USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > The story of Essex County, Volume II > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
The Essex Result was a pamphlet written probably by Theophilus Parsons, of Newburyport, in 1778. It was a pamphlet designed to reflect the views of a meeting of Essex County statesmen-representa- tives of the seven towns-at Ipswich, in April, 1778. The pamphlet represented adverse opinion to a new State Constitution presented to the public by the General Court in that year. It was one of the reasons for the defeat of that Constitution. Besides Theophilus Parsons, the Essex Result may be considered to reflect the views of men like John Lowell, who later formed the group known as the Essex Junto.
The doctrines of the Essex Result were simple enough. The Essex Result advised a government by the American aristocracy. It was perfectly willing to admit, particularly in time of war, that all men are born free, all men are equal, all men should serve, and so forth. It was also willing to admit that among the lower classes could be found many sterling qualities, many honest, good fellows. But when it came to government, it was perhaps better to leave that in the hands of "men of education and property."
The Essex Result, therefore, can be taken simply as an early example of the political power that property owners would try to wield later in the nineteenth century. And it is further interesting, as has been pointed out, as an advance notice of what would constitute the philosophies of the members of the later, more famous Essex Junto --- that group of aristocrats from what was in 1781 adjudged the wealthiest county in Massachusetts.
The Essex Junto was that group of men within the Federalist party who adhered to Hamilton and opposed the election of John Adams in 1800. It was Adams, in fact, who gave to the group the name Essex Junto.
Dr. Claude M. Fuess has said of them :
"Although the soul of the Federalist party was doubtless Alexander Hamilton, of New York, he found his ablest back- ing in a group of Massachusetts conservatives, who came to
816
THE STORY OF ESSEX COUNTY
be known as the 'Essex Junto' because so many of them were born or lived in Essex County, that picturesque strip of land along the coast including Salem, Marblehead, Ipswich, Glouces- ter, and Newburyport. The Junto was a small and exclu- sive circle of intelligent, well-to-do, and aristocratic gentlemen, who met frequently in the 'best society' of Boston, whose fami- lies often intermarried, and who were identified with the same financial interests as investors or directors of . companies. George Cabot, the Boston merchant, who was perhaps their stateliest figure, voiced the opinions of them all when he said, frankly, 'I hold democracy in its natural operation, to be the government of the worst.'
"They also included several wealthy business men : Stephen Higginson, a shipmaster of Salem; Nathaniel Tracy, Jonathan Jackson, and Stephen Hooper, all of Newburyport; and Chris- topher Gore, who, after acquiring a fortune through specula- tion, became a United States Senator. Among the judiciary, the Junto could rely on John Lowell, judge of the Federal District Court; Francis Dana, Chief Justice of the Common- wealth from 1791 to 1806, and his successor, Theophilus Par- sons, who was considered by his contemporaries to be an impressive combination of frigidity and reason. The active political leaders were the brilliant and cynical Fisher Ames, one of the most persuasive orators of that period, and Timo- thy Pickering, the satellite of Alexander Hamilton. Still another charming character, the courtly Harrison Gray Otis, remained a Federalist long after his early party companions were in their graves, and came eventually to be regarded as the last survivor of a bygone generation."
These men were most influential in State and national politics, but they were dealt a death blow by the extension of the suffrage under Gerry's administration and by the collapse of the Hartford convention.
Their Puritan background made them dislike the atheistic tenden- cies of Jefferson's theory of religious toleration and his theory of democracy. They looked with suspicion upon an expanding West, for they feared that their contributions to the national treasury would be dissipated in various directions instead of coming back to New
817
POLITICAL HISTORY
England. They were opposed to the Republican sympathy with the French Revolutionists, for their own trading interests were with Eng- land. They were distressed by the election of Jefferson in 1800, and were particularly distressed by his purchase of Louisiana. As Dr. Fuess says: "They questioned the title which had been conveyed; they complained that the new territory would ensure the perpetual subjection of the North to the South and West; and they inconsist- ently declared that Jefferson's act was unconstitutional." They talked of disunion at this time, and might have accomplished this under the leadership of Aaron Burr had he been elected Governor of New York in 1804 and had he not doomed himself politically a little later by his duel with Hamilton.
