Massachusetts

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__** Massachusetts **__

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Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem, By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty __**Capital:**__ Boston __**Date of Statehood:**__ February 6th, 1788 __**Current Population:**__ 6, 593, 587 __**State Song:**__ All Hail to Massachusetts [] __**State Flower:**__The Mayflower __**State Bird:**__ The Chickadee __**State Tree:**__ American Elm __**State Fruit:**__ Cranberry **__State Dessert:__** Boston Cream Pie

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was located amongst the New England colonies. It was just south of New Hampshire, and just north of Connecticut and Rhode Island. To its northwest was the colony of New York. A significant portion of Massachusetts was directly facing the Atlantic Ocean. Most of Massachusetts’ main geographic features were carved out by a large glacier during the last ice age. For instance, Massachusetts has a generally hilly and rocky terrain because the glacier deposited an abundance of rock formations in the New England area, particularly along the terminal moraine of Cape Cod. Cape Cod itself and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket were also formed by glacial movement. That deposition also caused the soil of most of Massachusetts to be scattered with rock fragments. This environment is certainly not ideal for farming. However, the colony is also home to several lowland valleys, such as those in the Connecticut River Valley that provided fertile soil. Massachusetts also has an abundance of marshlands, lakes, forests, and reservoirs, like the Quabbin Reservoir and the Wachusett Reservoir. Being along the coast, Massachusetts also includes several harbors and bays.
 * __Geography of Massachusetts __**

Because Massachusetts had an extreme variation of geographical features, a diverse economy resulted. Massachusetts contained limited fertile soil, so a strong agricultural economy developed only in places where conditions were favorable, such as the Connecticut River Valley. Therefore, agriculture was certainly not the main source of income for most Massachusetts settlers. Because of this, Massachusetts did not contain an abundance of plantations. Instead, towns developed, and colonists lived very close together in houses. This allowed for a manufacturing-based economy to thrive. The tightly knitted manner of Massachusetts towns allowed for the existence of town style government and village schools. This urban structure fostered the development of a very industrial economy, and lead Massachusetts to be one of the most economically successful colonies in the Americas. The Colony’s broad range of contact with the Atlantic coast also led it to have a very sea-oriented economy that was ideal for ship building and trade.



