Talk:Massachusetts

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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.

'Wondering how to edit this State Entry?

The Wikipedia:WikiProject U.S. States standards might help.

76.102.31.185 (talk) 06:52, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

State motto is missing?

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.

The state motto appears at the top of the infobox at the top of the article. AJD (talk) 04:04, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Gay marriage

I'm surprised that there was no reference in the article about how Massachusetts was the first state to legalize gay marriage.

It appears in the second paragraph of the article. AJD (talk) 04:06, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Sudbury valley school

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.

On what date did the Commonwealth begin?

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)

When you find out, your homework will be done, and you can post the information. - Denimadept (talk) 12:06, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Climate

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)

First Europeans?

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)

Because (a) history is written by the winners, (b) Native Americans make up less than 1% of the population, and (c) European settlements left historical records, something largely absent from pre-European inhabitation. By all means, though, if you have sourced information about historical events in Massachusetts pre-1600, I encourage you to add it to the article. RGTraynor 13:49, 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)

Most of history is not compiled from written documents, but it is compiled into written documents. In the article on Vinland, it is mentioned that Vinland, which the Vikings discovered and settled, may have been in Massachusetts. Einar Haugen certainly considered this a distinct possibility.[1] So, would it not be better to say 'probably the first Europeans...', and to mention the opinions that the Vikings may have settled in Massachusetts in the 10th or 11th century? Another possibility might be 'the first Europeans recorded to have...' similar to Encarta.[2] Britannica says 'Leif Eriksson and his Norsemen may have landed somewhere in the Cape Cod region about 1003.'[3] So the current wording appears to be a at least a distinct possibility, and perhaps a probability, but by no means an established fact. Coyets 11:37, 11 October 2007 (UTC)

Outmigration

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.

Source: [4]

-ka1ser2 09:10, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

Climate?

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)

The above comment might be a joke. It is possible to describe the climate of the area, generally of course, but it may be more appropriate for such a description to be brief in this article, referring to some more appropriate article like "northeast" or some such. - Centrx 23:08, 29 March 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.

"Bay State" Etymology Wrong?

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.

Mm, you "believe" ... but do you know one way or another? What one might argue - as opposed to being able to verify - is irrelevant. RGTraynor 23:57, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Mmmm, if I "knew" I would say so or edit the article directly. I was wondering if anyone else had a similar recollection, and thought I might spur a discussion that would lead to a conclusion. Hardly irrelevant given that this is a discussion forum.

Names for residents

"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)

Split

We need a new article, History of Massachusetts.--Mark Adler (Markles) 11:36, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

I agree. We should have a thumbnail History in the main article and a long detailed History article that is separate. Rjensen 23:17, 27 December 2005 (UTC)

Well you've done such a great job expounding on the section, how about you tackle the splitting? -Mark Adler (Markles) 01:24, 28 December 2005 (UTC)

thanks--OK, I will get to work on it Rjensen 01:55, 28 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.)

Oldest deliberative body

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)

Parliament was not always democratic, although I am not familiar with the Althing. --AaronS 18:57, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Althing is definitely older, founded in the year 930. --D. Webb 20:12, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

It would help if the date of the senate was given, so one could check this claim of "second oldest". Unless "deliberative" has some special meaning, I don't believe this claim. The House of Burgesses is older, and the Parliament of England should count, even if it changed a lot over its long history. The Althing is often cited as the oldest democratic body. I'm not sure about the Parliament of Scotland, but it is certainly old. In any case, the claim here really should give the date of the MA Senate's founding, and the oldest democratic body to which the senate is supposedly second to. Also, I assume the claim is supposed to mean "still existing body". Anyway, quite skeptical.. how about the claim be substantiated or removed? Pfly 18:28, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Oop, the linked to Massachusetts General Court gives the founding date as 1630, so there's that at least; still skeptical on the claim though. Pfly 18:32, 24 November 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)

St. Patrick's Day Parade?

"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.

First of all, 'South Boston' is where the St. Patrick's Day parade takes place. No Bostonian would refer to it as "Boston."

It is Boston. I, and I am certain most people, don't care about your opinion of Southie. It is Boston. It is South Boston.

This comment should be remove, as it reflects neither factually nor in spirit, the topic in question.

I agree, but please leave your signature when you post. --jenlight 15:34, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Out-migration

Would this section be better-titled Emigration? Sahasrahla 23:29, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree Emigration is a better section title. Also, reading that section reminds me of an old joke: Will the last person out of Massachusetts please turn out the lights? --Coolcaesar 02:07, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

The name

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!

Help needed with Vandalism

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:

17:04, 13 August 2006 72.152.171.49 (Talk)

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)

I just reverted it back to the old version. None of the edits was really significant -- mostly wikifying years and rounding some percentages to one significant digit. This may well have been an inadvertent duplication. Thanks for the heads up! BCorr|Брайен 19:42, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Eh, what about the countries origins? And that it was one of the northern colonies?

