USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the commonwealth period. 1775-1820 v. III > Part 32
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opposed to each other." On the composition of the two parties, see Tucker's Life of Jefferson, i. 483-485.
1 What does Mr. Jefferson mean, when, in speaking of his first inaugu- ral address, he says, it " was, from the nature of the case, all profession and promise" ? Tucker's Life of Jeffer- son, ii. 183.
2 Guizot's Essay on Washington, 83. Comp. "Falkland," by Fisher Ames, in Works, 147, ed. 1809.
3 The Correspondence of Washing- ton shows at how early a date these divisions appeared ; and Dr. Stuart, in a friendly letter of June 2, 1790, opened the " catalogue of public dis- contents." In his reply to this letter,
June 15, Washington very truly says, " The misfortune is, that the enemies to the government, always more ac- tive than its friends, and always on the watch to give it a stroke, neglect no opportunity to aim one. If they tell the truth, it is not the whole truth, - by which means one side only of the picture is exhibited ; whereas, if both sides were seen, it might, and probably would, assume a different form in the opinion of just and candid men, who are disposed to measure matters by a continental scale." Writings, x. 97.
4 Ames's Eulogy on Washington, in Works, 122; Bradford, iii. 17, 18. Comp. Tucker's Life of Jefferson, i. 354.
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317
RESUMPTION OF THE STATE DEBTS.
The public debt was still large ; and the most intelligent CHAP. acknowledged the difficulty of removing it at once. At the VIII. close of the revolution, the continental or national debt was 1790. upwards of forty-two millions of dollars ; and every state had a large demand on the general government for services ren- dered for the common defence, amounting, in all, to twenty- five millions of dollars more.1 Each state, likewise, was burdened with private debts for expenses incurred for its own protection ; and the debt of Massachusetts, on this account, was nearly five millions of dollars, without taking into the estimate its liability to pay the demands of those who held the paper money emitted during the war. The available resources of the state were inadequate to discharge this debt ; and for several years the interest had not been paid. Hence notes were issued to creditors, which were sold at a ruinous discount by those whose necessities required the sacrifice.2
To remedy these difficulties, and at the same time to revive public confidence, the General Congress, in the sessions of 1790, at the instance of Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, who Aug. 4. had made a report on the subject, agreed to assume nearly twenty-two millions of dollars of the debts of the states, which were considered to be properly chargeable to the government ; and this sum was apportioned among the states according to the expenses which each had incurred - four millions of dol- lars of the debt of Massachusetts being thus assumed.3 With
1 The national debt, in 1790, was $54,000,000, exclusive of the state debts, which had not then been as- sumed - an increase of $12,000,000 in about seven years, principally owing to the failure to pay the interest which had accrued. Of this sum, nearly $12,000,000 were due to foreign pow- ers,-to the court of France, and to privaté lenders in Holland, with a small sum to Spain; and to this debt a preference was given, to sustain the national credit. Comp. Gallatin's Views of the Public Debt, Receipts,
and Expenditures of the U. S., 2d ed., Philad., 1801. 2 Bradford, iii. 18, 19. An act for bringing to a speedy settlement all accounts subsisting between towns, and such persons as may have been employed by them in enlisting and paying soldiers and furnishing sup- plies for the late continental army, was passed February 13, 1789, in order to ascertain the state of public affairs. Mass. Laws for 1788-9, chap. liv.
3 On the national debt, see Jour- nals Senate and House of Reps. ; Hist.
318
RESUMPTION OF THE STATE DEBTS.
CHAP. this arrangement, however, the people were not fully satisfied ; VIII. and the General Court, at a subsequent date, prayed the fed- 1791. eral government to assume the residue of the debt of the commonwealth of a similar character ; but this was not imme- Nov. 1. diately done, though commissioners were appointed to consider the subject, and report at a future time. When this report 1792.
Feb. 7. was made, it was found that six out of the thirteen states had advanced more than their just proportion of the current ex- penses of the war, and seven less. The largest balance is said to have been in favor of South Carolina ; and as Massachu- 1794. setts stood next, after the lapse of nearly two years, a million and a quarter of dollars, in addition to the former sum, was credited to the state - making, in all, between five and six millions assumed by the general government. It would ap- pear, therefore, in fact, that Massachusetts, which had expend- ed, in all, eighteen millions of dollars, bore the expenses of the war of the revolution to the large amount of eleven and a half millions more than was reimbursed,1 though her debt was actually but five millions, the rest having been paid by almost incredible exertions and sacrifices during the war and after its close.2
Cong., chap. iii., iv., and vii. ; Sparks's Washington, x. 98; Pitkin's U. S., ii. 337-345, 538; Tucker's Life of Jef- ferson, i. 324-332 ; Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 152-174, 206-216, 323, 392, 493; Bradford, ni. 19, 20, and Hist. Fed. Gov't, 32, 70. Theodore Sedgwick, Elbridge Gerry, and Fisher Ames, three of the representatives from Massachusetts, took part in the debate on the assumption of the state debts ; and the principal opposition to this measure is said to have come from those states which had expended the least during the war. Jefferson was likewise opposed to this measure, and, indeed, to nearly all the other measures of which Hamilton was in favor.
