USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Andover: symbol of New England; the evolution of a town > Part 16
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
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The resulting constitution included the much-discussed Arti- cle III of Part One, requiring towns and parishes to "make suit- able provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God, and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion, and morality, in all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily." The draft was referred in March, 1780, to the three hundred town- ships, "the several sovereigns of Massachusetts Bay." What en- sued in Andover was typical of the procedure throughout most of the Commonwealth. At a special town meeting called on May 1, 1780, Esquire Samuel Phillips was chosen moderator, and a committee was named to meet with Andover's four convention delegates, survey the recommendations, and report at a later meeting. This committee consisted of eleven highly respected citizens: The Reverend William Symmes (fifth minister of the North Parish Church), the Reverend Jonathan French (pastor of the South Church), Esquire Phillips, Deacon Joshua Holt, Captain John Farnum, Jr., Mr. Nehemiah Abbot, Mr. Moody Bridges, Mr. Asa Abbot, Captain Peter Osgood, Mr. Philemon Chandler, and Lieutenant Oliver Peabody.
Much discussion followed, both in committee and in the en- suing town meeting, especially between the conservatives, who wished a strong government, and the liberals, who insisted that the rights of the individual should be preserved and protected. On the controversial religious issues, Andover favored taxing all citizens for the support of some form of worship but felt that each taxpayer should be permitted to designate the church to which his tax should be applied. The town approved of religious tests for candidates for public office, voting, with only one dis- senter, that "the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Counsellors, Senators, and Representatives ought to be of the Protestant re- ligion, and that this restriction should be made." It would be interesting to know something of the courageous individualist who stood out in the negative. Eventually the town put itself on record as favoring most of the proposed constitution.
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Obviously Andover people, perhaps because of their wise leadership, were interested in the constitution and gave it care- ful scrutiny. In many of the other areas, however, only about one voter out of twenty took the trouble to express an opinion. Much confusion might have resulted if the convention, reassem- bled on June 7, 1780, had not arbitrarily declared that the con- stitution had been adopted by the votes of more than two-thirds of the citizens. The democratic process resulted in this case in a decision by an oligarchy, to the benefit of most of those con- cerned. Nobody questioned the verdict, and on Wednesday, October 25, 1780, the first General Court under the new regime assembled at the State House.
John Adams once remarked, with a minimum of humility, "I made a Constitution for Massachusetts which finally made the Constitution of the United States." Although this is a slight exaggeration, the pattern set in the Commonwealth did have some influence on the delegates assembled in 1787 in Philadel- phia. The Massachusetts constitution differed, however, in es- tablishing a property qualification for voters and insisting on compulsory support for the Congregational Church. Not until 1820, at a second constitutional convention, did Massachusetts substitute a poll tax for its property qualification; and state sup- port was not withdrawn from the Congregational Church until 1833. In a sense the convention of 1780 was a victory of property over democracy and of bigotry over liberalism, but it is rightly said to have accomplished "much good by a little wrong."
At the first popular election under the new constitution, held in September, 1780, Samuel Phillips, Jr., was chosen as An- dover's member of the Senate, receiving in his native town three times as many votes as his father, Esquire Phillips, who was on the same ticket. The town's first two representatives to the lower house were Captain Peter Osgood and Captain Joshua Holt, who held their offices for several years. Samuel Phillips, Jr., served in the state senate, with the exception of one year, from 1780 to 1801, and in 1785 was chosen to succeed Samuel Adams as presi-
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dent of that body. His biographer, the Reverend John L. Tay- lor, writes of Phillips as President of the Senate:
Once raised to this chair, it seemed thenceforth to be his by a sort of inalienable right, though he was too humble so to regard it, and at times, as we learn from letters to Madame Phillips, was disposed to decline it.
His conspicuous part in the constitutional convention, fol- lowed by his election as senator, made Samuel Phillips, Jr., the acknowledged leading citizen of Andover and one of the promi- nent men in the Commonwealth. His cumulative successes evoked few jealousies, and his neighbors were proud of him as he marched at the head of the upper house from the old State House on State Street to the new one on Beacon Hill. His posi- tion was further strengthened through his appointment in 1781, by Governor John Hancock, as one of the justices of Common Pleas for Essex County. The fact that he was not a lawyer by profession seems to have been regarded as unimportant. Enter- ing upon his judicial duties on September 25, 1781, at Newbury- port, Phillips remained on the bench until 1798, never having been absent, except in two cases, over a period of more than six- teen years. After 1781, he was usually called by his contempo- raries "Judge" rather than "Senator," and he will be referred to by that title from now on in this narrative.
