Massachusetts: Encyclopedia II - Massachusetts - History

Massachusetts - History

Massachusetts - Early settlement

Various Algonquin tribes inhabited the area prior to European settlement. In the Massachusetts Bay area resided the Massachusett. Near the Vermont and New Hampshire borders and the Merrimack River valley was the traditional home of the Pennacook tribe. Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and southeast Massachusetts were the home of the Wampanoag, whom the Pilgrims met. The extreme end of the Cape was inhabited by the closely related Nauset tribe. Much of the central portion and the Connecticut River valley was home to the loosely organized Nipmuc peoples. The Berkshires were the home of both the Pocomtuc and the Mahican tribes.

All the Indians on the coast of New England, were heavily decimated by waves of smallpox brought by sailors and traders before the settlers arrived. By the time the Puritans arrived, Massachusetts was lightly populated.

Massachusetts - Europeans: Pilgrims Puritans and Yankees 1620-1686

The Pilgrims comprised a small English religious sect that moved first to Holland then to Plymouth in 1620, They arrived on the Mayflower on which they set up a government by the Mayflower compact. The first years were hard, with 30-50% death rates. The Wampanoags gave them food and in 1621 they celebrated their first Thanksgiving Day together to thank God for their survival.

A much larger flow of settlers were the Puritans, who were religious refugees from the civil wars in England. Their base was Boston, the seat of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their leader was John Winthrop (1587-1649), a well-educated minister who led 700 settlers in the [[1]] to Boston in 1630, Thousands more followed, Winthrop was repeatedly reelected governor by the voters (all adult male church members). He is best remembered for his "City on a Hill" sermon that declared the Puritan colonists were members of a special compact with God to create a holy community that would serve as a model of holiness to England and the world. Besides their small cities, the English settlers built small compact villages, leaving alone vast stretches of the state. They did not build isolated farms of the sort typical in the southern colonies, and they avoided the frontier. One legend says the Indians called them the Yengeeze, their pronunciation of English, which became yankee. The Puritans came to Massachusetts for religious purification and would not tolerate impure religion. Pilgrims, as well as Anglicans, Quakers, and a handful of other denominations were grudgingly accepted in the Puritan communities for a time. Then Quakers were banned, and in 1660 four were hanged in Boston Common. Other dissenters such as Anne Hutchinson, Roger Williams, and Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts; Williams founded Rhode Island and Hooker founded Connecticut.

Racial tensions led to King Philip's War (1675-76), the bloodiest Indian war of the early colonial period.

Massachusetts - Colonial Maturity 1686-1765

In May 1686, the Massachusetts Bay Colony lost its royal charter and King James II appointed a President of New England. After James II was overthrown the colonials overthrew his officials. Massachusetts Bay Colony absorbed the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony in 1691. The most famous episode was the Salem Witch Trials in which 25 people were executed. The Puritans found Harvard Colleges in 1638 in order to provide a well-educated clergy. The Puritan religion slowly transformed into Congregationalism, andthe Puritans became known as "Yankees" by 1700. By the 1750s many merchants and government officials were Anglican, and increasing numbers of farmers were Baptists or Methodists. By 1800, Harvard's faculty were Unitarians and pious Congregationalists founded Williams College.

The state played a major role in French and Indian Wars. Its frontier villages were raided by Indian parties (commanded by French officers). They kidnapped or killed the hostages; the first serious literature was captivity narratives such as the one by Mary Rowlandson. The colony had a stong maritime tradition and captured the major French naval base of Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia in 1745. Notable governors during this period were William Shirley, Thomas Hutchinson, Francis Bernard, and General Thomas Gage.

Massachusetts - Revolutionary Massachusetts 1765-1780

Boston was the center of revolutionary activity in the decade before 1775, with Samuel Adams the leading patriot. The British sent in troops which escalated tensions. On March 5, 1770, 5 protestors were shot by British soldiers in the Boston Massacre. Massachusetts was the first colony to revolt against the Crown, and thus the instigator of the American Revolution. On February 9, 1775, the British Parliament declared Massachusetts to be in rebellion, and sent additional troops to restore order to the colony.

Several early Revolutionary battles took place in Massachusetts, including the Battles of Lexington and Concord (where the famous shot heard 'round the world was fired), the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. After Lexington militia swarmed to Boston, surrounding the British in the city. General George Washington soon took charge, and when he acquired cannon in spring 1776, the British were forced to leave, marking the first great American victory of the war. This was the last fighting in the state but the Massachusetts state navy did manage to get itself destroyed by the British fleet.

Massachusetts - Federalist Era 1780-1815

A Constitutional Convention drew up a Constitution of the Commonwealth drafted mainly by John Adams, and the people ratified it in 1780. After the Shays rebellion by farmers in the western part of the state was put down, the state joined the rush to form a stronger national government. The new Federalist party dominated politics; the state supported Washington and Adams. The economy was badly hit by Jefferson's Embargo in 1808, cutting off foreign trade. The War of 1812 was strongly opposed in New England. Its effects were a sharp depression, an end to foreign trade, some smuggling with Canada, a sharp growth in local manufacturing, and the threat of secession at the 1815 Hartford Convention. After the war ended, the Federalists faded away.

Massachusetts - Leader in industrialization 1815-1860

Massachusetts became a national and world leader in industrialization, with its mastery of machine tools. Boston capital funded textile mills in many towns; the new textile cities of Lowell and Lawrence were founded. Mill owners, after rejecting the Lowell girls (young Yankee women) brought in Irish and French Canadian workers. Industrial cities, especially Worcester and Springfield became world leaders in machinery. Boston did not have factories, but it became increasingly important as the transportation hub of all of New England, as well as a national leader in finance, law, medicine, learning, and publishing. Horace Mann made the state system of schools the national model. The state made its mark in Washington with such political leaders as Daniel Webster and Charles Sumner. The state led the country in support for abolitionism.

Massachusetts - Civil War and Gilded Age 1860-1900

Massachusetts was among the first states to respond to President Lincoln's call for troops. Massachusetts was the first state to recruit, train and arm a black regiment, with white officers, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

Massachusetts - Prosperity decades 1900-1929

Massachusetts - Depression and war 1929-1945

Massachusetts - Economic changes: decline of manufacturing 1945-1980

Massachusetts - Modern economy and society 1980-2006

For bibliography see the main article History of Massachusetts

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki