Massachusetts

Capital: Boston

Population: 6,902,149 (Source: 2012 U.S. Census)

Major Cities: Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Cambridge, New Bedford

Borders: Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Atlantic Ocean

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $403,823 million (2012 U.S. Department of Commerce)

Key Industries:

Electronics and computers, granite, fishing, insurance and financial services, biotechnology, and tourism

How Massachusetts got its name: The name comes from the Native American Algonquian language. It means big hill place.

Massachusetts State Symbols

State Nickname: Bay State

State Slogan: Make It Yours; The Spirit of America (on its license plate)

State Motto: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty)

State flower: Mayflower

State bird: Black-capped Chickadee

State fish: Atlantic cod

State tree: Elm

State mammal: Right whale, Boston Terrier, Morgan horse

State foods: Corn Muffin, Baked Navy Bean, Boston Cream Pie, Chocolate Chip Cookie

Becoming a State

Date admitted: Wednesday, February 6, 1788

Number admitted: 6

Prior Name: Province of Massachusetts Bay, then sovereign state in Confederation

Postal Abbreviation: MA

The Geography of Massachusetts

Total Size: 7,840 sq. miles (source: 2003 Census)

Geographical Low Point: Atlantic Ocean at Sea Level (source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Geographical High Point: Mt. Greylock at 3,491 feet, located in the county/subdivision of Berkshire (source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Central Point: Located in Worcester County approx. North part of City of Worcester (source: U.S. Geological Survey)

Counties: 14 (source: National Association of Counties)

Bodies of Water: Atlantic Ocean, Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts Bay, Nantucket Sound, Charles River, Merrimack River, Connecticut River, Quabbin Reservoir

Famous People

Abigail Adams - First Lady who was married to John Adams.
John Adams - The second President of the United States and Founding Father.
John Quincy Adams - The sixth President of the United States.
Samuel Adams - Founding Father of the United States.
Susan B. Anthony - Activist for women's rights.
Clara Barton - Founder of the American Red Cross and nurse.
George H. W. Bush - The 41st President of the United States.
Steven Carell - Actor and comedian
Matt Damon - Actor
W.E.B. du Bois - Civil rights activist
Emily Dickinson - Poet
Ralph Waldo Emerson - Poet
Benjamin Franklin - Founding Father and inventor
John F. Kennedy- The 35th President of the United States
Edgar Allen Poe - Author who wrote The Raven and The Tell-Tale, Heart.
Paul Revere - Folk hero who warned that the British were coming.
Dr. Seuss - Author and illustrator of children's literature.
Eli Whitney - Inventor of the cotton gin.

Fun Facts

The first baseball World Series was held in Boston in 1903.
Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Harvard was the first college established in North America.
Basketball was invented in Massachusetts by Jim Naismith. The Basketball Hall of Fame is located in Springfield.
The state is named after the Native American peoples the Massachuset.
Another nickname for the state is the Baked Bean State.
The first lighthouse in the United States was the Boston Harbor Light Station, built in 1716.
The chocolate chip cookie was invented by Ruth Wakefield in 1930. She baked it at the Tollhouse Inn in Whitman, Mass.
The first subway system was built in Boston in 1897.
Four US presidents were born in Massachusetts. They include John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George H. W. Bush.

Professional Sports Teams

Boston Bruins - NHL (hockey)
Boston Celtics - NBA (basketball)
Boston Red Sox - MLB (baseball)
New England Patriots - NFL (football)
New England Revolution - MLS (soccer)

Massachusetts

State History

Native Americans

Before the arrival of Europeans, the land that is today the state of Massachusetts was inhabited by a number of Native American tribes. These tribes spoke the Algonquian language and included the Massachusett, Wampanoag, Nauset, Nipmuc, and Mohican peoples. Some of the peoples lived in dome dwellings called wigwams, while others lived in large multiple-family homes called long houses.

Boston by Unknown

Europeans Arrive

Early explorers visited the coast of Massachusetts including John Cabot in 1497. The Europeans brought disease with them. Diseases like smallpox killed around 90% of the Native Americans living in Massachusetts.

Pilgrims

The English established the first permanent settlement in 1620 with the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. The Pilgrims were Puritans hoping to find religious freedom in the New World. With the help of the local Indians including Squanto, the Pilgrims survived the initial harsh winter. Once Plymouth was established, more colonists arrived. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded at Boston in 1629.

Colony

As more people moved in, tensions between the Indian tribes and the colonials turned to violence. A number of battles occurred between 1675 and 1676 called King Philip's War. The majority of the Indians were defeated. In 1691, the Plymouth Colony and the Massachusetts Bay Colony combined to form the Province of Massachusetts.

Protesting British Taxes

As the colony of Massachusetts began to grow, the people became more independent minded. In 1764, Britain passed the Stamp Act to tax the colonies in order to help pay for the military. The center for the protests against the act took place in Boston, Massachusetts. During one protest in 1770, British soldiers fired on the colonists, killing five people. This day was called the Boston Massacre. A few years later, the Bostonians once again protested by dumping tea into the Boston Harbor in what would later be called the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Tea Party by Nathaniel Currier

American Revolution

It was in Massachusetts where the American Revolution began. In 1775, the British army arrived in Boston. Paul Revere rode through the night to warn the colonists. On April 19, 1775 the Revolutionary War began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The state of Massachusetts would play an important role during the war with leaders and Founding Fathers such as Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock.

Battle of Lexington by Unknown

Becoming a State

Massachusetts became the sixth state to join the United States on February 6, 1788. John Adams from Boston became the first Vice President and the second President of the United States.

Timeline

1497 - John Cabot sails up the coast of Massachusetts.
1620 - The Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth and establish the first permanent English settlement.
1621 - The Pilgrims hold the first "Thanksgiving Festival."
1629 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony is founded.
1691 - The Province of Massachusetts is formed when the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Plymouth Colony combine.
1692 - Nineteen people are put to death for witchcraft during the Salem witchcraft trials.
1770 - Five Boston colonists are shot by British troops in the Boston Massacre.
1773 - Colonists in Boston dump crates of tea into the harbor in the Boston Tea Party.
1775 - The Revolutionary War begins with the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
1788 - Massachusetts becomes the sixth state of the United States.
1820 - Maine separates from Massachusetts to become the 23rd state.
1961 - John F. Kennedy becomes the 35th President of the United States.
1987 - The "Big Dig" construction project begins in Boston.

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