After his marriage in 1773 to Phoebe Foxcroft, of Cambridge, Phillips lived in the North Parish, first in his father's ample homestead and later "in a little old house" not far away. In 1777, however, he moved into a dwelling formerly belonging to George Abbot on what is now Phillips Street, and from that time on was identified with the South Parish. In 1782, with increasing pros- perity and the close of the war, he built himself a new home on the top of Andover Hill, on the west side of the Boston-Woburn Road, on a site close to and in front of the present Bishop Hall. This mansion was the most commodious and altogether "ele- gant" residence constructed up to that time in Andover. The
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frame, of choice New Hampshire lumber, was raised in sections, and when it was put up, stores and schools in both parishes were closed for the day, and men, women, and children assembled in the early morning on the training field across the street. That rugged veteran and preacher, Jonathan French, offered prayer. Then the sturdy males seized "ropes and pikes" to hoist the scaffolding into place. Cheer upon cheer rang out as the final successive tug brought the great beams into position. Then the panting laborers sought refreshment in tubs of punch provided by the grateful Senator and Judge.
Although Phillips, his wife, and his two small sons were able to move in by the close of 1782, the mansion was not entirely completed until 1785. When it was finished, it dominated the hillcrest and the South Parish like a baronial castle. The tale of its sixty-two windows was told the country round. Like many of the historical residences of Salem and Newburyport, it had three storeys with large square rooms, broad open fireplaces, wide window seats, fine paneling and wainscoting, and ponderous doors on massive hinges. The front door key, of enormous size and weight, was comparable to that which unlocked the gates of the Bastille in Paris. The doors and windows, however, were never barred except with a wooden catch, and Judge Phillips was cheerful host to nearly every distinguished visitor, indeed to many a passing traveler, for his prominence made him seem like a feudal lord, with responsibility for local hospitality.
The great house was not quite ready when the news of York- town reached Andover, but the townspeople had their own spon- taneous celebration of the victory. So popular was the program that for years afterwards "teenagers" observed each October what was called a "cornwallis," a muster in masquerade, like the "horribles" of a generation still remembered. The pranks of Hallowe'en probably go back to the "cornwallis," and both are probably based, in spirit at least, on primitive folk festivals, like those described in Fraser's The Golden Bough.
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PARTY POLITICS AND LEADERS
Although the cessation of hostilities naturally brought a feel- ing of relief, the trouble was not really over, for the inevitable postwar problems now had to be faced. Soldiers coming home to civilian life have always had adjustments to make, and these Rev- olutionary veterans were not to receive the "benefits" handed out by a grateful nation to participants in more recent conflicts. Poorly paid and in many cases unpaid, they were not in a mood to be patient with neighbors who had remained at home in com- parative comfort and had even made money. The Revolution had caused a general disruption of the economic organism, some of the manifestations of which have been summarized by James Truslow Adams in one cumulative and trenchant sentence:
The changes in business and agriculture during the struggle; the rapid rise of a new wealthy class; the simultaneous depression of many who had formerly been rich or well-to-do; maladjustment be- tween the returns from various occupations; the chaos of paper mon- ey; the lack of specie that quickly succeeded its sudden appearance in 1781; the load of debts, public and private; the harsh laws relating to debtors; the burden of taxation and its unequal incidence; the spirit of a people who had just passed through an agonizing struggle to win for themselves liberty of political action,-all made up a situ- ation that was threatening in the extreme.
All of the evils here mentioned afflicted in some degree the economy and happiness of Andover people during the 1780's. For most of them the decade was an uncertain, restless period when the future seemed as dubious as the past had been nerve- wracking. Although the town had been regarded as conservative, it had its discontented class, and there were at times sharp dif- ferences of opinion which even cool heads could not fully rec- oncile. Under the circumstances the town did well to maintain its stability. Always in the background were the two Phillipses, father and son, the older in the North Parish, the younger in the south end, complementing one another in wisdom and decision. Again and again we find one or both advising and guiding those
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around them, keeping the wrangling from getting out of hand. Saneness and sobriety prevented any major outbreaks.
In the succession of misunderstandings and complaints which culminated in Shays's so-called "rebellion" of 1786, Andover had a share, but those who had grievances did not resort to force: A committee appointed in September, headed by Esquire Phil- lips, made an investigation of the local situation. The members expressed themselves freely on some of the discontents, but in their conclusions quite properly took middle ground:
We esteem it our duty, at the present day, to bear our explicit testimony against all riotous and illegal proceedings and against all hostile attempts and menaces against law, justice, and good govern- ment, and to declare our readiness to exert ourselves in support of Government and the excellent Constitution of this Commonwealth. But at the same time we suppose there are many things complained of which ought to be remedied; and it is our desire that every griev- ance may be in a constitutional way redressed.
