|State nickname: Bay State|
- % water
Ranked 44th |
- Total (2000)
|Admittance into Union
February 6, 1788
|Time zone||Eastern: UTC-5/-4|
41°10'N to 42°53'N|
68°57'W to 73°30'W
80 km |
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.
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.
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.
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.
Massachusetts total gross state product for 1999 was $262 billion, placing it 11th 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[?].
Black or African American: 5.4%
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[?].