000, $2,000,000 had been advanced by Congress during the war; and as $5,250,000 were afterwards assumed, the balance unpaid, and for which the state was solely responsible, was $11,750,000.
A portion of this money was raised by an excise on various articles of consumption, - chiefly such as were considered as luxuries ; but as the fed- eral government took this matter in hand, and adopted a general system of excise for the country, Massa- chusetts was deprived of the benefits of her own system, and was obliged in some other manner to provide for the payment of her debt. For the discussions in Congress on the tariff, see Journals Senate and House of
1 Of this disbursement of $18,000,- Reps .; Hist. Cong., chap. iii .; Aus-
319
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
The assumption, however, of a portion of the debt of the CHAP. state did not entirely relieve the people; and the burdens VIII. which remained were, among some classes, a cause of loud and 1790 to 1792. frequent complaint. The credit of the general government, principally from its position and its conceived effectiveness, of course exceeded the credit of the state governments. The former had matured a system of finance, while the latter had not. Hence the paper of Massachusetts was offered in the market at depreciated rates; and such was the distrust, real or professed, of the ability of the government to meet its de- mands, that few calculated with certainty upon the payment of the interest, much less the principal, of the sums for which it was indebted at any fixed time. An expectation was, indeed, cherished of obtaining large sums from the sale of the wild lands in the Province of Maine ; but, as the value of these lands was merely nominal, and the expense of their sur- vey was great, little was realized from this source. The lottery system had also its advocates ; but Governor Hancock, who was opposed on principle to this mode of raising money, had the wisdom and firmness to discourage the speculation, and the General Court soon became satisfied of its impolicy. and folly.1
Public embarrassments, however, did not wholly check pri- vate enterprise ; and a system of internal improvements was 1792. commenced in Massachusetts, which spread in a short time over the whole state. Several turnpikes were projected, and some were completed with despatch.2 The public roads were
tin's Life of Gerry, ii. ; Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 65-91, 96-101. Mad- ison introduced this subject ; and in the debate which ensued Elbridge Gerry, Benjamin Goodhue, and Fisher Ames actively participated. Lloyd's Congressional Debates. For the Mass. Excise law, see Laws of Mass. for 1790, chaps. xiv. and xv.
1 Bradford, iii. 25. Comp. Mass. Laws for 1786, chap. xl., and for
1788, chap. xvii. So late as 1794, the debt of the state was not fully cancelled ; and an act was passed at that date for its liquidation. Mass. Laws for 1793-4, chap. xxix.
2 Laws of Mass. ii. In 1796-7, additional acts were passed for estab- lishing turnpike corporations, known as the First, Second, and Third Mas- sachusetts Turnpikes, which were lo- cated in different parts of the state.
320
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
CHAP. repaired at the expense of the towns.1 And a canal was pro-
VIII. jected from Boston to the Connecticut River, and even to the
Mar.10.
1792. Hudson. General Cobb and General Knox were the principal advocates of this measure; but as the enterprise, from its magnitude, was not duly appreciated, there was little disposi- tion to engage in it with effect .? Shortly after, however, the
1793.
Jun. 22. Middlesex Canal was projected and constructed, chiefly through the influence of James Sullivan, Loammi Baldwin, and the Hon. James Winthrop.3 The proposal for a canal across
1 Bradford, iii. 34. An act, pro- viding " for the erecting guide posts upon public roads," was passed Feb- ruary 28, 1795; and February 28, 1797, an act was passed in addition to the several acts then in force respect- ing highways. Mass. Laws for 1794 -5, chap. lxii., and for 1797, chap. lvi. On the condition of roads gen- erally in the U. S., in 1796, see Am. Annual Reg. for 1796, 34-40.
