Massachusetts 1788 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1

Office:
U.S. House of Representatives (Federal)
Title:
U.S. Congressman
Jurisdiction:
Federal
Label:
Massachusetts 1788 U.S. House of Representatives, District 1
Date:
1788
State:
Massachusetts
Type:
General
Iteration:
First Ballot
Office/Role:
U.S. House of Representatives/U.S. Congressman
Candidates:
Fisher Ames, Samuel Adams, Samuel A. Otis, Charles Jarvis, Benjamin Austin, Jr., John Adams, William Heath, Benjamin Lincoln, James Bowdoin, Jr., John Sewell, Oliver Wendell, Richard Cranch, Thomas Dawes, James Bowdoin, John Read
Candidates: Fisher Ames[1]Samuel AdamsSamuel A. OtisCharles JarvisBenjamin Austin, Jr.John AdamsWilliam HeathBenjamin LincolnJames Bowdoin, Jr.John SewellOliver WendellRichard CranchThomas DawesJames BowdoinJohn Read
Affiliation:FederalistAnti-FederalistFederalistFederalist
Final Result: [2][3][4][5]818521704543302818121174321
District of One818521704543302818121174321
Suffolk County818521704543302818121174321
Town of Bellingham8-----6--------
Town of Boston44543915----------2-
Town of Braintree43--------------
Town of Brookline6-17------------
Town of Chelsea-12--------7----
Town of Cohasset[6]---------------
Town of Dedham2081---1--------
Town of Dorchester413-------------
District of Dover1----29---------
Town of Foxborough413----------3--
Town of Franklin29-121--318-1-----
Town of Hingham281-------------
Town of Hull[7]---------------
Town of Medfield6-32------------
Town of Medway---24-----8-----
Town of Milton1611-----12------
Town of Needham262-------------
Town of Roxbury4553---14-------1
Town of Sharon264-------------
Town of Stoughton17---431---------
Town of Walpole2313-------2-----
Town of Weymouth-20---------4---
Town of Wrentham34-----4--------

Notes:

[1]Elected.
[2]Massachusetts law required a majority to elect for the U.S. House of Representatives. The whole number of votes cast was 1613, therefore a candidate needed 807 votes in order to be elected.
[3]"The Boston Gazette gave a new turn to the campaign on 8 December by renewing the demand for amendments to the Constitution, by nominating Samuel Adams, and by raising the issue of Samuel A. Otis's bankruptcy. Two days later the Massachusetts Centinel, which had supported Otis, joined in the attack upon him, and Federalist leaders soon switched their support from Otis to Fisher Ames as the candidate who might be able to defeat Adams. In the week before the election on 18 December, the Massachusetts Centinel and the Herald of Freedom denounced Anti-Federalist adn amendments and assured the voters that Adams was unsuitable, whatever his past services might have been. The Boston Gazette and the Indepedent Chronicle praised Adams at length and supported amendments." The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790, Vol. I. 544.
[4]"At a meeting of a numerous body of Federalists, held in this town, it was unanimously determined to support the election of Fisher Ames, Equire, as a Representative for Suffolk District, in the federal legislature; also, the Hon. Jabez Fisher, Esq., the Hon. Caleb Davis, Esq., as candidates for Elector of President and Vice President." Massachusetts Centinel. December 17, 1788.
[5]"The elections in the country have, in general, been very thinly attended - owing in some measure to the late fall of snow, making the passing bad." The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 20, 1788.
[6]There were no votes recorded in Cohasset.
[7]There were no votes recorded in Hull.

References:

Original Election Returns. Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 17, 1788.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 20, 1788.
The Salem Mercury (Salem, MA). December 23, 1788.
The Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, MA). December 24, 1788.
Thomas's Massachusetts Spy: Or, The Worcester Gazette (Worcester, MA). December 25, 1788.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). December 31, 1788.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). January 7, 1789.
The Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield, MA). January 14, 1789.
Jensen, Merrill and Robert A. Becker, ed. The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections: 1788-1790. Vol. I. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1976. 544-575.
Muddy River and Brookline Records, 1634-1838. J. E. Farwell, 1875. 363.
A Volume of Records Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing Boston Town Records. 1784 to 1796. Boston: Municipal Printing Office, 1903. 183.

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