Massachusetts

In 1692, the town of Salem put 19 innocent people to death for witchcraft. More than 200 others were accused.

The panic started when a few girls claimed to be cursed, and within months, neighbors were turning on neighbors. The courts later admitted they got it wrong, but the damage was done.

The Wampanoag, Massachusett, and Nipmuck peoples had lived here for thousands of years before English settlers arrived. In 1620, a group called the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth after crossing the Atlantic on the Mayflower. Half of them died that first winter.

The Wampanoag helped the survivors learn to farm, and in the fall of 1621, they shared a harvest feast together. That meal is often called the first Thanksgiving, though for many native people, it marks the beginning of a painful chapter.

Massachusetts helped spark the American Revolution. In 1773, colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians dumped 342 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor to protest unfair taxes.

On April 19, 1775, British soldiers and colonial militia exchanged gunfire at Lexington and Concord, firing the first shots of the war. Leaders like Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock pushed the colonies toward independence.

Harvard University, founded in 1636, is the oldest college in the country, 140 years older than the nation itself.

Massachusetts was one of the first states to send troops when the Civil War broke out. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the first Black regiments in the Union Army, fought bravely at Fort Wagner in South Carolina in 1863.

Walk Boston's Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile path past 16 sites from the Revolution, including Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church. In Salem, the Witch Trials Memorial honors the 19 people who lost their lives.

Visit Plymouth to see the Mayflower II, a full-size replica of the original ship. Explore Plimoth Patuxet Museums, where the Wampanoag homesite tells the native side of the story. And on the Cape, fresh clam chowder is practically a requirement.