, 1776-1850 (1926)
• Andrews, Charles M. The Fathers of New England: A Chronicle of the Puritan Commonwealths (1919), short survey
• Conforti, Joseph A. Imagining New England: Explorations of Regional Identity from the Pilgrims to the Mid-Twentieth Century (2001)
• Cumbler, John T. Reasonable Use: The People, the Environment, and the State, New England, 1790-1930 (1930), environmental history
• Fischer, David Hackett. Paul Revere's Ride (1994), 1775 in depth
• Green, James R., William F. Hartford, and Tom Juravich. Commonwealth of Toil: Chapters in the History of Massachusetts Workers and Their Unions (1996)
• Huthmacher, J. Joseph. Massachusetts People and Politics, 1919-1933 (1958)
• Labaree, Benjamin Woods. Colonial Massachusetts: A History (1979)
• Morison, Samuel Eliot. The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860 (1921)
• Peirce, Neal R. The New England States: People, Politics, and Power in the Six New England States (1976), 1960-75 era
• Porter, Susan L. Women of the Commonwealth: Work, Family, and Social Change in Nineteenth-Century Massachusetts (1996)
• Sletcher, Michael. New England (2004).
• Starkey, Marion L. The Devil in Massachusetts (1949), Salem witches
• Tager, Jack, and John W. Ifkovic, eds. Massachusetts in the Gilded Age: Selected Essays (1985), ethnic groups
• Zimmerman, Joseph F. The New England Town Meeting: Democracy in Action (1999)

External links

• The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Historical Society
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Massachusetts
• Maps of Massachusetts
• 1837 descriptions of Massachusetts cities, towns, mountains, lakes, and rivers, from Hayward's New England Gazetteer.
• Massachusetts State Symbols
• Miscellaneous Massachusetts Facts
• Massachusetts State Facts from USDA
• Massachusetts Constitution and Laws
• Massachusetts Tourism Board

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