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85-759: A 50th-floor observation deck has been the highest such location in New England open to the public, as the higher observation deck of the John Hancock Tower has been closed since the September 11 attacks in 2001. Scheduled to close permanently on April 18, 2020, the Prudential's "Skywalk" was closed until further notice in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In June 2023 the top three floors opened as View Boston, consisting of

170-507: A 52nd floor enclosed observation deck and gift shop; a 51st floor bar and al fresco observation deck with tables, chairs, and some couches; and a 50th floor bistro requiring reservations. The Prudential Tower began construction in 1960 with steel erection work by Donovan Steel. Upon its completion in 1964, the Prudential was the tenth tallest building in the world and the tallest building in North America outside of New York City , surpassing

255-529: A city striving to rise above the sordidness of its recent past". But Ada Louise Huxtable called it "a flashy 52-story glass and aluminum tower ... part of an over-scaled megalomaniac group shockingly unrelated to the city's size, standards, or style. It is a slick developer's model dropped into an urban renewal slot in Anycity, U.S.A.—a textbook example of urban character assassination." Architect Donlyn Lyndon called it "an energetically ugly, square shaft that offends

340-615: A coalition of Populists and Republicans in fusion tickets in the 1880s and 1890s gained some seats and won some governor positions. To prevent such coalitions in the future, the Democrats wanted to exclude freedmen and other black people from voting; in some states they also restricted poor whites to avoid biracial coalitions. White Democrats developed statutes and passed new constitutions creating restrictive voter registration rules. Examples included imposition of poll taxes and residency and literacy tests . An exemption to such requirements

425-540: A group south where they founded Providence Plantations , which grew into the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1636. At this time, Vermont was uncolonized, and the territories of New Hampshire and Maine were claimed and governed by Massachusetts. As the region grew, it received many immigrants from Europe due to its religious tolerance and economy. Relationships alternated between peace and armed skirmishes between colonists and local Native American tribes,

510-539: A mere 25 stories, overshadowed by the other two. The Hynes Convention Center is connected to the complex, as well as the existing Sheraton Hotel Boston at Copley Place , which combined was considered the first mixed-use development in New England and awarded the Urban Land Institute 's Best Mixed Use Development Award in 2006. By the fall of 2007, another major development was completed along Boylston Street at

595-580: A number of Southern U.S. states, which created new requirements for literacy tests , payment of poll taxes and residency and property restrictions to register to vote. States in some cases exempted those whose ancestors (e.g., grandfathers ) had the right to vote before the American Civil War or as of a particular date from such requirements. The intent and effect of such rules was to prevent former African-American slaves and their descendants from voting but without denying poor and illiterate whites

680-524: A part of Massachusetts, but it was granted statehood on March 15, 1820, as part of the Missouri Compromise . Today, New England is defined as the six states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. New England's economic growth relied heavily on trade with the British Empire , and the region's merchants and politicians strongly opposed trade restrictions. As

765-470: A smaller tower with standby antennas for WZLX , WWBX , WROR-FM , WXKS-FM . All 7 FM broadcast tenants have backups located in Newton as well. The studios of FM station WBCN occupied space on the 50th floor for a period in the 1970s and WEEI ( AM 590 and FM 103.3 ), when it was CBS Radio owned and operated, had its offices and studios on the 44th floor in the second half of the 1960s. Notable tenants of

850-504: A steady pace from the 1840s until cut off by World War I . The largest numbers came from Ireland and Britain before 1890, and after that from Quebec, Italy, and Southern Europe. The immigrants filled the ranks of factory workers, craftsmen, and unskilled laborers. The Irish and Italians assumed a larger and larger role in the Democratic Party in the cities and statewide, while the rural areas remained Republican. The Great Depression in

935-458: A third of its industrial workforce. It was also the most literate and most educated region in the country. During the same period, New England and areas settled by New Englanders (upstate New York, Ohio's Western Reserve , and the upper midwestern states of Michigan and Wisconsin ) were the center of the strongest abolitionist and anti-slavery movements in the United States, coinciding with

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1020-489: A top-mounted television antenna previously used by WBPX . The upper master antenna, manufactured by Electronics Research, Inc. (ERI), serves WZLX 100.7, WWBX 104.1, WMJX 106.7, and WXKS-FM 107.9. The lower master antenna was installed in the late 1990s, also by ERI, and serves WBOS 92.9, WBQT 96.9, and WROR-FM 105.7. The FM stations each transmit with approximately 22,000 watts ERP and in HD Radio . The roof also has

