1788 Class 2 Senate Election: Strong vs Jarvis
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Charles Jarvis was a Boston representative that unsuccessfully ran for Class 1 Senator and famously gave a speech during the ratifying of the US Constitution.
Caleb Strong graduated from Harvard in 1760 at the age of 15 after growing up the descendant of Massachusetts pilgrim John Strong. He suffered from small pox which permanently affected his sight, delaying his bar exam until 1772. Strong was elected to Massachusetts Provincial Congress in 1774 with the Revolutionary War on its way. He spent the Revolutionary War on the sidelines due to damaged sight but was on the committee to ratify the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. He then spent the next 8 years serving in the Massachusetts Senate before the national Senate was to be born. One of the most important cases in Massachusetts was the Quoc Walker case which helped abolish slavery in Massachusetts long before the emancipation proclamation. This made him a strong contender for the US Senate.
His unofficial partner in the Quoc Walker case was Theodore Sedgwick. Sedgwick was originally from West Hartford, Connecticut who dropped out of Yale University but still passed the bar exam in 1766 at the age of 20. He was practicing in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and served on the Vermont Supreme Court when the War came calling. Major Sedgwick took part in the Battle of White Plains where the British kicked the crap out of General George Washington's continental army all the way down to New Jersey. Throughout the 1780's he was a prominent lawyer in Massachusetts and a key abolitionist that helped end slavery in the state. He would definitely be a threat to Caleb Strong to win the Senate seat.
Judge John Lowell was also an abolitionist that was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1760 at the age of 17 and took up practicing law in 1763. He bounced back between being an attorney and a town Selectman between 1763 and 1776. Ironically he took heat for praising governor's Thomas Hutchinson and Thomas Gage in 1774 before the Revolutionary War began. Bouncing between his practice, the House of Representatives and the War kept him busy over the years. He was most known for abolishing slavery in Massachusetts with its own Bill of Rights. He served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1784-85 before becoming a judicial judge. By the 1788 election, he was considered one of the best in the state.
"Mr. Gambini, are you mockin me?" - Judge John Lowell
Nathaniel Gorham was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1738 and became a merchant at 15 years old. At 21 years old he had his own shop in Charlestown and served on the Massachusetts General Court starting in 1771. In 1778 he was promoted to the Board of War during the American Revolution until the British said screw it and left. He served on the Congress of Confederation and was its president after John Hancock resigned. He also made his name as a Middlesex County judge. In 1787, Gorham was the defacto boss of the Constitution Convention when George Washington wasn't available. Right around the 1788 elections was when Nathaiel and Oliver Phelps bought a ton of land in upstate New York that was previously acquired in the Treaty of Hartford. Because they bought it as a pre-emptive strike, that gave them the right to remove all the natives already settled there. What an asshole!
"All you freeloading natives better scram!" - Nathaniel Gorham
Dr. Samuel Holten was born in modern day Danvers in 1738 and became a licensed physician. He served as a major during the American Revolution and served in Mass Congress in 1774. He joined the Continental Congress in 1778 and was a part of the crew that signed the Articles of Confederation. He left Congress to serve in the Massachusetts Senate in 1780 for two years then joined the Congress of the Confederation in 1783. He was serving in the state senate in 1786 when the national senate elections in 1788 were being held. He decided to throw his hat in the ring with the others.
Just like the Class 1 Senate election, the Class 2 election was wide open since a lot of these guys were known around the state, but none of them had the charm or reputation of John Hancock. So, who will take the election? Let's find out.
On November 24, 1788, Nathaniel Gorham finished dead last with just 23 votes out of 419. Dr. Samuel Holten finished in fifth place with 39 votes and Judge John Lowell finished in fourth place with 59 votes. In third place was Theodore Sedgwick with 67 votes leaving Jarvis against Strong for the winner. With a 152 to 79 vote landslide, the first Class 2 senator was....Caleb Strong! Mostly due to the Federalist Party beginning to seize power, Strong used that connection to strongarm himself to the Class 2 seat opposite Tristram Dalton. One month later, the first president would be elected, but for now Caleb Strong was your Class 2 Senator.
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