24/7 Local Dentist Locations in Massachusetts

About Massachusetts State

Massachusetts (/ˌmæsəˈtʃuːsɪts/ (About this soundlisten), /-zɪts/), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,[a] is the most populous state in the New England region of the United States. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Connecticut to the southwest and Rhode Island to the southeast, New Hampshire to the northeast, Vermont to the northwest, and New York to the west. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is also the most populous city in New England. It is home to the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry.[46] Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade,[47] Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution.[48] During the 20th century, Massachusetts's economy shifted from manufacturing to services.[49] Modern Massachusetts is a global leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance, and maritime trade.[50]



Plymouth was the site of the second colony in New England after Popham Colony in 1607 in what is now Maine.[51] Plymouth was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, passengers of the Mayflower. In 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of America's most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials.[52] In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which during the Industrial Revolution catalyzed numerous important technological advances, including interchangeable parts.[53] In 1786, Shays' Rebellion, a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention.[54] In the 18th century, the Protestant First Great Awakening, which swept Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, originated from the pulpit of Northampton preacher Jonathan Edwards.[55] In the late 18th century, Boston became known as the "Cradle of Liberty"[56] for the agitation there that later led to the American Revolution.



The entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts has played a powerful scientific, commercial, and cultural role in the history of the United States. Before the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center for the abolitionist, temperance,[57] and transcendentalist[58] movements.[59] In the late 19th century, the sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively.[60][61] In 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legally recognize same-sex marriage as a result of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.[62] Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the state, including the Adams and Kennedy families. Harvard University in Cambridge is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States,[63] with the largest financial endowment of any university,[64] and Harvard Law School has educated a contemporaneous majority of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.[65] Kendall Square in Cambridge has been called "the most innovative square mile on the planet", in reference to the high concentration of entrepreneurial start-ups and quality of innovation which have emerged in the vicinity of the square since 2010.[66][67] Both Harvard and MIT, also in Cambridge, are perennially ranked as either the most or among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world.[68] Massachusetts' public-school students place among the top tier in the world in academic performance.[69] The state has been ranked as one of the top states in the United States for citizens to live in, as well as one of the most expensive.[70]



Etymology

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett, whose name likely derived from a Wôpanâak word muswachasut, segmented as mus(ây) "big" + wach8 "mountain" + -s "diminutive" + -ut "locative" (the '8' in these words refers to the 'oo' sound according to the Wôpanâak orthographic chart).[71] It has been translated as "near the great hill",[72] "by the blue hills", "at the little big hill", or "at the range of hills", referring to the Blue Hills, or in particular the Great Blue Hill, which is located on the boundary of Milton and Canton.[73][74] Alternatively, Massachusett has been represented as Moswetuset—from the name of the Moswetuset Hummock (meaning "hill shaped like an arrowhead") in Quincy, where Plymouth Colony commander Myles Standish (a hired English military officer) and Squanto (a member of the now disappeared Patuxet band of the Wampanoag peoples) met Chief Chickatawbut in 1621.[75][76]



The official name of the state is the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts".[77] While the designation "Commonwealth" forms part of the state's official name, it has no practical implications.[78] Massachusetts has the same position and powers within the United States as other states.[79] John Adams in 1779 may have chosen the word for the second draft of what became the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution because unlike the word "state", "commonwealth" at the time had the connotation of a republic, in contrast to the monarchy the former American colonies were fighting against. (The name "State of Massachusetts Bay" appeared in the first—rejected—draft.)[80]



History

Main article: History of Massachusetts

Pre-colonization

Massachusetts was originally inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family such as the Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusett.[81][82] While cultivation of crops like squash and corn supplemented their diets, these tribes were generally dependent on hunting, gathering and fishing for most of their food.[81] Villages consisted of lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses,[82] and tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems.[83]



Colonial period

Main articles: Mayflower Compact, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England Confederation, Dominion of New England, and Province of Massachusetts Bay

In the early 1600s, after contact had been made with Europeans, large numbers of the indigenous peoples in the northeast of what is now the United States were killed by virgin soil epidemics such as smallpox, measles, influenza, and perhaps leptospirosis.[84][85] Between 1617 and 1619, what was possibly smallpox killed approximately 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans.[86]





The Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882). The Pilgrims founded Plymouth in 1620.