Mass. Laws for 1792, chap. Ivii. ; Hildreth's U. S., 2d series, i. 635 ; Bradford, iii. 34. A short canal, a mile and a quarter in length, was dug between Newburyport and Hampton, N. H., in 1791. Coffin's Newbury, 265. Several acts were also passed, incorporating companies to open ca- nals and build bridges, from 1791 to 1796. Mass. Laws for 1791, chaps. vii., xxi., xxxvi., lxi., lxiii., and for 1792, chaps. xxii., xxxv., liii., lx., lxiv., lxxi., lxxxviii .; Mass. Mag. for Feb. 1793, 125. The canals referred to were from the head of New Meadow River to Merry Meeting Bay, in Maine, and the bridges were over the Merrimac, between Chelmsford and Dracut, Andover and Methuen, Haverhill and Bradford, and in the county of Essex ; over the Connecti- cut, between Montague and Green- field ; over Charles River, from West Boston to Cambridge; across New Meadow River; and over Miller's River, in Hampshire county. In 1796, an act was likewise passed for " giving a new appellation to a corporation in- stituted A. D. 1795, for bringing fresh
water into Boston by subterranear; pipes ; " and an act was passed, Feb. ruary 15, 1797, incorporating Joshua Thomas, Esq., and others, for con- veying fresh water by pipes into the town of Plymouth. Mass. Laws for 1796-7, chaps. i. and xlii. For fur ther remarks on canals in the U. S. see the Am. Annual Reg. for 1796 24-34; and for a list of canals ir France, in 1811, see Niles's Weekly Register, i. 98.
3 MS. Records of the Corp. ir the possession of T. C. Amory, Jun. Esq .; Mass. Laws for 1793, chap xxi. ; Bradford, iii. 35. The first meeting of the company was held May 9, 1793, and the act of incorpo ration was passed June 22. Addi. tional acts were passed in 1794, 1798 1799, 1802, 1812, 1814. Mr. Johr L. Sullivan, of Boston, a son of Gov. ernor Sullivan, yet living in New York was early interested in steam naviga- tion, and, being employed by a "re spectable incorporation to manage and finish their canal and construct others," he turned his attention to the invention of a steam tow boat, to be used on these canals, and so far " de monstrated the practicability of em- ploying steamboats thereon," that he memorialized the legislature of Massa chusetts, in 1814, for the formation o a company to navigate the Connecti- cut, having already a boat in operatior on the Merrimac. Comp. Mass. Lawe for June, 1811, chap. xxiii. ; and sec his Answer to Colden, Troy, 1823. On the subject of steam navigation
321
REVISION OF THE LAWS.
Cape Cod, to unite the waters of Buzzard's Bay, on the south- CHAP. west, and of Barnstable Bay, on the north-east, was of an
VIII. earlier date ; and a committee was appointed, by the author- 1791. ity of the General Court, to survey the grounds and ascertain the practicability of the work; but, though they reported favorably, the plan was not prosecuted, as several intelligent men had doubts of its utility, particularly at the season of the year when such a passage would be most needed ; and the state was not in a condition to engage in so expensive a work.1
The revision of the laws of the state was a matter of primary importance; and, mainly through the influence of Governor Hancock, the criminal law was ameliorated - con- finement to hard labor being substituted, in some cases, for disgraceful punishments in public.2 An experiment of this kind was made on Castle Island, in the harbor of Boston ; and the state prison at Charlestown was built a few years 1802. after.3 A change was likewise made in the law for the due 1792. observance of the Sabbath, though substantially but a reenact- ment of former laws, which had been in force from the settle- ment of the country. The provisions, however, were less'
1789. Feb. 13.
· Mar. 8.
comp. Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii. 1011-1102; Fairfax's Memorial, Washington, 1816; and Niles's Reg. iii. Add., and v. Add. The idea of steam navigation was certainly suggested in the United States as early as 1788.
1 Bradford, iii. 33. This project was revived in 1818, and a route was surveyed by Loammi Baldwin, at the expense of Israel Thorndike, Thomas H. Perkins, and other gentlemen of Boston ; but no canal was dug. N. Am. Review for Jan. 1827, 13.
2 Laws of Mass. for 1788-9, chap. liii. Governor Hancock, in his speech to the legislature, in January, 1792, condemned public whipping and crop- ping for theft, which were still prac- tised in the state, and recommended confinement to hard labor as probably
VOL. III. 21
a more salutary as well as a more hu- mane punishment. He also expressed the opinion that capital punishments should be few. Bradford, iii. 37.