1105-422: A unit of Procter & Gamble , once occupied 40 percent of the space in the structure but has since vacated many of these floors. Boston-based law firm Ropes & Gray moved into much of this space, including the 37th through 49th, in fall 2010. Other major tenants include Wall Street investment firm Home State Corporation, Partners HealthCare, Club Monaco, Exeter Group and Accenture . Boston Properties acquired

1190-628: A variety of the Eastern Algonquian languages . Prominent tribes included the Abenakis , Mi'kmaq , Penobscot , Pequots , Mohegans , Narragansetts , Nipmucs , Pocumtucks , and Wampanoags . Prior to the arrival of European colonists, the Western Abenakis inhabited what is now New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, as well as parts of Quebec and western Maine. Their principal town was Norridgewock in today's Maine. The Penobscots lived along

1275-545: Is a better predictor than general forest age or biomass. Due to an increasing the amount of nitrogen in the soil from climate change , the red maple is becoming one of the most abundant trees in the region, and outcompeting other maples such as the sugar maple . The most populous cities as of the 2020 U.S. Census were (metropolitan areas in parentheses): During the 20th century, urban expansion in regions surrounding New York City has become an important economic influence on neighboring Connecticut, parts of which belong to

1360-476: Is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from the new rule are said to have grandfather rights or acquired rights, or to have been grandfathered in. Frequently, the exemption is limited, as it may extend for a set time, or it may be lost under certain circumstances; for example, a grandfathered power plant might be exempt from new, more restrictive pollution laws, but

1445-659: Is dotted with lakes, hills, marshes and wetlands, and sandy beaches. Important valleys in the region include the Champlain Valley , the Connecticut River Valley and the Merrimack Valley . The longest river is the Connecticut River , which flows from northeastern New Hampshire for 407 mi (655 km), emptying into Long Island Sound , roughly bisecting the region. Lake Champlain , which forms part of

1530-769: Is geologically a part of the New England province , an exotic terrane region consisting of the Appalachian Mountains , the New England highlands and the seaboard lowlands. The Appalachian Mountains roughly follow the border between New England and New York. The Berkshires in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and the Green Mountains in Vermont, as well as the Taconic Mountains , form a spine of Precambrian rock. The Appalachians extend northwards into New Hampshire as

1615-548: Is in the Back Bay neighborhood at 800 Boylston Street and houses the 620,000-square-foot (58,000 m) Prudential Center shopping mall in the base. Known to locals as "the Pru," it is bordered by Belvidere, Dalton, Boylston, and Exeter streets overlooking Huntington Avenue . Before the Prudential development, the site was a switch yard for the Boston and Albany Railroad . By 1965, a part of

1700-501: Is less snowfall (especially in the coastal areas where it is often warmer). Southern and coastal Connecticut is the broad transition zone from the cold continental climates of the north to the milder subtropical climates to the south. The frost free season is greater than 180 days across far southern/coastal Connecticut, coastal Rhode Island, and the islands (Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard). Winters also tend to be much sunnier in southern Connecticut and southern Rhode Island compared to

1785-418: Is one of the U.S. Census Bureau's nine regional divisions and the only multi-state region with clear and consistent boundaries. It maintains a strong sense of cultural identity, although the terms of this identity are often contrasted, combining Puritanism with liberalism, agrarian life with industry, and isolation with immigration. The earliest known inhabitants of New England were American Indians who spoke

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1870-435: Is only the 39th-largest state, slightly smaller than Indiana . The remaining states are among the smallest in the U.S., including the smallest state —Rhode Island. The areas of the states (including water area) are: New England's long rolling hills, mountains, and jagged coastline are glacial landforms resulting from the retreat of ice sheets approximately 18,000 years ago, during the last glacial period . New England

1955-689: Is slightly taller at 790 feet (240 m). Today, the Prudential is no longer among the fifty tallest buildings in the U.S. in architectural height. Within Boston, in addition to the nearby John Hancock tower, many other tall buildings have since been built such as the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, One Dalton Street at 742 feet and the Millennium Tower in the Downtown Crossing neighborhood at 685 feet. The financial district, including