The first English settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, arrived on the Mayflower[87] at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the native Wampanoag people.[88] This was the second successful permanent English colony in the part of North America that later became the United States, after the Jamestown Colony. The event is known as the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World, which lasted for three days. The Pilgrims were soon followed by other Puritans, who established the Massachusetts Bay Colony at present-day Boston in 1630.[89]



The Puritans, who believed the Church of England needed to be purified and experienced harassment from English authority because of their beliefs,[90] came to Massachusetts intending to establish an ideal religious society.[91] Unlike the Plymouth colony, the bay colony was founded under a royal charter in 1629.[92] Both religious dissent and expansionism resulted in several new colonies being founded shortly after Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay elsewhere in New England. The Massachusetts Bay banished dissenters such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams due to religious and political disagreements. In 1636, Williams founded the colony of Rhode Island, and Hutchinson joined him there several years later. Religious intolerance continued. Among those who objected to this later in the century were the English Quaker preachers Alice and Thomas Curwen, who were publicly flogged and imprisoned in Boston in 1676.[93][94]



In 1641, Massachusetts expanded inland significantly, acquiring the Connecticut River Valley settlement of Springfield, which had recently disputed with, and defected from its original administrators, the Connecticut Colony.[95] This established Massachusetts's southern border in the west,[96] though surveying problems resulted in disputed territory until 1803–04.[97]



Currency was another issue in the colonies. In 1652 the Massachusetts legislature authorized John Hull to produce coinage (mintmaster). "The Hull Mint produced several denominations of silver coinage, including the pine tree shilling, for over 30 years until the political and economic situation made operating the mint no longer practical." Mostly political for Charles II of England deemed the "Hull Mint" high treason in the United Kingdom which had a punishment of Hanging, drawing and quartering. "On April 6, 1681, Randolph petitioned the king, informing him the colony was still pressing their own coins which he saw as high treason and believed it was enough to void the charter. He asked that a writ of Quo warranto (a legal action requiring the defendant to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or franchise they claim to hold) be issued against Massachusetts for the violations."[98][better source needed]



In 1691, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth were united (along with present-day Maine, which had previously been divided between Massachusetts and New York) into the Province of Massachusetts Bay.[99] Shortly after the arrival of the new province's first governor, William Phips, the Salem witch trials took place, where a number of men and women were hanged for alleged witchcraft.[100]



The most destructive earthquake yet known in New England occurred in 1755, causing considerable damage across Massachusetts.[101][102]



The Revolutionary War

Main articles: American Revolutionary War, Boston campaign, Lee Resolution, United States Declaration of Independence, Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga, Articles of Confederation § Ratification, and Treaty of Paris (1783)



An illustration of the Battles of Lexington and Concord

Massachusetts was a center of the movement for independence from Great Britain; colonists in Massachusetts had long uneasy relations with the British monarchy, including open rebellion under the Dominion of New England in the 1680s.[99] Protests against British attempts to tax the colonies after the French and Indian War ended in 1763 led to the Boston Massacre in 1770, and the 1773 Boston Tea Party escalated tensions.[103] In 1774, the Intolerable Acts targeted Massachusetts with punishments for the Boston Tea Party and further decreased local autonomy, increasing local dissent.[104] Anti-Parliamentary activity by men such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, followed by reprisals by the British government, were a primary reason for the unity of the Thirteen Colonies and the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1775.[105]



The Battles of Lexington and Concord initiated the American Revolutionary War and were fought in the eponymous Massachusetts towns.[106] Future President George Washington took over what would become the Continental Army after the battle. His first victory was the Siege of Boston in the winter of 1775–76, after which the British were forced to evacuate the city.[107] The event is still celebrated in Suffolk County as Evacuation Day.[108] On the coast, Salem became a center for privateering. Although the documentation is incomplete, about 1,700 letters of marque, issued on a per-voyage basis, were granted during the American Revolution. Nearly 800 vessels were commissioned as privateers and are credited with capturing or destroying about 600 British ships.[109]





John Adams, 2nd President of the United States (1797–1801)

Federal period

Main articles: Constitutional Convention (United States), Admission to the Union, and List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union

Bostonian John Adams, known as the "Atlas of Independence",[110] was highly involved in both separation from Britain and the Constitution of Massachusetts, which effectively (the Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker cases as interpreted by William Cushing) made Massachusetts the first state to abolish slavery. David McCullough points out that an equally important feature was its placing for the first time the courts as a co-equal branch separate from the executive.[111] (The Constitution of Vermont, adopted in 1777, represented the first partial ban on slavery. Vermont became a state in 1791 but did not fully ban slavery until 1858 with the Vermont Personal Liberty Law. The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act of 1780[112] made Pennsylvania the first state to abolish slavery by statute.) Later, Adams was active in early American foreign affairs and succeeded Washington as the second United States President. His son John Quincy Adams, also from Massachusetts,[113] would go on to become the sixth United States President.



