This is the sixth of a series column that will look at the history of all 50 States,
all 5 territories, and the Capital and the influence history has on our
current political environments. The aim of this column is to capture that
our country is not just red or blue, but rather many shades in between.
Each Lower 48 state’s current political landscape can be traced back to
its early settlement and geography and its particular involvement in the
Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, and the Civil Rights Era.
Few states are home to as many significant political figures as Massachusetts. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John F. Kennedy, and George H. W. Bush have all called the state home.
Early History and Revolution
The second permanent colony in the United States, following Jamestown, Virginia, took root in Plymouth in 1620. Puritans from England and Holland looking to escape religious persecution boarded the Mayflower for the New World. They landed at present-day Cape Cod, out of their chartered territory. The Mayflower Compact was written before their landing, becoming one of the country’s first documents of self-governance.
Colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard all thrived from the fishing and shipbuilding industries, areas that would quickly build the port city of Boston and define the state’s place on the eastern seaboard. Great Britain unified these colonies and began the levying of taxes that fomented the Revolutionary War.
Massachusetts is credited as the center of the Revolution, for which it earned the title the “Cradle of Liberty.” The Boston Tea Party and Boston Massacre are well-known examples of the colonists’ long-heated tensions with the British. The Battle of Lexington and Concord were fought in the state and initiated the Revolutionary War. General George Washington’s first victory was the Siege of Boston in 1776.
Massachusetts was the first state to abolish slavery in 1783. Massachusetts’ 1780 Constitution established the state and served as a model for the US Constitution. It is the oldest constitution in current use in the world.
Early Industry and Civil War
Massachusetts’ situation on the Atlantic Ocean gave is strategic war and economic opportunity. Its early economy was that of fishermen and shipbuilders, as well as farmers and shepherds. However, unlike the Southern states, Massachusetts developed as a series of small towns, rather than scattered farms. Early urbanization gave the state a large population center, easily becoming the largest and most fiscally important state in New England. The development of townships also necessitated education from an early point, leading to establishment of Harvard College. Its school system was the best in the Thirteen Colonies.
Massachusetts’ early business and educational leanings, along with its opposition to British rule, made the people staunch in their ways. The Federalist Party advocated for strong federal government to support manufacturing and business. As such, the party ruled the state until the inception of the GOP. Massachusetts would regularly vote lock-step with leadership, including against slavery. From 1828 until 1912, the state did once back a Democratic nominee.
The ironworking industry arose in the 1600s from the bog iron found in the area. This would translate to wartime success during the Civil War. The textile industry was vibrant by the Civil War as well, as it was in the Northeastern US at the time. The state was a hub for transportation, as well as law, medicine, education, art, and publishing. The state’s railroads and canals tied it all together, creating an economic powerhouse to help the lead the country into the Industrial Revolution.
Famed abolitionists also used the state as a launchpad for their national efforts. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, members of the Transcendentalist movement, called Massachusetts home. Abolitionist John Brown, known for leading the raid on Harper’s Ferry, met with Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth in Springfield. His anti-slavery league helped protect slaves from the Fugitive Slave Act in the 1850s. The state was the first to recruit and arm a black regiment with white officers. The state’s industry continued to attract national and international travelers during this time.
Springfield was home to the first major center of automobile and motorcycle manufacturing in the country during the 1890s. The iron and steel industries in the state contributed to the growing railroads, and passenger transit was incited by the electric trolley. The state, due to its early progressive tendencies, was not phased by the country’s semi-tumultuous Progressive Era, keeping Republicans in control through the turn of the Century.
Modern Political History
Dominated by Protestants, historically a Republican demographic, Irish Catholics regularly faced discrimination, leading to a small opposition that was favored by the Democratic party. Democrats’ only Presidential win was that of Woodrow Wilson’s win in 1912 due to the vote splitting of William Howard Taft (R) and Theodore Roosevelt’s formation of the Bull Moose party.
Control ended abruptly for the GOP in 1928, as Democrats nominated New York’s Al Smith (D), an Irish Catholic. Massachusetts had been experiencing regular Catholic immigrant, enough to outvote the state’s large Protestant Republican lean. Al Smith won the state that year, and it would find itself in FDR’s (D) New Deal fold until Eisenhower was able to appeal to its classical Republican roots in 1952 and 1956.
1960 marked a turning point for the state, however. John F. Kennedy, a young, charismatic, Irish Catholic Senator, became the single-largest turning point in the state – and the party’s – political history. This was the first time in history a Presidential candidate of either party had won Boston by more than 70%.
Since then, the state’s political history has been somewhat tacit compared to those of others. One of the most Republican states in the country has only voted Republican four times in the last 100 years: twice for Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 and twice for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984 – all landslide years for them. It was the only state for vote for Sen. George McGovern (D-SD) in 1972, Richard Nixon’s (R-CA) 49-state win.
The lapse seen here is similar to that seen in Vermont and Connecticut, with early progressive roots that survived tumultuous political eras, only to quickly find themselves on the other side of the aisle over time. However, Massachusetts shows a dramatic and final shift. No Republican has won here since Reagan in 1984 and no Republican has won a country since George Bush Sr. did in 1988. The counties of Bristol, Hampshire, and Middlesex have not voted Republican since 1956. No Republican has won Boston’s Suffolk County, swept all counties, and won more than 60% of the vote since Calvin Coolidge in 1924.
It’s no surprise that when Scott Brown (R) won the special election to fill Ted Kennedy’s US Senate seat in 2010 that the political world was shocked. It was a dire prophecy for brutal losses for Democrats in the ensuing midterm elections. Brown would lose the seat in a regular election to Elizabeth Warren (D) in 2012. Besides Brown, no Republican has won a Senate race here since 1972, and the GOP has not controlled both seats since 1953.
Republicans have not won a House seat here since 1994.
Surprisingly, Donald Trump (R) made some gains in the eastern, affluent parts of the state, coming within 10 points of carrying Bristol and Plymouth Counties.
However, Massachusetts has been on a kick of electing socially-liberal, fiscally-conservative GOP governors. The state experienced a time of economic boom in the 1980s, thanks due to its finance, technology, and hospital hubs, tied together by education, known as the Massachusetts Miracle. A recession in 1989 caused its citizens to reevalute their options, leading to popular GOP governors like Bill Weld, Mitt Romney, and Charlie Baker. Democrats just flipped the governor’s seat in 2022.
Going forward, it’s safe to say Republicans will not be able to realistically campaign in this state any time soon, unless they significantly remarket their brand. At just eleven electoral votes, the risk is likely not worth the reward.
