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702. Massachusetts 1802 House of Representatives, Salem
703. Massachusetts 1802 House of Representatives, South Hadley
704. Massachusetts 1802 House of Representatives, Stockbridge
705. Massachusetts 1802 House of Representatives, Watertown
706. Massachusetts 1802 House of Representatives, Weston
707. Massachusetts 1802 House of Representatives, Worcester
708. Massachusetts 1802 Lieutenant Governor
709. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Barnstable County
710. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Berkshire County
711. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Bristol County
712. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Cumberland County
713. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties
714. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Essex County
715. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Hampshire County
716. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Hancock, Kennebec, Lincoln and Washington Counties
717. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Middlesex County
718. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Norfolk County
719. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Plymouth County
720. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Suffolk County
721. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, Worcester County
722. Massachusetts 1802 State Senate, York County
723. Massachusetts 1802 Treasurer, Barnstable County
724. Massachusetts 1802 Treasurer, Dukes County
725. Massachusetts 1802 Treasurer, Hancock County
726. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Barnstable District
727. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Berkshire District
728. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Bristol District
729. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Cumberland District
730. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Essex North District
731. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Essex South District
732. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Hampshire North District
733. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Hampshire South District
734. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Kennebec District
735. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Lincoln District
736. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Middlesex District
737. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Norfolk District
738. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Plymouth District
739. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Suffolk District
740. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Worcester North District
741. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, Worcester South District
742. Massachusetts 1802 U.S. House of Representatives, York District
743. Massachusetts 1803 Governor
744. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Bernardston and Leyden
745. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Boston
746. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Brookfield
747. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Brookline
748. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Charlemont
749. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Charlestown
750. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Chatham
751. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Falmouth
752. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Fitchburg
753. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Hallowell
754. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Hardwick
755. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Haverhill
756. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Marblehead
757. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Marshfield
758. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Mendon
759. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Paris
760. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Pittsfield
761. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Portland
762. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Raynham
763. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Salem
764. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Tisbury
765. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Watertown
766. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Weston
767. Massachusetts 1803 House of Representatives, Worcester
768. Massachusetts 1803 Lieutenant Governor
769. Massachusetts 1803 Registry of Deeds, Hancock County
770. Massachusetts 1803 Selectman, Boston
771. Massachusetts 1803 Selectman, Salem
772. Massachusetts 1803 Selectman, Salem, Ballot 2
773. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Barnstable County
774. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Berkshire County
775. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Bristol County
776. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Cumberland County
777. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Dukes and Nantucket Counties
778. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Essex County
779. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Hampshire County, Special
780. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Hancock, Lincoln and Washington Counties
781. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Kennebec County
782. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Middlesex County
783. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Norfolk County
784. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Plymouth County
785. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Suffolk County, Special
786. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, Worcester County
787. Massachusetts 1803 State Senate, York County, Special
788. Massachusetts 1803 Town Clerk, Salem, Special
789. Massachusetts 1803 Treasurer, Essex County
790. Massachusetts 1803 Treasurer, Hancock County
791. Massachusetts 1803 Treasurer, Salem
792. Massachusetts 1803 Treasurer, York County
793. Massachusetts 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, Hampshire North District, Ballot 2
794. Massachusetts 1803 U.S. House of Representatives, Hampshire North District, Ballot 3
795. Massachusetts 1804 Electoral College
796. Massachusetts 1804 Governor
797. Massachusetts 1804 House of Representatives, Amherst
798. Massachusetts 1804 House of Representatives, Bernardston and Leyden
799. Massachusetts 1804 House of Representatives, Boston
800. Massachusetts 1804 House of Representatives, Brookfield
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With independence from Great Britain in 1776, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was governed by the same bicameral legislature that existed during the colonial period. It was not until 1780 that John Adams, armed with a statewide mandate for a constitutional convention, set about drafting a formal state constitution. What Adams forged proved so successful that it later became a template for the Constitution of United States. What made the 1780 Massachusetts constitution so influential was how it seemingly balanced the populist ideals promised to the citizenry by the Revolution with the fundamentally conservative expectations of the existing Massachusetts elite. In terms of structure, it established an elective chief magistrate (the governor), a bicameral legislature (the General Court made up of a House and a Senate), and an independent judiciary (an appointed state court system). Also, Adams included a declaration of rights to ensure civil liberties (as well as his brainchild's ratification). Although ratified by town meetings throughout the commonwealth, the document was fundamentally conservative in that it secured the ruling elite's control over the state by giving disproportionate power to the wealthy coastal counties of Suffolk and Essex. Not surprisingly, the 1780 constitution became the darling of the Federalist Party establishment that fought to resist constitutional reform. In opposition, the Democratic-Republicans chafed at the propertied basis for representation in the Senate, which gave an eastern county like Suffolk six senators to Berkshire's two, despite the fact that Berkshire had a larger population. Also, the Democratic-Republicans, whose popular base was in the western part of the state and tended to be of modest means, despised the pecuniary qualifications for the franchise, as well as the nonelected judiciary, claiming both were profoundly undemocratic.
In 1820 the opponents to the 1780 constitution had their chance when the Maine district of Massachusetts was broken off and given statehood. As a result of such radical change, the General Court called for a constitutional convention to revisit the constitution of 1780. Despite optimistic expectations for major constitutional reform, an assortment of conservatives, led by a highly sophisticated Federalist Party machine, outwitted the forces of reform at the convention, and little significant change was effected. Power remained centralized in the east, with Boston serving as its epicenter. Although the state constitutional convention proved a great victory for the Federalist establishment, in the early 1820s the party faced an angry populist insurgency fed up with the dictatorial leadership style of the Federalists. In Boston a third party, the Middling Interest, emerged that rejected the deferential nature of past politics and took up an activist stand for reform. In the mayoral election of 1822, the insurgency forced Federalist Party boss Harrison Gray Otis to bow out of the race and elected a Middling Interest candidate, thus marking the demise of the Federalist Party in Massachusetts. Although it still existed in name for a few more years, the party never regained its once dominant position in Massachusetts political life, thus signaling the advent of the Jacksonian Age and the Second Party System.
Bibliography
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Harvard and the Boston Upper Class: The Forging of an Aristocracy, 1800–1870 Middletown, CN: Wesleyan University Press, 1980. - Wilkie, Richard W. and Jack Tager, eds.
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