From 1786 to 1787, an armed uprising, known as Shays' Rebellion led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays wrought havoc throughout Massachusetts and ultimately attempted to seize the Federal armory.[54] The rebellion was one of the major factors in the decision to draft a stronger national constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.[54] On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.[114]



19th century

Main articles: Missouri Compromise and Massachusetts in the American Civil War

In 1820, Maine separated from Massachusetts and entered the Union as the 23rd state as a result of the ratification of the Missouri Compromise.[115]





Textile mills such as the one in Lowell made Massachusetts a leader in the Industrial Revolution.

During the 19th century, Massachusetts became a national leader in the American Industrial Revolution, with factories around cities such as Lowell and Boston producing textiles and shoes, and factories around Springfield producing tools, paper, and textiles.[116][117] The economy transformed from one based primarily on agriculture to an industrial one, initially making use of water-power and later the steam engine to power factories. Canals and railroads were used for transporting raw materials and finished goods.[118] At first, the new industries drew labor from Yankees on nearby subsistence farms, and later relied upon immigrant labor from Europe and Canada.[119][120]



Although Massachusetts was the first slave-holding colony dating back to the early 1600s, in the years leading up to the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center of progressivist and abolitionist activity. Horace Mann made the state's school system a national model.[121] Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson made major contributions to American philosophy.[122] Members of the transcendentalist movement emphasized the importance of the natural world and emotion to humanity.[122]



Although significant opposition to abolitionism existed early on in Massachusetts, resulting in anti-abolitionist riots between 1835 and 1837,[123] opposition to slavery gradually increased throughout the next few decades.[124][125] Abolitionists John Brown and Sojourner Truth lived in Springfield and Northampton, respectively, while Frederick Douglass lived in Boston and Susan B. Anthony in Adams, Massachusetts. The works of such abolitionists contributed to Massachusetts's actions during the Civil War. Massachusetts was the first state to recruit, train, and arm a Black regiment with White officers, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.[126] In 1852, Massachusetts became the first state to pass compulsory education laws.[127]



20th century

With the departure of several manufacturing companies, the area's industrial economy began to decline during the early 20th century. By the 1920s, competition from the South and Midwest, followed by the Great Depression, led to the collapse of the three main industries in Massachusetts: textiles, shoemaking, and precision mechanics.[128] This decline would continue into the latter half of the century; between 1950 and 1979, the number of Massachusetts residents involved in textile manufacturing declined from 264,000 to 63,000.[129] The 1969 closure of the Springfield Armory, in particular, spurred an exodus of high-paying jobs from Western Massachusetts, which suffered greatly as it de-industrialized during the last 40 years of the 20th century.[130]



Massachusetts manufactured 3.4 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking tenth among the 48 states.[131] In Eastern Massachusetts, following World War II, the economy was transformed from one based on heavy industry into a service-based economy.[132] Government contracts, private investment, and research facilities led to a new and improved industrial climate, with reduced unemployment and increased per capita income. Suburbanization flourished, and by the 1970s, the Route 128 corridor was dotted with high-technology companies who recruited graduates of the area's many elite institutions of higher education.[133]



In 1987, the state received federal funding for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project. Commonly known as "the Big Dig", it was, at the time, the biggest federal highway project ever approved.[134] The project included making the Central Artery a tunnel under downtown Boston, in addition to the re-routing of several other major highways.[135][failed verification] Often controversial, with numerous claims of graft and mismanagement, and with its initial price tag of $2.5 billion increasing to a final tally of over $15 billion, the Big Dig nonetheless changed the face of Downtown Boston.[134] It connected areas that were once divided by elevated highway (much of the raised old Central Artery was replaced with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway), and improved traffic conditions along with several routes.[134][135]



Notable 20th century politicians



John F. Kennedy, Massachusetts native and 35th President of the United States (1961–1963)

The Kennedy family was prominent in Massachusetts politics in the 20th century. Children of businessman and ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. included John F. Kennedy, who was a senator and U.S. president before his assassination in 1963, and Ted Kennedy, a senator from 1962 until his death in 2009,[136] and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a co-founder of the Special Olympics.[137] In 1966, Massachusetts became the first state to directly elect an African American to the U.S. senate with Edward Brooke.[138] George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States (1989–1993) was born in Milton in 1924.[139] Other notable Bay State politicians on the national level included John W. McCormack, Speaker of the House in the 1960s, and Tip O'Neill, whose service as Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1987 was the longest continuous tenure in United States history.



