Difference between revisions of "Massachusetts"
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Liberal icon [[Ted Kennedy]], the third longest-serving Senator in U.S. history, died from a brain tumor in August 2009, marking the end of an era. During the [[2004 Presidential Election]] the Democratic super-majority in the state legislator blocked the Republican Governor [[Mitt Romney]] from appointing an interim senator should [[John Kerry]] be elected President. The legislature changed the law back again after Kennedy's death, allowing Governor [[Deval Patrick]], a Democrat, to appoint a temporary replacement for Kennedy. He he choose former Democratic National Committee chairman [[Paul Kirk]]. Kirk will not seek a full term of his own, and a special election will be held on January 19, 2010. | Liberal icon [[Ted Kennedy]], the third longest-serving Senator in U.S. history, died from a brain tumor in August 2009, marking the end of an era. During the [[2004 Presidential Election]] the Democratic super-majority in the state legislator blocked the Republican Governor [[Mitt Romney]] from appointing an interim senator should [[John Kerry]] be elected President. The legislature changed the law back again after Kennedy's death, allowing Governor [[Deval Patrick]], a Democrat, to appoint a temporary replacement for Kennedy. He he choose former Democratic National Committee chairman [[Paul Kirk]]. Kirk will not seek a full term of his own, and a special election will be held on January 19, 2010. | ||
| − | Given that Massachusetts is arguably the most liberal state in the country (the federal delegation has been entirely Democratic since 1997) the real race will likely be the Democrat primary, held on December 8, 2009. Candidates include State Attorney General Martha Coakley and businessman Alan Khazei. Representative Jim McGovern and Mike Capuano are probable candidates. On the Republican side, State Senator Scott Brown has declared his candidacy. Many high-profile Republicans have declined to run, such as former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, former Governor Mitt Romney, and former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. Former [[Boston]] [[Red Sox]] pitcher [[Curt Schilling]], who has [[conservative]]-leanings, was mentioned as an [[independent]] candidate, but announced he will seek the office. <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/22/AR2009092203804.html</ref> | + | Given that Massachusetts is arguably the most liberal state in the country (the federal delegation has been entirely Democratic since 1997) the real race will likely be the Democrat primary, held on December 8, 2009. Candidates include State Attorney General Martha Coakley and businessman Alan Khazei. Representative Jim McGovern and Mike Capuano are probable candidates. On the Republican side, State Senator Scott Brown has declared his candidacy. Many high-profile Republicans have declined to run, such as former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, former Governor Mitt Romney, and former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. Former [[Boston]] [[Red Sox]] pitcher [[Curt Schilling]], who has [[conservative]]-leanings, was mentioned as an [[independent]] candidate, but announced he will not seek the office. <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/22/AR2009092203804.html</ref> |
The only Republican with a chance of winning is Romney, but he is expected to concentrate instead on the 2012 presidential campaign. | The only Republican with a chance of winning is Romney, but he is expected to concentrate instead on the 2012 presidential campaign. | ||
Revision as of 17:24, November 23, 2009
| Capital | Boston |
|---|---|
| Nickname | The Bay State |
| Official Language | English |
| Governor | Deval Patrick, D |
| Senator | John Kerry, D (202) 224-2742 Contact |
| Senator | [[{{{senator2}}}]], [[{{{s2party}}}]] {{{s2phone}}} [{{{s2email }}}] |
| Ratification of Constitution/or statehood | February 6, 1788 (6th) |
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Motto: "Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" (By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty) |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Its capital city is Boston. The name is derived from the Indian tribe that lived there, the "Massachusett". It is one of four states officially known as "commonwealths"; there are no practical differences between a "commonwealth" and a "state".