This statement was apparently intended to please everybody, but it is obvious that sentiment in the town did not condone the violence of Daniel Shays and his "rebel" followers. The ultra- conservative General Court refused to yield; and when he could secure no concessions, Shays instigated and led an armed insur- rection in the Connecticut Valley. The legislature then appoint- ed the veteran General Benjamin Lincoln to suppress the "re- bellion," and some Andover men were mustered hurriedly in- to the militia. In a series of marches Lincoln drove back the malcontents and finally, on the night of February 2, 1787, led his troops through a snowstorm and routed Shays's army at Petersham.
The rebels now having been arrested or dispersed, the Gen- eral Court passed an act defining the terms upon which pardon and indemnity could be extended to those who had borne arms against the Commonwealth, and established a special commis- sion to treat with the disaffected leaders. To this commission
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Judge Phillips was appointed, together with General Lincoln and Samuel A. Otis, Speaker of the House of Representatives. After spending an arduous month of investigation, they sub- mitted a report stating that seven hundred and ninety persons had subscribed to a confession of penitence for their misconduct. This inquiry into the complicated causes of the insurrection re- vealed that the chief complaint arose from private debts, brought about mainly by "an undue use of articles of foreign growth and manufacture"; but this oversimplification was clearly inade- quate. Judge Phillips was himself an advocate of wholesale am- nesty; and even Shays, although condemned to death, was even- tually pardoned and moved to New York State, where he did not die until 1825. His biographer points out that although he had little education and not much ability, he was brave and honest and "convinced that in the rebellion of 1786-1787 he was fight- ing the same battle of the people which he had fought in the Revolution." Judge Phillips, in his own town, was regarded as too lenient and while he was absent on official business he lost the nomination for the Senate. In the following year, however, he was reinstated and resumed his chair as presiding officer of that body.
It is now generally agreed that throughout this "rebellion," which was started largely by the farmers and the debtor class in the central part of the state, the General Court acted in the wrong way at the wrong time and from the wrong motives. The followers of Shays were like the adherents at a later date of Wil- liam J. Bryan and La Follette, with a distrust of lawyers and bankers and "city folks." More farsighted and intelligent lead- ership in the state government would, in the first place, have taken prompt steps towards the investigation and redress of grievances and, in the second place, would have acted more vig- orously against armed rebellion when it broke out. A spirit of conciliation could have averted much trouble. Judge Phillips was reasonable and sympathetic in an hour when many of his
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colleagues were lacking in vision, magnanimity, and plain com- mon sense.
Meanwhile the defects of the Articles of Confederation had become increasingly apparent, and the rising pressure on Con- gress finally resulted in the calling of a general convention of the states to meet in May, 1787, in Philadelphia. The delegation from Massachusetts, chosen with due regard to geographical considerations, comprised Elbridge Gerry, Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King, and Caleb Strong, of whom the first was from Essex County. Born in Marblehead in 1744, Gerry had been graduated from Harvard and, after going into the family shipping business, was elected to the General Court in 1772. As a member of Con- gress during the Revolutionary period, he played an important part in political affairs and was probably a logical choice for the Constitutional Convention from the Essex County area. Very few people realized at the moment what was ahead, for Congress, in its cautious resolve, had called the convention for "the sole purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation."
During the proceedings of the convention, the Massachusetts delegation was by no means a unit; and when, after prolonged discussion and argument, the new constitution was signed on September 17, only Gorham and King signed it from Massachu- setts. Caleb Strong, who had returned home in August because of illness in his family, did later attach his name; but Gerry, who had begun as an advocate of a strong central government, showed throughout the debates a most annoying inconsistency and even- tually opposed the constitution on the ground that it failed to guarantee individual and personal liberties. Gerry's so-called "stern republicanism" was not always followed to its logical conclusions, and not even his friends were sure what position he was likely to take on a matter involving principle. Judge Phillips would have made a far better delegate from Essex County, but he had not been sufficiently active in politics to be chosen.
The resulting Federal Constitution, supported so ardently by
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Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, and other patriots, was re- ferred to the states and ratified successively by Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. The Massa- chusetts Convention to determine what action should be taken by the Commonwealth was called for January 9, 1788, in Boston; and on December 3, 1787, the citizens of Andover chose as their delegates Captain Peter Osgood, Jr., Dr. Thomas Kittridge, and Mr. William Symmes, Jr.
Of this trio, Symmes, son of the North Parish minister, was apparently the leader. Born in 1760, he had been one of the ear- ly pupils at the new Phillips Academy, was graduated from Har- vard in 1780, and had then studied law under the distinguished Theophilus Parsons. He was the first attorney to open an office in Andover. He was described by a contemporary as "of sober and grave aspect," not a fluent speaker, but with a delivery which was "impressive, stately, and graceful." Not yet thirty years old, he had to match himself against delegates much more experi- enced than he. Captain Peter Osgood, as we have noted, had been Andover's representative to the General Court and was a trusted citizen. Dr. Kittridge was a member of the family of physicians who had for so long practiced their profession in the town.