__**History **__ <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Before any colonists ever moved onto the land claimed by their Mother Country in the New World, Native Americans lived in tribes scattered about continent. In Massachusetts, a tribe known as the Algonquians populated a majority of the land within Massachusetts’s borders. The Algonquin tribal land was divided among several subdivisions of the Algonquian tribes. In the western territory of Massachusetts the Pocumtuc Algonquians resided, in the northern central area resided the Nipmucs, the Wampanoag resided in the south and their tribes continued into part of Rhode Island, and the Nausets resided in the Cape Cod area. The Nausets were the division of the Algonquin tribe that the colonists of Massachusetts had most contact with. The Pilgrims, the first settlers in Massachusetts, settled on Nauset land. The Nausets began to teach the Pilgrims how to farm, and they were the Native Americans present at the first Thanksgiving. The Wampanoag also came in contact with the Pilgrims, but only to create a peace treaty over land.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">During the 1600’s England was going through a period of reform of the Anglican Church. Many new religions were being formed by groups of people that did not necessarily agree with the preaching’s of the church. They believed that the separation of England from the Catholic Church wasn’t enough and that even the newly formed Anglican Church was constantly in need of reform and change. These people were called Separatists and they consisted of Christians, Protestants, and Puritans. Many of the Separatists were persecuted by the English people, and the English Nobility did not want them to reside in England while protesting the church of the state. A group of these Separatists were granted land in the New World, in the area of Virginia, and began to organize their journey to establish a society in which Separatist religions could practice without persecution.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">On September 16th, 1620 a group of English Separatists known as the Pilgrims set sail west across the Atlantic Ocean destined for land promised to them in the New World. The Mayflower, the English cargo ship used on this voyage, was captained by Christopher Jones and a crew of twenty-five. In addition to these twenty-six men were the Pilgrims, one-hundred and two passengers strong, and all of the goods and supplies they had carried with them. The journey from England to the New World was sixty-five days in length and, because of the close contact between the passengers, filled with disease. By the time the Pilgrims reached the New World, two people had died and the course, which had originally been set for land within the Virginian colony near Jamestown, had been changed. In December of 1620, the Mayflower reached Plymouth Rock, an area in present day Cape Cod, and settled near the shore in their newly founded town called Plymouth.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In 1629, while the Pilgrims of Cape Cod were beginning to thrive, John Winthrop, Puritan member of the Massachusetts Bay Company, was organizing for the movement of his family and company from England to Massachusetts. Winthrop decided to move the company to escape the increasing persecution of Puritans in England. By 1630 Winthrop had received the royal charter permitting him to move the company, and was settled, along with one thousand fellow Puritans, in the area of Shawmut Peninsula, Massachusetts. The newly formed settlement, know as Boston, received a wave of Puritans escaping the increasing persecution in England throughout the mid-1600’s. As each year passed, about 2,000 new immigrants would arrive in Massachusetts from England. This mass migration continued for the next decade and was referred to as the Great Migration. In 1691, the English Crown supplied the settlement of Plymouth and the colony of Massachusetts with a charter that joined them under the one colony of Massachusetts. This expanded the space each settlement had to begin to establish their colony as a whole.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">As more immigrants poured into Massachusetts, the settlements became too small to fit all of the citizens. To solve this problem, the settlers expanded deeper into the west of Massachusetts. This, however, caused a problem, the farther the Puritans moved west, the denser the Native America population became. Due to the desire for the land on both the Puritan and the Native American sides, wars began breaking out. In 1637 the Pequot War broke out followed by King Philip’s War in 1675. These wars drove almost the entire population of Native Americans from the New England area, but some tribes remained in the western region of Massachusetts. The warring between the remaining Native Americans the settlers did not end until the mid 1700’s. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">﻿ __**Economics of Massachusetts**__ Because of its naturally cooperative geographical setting, the Massachusetts economy thrived from the start. Between farming, manufacturing, shipbuilding, and trade, it seemed that there was no economical method from which the colony of Massachusetts could not prosper. Agriculture was most apparent along the valleys in the center of the colony, manufacturing and lumbering prospered in the numerous towns and cities, and shipbuilding, fishing, and trade occurred along the Atlantic coast, particularly in cities such as Salem, Gloucester, Marblehead, and Boston. In the coastal towns, triangular trade was also a major part of the Massachusetts economy. This led to the import of slaves from Africa. In fact, Massachusetts was the first colony in New England to hold slaves. Though the colony itself did not have as many slaves as other colonies, Massachusetts was actually responsible for almost all of the slave holdings in the British colonies during the 17th century. And though the amount of white colonists greatly outnumbered the slaves, tension certainly existed between the two groups, and laws were passed to forbid slaves the right to sell merchandise or buy it at the town square. Slaves were also forbidden to stroll about the center of town, or to go walking outside at all on Sundays. All in all, Massachusetts had an extremely profitable economy, and many settlers earned a viable living as shipbuilders, farmers, manufacturers, whalers, and fishermen. Because of its wealth and economic power, Massachusetts was considered the focal point of the mercantile empire. The early success of the Massachusetts economy made it very easy for towns to develop which created a need for rapid westward expansion and also provided a distinct form of direct democracy. On top of that, because Massachusetts became wealthy so quickly, they were able to focus on education more than other colonies. For instance, Harvard, the first university in the colonies, was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. =====