History
Massachusetts was first settled by the Pilgrims who emigrated from England on the Mayflower in 1620 and founded a settlement at Plymouth, and soon afterward by the much larger group the Puritans, who founded the "Massachusetts Bay Colony". Both groups came to America seeking religious freedom. It was also a major center of the American Revolution, as events such as the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party helped to create a desire for national independence among the colonists. The first battle of the war was fought mainly in the towns of Lexington and Concord; the first great American victory was the expulsion of the British from Boston on "Evacuation Day," March 17, 1776. Shortly after the war ended, the western part of the state was marked by Shays' Rebellion, a major factor leading to demands for a stronger national government at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1783 and ratified the Constitution on February 6, 1788.
During the 1800s, Massachusetts was marked by increasing industrialization, including the founding of textile mills in towns such as Lowell. Important historical figures during this time included Horace Mann, an important educational reformer, and Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, two of the main contributors to the Transcendental movement.
In the 1900s, Massachusetts moved from a factory-based economy to a more service-based economy, sparked by growth in its local colleges and universities as well as by a collapse in the textile industry during the 1920s. This encouraged increased suburbanization, leading to the current demographic situation in which the population is concentrated in suburbs around the city of Boston. In 1987, the state received federal highway funding for the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, known colloquially as the Big Dig. The $14.7 billion grant is the largest federal highway project ever approved.
Politics
Liberal icon Ted Kennedy, the third longest-serving Senator in U.S. history, died from a brain tumor in August 2009, marking the end of an era. During the 2004 Presidential Election the Democratic super-majority in the state legislator blocked the Republican Governor Mitt Romney from appointing an interim senator should John Kerry be elected President. The legislature changed the law back again after Kennedy's death, allowing Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, to appoint a temporary replacement for Kennedy. He he choose former Democratic National Committee chairman Paul Kirk. Kirk will not seek a full term of his own, and a special election will be held on January 19, 2010.
Given that Massachusetts is arguably the most liberal state in the country (the federal delegation has been entirely Democratic since 1997) the real race will likely be the Democrat primary, held on December 8, 2009. Candidates include State Attorney General Martha Coakley and businessman Alan Khazei. Representative Jim McGovern and Mike Capuano are probable candidates. On the Republican side, State Senator Scott Brown has declared his candidacy. Many high-profile Republicans have declined to run, such as former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, former Governor Mitt Romney, and former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey. Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who has conservative-leanings, was mentioned as an independent candidate, but announced he will not seek the office. [1]
The only Republican with a chance of winning is Romney, but he is expected to concentrate instead on the 2012 presidential campaign.
Although once a bastion of social conservatism (the term "Banned in Boston" is still in widespread use)[2] Massachusetts is known as one of the most Catholic and most liberal states. It is the most populous state to have all-Democratic congressional representation. It was called "Taxachusetts" because of its high tax rate, which has since been lowered by a series of Republican governors in the 1990s and 2000s (William Weld, Paul Cellucci, Jane Swift and Mitt Romney); they were among the most liberal Republican governors in the country.[3]
Its current senator is John Kerry (who unsuccessfully ran for President in 2004).
The current governor, elected in 2006 over Republican and former Lieutenant Governor Kerry Murphy Healey,[4] is Deval L. Patrick, who was the first Democrat to take the office in 16 years, and the first African American to win the post.[5][6] A strong liberal in the state that legalized homosexual marriage, Patrick signed a bill which allowed out-of-state gay couples to marry in Massachusetts. In a speech afterward, Patrick was recorded openly mocking conservatives and the Bible by stating, "In five years now, ... the sky has not fallen, the earth has not opened to swallow us all up."[7]
Patrick is faring poorly in polls, as he has been ineffective in getting his own priorities enacted, and in dealing with the recession of 2008.
Massachusetts is the home of Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and John F. Kennedy.
Notes and references
- ↑ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/22/AR2009092203804.html
- ↑ http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Massachusetts/id/1896007
- ↑ http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Massachusetts/id/1896007
- ↑ http://www.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/governor/patrick/
- ↑ http://www.mass.gov/
- ↑ http://www.nndb.com/gov/911/000051758/
- ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/07/31/massachusetts-gov-patrick-signs-allowing-gay-marriage-non-residents
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