Pharmacy Shelving Massachusetts

Massachusetts

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Abington Acton Adams Agawam Allston Amesbury Amherst Andover Arlington Ashland Athol Attleboro Auburn Avon Ayer
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Bedford Belchertown Bellingham Belmont Beverly Billerica Boston Braintree Brewster Bridgewater Brighton Brockton Brookline Burlington Buzzards Bay
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Cambridge Canton Carver Centerville Charlestown Charlton Chatham Chelmsford Chelsea Chestnut Hill Chicopee Clinton Cohasset Concord
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Danvers Dartmouth Dedham Dennis Dracut Duxbury
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East Bridgewater East Falmouth East Longmeadow Easthampton Easton Edgartown Everett
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Fairhaven Fall River Falmouth Feeding Hills Fitchburg Florence Foxboro Framingham Franklin
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Gardner Georgetown Gloucester Great Barrington Greenfield Groton
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Hadley Hanover Harwich Haverhill Hingham Holbrook Holden Holliston Holyoke Hopkinton Hudson Hull Hyannis Hyde Park
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Indian Orchard Ipswich
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Jamaica Plain
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Kingston
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Lakeville Lawrence Lee Lenox Leominster Lexington Littleton Longmeadow Lowell Ludlow Lunenburg Lynn Lynnfield
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Malden Manchester Mansfield Marblehead Marlborough Marshfield Mashpee Mattapan Mattapoisett Maynard Medfield Medford Medway Melrose Methuen Middleboro Middleton Milford Millbury Millis Milton
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Nantucket Natick Needham New Bedford Newburyport Newton North Adams North Andover North Attleboro North Billerica North Chelmsford North Dartmouth North Reading Northampton Northborough Norton Norwell Norwood
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Oak Bluffs Orange Orleans Osterville Oxford
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Palmer Peabody Pembroke Pepperell Pittsfield Plainville Plymouth Provincetown
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Quincy
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Randolph Raynham Reading Rehoboth Revere Rockland Rockport Roslindale Rowley
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Salem Salisbury Sandwich Saugus Scituate Seekonk Sharon Shrewsbury Somerset Somerville South Dennis South Hadley South Yarmouth Southborough Southbridge Southwick Spencer Springfield Sterling Stoneham Stoughton Sturbridge Sudbury Swampscott Swansea
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Taunton Tewksbury Topsfield Tyngsboro
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Uxbridge
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Vineyard Haven
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Wakefield Walpole Waltham Ware Wareham Watertown Wayland Webster Wellesley West Boylston West Bridgewater West Roxbury West Springfield West Yarmouth Westborough Westfield Westford Weston Westport Westwood Weymouth Whitinsville Whitman Wilbraham Williamstown Wilmington Winchendon Winchester Winthrop Woburn Worcester Wrentham
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Yarmouth Port

Jump to: navigation , search The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Flag of Massachusetts

Seal of Massachusetts

Nickname(s) : Bay State

Motto(s) : Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem

Official language(s)

English

Capital

Boston

Largest city

Boston

Area

Ranked 44 th

- Total

10,555 sq mi
(27,360 km²)

- Width

183 miles (295 km)

- Length

113 miles (182 km)

- % water

13.3

- Latitude

41°10'N to 42°53'N

- Longitude

68°57'W to 73°30'W

Population

Ranked 13 th

- Total ( 2000 )

6,349,097

- Density

818/sq mi
312.68/km² (3rd)

Elevation

- Highest point

Mount Greylock
3,491 ft (1,064 m)

- Mean

500 ft (150 m)

- Lowest point

0 ft (0 m)

Admission to Union

February 6 , 1788 (6 th )

Governor

Mitt Romney (R)

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

Prominent roads and cities in Massachusetts This article is about the U.S. State. For other uses, see Massachusetts (disambiguation) . The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United . With a population approaching 6.5 million in a relatively small area, it is mostly urban and suburban in its eastern half and still primarily rural in the west. It is the most populous of the six New England 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 nineteenth 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-tech 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. Massachusetts was the home state of US Presidents John Adams , John Quincy Adams , John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush ; however, two of its last presidential aspirants, Michael Dukakis and John Kerry , were unsuccessful.

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

Contents

[ hide ] 1 Geography

2 History

3 Demographics 3.1 Population

3.2 Race and ancestry

3.3 Religion

3.4 Emigration

4 Economy

5 Transportation

6 Law and government 6.1 Politics

7 Cities and towns

8 Education 8.1 Colleges and universities

9 Professional sports

10 Miscellaneous topics 10.1 Name

10.2 Commonwealth

10.3 Famous politicians and public figures

11 See also

12 References 12.1 Overviews and Surveys

12.2 Secondary Sources

12.3 Notes

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Geography

Main article: Massachusetts 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.