During the impressment troubles with England, the Essex Junto was more than willing to bend backwards to keep in British favor. Some of them even tried to condone the "Leopard's" attack on the United States frigate "Chesapeake," in June, 1807, in which twenty- one of the American crew were killed or wounded; but others, like Otis, were quick and outspoken in demanding apology and retribution.
The Embargo Act under Jefferson was a terrible blow to the trading interests of the Essex Junto, for even under British impress- ment and seizure, these men had continued to make profits. So great were their profits from one voyage that they could afford to lose a few ships without running their businesses into a deficit. They took the stand that the Embargo Act and its enforcement was a per- sonal blow at New England from Jefferson. And, indeed, Essex County shipping interests were struck a blow by these acts from which they never fully recovered. Under the leadership of Pickering and Otis, New England again talked of secession. The Massachusetts Legislature formally condemned these acts of the Republican admin- istration, and Jefferson was finally forced to sign their repeal in 1809.
The War of 1812, of course, met with instant opposition from the Essex Junto-as indeed it did from most of the people of Mas- sachusetts; but when the war finally came, Massachusetts did her fair share of fighting, and her very fair share of paying taxes.
Then, in the autumn of 1814, part of Maine, then under Massa- chusetts authority, was occupied by the British. Governor Strong, who had never favored the war, now called out the militia to fight
Essex-52
818
THE STORY OF ESSEX COUNTY
the invading foe; but when he applied to the national treasury for pay for these troops, he was told that the national treasury had no authority to pay a State militia called out by a Governor. Massachu- setts felt that she was abandoned in an hour of need, that her Federal taxes were not being used for her defense; and again she talked of secession. The Legislature elected delegates to the Hartford con- vention, held behind locked doors, and attended by representatives from some of the other New England States.
Senator Pickering and the Essex Junto were undoubtedly in a radi- cal mood, but the dominant influences at the Hartford convention were more conservative. The convention, however, seems to have desired the following actions be taken by the nation; that the custom of counting only three-fifths of the slaves when apportioning taxation be changed; that a two-thirds vote of Congress be required in declar- ing war, in admitting new states, and in establishing embargoes; that naturalized citizens be prohibited from holding office; that the Presi- dent of the United States be restricted to one term; and that the President not be allowed to lay an embargo for longer than sixty days. As it would have been inevitable that Congress turn these recommendations down, the Hartford convention must have been thinking very seriously of secession. But luckily for the Union, the Treaty of Ghent came just in time to take the wind out of the sails of the Hartford convention, and it collapsed. And with the collapse of the Hartford convention and the extension of the suffrage came the downfall of the Essex Junto. From this point on they are steadily less conspicuous in national affairs; and, of course, they finally disappeared.
Another bit of local politics to attract national attention was the origin of the term "Gerrymander," a name derived from the fact that Elbridge Gerry was Governor when the thing happened in 1812.
Webster's dictionary says that gerrymandering is to "divide a (State, county, etc.) into civil divisions in an unnatural and unfair way." It is the reshaping of electoral districts. Clifford Chesley Hubbard says: "It was nothing new, except the name. The reshap- ing of district lines so as to place large numbers of the opposition in one district which they could surely carry, and thereby subtracting their minority strength from several other districts, is a device prob- ably as old as the representative system itself." Governor Gerry
819
POLITICAL HISTORY
reshaped the districts in Essex County to give the Republican party strength. His reshaping of Essex South included Chelsea, Lynn, Salem, Marblehead, Lynnfield, Danvers, Middleton, Andover, Methuen, Haverhill, Amesbury, and Salisbury; and even a glance at a map will suggest that he probably stretched a few points in grouping all these towns together and in leaving others out of the grouping. On a map the new district is dragon-shaped, like a salamander. According to tradition the map was drawn at a Federalist or Essex Junto dinner party one night; and then claws, eyes, wings, teeth and tongue were added. Some one laughingly suggested they name it "salamander," but some brighter spirit hit upon the present title, and Elbridge Gerry was thus immortalized in this somewhat informal way.
