Massachusetts: A Concise History

by Richard D. Brown, Jack Tager

From the moment the first English colonists landed on the shores of Plymouth Bay, the experiences of the people of Massachusetts have been emblematic of larger themes in American history. The story of the first Pilgrim thanksgiving is commemorated as a national holiday, while the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's ride have passed into the national mythology. Even the grimmer aspects of the American experience―Indian warfare and the conquest of an ever expanding frontier―were part of the early history of Massachusetts. In this book, Richard D. Brown and Jack Tager survey the rich heritage of this distinctive, and distinctly American, place, showing how it has long exerted an influence disproportionate to its size. A seedbed of revolt against British colonial rule, Massachusetts has supplied the nation with a long line of political leaders―from Samuel and John Adams to William Lloyd Garrison and Lucy Stone to John, Robert, and Edward Kennedy. Its early textile mills helped shape the industrial revolution, while its experiences with urbanization, immigration, ethnic conflict, and labor strife reflected the growth of the national economy. In the twentieth century, the state continued to lead the country through a series of wrenching economic changes as it moved from the production of goods to the provision of services, eventually becoming a center of the high-tech revolution in telecommunications. If there is one common theme in the Bay State's history, Brown and Tager make clear, it is the capacity to adapt to change. In part this trait can be attributed to the state's unique blend of resources, including its many distinguished colleges and universities. But it can also be credited to the people themselves, who have created a singular sense of place by reconciling claims of tradition with the possibilities of innovation. This book tells their story.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2000

About the author

Richard D. Brown is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus, at the University of Connecticut and has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books and textbooks with a focus on Early American history.

Before coming to UConn in 1971, he taught as a Fulbright lecturer in France and at Oberlin College after earning his Ph.D. from Harvard University. His research and teaching interests have been in the political, social, and cultural history of early America. Currently, his research and writing focus centers on racial, ethnic, and religious equality in Early America.

His most recent book, coming in March 2017 from Yale University Press, is Self-Evident Truths: Contesting Equal Rights from the Revolution to the Civil War.

He is also the author of Knowledge is Power: The Diffusion of Information in Early America, 1700-1865 and The Strength of a People: The Idea of an Informed Citizenry in America, 1650-1870. With Irene Quenzler Brown he is the co-author of The Hanging of Ephraim Wheeler: A Story of Rape, Incest, and Justice in Early America.

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Project Read-a-History-of-Every-State-in-Order-of-Statehood #6

Hardly "wicked retahded", this is a fine, if terse, introduction to the Bay State and its people. Other reviews have noted its refreshing lack of obsession with Boston, and it is noteworthy for its welcome inclusion of the rest of the state as well.
As always with the original 13, the early history will seem eerily familiar: pilgrims, Puritans, and Revolution, and these bits are excellent. Oddly, this history takes a more economically-driven approach, highlighting the Massachusetts ideal of the "common good", centralization in towns of political communalism, and how all of this led to the eruption of the industrial revolution in the state. Later, this is all brought around full circle to explain Mass's monopoly of the high-tech industry at MIT and so on.
Thus, there is a big focus on manufacturing and towns/urbanization. But the people are a crucial component here and there is much of worth on Yankee peculiarities and the influx of new peoples and their effects on locals, especially the Irish in and around Boston.
Overall, a great overview if a little dry at times.

[Martin Denton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most valuable parts of Brown's book are his discussions of the founding of the two colonies (Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay) that eventually became Massachusetts, and of the rise of industry in the state in the early 19th century. Brown approaches his subject as a biographer, and through the lives of figures like John Winthrop, John Adams, William Lloyd Garrison, and W.E.B DuBois he reveals the history of Massachusetts in strokes that are often both broader and narrower than might be desired.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was able to get through half the book before deciding it was just too much. Lots and lots of names brought in from the colonial history of the state. Difficult to follow. Some chapters seemed to revert back to time periods already covered making things more difficult. Overall dry and boring at times. I know it's tough material to cover but the author just failed at maintaining my interest. More useful as a textbook for a Mass history class reading one chapter at a time followed by class discussion.