__**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Social **__
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The Massachusetts colony was mainly populated by English Puritans, with the exception of few Native American tribes scattered about the western region. Due to this fact, the main language spoken was English. The Puritans that took up most of the population were known as separatists in England. They did not approve of the Catholic or Anglican Church because they believed that the only “head of the Church” was Christ or God themselves, not a King, Queen, or Pope. The Puritans also believed strongly in the idea of individual interpretation of the bible as well as the community’s interpretation and preaching of the bible. The Puritans, like the Protestants, looked down upon the use of religious ceremonies, candles, incenses, images, and statues of the church. They celebrated few of the Church’s numerous holidays, and the few holidays they did celebrate were days full of prayers and preaching. Sundays were considered “holy” days on which all of the Puritans had to attend church unless excused because of a disability or an ailment that prevented them from getting to the church. The Puritans based their work, their government, and their town’s decisions upon religion because they believed that man’s one purpose and goal was to fulfill god’s mission and work in his service all of their life.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In colonial Massachusetts, similar to the policies on women in many colonies of this time, women could not own any property and, because of this, were not allowed to vote, aid in the town’s decision making, and were not considered citizens of the colony. In the Puritan villages, women were required by law to follow the orders her husband had given her unless they defied the ten commandments of god. Before a woman could marry a man they would have to go through a specific procedure to ensure the legitimization of the marriage. If they did not complete it in the correct order, the woman would be forbidden from marrying the man and their engagement would be dissolved. Once married, the woman lost her civilian identity and was recognized as part of her husband’s. She still did not receive the right to vote or to be a citizen, but she was legally allowed to divorce her husband if she had a realistic reason. It was a married woman’s duty to oversee the keeping of her husband’s house, educating their children, and ensuring the man’s needs were satisfied at all times. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Politics of Massachusetts Massachusetts<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">’ political history can be traced back to before the pilgrims even set foot onto the shore of Cape Cod<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> Bay. This is because, while they were on the Mayflower, each male adult signed their name to a document known as the Mayflower Compact. This paper laid down the basic arrangement of Massachusetts<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> government around the concept that a government is obligated to what or whom it governs. The pilgrims were able to grow and live contentedly under this revolutionary system with the help of their royal charter in what they knew as the Plymouth Colony.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In 1630, John Winthrop, a dedicated puritan and head of the renowned Massachusetts Bay Company, lead a voyage of colonists over to the Shawmut Peninsula of Massachusetts. These puritan colonists sailed with their charter from the Massachusetts Bay Company and General Court to the new world and when they arrived founded the settlement of Boston<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">. John Winthrop was appointed governor of the settlement. Unlike the pilgrims, he did not approve of democracy, and instead wanted his colony to be governed under a religious aristocracy. Within the short time of a few months, more colonists from England<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">, puritan and not, began to flow into the Boston<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> settlement and set up towns and villages. Winthrop<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> was in a position of great power, but there was rigid political tension between the original puritan settlers who wanted to be governed under a strict puritan aristocracy and the newer settlers who preferred a democracy. Winthrop<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">, therefore, devised a clever solution, called the <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">New England Way <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">. With the <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">New England Way <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> of government, while the governor still had central power, the different communities of the Boston<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> settlement were granted some freedom to govern themselves, as well. Due to this effective government, a great number of puritans and settlers poured out of England<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> to seek refuge in what had now come to be known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">should be playing a more influential role in its governing. So, in 1686, The British Crown appointed Sir Edmund Andros the formal royal <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Sir Andros began his term by doing away with Winthrop<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">’s cherished policy of local self-government, even though it had proven to be successful. This irked the colonists greatly, for they saw the <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">New England Way <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> as their moral right, and were not eager to give it up, especially because they knew that most other systems of government would most likely fail. Therefore, the Massachusetts<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> colonists developed early bitter feelings towards the British Crown and revolted, successfully overthrowing Sir Edmund Andros. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The British Crown, however, did not simply leave Massachusetts<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> completely to its own fate, for in the year 1691, King William III and Queen Mary II united the Massachusetts Bay Colony with the original Plymouth Colony, and combined the colonies’ royal charters to create one enormous royal charter that promised religious freedom to avoid conflicts. They also appointed a new royal governor. Unlike the 1686 appointment of Governor Andros, this system actually proved quite successful. This was because, even though Governor Andros had central power of Massachusetts<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">, each community was granted the right to hold town meetings and have a local direct democracy. This government, reminiscent of the <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">New England Way <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">, was an immediate success that allowed the colony to grow and prosper while still maintaining puritan traditions. Now, the colony of Massachusetts<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> was enormous and incredibly diverse. Because they had an efficient government, they were able to prosper greatly throughout the 18th century.