A portion of the north-central Pioneer Valley near South Deerfield , much more rural than Springfield , in the southern part of the valley, or Boston , which is on the coast. 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 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

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

History

The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Massachusetts .
(See e.g. Wikipedia:Summary style .)

Main article: History of Massachusetts Colonial Massachusetts - 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 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 . The project began 1991, with final construction occurring in 2006.

Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal - In 2002, the diocese was found to have knowingly moved priests who sexually molested children from parish to parish and to have covered up abuse.

Same-sex marriage - On November 18 , 2003 , the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that the state could not deny marriage rights to same-sex couples under the state constitution. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in Massachusetts.

Invention of sports:

Candlepin bowling was invented in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1880.

Basketball was invented in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891.

Volleyball was invented in Holyoke, Massachusetts in 1895.

Demographics

Population

Historical populations Census
year Population

1790

378,787

1800

422,845

1810

472,040

1820

523,287

1830

610,408

1840

737,699

1850

994,514

1860

1,231,066

1870

1,457,351

1880

1,783,085

1890

2,238,947

1900

2,805,346

1910

3,366,416

1920

3,852,356

1930

4,249,614

1940

4,316,721

1950

4,690,514

1960

5,148,578

1970

5,689,170

1980

5,737,037

1990

6,016,425

2000

6,349,097

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 due to net migration of 73,741 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United resulted in a net increase of 162,674 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 236,415 people.

The population of Massachusetts in 2004 included 881,400 foreign-born residents.

The bulk of the state's population is the approximately 5,800,000 people of Greater Boston , including Boston proper, the North Shore , South Shore , and the western suburbs. Historically, the coast has been more urban than Western Massachusetts , which is primarily rural, save for the cities of Springfield and Worcester .

Massachusetts Population Density Map

Race and ancestry

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 in Massachusetts are: Irish (22.5%), Italian (13.5%), French/French Canadian (12.9%) English (11.4%), German (5.9%).

Massachusetts has one of the highest populations of Irish ancestry in the nation. Massachusetts also has large communities of people of 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 in the small towns. Franco-Bay Staters are the largest group in much 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 heritages. There is a growing Brazilian population in the Boston area. 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 out, the Wampanoag tribe maintains a small reservation at Aquinnah , on Martha's Vineyard, and a non-recognized reservation at Mashpee . The Nipmuck maintain two state-recognized reservations in the central part of the state.

Religion

Massachusetts was initially founded and settled by staunch Puritans in the 17th century and remained a majority- Yankee state for most of its history. Today Protestants make up less than 1/3 of the state's population, but have a prominent role in finance, big business, the arts, education, and cultural institutions. Catholics now predominate due to massive immigration from Ireland, Quebec, Italy, Portugal, and Puerto Rico . 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. 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. 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 liberation, and (after 2000) legal recognition of gay marriage.

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

Christian – 79% Catholic – 47%

Protestant – 31% Congregational / United Church of Christ – 4%

Baptist – 4%

Episcopal – 3%

Methodist – 2%

Pentecostal – 2%

Other Protestant or general Protestant – 16%

Other Christian – 1%

Jewish – 2%

Unitarian – 1%

Other Religions – 1%

Non-Religious – 17%

Emigration

According to a poll by University of New Hampshire Survey Center, there is an outflow of about 40,000 people, many young people of working age, leaving Massachusetts each year with many working class migrants moving to New Hampshire and professionals moving further afield. [ citation needed ] High housing costs and searching for a better job were cited by many as major reasons for their move. Other factors cited included taxes, a better place to raise children, the weather, and traffic. On the other hand, Massachusetts is still one of the top for immigrants. The latest census figures for 2006 has a net surplus when immigrants are factored in. An example of a a Massachusetts city that is a gateway for immigrants is Lynn, Massachusetts .

Economy

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 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.

Its agricultural outputs are seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, cranberries, and vegetables. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electric 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. [1]

Massachusetts has a flat rate personal income tax of 5.3 percent. The state imposes a 5 percent sales tax on retail sales of tangible personal property 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 percent 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.

