States from A-Z: Massachussets & Maryland

 Massachusetts: The Bay State

The name Massachusetts is derived from the Indian word mass adchu ut (close to the big hill) and was first mentioned in the book of captain John Smith "A description of New England" (1616). Massachusetts is also known as the "Bay State" or the"Old Colony". The capital Boston is one of the biggest, oldest and richest New England cities of the USA with an especially cultural background. The city became popular in 1773 due to the Boston Tea Party on December, 16th. The War of Independence resulted from a raise of the tea taxation by the British government.
A road made of red pavement, the 2.5 miles long "Freedom Trail", leads to 16 different historical locations of the city, among them is the Boston Common, the Massachusetts State House and the Old State House.
Boston is the domicile of the world famous Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which was founded in 1861. The MIT is one of the world leading universities in the field of technological research and teaching. Furthermore it is a private, non-confessional, technical institution, which was the first university training chemistry- engineers by including economy-, social- and arts - science. Accordingly the MIT is known to offer a high-standard education, which allows the 10,255 students to take part in research projects at an early stage.
The two orchestras, the Boston Pop Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, are resident in the Boston Symphony Hall, one of the three best acoustical concert halls worldwide.
The economic power is mainly affected by health care, educational institutions, technology and business financing.
Moreover Boston is the domicile of the Catholic archbishop (archbishopric Boston).

Massachusetts - one of the wealthiest states

In 1629 Massachusetts was founded as one of the first 13 colonies by the Puritans, who opposed the British restrictions and laws.
In 1780 one of the oldest constitutions was dismissed and a modified version is still operative. The original constitution is the first, the human population voted for.
In the 18th and 19th century the economy of Massachusetts profited mainly from whaling and cod fishing close to the island Nantucket and the cities New Bedford and Salem.
Massachusetts is one of the most economically successful states of the USA. The real gross domestic product per person amounted to 46,721.00 $ in 2006 and therefore ranks third nationally compared.

A popular summer vacation resort called Cape Cod is located in the southeast of Massachusetts, where you will be able to enjoy the beautiful national park Cape Cod National Seashore.

For further information visit:  http://www.massvacation.com/

Maryland: the Free State

Maryland is also known as „Old Line State"or „Free state" and became member of the 13 original states of the Union in 1788. Maryland is located in the middle of the east coast and borders on Virginia in the southwest, on Pennsylvania in the north and on Washington D.C. in the northeast. The District of Columbia, domicile of the federal capital Washington, encloses Maryland in the west.
Since 1694 the capital of Maryland is Annapolis, which plays a major role for the surrounding agricultural regions.
The economy is mainly based on the production for the military and for the development and research in the field of communication. The academy of the US - Navy and the St. John's College (1784) are located in Annapolis. The town's landmark is the oldest parliament building - The State House (1772-1780), where the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American War of Independence in 1783, was signed. This small state combines extremes:
The metropolis Baltimore, the isolated Appalachian Mountains and the fishing villages along the coast.
Maryland is one of the most densely populated US states (209 inhabitants/m2).
In addition to Baltimore, half of the metropolitan area of Washington D.C. belongs to Maryland as well. Baltimore is the cultural center of Maryland, with some of the most popular museums like the Peale Museum (1814) which shows historical collections of the region; the Baltimore Museum which presents European and American art or the Walters Art Gallery which exhibits works of arts which can be traced back to the ancient world. Furthermore Baltimore is the biggest city of Maryland, one of the most important trade- and industry centers and is known as one of the famous seaports of the United States. The economy is specialized in research and development, involving pharmaceutics, medical demand and services.
Next to private laboratories, Baltimore possesses 61 federal research laboratories. The gross domestic product per person added up to 39,161.00 US-Dollar in 2006 and therefore ranks 14 in the national average of the 50 states.

The Border to Pennsylvania as a marker for the partition of the northern and southern states

The first British settled in this area on 25th March 1634. Maryland has been the only catholic colony of North America, in contrast to the other sternly protestant states.
To arbitrate the feud between the two families Penn and Calvert in the 1760´, the Mason-Dixon-Line  was drawn. Originally the Potomac River and the territories in the north of the 40th latitude were granted to Maryland by the Royal Charta, which tied Philadelphia, the biggest town of Pennsylvania, to Maryland.
Thereupon the two families instructed the geometricians Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to define a new border. This line is also the border between the northern and the southern states. For this purpose an area district was selected by Maryland, which today is the capitol of the USA - Washington D.C.

In the War of 1812 Maryland became theatre of war, in which the British tried to reclaim the colonies. Due to the strong resistance the British troops failed to destroy the shipyard and take over Baltimore. This persistent encounter inspired Francis Scott Key to compose the text of The Star-Spangled-Banner, which became the national anthem later on. During the Civil War Maryland acted largely neutral. As it became clear that Maryland wouldn't give up their bond to the Union, Maryland was ignored in the Emancipation Proclamation, but abolished slavery in 1864.

For further information visit: http://www.maryland.gov