__**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Terms **__ <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Triangle Trade: The Triangle Trade was a series of trade routes from the Colonies to Africa, from Africa to the West Indies, and from the West Indies. On the trade routes the colonists exchanged their goods for goods and slaves from Africa and the West Indies. The colonists would provide rum, iron, cloth, gunpowder, and tools for the Africans who would provide us with slaves. Then they would trade some of the slaves in the West Indies for sugar and molasses. The rest of the slaves would go to the colonies. Massachusetts was a major contributor to the traded goods from the colonists. Because Massachusetts was so near to the water they predominantly were know for the making of merchant ships. The ships they built were sold either to other colonies within America or used on the Triangle Trade to bring goods to Africa. They were a very industrial colony and would produce the majority of traded goods. The slaves that were brought back from Africa were directly given to the Southern colonies, but a majority of them would be brought back to the harbors in Massachusetts and would be auctioned right in the marina. The Triangle Trade depended upon Massachusetts, if it wasn’t for the merchant ships that the colonists made, the slave could not be transported. The merchants of Massachusetts were also usually the ones that dealt with the trade of slaves in the colonies. The sugar and molasses received from the trade were brewed, in Massachusetts, for trade with the Africans.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Salutary Neglect: Salutary neglect was a policy used by the British with the American Colonies in the early 1700’s. The British government believed that by leaving the colonies alone they would develop the political and economic skills that would allow them to prosper and grow. This was beneficial to both groups because it allowed Great Britain to focus on their domestic problems while pleasing the colonists by giving them the ability to make their own decisions. In Massachusetts the economy and government prospered from this policy. The Pilgrims and the Bostonians were able to settle and build and sustain a very successful industry of trading and importing. They also had successful farming areas scattered about the colony. The settlements created functioning democratic governments based off of the votes of the people living in the town. In the 1600’s England attempted to interfere with Massachusetts’s new found wealth by inserting a royal governor into the colony’s system. The English Sir Edmund Andros was greatly disliked for trying to oppress the colonists’ government system and by 1689 Andros was removed from Massachusetts.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Mercantilism: Mercantilism is the belief that the mother country should try to obtain as much profit from their colony as possible by importing only natural resources from the colony and exporting manufactured goods into the colony. During the 1600’s and early 1700’s the British controlled a mercantilist policy over the colonies. In the mercantilist trade between the English and the Colonists, Massachusetts would export a vast amount of sea-related goods to the English. They would send whale oil, blubber, and bones from the oceans near the shore, lumber from the forests, and a variety of furs from the animals living in the forest to England on the merchant ships that they built. In return, the English would send luxury and manufactured goods into the ports of Massachusetts. The rich merchants and the wealth the owned caused Massachusetts to be one of England’s major mercantile colonies.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">The Great Awakening:During the industrial and economic rise of the Massachusetts Puritans, the extreme religious devotion was replaced with a strong sense of work ethic and concentration. Though religion was still a major component of the colony, work was placed before prayer. In a town called Northampton, located in western Massachusetts, preachers began to revive the devote Puritanism to the settlers of Massachusetts. Reverend Jonathan Edwards was a prestigious religious man that basically led this passionate revival of Puritan ideals throughout the area surrounding New England. Preachers from all around New England, especially Massachusetts, began a new form of excited preaching. George Whitefield, a preacher from Massachusetts, established this “excited” preaching. During the sermons he would use emphasis on his preaching to force passion into the attendees. This new preaching method turned out to be very successful and caused a rise in religious participation from 1734 and lasted into the 1740’s and 50’s as it spread throughout the colonies. The colonies in New England began to build colleges that functioned for the purpose of training young men to become ministers and preachers. Some of the colleges include Harvard, in Boston, and Dartmouth. This period of intense, widely spread religious practice was known as the Great Awakening.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Cash Crops: Cash crops were crops grown in the colonies for the sole purpose of making money. The soil in Massachusetts was very rocky and unfertile, so the only farms there were used mainly to supply food for the village and the farmers’ families. The people of Massachusetts would make money from fishing, fur trading, lumber, raising livestock, whale oil, whale blubber, whale bones, shipbuilding, and international trading. The cash cropping was a major component of the Southern Colonies where farming was predominant due to the fertile soil. They would grow tobacco, rice, and indigo on large farms called plantations. The plantation owners would trade it for money, and the merchants from Massachusetts would bring the crops to the international countries that desired them.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">The French and Indian War in Massachusetts **__ <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Massachusetts, like many of its neighboring colonies, played a significant role in the French and Indian War. As in other states, great tensions arose between the colonists and the Native American allies of the French. For instance, in northern Massachusetts, along the Connecticut River Valley, Native American allies of the French from what is now known as Canada began to set up camps. This unnerved the colonists, so they organized soldiers to guard the neighboring towns and create forts. In response to this, in February of 1704, about 250 French and Indian men quietly snuck into forts located in Deerfield, Massachusetts and wrecked havoc on the sleeping colonists. Fifty-six of them were killed and another 109 were captured by the French and Indian forces. In addition, almost half of the houses in the town were completely burned down. When the rest of the Massachusetts colonists caught word of this, they were furious. Fueled by anger, the colonists immediately began to organize more troops to fight the French. Because of their prosperity, they were easily able to supply soldiers and necessities that aided in defeating the French and their Native American Allies. This helped England to win the war, and in July of 1713, the governor or Massachusetts and the governor of New Hampshire met together in Portsmouth to draw out a treaty of peace with the neighboring Indian tribes that had fought against them in the war.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">However, all was not well, for the victory for Britain seemed to have caused more trouble than it ended. Now the British crown was greatly in debt, and to gain money, they had no choice but to turn to the colonies. Massachusetts historically did not have the friendliest of feelings toward British colonial involvement, especially when it prevented or hindered them from profiting economically. Therefore, when the British Crown began to illegally tax and impose trade restrictions on Massachusetts colonists, aggression and unrest developed like wild fire.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">The Revolution **__

