USA > New Hampshire > History of New Hampshire, Volume III > Part 7
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The re-election of Governor Bell in 1823 was without any appreciable opposition, since he received 22,934 votes out of a total of 23,980. Indeed, there were no political parties at this time and it has been called "the Era of Good Feeling." The Federalists had ceased to exist and no party had arisen to take its place. During this year there was a legislative act to estab- lish a literary fund, to be collected by taxing the banks, and the fund so gathered was $4,770.37. The aim was to gradually se- cure funds sufficient to establish a State University, but in 1828 it was voted to distribute the fund then accrued among the com- mon schools of the state, and thereafter the literary fund was annually distributed.
There was a notable report, signed by Eastwick Evans as chairman of a committee on the cause and prevention of crime. Most of it was traced to ignorance, idleness, intemperance and extravagance in living. It was argued that private flogging in the State prison would be one of the best deterrents of crime, establishing a dreaded punishment in the minds of the tempted. The wisdom of this recommendation has been questioned. Cer- tainty of detection was also urged and the punishment of minor offenses, so that violation of law might be nipped in the bud.
The legislature also voted, that "the Constitution of the United States has not vested in Congress the right to adopt and execute, at the national expense, a system of internal improve- ments," and that "it is not expedient so to amend the Constitu-
6 For full and minute description of this tornado see The Great Tornado of 1821 in New Hampshire, by Fred W. Lamb.
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tion of the United States as to give the power to Congress to make roads, bridges and canals." Such improvements, it was thought, should be made by the States, separately, or by cor- porations created by State authority.
In consequence of the election of Governor Bell to the United States senate a new candidate for governor was sought in 1823. The choice fell on Levi Woodbury and he was elected by a vote of 16,985. He was the son of Peter Woodbury of Francestown, where he was born December 22, 1789. He was educated at Atkinson Academy and Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1809. He studied law with Judge Jeremiah Smith and in the Litchfield Law School, Connecticut. In 1816 he was clerk of the New Hampshire senate. He was appointed associate judge of the Superior Court by Governor Plumer, in spite of his youth, since that astute person could tell a diamond before it was fully polished. It is said that Mr. Woodbury long retained the power to work sixteen hours a day. He served as judge six years before his election as governor. He was speaker of the House in his native State in 1825 and was chosen United States senator the same year. In 1831 he became Secretary of the Navy for three years and then was Secretary of the Treasury for seven years. In 1841 he was again elected to the senate where he remained four years. He declined to be ambassa- dor to the court of St. James. He was associate judge of the su- preme court of the United States from 1845 till the time of his death, in 1851, at the age of sixty-one years. He was a diligent student rather than a brilliant orator. He won his way to promi- nence by hard work and sound common sense. Dartmouth col- lege and Wesleyan University gave him the degree of Doctor of Laws. He was talked of as a candidate for the presidency of the United States, and but for unexpected death might have at- tained that high position. He had the judicial mind and tem- perament and was of unblemished character, an ornament to the history of his State.7
His message to the legislature states that the annual sur- plus produce of agriculture in the State amounted to nearly a million dollars and he urges that the State ought to raise all its food and the necessaries of life. He recommends an agricultural
7 Bench and Bar, by Charles H. Bell.
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survey of the State, that the chemical composition of its soils might be learned and the fitness of certain localities for differ- ent crops. The State ought to grow more wool. He recom- mends an exhibit in Concord of the State's productions and an increase of the State Library.
Merrimack county was formed this year from parts of Rockingham and Hillsborough counties, and the New Hamp- shire Historical Society was incorporated, an institution that has steadily grown in usefulness. Its Constitution declares that "the objects of the Society shall be to discover, procure and pre- serve whatever may relate to the natural, civil, ecclesiastical and literary history of the United States in general, and of this State in particular." Its first president was William Plumer, and among early members were numbered such men as Jere- miah Mason, Levi Woodbury, Ichabod Bartlett, John Farmer and Jacob B. Moore.