2040-622: Is the first station on the Green Line E branch after its split from the main line at Copley Square . Back Bay is a stop on the Orange Line and is accessible to the complex via the Copley Place mall, to which it is attached by a walkway over Huntington Avenue. Back Bay is also served by Amtrak , including the Acela high-speed train. The Prudential Center serves as one of three starting locales for

2125-420: Is very high technology manufacturing, such as jet engines, nuclear submarines, pharmaceuticals, robotics, scientific instruments, and medical devices. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology invented the format for university-industry relations in high tech fields and spawned many software and hardware firms, some of which grew rapidly. By the 21st century, the region had become famous for its leadership roles in

2210-673: The Boston Citgo sign . Using similar negotiations, Prudential retains two notable signs in Times Square . The tradition of using the window lights to support local sports teams and events began at its inception in 1964 supporting the charity drive for the United Fund, a predecessor of the United Way. The building's windows have been illuminated with "GO B's" to support the Boston Bruins during

2295-700: The Boston Marathon bombing . The display was seen on the north side of the building, overlooking Boylston Street , where the tragedy occurred just a week earlier. Over the past few years, the Prudential Tower has been illuminated through light-emitting diodes (LEDs), that have the capacity to create a glow near the top of the building. The lighting is used for special occasions and charitable events and can support nearly every color, including pink, maroon, red, orange, yellow, gold, green, blue, and purple. The Prudential Center, situated on 23 acres (93,000 m),

2380-459: The Dominion of New England , an administrative union including all of the New England colonies. In 1688, the former Dutch colonies of New York , East New Jersey , and West New Jersey were added to the dominion. The union was imposed from the outside and contrary to the rooted democratic tradition of the colonies, and it was highly unpopular among the colonists. The dominion significantly modified

2465-669: The Fifteenth Amendment . After Democrats took control of state legislatures again, especially after the Compromise of 1877 , they began to work to restrict the ability of black people to vote. Paramilitary groups such as the White League , Red Shirts , and rifle clubs had intimidated black people or barred them from the polls in numerous elections before what they called the Redemption (restoration of white supremacy ). Nonetheless,

2550-544: The Mayflower Compact before leaving the ship, and it became their first governing document. The Massachusetts Bay Colony came to dominate the area and was established by royal charter in 1629 with its major town and port of Boston established in 1630. Massachusetts Puritans began to establish themselves in Connecticut as early as 1633. Roger Williams was banished from Massachusetts for theological reasons; he led

2635-599: The New Deal coalition and making the once-Republican region into one that was closely divided. However, the enormous spending on munitions, ships, electronics, and uniforms during World War II caused a burst of prosperity in every sector. The region lost most of its factories starting with the loss of textiles in the 1930s and getting worse after 1960. The New England economy was radically transformed after World War II. The factory economy practically disappeared. Once-bustling New England communities fell into economic decay following

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2720-604: The New York metropolitan area . The U.S. Census Bureau groups Fairfield , New Haven and Litchfield counties in western Connecticut together with New York City and other parts of New York and New Jersey as a combined statistical area . The following are metropolitan statistical areas as defined by the United States Census Bureau . Grandfather clause A grandfather clause , also known as grandfather policy , grandfathering , or being grandfathered in ,

2805-846: The Penobscot River in Maine. The Narragansetts and smaller tribes under their sovereignty lived in Rhode Island, west of Narragansett Bay, including Block Island . The Wampanoags occupied southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket . The Pocumtucks lived in Western Massachusetts, and the Mohegan and Pequot tribes lived in Connecticut. The Connecticut River Valley linked numerous tribes culturally, linguistically, and politically. As early as 1600 CE, French, Dutch, and English traders began exploring

2890-557: The Puritan work ethic , in contrast to the Southern colonies which focused on agricultural production while importing finished goods from England. By 1686, King James II had become concerned about the increasingly independent ways of the colonies, including their self-governing charters, their open flouting of the Navigation Acts , and their growing military power. He therefore established

2975-640: The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with his war on "unlisted securities". Hull gave testimony to the US Senate (Sen. Duncan Upshaw Fletcher ) for work on the Pecora Commission , which revealed that neither Albert H. Wiggin (born in Medfield, MA) nor J. P. Morgan Jr. had paid any income taxes in 1931 and 1932; a public outcry ensued. Boston figured prominently on the subject of securities laws in