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Due to the importance of Massachusetts during whole of the American Revolutionary war, it has been referred to as the birthplace of the American Revolution. Before the actual war began, England began to tax the colonists in order to pay off the great debt they held from the French and Indian War, and the colonists did not react well. They believed that because of the new laws they were placing on them and the taxes that English were placing on them were unfair and that they were taking back the rights that “belonged” to the colonists as well as the English citizens. The British began to tax the colonists in 1764, the year proceeding the French and Indian War, starting with the Sugar Act, the Currency Act, and the Stamp Act. These acts placed a regulated tax on multiple consumer goods in the colonies. Merchants, a popular occupation to have in the many port cities of Massachusetts, were displeased incredibly by these acts because they made it more expensive to export and import the goods that were being traded internationally. In 1765, the Sons of Liberty, a group made up of the artisans, merchants, and citizens of Massachusetts and other colonies, was formed in order to defend the colonies’ ideals of freedom and independence. The Sons of Liberty were slightly radical and began the “custom” of placing tax collectors in tar, covering them in feathers, and hanging them on the “Liberty” Tree, the common meeting place for the Sons of Liberty.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">As the taxes grew in numbers the merchants of Boston and other port cities in Massachusetts became very distressed and angered by the difficulty and expense of trading the goods that were being taxed. In response to these taxes the Bostonian merchants issued the Boston Non-Importation Act in 1768. This act stated that the merchants would not export goods to the British nor accept imports from the British merchants in protest to the taxes being placed upon almost all of their traded goods. Over the next couple of years the tension between the British stationed in America and the colonists who inhabited it increased tremendously. On the cold, snowy fifth of March 1770 a wave of confusion engulfed a mob of colonists as they marched towards British soldiers stationed in front of a building in the town’s square. During the Boston Massacre of 1770, four people were shot and this was the event that began the immediate spiral towards revolution.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">In the years after the Boston Massacre, the protests to the taxes became more hostile that before, and the tension continued to build up. In May of 1773 the English issued the Tea Act, a tax placed on all tea imported into the colonies. This infuriated the colonists, and at first they began to boycott the tea by only purchasing and drinking “Liberty” Tea, a tea produced in the American Colonies. By December, the colonists had organized a type of boycott that they believed would show the English that they meant business. [] On December 16th, 1773 the Sons of Liberty with multiple other Patriot citizens snuck aboard an English merchant ship dressed like Native Americans, and threw numerous crates of tea off of the side of the vessel and into Boston Harbor.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">The English, shocked and irritable from the disloyalty of the colonists, issued the Intolerable Acts. The Intolerable Acts were a set of laws placed on the American colonists that were an attempt from the British to punish the colonists for their wrong doings. They began to place a large amount of British troops inside the city of Boston and inside the homes of the Bostonians, even if it were against their wills. While the British began to suspect that a revolt would come soon enough the leaders of the Revolution began to plan their attack.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Many of the beginning battles of the Revolutionary War took place within Massachusetts. The very first battle of the revolution was at Lexington and Concord, to cities located in Massachusetts. The British had gotten word of ammunition and gun powder being held there along with revolutionary leaders John Hancock and Samuel Adams. The British made a place to seize the gunpowder and the men with troops that were moving in from their “residences” in Boston. The planned was leaked and the Americans, with help from Paul Revere, were able to spread the word to the militia and the minute men near Lexington and Concord. When the British arrived in Lexington, the minute men were present and ready to fight. A shot, it is not known which side it came from, was fired and it signified the beginning of the American Revolution, today it is referred to as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” [] When the actual fight broke out, seventy minute men were able to drive over two-hundred British soldiers from the area. As the British retreated from Lexington, the militia of Concord fought them from behind fences and rocks, causing at least one-hundred-twenty-five casualties. This action drove the British back into Boston for the time being.