See also: Massachusetts locations by per capita income

Transportation

Interstate highways crossing the state include: I-91 , I-95 , I-495 , I-93 , and I-90 . Other major state thoroughfares are Route 3 and Route 2 . 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. [2]

See also: Category:Transportation in Massachusetts

Law and government

State House (Boston) Main article: Massachusetts Government See also: Massachusetts Constitution and Governor of Massachusetts The Massachusetts Constitution was ratified in 1780 while the Revolutionary War was still in progress, nine years before the United Constitution was adopted. Massachusetts has the oldest written Constitution now in use by any government in the world. It specified 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' military forces. The current governor is Mitt Romney (Republican). 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 known as 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 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 the 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 a separate Rules and a 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's two U.S. senators (since 1985) are Edward Kennedy (Democrat) and John Kerry (Democrat); as of the 2001 redistricting, Massachusetts has ten seats in the United House of Representatives (all Democrats), giving Massachusetts the largest one-party delegation in Congress ( i.e. twelve Democrats). The state legislature is formally styled the " Great and General Court " and is manned mostly by Democrats: the Democrats currently maintain a 138-21 advantage over the Republicans in the State House (with one vacancy), and a 34-6 advantage in the State Senate. The highest court in the Commonwealth is the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court .

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. As of 2006, it is by far the largest U.S. state represented by only one party in the U.S. Congress . Although Republicans have held the governor's office continuously since 1991, many of these (especially William Weld , the first of the recent lineage of Republican governors) are considered among the most liberal Republicans in the nation. Two of these governors, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift , took office when their predecessors resigned to take other positions. Massachusetts has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984 .

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.) Every county in the Commonwealth supported the Democratic candidate.

Following a November 2003 decision of the state's Supreme Court, Massachusetts became the first (and heretofore only) state to issue same-sex marriage licenses on May 17 , 2004 . See the articles on same-sex marriage in the United and same-sex marriage in Massachusetts .

Cities and towns

Main article: Massachusetts Government#Local government There are 50 cities and 301 towns in Massachusetts, grouped into 14 counties .

Massachusetts shares the governmental structure known as the New England town with the five other New England , New York , and New Jersey .

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 ( Boston Latin 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 is tied with New Jersey for having the 2nd highest percentage of students who go on to college after high-school. It is also one of the highest-scoring 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 [3] (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 College area in Western Massachusetts, in particular, surges during the school year (see list of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston ).

Colleges and universities

Amherst College

Babson College

Berklee College of Music

Bentley College

Boston College

Boston University

Brandeis University

Bridgewater State College

Clark University

College of the Holy Cross

Emerson College

Endicott College

Framingham State College

Gordon College

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Harvard University

Massachusetts College of Art

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mount Holyoke College

Northeastern University

Radcliffe College

Simmons College

Smith 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

Westfield State College

Williams College

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Wheaton College

List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts

Professional 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 Sport Founded League Venue Boston Red Sox

Baseball

1901

Major League Baseball : American League

Fenway Park

Brockton Rox

Baseball

2002

Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball

Campanelli Stadium

Lowell Spinners

Baseball

1996

Single-A Minor League Baseball

Edward A. LeLacheur Park

North Shore Spirit

Baseball

2003

Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball

Fraser Field

Worcester Tornadoes

Baseball

2005

Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball

Fitton Field

Boston Celtics

Basketball

1946

National Basketball Association : Eastern Conference

TD Banknorth Garden

Cape Cod Frenzy

Basketball

2004

American Basketball Association

TBA

Bay State Warriors

Football

2001

Independent Women's Football League

Hormel Stadium

Mass Mutiny

Football

2001

National Women's Football Association

English High School

New England Patriots

Football

1971

National Football League : American Football Conference

Gillette Stadium

Boston Bruins

Ice Hockey

1924

National Hockey League

TD Banknorth Garden

Lowell Devils

Ice Hockey

2006

American Hockey League

Tsongas Arena

Springfield Falcons

Ice Hockey

1994

American Hockey League

MassMutual Center

Worcester Sharks

Ice Hockey

2006

American Hockey League

DCU Center

Boston Cannons

Lacrosse

2001

Major League Lacrosse

Nickerson Field

Boston Braves

Rugby

2006

American National Rugby League

New England Riptide

Softball

2004

National Pro Fastpitch

Martin Softball Field

New England Revolution

Soccer

1995

Major League Soccer

Gillette Stadium

Western Mass Pioneers

Soccer

1998

United Soccer League Second Division

Lusitano Stadium

Boston Lobsters

Tennis

1974

World TeamTennis

Harvard University Bright Arena

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 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. [1]

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. [2] 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.

Name

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett , whose name can be segmented as mass-achu-sets , where mass is "great", achu is "hill" and sets 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.

