Benjamin Goodhue (September 20, 1748July 28, 1814) was a

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

and a Senator from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He supported the

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during the

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, and was a strong member of the Federalist Party. He was described by contemporaries as a leading member of the so-called

Essex Junto The Essex Junto was a powerful group of New England Federalist Party lawyers, merchants, and politicians, so called because many in the original group were from Essex County, Massachusetts. Origins and definition The term was coined as an inv ...

, a group of Massachusetts Federalists, most of whom were from Essex County.

Biography

Benjamin Goodhue was born in Salem in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

to Benjamin and Martha (Hardy) Goodue. His father was a blacksmith by trade, but later became a successful merchant. The younger Benjamin graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1766 and joined his father in the merchant business. He remained active as a merchant during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and was a member of the state constitutional conventions of 1779 and 1780, the latter one producing the present

Constitution of Massachusetts The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. As a member of the Massachuset ...

. He then won election as a state representative to the inaugural

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1780, and was later elected to the state senate, serving in 1783 and 1786–1788. After adoption of the United States Constitution, Goodhue was elected to the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1789, until his resignation in June 1796. Goodhue was a supporter of the strong central government, and joined the Federalist Party when it was organized. He was one of a number of prominent Federalists from Essex County that were described by

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of t ...

as the "

". He was one of two Congressmen who drafted the nation's first revenue code. He served as chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures in the

Fourth United States Congress The 4th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsy ...

. He was elected in 1796 to the United States Senate, filling a vacancy caused by the resignation of

George Cabot George Cabot (1751 or 1752April 18, 1823) was an American merchant, seaman, and politician from Massachusetts. He represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate and was the presiding officer of the infamous Hartford Convention. During and after hi ...

. He was reelected and served from June 11, 1796, to November 8, 1800, when he resigned and retired from public service. He died in Salem on July 28, 1814.

Legacy

Goodhue is buried in Salem's Broad Street Cemetery. A

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

was named in his honor.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodhue, Benjamin 1748 births 1814 deaths Harvard College alumni Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives United States senators from Massachusetts Federalist Party United States senators Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Politicians from Salem, Massachusetts Burials at Broad Street Cemetery People of colonial Massachusetts 18th-century American politicians