3060-617: The Siege of Boston by continental troops. In March 1776, British forces were compelled to retreat from Boston. After the dissolution of the Dominion of New England, the colonies of New England ceased to function as a unified political unit but remained a defined cultural region. There were often disputes over territorial jurisdiction, leading to land exchanges such as those regarding the Equivalent Lands and New Hampshire Grants . By 1784, all of

3145-456: The Stanley Cup playoffs and "GO SOX" or a "1" during important World Series and postseason games. In the 1999, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018 Major League Baseball playoffs, the building's tenants turned on and off their lights to spell out "GO SOX", providing a visual for Boston Red Sox fans nearby and at Fenway Park . The tower appears in nearly all pictures of deep right field from

3230-570: The Terminal Tower in Cleveland, Ohio . It also ended the Custom House Tower 's 59-year reign as the tallest building in Boston, and passed Hartford 's Travelers Tower as the tallest building in New England. The newly built Prudential Tower dwarfed John Hancock Financial 's headquarters building , built in 1947. This spurred the insurance rival to build the 1975 John Hancock Tower , which

3315-600: The White Mountains , and then into Maine and Canada. Mount Washington in New Hampshire is the highest peak in the Northeast, although it is not among the ten highest peaks in the eastern United States. It is the site of the second highest recorded wind speed on Earth, and has the reputation of having the world's most severe weather. The coast of the region, extending from southwestern Connecticut to northeastern Maine,

3400-514: The tower in Chicago ) constructed as capital investments by Prudential Financial (formerly, The Prudential Insurance Company of America). Preceding Prudential Financial's demutualization , Prudential sold many of its real estate assets, for instance most of the air rights in Times Square , and the Prudential Center in Boston, to put cash on the corporate balance sheets. The Gillette Company , now

3485-580: The 1850s, and all of New England became strongly Republican, including areas that had previously been strongholds for both the Whig and the Democratic parties. New England remained solidly Republican until Catholics began to mobilize behind the Democrats, especially in 1928. This led to the end of "Yankee Republicanism" and began New England's relatively swift transition into a consistently Democratic stronghold in national elections. The flow of immigrants continued at

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3570-510: The 614-foot (187 m) Federal Reserve Bank is now the 5th tallest at 614 feet. The Prudential, John Hancock and now the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences towers dominate the Back Bay skyline. When it was built, the Prudential Tower received mostly positive architectural reviews. The New York Times called it "the showcase of the New Boston [representing] the agony and the ecstasy of

3655-566: The Beverly Cotton Manufactory. The Connecticut River Valley became a crucible for industrial innovation, particularly the Springfield Armory , pioneering such advances as interchangeable parts and the assembly line which influenced manufacturing processes all around the world. From early in the nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth, the region surrounding Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut served as

3740-561: The Boston Duck Tours, a popular tourist attraction in the city. In November 2016, a 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m) Eataly location was opened, replacing the existing food court. The " Top of the Hub " restaurant, which had occupied the 52nd floor since December 1965, was scheduled to permanently close on April 18, 2020, but was closed a month earlier due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The main rooftop mast supports two FM master antennas, and

3825-408: The Boston skyline more than any other structure". In 1990, Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell commented: "The Prudential Center has been the symbol of bad design in Boston for so long that we'd probably miss it if it disappeared." The Prudential Center is currently owned by Boston Properties . The building is one of several Prudential Centers built around the United States (such as

3910-517: The English colonists and their Iroquois allies defeated the French and their Algonquian allies. In the late 18th century, political leaders from the New England colonies initiated resistance to Britain's taxes without the consent of the colonists . Residents of Rhode Island captured and burned a British ship which was enforcing unpopular trade restrictions, and residents of Boston threw British tea into

3995-790: The New World, trading metal, glass, and cloth for local beaver pelts. On April 10, 1606, King James I of England issued a charter for the Virginia Company , which consisted of the London Company and the Plymouth Company . These two privately funded ventures were intended to claim land for England, to conduct trade, and to return a profit. In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower and established Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, beginning

4080-478: The Protestant Great Awakening in the region. Abolitionists who demanded immediate emancipation had their base in the region, such as William Lloyd Garrison , John Greenleaf Whittier , and Wendell Phillips . So too did anti-slavery politicians who wanted to limit the growth of slavery, such as John Quincy Adams , Charles Sumner , and John P. Hale . The anti-slavery Republican Party was formed in

