# 1973 - 1982 20c State Birds and Flowers: Massachusetts
20¢ Massachusetts
State Birds and Flowers
City: Washington, DC and state capitals
Quantity: 13,339,000 panes
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: 10.5 x 11.25
Color: Multicolored
Massachusetts Becomes 6th State
Native Americans lived in the Massachusetts region for more than 3,000 years. In 1614, English sea captain John Smith sailed along the coast of Massachusetts. Smith’s book, “A Description of New England,” guided the Pilgrims to Massachusetts.
On September 16, 1620, 41 Separatists and 61 others seeking religious freedom journeyed to America. These Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England, aboard the Mayflower. That November, they landed in what is now known as Provincetown Harbor. Before they set foot on land, the Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower Compact – the first agreement for self-government ever put into writing in America.
The Puritans received a charter from King Charles I to found a colony in the Massachusetts Bay area. In 1630, about 1,000 Puritans voyaged to the New World. They founded a settlement in what is now Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Colony grew quickly, and by 1640, it had 10,000 settlers.
The French and Indian War left Britain in debt, so taxes were levied on the New World colonies. The colonists’ slogan, “No taxation without representation,” became popular in Massachusetts. Protests were staged. In 1770, British soldiers fired on a group of angry patriots, killing five of them. The Boston Massacre, as it came to be known, sparked public sentiment against the British. In 1773, angry colonists, disguised as Indians, staged the legendary Boston Tea Party to protest a tea tax, dumping 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. Britain responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing a series of punitive laws, known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts. These acts provoked the colonists and set the stage for the Revolutionary War.
On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts ratified the United States Constitution and became the sixth state to join the Union. As part of the ratification process, the state insisted that certain measures concerning individual rights be added to the document. On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights became an important part of the “Law of the Land.”
20¢ Massachusetts
State Birds and Flowers
City: Washington, DC and state capitals
Quantity: 13,339,000 panes
Printed By: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: 10.5 x 11.25
Color: Multicolored
Massachusetts Becomes 6th State
Native Americans lived in the Massachusetts region for more than 3,000 years. In 1614, English sea captain John Smith sailed along the coast of Massachusetts. Smith’s book, “A Description of New England,” guided the Pilgrims to Massachusetts.
On September 16, 1620, 41 Separatists and 61 others seeking religious freedom journeyed to America. These Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England, aboard the Mayflower. That November, they landed in what is now known as Provincetown Harbor. Before they set foot on land, the Pilgrims drew up the Mayflower Compact – the first agreement for self-government ever put into writing in America.
The Puritans received a charter from King Charles I to found a colony in the Massachusetts Bay area. In 1630, about 1,000 Puritans voyaged to the New World. They founded a settlement in what is now Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Colony grew quickly, and by 1640, it had 10,000 settlers.
The French and Indian War left Britain in debt, so taxes were levied on the New World colonies. The colonists’ slogan, “No taxation without representation,” became popular in Massachusetts. Protests were staged. In 1770, British soldiers fired on a group of angry patriots, killing five of them. The Boston Massacre, as it came to be known, sparked public sentiment against the British. In 1773, angry colonists, disguised as Indians, staged the legendary Boston Tea Party to protest a tea tax, dumping 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. Britain responded to the Boston Tea Party by passing a series of punitive laws, known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts. These acts provoked the colonists and set the stage for the Revolutionary War.
On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts ratified the United States Constitution and became the sixth state to join the Union. As part of the ratification process, the state insisted that certain measures concerning individual rights be added to the document. On December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights became an important part of the “Law of the Land.”