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I've read recently that Massachusetts's "State motto" is "By the sword we fight for peace but not peace without liberty" in latin or something like that, but that isn't mentioned in this article, and while "The spirit of America" definitely is the state slogan, I've never seen "Make it yours" before.
I'm surprised that there was no reference in the article about how Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage.
I'm surprised that the Educational section didn't mention Sudbury valley school, since it's been getting a lot of media attention about it's educational system that's almost the opposite of most schools these days, and how it's in Massachusetts.
In other words, when did the government stop being the Province of Massachusetts Bay? 76.102.31.185 (talk) 06:52, 9 April 2008 (UTC)
The "climate" section has codes or something that arent working. Alot of the coding like stuff is messed up. I do not know how to fix this seeing as how i dont know what it is supposed to be.
--Nick Scratch 14:36, 18 May 2007 (UTC)
Why does this and every other article on the US or western hemisphere always start off as "the first Europeans..?" SUrly there was life before the first European. This as in US text books, make it appear as if the only people of matter were Europeans. It also shows a European only point of view. Some articles discuss the natives, but all articles should discuss the natives and only speak of Europeans as it relates to a settlement which has a name and cities originally started by Europeans. As you know or should know, many states and cities in America were founded and/or named by natives and used by Europeans. Many northern states are native in origin. I know the country as it is would not be what it is because of Europeans (not the 'ethnics,' but the Anglo/German related peoples), but it did not start with them.--71.235.81.39 04:33, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Would a source only be some book or document written by someone? You do realize that most of history is not compiled from actual written documents right?--71.235.81.39 14:00, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
I think this section should be revamp or deleted. Latest census estimates shows that Massachusetts has gained 49,638 residents from 2000 to 2004 according to the latest Boston Globe article about population, quoted below.
"During the same period, however, Massachusetts gained a total of 49,638 residents, inching up to nearly 6.4 million residents, the Census Bureau said. Earlier this year, the Census reported that between 2000 and 2004, Massachusetts experienced an average annual exodus of 42,402 people. That figure is in part offset by new migrants and births, so that the net population actually increased in the first half of the decade."
Also, the Boston Globe article about how people are leaving is not based on any scientific factors, other than searching for a bunch of people who have left. Of course, they would say they love leaving. Who would admit they made a big mistake especially since they haven't lived in the new place long enough. I think that reference should be deleted.
-ka1ser2 09:10, 21 June 2006 (UTC)
How about a section on the climate?
You really can't do a section on climate, weather varies way too much. Yanksox 02:33, 18 February 2006 (UTC)
Iggy880 16:02, 13 December 2006 (UTC) The weather of Massachusetts is highly varied throughout the year, and is usually dependant on the distance one is from the shore areas. As most North-Eastern, and New England states, it has a very cold winter, usually hanging within 10-20 degrees of freezing with a high chance of snow fall up to the a couple feet per snow fall. The spring and summers are fairly mild, with a chance of heat waves ranging to low hundreds. During hurricane season, the coastal areas have a tendancy to catch at least the tail end of a hurricane as it moves up the coast from Florida and out to sea, as well as a chance of flooding.
I think this history given for the nickname "Bay State" may be wrong in this article. I believe it has less to do with the actual bays in the state and more to do with the English charter that resulted in the settlement of Boston and Salem (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Bay_Colony). One may argue that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was named from the may bays in the area (I have no idea), but it seems odd not to mention the colony or the charter at all.
"Bay Staters" is mentioned as the official name for people from Massachusetts, but to be honest, I've heard "Masshole" far more frequently. It's at least partially derogatory, though -- would it be inappropriate to include "Masshole" in the article? CSWarren 00:00, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
I've actually heard "bay stater" sometimes and "masshole" never. Frankly, unlike New Yorkers or Californians, Baystaters don't really use a term other than "Massachusetts resident" or "people from Massachusetts."—Mark Adler (markles) 02:15, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
Masshole is gaining slightly in popularity, but it could be because I'm near R.I. It seems to be pretty popular there. Sahasrahla 22:02, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
I've never heard masshole used in conversation. I know people that call themselves that, but it doesn't seem to be a word used in common dialogue DrIdiot 00:43, 15 March 2006 (UTC)
Mass Resident Rebukes this Garbage I am a proud Massachusetts resident... I read this page and was really quite offened...
1. We are the "Bay State" not ... "Bay Staters"
2. The Gay Marriage was taken off the books here and so the immature slurs are stupid... As for my wife and I, we don't care if someone is or not.