21st century

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage after a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling in November 2003 determined that the exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to a civil marriage was unconstitutional.[62] This decision was eventually superseded by the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmation of same-sex marriage in the United States in 2015.



In 2004, Massachusetts senator John Kerry who won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States narrowly lost to incumbent George W. Bush. Eight years later, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (Republican nominee) lost to Barack Obama in 2012. Another eight years later, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was a frontrunner in the Democratic primaries for the 2020 Presidential Election, but suspended her campaign and then endorsed presumptive nominee Joe Biden.





Boston Marathon bombing

Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, at around 2:49 pm EDT. The explosions killed three people and injured an estimated 264 others. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) later identified the suspects as brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The ensuing manhunt ended on April 19 when thousands of law enforcement officers searched a 20-block area of nearby Watertown. Dzhokhar later said he was motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs and learned to build explosive devices from Inspire, the online magazine of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.



On November 8, 2016, Massachusetts voted in favor of The Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization Initiative, also known as Question 4.[140] It was included in the 2016 United States presidential election ballot in Massachusetts as an indirectly initiated state statute.[141]



Geography

Main articles: Geography of Massachusetts and Geology of New England



A portion of the north-central Pioneer Valley in South Deerfield

Massachusetts is the 7th-smallest state in the United States. It is located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States and has an area of 10,555 square miles (27,340 km2), 25.7% of which is water. Several large bays distinctly shape its coast. Boston is the largest city, at the inmost point of Massachusetts Bay, and the mouth of the Charles River.



Despite its small size, Massachusetts features numerous topographically distinctive regions. The large coastal plain of the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern section of the state contains Greater Boston, along with most of the state's population,[46] as well as the distinctive Cape Cod peninsula. To the west lies the hilly, rural region of Central Massachusetts, and beyond that, the Connecticut River Valley. Along the western border of Western Massachusetts lies the highest elevated part of the state, the Berkshires.



The U.S. National Park Service administers a number of natural and historical sites in Massachusetts.[142] Along with twelve national historic sites, areas, and corridors, the National Park Service also manages the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.[142] In addition, the Department of Conservation and Recreation maintains a number of parks, trails, and beaches throughout Massachusetts.[143]



Ecology



Many coastal areas in Massachusetts provide breeding areas for species such as the piping plover.

The primary biome of inland Massachusetts is temperate deciduous forest.[144] Although much of Massachusetts had been cleared for agriculture, leaving only traces of old-growth forest in isolated pockets, secondary growth has regenerated in many rural areas as farms have been abandoned.[145] Currently, forests cover around 62% of Massachusetts.[146] The areas most affected by human development include the Greater Boston area in the east and the Springfield metropolitan area in the west, although the latter includes agricultural areas throughout the Connecticut River Valley.[147] There are currently 219 endangered species in Massachusetts.[148]



A number of species are doing well in the increasingly urbanized Massachusetts. Peregrine falcons utilize office towers in larger cities as nesting areas,[149] and the population of coyotes, whose diet may include garbage and roadkill, has been increasing in recent decades.[150] White-tailed deer, raccoons, wild turkeys, and eastern gray squirrels are also found throughout Massachusetts. In more rural areas in the western part of Massachusetts, larger mammals such as moose and black bears have returned, largely due to reforestation following the regional decline in agriculture.[151]



Massachusetts is located along the Atlantic Flyway, a major route for migratory waterfowl along the eastern coast.[152] Lakes in central Massachusetts provide habitat for many species of fish and waterfowl, but some species such as the common loon are becoming rare.[153] A significant population of long-tailed ducks winter off Nantucket. Small offshore islands and beaches are home to roseate terns and are important breeding areas for the locally threatened piping plover.[154] Protected areas such as the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge provide critical breeding habitat for shorebirds and a variety of marine wildlife including a large population of grey seals. Since 2009, there has been a significant increase in the number of Great white sharks spotted and tagged in the coastal waters off of Cape Cod.[155][156][157]



Freshwater fish species in Massachusetts include bass, carp, catfish, and trout, while saltwater species such as Atlantic cod, haddock, and American lobster populate offshore waters.[158] Other marine species include Harbor seals, the endangered North Atlantic right whales, as well as humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales, and Atlantic white-sided dolphins.



