Connecticut and Massachusetts
Two small, New England states that can trace their beginnings to important moments in the
founding of these United States!
And yes, both have a lot in common.
Both are just...really nice.
According to the latest data, both are two of the wealthiest states in the country.
Just looking at GDP per capita, last year Massachusetts had the second highest in the
country and Connecticut had the fourth highest.
Both states also have really high median incomes.
Both have low poverty rates.
Both have relatively low violent crime rates.
Yeah, I know about New Haven, ok.
But no, overall both are really nice, and because of that both do have a really high
cost of living.
That said, Massachusetts is slightly more expensive overall.
Both states have higher taxes than most other states in the country.
Some people even refer to Massachusetts as “Taxachusetts” because of the stereotype
of higher taxes.
However, did you know that overall Connecticut has higher taxes?
You didn’t?
Well now you know, congratulations.
Both are two of the smallest states in the country.
That said, Massachusetts is about 1.6 times bigger than Connecticut.
Only two states, Delaware and Rhode Island, are smaller than Connecticut.
Both are part of the Northeast Megalopolis (mwhahahahahaha), a part of the country that
contains more than 17 percent of its entire population, or some 50 million people on less
than 2% of the country’s land area.
The median age in both states is higher than the national median age.
(C- 41, M- 39.5)
Residents of both states mostly trace their ancestry to European countries.
However, both have become more ethnically diverse in recent years.
16.8% of the population of Massachusetts and 14.6% of the population of Connecticut were
born in another country.
That’s higher than the national average.
Both states have a lot of Christians, with Massachusetts being a hub for Roman Catholics
and Connecticut having a plurality of Protestants.
However, many in both states are not religious at all.
Church attendance in both states has been steadily declining for decades.
In fact, according to Pew Research, Massachusetts is the least religious state in the country.
Both have some of the best higher education in the world.
And while the big two universities are Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Yale in New
Haven, Connecticut, Massachusetts also has MIT, Boston University, Tufts University,
Williams College, and Amherst College, just to name a few.
Oh yeah?
Well Connecticut can boast Trinity College, Wesleyan University, UConn, Fairfield University,
and Quinnipiac University, to name a few more.
And yeah, both states have really high proportions of people with college degrees (C- 47.5%,
M- 52.4%).
Massachusetts is at the top of this list.
Connecticut is third.
And both spend much more per student than the national average.
In fact, Massachusetts was the first state in the country to pass a law forcing kids
to go to school.
According to WalletHub, Massachusetts has the best public schools in the country.
In second place?
Why, Connecticut, of course.
Politically, residents of both states lean to the left, but Massachusetts residents have
elected more Republican governors in recent years.
However, back in the presidential election of 1972, Massachusetts was the only state
to go for the Democratic candidate, George McGovern, and last voted for a Republican
presidential candidate in 1984, while Connecticut last went for the Republican presidential
candidate in 1988.
Massachusetts is known for being a trailblazer state on many issues, consistently being ahead
of its time throughout history, including being a big abolitionist state well before
the Civil War and legalizing same-sex marriage back in 2004!
Hey, that unintentionally rhymed.
Anyway, because of this progressive trend, some conservative Republicans have historically
attacked moderate Republicans and Democrats as “Massachusetts Liberals.”
THOSE DANG LIBERALS.
Oh, and I should say Connecticut was the SECOND state to legalize same-sex marriage, just
two years after Massachusetts.
Both have similar climates.
Most of the southern portion of Connecticut and eastern portion of Massachusetts have
a humid subtropical climate and oceanic climate, while the northern part of Connecticut and
western part of Massachusetts have a humid continental climate.
Both have warm summers and coooold winters.
Massachusetts does get a bit colder in the winter being a bit further north, I guess.
Both get Nor’easters, a special type of hurricane that gets stronger from cold air.
Both also occasionally get ol’ fashioned regular hurricanes and tropical storms.
Despite their small size, both states have a wide variety of landscapes.
The further west you go in Massachusetts, the hiller it gets until you get to straight
up mountains.
Uh, the Appalachian Mountains that is.
The northwest portion of Connecticut also has some of these mountains.
Both also have lots of marshes and beautiful beaches.
Both border the Atlantic Ocean.