3. We would punch anyone who called us "Massholes"
4. We have no State Doughnut being "Boston Cream" anymore than "French Fries" are the National Food of France. Please check your references better for this article. I will surely keep a watch on it and have many more friends from my state keep a watch on it. --merlinus 23:21, 13 April 2006 (UTC)Merlinus--merlinus 23:21, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
5. We have been called the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from colonial times and thats not about to change soon.
Mass Resident supports this Garbage
I am also a Semi-Proud citizen of Massachusetts, and I hear Masshole quite alot.--71.232.85.127 04:27, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.162.229.42 (talk) 19:11, 1 February 2008 (UTC)
-- I am also a Mass resident and there is a new name going around for a resident, a "Yah-Dood" because that is what we say to each other a lot, i.e. ; you going the bah? Yah dood.
-- I thought Masshole was just used for Massachusetts drivers who are, um, not nice? Pam
Like any other group, Massachusetts residents are grouped based on the worst that people from other areas encounter. I heard the term "masshole" from a bunch of Maine residents, apparently based on how people from Massachusetts behave when vacationing in Maine. - Denimadept (talk) 21:33, 16 April 2008 (UTC)
We need a new article, History of Massachusetts.--Mark Adler (Markles) 11:36, 27 December 2005 (UTC)
I added the slavery ruling and rephrased that line, which may be enough before reading the main History article. I marked the edit 'm' in a technically incorrect way and maybe it isn't minor either. Revising the prepositions in Geography is minor, I know. 64.48.73.24 20:40, 28 July 2006 (UTC)
Suggestion: Try to focus on facts in the very begiing of the article: Why not instead name our states flower "Mayflower" Its Motto: "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty" Its state bird "The Chickadee." Its Highest Point: Mt. Greylock; 3491 feet... Its loose and ungainly and one would have to push a dozen links and read a lot of garbage to learn the most minor facts about Massachusetts. (By ANONYMOUS poster-- please use ~~~~, and proper section headings.)
The Massachusetts Senate is the second oldest democratic deliberative body in the world.
Surely this can't be right? It can hardly be holder than the Icelandic Althing or the British Parliament? --Pinnerup 13:11, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
Well, I found a source for the claim; none other than the MA Secretary of the Commonwealth website: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cismaf/mf1b.htm -- which says "The Massachusetts Senate is the second oldest democratic deliberative body in the world." -- but nothing else on the topic. The MA League of Women Voters website, http://www.lwvma.org/govlegislative.shtml says: "The Massachusetts Senate is the second oldest democratic deliberative body in the world. It has been deliberating since the creation of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter, more than three centuries ago. The British Parliament is older."
However, I'm still skeptical. There are many older democratic assemblies, especially when you include sub-national bodies, as Massachusetts is. Not only is there the Althing, but other possible contenders like Løgting, Tynwald (Tynwald is usually said to be the oldest Parliament in continuous existence in the world), General Council of the Valleys, the Virginia General Assembly (which like the MA Senate has colonial roots, in this case the House of Burgesses), the Canton of Glarus, Appenzell Innerrhoden, as well as various subnational bodies like New England town assemblies (Salem, Massachusetts, for example), Dutch local assemblies, various Scandanavian local bodies, etc etc -- while the Parliament of the United Kingdom dates only to the 1707 Act of Union, so if it is supposed to be older than the MA Senate, in the form of the Parliament of England one assumes, then one should also take into account the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of Ireland.
So maybe, I thought, the word "deliberative" is the key, but in looking into it (starting with Deliberative democracy, Deliberative assembly, Representative assembly, Thing (assembly), List of types of democracy, and so on, it seems to me that either the term "democratic deliberative body" is too narrow even for the early MA Senate to count, or it is broad enough for all the above listed assemblies to count.
So, unless someone can enlighten me, I will probably change the text to something like "the MA Senate claims to be the 2nd oldest...", with a link to their website, and leave it at that. Pfly 04:29, 25 November 2006 (UTC)
"Every year, Boston has a St. Patrick's Day Parade that in recent years has tried to be ethnicly inclusive."
What kind of namby-pamby BS is this? First of all, 'South Boston' is where the St. Patrick's Day parade takes place. No Bostonian would refer to it as "Boston." Secondly, the parade is a celebration of Irish heritage...and there have been no efforts on the part of organizers to make it "inclusive" of other ethnicities.
This comment should be remove, as it reflects neither factually nor in spirit, the topic in question.