The European corn borer, a significant agricultural pest, was first found in North America near Boston, Massachusetts in 1917.[159]



Climate

Main article: Climate of Massachusetts



Köppen climate types in Massachusetts

Most of Massachusetts has a humid continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers. Far southeast coastal areas are the broad transition zone to Humid Subtropical climates. The warm to hot summers render the oceanic climate rare in this transition, only applying to exposed coastal areas such as on the peninsula of Barnstable County. The climate of Boston is quite representative for the commonwealth, characterized by summer highs of around 81 °F (27 °C) and winter highs of 35 °F (2 °C), and is quite wet. Frosts are frequent all winter, even in coastal areas due to prevailing inland winds. Due to its location near the Atlantic, Massachusetts is vulnerable to nor'easters, hurricanes and tropical storms.



Climate change

Main article: Climate change in Massachusetts

Climate change in Massachusetts will affect both urban and rural environments, including forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and coastal development.[161][162][163] The Northeast is projected to warm faster than global average temperatures; by 2035, the Northeast is "projected to be more than 3.6°F (2°C) warmer on average than during the preindustrial era".[163] As of August 2016, the EPA reports that Massachusetts has warmed by over two degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.1 degrees Celsius.[164] This is almost twice as much as the average for the contiguous United States. Shifting temperatures also result in the shifting of rainfall patterns and the intensification of precipitation events. To that end, average precipitation in the Northeast United States has risen by ten percent from 1895 to 2011, and the number of heavy precipitation events has increased by seventy percent during that time.[164] These increased precipitation patterns are focused in the winter and spring. Increasing temperatures coupled with increasing precipitation will result in earlier snow melts and subsequent drier soil in the summer months.



The shifting climate in Massachusetts will result in a significant change to the built environment and ecosystems. In Boston alone, costs of climate change-related storms will result in 5 to 100 billion dollars in damage.[164] These costs are attributed to expected coastal home damage, roadway destruction, and existing utility infrastructure exposure. Warmer temperatures will also disrupt the migration of birds and the blooming of flora. With these changes, deer populations are expected to increase, resulting in a decrease in underbrush which smaller fauna use as camouflage. Additionally, rising temperatures will increase the number of reported Lyme disease cases in the state. Ticks can transmit the disease once temperatures reach 45 degrees, so shorter winters will increase the window of transmission. These warmer temperatures will also increase the prevalence of mosquitos, a carrier of the West Nile virus.[164]



To combat this change, the state of Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has outlined a path to decarbonization of the state's economy. On April 22, 2020, the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs of Massachusetts, Kathleen A. Theoharides, released a Determination of Statewide Emissions limits for 2050. In her letter, Theoharides stresses that as of 2020, the Commonwealth has experienced property damage attributable to climate change of more than $60 billion. To ensure that the Commonwealth experiences warming no more than 1.5 °C of pre-industrialization levels, the state will work to achieve net-zero emissions and the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by the year 2050.[165]



Initiatives

Main articles: Solar power in Massachusetts and Wind power in Massachusetts

The State of Massachusetts has developed a plethora of incentives to encourage the implementation of renewable energy and efficient appliances and home facilities. Mass Save has been formed in conjunction with the State by Berkshire Gas, Blackstone Gas Company, Cape Light Compact, Eversource, Liberty Utilities, National Grid and Unitil to provide homeowners and renters with incentives to retrofit their homes with efficient HVAC equipment and other household appliances. For example, up to a 100-dollar rebate can be obtained for upgrading to an ENERGY STAR certified smart or programmable thermostat. Other appliances such as water heaters, air conditioners, washers and driers, and heat pumps are eligible for additional rebates.[166]



The concept of Mass Save was created in 2008 by the passing of the Green Communities Act of 2008 during Deval Patrick’s tenure as governor. The main goal of the Green Communities Act was to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels in the State and to encourage new, more efficient technologies. Among others, one result of this act was a requirement for Program Administrators of utilities to invest in saving energy, as opposed to purchasing and generating additional energy where economically feasible. In Massachusetts, eleven Program Administrators, including NSTAR, National Grid, Western Massachusetts Electric, Cape Light Compact, Until, and Berkshire Gas, jointly own the rights to this program, in conjunction with the MA Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC).[167]



