Tag Archives: Matthew Carey

Roger Griswold and the “Spitting Lyon”

Posted on October 20, 2013 by “Caius”

The Federalists had long denigrated Vermont congressman Matthew Lyon as being a lower-class Irishman and former indentured servant.  Then, in February 1798, Roger Griswold, a representative from Connecticut, implied that Lyon’s service during the Revolution had been less than exemplary. … Continue reading →

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Those “Wild Irishmen” and the Alien and Sedition Acts

Posted on October 14, 2013 by “Caius”

This is not the first time America’s two parties have been contentious.  The government shutdown, coupled with the controversy over illegal aliens, brings to mind the Alien and Sedition Acts.  The Federalists tried to silence the Democratic-Republicans.  Mathew Carey was part of the struggle.  … Continue reading →

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Were New England’s Federalists Really Abolitionists?

Posted on October 6, 2013 by “Caius”

During the 1780s Massachusetts abolished slavery.  After that, the abolition society in Massachusetts stopped taking part in Philadelphia’s annual abolition convention.[1] After the economically crippling policies of Jefferson and Madison, the Federalists regained power in New England.  The authorities segregated … Continue reading →

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How Opposition to the Three-Fifths Clause Merged with a Moral Campaign

Posted on September 28, 2013 by “Caius”

Opposition to slavery, as a tenet of Congregationalism, began with Samuel Hopkins.   Hopkins (1721-1803) graduated from Yale College in 1741.  As a senior, he was attracted to the revivalism of the Great Awakening, a movement led by the Congregational clergyman Jonathan … Continue reading →

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How the French Influenced Sectional Discord

Posted on September 22, 2013 by “Caius”

First with the Constitution, and next with the Jay Treaty, the more liberal New England Federalists migrated to Jefferson and Madison’s Democratic-Republican Party.   That caused the more conservative faction, the Essex Junto, to gain prominence.   Fisher Ames, one of the post-revolutionary leaders … Continue reading →

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How Jefferson’s Newspaper Politics Challenged New England’s Federalists

Posted on September 15, 2013 by “Caius”

By 1800, the state of Massachusetts was split politically between Jefferson’s party and the Federalists.  Roughly 20,000 voters were Democratic-Republican.  About 25,000 voters were Federalists.[1] Following the election of 1800, Democratic-Republicans set their sights on augmenting their gains in New … Continue reading →

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How the Jay Treaty Affected New England

Posted on August 25, 2013 by “Caius”

A Recap of the Jay Treaty Issues: The British impressed American sailors—an issue especially important to New Englanders More than two hundred merchant ships were confiscated by the British—another issue important to New Englanders Merchants wanted trade reopened in the … Continue reading →

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How the Federalist Party in New England Evolved (continued)

Posted on August 25, 2013 by “Caius”

Differences of opinion among the Massachusetts Federalists became apparent in their responses to ratification of the Constitution.  James Madison drew up the “Virginia Plan” for the Constitution on which debate by the delegates began.  John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were … Continue reading →

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How the Federalist Party Evolved in Massachusetts

Posted on August 18, 2013 by “Caius”

As the last decade of the eighteenth century began, Massachusetts Federalists continued to be guided by the state’s revolutionary patriots. John Hancock (1737/8-1793) the wealthy merchant, and first signer the Declaration of Independence was enormously popular, with nearly infallible political instincts.  He presented … Continue reading →

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Who was Theophilus Parsons?

Posted on August 11, 2013 by “Caius”

Theophilus Parsons (1750-1813) like Timothy Pickering and George Cabot, was born in Essex County, Massachusetts.  Parsons, the son of a Congregational minister,  graduated from Harvard College in 1769.  While he studied law he taught school in what is now Maine.  Like … Continue reading →

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