9 Facts About Massachusetts

1. Government of Massachusetts is divided into three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.

2. In 2014 and 2015, Massachusetts was ranked as the most energy efficient state the United States while Boston is the most efficient city, but it had the third-highest electricity prices of any state.

3. In 2013, Massachusetts scored highest of all the states in math and third-highest in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

4. Along the western border of Western Massachusetts lies the highest elevated part of the state, the Berkshires.

5. On November 8, 2016, Massachusetts voted in favor of The Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization Initiative, known as Question 4.

6. On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the US to legalize same-sex marriage after a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling in November 2003 determined that the exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to a civil marriage was unconstitutional.

7. In 1966, Massachusetts became the first state to directly elect an African American to the US senate with Edward Brooke.

8. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first US state to legally recognize same-sex marriage as a result of the decision in Goodridge v Department of Public Health by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

9. The capital of Massachusetts is Boston, which is the most populous city in New England.