1796 Class 1 Senate Election: Goodhue vs Robbins

As we all remember, Alexander Hamilton's best friend George Cabot defeated Tristram Dalton and Nathaniel Gorham in the 1791 Senate Election to become the new Class 1 Senator from Massachusetts. Suddenly on June 9, 1796....Cabot resigned. Why? Let's take a look at his reign shall we? He was a devout Federalists like his good buddy Hamilton as well as President George Washington and Vice President John Adams. Cabot was a frequent opponent of Thomas Jefferson mostly over the party disputes over who to support in Europe. Thomas Jefferson was a well known Francophile while Adams, Washington and the Federalists respected Great Britain greatly. It was Cabot that wanted George Washington to remove French diplomat Edmond-Charles Genet from the premises, further angering Jefferson. Cabot continued to be a frequent pain in Jefferson's ass throughout the 1790's and was also the director of the first bank of the United States in 1793. Cabot also was one of the biggest whinebags when it came to the Jay Treaty that called for peace between England and the United States. With Jefferson calling him out every five seconds, Cabot finally resigned his Senate seat in June of 1796 before the election. Remember, he wasn't even a politician, he was a sea merchant that just happened to be best friends with Alexander Hamilton. He wouldn't be the last one elected on the basis of who you know.

                  "That damn Jefferson is RUINING the country. I'm outta here" - George Cabot

Unfortunately just two days after Cabot resigned, the man he beat to win the Senate seat, Nathaniel Gorham passed away. He was 58 years old. Pour one out for Nate.

                                                  RIP Nathaniel Gorham 1738-1796

So who would be running with Gorham dead and Cabot resigning? Two new challengers. National House of Representatives member Benjamin Goodhue would be running against Massachusetts Speaker of the House Edward Robbins. Benjamin Goodhue was born on September 20, 1748 and graduated from Harvard in 1766. He was a merchant during the Revolutionary War before being nominated to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1780. He also served in the Massachusetts Senate in the 1780's before being elected to the national House of Representatives in 1789. He resigned from Congress to run for the national Senate. Without Gorham and Cabot in the way, he had as good as chance as anyone to win. Fun fact, his successor in Congress was Samuel Sewall. Sewall's grandfather was a judge during the Salem Witch Trials. 20 innocents lost because of utter tomfoolery.

            "MY GRANDFATHER'S WORK WAS DOO DOO!" - Samuel Sewall

Ben's opponent would be the Speaker of the House in Massachusetts, Edward Robbins. Robbins was born in Milton, Massachusetts in 1758 and graduated from Harvard in 1775 right on the cusp of the Revolution. His claim to fame was he bought the land in 1786 around Passamaquoddy Bay that's now known as Robbinston, Maine right on the Canadian border. Fun fact, his daughter Mary married Paul Revere's son John. Not so fun fact, John and Mary had a son named Paul Joseph that was killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. Back in 1793, Robbins was elected to be Speaker of the House and ran against Benjamin Goodhue for the US Senate seat in 1796.

                        John Revere's father and his son were heroes with much different fates

So what were the sides? Goodhue was a devout Federalist while Robbins was a Democratic Repubican. Who will take the seat? Let's find out.

                                                        Round 1....FIGHT!

It was a close and chippy contest with both men staying close to the each other until one big factor came in. The country was still under Federalist control and Goodhue had a lot of Federalist friends. When he was in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Governor John Hancock called his district Essex Junto. His friends were powerful enough to help him win the Senate seat by a score of 75 to 65. Benjamin Goodhue was now the new Class 1 Senator of Massachusetts. 

                                                         Essex Junto wins

So what did this mean for the Senate? The Federalists controlled 20 of the 30 seats on the Senate with Goodhue apart of them. The upcoming presidential election was also going to decide if the Federalists could carry the momentum to the white house. John Adams was the odds on favorite to replace George Washington and with 20 of the 30 Seats in the Senate controlled by Federalists, it looked good for John and the boys. As for now, Benjamin Goodhue was the Class 1 champion.

              HERE IS YOUR WINNER...ANND....NEEWWWWWW CLASS 1 SENATOR OF MASSACHUSETTS....BENJAMIN GOODHUEEEEE