The latest Essex County event to attract notoriety was the elec- tion of "Bossy" Gillis as mayor of Newburyport. Mr. Gillis repre- sented a philosophy of government that was very upsetting to the ghosts and descendants of the Essex Junto. Mr. Gillis owned a gas station, and he erected one in the residential district of his city-and got elected mayor to make sure of the zoning law. He used slogans in his campaign speeches that seemed a bit self-confident and were upsetting to the conservative elements of the town. His informality of address brought him front-page attention in the Boston papers. But Mr. Gillis eventually met the political defeat that must come at one time or another to all who serve a fickle public, and he has now retired to private life. Newburyport's Twentieth Century Essex Junto is, at present writing, breathing a bit easier, but still breathing a bit apprehensively, wondering at what other time in its history democ- racy may rear its head.
Any political history of Essex County must be written with its eye to the wealth of the county. Although the original settlers hoped to get a living from the soil, that idea was soon given up. Today very few people in the county are farmers, and those that are live on rather small farms. The soil is not very good, and, of course, could not bring wealth, let alone compete with the West and South. The early settlers, therefore, turned to fishing, and that industry has served the county well. Gloucester is still one of the famous fishing ports of the world. With fishing came a few industries, such as the salting and curing of fish, and, especially, shipbuilding. Maritime trade soon got under way, and in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century Essex
820
THE STORY OF ESSEX COUNTY
County found herself very wealthy. By the census of 1811 she was the richest county in the State. One-third of the shipping in America was done from Massachusetts ports, and Salem contributed her fair share. And with the shipping came larger shipbuilding plants. Salem, Newburyport, and other towns built up tremendous fortunes, and some of the "best" of Boston had their origins there. With the for- tunes came a certain cultivation that has helped to give to Massa- chusetts families their reputation in world society.
This aristocracy, of course, was what made up the Essex Junto. The people of Essex County naturally adhered to the Federalist party, and later to the Whigs. The liberal and democratic ideas of Jefferson and Jackson found no favor in their eyes.
Shipping in Essex County is not today what it was once, but with the decline of shipping came an influx of industrialism that kept the flow of wealth continuous. It was partly due to shipping, of course, that raw materials found their way north for manufacture. The nine- teenth century saw the rise to wealth of Lawrence, Lowell, Haverhill, Andover, Lynn, and other localities. And Salem and Newburyport turned their eyes to the new god. And so Essex County kept her wealth. Silk, cotton, woolens, shoes, machinery, rubber, and many other commodities were manufactured here. And the people of the county naturally have looked to the Republican party with its affilia- tions with big business and its protective tariff for their latest political association. And as the Essex Junto provided the Federalists with many of its leading names, so the industrialists of modern Essex County have provided the Republican party with many of its leaders. Of course, at present writing (1935), cotton, wool, and the Repub- lican party, all are wondering if they are extinct. But very likely Fortune will turn her wheel again after a while.
With the growth of industrialism in the nineteenth century came the rise of the laboring classes. Massachusetts has been a leader in labor legislation, and the workers of Essex County have played their part. For a long while in the nineteenth century, capital ground labor under its heels with complete disregard for human decency, but labor finally began to assert itself. The terrible Lawrence textile strike of 1912 did much towards bettering conditions throughout the whole State. And the village of Shawsheen is testimony to the attempt that modern employers have made to provide for their workers better places in the sun.
821
POLITICAL HISTORY
It is somewhat ironic, however, that these improved working con- ditions may spell their own doom. A staggering textile industry today is staggering partly from competition from a South that has not kept pace with Northern improvements in the scale of hours and wages. For this reason many workers in Essex County today look to the national Democratic party, which has promised better conditions for labor throughout the country. Big business, however, still adheres to the more conservative principles of Republicanism.
Essex County has contributed a very fair share of great names to the national political scene. Elbridge Gerry, Timothy Pickering, Benjamin W. Crowninshield, Rufus Choate, Caleb Cushing, Robert Rantoul, William H. Moody, and Henry Cabot Lodge are merely some of the great that will be taken up here.
Men from the county were most useful in helping to form the new country in 1776, and more than one found a place in Washing- ton's government. Elbridge Gerry and Timothy Pickering were two of these early statesmen.
ELBRIDGE GERRY was born in Marblehead on July 17, 1744. He graduated from Harvard in 1762 and returned to Marblehead to go into the shipping business with his father-a business which at one time built him up a fortune. His entrance into politics was through the Massachusetts General Court, and it was there that he fell under the strong influence of Samuel Adams. He was one of the most fiery of the early patriots, a zealous worker in the Continental Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. During the war he helped the army with supplies and continued active in Congress. He was an enthusiast for the new nation and signed the Articles of Confederation. In 1786 he married Ann Thompson, and in 1787 he moved to Cambridge.