Would this section be better-titled Emigration? Sahasrahla 23:29, 21 May 2006 (UTC)
Why in the world did people have to give Massachusetts a name that is so horribly difficult to spell? JIP | Talk 07:02, 19 July 2006 (UTC)
See also Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Mississippi!
This article has been doubled in size by an anonymous user cloning the entire article and then adding is at the end. Here was the edit:
This could have been vandalism or it could be inadvertent, but it is causing problems. I have not reverted as there have been edits since then, presumably by editors who did not know of the above action. It needs to be reverted and the subsequent edits added back, or the redundant text deleted before the problem gets worse. Kablammo 18:27, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
Eh, what about the countries origins? And that it was one of the northern colonies?
As a note, Mitt Romney will continue to be the governor until Deval Patrick is inaugurated on 1/4/2007. Deval Patrick's election would be a welcome addition to the text of this article, however please do not change the infobox until Patrick's inauguration. Rhobite 04:58, 8 November 2006 (UTC)
This article gets worse and worse every time I look at it. Don't you people have any pride in your native state? Or are you men without a country? The article for whatever reasons - probably mainly vandalism - has gotten huge and unmanageable. I've been puzzling over how just to start fixing it. Here is where I think we should start. A number of topics have been placed in "main articles" with links to the main articles. With one exception, these sections did not in fact put the material in the main article. The section goes on for a whole page. Is this part of the redundancy vandalism or what? As a result some ideas and topics get repeated, and more than once. We don't need any Massachusetts history in this article, not even a summary. Someone rightly started another article on it. And the geography also, what's that doing in there when there is another article on it? Furthermore, the "geography" contains some etymology, thus giving us two explanation of the name. So, we don't need a reconciliation with the main article, we need to make the main article the main article and get rid of those pages in this article. And then there is the one on Law and Government. We don't need two Massachusetts governments, one is enough. I made minimal contributions when this article was an article and not a joke, but I see someone has taken it on himself to rewrite language and history so I will have to fix that. Now, I'm not doing this article myself. I have other things to do. Meanwhile, enough is enough. The world wants to know about Massachusetts and all we seem to be able to offer is puerile jokes. I know the education level in Massachusetts is high due to the large number of colleges here, and students like to "joke" (some of them being pretty vicious). But, education should bring some sense of responsibility. If you don't like it, set yourself up a punching bag and refund your parents' money. So, get busy and fix this article, please.Dave 02:33, 21 November 2006 (UTC)
Although the name Massachusetts does indeed mean something like place of the great hill, it is unlikely that the hill was the little bump south of Boston. It is more likely that the hill was Mount Wachusett because it had a commanding view over the entire region. The Nipmuc Indians (not sure of the spelling) lived there. They are mentioned in the Westborough, Massachusetts article as well as others. They lived as far west as the Connecticut River, as far north as Mount Monadnock, and as far south as Connecticut's Seven Mile River. They named most everything. Even the Quabbin Reservoir used the Nipmuc name, meaning meeting of the waters, although named by Bostonians long after their demise. I strongly suggest that reference to that little bump near Norwood be rethought! It was somebody's guess and I'm sure it's not correct. --LymanSchool 13:52, 5 December 2006 (UTC)
are there any assessments done on individual cities healthcare? or a comparison between ma cities healthcare wise. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 62.232.156.44 (talk) 20:58, 10 December 2006 (UTC).
This section: Massachusetts#Colleges and universities is out of hand. What is the point of having a list of 62 colleges when there are articles specifically devoted to the topic, namely:
I propose to eliminate this section, and describe and enumerate in prose about ten--not in list form--and point readers to the two links to already existing lists elsewhere. Arguments against eliminating the section should indicate what the policy should be for preventing the list from growing again. -- Yellowdesk 03:16, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
The Wikipedia page on Dispatch says that they formed in Middlebury, Vermont. Although they are commonly associated with Massachusetts (especially given their concert at the Hatch Shell), should they be listed among acts that started in Massachusetts? --Domukaz —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.61.22.94 (talk) 00:50, 8 January 2007 (UTC).