3 Bradford, iii. 37, 85. The first appropriations for this purpose were $100,000, for the purchase of lands and the erection of buildings. The valuable labors of the Prison Disci- pline Society should not be forgotten in this connection ; and its able re- ports embody a mass of facts relative to the treatment of criminals of the highest importance to the public wel- farc. This society was organized in Boston, June 30, 1825, and is now, consequently, in the 32d year of its age; and it has embraced, among its members, many distinguished citi- zens and true-hearted philanthropists.
322
EDUCATIONAL LAWS.
CHAP. severe in prohibiting all kinds of secular employment ; but VIII. travelling on business was forbidden, as well as all traffic, and 1792. keeping open of shops and stores ; and public recreations were prohibited under a pecuniary mulct. But the law was fre- quently disregarded ; and then, as previously, it was found difficult to enforce, by penal enactments, a strict observance of the Sabbath or a regular attendance on public worship.1
The laws for promoting public education were attended Jun. 25. with more favorable results; and recommendations were made 1789. 1790. June. by the governor for the appropriation of lands in the District of Maine, for the support of schools and of the gospel minis- try in that part of the state, and for a grant to Harvard Col- lege, whose funds were inadequate for the support of its 1791 to instructors.2 The establishment of academies, also, dates from 1793. 1789. this period ; and a number of these seminaries were incorpo- rated by the legislature.3 By the law of 1789, all towns in Jun. 25. the state having two hundred families were required to sup- port a grammar school, agreeably to former usage, and, in addition, were ordered to employ for instructors of youth those who had been educated at some college, and were able to teach the Greek and Latin languages. In towns where the inhabitants were less, it was required that such as were quali- fied to teach the English language correctly should be engaged
Mass. Laws for 1792, chap. lviii. ; ton, Marblehead, Hallowell, Westfield,
1 Bradford, iii. 38. In 1796, and in 1800, other laws were passed on the subject of public worship, and for the maintenance of teachers of religion and morality; and, in 1811, further changes were made. Laws of Mass. for 1796, 1800, and 1811; Bradford, iii. 72-76.
2 Bradford, iii. 29.
3 Mass. Laws for 1791, 1792, and 1793 ; Bradford, iii. 47; Mass. Mag. for 1792; W. Barry's Hist. Framing- ham, 79; J. S. Barry's Hist. Hano- over, 93; Brooks's Hist. Medford, 291. Academies were incorporated in Berwick, Fryeburg, Machias, Taun-
Groton, Portland, &c. It was at first apprehended that the establishment, of these academies would be unfavor- able to the support of the grammar schools, as the towns in their vicinity would avail themselves of the advan- tages afforded by such seminaries for a classical education, to the neglect of the humbler temples of learning but the evil was remedied by sub- sequent legislation, though it ha! never been wholly removed. Wil liams College, in the county of Berk shire, was incorporated in 1793 Mass. Laws for 1793, chap. xv.
323
ESTABLISHMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS.
in the business of education.1 By a " traditionary blindness," CHAP. as has been "charitably assumed," " our early fathers did not VIII. see that females required and deserved instruction equally 1789. with males ; " hence the " first provisions for primary schools were confined chiefly to boys." But light soon broke in, and girls were "allowed to attend the public schools two hours per day." With this point gained, the revolution in public opinion was rapid and encouraging ; and, before the close of the eighteenth century, in nearly every town provision was made for the education of girls, especially in the summer.2
The first Sunday school in America seems also to have originated about this period in Philadelphia ; but so little
1790. Dec. and 1791. March.
were the advantages of such schools appreciated or understood, that it was said to be a " pity " the benevolence of their found- ers " did not extend so far as to afford them tuition on days when it is lawful to follow such pursuits, and not thereby lay a foundation for the profanation of the Sabbath." 3 The precise period when Sunday schools were established in Massachusetts
1 Mass. Laws for 1789, chap. xix. ; Bradford, ii. 339, 340. Further at- tention was paid to the subject of education under the administration of Governor Strong, and a more effi- cient system of instruction was in- troduced.
Brooks's Hist. of Medford, 281; 2
Coffin's Hist. Newbury, 265 ; Felt's Ipswich, 90. In Boston, girls are said not to have attended the public schools for some years before and after the revolution ; but in 1790, a reform was introduced, through the instrumen- tality of Caleb Bingham, a native of Salisbury, Ct., and one of the earliest graduates of Dartmouth College, after its removal to Hanover. The basis of this reform was the admission of girls to the free schools during the warmer months, or from April to Oc- tober, and this plan was carried into effect for about thirty years, when, in 1820, or very soon after, through the exertions of Mr. William B. Fowle,
another change was made, and girls were allowed, equally with boys, to attend the public schools, both in winter and summer.
