Fisher Ames

Fisher Ames

Fisher Ames (born April 9, 1758 in Dedham , Norfolk County , Province of Massachusetts Bay , †  July 4, 1808 ) was an American politician . Between 1789 and 1797 he represented the state of Massachusetts in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Fisher Ames attended both public and private schools and then studied at Harvard College until 1774 . After that he worked as a teacher for some time. After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1781, he began to work in this profession in Dedham. At the same time he embarked on a political career. Ames was known for his uncompromising advocacy of property rights and his protective attitude towards commercial interests.

In 1788 he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and a delegate to the assembly at which the State of Massachusetts ratified the United States Constitution. Politically, he was close to the federal government under President George Washington ( pro-administration ). He later became a member of the Federalist Party founded by Alexander Hamilton . He was a political opponent of the later President Thomas Jefferson .

In 1793 Ames was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

In the first congressional election of 1789 , he defeated Samuel Adams in the election for a seat in the first session of the US House of Representatives, where he took up his new mandate on March 4, 1789. After three re-elections, 1790, 1792 and 1794, he was able to complete four legislative terms in Congress until March 3, 1797 . From 1795 he represented the eighth constituency of his state there. From 1789 to 1791 he headed the election committee.

Convinced that the country could only survive with a strong central government, Ames supported the financial measures of Chancellor of the Exchequer (now Treasury Secretary) Alexander Hamilton . He argued against retaliation for British violations of American rights during 1793 and 1794, when American ships were confiscated and American sailors were forced into British service. He gave the greatest speech of his life in favor of the Jay Treaty (1794), which kept the peace with Britain when the House hesitated to pass approval.

During his tenure as a member of Congress, the first ten amendments to the constitution, the Bill of Rights , were ratified in 1791 . In 1795 the eleventh amendment was ratified . In 1796, Ames renounced another congressional candidacy.

After his time in the US House of Representatives, he practiced again as a lawyer in Dedham. From 1798 to 1800 he was on the staff of the Governor of Massachusetts. In 1804 he was elected President of Harvard University . But he refused this office for health reasons. He died on July 4, 1808 in his hometown of Dedham.

Web links

Wikiquote: Fisher Ames  - Quotes

• Fisher Ames in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Fisher Ames in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Fisher Ames in: Dictionary of American biography, page 244-246 . Volume 1, edited by Allen Johnston. Publisher: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1943
• Jay Treaty United States-Great Britain (1794) in: Encyclopædia Britannica. Alternative Title: Treaty of Amity Commerce and Navigation

literature

• Works of Fisher Ames. Compiled by a number of friends . To which are prefixed notices of his life and character. Publisher: TB Wait & Co., Boston 1809
• Works of Fisher Ames. With a selection of his speeches and correspondence . Edited by his son Seth Ames. Volume I. Publisher: Little, Brown, Boston 1854
  • Works of Fisher Ames. Volume II. Publisher: Little, Brown, Boston 1854
• Speeches of Fisher Ames in Congress, 1789-1796 . Edited by Pelham W. Ames. Publisher: Little, Brown & Co., Boston Published 1871