1. Massachusetts
By Devonta Kirkendoll

2. Massachusetts Information
Capital: Boston
Population: 6,547,629
Size: 10,554 square miles
Nickname(s): Bay State
Motto: (“By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.
Tree: American Elm
Flower: Mayflower
Bird: Chickadee

3. Massachusetts Facts
•After a harsh winter that claimed the lives of half of the Mayflower’s original immigrants from England in 1620, the Pilgrims were taught to plant corn and survive in the wilderness by Native American Indians. In November of the following year, the Pilgrims organized a harvest feast in Plymouth to celebrate their new crop—an event widely regarded as America’s “first Thanksgiving.”
•Established in Cambridge in 1636 by vote of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Harvard University was the first institution of higher education in the United States.
•Following the American Revolutionary War, many people struggled to support their families under the heavy tax burdens levied to pay off war debt. Faced with losing their property, a group of insurgents led by Daniel Shays—a farmer and veteran of the war—forced the closure of several debtors’ courts and attempted to occupy a federal arsenal in Springfield on January 25, Although repelled, Shays’ Rebellion highlighted the need for a stronger national government and influenced the creation of the U.S. Constitution.