4165-404: The Prudential Center complex: the Mandarin Oriental, Boston hotel. In 2016, 888 Boylston Street, a 17-story LEED Platinum-certified office building, completed the last site of the Prudential Center complex. The complex has direct indoor connections to two MBTA stops, Prudential and Back Bay . Prudential is on the Huntington Avenue side of the building directly outside the Colonnade Hotel and

4250-424: The Prudential Center include: New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States : Connecticut , Maine , Massachusetts , New Hampshire , Rhode Island , and Vermont . It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick to the northeast and Quebec to the north. The Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean are to

4335-410: The Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections that poll taxes could not be used in any elections. This secured the franchise for most citizens, and voter registration and turnout climbed dramatically in Southern states. There is also a rather different, older type of grandfather clause , perhaps more properly a grandfather principle in which a government blots out transactions of

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4420-413: The United States of the 1930s hit the region hard, with high unemployment in the industrial cities. The Boston Stock Exchange rivaled the New York Stock Exchange in 1930. In the beginning of 1930 John C. Hull , first Securities Director of Massachusetts (1930–1936), helped to mitigate the consequences of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. He was helpful in the passing of

4505-410: The United States and the United Kingdom fought the War of 1812 , New England Federalists organized the Hartford Convention in the winter of 1814 to discuss the region's grievances concerning the war, and to propose changes to the United States Constitution to protect the region's interests and maintain its political power. Radical delegates within the convention proposed the region's secession from

4590-418: The United States' epicenter for advanced manufacturing, drawing skilled workers from all over the world. The rapid growth of textile manufacturing in New England between 1815 and 1860 caused a shortage of workers. Recruiters were hired by mill agents to bring young women and children from the countryside to work in the factories. Between 1830 and 1860, thousands of farm girls moved from rural areas where there

4675-424: The United States, but they were outnumbered by moderates who opposed the idea. Politically, the region often disagreed with the rest of the country. Massachusetts and Connecticut were among the last refuges of the Federalist Party , and New England became the strongest bastion of the new Whig Party when the Second Party System began in the 1830s. The Whigs were usually dominant throughout New England, except in

4760-495: The appointment of the governors. After the Glorious Revolution , in 1689, Bostonians overthrew the royal governor, Sir Edmund Andros . During a popular and bloodless uprising , they seized dominion officials and adherents to the Church of England . These tensions eventually culminated in the American Revolution , boiling over with the outbreak of the War of American Independence in 1775. The first battles of which were fought in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts , leading to

4845-472: The army or navy of the United States or of the Confederate States during a time of war. After the U.S. Supreme Court found such provisions unconstitutional in Guinn v. United States (1915), states were forced to stop using the grandfather clauses to provide exemption to literacy tests. Without the grandfather clauses, tens of thousands of poor Southern whites were disenfranchised in the early 20th century. As decades passed, Southern states tended to expand

4930-440: The bloodiest of which was the Pequot War in 1637 which resulted in the Mystic massacre . On May 19, 1643, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven , and Connecticut joined in a loose compact called the New England Confederation (officially "The United Colonies of New England"). The confederation was designed largely to coordinate mutual defense, and it gained some importance during King Philip's War which pitted

5015-437: The border between Vermont and New York, is the largest lake in the region, followed by Moosehead Lake in Maine and Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. The climate of New England varies greatly across its 500 miles (800 km) span from northern Maine to southern Connecticut: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and western Massachusetts have a humid continental climate (Dfb in Köppen climate classification ). In this region

5100-520: The building in 1998. However, Prudential Financial 's then head of global marketing, and Boston native, Michael Hines, suggested that the real estate deal only go through with the condition that Prudential retain the name and signage rights for the Prudential Center and Prudential Tower. Signage rights in Boston are very limited, and Prudential's are grandfathered . The other notable backlit signs allowed above 100 feet (30 m) include The Colonnade Hotel, Boston, State Street Bank sign, Sheraton sign, and

5185-410: The capital of and largest city in Rhode Island. In 1620, the Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony , the second successful settlement in British America after the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia , founded in 1607. Ten years later, Puritans established Massachusetts Bay Colony north of Plymouth Colony. Over the next 126 years, people in the region fought in four French and Indian Wars until

