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Massachusetts was originally
inhabited by several Algonquian Native American Indian tribes,
including
the Massachusetts.
The first recorded exploration
of Massachusetts was 1498,
when Italian John Cabot explored the Massachusetts coast in search of a
route to Asia.
The first European settlers in
Massachusetts were the
Pilgrims who arrived in Plymouth in 1620 and established friendly
relations with the native Wampanoag tribe. They were soon followed by
Puritans from England seeking a place where they would be free to
practice their religion.
Massachusetts is where the town
meeting form of
self-government, the first regular newspapers and the first private
academies were introduced to America. Harvard University, founded in
Cambridge, MA, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the
United States.
Massachusetts was a center of
American revolutionary
activity. The Battles of Lexington and Concord that initiated the
American Revolutionary War were fought in the Massachusetts towns of
Concord and Lexington.
Massachusetts was the first US
state to abolish slavery in 1783.
During the 1800’s, Massachusetts
and its cities and towns
and people played key roles in the Industrial Revolution with the
development machine tool and textile industries.
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