Levi Woodbury had been elected governor by a revolt within the Republican party. The political machine got out of gear. The Republican members of the legislature had nomi- nated in June, 1822, the Hon. Samuel Dinsmoor of Keene, for the next governor. The slate had been made up by self-consti- tuted managers of the party, and of course the dear people were expected to vote accordingly, but there were then, as now, some independent voters and some other would-be leaders in the vicinity of Portsmouth. "An irregularly constituted assemblage of people," during a term of court in Portsmouth, nominated Judge Woodbury for governor, and he received the support of William Plumer of Epping and other prominent men of the party. The disbanded Federalists flocked to the standard of the revolters, glad to do almost anything that would beat the "reg- ular" candidate, supported as he was by the newspaper they disliked so heartily, the New Hampshire Patriot, bristling with the pungent ideas of Isaac Hill. But it takes diamond to cut diamond, and it takes one political machine to defeat another for any considerable time. An unorganized revolt of one year, led by a favorite candidate, is sure to subside, and the old party that holds together returns to power soon. The managers have always seen this, and so they keep right on in the old ruts, modi- fying their platform in words, but retaining the same spirit and
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policy. The leopard does not change its spots easily. In 1824 Levi Woodbury was again the candidate of the come-outers, and he was supported by a newspaper then established at Con- cord, The New Hampshire Statesman, the outgrowth of a feud among local politicians, for the Northenders and the South- enders, or "Parliament Corner" politicians, were at loggerheads in Concord. David L. Morril became the nominee of the old Republican guard, and the election contest was a spirited one, to see which faction of the sole political party should win out. There was no principle at stake; it was a contest between men who held similar political views, to determine who should rule, not what should rule. David L. Morril had 14,899 votes, Levi Woodbury had 11,74I, and there were 3,798 scattering. Hence no election. The legislature had to decide, and David L. Morril was elected governor. He proved to be so acceptable that the following year out of 30,770 votes for governor he had 30,167.
David Lawrence Morril was governor for three years. He was born at Epping June 10, 1772, son and grandson of Congre- gationalist ministers. He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and began the practice of medicine in Epsom in 1793. In the year 1800 he turned to theology and was pastor of a Pres- byterian and Congregational church in Goffstown from 1802 to 18II, when he was dismissed on account of ill health. Mean- while he represented Goffstown in the legislature and continued to do so till 1817, practising medicine to some extent even so late as 1830. He was Speaker of the House in 1816, and the same year was elected United States Senator, as an Adams Democrat, a new name appearing in politics. He served till 1823, and in that year he appears as president of the State sen- ate. In 1831 he removed to Concord and was connected with a company that published the Scriptures and was editor of a re- ligious journal, called the New Hampshire Observer. He was vice president of the American Bible Society, of the American Sunday School Union, and of the American Home Missionary Society. The University of Vermont gave him the degree of Doctor of Laws. He died in Concord January 28, 1848, highly respected for his character and abilities.
In 1825 the State was honored with a visit of General Lafayette. He made a flying trip to Portsmouth first, from Bos-
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ton, and was received by the civil and military officers, com- panies of troops, groups of school children and some old ac- quaintances. There was music and artillery salutes, banquets and festivals. A second visit he made a little later, entering the State at Methuen, visiting a ladies' school at Derry, stopping a night at Pembroke, calling on Major Caleb Stark, son of the revolutionary general, John Stark, who had been companion in arms with the Marquis, and arriving in Concord June 22nd. The legislature sent a coach and six to bring him into town. Twenty military companies escorted him from the town line. After parading the main streets the formal reception by officials was in the hall of the representatives, in the State House. Two hundred and ten old revolutionary soldiers, headed by General Benjamin Pierce, were assembled to see and hear the friend of American liberty. He was introduced to each one of them, and then he addressed to them a few words which drew tears from all eyes. He was entertained by Colonel William A. Kent. A public dinner was spread in the State House yard, principally for the benefit of the revolutionary soldiers, after which there were toasts and speeches. The bell of North church rang, and cannons peeled, and everybody shouted and sang. There was an illumination in the evening and grand levee in the State House yard.