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5270-451: The charters of the colonies, including the appointment of royal governors to nearly all of them. There was an uneasy tension among the royal governors, their officers, and the elected governing bodies of the colonies. The governors wanted unlimited authority, and the different layers of locally elected officials would often resist them. In most cases, the local town governments continued operating as self-governing bodies, just as they had before

5355-474: The coast, which enabled numerous cities to take advantage of water power along the many rivers, such as the Connecticut River , which bisects the region from north to south. Each state is generally subdivided into small municipalities known as towns , many of which are governed by town meetings . Unincorporated areas are practically nonexistent outside of Maine, and village-style governments common in other areas are limited to Vermont and Connecticut. New England

5440-518: The colonists and their Indian allies against a widespread Indian uprising from June 1675 through April 1678, resulting in killings and massacres on both sides. In the aftermath of settler-Native conflicts, hundreds of captive Indians were sold into slavery . Up until 1700, Native Americans comprised a majority of the non-white labor force in colonial New England. During the next 74 years, there were six colonial wars that took place primarily between New England and New France , during which New England

5525-434: The early 1930s in response to the Great Depression. Harvard University professors Felix Frankfurter , Benjamin V. Cohen , and James M. Landis drafted the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was the first chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission , and he was from Boston. The Democrats appealed to factory workers and especially Catholics, pulling them into

5610-424: The east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the southwest. Boston is New England's largest city and the capital of Massachusetts. Greater Boston is the largest metropolitan area, with nearly a third of New England's population; this area includes Worcester, Massachusetts , the second-largest city in New England; Manchester, New Hampshire , the largest city in New Hampshire; and Providence, Rhode Island ,

5695-427: The exception may be revoked and the new rules would apply if the plant were expanded. Often, such a provision is used as a compromise or out of practicality, to allow new rules to be enacted without upsetting a well-established logistical or political situation. This extends the idea of a rule not being retroactively applied . The term originated in late 19th-century legislation and constitutional amendments passed by

5780-466: The fields of education, medicine, medical research, high-technology, finance, and tourism. Some industrial areas were slow in adjusting to the new service economy. In 2000, New England had two of the ten poorest cities in the U.S. (by percentage living below the poverty line): the state capitals of Providence, Rhode Island and Hartford, Connecticut . They were no longer in the bottom ten by 2010; Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire remain among

5865-433: The flight of the region's industrial base. The textile mills one by one went out of business from the 1920s to the 1970s. For example, the Crompton Company went bankrupt in 1984 after 178 years in business, costing the jobs of 2,450 workers in five states. The major reasons were cheap imports, the strong dollar, declining exports, and a failure to diversify. The shoe industry subsequently left the region as well. What remains

5950-490: The franchise for poor whites, but most black people could not vote until after passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act . Ratification in 1964 of the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the use of poll taxes in federal elections, but some states continued to use them in state elections. The 1965 Voting Rights Act had provisions to protect voter registration and access to elections, with federal enforcement and supervision where necessary. In 1966,

6035-422: The harbor. Britain responded with a series of punitive laws stripping Massachusetts of self-government which the colonists called the " Intolerable Acts ". These confrontations led to the first battles of the American Revolutionary War in 1775 and the expulsion of the British authorities from the region in spring 1776. The region played a prominent role in the movement to abolish slavery in the United States, and it

6120-540: The history of permanent European colonization in New England. In 1616, English explorer John Smith named the region "New England". The name was officially sanctioned on November 3, 1620, when the charter of the Virginia Company of Plymouth was replaced by a royal charter for the Plymouth Council for New England , a joint-stock company established to colonize and govern the region. The Pilgrims wrote and signed

6205-465: The left field line, and is prominently featured in most broadcasts from the park. A normal display of 91 foot tall letters takes over 140 man-hours , covers 18 floors of the building, uses 165 additional window lights, and 260 window block out panels. On April 22, 2013, the City of Boston requested the lighting of the Prudential Tower with the number "1" in support of The One Fund Boston and those affected by

6290-660: The more Democratic Maine and New Hampshire. New England was key to the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The Blackstone Valley running through Massachusetts and Rhode Island has been called the birthplace of America's industrial revolution. In 1787, the first cotton mill in America was founded in the North Shore seaport of Beverly, Massachusetts as the Beverly Cotton Manufactory . The Manufactory