Gerry was honest, but inclined to pettiness and inconsistency, and for a while lost popularity. A friend of John Adams, he was sent to France as a member of the famous "XYZ mission," and although he seems to have tried hard, his work was unsuccessful and he was called home more unpopular than ever.
He retired from politics for a while, but his friendship for Jeffer- son made him a leader in the Republican party. He was a man who hated the show of wealth that was part of the Essex Junto. At the same time he himself was wealthy, and so he attracted to the Repub-
822
THE STORY OF ESSEX COUNTY
lican party in Massachusetts a good following. As a matter of fact, however, his wealth had been dissipated by the time of his death. He was Republican candidate for Governor several times, unsuccessfully ; but was elected in 1810 and 1811. It was in his second administra- tion that the gerrymandering of Essex County occurred.
He warned Madison against the Essex Junto's ideas of secession, and in 1812 he was elected Vice-President of the United States on Madison's ticket. He died in office on November 23, 1814.
TIMOTHY PICKERING was born at Salem on July 17, 1745, a mem- ber of an already prominent Essex County family. He graduated from Harvard in 1763 and returned to Salem to become clerk in the office of the register of deeds for Essex County. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but never did very much in practice. He was early interested in the patriot cause, and during the war served as quartermaster for the troops-a position which presented him a view of the American soldier which very likely influenced him against a too democratic theory of government.
Some of his life was spent in Pennsylvania, but he returned to Massachusetts before too long an absence.
Under Washington he was Postmaster-General, then Secretary of War, and finally Secretary of State. He held this last position under Adams, but his rather unethical intrigues against his own leader resulted in his summary dismissal early in the administration. The last part of his life he was active in Massachusetts politics and rep- resented her often in the Senate and in Congress.
A stern Puritan aristocrat, he was a leader of the Essex Junto that opposed the War of 1812 and threatened secession, and was a leader of the National Federalist party. He died in Salem on Janu- ary 29, 1829, leaving behind a reputation in polemics which has sel- dom been equalled.
BENJAMIN W. CROWNINSHIELD was born in Salem on December 27, 1772. He early went into business, and with his brother estab- lished himself as one of the most successful merchants in Salem, a member of the renowned firm of George Crowninshield & Sons, most of whose members had been trained at sea. Benjamin himself was a sea captain at twenty.
823
POLITICAL HISTORY
Crowninshield served in the Massachusetts Legislature and often in Congress. He was appointed 'Secretary of the Navy under Madi- son in 1814, but resigned the post under Monroe in 1818. His work as Secretary of the Navy seems to have been efficient as far as it went, but it was marred by vacillation and the inability to understand Wash- ington politics. He died in Boston on February 3, 1851.
RUFUS CHOATE was born on Hog Island, Essex County, on October 1, 1799. His father's death, in 1809, embarrassed him financially, but he finished Dartmouth with a brilliant record in 1819, valedictorian of his class. He studied law and became one of the most famous trial lawyers in the history of Massachusetts. His power over a jury was most remarkable. He idolized Daniel Webster, but himself begrudged the few times that he was drawn into politics, for he preferred the profession of law. He served, however, in the Mas- sachusetts Legislature, in Congress, and once in the Senate, taking Webster's place after the latter's appointment to a cabinet position. He was a man of tremendous energy and considerable influence, one of the leaders of the Whig party. He was a conservative in his atti- tude stoward slavery. One of the most spectacular personalities of his day, he died on a trip to Europe on July 13, 1859.
CALEB CUSHING was born in Salisbury on January 17, 1800, the son of a wealthy merchant. The family moved to Newburyport in 1 802. He graduated from Harvard, Phi Betta Kappa, in 1817. He was admitted to the bar in 1821. He served as mayor of Newbury- port, as member of the Legislature, and in Congress. He was a Whig and supported Tyler in his feud with Clay, as a result of which the Senate refused to ratify him as Tyler's Secretary of the Treasury. He performed an important diplomatic mission to China for Tyler, and after his return entered politics again. He was Attorney-General under Pierce. He was a conservative in his attitude toward slavery, for he understood the Southern point of view. For his opinions he received torrents of abuse from two Essex County men, incidentally, William Lloyd Garrison and John G. Whittier. He was loyal to the Union, however, and served Lincoln many times in legal matters. Grant appointed him to the Supreme Court, but the Senate refused ratification in a disgracefully partisan manner. He went instead as Minister to Spain, where he did excellent work. He died in New-
824
THE STORY OF ESSEX COUNTY
buryport on January 2, 1879, one of the ablest, most learned, and keenest men of his day. It is interesting to note that Choate and Cushing have been immortalized in biographies by an adopted son of Essex County, Dr. Claude M. Fuess, headmaster of Phillips Academy, Andover.