How about setting up a timeline of significant events that took place within Massachusetts? -- UniReb 07:57, 19 January 2007 (EST)
I'm thinking of spending a little time cleaning up some of the Massachusetts article. I'd like to create "see also" lists for National Park Service sites, famous people (Musicians,inventors, political figures,authors and poets etc.) or merge them with the categories already created. Any thoughts????????--Pmeleski 14:28, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
It's desirable to move the article in the direction of confirming to the outline at Wikipedia:WikiProject_U.S._States. In large part it conforms to that outline, but could move closer to the outline if no strong reasons are found for diverging from it. -- Yellowdesk 04:40, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
I have failed this article according to the standards of the GA criteria. The article has several tags for cleanup, requests for inline citations, one of the images doesn't have a fair use rationale, and many statements should have inline citations added to help the reader establish verifiability. I'd recommend looking over the criteria,address these issues, and then renominate again. Good work so far with being very broad, plenty of images, and a good start on references. If you have any questions about this review please contact me on my talk page. --Nehrams2020 19:02, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
There is a new series of Geology of <state> articles. Only a handful have been written, nothing for Mass. yet. Nevertheless this seems important. Geology is the foundation of geography and even explains a fair amount of history (Mesozoic rifting along Connecticut River Valley bounds Pleistocene Lake Hitchcock, whose sediments create rich farmland encouraging early settlement in contrast with thin soils of hilltowns where settlement lagged about 100 years and so history has played out very differently...
I hope anyone who has at least taken a few courses in the regional geology will dive into this project. LADave 23:37, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
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I don't know who decided that Massachusetts was (IPA) /ˌmɒ.səˈtʃu.sɪts/ (X-SAMPA /%mQ.s@"tSu.sIts/, "mohsuhchoosits, for those who require it), but as a resident of the state who has lived here for his entire life, I can say that I have never heard anyone pronounce the first vowel as /ɒ/, only as /æ/ (X-SAMPA /{/, "a" as in cat for those who require it). Sectori 21:22, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Perhaps it should be mentioned. Massachusetts is the only (of the 50 US states) American state that leaves its Governorship vacant, after its Governor dies, resigns or is removed from office. The next-in-line succeeds only to the powers & duties as Acting Governor (not the Governorship itself). GoodDay 23:58, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
Someone should really add this... I looked up the state just to find out about that and there's ZIP.
Some of the total area, land area, and population density information in the infobox are inconsistent (from US to SI), or wrong. I'm correcting it based on data at the US Census Bureau webpage: , and based on a conversion of 2.59 sqkm/sqmi. Don't know why infoboxes aren't set up for something like {{Unit area}}, but that's a question for another talk page. --barneca (talk) 16:51, 5 September 2007 (UTC)
I noticed someone was building a geography section, but left it unfinished and commented it out - unfortunately, nesting multiple 'close comment' tags won't work, so it displayed a bit of a mess on the page. I've removed this incomplete geology section - it'll be available in the version history if anyone feels like completing it. Jodamn 03:59, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
massachusetts was one of the first places to free slaves. many slaves tried to escaped and go to massachusetts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.208.220.126 (talk) 23:01, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
Why is the Kennedy family given precedence over other such political families as the Adams'? And Calvin Coolidge? - Denimadept (talk) 22:45, 24 January 2008 (UTC)
I've lived in Massachusetts all my life, and I've been called a "Bostonian", not a "Bay Stater". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.6.243.42 (talk) 03:42, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
Okay, is it possible there is no "Demonym" for Massachusetts? I've never heard "Bay Stater" anywhere. - Denimadept (talk) 14:21, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
See section below. Dpbsmith (talk) 23:05, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
Frankslapperinni (talk) 16:34, 5 September 2008 (UTC) Bostonian really only applies to people in Boston. I do hear Mass-hole all the time though. Maybe it could be an Alternate Demonym? I must say even though people probably "take offence" (Bawww...) to the term, it doesn't change the fact that it's the most common one.
See the first foot note in the article. "Bostonian" just gets used a great deal because most people in the state live near Boston, but Bay Stater is user all the time. Hiberniantears (talk) 17:35, 5 September 2008 (UTC)
A recent editor changed the denonym from "Bay Stater" to "Massachusettsan." An online search of the Boston Globe from 1980 to the present turns up 811 occurrences of "Bay Stater" and zero, zip, zilch, nada occurrences of "Massachusettsan." Dpbsmith (talk) 22:57, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
A similar check of the Boston Herald from 1991 to the present turns up exactly one occurrence of the word "Massachusettsan." It is an editorial. It is an editorial scorning Howard Dean's campaign for using the word, and noting:
Anyone who tries to verbalize that demonym knows writing "Massachusetts resident" or the standard "Bay Stater" would have been much cleaner. Rather than his opinion against ours, we decided to get a ruling - and, thank goodness, the state has official EVERYTHING. So we refer the Dean camp to Chapter 2, Section 35 of the Massachusetts General Laws granting the designation of the citizens of the commonwealth--Bay Stater.