6375-515: The negotiations for the Massachusetts Turnpike extension included the construction of the roadway below parts of the Prudential complex. The Prudential still has its own (eastbound only) exit from the turnpike for this reason. The new skyscraper at 111 Huntington Avenue was completed in 2002, directly across the street from The Colonnade Hotel, at 120 Huntington Avenue. The third tower of the Prudential Center, 101 Huntington Avenue, is, at

6460-628: The rest of New England. New England contains forested ecosystems with a variety of terrestrial vertebrates. Land-use patterns and land disturbance, such as the dramatic increase in land clearing for agriculture in the mid eighteenth century to nineteenth century, greatly altered the ecosystem and resulted in extinctions, local extirpations , and recolonizations. According to an analysis of USDA Forest Service data, tree species diversity increases from north to south at about two to three species per degree in latitude. In addition, taller trees are associated with higher tree species diversity, and tree height

6545-609: The right to vote. Although these original grandfather clauses were eventually ruled unconstitutional, the terms grandfather clause and grandfather have been adapted to other uses. The original grandfather clauses were contained in new state constitutions and Jim Crow laws passed between 1890 and 1908 by white-dominated state legislatures including Alabama , Georgia , Louisiana , North Carolina , Oklahoma , and Virginia . They restricted voter registration , effectively preventing African Americans from voting. Racial restrictions on voting in place before 1870 were invalidated by

6630-456: The states in the region had taken steps towards the abolition of slavery, with Vermont and Massachusetts introducing total abolition in 1777 and 1783, respectively. The nickname "Yankeeland" was sometimes used to denote the New England area, especially among Southerners and the British. Vermont was admitted to statehood in 1791 after settling a dispute with New York. The territory of Maine had been

6715-414: The ten wealthiest states in the United States in terms of median household income and per capita income. The states of New England have a combined area, including water surfaces, of 71,988 square miles (186,447 km ), making the region slightly larger than the state of Washington and slightly smaller than Great Britain . Maine alone constitutes nearly one-half of the total area of New England, yet

6800-452: The winters are long and cold, and heavy snow is common (most locations receive 60–120 inches (150–300 cm) of snow annually in this region). The summer's months are moderately warm, though summer is rather short and rainfall is spread through the year. In central and eastern Massachusetts, northern Rhode Island, and northern Connecticut, the same humid continental prevails (Dfa), though summers are warm to hot, winters are shorter, and there

6885-823: Was allied with the Iroquois Confederacy and New France was allied with the Wabanaki Confederacy . Mainland Nova Scotia came under the control of New England after the Siege of Port Royal (1710) , but both New Brunswick and most of Maine remained contested territory between New England and New France. The British eventually defeated the French in 1763, opening the Connecticut River Valley for British settlement into western New Hampshire and Vermont. The New England Colonies were settled primarily by farmers who became relatively self-sufficient. Later, New England's economy began to focus on crafts and trade, aided by

6970-534: Was also considered the largest cotton mill of its time. Technological developments and achievements from the Manufactory led to the development of more advanced cotton mills, including Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island . Towns such as Lawrence, Massachusetts , Lowell, Massachusetts , Woonsocket, Rhode Island , and Lewiston, Maine became centers of the textile industry following the innovations at Slater Mill and

7055-418: Was made for all persons allowed to vote before the American Civil War , and any of their descendants. The term grandfather clause arose from the fact that the laws tied the then-current generation's voting rights to those of their grandfathers. According to Black's Law Dictionary , some Southern states adopted constitutional provisions exempting from the literacy requirements descendants of those who fought in

7140-478: Was no paid employment to work in the nearby mills, such as the Lowell Mill Girls . As the textile industry grew, immigration also grew. By the 1850s, immigrants began working in the mills, especially French Canadians and Irish . New England as a whole was the most industrialized part of the United States. By 1850, the region accounted for well over a quarter of all manufacturing value in the country and over

7225-500: Was the first region of the U.S. transformed by the Industrial Revolution , initially centered on the Blackstone and Merrimack river valleys. The physical geography of New England is diverse. Southeastern New England is covered by a narrow coastal plain , while the western and northern regions are dominated by the rolling hills and worn-down peaks of the northern end of the Appalachian Mountains . The Atlantic fall line lies close to

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