External links

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

I've stripped out a few more: links like the MBTA, the Boston Marathon and the state political parties belong more properly under articles for those entities, and the local NRA branch and genealogy seems a bit off topic. RGTraynor 18:26, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

An online guide to the State of Massachussets —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bernini2 (talk • contribs) 21:41, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

Romney is the governor

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)

So stick an edit tag on the infobox? RGTraynor 05:16, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

Not sure what you mean.. the infobox should be updated on January 4 to reflect Patrick's inauguration. Until then, Mitt Romney is still the governor. Rhobite 00:27, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

The approach used by the Maryland and New York pages, which seems to me to convey the most information most accurately, is to list both in the infobox, with the Governor-Elect labelled as such. For consistency and to head off the repeated erroneous updates that people keep making (and you keep having to revert), I've gone ahead and implemented this. Krinsky 04:25, 20 November 2006 (UTC)

Links to main articles

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)

Reference to Blue Hill

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)

It would be very unlikely that the Massachuset tribe named its local features after areas in Nipmuc territory, any more than we think of the Rhode Island or Vermont capitols when we refer to the "State House." That aside, it's not our business to conduct scholarly research or speculation; see WP:NOR. RGTraynor 18:26, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Well that's what is happening in the following cut/paste: The Massachusetts Bay Colony was named after the indigenous population, the Massachusett, whose name can be segmented as mass-adchu-et, where mass is "great", adchu is "hill" and et is a locative suffix. It has been translated as "at the great hill," "at the place of large hills," or "at the range of hills," with reference to the Blue Hills, or in particular, Great Blue Hill, located on the boundary of Milton and Canton, to the southwest of Boston.[9] The current form of the name results from assimilation.

Please don't lecture me on WP:NOR. That's what I am trying to prevent. Any reference to the little hill south of Boston is conjecture and not bourne by any written evidence. Instead it is an invention (which could be correct, though unlikely) by the editor. ---LymanSchool 19:09, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Far from it ... and for my own account, I'd be deeply hesitant to make any assertions or reversions on a subject about which I'm using terms like "could be correct, though unlikely." As it happens, the premise that the etymology of the word refers to the Blue Hills is widespread, and a casual Google search turns up many links referencing the same: [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]. It is not remotely conjecture or original research on the part of the editor. RGTraynor 15:36, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

healthcare

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).

List of Colleges section is superfluous

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:

• List of colleges and universities in Massachusetts and
• List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston

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)

I agree. Dpbsmith (talk) 23:50, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

I removed the list December 29, 2007, with links to the two list pages, and a comment in text requesting that the list not be recreated here. -- Yellowdesk 20:10, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

List of Massachusetts bands/musicians

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).

Timeline of Massachusetts history

How about setting up a timeline of significant events that took place within Massachusetts? -- UniReb 07:57, 19 January 2007 (EST)

Massachusetts Lists

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)

In favor: I was about to post a similar proposal. (I pushed the huge list of colleges off of this article by referencing the lists a couple of months ago.) Lets push the following into pages named something like (naming needs improvement):

• List of Massachusetts Federal historic sites, parks, refuges, scenic and heritage areas
• List of Massachusettts bands
• List of Massachusetts politicians
• List of Massachusetts authors.
• List of Massachusetts inventors
• List of Massachusetts Actors

the see also list is starting to get out of hand too. Perhaps time for two or three columns on that.

the population breakdown by religion/sect could use come space-saving compression too. And references. -- Yellowdesk 23:32, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Conforming to suggested outline at WikiProject U.S. States

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)

GA failed

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)

This seems reasonable, but I don't think the article as it stands now should be tagged with the "needs cleanup" label any more. Sfahey 21:14, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Geology anyone?

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)

Fair use rationale for Image:Umasslogo.gif

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Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 16:13, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Pronunciation

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)

Gubernatorial Vacancies

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)

you sure its only massachusetts? Gang14 02:16, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Err, not really, but New Jersey recently changed their own constitution, to allow 'full' gubernatorial succession. GoodDay 17:21, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

well once your are sure and when u have a referance then add it I say. Gang14 18:04, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Why no healthcare section

Someone should really add this... I looked up the state just to find out about that and there's ZIP.

Area and density information

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: [12], 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)

Someone's unfinished edit?

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)

sloavery in massachusetts

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)

Other presidents from Massachusetts

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)

"Bay Stater"? What?

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)

Yeah, I've never heard "Bay Stater" either. I have heard Masshole, but that doesn't sound very encyclopaedic. - Denimadept (talk) 04:56, 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)

I hear "Bay Stater" now and then on the WHDH newscasts; and legally, we are Bay Staters. That said, I don't think it's commonly used. Sahasrahla (talk) 15:51, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

I think I'd rather be a Massachusetts Dweller, or maybe a Red Sox Fan. I think that'd be more to the point, yeah: you live in Massachusetts, you're by definition a Red Sox Fan. Who's with me? - Denimadept (talk) 16:24, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

The term was not uncommon when I gew up there in the 60s. However, "Bay State" would be far more apt for Maryland, which is dominated by (Baltimore crime and) the Chesapeake Bay. It would be a triumph for both parties if legislators from the two states could get together and give the nickname to Maryland while calling for Mass. to become the "Cradle of Liberty". Any takers? Sfahey (talk) 03:22, 13 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)

I too was a "Baystater", for my first 25 years. I now live in Maryland, which surrounds and is much influenced by Chesapeake Bay. Some clever Maryland pol would do well to try to get "Baystate" from Mass. and let Mass. become "The Cradle of Liberty". Sfahey (talk) 18:20, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

"Massachusettsan?"

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.

. Dpbsmith (talk) 23:02, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Infobox error

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)

The width is East to West, the height North to South. Even including the islands and stuff like that, MA is wider than it is long. --OuroborosCobra (talk) 07:40, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Yes, but it reads "length", not "height".Sfahey (talk) 16:06, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Well considering we are talking about a flat object, not something growing up from the ground, "height" may not be accurate. It is most likely a standard term for the infoboxes. Regardless, it is still correct. --OuroborosCobra (talk) 19:17, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Sports

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 US "Commonwealth"

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)

Yes, and there are a number of others which call themselves "Commonwealth" too. Check it out. - Denimadept (talk) 02:48, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Here's the list: Commonwealth#U.S._states - Denimadept (talk) 02:50, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

I'm aware of the list. My point is that it is the name of a state. The word commonwealth does not separate it from the 46 states that do not use that name.