Dpbsmith (talk) 23:00, 29 March 2008 (UTC)
Here's the actual reference: Massachusetts General Laws, Section 2, Chapter 35, which reads, in full:
Chapter 2: Section 35. Designation of citizens of commonwealth Section 35. Bay Staters shall be the official designation of citizens of the commonwealth.
I just removed a few links that I don't think belong - one was added by someone who was "spamming" many different articles including this one. Still there remain 22 external links, which seems excessive to me. If anyone cares to go through the other links and trim more, that would be great. Or is some rationale for all these links? --Aude (talk) 23:06, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
User Middleforkmaps added external link to interactive mapsachusetts mapping site
An online guide to the State of Massachussets —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bernini2 (talk • contribs) 21:41, 1 April 2009 (UTC)
How can the state be wider than it is long? Can someone more facile with these boxes than I correct this? Sfahey (talk) 23:44, 2 March 2009 (UTC)
1. Basketball Hall of Fame
2. Patriots Hall of Fame
3. Home of gymnast, Alica Sacromone
4. Boston Red Sox
5. Boston Bruins
6. New England Patriots
7. Boston Celtics
8. And of course, THE HOME OF THE YANKEE HATERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.229.212.146 (talk) 00:13, 1 April 2009 (UTC)
The other uses tag states "This article is about the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts." Shouldn't this say "US State of Massachusetts"? It is a US State which uses the word Commonwealth in its official name. Calling it "The US Commonwealth of Massachusetts" separates it from the other states. Archons (talk) 00:26, 27 May 2009 (UTC)
I believe that sales tax for MA is going to change and the article needs to be revised. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.10.253.229 (talk) 15:38, 8 July 2009 (UTC)
The article states, as of 2004 MA would be the sixth state/jurisdiction in the world legalizing same-sex marriage. This "ranking" cannot be correct as at least Germany adopted a federal act on same-sex marriage taking effect 1. August 2001. Since there is no current list on this legislation -regarding further countries- I think it would be better to mention this fact w/o a rank. --92.50.109.251 (talk) 11:44, 18 July 2009 (UTC)
¶ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.78.38.73 (talk) 20:01, 20 January 2010 (UTC)
Just a quick note; is the Massachusetts constitution truly the oldest functioning constitution? It was written in 1780, but Vermont's constitution was written in 1777, and has not been given up. 147.126.46.145 (talk)
I would love to some some information about the Mafia and other sources of corruption in the MA gov't. I don't personally know any sources. Howeveer, myself and many others that lived there with me seem to think there is a lot going on behind the scenes to cause things like construction to be so wasteful and low quality (ie. sidewalks, roads etc.), especially for an otherwise wealthy state. If anyone has info on that, please post some, I'd love to see it! Thanks. Demis (talk) 18:52, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
Does anyone else think there's a little too much info on Westfield State College: "Massachusetts is also home to several other state funded 2 and 4 year colleges, including Westfield State College in the western portion of the state. Westfield State College has a rich history in Massachusetrts and boasts an array of undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Most well known for their education and criminal justice programs, Westfield State has more recently expanded graduate offerings through its Division of Graduate and Continuing Education to include Social Work, Psychology, English, Accountancy, and Public Administration, as well as a host of online courses."
