50 Years of 50 States: Massachusetts

Nickname: Bay State
Date Ratified: February 6, 1788 (6th)
Capital: Boston

Map of Massachusetts

• Massachusetts was the first state to abolish slavery.
• The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was the first all-Black regiment, though the officers were white.
• Massachusetts was the first state to require municipalities to appoint a teacher or establish a grammar school with the passage of the Massachusetts Education Law of 1647. This mandate was later integrated into the state constitution in 1789.
• Massachusetts is home to America’s oldest high school, Boston Latin School (founded 1635), America’s first publicly funded high school, Dedham, (founded 1643), oldest college, now called Harvard University (founded 1636), oldest incorporated preparatory school, Phillips Academy (founded 1778), first racially integrated high school (Lowell), and the oldest municipally supported free library, Boston Public Library (founded 1848).
• Boston built the first subway system in the United States in 1897.
• Lowell was America’s first planned industrial city, and as such is considered the birthplace of the U.S. Industrial Revolution.
• In keeping with its progressive heritage, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Massachusetts was also the first state to mandate health insurance for all residents.

Flag of Massachusetts

Be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed, or follow EiH on Twitter or you could miss out on your chance to win Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States by George R. Stewart

You may also like:

1. 50 Years of 50 States: Pennsylvania Nickname: Keystone State Date Ratified: December 12, 1787 (2nd)...
2. 50 Years of 50 States: Connecticut Nickname: The Constitution State Date Ratified: January 9,1788 Capital:...
3. 50 Years of 50 States: Michigan Nickname: The Great Lakes State Date Ratified: January 26,...
4. 50 Years of 50 States: Illinois Nickname: Land of Lincoln Date Ratified: December 3, 1818...