1796 Gubernatorial Election: Adams vs Sumner
THE FOLLOWING CONTEST, SCHEDULED FOR ONE TERM IS FOR THE 1796 GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION! INTRODUCING FIRST THE CHALLENGER. REPRESENTING THE FEDERALISTS, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME COURT, INCREASE SUMNER!
AND HIS OPPONENT! REPRESENTING THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANS, HE IS THE CURRENT GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS, SAMUEL ADAMS!
1796 was a big year for politics with the upcoming Class 1 and Class 2 senate elections along with the upcoming presidential election. Before all of that would be the Gubernatorial election. What was going on in the world between April of 95 and 96? On June 8, 1795, The Jay Treaty was passed to the Senate by President George Washington. Essentially while the French Revolution turned bloody, Washington declared neutrality between the French and the British. In order to establish peace with the British, Washington and the Federalists established the Jay Treaty. It was a known fact that Washington, John Adams and Alexander Hamilton all preferred the British to the French but Washington wanted to avert war. It was successful....for now.
On October 13, 1795 Colonel William Prescott passed away. He was primarily the one in charge of the American forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill. His men held out until they ran out of ammo and the British drove them back. Still, the fact the badly trained militia stood toe to toe with arguably the most dominant empire in the world showed the Americans had a chance in the war. His monument still stands in Charlestown today. Poor one out for Willie.
On March 30, 1796 John Sevier was named the first governor of Tennessee...which wasn't even a state yet. Still, congratulations to Johnny.
So this year's Gubernatorial election came down to Samuel Adams defending his title against a new challenger, Associate Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, Increase Sumner. Who's that? He was born in 1746 in Roxbury and as a 6 year old, studied under future Supreme Court Justice William Cushing at Roxbury Latin School. He graduated from Harvard University in 1767 and took over Roxbury Latin as a teacher. He wanted to study under John Adams himself but Adams was too busy, but praised Sumner as a future genius.
He served on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress from 1776 before joining the state Senate in 1780. In 1782, he replaced John Sullivan in the Massachusetts Supreme Court by Governor John Hancock where he stayed for 15 years. Fun fact, Senate proceedings weren't recorded until 1805. If you ever visit the Mass State House, you'll find the Senate records in the library. The Shay's Rebellion fallout was oversaw by the Mass Supreme Court and 18 men were sentenced to be hung. Of the 18, only 2 actually were. The Court also unofficially abolished slavery during the Quoc Walker case by saying the Massachusetts Constitution already banned it. Also, you know when you're arrested the police has to identify the charges and you're allowed a defense? That's called Habeus Corpus. Its to prevent a dictatorship that can arrest anyone at any time for no reason. Sumner was a big proponent of habeus corpus written into the US Consitution. Too bad he wasn't alive when Abraham Lincoln took a shit on habeus corprus during the Civil War, but that's a story for another day. In 1795, because of Samuel Adams popularity, Sumner wasn't officially nominated for Governor by the Federalists. It would be a different story in 1796. Adams was 74 years old and many felt it was time for him to go. Sumner was almost 25 years his junior and if the Federalists wanted to take the country in the upcoming presidential election, Massachusetts would also be a jewel in the crown. Could Adams defend his title or will Sumner prevail? Let's find out.
Unlike almost every election prior, this wasn't exactly a landslide. The write-in candidates pulled 1,110 votes for 4 percent of the vote. Adams successfully defended his title by winning the vote tally 15,199 to 10,184 for a 58 to 38% victory. In fact, Sumner actually won Massachusetts but the state of Maine wasn't established yet and was considered part of Massachusetts. Adams big presence in Maine won him the election. If this election were to be held under today's territory system, Sumner would have won.
The aging veteran was able to dispatch the young, hungry associate justice but the tide was turning. This was the closest election since 1785 when James Bowdoin barely defeated Thomas Cushing. Adams time was running short and Sumner appeared to be the heir apparent. The country would be under a two party system after George Washington was due to retire and if the Federalists won, that would be a huge swing across the states. But for now, Adams and the Democratic Republicans still controlled Massachusetts.
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