1.1b.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1a.1b.1b.1.1.1.5.1.1c.2b.1a.1.4.1b.2.3a.2a.1b.1.2.1.1b.1c.1a.1.2.2.1b.1 Fisher Ames 
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| Birth |
9 Apr 1758, DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES |
| Death |
4 Jul 1808, DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES |
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.
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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.
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