|
"The
early decades of the nineteenth century were marked by vigorous intellectual
activity. Emerson, Thoreau, and their followers were preaching the
Transcendentalist theory of the innate nobility of man and the doctrine of
individual expression. Social strivings were exemplified in the campaign of
Horace Mann for universal education and in the crusade of Dorothea L. Dix on
behalf of the mentally disturbed. Colonies of idealists gathered here and there,
notably at Brook Farm, in West Roxbury, seeking to demonstrate that the sharing
of labor and the fruits of labor was the ideal basis for community living. Minds
teemed with ideas for social progress.
Out of this lively intellectual
ferment came the abolitionist fervor. In 1831, William Lloyd Garrison, a most
ardent and uncompromising foe of slavery, founded his weekly, The Liberator. The
next year the New England Anti-Slavery Society was formed in Boston. Prominent
men and women of this society helped slaves to escape to Canada by means of the
"Underground Railway", and a reforming spirit dominated the
Commonwealth throughout the years until the conclusion of the Civil War. To that
war, Massachusetts gave men and money without stint, including the first
African-American regiments to be mustered.
The post-war years were devoted
primarily to the expansion of industry. The Port of Boston was now depending
mainly upon the increasing volume of imported raw materials that its factories
required. The Commonwealth continued to net large sums from its fisheries,
concentrated mainly in Boston and Gloucester after the decline of New Bedford
whaling, but its living henceforth came largely from machines
A large pool of educated people,
a fortuitous economic atmosphere, and perhaps some of the old Yankee
entreprenuerial spirit fueled an economic boom in Massachusetts in the
mid-1980s, mostly in the high-tech industries. Unemployment rates were among the
lowest in the nation; many ambitious social and environmental programs were
begun; and Route 128, a road encircling Boston, earned its title as
“America’s Technology Highway” as high-technology companies continued to
cluster there. However, in the late 1980s, an economic decline struck
Massachusetts and the rest of the Northeast, forcing a retrenching and
reappraisal of the government and economy of the state. This cycle is a
phenomenon that Massachusetts has encountered often in its long history.
Fortunately, Massachusetts is not standing still. Logan International Airport
and improvements in the Port of Boston have made Boston one of America’s
premier transport centers. The Export Program takes advantage of the
Commonwealth’s trading potential with Canada, which signed a treaty fully
opening trade with the U.S. in 1988, with Europe, whose economic borders now
have disappeared within the European Economic Community created in 1992, and
with other nations as well. Newer industries such as biotechnology, biomedicine,
artificial intelligence, marine sciences, and polymer technology are being
strengthened, many in conjunction with the Centers of Excellence program, an
ambitious mutual support network of government, business, and academia. Indeed,
the Commonwealth’s more than eighty colleges and universities, its still
impressive industrial capacity, its environmental study institutions, and its
world-renowned medical centers are reasons for Massachusetts to be optimistic
about its future in a changing world.
Massachusetts has undergone a
profound economic transition over the past ten years. While the old
manufacturing base lost much of its competitive edge, the state adapted - by
necessity as much as by choice - to a “New Economy” characterized by
knowledge-intensive production, high-tech innovation, and global trading. During
the 1990s, especially between 1993 and 2000, great statewide economic expansion
occurred. The Commonwealth expanded its export sector in the following
industries: information technology, financial services, knowledge creation,
health care, traditional manufacturing and travel and tourism.
Massachusetts continues to have
an abundance of assets in the area of entrepreneurship and innovation. The
Commonwealth attracts substantial venture capital (VC) investment that supports
the creation of new business ventures. Much of this investment leverages the
state's solid knowledge creation network, comprised of universities,
laboratories, incubators, angel investors, and supporting service firms. The
state is also a leader in attracting federal investments in research and
development (R&D).
Indeed, Massachusetts continues
as a leader in the nation, working hard to ensure a high quality of life for all
citizens of the Commonwealth."
- From the mass.gov website
To learn more about Massachusetts
visit http://www.mass.gov/
|