From Concord Lafayette went to Dover, by way of North- wood and Durham, along the first turnpike road. Tradition is, that he stopped at the McCleary mansion in Epsom. At Dover he was entertained by the Hon. William Hale, and like festivi- ties occurred. Indeed, all along his route young and old flocked to see the man for whose sympathy and aid this country has always felt grateful. It is needless to relate particulars. The re- ception in every town where he lodged was the best and most elaborate that could be offered. From Dover he made a trip into Maine, and then returned to Concord over the same road he had traveled in leaving that place, stopping one night in Northwood. On the 27th of June a coach and six horses took him out of Concord, through Hopkinton, Warner and Clare- mont, to Vermont. No president, no foreign visitor, has ever been so cordially and enthusiastically received in the Granite. State. Gratitude, thrilling memories and patriotism united to-
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do him honor. The legislature authorized the governor to ex- pend any sum not exceeding three thousand dollars in the enter- tainment and honor of the State's distinguished guest.
In the address by the governor to General Lafayette, made in the Representatives' Hall, allusion was made to Generals Washington, Sullivan and Stark, to which Lafayette replied in words that deserve to be remembered :-
One of my earliest enjoyments, on this happy return to the American shore, has been to meet the welcome of the people of New Hampshire, in the Atlantic town, to which I was already bound by very ancient and grati- fying connexions. I have since visited an extensive part of the vast repub- lican confederacy, which are held, to the admiration and may it be to - the speedy imitation of the world, a practical demonstration, and the wonderful result of national independence, popular institutions, and self-government. But as soon as under the impression of those lately witnessed wonders and blessings, I had performed on the great Bunker Hill celebration a sacred and delightful duty, I have hastened to this seat of government, where I now enjoy the honor to be admitted to present both branches of the Legislature, the judiciary and executive authorities of the State, and you, Sir, their honored Chief Magistrate, with a tribute of my lively and respectful grati- tude. Here, also, I am to delight in the great improvements that have taken place in the anticipation of those which are zealously contemplated. Here I have been greeted by multitudes of friends, from this and other parts of the State; among whom I am not surprised to recognize many of my com- panions in arms. When I recollect in what comparative proportion New Hampshire has personally contributed to our revolutionary struggle; I thank your Excellency for your flattering and kind remembrance of past times. None of them is more gratifying to me than your mention of names most dear to my heart.
Permit me to offer to you, to the Representatives and officers of the State in every branch, and to the people of New Hampshire, the devoted tender of my grateful, affectionate, and profound respect.8
When, in 1834, news was received of the death of General Lafayette, resolutions of sympathy with his family were unani- mously adopted and a person was appointed to pronounce a eulogy at the next session of the legislature. A part of the re- port of the committee was as follows :-
That they regard with profound veneration the man who voluntarily relinquished a life of ease, and the enjoyments which wealth and rank could afford him, to aid the cause of an infant people, engaged in the doubtful struggle for the rights of man-Who abandoned the refinements of an Euro- pean court and the comforts of a tranquil home, to encounter the rude hard-
8 House Journal for 1825, p. 256.
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ships, dangers and privations of an American camp-Who contributed his blood and treasures in the defense of a people, only known to him by their prowess in the war which wrested from France her possessions in America ; and when the object of that contest was accomplished, was next to be found assisting in the mightier struggle of his own country and with the same motives-Who, when those convulsions had subsided in the creation of a despotism which wielded the destinies of the Globe and mocked the calcula- tions of human power and human wisdom, retired before the torrent he could no longer withstand-Who, when that splendid but terrific prodigy had fallen under the gigantic effort of its own ambition, was found at the head of his country's councils, and again advocating the rights of Freemen. That they regard such a man as worthy of being associated with that host of heroes who fought in the foremost ranks of American patriotism, and whose achievements stand alone upon the page of History.9
In the governor's message, at the June session of the Legis- lature, he called attention to a remarkable fact, that many of the voters were deprived of the right of suffrage through the ignor- ance and neglect of officials; that in the returns of votes at the last election of Representatives to Congress "five were informal, seven unconsitutional, twenty-five out of season, sixty-two il- legal, making ninety-nine inadmissible returns, besides which twenty-three towns made no returns." Thus fully half the State was disfranchised. The letter of the law was regarded rather than the intention of the voters, and slight errors of offi- cials were allowed to override the expressed will of half of the State. We are reminded of an effort once made by a minority in the State of Maine to count out the majority, by a skillful manipula- tion of defective returns, and they had the short ballot in both these cases. Red tape should give way to the will of the peo- ple, even if the latter is bunglingly expressed, and more breadth and simplicity in laws would avoid many errors. A law that can not be easily understood and applied is not well conceived and written.