This sounds like a college catalog to me. While we're at it, why don't we bring up all the other state colleges and their various undergraduate and graduate offerings...!?!? you get the point. 71.243.119.203 (talk) 20:14, 2 March 2010 (UTC)bacarolle
{{geodata-check}}
The coordinates need the following fixes:
72.173.20.105 (talk) 17:23, 6 March 2010 (UTC)
I propose deleting the reference to English as the "official language" of the Commonwealth. Contrary to WP:V, the assertion is not sourced. The article on the so-called English-only movement does provide a reference to Article XX of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, which provides an English language test for voting and holding office. The amendment is unconstitutional insofar as it imposes a literacy test on voters.[1] I am not sure whether the constitutionality of the Amendment has ever been tested insofar as it imposes a literacy test on candidates for office, but I think the constitutionality of the provision would be in question. And in any case, Amendment XX does not declare that English is the official language of the Commonwealth, as does, for example, Article 3, Section 6 of the California Constitution or Amendment 28 to the Arizona Constitution. In the absence of such an explicit declaration, and given the unclear meaning of "official language" in any case, there is no good basis for the assertion as far as I can tell. Tfolkman (talk) 01:08, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
I'm planning on nominating the article for GA status pretty soon, but I'd like someone who knows more about Massachusetts than I do to take a look at a few things - most of the specifics can be found here. Thanks in advance. AlexiusHoratius 13:29, 4 June 2010 (UTC)
Isn't "Mass" a common nickname (technically: abbreviation) for Massachusetts, not only in the region, but in many parts of the U.S.? Shouldn't this be stated somewhere? --TimothyDexter (talk) 06:09, 24 December 2010 (UTC)
Noticed two glaring errors as a citizen of Massachusetts and from taking Mass & Federal Political Science. Below are the main points:
1.) Governor of Massachusetts official title is not Governor of Massachusetts. His Constitutional title is Governor of The Commonwealth. 2.) It should be noted, but is not, that in Massachusetts the Lt. Governor does not assume the office of the Governor of The Commonwealth in absence, resignation, or death of the Governor, but rather becomes Acting Governor. All laws signed by Jane Swift where signed as "Lt. Governor Jane Swift, Acting Governor of The Commonwealth" and when she came before the General Court for State of The Commonwealth Address she was announced as "Lt. Governor Jane Swift, Acting Governor of The Commonwealth". This is a rather important political point since the majority of the states allow for Lt. Governors to assume the office of the Governor of that state for absence, resignation, or death. 3.) The article states no "practical" difference between a Commonwealth and a State then references a book on Kentucky, not Massachusetts. There is a practical difference. What the state refers to as "the New England town" form of government is actually one of the practical differences. In a Commonwealth, municipalities are directly incorporated into the higher state/federal government with a county designated as a regional division. All municipalities through a Charter issued by the General Court are allowed to create By Laws which if approved by the Town Meeting (a quorum of the citizenry) and submitted to the office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth, where there be no violation by the By Law of Massachusetts General Law & Amendments (MGL and/or MGLA) is allowed to stand as a sort of "Local Law" applicable within the boarders of the Town. In a State all municipalities are incorporated into the county which is then incorporated into the state/federal government with a county acting like a "mini state" with certain local law enacting powers. Thus, in a Commonwealth for all practical reasons counties are irrelevant and redundant which is why several counties including Franklin and Hamden have abolished theirs. 4.) Under Government it should be noted there are five Constitutional Officers of Massachusetts and this should be noted in that their titles are different from states. These include: The Governor of The Commonwealth, Lt. Governor of The Commonwealth, Sec. of The Commonwealth, Treasurer of The Commonwealth, Attorney General of The Commonwealth. Massachusetts does not have a Sec. of State, that office is fulfilled by the Sec. of The Commonwealth and the use of Sec. of State is a common mistake made by national news when covering elections in the Commonwealth. 5.) Finally, it should be noted that Massachusetts citizens are fiercely proud of their Townships and Cities. Most citizens identify themselves first and foremost as being from a certain municipality before stating the region of Massachusetts and then the actual Commonwealth itself. Example: I'm John Smith and I'm from New Salem which is in Western Mass in Franklin County.
For accuracy these points should be considered so as to prevent confusion from people who are trying to learn about Massachusetts. All of this information is basic and required knowledge to pass any Mass & Federal Political Science course at the College Level at any College located within the Commonwealth. AdamsRice (talk) 00:35, 13 January 2011 (UTC)
I've put together an animated SVG showing population flows within Massachusetts for each decade between 1850 and 2009, available at http://toolserver.org/~emw/Massachusetts_municipal_population_flows.svg. I've also uploaded it at File:Massachusetts municipal population flows.svg. If anyone reading this uses Chrome, Opera or Firefox 4 (beta), then I would appreciate feedback on how the animation could be improved. I would like to eventually put the animation (possibly ported to .ogv video format) into the article space including any improvements suggested here. Emw (talk) 17:06, 26 February 2011 (UTC)
I will be posting a table of the underlying population count data to my userspace soon. Emw (talk) 17:38, 26 February 2011 (UTC)
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An editor, User:OuroborosCobra, is insisting (e.g. here) that "Bay Staters" is the official formal designation for residents of Massachusetts and that we should use that instead of "Massachusetts residents" or similar nomenclature in formal passages.
Hopefully it's obvious that this is silly. The editor's case is based on the fact that (according to him) somewhere sometime a bureaucrat somewhere signed a proclamation making "Bay Stater" the official name of the state or something: "The fact that it [Bay Stater] is the official demonym of the state means that it's use isn't informal. It is a formal designation. "Bay Stater" is what a citizen of Massachusetts is formally called. Masshole would be informal" he says in his last edit summary.
