Massachusetts
From Free Talk Live
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Massachusetts (also known as Taxachusetts) is a state in the New England region of the United States. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is also known as the Bay State. It is generally regarded as a state with very large government. Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun control laws in the United States. It also has a per capita murder rate much higher than that of the more gun friendly New Hampshire or Vermont according to FBI violent crime data.
Historical Events
The Mayflower landed with the colonists know as Pilgrims in what was at the time called the Massachusetts Bay Colony. These colonists were radical protestants known a Puritans, and they codified their very strict values in law. Puritanism has grown less influential in modern times, but the religion has played a role in forming cultural norms. Massachusetts still has many blue laws with regards to activities and commerce on Sundays.
The first battle of the American Revolutionary War was fought in Massachusetts in the towns of Lexington & Concord. While the colonial militias were quickly crushed by a much larger British force, which was on its way to seize weapons and powder stored by the colonies, militia members from nearby towns began to turn out. The British were routed back to Charleston and took heavy losses along the way.