Governor Morril, in the same message, well set forth the aims of republican government :-
It must be well understood that my political creed is republican. Of course my great objects will be, as far as my agency and influence can ex- tend, to secure the freedom of elections, the liberty of speech, of the press, and of religion, to protect the rights of the citizens, to aid the progress of internal improvements, to provide for the general dissemination of knowl-
9 Journal of the House, June 25, 1834.
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edge, to promote by all proper regulations the prosperity of agriculture, commerce and manufactures, to render the administration of justice prompt and equal, to establish an efficient militia, to. encourage those arts and sciences which dignify mankind and smooth the course of life, to maintain state sovereignty, and at the same time to render due respect and fidelity to the federal government, and cherish that morality and religion which are an ornament to human nature and the only immutable basis on which re- publics are founded.
These words are worthy of the study of all governors of States, and law-makers should bear them in mind.
In reading the journals of the House and Senate of this period one is struck by the number of incorporations of academies, social libraries and musical societies. Almost all the populous towns had these educative and social institutions, and they aided greatly in the intellectual and moral development of the entire people. A few good books in circulation and a weekly singing- school have elevated many a country community.
Chapter VI RECONSTRUCTION OF POLITICAL PARTIES
Chapter VI
RECONSTRUCTION OF POLITICAL PARTIES.
Strict and Liberal Constructions of the Constitution-Governor Benjamin Pierce-Governor Samuel Bell-Benjamin Pierce again Governor-He Lays Stress on Farming in New Hampshire-Granite Sent to the South -Governor Matthew Harvey-Imprisonment for Debt-The State Prison Overcrowded-Joseph M. Harper Fills out the Term of Gover- nor-Governor Samuel Dinsmoor-He Calls Attention to the Condition of the Insane-Report of Committee on Insanity-Visit of President Andrew Jackson-Decline of Interest in the Militia-Governor William Badger-The Jacksonian Democrats Vote to Recall Senator Samuel Bell-Governor Isaac Hill-His Long and Able Messages-Criticism of United States Senate-Government Costs too Much-Principles of Banking ably Set Forth-Surplus Revenue Distributed-Can a Pension Agent Be also the Governor of a State?
T HE period of national history to which we have come might be called that of reconstruction of political parties. After the War of 1812 there was no great issue on which parties could divide. The Federalists disbanded. The original Repub- lican party began to stir up differences of opinion among them- selves, helped by discordant Federalists who had joined their ranks. Some would construe the national Constitution strictly and lay stress on the sovereign rights of the States, and these gradually received the name Democrats; others favored a more liberal interpretation of the Constitution and larger powers for Congress, and these were known as the National Republicans and later Whigs. The brethren no longer dwelt together in unity. The era of good feeling was passing away. Elections grew to be more in doubt. It seems to have been a custom ere this to give each governor at least three terms of office, and elections were annual. Now we come to the time when a gover- nor was elected one year, to be defeated the next year and to be again elected the third year.
This governor was Benjamin Pierce, elected in 1827. He was born at Chelmsford, Massachusetts, December 25, 1757. He was ploughing in the field when the news of Lexington
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reached him, then eighteen years of age. He hitched his oxen to a stump and started with his uncle's gun for Cambridge. He was present at the battle of Bunker Hill and continued in active service throughout the war. Thereafter he took a leading part in the training of the militia of New Hampshire and rose to the rank of brigadier-general. At the close of the revolutionary war he was a captain, and was on the staff of General Washing- ton. In 1786 he settled in Hillsborough and cleared a farm. In 1798 he refused a commission as colonel in the regular army. He was a man of commanding voice and presence, an excellent drill officer of troops. He was high sheriff of his county from 1809 to 1814, and again from 1818 to 1823. For ten years he was one of the governor's councilors. While sheriff at one time he paid the debts of three poor men who had been cast into prison, one of whom had been a revolutionary soldier, and left it to the generosity of the people to reimburse him. This was the only way at that time to secure the release from jail of a man who was unable to pay his debts. Governor Pierce was a strong ad- mirer of President Andrew Jackson and became the head of the Democratic party in New Hampshire. In varied capacity he was in public service over fifty years and carried on farming at the same time. His education was gained by reading and in the great school of life. His messages are brief and practical. He died at his home in Hillsborough April 1, 1839. At that time his son, afterward President Franklin Pierce, was a sena- tor at Washington. In response to a letter asking whether he should come home to see his father in his last sickness the father advised him to stay at the post of duty, saying that his own death was only a circumstance of little importance compared with the management of national affairs in congress. Governor Pierce is said to have been one of the most popular chief magis- trates the State has ever had.
