Federal period

Bostonian John Adams, known as the "Atlas of Independence",^[101] was an important figure in both the struggle for independence as well as the formation of the new United States. Adams was highly involved in the push for separation from Britain and the writing of the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1780 which, in the Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker cases, effectively made Massachusetts the first state to have a constitution that declared universal rights and, as interpreted by Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice William Cushing, abolished slavery. David McCullough points out that an equally important feature was its placing for the first time the courts as a co-equal branch separate from the executive.^[102] The Constitution of Vermont, adopted in 1777, represented the first partial ban on slavery. Vermont became a state in 1791, but did not fully ban slavery until 1858 with the Vermont Personal Liberty Law. The Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act of 1780^[103] made Pennsylvania the first state to abolish slavery by statute. Later, Adams was active in early American foreign affairs and succeeded Washington as the second United States President. His son John Quincy Adams, also from Massachusetts,^[104] would go on to become the sixth United States President.
From 1786 to 1787, an armed uprising, known as Shays' Rebellion led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays wrought havoc throughout Massachusetts, and ultimately attempted to seize the Federal armory.^[49] The rebellion was one of the major factors in the decision to draft a stronger national constitution to replace the Articles of Confederation.^[49] On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.^[105]