Difference between revisions of "Massachusetts"

<p> A New [[England]] State of the American Union, lies on the Atlantic seaboard between New Hampshire and [[Vermont]] on the N. and Rhode Island and [[Connecticut]] on the S., with New York on its western border; has a long irregular coast-line and an uneven surface, rising to the Green Mountains in the W.; the scenery is of great beauty, but the soil is in many places poor, the farms raising chiefly hay and dairy produce; the winters are severe; [[Massachusetts]] is the third manufacturing State of the Union; its industries include cotton, woollen, worsted, clothing, leather and leather goods, iron and iron goods; school education throughout the State is free and of a high standard; there are several universities and colleges, including Harvard, Boston, Williams, and Amherst; founded in 1620 by the [[Pilgrim]] Fathers, Massachusetts had many hardships in early days, and was long the scene of religious intolerance and persecution; the War of [[Independence]] began at Bunker's Hill and Lexington in 1776; the capital and chief seaport is Boston; [[Worcester]] has machinery factories, [[Springfield]] paper, and Lowell cotton mills; [[Concord]] was for long a literary centre. </p>