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Massachusetts is the sixth-smallest state by land area. With over seven million residents as of 2020, [note 1] it is the most populous state in New England, the 16th-most-populous in the country, and the third-most densely populated, after New Jersey and Rhode Island. Massachusetts was a site of early English colonization.
Massachusetts shares with the five other New England states the New England town form of government. All land in Massachusetts is divided among cities and towns and there are no unincorporated areas, population centers, or townships. Massachusetts has four kinds of public-school districts: local schools, regional schools, vocational-technical ...
The area that is now Massachusetts was colonized by English settlers in the early 17th century and became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the 18th century. Before that, it was inhabited by a variety of Native American tribes. Massachusetts is named after the Massachusett tribe that inhabited the area of present-day Greater Boston.
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual states that make up the United States of America. [1] It consists of a preamble, declaration of rights, description of the principles and framework of government, and articles of amendment.
The seal uses the coat of arms of Massachusetts as its central element. [2] An official emblem of the state, the coat of arms was adopted by the Legislature in 1775 and then reaffirmed by Governor John Hancock and his Council in 1780. The present rendition of the seal was drawn by resident-artist Edmund H. Garrett and was adopted by the state ...
The secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Massachusetts.Originally appointed under authority of the English Crown pursuant to the Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company, the office of secretary of the Commonwealth (equivalent to "secretaries of state" in other U.S. jurisdictions) became an elective one in 1780.
Commonwealth is a term used by four of the 50 states of the United States in their full official state names: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. " Commonwealth" is a traditional English term used to describe a political community as having been founded for the common good, and shares some similarities with the Latin phrase "res publica" ('the public thing') from which ...
The Constitution of Massachusetts is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the General Court, published in the Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts, and codified in the General Laws of Massachusetts. State agency regulations (sometimes called administrative law) are published in the Massachusetts Register and codified in the ...