Mass Save also conducts no-cost in-home energy assessments so that homeowners, renters, and small business owners may educate themselves about energy efficiency-related home improvements and find opportunities to save money and energy. During the home assessment, Mass Save provides ENERGY STAR certified LED light bulbs, power strips, low flow showerheads, faucet aerators, and efficient thermostats free of charge. Additionally, air leaks will be detected in the home or building and patched, and recommendations will be made to install additional insulation to decrease the loss of heated or cooled air. Discounts of 75 percent or more are available on these insulation improvements. Due to COVID-19, Mass Save is currently conducting assessments remotely. Residents can schedule a remote assessment using the program's website or phone line.[168]



The State Revenue Service provides incentives for the installation of solar panels. In addition to the Federal Residential Renewable energy credit, Massachusetts residents may be eligible for a tax credit of up to 15 percent of the project.[169] Once installed, arrays are eligible for net metering.[170] Certain municipalities will offer up to $1.20 per watt, up to 50 percent of the system's cost on PV arrays 25 kW or less.[171] The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources also offers low-interest, fixed-rate financing with loan support for low-income residents. This program is currently set to terminate on December 31, 2020.[172]



As a part of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ effort to incentivize the usage of renewable energy, the MOR-EV, or Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles initiative was created. With this incentive, residents may qualify for a State incentive of up to $2,500 dollars for the purchase or lease of an electric vehicle, or $1,500 for the purchase or lease of a plug-in hybrid vehicle.[173] This rebate is available in addition to the tax credits offered by the United States Department of Energy for the purchase of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.[174]



For income-eligible residents, Mass Save has partnered with Massachusetts Community Action Program Agencies and Low-Income Energy Affordability Network (LEAN) to offer residents assistance with upgrades to their homes that will result in more efficient energy usage. Residents may qualify for a replacement of their heating system, insulation installation, appliances, and thermostats if they meet the income qualifications provided on Mass Save's website. For residents of 5+ family residential buildings, there are additional income-restricted benefits available through LEAN. If at least 50 percent of the residents of the building qualify as low income, energy efficiency improvements like those available through Mass Save are available. Residential structures operated by non-profit organizations, for profit operations, or housing authorities may take advantage of these programs.[175]



In late 2020, the Baker Administration released a Decarbonization Roadmap that aims for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The plan calls for major investments in offshore wind and solar energy and would require all new automobiles sold to be zero-emissions (electric or hydrogen powered) by 2035.[176][177]



Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Massachusetts and List of people from Massachusetts



Massachusetts population density map. The centers of high-density settlement, from east to west, are Boston, Worcester, Springfield, and Pittsfield, respectively.

Historical population

Census Pop. %±

1790 378,787 —

1800 422,845 11.6%

1810 472,040 11.6%

1820 523,287 10.9%

1830 610,408 16.6%

1840 737,699 20.9%

1850 994,514 34.8%

1860 1,231,066 23.8%

1870 1,457,351 18.4%

1880 1,783,085 22.4%

1890 2,238,947 25.6%

1900 2,805,346 25.3%

1910 3,366,416 20.0%

1920 3,852,356 14.4%

1930 4,249,614 10.3%

1940 4,316,721 1.6%

1950 4,690,514 8.7%

1960 5,148,578 9.8%

1970 5,689,170 10.5%

1980 5,737,037 0.8%

1990 6,016,425 4.9%

2000 6,349,097 5.5%

2010 6,547,629 3.1%

2020 7,029,917 7.4%

[178][179]



At the 2020 U.S. census, Massachusetts had a population of over 7 million, a 7.4% increase since the 2010 United States census.[180][6] As of 2015, Massachusetts was estimated to be the third-most densely populated U.S. state, with 871.0 people per square mile,[181] behind New Jersey and Rhode Island. In 2014, Massachusetts had 1,011,811 foreign-born residents or 15% of the population.[181]



Most Bay State residents live within the Boston metropolitan area, also known as Greater Boston, which includes Boston and its proximate surroundings but also extending to Greater Lowell and to Worcester. The Springfield metropolitan area, also known as Greater Springfield, is also a major center of population. Demographically, the center of population of Massachusetts is located in the town of Natick.[182][183]



