Massachusetts 1812 Moderator, Springfield
- Office:
- Moderator (Town)
- Title:
- Moderator
- Jurisdiction:
- Town
- Label:
- Massachusetts 1812 Moderator, Springfield
- Date:
- 1812
- State:
- Massachusetts
- Type:
- General
- Iteration:
- First Ballot
- Office/Role:
- Moderator/Moderator
- Candidates:
- Thomas Dwight, Joshua Frost
| Candidates: | Thomas Dwight[1] | Joshua Frost |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliation: | Federalist | |
| Final Result: [2][3] | 276 | 264 |
| Town of Springfield | 276 | 264 |
Notes:
[1]Elected.
[2]The Hampshire Federalist of April 2, 1812 lists the Federalist as "Town Ticket" and the Republicans as the "U.S. Armoury Ticket".
[3]"Springfield Election. The election for town officers in Springfield, gives a striking proof of the blessed practical effects of the new Law. Two thirds of the day was spent by nearly six hundred persons in choosing a moderator, which has commonly been done in two thirds of a minute, and the same man elected. .... The town of Springfield is as decidedly Federal as almost any town of its size, exclusive of the United State Armoury. A small proportion of the inhabitants, who do not derive a great part of their income from the Treasury of the United States, is democratic. Consider what influence 120,000 dollars, annually expended in such a place will have, when directed to one point. That it has been the constant endeavor of those who have to direct the expenditure of this money, thereby to further democracy, can never be denied. There are in the Armoury, with a few exceptions, no men who are not pledged to democracy. .... A majority of the armourers have no more connection with the town, no more interest in it or it's proceedings that if they lived an hundred miles off. .... Add to all this the influence created by employing at high wages and ready pay, in relation to the Armoury, though not in it, men who are now democrats or men who it is hoped may become such. If influence, however, was all the Federalists had to contend with, as great and enormous as it is, they would have withstood it. But much more than this was done. An association was drawn up and presented to the armourers to sign, in which they were required to pledge themselves to vote for the democratic candidates. And whether the alternative of immediate dismission was stated to them or not, it was as well understood as if the order had come signed by President Madison himself." Hampshire Federalist (Springfield, MA). April 2, 1812.
References:
Hampshire Federalist (Springfield, MA). April 2, 1812.
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