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">On June 17th, 1775, the second military battle of the revolution took place in Massachusetts. During this time the British were mainly occupying Boston, due to the fact that a surplus of soldiers was stationed there, and the Americans planned an attack on their forces to try to win it back. The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on the Charlestown Peninsula in Charlestown, MA, near Boston. The Americans were up on the hill above the British. Though the British were at a strategically disadvantage, they still attacked. As they fought their way up the hill towards the Americans, the ammunition was running low. Eventually, the British were able to take the hill from the Americans, but no without suffering a great loss of soldiers.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Throughout the rest of the war, Massachusetts supported the Patriots’ best interests. Many of the Revolutionary leaders that continued to aid the war effort outside of the Massachusetts borders were John Adams, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, James Otis, Robert Treat Paine, William Prescott, and Paul Revere. John Adams, a member of the Sons of Liberty, the Congressional Congress, and the second U.S. president, was a delegate of Massachusetts during the Continental Congress. He was an advocate for independence and aided in the persuasion of the Congress to sign to make America independent. He also helped Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, draft the Declaration of Independence. Samuel Adams, cousin to John Adams, member of the Sons of Liberty, and also an advocate of independence, began to spread the word of the revolution throughout Massachusetts. He was a politician that basically preached the ideals of the revolution even before it had began. John Hancock, a member of the Sons of Liberty, was one of the men present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He also signed the document himself, the most recognizable signature, and he used his power within Massachusetts to get the citizens to ratify the Constitution. James Otis was a public speaker who supported the Revolution and preached independence; he was basically the man who coined the phrase “Taxation without representation is tyranny.” Robert Treat Paine was the representative of Massachusetts that signed the Declaration of Independence. William Prescott was the Patriot Colonel that led the rebellion at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He led the men through the battle though they were outnumbered and had little ammunition. Finally, Paul Revere, probably one of the most well know revolutionary figures, was the man who rode, on horseback, through the night to warn the men that the British were coming by sea. He is also well known for his etching of the Boston Massacre, a recognizable piece of propaganda during that time. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">After the Revolutionary War, in 1780, Massachusetts became a state, and was left in a state of depression. The farmers around the area could not make enough money to support the crops and to pay the high taxes issued by the state to cover the war’s cost. The taxes and the depression led to the Shea’s Rebellion in 1786. Daniel Shea, a former soldier in the American Revolution, led a group of poor farmers to fight against the government when they attempted to take away the land of a farmer who could not pay his taxes. The rebellion was put down, but it caused the people of Massachusetts to question the newly created state constitution. In February of 1788, Massachusetts signed to ratify the Constitution; they were the sixth state to ratify it. Massachusetts did support the Constitution, though the people did require persuasion from specific politicians or political speakers such as John Hancock.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Sources Used <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Timeline of the American Revolution, ushistory.org

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">The 13 American Colonies Part 1&2, socialstudiesforkids.com

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Prentice Hall: America: Pathways to the Present

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">, pages 59-69

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<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">State Facts

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%;">Songs found on youtube.com, created by School House Rock and the state of Massechusetts