Like the rest of the Northeastern United States, the population of Massachusetts has continued to grow in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Massachusetts is the fastest-growing state in New England and the 25th fastest-growing state in the United States.[184] Population growth was largely due to a relatively high quality of life and a large higher education system in the state.[184]



Foreign immigration is also a factor in the state's population growth, causing the state's population to continue to grow as of the 2010 Census (particularly in Massachusetts gateway cities where costs of living are lower).[185][186] 40% of foreign immigrants were from Central or South America, according to a 2005 Census Bureau study, with many of the remainder from Asia. Many residents who have settled in Greater Springfield claim Puerto Rican descent.[185] Many areas of Massachusetts showed relatively stable population trends between 2000 and 2010.[186] Exurban Boston and coastal areas grew the most rapidly, while Berkshire County in far Western Massachusetts and Barnstable County on Cape Cod were the only counties to lose population as of the 2010 Census.[186]



By sex, 48.4% were male, and 51.6% were female in 2014. In terms of age, 79.2% were over 18 and 14.8% were over 65.[181]



Race and ancestry



Saint Patrick's Day parade in Scituate, the municipality with the highest percentage identifying Irish ancestry in the United States, at 47.5% in 2010.[187] Irish Americans constitute the largest ethnicity in Massachusetts.

As of 2014, in terms of race and ethnicity, Massachusetts was 83.2% White (73.7% Non-Hispanic White), 8.8% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American and Alaska Native, 6.3% Asian American, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 2.1% from some other race, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 11.2% of the population.[181]



The state's most populous ethnic group, non-Hispanic white, has declined from 95.4% in 1970 to 73.7% in 2014.[181][188] As of 2011, non-Hispanic whites were involved in 63.6% of all the births,[189] while 36.4% of the population of Massachusetts younger than age 1 was minorities (at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic white).[190] One major reason for this is that non-Hispanic whites in Massachusetts recorded a total fertility rate of 1.36 in 2017, the second-lowest in the country after neighboring Rhode Island.[191]



As late as 1795, the population of Massachusetts was nearly 95% of English ancestry.[192] During the early and mid-19th century, immigrant groups began arriving in Massachusetts in large numbers; first from Ireland in the 1840s;[193] today the Irish and part-Irish are the largest ancestry group in the state at nearly 25% of the total population. Others arrived later from Quebec as well as places in Europe such as Italy, Portugal, and Poland.[194] In the early 20th century, a number of[vague] African Americans migrated to Massachusetts, although in somewhat fewer numbers than many other Northern states.[195] Later in the 20th century, immigration from Latin America increased considerably. More than 156,000 Chinese Americans made their home in Massachusetts in 2014,[196] and Boston hosts a growing Chinatown accommodating heavily traveled Chinese-owned bus lines to and from Chinatown, Manhattan in New York City. Massachusetts also has large Dominican, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Cape Verdean and Brazilian populations. Boston's South End and Jamaica Plain are both gay villages, as is nearby Provincetown, Massachusetts on Cape Cod.





Boston's Chinatown, with its paifang gate, is home to many Chinese and also Vietnamese restaurants.



Boston gay pride march, held annually in June. In 2004 Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The largest ancestry group in Massachusetts are the Irish (22.5% of the population), who live in significant numbers throughout the state but form more than 40% of the population along the South Shore in Norfolk and Plymouth counties (in both counties overall, Irish-Americans comprise more than 30% of the population). Italians form the second-largest ethnic group in the state (13.5%), but form a plurality only in some suburbs north of Boston and in a few towns in the Berkshires. English Americans, the third-largest (11.4%) group, form a plurality only in some western towns. French and French Canadians also form a significant part (10.7%),[197] with sizable populations in Bristol, Hampden, and Worcester Counties.[198][199] Lowell is home to the second-largest Cambodian community of the nation.[200] Massachusetts is home to a small community of Greek Americans as well, which according to the American Community Survey there are 83,701 of them scattered along the state (1.2% of the total state population).[201] There are also several populations of Native Americans in Massachusetts. The Wampanoag tribe maintains reservations at Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard and at Mashpee on Cape Cod—with an ongoing native language revival project underway since 1993, while the Nipmuc maintain two state-recognized reservations in the central part of the state, including one at Grafton.[202]



Massachusetts has avoided many forms of racial strife seen elsewhere in the US, but examples such as the successful electoral showings of the nativist (mainly anti-Catholic) Know Nothings in the 1850s,[203] the controversial Sacco and Vanzetti executions in the 1920s,[204] and Boston's opposition to desegregation busing in the 1970s[205] show that the ethnic history of Massachusetts was not completely harmonious.



