Sunday, August 4, 2019
Change in Massachusetts Politics Essay -- Massachusetts Politics Gover
Change in Massachusetts Politics      Massachusetts has always been known for its politics. From the days of John Hancock and John Adams to the Kennedy Compound and failed Dukakis presidential campaign, the Bay State is, has been, and always will be a hotbed of political activism. But that does not mean that Massachusetts has a vibrant two party system.      If anything can be said about Massachusetts, it is that the state and its voters are certainly lop-sided towards one party. Massachusetts currently has Democrats filling all of their US House and US Senate Seats, as well as a 138 of 160 State House seats, and 33 of 40 State Senate seats. The only state-wide office held not held by the Democrats is the Governor’s seat, which is set to be widely contested next year with 7 candidates lining up to face â€Å"incumbent†acting Gov. Jane Swift.      In the old days however, the story wasn’t exactly the same. For practically every year before 1928, Massachusetts overwhelming voted Republican. In fact, the first Republican floor leader in the US Senate was Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr., from Massachusetts. Many of the famous Massachusetts politicians that rose to power before world war two were Republicans, including President Calvin Coolidge, who before moving on to Vice President and President, was the Governor of Massachusetts.      Somewhat like today’s climate in the state, Massachusetts at that time was also dominated by one party. It just happened to be the Republicans rather than the Democrats. Before Franklin Roosevelt, the Democrats were largely the party of the Southern whites farmers who were ideologically different than the Northern white businessmen that dominated politics and voted largely Republican.      It is the party switch that is the most interesting and the most available to analyzing. There most certainly was a switch somewhere between the roaring twenties and the great depression, but it not necessarily had everything to do with the money in people’s pockets. The reasons for it are to be further explained. The Industrial Revolution in Massachusetts      In Massachusetts during the 1880’s and 1890’s, as in almost every other part of the country, immigrants were arriving at unprecedented levels. Especially in Boston, but in other communities like Lowell, Brockton, Worcester, and Springfield, the demographic of people was slowly ... ...once in 1984 during a campaign in which he lost only one state. Especially evident was in 1972, when Massachusetts was the only state in the nation that did not vote for Nixon in his re-election bid. That vote prompted the â€Å"Don’t Blame Me, I’m from Massachusetts†bumper sticker that still puts a grin on Bay Staters faces today. Conclusion: Massachusetts, A need to be unique      Since the Great Depression, the entire nation has been much more supportive of Democrats than they previously were. Most of that support can be attributed to Roosevelt’s New Deal, and the ineffectiveness of Hoover’s Republican strategies.      In Massachusetts, however, there has always been a different reason for doing things. This was no different. While the economy may have played a major role, Massachusetts’ change was evident before the â€Å"true†start of the depression.      Similar changes happened in New York, Rhode Island, and other industrial states. However, Massachusetts has always prided themselves on being a leader and an innovator, and as proved by the analysis into the elections of the 20’s and 30’s, it is evident that this major swing in political beliefs was no different.     Â
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