The Connecticut River, the longest river in New England, flows through both states, and
major towns in both along the river have economic partnerships!
Speaking of New England, Massachusetts borders all the states in the region, well except
Maine.
But Maine used to be part of Massachusetts.
And of course it borders Connecticut.
I forgot to say that earlier.
Connecticut itself not only borders Massachusetts but also borders Rhode Island and New York,
and is in the Tri-State Area with New York and New Jersey!
The official names of both states have Native American origins: Massachusetts comes from
native Massachsuett people, while Connecticut is derived from the Mohegan-Pequot word “Quinnehtukqut”
meaning “long tidal river.”
Hey yeah, let’s get into some history now, shall we?
And for this episode, I have some special help from my friend Michael from the channel
MatrixMachine.
He’s gonna give you the history rundown, alright?
Michael: Thanks Mr. Beat.
What's going on fellas, I’ve been given the opportunity to be a guest in this video
but I can save the thanks for later.
Right now we have states to discuss.
Connecticut and Massachusetts do have their similarities, but when you take the “New
England” moniker off the two states, they become more independent of each other.
A modern day example would be football, in Massachusetts you can’t go anywhere without
seeing someone sad that one particular player is somewhere warmer down in Florida while
Connecticut likes to diversify its pain with the Jets and the Giants, who both play at
Metlife stadium… in New Jersey.
But I’m getting distracted by sports.
Yeah, let’s look at some history.
The land that would formally become Connecticut and Massachusetts in the late 1700s had been
previously inhabited by groups of humans, mostly Native Americans for thousands of years.
According to the website American Ancestors, the main three tribes in Massachusetts were
Mahican, Mohegan, and the Wampanoag while there were multiple if not dozens of tribes
in Connecticut.
However sooner rather than later, new settlers would come into this region that would have
a huge impact on the entire culture of the future United States.
In 1620 a group we know today simply as The Pilgrims sailed from England all the way across
the Atlantic Ocean and became the first European settlers of future Massachusetts and the surrounding
area.
Fortunately, they also became friendly with the Wampanoag people.
More Puritans eventually came to the area and founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in
1629.
Seven years later, more Puritans settled further south and founded the Connecticut Colony.
Throughout the rest of the 1600s both colonies grew rapidly.
By the time the American Revolution rolled around in the 1770s, the area had significantly
evolved and now formed a new region called “New England” and these people were ready
to riot.
Events such as the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party fired up residents of New
England to fight for their freedom against the British.
Important battles during what we now call The American War of Independence were fought
in Massachusetts, like the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Unfortunately or fortunately, Connecticut didn’t see nearly the same action as Massachusetts
did.
After the war, both states were among the first to ratify the new Constitution.
Not long after that, both states became the stronghold for the first official political
party in American history, the Federalist Party.
Both were pretty progressive early on.
Massachusetts was the first state to abolish slavery in 1783 followed shortly by Connecticut
the very next year.
Both were also strongholds for various reform movements throughout the early 1800s.
Meanwhile, both states were industrial hubs that continued to experience steady population
growth.
During the American Civil War, no battles ever reached both states.
However, both provided plenty of weapons, supplies, and...most importantly...SOLDIERS
for the Union side to help it secure victory.
After the war, Connecticut and Massachusetts entered The Gilded Age where industry continued
to grow and the economy flourished.
In the late 1800s, thousands of immigrants, mostly from Europe, came to both states in
search of a better life.
In 1891, in Springfield, Massachusetts, James Naismith invented the sport of basketball
with the goal of creating a fun game for groups who attended the YMCA.
I’d say he was pretty successful.
William G. Morgan also invented volleyball in 1895 in Holyoke Massachusetts, where today
the Volleyball Hall of Fame is located.
Let’s jump ahead to the Roaring Twenties, when both states became more urbanized and
immigration continued to soar.
In fact, this is when the famous Kennedy family started their dynasty when a man named Joseph
Kennedy decided to make a name for himself in the realm of politics.
The Kennedy Dynasty in Massachusetts lasted from the 1920s to 2009.
Famous Massachusetts politicians from the modern era include Former Speaker of the House
Tip O'Neill, who became a local icon, and former Senator Ted Kennedy who served 47 years
from 1962 until his death in 2009.