In the election of 1828 Benjamin Pierce had 18,672 votes and John Bell had 21,149 and was elected. He was a brother of a previous governor, Samuel Bell, and a subsequent governor, Charles H. Bell, was his son. He was born at Londonderry, July 20, 1765. He became a merchant engaged in Canadian trade and amassed considerable wealth. He represented Lon- donderry in the legislature one year and thereafter removed to
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Chester, where he continued to make his home till his death, in 1836. He was State senator one term and served five years on the governor's council. He was sheriff of Rockingham county, 1823-6. The reason of a split in the one party of New Hampshire lay in the preference of some for Andrew Jackson and of others for John Quincy Adams for President of the United States. The oppositions centered about men rather than principles. Governor Pierce was a Jackson Democrat and Gov- ernor Bell was an Adams Democrat, and the strife between their followers was all the more bitter because neither faction had anything worth quarreling about. Governor Bell held office one year. He is described as just, diligent, sagacious and con- scientious. In his message to the legislature we find the first suggestion of a purchase of a tract of land, in the central part of the State, "for an experimental farm and agricultural school, to be placed under the care and management of an intelligent and practical farmer, aided by a person capable of instructing youth in all those branches of science, which are more immedi- ately connected with agricultural pursuits." It was further sug- gested that towns send youths there, selected for their profici- ency, to study the theory of agriculture and to work a part of the time in actual farming. It was a long time before New Hampshire adopted the suggestion of Governor Bell and estab- lished a school of agriculture. New ideas have to germinate a long time before they take root in the public mind and grow to fruitage.
The political contest was revived in 1829, and this time Benjamin Pierce triumphed over Governor Bell by a vote of 22,615 to 19,583. Heretofore there had been a June session of the legislature and another in November. Henceforward for some years there was only a June session, except every fourth year. The reason of the extra session was twofold, (1) that it might be time to make a new valuation of estates within the State, required by the Constitution once in five years and as much oftener as the General Court should order, (2) to supply any vacancy that might occur in the board of electors of presi- dent and vice-president of the United States. The people seemed to be waking up to the idea, that the State did not need so much legislative talk and that it already had almost enough of law.
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The new governor, in his message, called attention to changing conditions. "The price of bread-stuffs in different sections of the country having been equalized in consequence of the grand works of internal improvement in the West, our farmers, and in- deed every class of the community are becoming daily more sensible of the necessity of increasing by every possible method our facilities of transportation." New Hampshire was begin- ning to rely upon the West for a supply of wheat and corn, She had to find something to give in exchange. Hence she began to develop mines and quarries. Rattlesnake Hill, in Con- cord, was even then sending its white granite into the South, and that source of revenue has continued down to the present, the Congressional Library at aWshington being one of the more recent and most beautiful illustrations of what New Hamp- shire quarries can furnish to the nation. She has an inexhaust- ible supply of granite of various hues. Governor Pierce re- minded the farmers that they should not expect to accumulate wealth and at the same time "support the style of modern days." They were consuming too many foreign articles and he advised a return to republican simplicity. If such a caution was needed nearly a hundred years ago, how much more now. It is the cost of high living that makes farming in New Hampshire un- remunerative. Those who are willing to live somewhat as the first settlers had to live gradually become independent and enjoy in old age the fruits of early self-denial. At some not very dis- tant time the slopes of New Hampshire's hills will be intensely cultivated, and her low grounds will be drained, and agriculture, especially orcharding, will again flourish here. Her water power, when fully improved, will create larger cities and villages and thus furnish a home market for much of her farm products. Benjamin Pierce saw this in his time and spoke of the immedi- ate needs of the State as bearing upon her future welfare. The far-sighted statesman is not immediately appreciated, and his advice is passed along to distant generations. When they have heeded it with beneficial results they build a monument to the forgotten sage. Read Benjamin Pierce's message to the legis- lature of 1829; the advice is about as good now as it was then.
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