ROBERT RANTOUL was born in Beverly on August 13, 1805, the son of a noted reformer. He graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1822, and from Harvard in 1826. He began the practice of law in Salem in 1829. He is mainly known as a reformer. He served in the Massachusetts Legislature and once in the United States Senate-for one year to fill out Webster's unexpired term. He espoused the cause of temperance, public schools supported by taxa- tion, legislation to control speculation and exploitation, and anti- slavery. His early death, on August 7, 1852, was a great loss to abolitionists.
WILLIAM H. MOODY was born in Newbury on December 23, 1853. At the age of six he moved to Danvers. He graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1872, and from Harvard College in 1876. The following September he entered Harvard Law School, but stayed only till January. He continued the study of law in the office of Richard Henry Dana, Jr., and in 1878 was admitted to the bar-after only eighteen months of study. He began the practice of law in Haverhill and entered local politics there. A very successful lawyer, he was chosen district attorney for the Eastern District of Massachusetts. He was called in especially to help prosecute for the State in the Lizzie Borden case, in which he gained wide recognition.
He was elected to Congress in 1895 and became a member of the appropriations committee. In 1902 Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Secretary of the Navy, and in 1904 he became Roosevelt's Attorney-General. He was most active in Roosevelt's program of anti-trust activities. In 1906 he was made Justice of the Supreme Court, but in 1910 ill health forced his resignation. He died in Haverhill on July 2, 1917, one of the latest of the Essex County statesmen, and one of the most truly representative; for the first William Moody had come to Ipswich in 1634, and William Henry Moody was born in the home that had been owned by the Moody family for over two hundred years.
825
POLITICAL HISTORY
HENRY CABOT LODGE was born in Boston on May 12, 1850, but his legal residence was in Nahant. He graduated from Harvard in 1871, married Anna Cabot Davis, and went to Europe for a year. Returning to America, he entered Harvard Law School in 1872. He graduated in 1874 and was admitted to the bar in 1875. From 1873 to 1876 he was assistant editor of the "North American Review," but studied at the same time. In 1876 he received the first degree of Doctor of Philosophy ever given at Harvard in political science. In 1877 appeared his "Life and Letters of George Cabot," his first large piece of work. Among his later contributions to literature are: "A Short History of the English Colonies in America" (1881), "Alex- ander Hamilton" (1882), "Daniel Webster" (1882), "George Washington" ( 1888), "Historical and Political Essays" (1892), "The Story of the Revolution" (1898), and "The Senate and the League of Nations," published posthumously in 1925.
His first venture into politics was to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as Representative from the Nahant District in 1879. He was first elected to Congress in 1886. As a member of Congress he championed civil service reform. He was appointed, in 1893, to the United States Senate, and he remained a Senator till his death in 1924. He helped to draft the Sherman Anti-Trust Law of 1890 and the Pure Food and Drugs Law. He was a leader in the fight against free silver from 1894 to 1900. He was a strong navy man, and approved the Venezuela message of 1895. He opposed direct election of Senators, woman suffrage, and the Eighteenth Amendment. He was one of Theodore Roosevelt's close advisers and soon found a place for himself on the Foreign Relations Committee. It was as chairman of this committee that he fought Wilson so hard in 1919. He disapproved of coupling the Peace Treaty with the Covenant of the League, although he approved of the idea of the League. He opposed Wilson-and beat him-in a controversy that attracted world attention. In 1921, after being upheld by the voters, he helped pass a new treaty with Germany through the Senate. He served as an American delegate to the Washington Conference of 1921. Dur- ing the next year or two, however, he was forced to become less active because of failing health. Senior member of the United States Senate and titular leader of the Republican majority there, this late son of Essex County died in Cambridge on November 9, 1924.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.