I could go on, but really you should just check out my channel MatrixMachine for more
political history.
Back to you, Mr. Beat.
Thanks Michael.
So as he said, the earliest European settlers were mostly Puritan, and their culture can
be seen in the legacy there even today.
Not just there, the entire country really.
Today, Massachusetts’ official nickname is “The Bay State,” which comes from its
many many bays, and Connecticut’s nickname, “The Constitution State,” comes from the
fact that the New Haven Colony drafted the first American colonial constitution for a
democratic society.
I mean, that’s debatable, but that’s what they say.
So how about differences?
Well, for starters, Massachusetts’ population is 7 million, almost double of Connecticut’s
3.6 million.
Massachusetts is currently gaining population while Connecticut is actually losing population.
However, both are still incredibly densely populated and two of the most urbanized states
in the country.
Major industries in Massachusetts include biotechnology, finance, and higher education,
while major industries in Connecticut include financial services, insurance, and manufacturing.
Big Massachusetts brands include Gillette, Dunkin’, and New Balance, and Connecticut
is the base of operations for ESPN, Subway, and Vineyard Vines.
Squirrel: Wasn’t Vineyard Vines founded in Massachusetts?
Mr. Beat: Yeah, on Martha’s Vineyard, smarty squirrel.
Hey speaking of Martha’s Vineyard, that’s the Massachusetts island known as a place
that rich people flock to every summer due to its beautiful beaches and relatively pleasant
climate.
Housing prices there are 96% higher than the national average.
Speaking of islands, both have islands, but Massachusetts has The Islands, you know what
I’m sayin’?
In addition to Martha’s Vineyard, there’s Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands , among
others.
Massachusetts gets more precipitation, on average.
Connecticut has some of the worst economic inequality in the entire country.
Massachusetts has professional sports teams.
Eh, Connecticut doesn’t.
Marijuana is legal in Massachusetts.
Not in Connecticut...at least not quite yet at the time of the making of this video.
Connecticut doesn’t have toll roads.
Massachusetts has the giant metropolitan area of Boston, with more than 4.6 million people.
Connecticut’s biggest metro within the state is Greater Hartford, with about 1.2 million
people.
The rest of the seven largest cities in Connecticut are actually part of the New York metropolitan
area: Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, and Danbury.
Indeed, many Connecticut residents commute to New York City for work.
Four American Presidents have been born in Massachusetts: John Adams, his son John Quincy
Adams, John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush, and Connecticut is actually the birthplace
of H.W. 's son, George W. Bush, another President of course.
A lot more stuff seems to have been invented in Massachusetts.
Ah, but Connecticut has the largest maritime museum in the world, Mystic Seaport.
That said, far more tourists flock to Massachusetts each year.
Hey there’s me in Plymouth.
The shape of Massachusetts is often easily identified thanks to Cape Cod.
There’s actually a canal that cuts through the peninsula that separates it from the mainland.
Apparently people
who live in Connecticut are nicknamed Nutmeggers?
The accents are more distinct in Massachusetts.
In Connecticut, there’s more variation, and they generally pronounce their Rs more
there.
Ok well they pronounce their Rs in western Massachusetts, too.
In conclusion, yeah I’d still say both have way more in common than differences.
To simply sum up the differences, Connecticut is basically Massachusetts without Boston
and if Massachusetts was more influenced by New York.
And, like I said earlier, there’s a good reason why the cost of living is so high in
both states- they remain highly desirable places to raise a family.
So fun bit of autobiography here- my mom lived in Massachusetts when she was a kid.
So which is better?
Connecticut or Massachusetts?
I especially want to hear from you if you are actually from one of those two states.
I know, I left stuff out and pronounced stuff wrong.
Hey, I had a couple of Massachusetts fellows help me out with this one!
A shout out to Boston native Jacob Fridman, who did most of the research and wrote a big
chunk of the script, and the North Reading native Michael from the channel MatrixMachine,
who helped with the research portion.
Be sure to check out Jacob’s podcast, which is called Gen Zers Talk Politics.
I’ve linked it in the description.
Also, check out MatrixMachine...I’ve linked it as well down there and over there.
His channel focuses on a lot of the same stuff I do.
Thanks for watching!