Jump to content

Boston

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by DanKeshet (talk | contribs) at 19:10, 20 September 2002 (Boston Public Library). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Boston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the USA. It is also the business and cultural center of the entire New England region, and was founded in 1620. As of the 2000 census, its population is 589,141. The Greater Boston metropolitan area, including nearby cities like Cambridge, has about 3.5 million residents. Boston is the county seat of Suffolk County. It is located at 42°20'N, 71°W.

City Government

Boston has a "strong mayor" system in which the mayor is the dominant force in city government. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by plurality voting. The City Council is elected every two years. There are nine ward, or neighborhood, seats, each elected by plurality voting by the residents of that ward. There are four at-large seats. Each voter casts up to four votes for at-large councillors, no more than one vote per candidate. The top four vote-getters are elected. The President of the City Council is elected by the Councillors from within themselves. The School Committee is appointed by the mayor, as are city department heads.

In addition to city government, numerous state authorities and commissions play a role in the life of Bostonians, including the Metropolitan Water Resources Authority (water and sewer) and the Metropolitan District Commission (parks). The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is responsible for Boston Transportation.

History

Founded in 1630, Boston is named for Boston, England, the town in Lincolnshire from which the Pilgrim Fathers originated. Boston grew rapidly and became wealthy as the primary port for ships bounds to Great Britain and the West Indies from the colonies. During the first 200 years the city was primarily composed of English Puritans.

Boston played a key role in the American Revolutionary War. The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and several of the early battles of the revolutionary war occurred near the city. During this period Paul Revere made his famous ride. As a result Boston is known as the Cradle of Liberty, and historic sites remain a popular tourist draw to this day.

After the revolutionary war, the city continued to develop as an international trading port, exporting products such as rum, fish, salt and tobacco. It was chartered as a city in 1822, and by the mid-1800s it was one of the largest manufacturing centers in the nation noted for its garment, leather goods, and machinery industries.

While wealthy families able to trace their roots back to the Puritans continue to be powerful in the city (some called the Boston Brahmins) by the 1840s waves of new immigrants began to arrive from Europe. These included large numbers of Irish, and Italians giving the city an unusually large Roman Catholic population. It is currently the third largest Catholic community in the United States (after Chicago and Los Angeles).

In 1950, Boston was slumping. Few major buildings were being built anywhere in the city. Factories were closing up, and moving their operations south, where labor was cheaper. The assets Boston had -- excellent banks, hospitals, universities and technical knowhow -- were minimal parts of the U.S. economy.

But all that changed in the next 50 years and Boston boomed. Financial institutions got far more latitude, many more people began to play the market, and Boston became a leader in the mutual fund industry. Health care became far more extensive and expensive, and such hospitals as Massachusetts General became major profit centers in the city. Universities, such as Harvard, MIT, Boston College, Boston University and Tufts University brought thousands of bright students to the area; many stayed and became taxpayers.

Finally, MIT and other universities became a source of high-tech talent. Many MIT graduates, in particular, founded successful high-tech companies in the Boston area. Powerful politicians such as John and Teddy Kennedy and Tip O'Neill made sure Boston got plenty of federal investment.

High tech, education, finance and medical research, and health care are key industries and Boston has world-renowned cultural attractions (including the Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Symphony Orchestra).

Yet Boston suffers from a parochialism one would never see in New York or Los Angeles. City and state officials fret about whether or not Boston is really a "world-class" city (usually when trying to convince a skeptical electorate to back some expensive project or another).

Colleges

Two-year colleges

Newspapers and Media

Professional Sports Franchises

Attractions

External Links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boston&oldid=319252"