# 4297 - 2009 44c Flags of Our Nation, Massachusetts
Flags of Our Nation
Massachusetts
Issue Date: August 6, 2009
City: Washington, DC
Paul Revere raced his horse toward Concord, warning everyone that the British were coming. The Minutemen gathered their arms and marched to Lexington to head them off. A shot rang out and the American Revolutionary War began.
During the 18th century, the British taxed the American colonies without allowing Parliamentary representation. Tensions mounted, and in 1770 a crowd of Bostonians heckled a group of British troops. The soldiers responded by firing on the crowd – killing five colonists.
Three years later, the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped crates of English tea into Boston Harbor. The colonies applauded this daring feat, but the British responded by closing the harbor.
In 1915, the flag of Massachusetts was officially unfurled. Written on it was the motto, “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.” The motto was adopted by Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1775 – the same year that the “shot heard round the world” was fired. Although the current version of the flag was not ratified until 1971, the motto has embodied the spirit of Massachusetts for over 200 years.
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.”
Flags of Our Nation
Massachusetts
Issue Date: August 6, 2009
City: Washington, DC
Paul Revere raced his horse toward Concord, warning everyone that the British were coming. The Minutemen gathered their arms and marched to Lexington to head them off. A shot rang out and the American Revolutionary War began.
During the 18th century, the British taxed the American colonies without allowing Parliamentary representation. Tensions mounted, and in 1770 a crowd of Bostonians heckled a group of British troops. The soldiers responded by firing on the crowd – killing five colonists.
Three years later, the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped crates of English tea into Boston Harbor. The colonies applauded this daring feat, but the British responded by closing the harbor.
In 1915, the flag of Massachusetts was officially unfurled. Written on it was the motto, “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.” The motto was adopted by Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1775 – the same year that the “shot heard round the world” was fired. Although the current version of the flag was not ratified until 1971, the motto has embodied the spirit of Massachusetts for over 200 years.
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.”