On November 17, 1787, Symmes wrote to Osgood a letter which has been described as "probably the first review" of the proposed Federal Constitution. The objections raised by Symmes, when studied in their relationship to the Philadelphia debates, seem hastily drawn up and far from cogent; and the letter uses argument to justify an emotional prejudice. Whether or not Symmes consulted Gerry on the subject cannot be ascer- tained. What he said, however, had some influence locally, for the Andover delegation went to Boston resolved to oppose the adoption of the constitution. Indeed it was commonly under- stood before the convention that a majority of the members, perhaps as many as fifty, were in a mood of skepticism, not ex- pecting to be persuaded or convinced.
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The official report of the Debates and Proceedings of the Massa- chusetts Convention of 1788, published for the first time in 1856, shows that when the discussion opened on January 22, Symmes was one of the earliest to take the floor, arguing modestly but quite firmly against the numerous and, in his judgment, the ex- cessive powers allotted to Congress. During the next few days, however, a change of sentiment took place among the delegates. Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who had at first been luke- warm, responded to pressures and came out openly for adoption. Furthermore Gerry, when he addressed the convention by invi- tation, made a poor impression and lost some of his following.
On January 31, a special town meeting was called in Andover to determine what recommendations, if any, the citizens should make. The question as submitted was, "Whether it is the opin- ion of the town that it be expedient, all circumstances consid- ered, that the Federal Constitution now under the consideration of the Convention, sitting at Boston for the purpose of consid- ering the same, be adopted as it now stands." Symmes was ap- parently not present, and Judge Phillips was presumably occu- pied with his duties as President of the Senate. After a full and somewhat heated debate, such as went on in other communities within the Commonwealth, the vote showed 115 for the consti- tution and 124 against. But the town wisely did not shackle its delegates with rigid instructions.
This was fortunate for Symmes, who had undergone a conver- sion. On Wednesday, February 6, he delivered the closing speech from the floor, admitting that the arguments presented by the proponents of the constitution had led him to change his mind. President John Hancock then summarized the discussion of the convention and the formal vote was taken, showing 187 in favor and 168 against. The margin was slim, but it was conclusive; and as soon as the result was announced, several members who had been consistent opponents of the constitution rose in turn to declare their intention of going back and advising their com- munities to support it. Its advocates, including not only Gorham
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and King but also Theophilus Parsons and Caleb Strong, had presented their arguments with tact and skill. They did not say in public what General Jackson wrote on February 3, to General Knox:
The whole race of the Antis are a set of poor devils, without one farthing in their pockets, and it is impossible for them to leave the town unless they receive their pay. Some of them have been to the Treasurer; he informs them that he has not a dollar in the public chest, nor does he know where to borrow one.
Nathaniel W. Hazen, in his Memorial Discourse on William Symmes, Esquire, delivered during the winter of 1859-1860, leaves the impression that Symmes's conversion to the Federalist cause had a compelling influence on the voting of other conven- tion members who had been on the fence. If this is true, An- doverians have reason to be very proud of him, for the result in Massachusetts was decisive. Ratification by that Commonwealth was actually the turning point in the contest. Very shortly Mary- land and South Carolina ratified without too much opposition, thus making eight states in favor. New Hampshire, which voted on June 21, became the ninth and deciding state, beating Vir- ginia by four days.
Fortunately there was little bitterness on the part of the de- feated minority in Boston, who were consoled by their knowl- edge that amendments were in prospect which would eventually form our Bill of Rights. The situation was different in Andover. Her other two delegates, Osgood and Kittridge, refused to change their views and voted against the adoption of the new constitution. In explaining his shift in attitude, Symmes said, "In so doing I stand acquitted to my own conscience. I hope and trust I shall to my constituents, and I know I shall before God." Time and events have completely vindicated him. But political foes among his neighbors did not forgive. Some of them main- tained that he was an opportunist, who had sacrificed principle to expediency. He was denounced for disregarding the expressed
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wishes of a majority of his townfolk. A sensitive man, he soon left Andover and moved to Portland, Maine, where he became a leader of the Cumberland County Bar and died in 1807, leaving an honored name.
In the Federal Government of 1789, Massachusetts was repre- sented by John Adams, as Vice-President. The two Senators were Tristram Dalton, of Newburyport, in Essex County, and Caleb Strong, of Northampton. The state had been divided into eight Congressional districts, Andover being in the third. The first Representative from this district was Benjamin Goodhue (1748-1814), of Salem, who served in the House for almost eight years. On March 4, 1791, Dalton was defeated for the Senate by George Cabot; and when Cabot resigned on June 6, 1796, Good- hue, a staunch Federalist, succeeded him in the upper house. During this period Andover had no candidates for national office.
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