This is nonsense in my opinion. No politician or clerk can dictate what nomenclature the Wikipedia must use for political entities. So that leaves us to fall back on our Manual of Style and common sense. I believe that these inform us that as a practical matter "Bay Stater" is an informal nickname. We don't write "158 Show-Me Staters were killed in the Joplin tornadoes" and so forth, and hopefully we aren't going to start. Herostratus (talk) 13:23, 5 July 2011 (UTC)
At more than 133, 000 bytes this article appears too long to download, read, and navigate comfortably. Please see WP:SPLIT. Some sections are already linked to a main article. In such cases it may be possible to transfer text into their respective main articles. New articles could possibly be created as needed to transfer more text. The benefit of these new and existing main articles is there plenty of room for expansion. This is not really the case for this particular article ---- Steve Quinn (talk) 06:33, 3 August 2011 (UTC)
Sorry - let me change that to three or four paragraphs in the geography section of Manitoba. ---- Steve Quinn (talk) 07:18, 10 August 2011 (UTC)
The article's "readable prose size" is currently 34K; based on WP:SIZERULE there is room for more material. (I justify inclusion of these specific items because they serve as background to the state's rise as a merchant and industrial power. Mention of the early slave trade is an important counterpoint to the state's later abolitionist position.) Magic♪piano 12:54, 10 August 2011 (UTC)
I went ahead and added back the old ecology section (which could perhaps be shortened in some places) and most of the old history section. I tried to cut nearly all of the unsourced stuff out of the old history section, which included most of the material on western Mass. If someone has access to books or knows of good websites, I think a sentence or two on the settlement of western Massachusetts, along with a sentence on the Springfield Armory would be good here - I just didn't have any books in front of me (the one I used was checked out from the library). The sections I re-added aren't set in stone or anything, and cuts or additions could be made in places - like I said earlier, I've been trying to basically follow the Virginia and Manitoba articles for guides as to the length of these sections. AlexiusHoratius 03:18, 25 August 2011 (UTC)
The land area is given as 10,555 sq mi. The population density is given as 809 per sq mile. If these numbers are correct, the population of Massachusetts would be 8,538,995. It is given as 6,547,629. Either the population density is lower, the land area smaller, or the population is 2 million higher. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.93.248.127 (talk) 14:42, 7 November 2011 (UTC)
I was surprised to see the claim that the Massachusetts state and local tax burden ranked 23rd in the nation - so I followed the link. In fact it ranks 11th, and when combined with federal taxes, it ranks 8th.
See reference #120 for confirmation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.218.178.144 (talk) 03:42, 8 May 2012 (UTC)
Estimate 2020? There are a lot of refs under the numbers and the increase is too large for Massachusetts, only small increase of population like whole New England and northern East Coast, but however is a 2020 estimate not a bit too heavy? I mean even 2015 is hard, the financial crisis and debt crisis is very important for the immigration which generates most of the population increase in this area... so I think it is maybe "interesting" but nothing for wikipedia, not yet ;) Quickfacts (census.gov):
Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012 1.5% (Massachusetts), 1.7% (USA)
Population, percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011 0.9% (Massa.) 0.9% (USA)
Population, 2010 (April 1) Census 6,547,629
Population, 2011 estimate 6,607,003
Population, 2012 estimate 6,646,144
So the increase already slowed down from July 1, 2011 until July 1, 2012 compared to the US total increase. Greetings from Europe :D Kilon22 (talk) 15:19, 29 January 2013 (UTC)
We have a regular IP vandalism of this article for already quite some time. Should I configure pending changes for the page?--Ymblanter (talk) 21:34, 10 May 2013 (UTC)
Can someone change the Junior Senator to Ed Markey (D)? He will be sworn in within a few days. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.233.8.146 (talk) 19:45, 26 June 2013 (UTC)
In 2002 the Massachusetts legislature voted English as the official language. Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.63.91.128 (talk) 05:22, 23 April 2013 (UTC)
Why is there nothing on the Boston Housing Development Corporation!? Christopher Hagar (talk) 18:57, 15 February 2014 (UTC)
See http://www.mass.gov/governor/terms-of-use.html. If I have read this correctly, images of Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Polito can be uploaded. MB298 (talk) 03:51, 12 February 2016 (UTC)
