Massachusetts History
From MMAWiki
Puritans and the First Charter
In 1628 the Puritans, escaping religious persecution, were led to Salem, MA (then called Naumkeag) by John Endicott to join Roger Conant's refugees who had left the unsuccessful fishing station at Cape Ann. In 1627 John Woodbury, who had formerly worked at the station, known as the "Dorchester Company"formed by Rev. John White, went to England to obtain a charter. On March 19, 1628, a royal charter was granted to the Massachusetts Bay Company to govern its colonies and encourage settlement of the territory granted to the Puritans. This charter established a single body General Court including the Court of Assistants. Later the Court of Assistants separated from the General Court and became America’s first elected Upper House. John Winthrop and other Puritans brought the charter to Salem in 1630 and moved toward Boston founding other settlements governed by their own people. This pattern of democratic, self contained government spread along the coast and westward to a point where other New England states were being founded using the same democratic principles. These communities practiced these values through town meeting, allowing each tax payer and equal voice."In evolving that most democratic of governmental procedures, Massachusetts contributed greatly to the political development of the nation." [1]
Constitutional Convention
Stricter control over the colonies by England came in 1660 when the Stuarts were restored to the throne. Massachusetts resisted all regulations and lost their charter in 1684. In 1691, despite attempts to revive the Massachusetts Bay Company, Massachusetts became and Royal Province and its governor was appointed by the Crown. Two legislative houses were permitted, however, and the requirement that every voter must be a church member was abolished. Opposition to this and the restrictions imposed ultimately led to a series of rebellious events answered by stricter rules from England and this combative relationship soon gave way to the Revolutionary War and the evacuation of the British on March 17, 1776. However, this independence brought with it post-war problems of government, social, and economic progress. Answers to these problems became a stronger government created through the Constitutional Convention that wrote the Constitution drafted by John Adams. The Constitution was ratified on June, 15, 1780 and Massachusetts became the originator of the Constitutional Convention and the separate ratification of each article and amendment.[2] It was in Part two of this document that the "State of Massachusetts Bay" was replaced by the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts". It is this line that makes Massachusetts a legal Commonwealth (as is Virginia and Pennsylvania). Commonwealths are states but the reverse is not true. The word was used as an anti-monarchial sentiment as it was used in the late 18th century to describe a body of people who govern themselves.[3] Today, this is the oldest Constitution in the world that is still in effect.
Massachusetts Industry
The United States Constitution was adopted in 1787 and George Washington began his presidency two years later. Massachusetts prospered under Under President Washington and expanded its foreign commerce by entering into trade with China and, in 1793, acquiring trade previously shared between France and England. President Jefferson however imposed the Embargo Act as retaliation for interference of France and England with American shipping. This act hurt Massachusetts more than any other state. Years later the War of 1812 stopped Massachusetts ocean trade. These events, the embargo and the war, catapulted Massachusetts into the industrial age and manufacturing became concentrated in New England; Massachusetts in particular where the textile industry boomed in Waltham, Lawrence, Lowell, Fall River, New Beford and other cities. Competition plagued New England as the West moved their goods cheaply to New England states. In order to be competitive women became employed in the factories thereby strengthening their political voice. As people moved west to farm the Commonwealth attempted to reform its government and religion by holding a second Constitutional Convention in 1820. A more liberal constitution emerged from this convention, giving people an even greater voice. Thirteen years later the Commonwealth moved closer to the ideal democratic government when it passed a constitutional amendment that completely separated Church and State.[4]
Intellectualism, Abolition and the Growth of the Textile Industry
In the early 19th century Emerson, Thoreau and others preached Transcendenalism, Horace Mann campaigned for universal education and Dorthea Dix spoke up for the mentally disturbed. Idealists gathered, notably at Brook Farm in West Roxbury, to demonstrate their ideals for community living. This intellectual excitement sparked an enthusiasm for abolition and in 1832 the New England Ant-Slavery Society, one in which prominent men and women helped slaves escape to Canada via the Underground Railway, was formed in Boston. The Commonwealth remained a reformist state until the end of the Civil War, a war which Massachusetts supported with both men and money, including the first African-American regiments to be mustered. After the war the Commonwealth devoted itself the expansion of industry. The port of Boston supported the influx of raw materials while Boston and Gloucester produced money from their fisheries. At the end of the 19th century Massachusetts produces more than one-third of the nation's woolen goods while Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, and New Bedford were preeminent in cotton textiles. At the same time, until 1900, Lynn, Brockton, Haverhill, Marlborough, Worcester,and other Massachusetts cities were manufacturing about one half the boots and shoes in the country. Large plants were established to manufacture machinery and highly skilled and expert workers filled them.[5]
Immigration and Social Progress
These industrial opportunities attracted immigrants and by 1930 65.04 percent of the 4,249,614 population was foreign born or of mixed foreign parentage. New types of citizens and ways of living created problems for the state causing the General Court to pass progressive law, more so than any other state at the time, to prevent exploitation of women and minors and to protect the health of employees and was working on civil rights laws. However, Massachusetts had not fully enfranchised women when the 19th constitutional amendment voted in favor of it. Soon after every village and city developed a public school system and many universities and colleges. Additionally, each community established a public library and the state offered many museums as education and cultural tools. [6]
Effects of War and a Fluctuating Economy
Post World War I industry spiraled downward toward the Great Depression but by 1939, when World War II began in Europe, the economy had returned to normal and Massachusetts again profited from skilled labor and proximity to major markets. Additionally, research facilities in Massachusetts attracted new industries. Industry and its high level of employment continued to prosper through the beginning of the 1950's during the Korean War. The Vietnam War stimulated military and aerospace industry in Massachusetts but by the end of the 1960's the war was waning and and money for the space program had been cut forcing Massachusetts to shift its focus to technology during the latter part of the 1970's however; a recession in the 1980's forced a retrenching and reappraisal of both government and the economy. The Commonwealth began focusing more on becoming a transportation and trade center via both Boston's Port and the International Airport. New industries such as biotechnology, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, marine sciences, and polymer technology were focused on and strengthened during the last part of the 20th century. At the same time the state began to focus on the "New Economy" which meant expansion in knowledge-intensive production, high-tech innovation and global trading. This prompted a whole new group of exports including information technology, financial services, knowledge creation, health care, traditional manufacturing and travel and tourism. [7]
Today there are 351 cities and towns that make up the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Of these 351 municipalities, there are 53 that operate using a city form of government and 298 that have a town form of government. These municipalities were built on the rich government history of the state but have been largely affected in recent years by Home Rule and Proposition 2 1/2.
Notes
- ↑ Secretary of State: Citizen Information Service. "Massachusetts: Part Two: Historical Sketch" Retrieved 2008 from http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf2.htm
- ↑ Secretary of State: Citizen Information Service. "Massachusetts: Part Two: Historical Sketch" Retrieved 2008 from http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf2.htm
- ↑ The State Library of Massachusetts. "Why Massachusetts is a Commonwealth". Retrieved 2008 from http://www.mass.gov/lib/facts/commonwealth.htm
- ↑ Secretary of State: Citizen Information Service. "Massachusetts: Part Two: Historical Sketch" Retrieved 2008 from http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf2.htm
- ↑ Secretary of State: Citizen Information Service. "Massachusetts: Part Two: Historical Sketch" Retrieved 2008 from http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf2.htm
- ↑ Secretary of State: Citizen Information Service. "Massachusetts: Part Two: Historical Sketch" Retrieved 2008 from http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf2.htm
- ↑ Secretary of State: Citizen Information Service. "Massachusetts: Part Two: Historical Sketch" Retrieved 2008 from http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf2.htm
