Massachusetts in The American Revolution

Massachusetts In The American Revolution

Massachusetts was first colonized by principally English Europeans in the early 17th century, and became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the 18th century. Prior to English colonization of the area, it was inhabited by a variety of mainly Algonquian-speaking indigenous tribes. The first permanent English settlement was established in 1620 with the founding of Plymouth Colony by the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower. A second, shorter-lasting colony, was established near Plymouth in 1622 at Wessagusset, now Weymouth. A large Puritan migration begun in 1630 established the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Boston, and spawned the settlement of other New England colonies. Friction with the natives grew with the population, erupting in the Pequot War of the mid-1630s and King Philip's War in the 1670s. The colonies were religiously conservative, and Massachusetts Bay authorities in particular repeatedly deported, cast out, and even executed people with views that did not accord with their narrow Puritan views. The Massachusetts Bay Colony frequently clashed with political opponents in England, including several kings, over its religious intolerance and the status of its charter. Businessmen established wide-ranging trade links, sending ships to the West Indies and Europe, and sometimes shipping goods in violation of the Navigation Acts. These political and trade issues led to the revocation of the Massachusetts charter in 1684.

King James II in 1686 established the Dominion of New England to govern all of New England, whose unpopular rule by Sir Edmund Andros came to a sudden end in 1689 with an uprising sparked by the Glorious Revolution. King William III established the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1691, to govern a territory roughly equivalent to that of the modern Commonwealth and Maine, although border issues with its neighbors would persist into the 19th century. Its governors were appointed by the crown, in contrast to the predecessor colonies, which had elected their own governors. This created friction between the colonists and the crown, which reached its height in the early days of the American Revolution in the 1760s and 1770s. Massachusetts was where the American Revolutionary War began in 1775, an effort many of its people and businesses supported until Britain formally recognized the United States in 1783.

The commonwealth formally adopted the state constitution in 1780, electing John Hancock its first governor. The state was the first to abolish slavery. In the 19th century the commonwealth became a center of industry, with the development of precision manufacturing and weaponry in Springfield, and large-scale mill complexes in Worcester, Haverhill, and other river communities. The areas around Boston and Springfield became national centers of abolitionist activities, and the Springfield Armory made most of the weaponry for the Union in the American Civil War. After the war, immigrants from Europe flooded into the state, continuing to expand the state's industrial base well into the 20th century. Labor strife early in the 20th century led to the enaction of labor laws and the rise of unions. Following the Second World War the state's industrial base began a slow decline, with many textile and manufacturing jobs relocated to states and countries with lower costs of labor. The state's strength as a center of education contributed to the development of an economy based on information technology and biotechnology in the later years of the 20th century, leading to the "Massachusetts Miracle" of the late 1980s.

'I shall enter on no encomium upon Massachusetts; she needs none. There she is. Behold her, and judge for yourselves. There is her history; the world knows it by heart. The past, at least, is secure. There is Boston and Concord and Lexington and Bunker Hill; and there they will remain forever.

- Daniel Webster, 1830