Massachusetts

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts

(In Detail) (Full size)
State nickname: Bay State
File:USmaphlMass.png Other U.S. States
Capital	Boston
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water  - % water	Ranked 44th 27,360 km2 20,317 km2 7,043 km2 25.7%
Population  - Total (2000)  - Density	Ranked 13th 6,349,097 232/km2
Admittance into Union  - Order  - Date	6th February 6, 1788
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Latitude Longitude	41°10'N to 42°53'N 68°57'W to 73°30'W
Width Length Elevation   -Highest   -Mean   -Lowest	80 km 305 km   1,063 meters 150 meters 0 meters
ISO 3166-2:	US-MA

Massachusetts is a state of the United States of America, part of the New England region. Its U.S. postal abbreviation is MA. It is properly called the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, although there is no legal distinction between states and commonwealths.

Several ships have been named USS Massachusetts in honor of this state.

Contents 1 History 2 Law and Government 3 Geography 4 Economy 5 Demographics 6 Important Cities and Towns 7 Education 7.1 Colleges and Universities 8 Famous Politicians from Massachusetts 9 Professional Sports Teams 10 External links 10.1 References

History

The colony was named after a local Indian tribe whose name means "a large hill place". The Pilgrims established their settlement at Plymouth in 1620, arriving on the Mayflower. They were soon followed by the Puritans, who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Massachusetts was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution.

On February 9, 1775 the British Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in rebellion and sent additional troops to restore order.

An African-American named Crispus Attucks was one of the first Americans killed during the American Revolutionary War, in Boston on March 5, 1770, at an event that has come to be called the Boston Massacre.

On February 6, 1788 Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.

Law and Government

See: Massachusetts Constitution See: List of Massachusetts Governors

The capital of Massachusetts is Boston and the governor of the state is Mitt Romney. Its two U.S. senators are Edward M. Kennedy (Democrat) and John F. Kerry (Democrat).

Geography

See: List of Massachusetts counties

Massachusetts is bordered on the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, on the west by New York, on the south by Connecticut and Rhode Island, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. The islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket lie off the southeast coast. Boston is the largest city.

Economy

Massachusetts total gross state product for 1999 was $262 billion, placing it 11^th in the nation. Its Per Capita Personal Income is $37,992 or second in the nation.

Its agricultural outputs are seafood, nursery stock, dairy products, cranberries, and vegetables. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electric equipment, scientific instruments, printing and publishing, and tourism. Other sectors vital to the Massachusetts economy include higher education, health care, and financial services.

Demographics

All numbers from the 2000 census

Population: 6,349,097
White: 84.5%
Black or African American: 5.4%
Asian: 3.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.2%
Other Race: 3.8%
Two or more races: 3.7%

Important Cities and Towns

Massachusetts cities and towns include Dedham, Lowell, Amherst, Provincetown (the major city of Cape Cod), Springfield, Wellfleet, and Worcester. The largest unincorporated town is Framingham.

Education

Colleges and Universities

American International College Amherst College Anna Maria College Assumption College Atlantic Union College Babson College Bay Path College Becker College Bentley College Berklee College of Music Boston College Boston Conservatory Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis Boston University Brandeis University Bridgewater State College Clark University College of the Holy Cross Curry College Eastern Nazarene College Elms College Emerson College Emmanuel College Endicott College Fitchburg State College Framingham State College Gordon College Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Hampshire College Harvard University Lasell College Lesley College Massachusetts College of Art Massachuetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Massachusetts Maritime Academy

Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology Merrimack College Mount Holyoke College Mount Ida College New England College of Optometry New England Conservatory of Music Newbury College Nichols College North Adams State College Northeastern University Pine Manor College Regis College Salem State College Simmons College Simon's Rock College Smith College Springfield College Stonehill College Suffolk University Tufts University University of Massachusetts System University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Massachusetts Boston University of Massachusetts Dartmouth University of Massachusetts Lowell University of Massachusetts Medical Center at Worcester Wellesley College Wentworth Institute of Technology Western New England College Westfield State College Wheaton College Wheelock College Williams College Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester State College

Famous Politicians from Massachusetts

• John Adams, 2nd president of the US
• John Quincy Adams, 6th president of the US
• Samuel Adams
• Susan B. Anthony
• George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st president of the US
• Benjamin Franklin
• John Hancock
• John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the US
• Oliver Wendell Holmes, justice of the Supreme Court
• Paul Revere

Professional Sports Teams

Boston Celtics, National Basketball Association New England Patriots, National Football League New England Revolution, Major League Soccer

Boston Bruins, National Hockey League Boston Red Sox, Major League Baseball Lowell Spinners, minor league baseball Boston Cannons, Major League Lacrosse

External links

• http://www.state.ma.us/ - Massachusetts State Government
• http://www.mass-vacation.com/ - Massachusetts Travel and Tourism
• http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/massachusetts.html - Maps of Massachusetts
• http://www.massachusetts-map.org/ - Massachusetts road maps and relief maps
• http://townstuff.com/ - Information on every Massachusetts city and town

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Massachusetts" http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts August 9, 2003