Religion

Massachusetts was founded and settled by Brownist Puritans in 1620[90] and soon after by other groups of Separatists/Dissenters, Nonconformists and Independents from 17th century England.[88] A majority of people in Massachusetts today remain Christians.[181] The descendants of the Puritans belong to many different churches; in the direct line of inheritance are the various Congregational churches, the United Church of Christ and congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association. The headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist Association, long located on Beacon Hill, is now located in South Boston.[210][211] Many Puritan descendants also dispersed to other Protestant denominations. Some disaffiliated along with Roman Catholics and other Christian groups in the wake of modern secularization.



Today, Christians make up 57% of the state's population, with Protestants making up 21% of them. Roman Catholics make up 34% and now predominate because of massive immigration from primarily Catholic countries and regions—chiefly Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Quebec, and Latin America. Both Protestant and Roman Catholic communities have been in decline since the late 20th century, due to the rise of irreligion in New England. It is the most irreligious region of the country, along with the Western United States. A significant Jewish population immigrated to the Boston and Springfield areas between 1880 and 1920. Jews currently make up 3% of the population. Mary Baker Eddy made the Boston Mother Church of Christian Science serve as the world headquarters of this new religious movement. Buddhists, Pagans, Hindus, Seventh-day Adventists, Muslims, and Mormons may also be found. Kripalu Center in Stockbridge, the Shaolin Meditation Temple in Springfield, and the Insight Meditation Center in Barre are examples of non-Abrahamic religious centers in Massachusetts. According to 2010 data from The Association of Religion Data Archives, (ARDA) the largest single denominations are the Catholic Church with 2,940,199 adherents; the United Church of Christ with 86,639 adherents; and the Episcopal Church with 81,999 adherents.[212] 32% of the population identifies as having no religion.[213]



Education





Harvard University and MIT are both widely regarded as in the top handful of universities worldwide for academic research in various disciplines.[68] (Shown are the Widener Library at Harvard and MIT Building 10.)

Further information: List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts, List of engineering schools in Massachusetts, List of high schools in Massachusetts, List of school districts in Massachusetts, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, and University of Massachusetts



Towns in Massachusetts by combined mean SAT of their public high school district for the 2015–2016 academic year[214]

In 2018, Massachusetts's overall educational system was ranked the top among all fifty U.S. states by U.S. News & World Report.[215] Massachusetts was the first state in North America to require municipalities to appoint a teacher or establish a grammar school with the passage of the Massachusetts Education Law of 1647,[216] and 19th century reforms pushed by Horace Mann laid much of the groundwork for contemporary universal public education[217][218] which was established in 1852.[127] Massachusetts is home to the oldest school in continuous existence in North America (The Roxbury Latin School, founded in 1645), as well as the country's oldest public elementary school (The Mather School, founded in 1639),[219] its oldest high school (Boston Latin School, founded in 1635),[220] its oldest continuously operating boarding school (The Governor's Academy, founded in 1763),[221] its oldest college (Harvard University, founded in 1636),[222] and its oldest women's college (Mount Holyoke College, founded in 1837).[223] Massachusetts is also home to the highest ranked private high school in the United States, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, which was founded in 1778.[224]



Massachusetts's per-student public expenditure for elementary and secondary schools was eighth in the nation in 2012, at $14,844.[225] In 2013, Massachusetts scored highest of all the states in math and third-highest in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.[226] Massachusetts' public-school students place among the top tier in the world in academic performance.[69]



Massachusetts is home to 121 institutions of higher education.[227] Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both located in Cambridge, consistently rank among the world's best private universities and universities in general.[228] In addition to Harvard and MIT, several other Massachusetts universities currently rank in the top 50 at the undergraduate level nationally in the widely cited rankings of U.S. News and World Report: Tufts University (#27), Boston College (#32), Brandeis University (#34), Boston University (#37) and Northeastern University (#40). Massachusetts is also home to three of the top five U.S. News and World Report's best Liberal Arts Colleges: Williams College (#1), Amherst College (#2), and Wellesley College (#4).[229] The public University of Massachusetts (nicknamed UMass) features five campuses in the state, with its flagship campus in Amherst, which enrolls more than 25,000.[230][231]