The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. With a population approaching 6.5 million in a relatively small area, it is mostly urban and suburban in its eastern half and still primarily rural in the west. It is the most populous of the six New England states and contains the region's main urban center, Boston.

The first Europeans to settle New England were Pilgrims and Puritans from England seeking religious freedom who landed in present-day Massachusetts. They founded Plymouth and Boston, which soon became the hub of the region. A century and a half later, Massachusetts became known as the 'Cradle of Liberty' for the revolutionary ferment in Boston that helped spawn the battle of the Thirteen Colonies for independence. In addition to its early patriots, Massachusetts supplied the new nation with its second and sixth Presidents, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams.

During the eighteenth century, Massachusetts transformed itself from a mainly agricultural economy to a manufacturing one, making use of its many rivers for power to operate factories for shoes, furniture, and clothing. Its economy declined in the early nineteenth century when industry moved south in search of cheaper labor. A revitalization came in the 1970s when, nourished by the graduates of the area's many elite institutions of higher education, the Boston suburbs (particularly those around Route 128) became home to dozens of high-tech companies.