Fisher Ames (son of Nathaniel II Ames and Deborah Fisher) was born April 09, 1758 in DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES, and died July 04, 1808 in DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES. He married Frances Worthington on July 15, 1792 in DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES.
Notes for Fisher Ames:
AMES, FISHER (b. April 9, 1758, Dedham, Mass. (now in U.S.)---d. July 4, 1808, Dedham), essayist and Federalist politican of the 1790s who was an arch-opponent of JEFFERSONIAN DEMOCRACY.
After graduating from HARVARD IN 1774, AMES taught school for five years while also studing Greek, Latin, and English classics. In 1779 he turned from classics to law, and in 1781 he was admitted to the bar. Advocating the repression of SHAYS'S REBELLION, a farmer's uprising in WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS (1786-1787), and supporting the drive for a new, more powerful FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, Ames became known for his uncompromising conservatism, trenchant writing, and commanding speech. He argued for ratification of the CONSTITUTION at the MASSACHUSETTS CONVENTION, and in 1788 he defeated SAMUEL ADAMS for a seat in the first session of the U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Ames was reelected in 1790, 1792, and 1794.
Certain that the country could survive only with a strong central government, Ames supported ALEXANDER HAMILTON'S financial measures. He argued against retaliation for BRITISH violations of AMERICAN VESSELS were seized and American Sailors impressed into BRITISH SERVICE. He gave the greatest speech of his life in favor of the JAY TREATY (1794), which preserved peace with GREAT BRITAIN, when he swayed the HOUSE to pass an enabling appropriation.
Ames declined to run for reelection in 1796 and returned to Dedham the following year. Citing failing health, he refused the PRESIDENCY OF HARVARD COLLEGE. He wanted WAR WITH FRANCE (1797-1798), to cleanse the UNITED STATES OF "JACOBINISM," and he approved the SEDITON ACT OF 1798. Following THOMAS JEFFERSON'S election in 1800, Ames was sure the republic would sink into anarchy and mob rule. He urged FEDERALISTS to gain control of STATE GOVERNMENTS, and---in the year just prior to his death---he became a leader in creating a NEW ENGLAND sectional consciousness. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1789---WASHINGTON TAKES OATH AS PRESIDENT New York City, Apr. 30
GEORGE WASHINGTON took the oath of office as PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES today before a joint session of CONGRESS. Swearing to "preserve, protect and defend the CONSTITUTION," the first (1) President under the FEDERAL CONSTITUTION adopted by the STATES in the past year.
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON'S inaugural speech, however, was both simple and powerful. FISHER AMES, a LEGISLATOR who has served WASHINGTON for years, said, "It seemed to me an allegory in which virtue was personified." Those present in FEDERAL HALL at the corner of BROAD and WALL STREETS. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More About Fisher Ames: Confirmation (LDS): (S29Z-4K).
More About Fisher Ames and Frances Worthington: Marriage: July 15, 1792, DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES.
Fisher Ames (b. April 09, 1758, d. July 04, 1808)
Notes for Fisher Ames: