The Massachusetts is a State of the the United States whose population counts nearly 6,3 million inhabitants. The capital and the metropolis of the State are Boston. The State belongs to the area of the New England.

Massachusetts is one of the four American States to carry the title of the Commonwealth.

Geography

Massachusetts is located at the North-East of the United States, is bordered in the west by the State of New York, in north by the State of Vermont and the State of New Hampshire, in the east by the Atlantic Ocean and in the south by the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island. The islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are at broad south-eastern coast.

The State conceals many single landscapes: Atlantic coast with the beaches and the tourist places of the Cape Cod, with the mountains of Berkshires in the west, and the valley of the River Connecticut in the center. The majority of the population lives at the edge of the coast around Boston and of the industrial towns. In the center and the west of Massachusetts, many farms produce fruits, tomatos, and corn.

Subdivisions

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is divided of 14 counties ( counties ).
See the list of the Counties of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Principal cities

  • Boston, capital of the State

  • Worcester
  • Springfield
  • New Bedford, naval center and of fisheries
  • Lowell
  • Cambridge, educational center
  • Lynn
  • Salem, historical city where were held lawsuit in sorcery at the 17th century

History

See also: History of Massachusetts, Colony of bay of Massachusetts

The colony was thus named in remembering an Indian tribe of the country, the Massachusett, whose name meant “place of large hill”. The Fathers pilgrims, made on board the Mayflower, established their establishment with Plymouth in 1620. They were quickly followed by the puritan , which established the colony of Bay of Massachusetts. Massachusetts was one of the thirteen colonies which revolted against the Britanniques at the time of the American Révolution.

John Eliot, Pasteur Presbytérien in Massachusetts undertakes évangéliser the Amerindian as from 1641. He learns their dialect and starts to preach. He gathers the converts in villages of prayer and translated the Bible into Mohican and algonquin; he founds schools, among which an Indian college within Harvard, it trains indigenous teachers. But its efforts are quickly ruined by the fights between colonists and Indiens, and of living even of Eliot, there does not remain only one any more Mohican to read the translated Bible.

Population

Pattern of the settlement by age in 2000

Pattern of the settlement by ethnicity in 2000

Some socio-economic indicators for the year 2000:

Policy

Massachusetts is the symbol of the liberal State of the East coast vilified by the conservatives of the West, the center and the South. Prototype of liberalism, Massachusetts is the bastion of the Kennedy family and the democratic party.

A liberal History

The liberalism of Massachusetts is as old as its Puritanisme.

Spearhead of the fight for independence at the 18th century, it is the first State to abolish the Esclavage and to promote its abolition at the national level. It was the bastion of the republican progressists at the 19th century when the democratic party was still choked by the segregationists of the South.

The democratic bastion with the presidential ones

Since 1960, three elected officials of Massachusetts postulated with the presidential elections: John F. Kennedy elected in 1960, Michael Dukakis, candidate in 1988 and John Kerry, candidate in 2004.

At the time of the presidential election of 2004, the democratic party held its national convention with Boston, capital of the State, attracting itself this ironic remark of Dick Armey, the chief of the republican majority with the Chambre of the Representatives of the United States: “if I were a democrat, I will feel indeed more at ease in Boston that, would say I, in America” (" Yew I were has Democrat, I suspect I' D feel has heck off has batch more comfortable in Boston than, say, America"). The president George W. Bush itself was ironical about the origins of his democratic adversary John Kerry: “My adversary says that it has a good contact (with the inhabitants) of the west, but I wonder whether sometimes it does not speak about the west of Massachusetts” (" My opponent says he' S in touch with the West, goal sometimes I think He means Western Massachusetts.").

The November 2nd 2004, John Kerry obtained 61,94% of the voices compared with 36,78% with George W. Bush, re-elected with the national plan.

No Republican carried it in the State since Ronald Reagan with 51,22% in 1984 (victorious also with 41,90% in 1980, Reagan however carries it vis-a-vis a divided opposition, between Jimmy Carter, which obtains 41,75% and John Anderson, which obtains 15,15%).

If the State had rather leant towards the republican candidates until in 1924, he chooses the Democrats of 1928 with 1948 then of 1960 with 1976. In 1972, Massachusetts is the only State to be voted for the democratic ticket whose candidate with the vice-presidency is R. Sargent Shriver, related to the Kennedy family.

A liberal State and progressist

The Republicans are not completely isolated of the representation of the State since the post of governor was continuously held by a Republican since 1991. However, all these republican governors that were William Weld, Paul Cellucci, Jane Swift and Mitt Romney represented the most moderate wing and more progressist of the party.