Commonwealth

Main article: Commonwealth (United ) Massachusetts officially designates itself a "commonwealth." Colloquially, it is often referred to simply as "the Commonwealth," although "state" is used interchangeably.

Famous politicians and public figures

John Adams , 1st Vice President of the U.S. , 2nd President of the U.S. , 1800 Federalist presidential nominee

John Quincy Adams , Congressman, Senator, 6th President of the U.S.

Samuel Adams , Patriot in the American Revolutionary War

George H. W. Bush , 43rd Vice President of the U.S. , 41st President of the U.S.

Calvin Coolidge , 29th Vice President of the U.S. , 30th President of the U.S.

Michael Dukakis , Governor, 1988 Democratic presidential nominee

Benjamin Franklin , Patriot in the American Revolutionary War

Elbridge Gerry , Congressman, Governor, 5th Vice President of the U.S. , namesake of gerrymandering

John Hancock , Governor, President of the Continental Congress

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. , Supreme Court Justice

James Michael Curley , Governor, Congressman, Mayor of Boston

Edward M. Kennedy , incumbent U.S. Senator, 1980 Democratic presidential candidate

John F. Kennedy , U.S. Senator, 35th President of the U.S.

Robert F. Kennedy , U.S. Senator (representing New York ), 1968 Democratic presidential candidate

John F. Kerry incumbent U.S. Senator, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee

Barry McCaffrey , (4-star) Army General, Drug Czar

John W. McCormack , Speaker of the House of Representatives

Tip O'Neill , Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Theodore Sedgwick , President pro tempore of the Senate , Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Paul Tsongas , U.S. Senator, 1992 Democratic presidential candidate

Henry Wilson , U.S. Senator, 18th Vice President of the U.S.

See also

Boston

Boston College

Boston University

Daughters of the American Revolution

Cape Cod

Harvard University

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Massachusetts Rifle Association

Moxie

New England

Northeastern University

Patriot's Day

Puritanism and Transcendentalism

Salem Witch Trials

Thanksgiving

Tufts University

List of Massachusetts county seats

Scouting in Massachusetts

For historical context, see:

Governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Colonial America

Slavery in Colonial America

Slavery in Massachusetts

American Revolution

History of the United

References

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 : People, Politics, and Power in the Six New England (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)

Notes

^ "The 106th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade" The Boston Herald, March 18, 2006

^ Mass General Laws chapter 2, section 51. Donut of commonwealth

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Massachusetts US Representatives

Massachusetts US Senators

Massachusetts Historical Society

Maps of Massachusetts

Massachusetts Democratic Party

Massachusetts Republican Party

MassEquality

Massachusetts Obituary Page

Massachusetts Law About Weapons

Leading Massachusetts Appelate Cases on Family Law and Divorce decided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeal Court.

Massachusetts Rifle Association, "America's Oldest Active Gun Club"

New England Historic Genealogical Society

GenealogyBuff.com - Massachusetts Library of Files

1837 descriptions of Massachusetts cities, towns, mountains, lakes, and rivers, from Hayward's New England Gazetteer.

BAA Boston Marathon

Surfing Information

Massachusetts State Symbols

Massachusetts Politics

Massachusetts Statistics

Miscellaneous Massachusetts Facts

Massachusetts State Facts from USDA

Massachusetts Constitution and Laws

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Directory of filming locations in the Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Capital Boston

Regions The Berkshires · Blackstone Valley · Cape Ann · Cape Cod and the Islands · Greater Boston · Merrimack Valley · MetroWest · North Shore · Pioneer Valley · Quabbin Valley · South Shore · South Coast · Western Massachusetts

Counties Barnstable · Berkshire · Bristol · Dukes · Essex · Franklin · Hampden · Hampshire · Middlesex · Nantucket · Norfolk · Plymouth · Suffolk · Worcester

Cities Agawam · Amesbury · Attleboro · Barnstable · Beverly · Boston · Brockton · Cambridge · Chelsea · Chicopee · Easthampton · Everett · Fall River · Fitchburg · Franklin · Gardner · Gloucester · Greenfield · Haverhill · Holyoke · Lawrence · Leominster · Lowell · Lynn · Malden · Marlborough · Medford · Melrose · Methuen · New Bedford · Newburyport · Newton · North Adams · Northampton · Peabody · Pittsfield · Quincy · Revere · Salem · Springfield · Somerville · Southbridge · Taunton · Waltham · Watertown · West Springfield · Westfield · Weymouth · Woburn · Worcester

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