3 MS. Communication of Lewis G. Pray; Newburyport Herald, for Jan. 12, 1791; Mass. Mag. for May, 1793 ; Coffin's Newbury, 265. The cele- brated Matthew Carey was interested in the establishment of this school, with Bishop White and Benjamin Rush; and in his Am. Museum for 1788, iv. 32, note, Mr. Carey ex- pressed his regret that "no Sunday schools have yet been established here." I have been informed, how- ever, by Mr. Lewis G. Pray, that a Sunday school was established in Ephrata, Lancaster county, Pa., as early as the middle of the last cen- tury, by Ludwig Thacker. In 1783, also, Bishop Asbury is said to have established a Sunday school in Han- over, Va.
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324
.
SAMUEL ADAMS CHOSEN GOVERNOR.
CHAP. is not settled ; but there were several in existence before the VIII.
year 1820.1
1793.
Oct. 8.
Upon the death of Governor Hancock, which occurred in the fall of 1793, the functions of the chief magistracy de- volved upon Samuel Adams, the lieutenant governor of the state, then in the seventy-third year of his age, who was chosen governor in the following year and in the two years succeed- ing. The character of Mr. Adams has been elsewhere alluded to ; 2 and, as one of the firmest patriots in the state, he was every way worthy the confidence of the people. For fifty years, "his pen, his tongue, his activity were constantly exerted
1 Before the year 1700, it was cus- tomary, in several, if not all, the churches of New England, to cate- chise children, male and female, on Sunday, at the close of the morning service ; and this custom was followed both in the Plymouth colony and the colony of the Massachusetts Bay. MS. Communication of Lewis G. Pray; Ellis's Hist. Roxbury ; Records of the Plymouth Church. Subsequent to this date, the first Sunday school in Boston is said to have been established in April, 1791, and embraced in its objects " the instruction of both sexes, under a certain age, who were de- barred from week-day instruction by condition of life, habits of industry, or other circumstances." It was sup- ported by a liberal subscription of many gentlemen, but how long it was continued is not known. In 1797, a Sunday school was established at Pawtucket, R. I., under the auspices of Samucl Slater, Esq., the "father of cotton manufactures in the United States," in connection with his facto- ries, and was under the superintend- ence of the Rev. Mr. Collier, af- terwards well known as a Baptist clergyman of Charlestown, Mass., and a minister to the poor for that denomination in the city of Boston. In 1793, an article appeared in the Mass. Mag. for March, signed " A.," advocating Sunday schools. The first
movement on this subject in Salem was in 1807. Felt's Salem, i. 495. In the foregoing schools, secular instruction was the predominant, while the religious element was only a secondary element. The first school on the strictly modern and American plan, wholly devoted to the religious instruction of the young, is said to have been established in Beverly, in 1810, by Miss Prince and Miss Hill, who were connected with the society under the charge of the Rev. Dr. Abbott. In 1812, a school was established in connection with the society of the Rev. Dr. Lowell, in Boston; and in 1814, another in Cambridgeport, in the so- ciety of the Rev. Thomas B. Gannett. The Salem Street, or Christ Church Sunday school, in Boston, was estab- lished in 1815, and was conducted on the monitorial plan, by the late Joseph W. Ingraham, Esq. The school con- nccted with the society of the Rev. Dr. Sharp was established in 1816, and, in the same year, the "Society for the Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor " was established in Bos- ton, under whose auspices Sunday schools were organized and brought into general favor among the Ortho- dox churches in that city, and through- out New England. MS. Communi- cation of Lewis G. Pray.
Vol. i. 259.
325
CHARACTER OF SAMUEL ADAMS.
for his country, without fee or reward." Some have called CHAP. him " the first in the resolute band of patriots who contem- VIII. plated and effected the independence of the United States." 1793. But whether this honor is conceded to him or not, -as it is difficult to say certainly who first advanced this idea, - cer- tain it is that he was one of the most active of that band, and that he contributed materially to the success of the revolution. " James Otis, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock," says one who knew them well, and who was himself not lacking in devotion to liberty, 1 " were the three most essential charac- ters ; and Great Britain knew it, though America does not. Great, and important, and excellent characters, aroused and excited by these, arose in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, South Carolina, and in all the other states ; but these three were the first movers - the most constant, steady, persevering springs, agents, and most disinterested sufferers and firmest pillars of the whole revolution." " Without the character of Samuel Adams," he adds, " the true history of the American revolution can never be written."
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