In 2006 the voters chose the first democratic governor since 1991, Deval Patrick. He also became the second black governor in the United States. The local Congress remains dominated by the democratic party. Thus, with the Senate of Massachusetts at the time of the session 2005-2006, six republican elected officials dealt with 33 democratic elected officials.

At the time of the elections for the post of governor of November 2006, the republican lieutenant-governor outgoing Kerry Healey was beaten with 35% of the votes by the democrat Deval Patrick (56%)

At the local level, at the time of the session 2007-2008, the Lower House of 160 members is dominated by 141 democrats and the Senate of 40 members by 35 democrats.

Only 13% of the inhabitants of Massachusetts are declared republican.

At the federal level, the 10 elected officials of Massachusetts to the Chambre of the representatives of the United States are democratic as well as the two senators of the state, John Kerry and Edward Kennedy. No republican represents Massachusetts at the federal level.

From January 2007, the democrats completely dominate the state whatever the level of responsibility (governor, local congress, municipality) leaving to the republicans some stations for town councilors. Massachussets corresponds then to the prototype of the state with sole party under democratic control like had been to it formerly the states of the south.

In 2006, the state of Massachusetts instituted a cover universal disease which constrained each one to subscribe an insurance, whereas poorest receive a help.

First State to legalize the homosexual marriage

Since a decision of the Supreme court of the State in November 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize the Homosexual marriage the May 17th 2004. It is still the only state of the country which recognizes these marriages.

Native politicians or elected officials of Massachusetts

  • Mitt Romney, former governor and republican candidate with the presidency in 2008

  • John Adams, second President of the United States
  • John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States
  • Calvin Coolidge, thirtieth President of the United States
  • John F. Kennedy, thirty-fifth President of the United States
  • George H.W. Bush, forty and unième President of the United States
  • Edward Kennedy, senator emblematic of Massachusetts
  • Michael Dukakis, former governor and democratic candidate with the presidency in 1988
  • John Kerry, senator and democratic candidate with the presidency in 2004
  • Oliver Wendell Holmes
  • Benjamin Franklin
  • Michael Rubens Bloomberg, current mayor of New York

Famous personalities of Massachusetts

Economy

The Office of the economic analysis estimates that the gross product of the State in 2004 was of 318 billion dollars. The average personal income by anybody in 2004 was of 42.102 dollars per annum, that is to say 2nd the higher after that of the Connecticut.

Agricultural exports consist of seafood, in Dairy products, Canneberge S, and in Légume S. exports industrialists are the Machinerie, electrical equipment, the scientific instruments, the Typographie, and the edition. Thanks to the co-operative Ocean Spray, Massachusetts is the second greater state producing of Canneberge S, after the Wisconsin. Other sectors which are of vital importance to the saving in Massachusetts are the higher learning, the Health care, the finance departments, and the Tourisme.

Culture

The culture of Massachusetts is a mixture reflecting the roots of the culture of the “Yankees” néo-English and other groups of immigrants. The Irish in particular had a great impact on the culture of the State and the town of Boston; Boston accommodates one of the most famous processions of Saint-Patrick of the world (a traditional Irish festival held on March 17th); and the regional team of Basket-ball is known like the “Celtics”. In the same way, the Italian, Portuguese, and Chinese immigrants influenced the culture of the State.

Moreover, the events of the Guerre of Independence continue to affect the culture of Massachusetts. The State celebrates the “Day Evacuation” ( the Day of the evacuation ) and the “Patriot' S Day” ( the Day of the patriots ) in memory of the history of the area.

All the July 4th, Boston organizes a famous celebration of the day of Independence. The fireworks and a concert occur on the shore of the Fleuve Charles during this festival.

Museums

Education and universities

There is a great number of universities in the cities of the metropolitan zone of Boston, of which the Université Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute off Technology MIT.

Symbols of the State of Massachusetts

  • Tree: The Elm of America ( Ulmus americana )

  • Fleur: Mayflower ( Epigaea regens )
  • Bird: the paridae with black back ( Penthestes atricapillus )
  • Animal: ( Eubabalena glacialis )
  • Horse: the horse Morgan ( Equus cabullus morganensis )
  • Dog: the Boston burrow ( Canis familiaris bostenensis )
  • Hero: Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman)
  • official Song: All Hail to Massachusetts (“All acclaim Massachusetts”)

Sport

External bonds

  • Official site of the State of tourist Massachusetts
  • Official site of Massachusetts
  • Guide of voyage on Massachusetts de Wikitravel

Beats-smg: Masačusetsos Be-X-old: Масачусэтс Simple: Massachusetts Zh-min-nan: Massachusetts

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