Latin is used in the state's motto in Massachusetts, so can we at least put a translation of the commonwealth's official name into the article? it seems relevant to me, its not like I wrote "Republic of Massachusetts" in Assyrian Neo Aramaic, i wrote it in Latin which is relevant to the state. --user:Neddy1234
Reviewer: Buffaboy (talk · contribs) 00:57, 13 May 2015 (UTC)
O.K., I have nothing going on the next couple of days and will be bored out of my mine. Since my GA reviews are concentrated on the U.S., I will review Massachusetts. Beware this may take a week or two, or longer depending on whether or not it's in good shape. Buffaboy talk 00:57, 13 May 2015 (UTC)
@Winner 42: Do you want to keep the section headings under "History?" Buffaboy talk 04:14, 1 June 2015 (UTC)
@Buffaboy: While I did say there is no deadline, I was wondering if you intend to finish this review. It's fine if you would like to pass it on to someone else, I would just prefer that it doesn't stay in on hold limbo indefinitely. Thanks for your efforts so far. Winner 42 Talk to me! 01:53, 8 June 2015 (UTC)
Please fix "Massac" and change to "Massachusetts". Thank you. 129.170.195.165 (talk) 05:10, 22 May 2016 (UTC)
Is another demonym in the literature, was the term used by John Adams to define himself (and distinguish himself from Jefferson, who was a "Virginian") -- see Letters of Members of the Continental Congress, Volume 1, p.515:
Mr Jefferson desired me to take them to my lodgings and make the draught. This I declined and gave several reasons for declining. 1. That he was a Virginian and I a Massachusettensian. 2. That he was a southern man and I a northern one.
The term comes from a Latin construction meaning "from" or "of" Massachusetts, which is a demonymized form of the Latin used on the state seal and flag (and thus its use as a demonymic term). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.187.160.52 (talk) 07:59, 27 June 2015 (UTC) I'm pretty sure though the correct term is "Massachusettsian), but yeah Massachusettensian is not very bad 96.237.16.157 (talk) 18:20, 10 October 2015 (UTC)
"Massachusettsian" is incorrect and virtually nowhere attested. However, "Massachusettensian" is so thoroughly proper, attested, and formally (and verifiably) correct that it is improper that any other really should appear at all; at the very least it should be listed as first instead of third. The proper and historically attested demonym of Massachusetts is "Massachusettensian", deriving from the Latin noun for the state, "massachusettens, ensis, f." 129.170.195.165 (talk) 05:13, 22 May 2016 (UTC)
Many early edits to this article are missing; see the above-linked Phabricator task for details. Graham87 13:53, 2 October 2016 (UTC)
An editor inserted File:The First Thanksgiving cph.3g04961.jpg (shown here) in the "Colonial period" section, and I'm skeptical that this is appropriate. This looks like an idealization and was painted about 1912, long after the event, and in time when propaganda about this sort of thing would have probably been rife. We are supposed to document history not somebody's notion of what history might have been. On this basis I suggest the image should probably be removed, but I haven't done this, as I'm not sure. Herostratus (talk) 14:17, 14 November 2016 (UTC)
For what it's worth, I agree completely that such an image has no place in an encyclopedia, considering the topic. --TimothyDexter (talk) 03:46, 27 November 2016 (UTC)
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The fourth Demonym "Masshole" (Informal) might be a good addition. I don't really know.
I came to this talk page to find exactly this. Maybe "Mass-hole (pejorative)".--75.81.51.47 (talk) 17:10, 25 October 2014 (UTC)
Hi. I tried to add "Masshole (vulgar)" (WITH the link to the news article that it had been included in the OED) and someone took it right down with a tag "Let's not." This is a bummer to me. I have never heard of the other demonyms and I hear "masshole" all the time. Yes, it's vulgar, but Wikipedia is supposed to provide useful information, not just the information people deem "polite," right? It's been a long time since I was actively contributing to Wikipedia and I've lost track of how one is supposed to go about arguing these things... and I have many other causes to fight... but if someone wants to pick this up, I think it really should be included.
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Please add your discussion in the appropriate section. Only start a new section if the discussion is on a new topic. |
76.102.31.185 (talk) 06:52, 9 April 2008 (UTC)
At the top of the "Cities, Towns and Counties" section, there is a 'main article' link to the Local Government section of the Government of Massachusetts article. That section then has a 'main article' link to the Administrative Divisions of Massachusetts article. Wouldn't it be simpler if the 'main article' bit for the "Cities, Towns and Counties" section linked directly to the Administrative Divisions of Massachusetts article?
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