Asa Clapp (March 15, 1762 – April 17, 1848) was an American merchant and politician.

Personal

Clapp was born to Abiel Clapp, an established farmer and town magistrate in

Mansfield, Massachusetts Mansfield is a New England town, town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is 23 miles southwest of Boston and is 22 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Is ...

. In 1787, Clapp married Eliza Wendell Quincy (died 1853, age 90) of Boston. She was the daughter of prominent physician Jacob Quincy and granddaughter of Boston merchant Edmund Quincy. Clapp was one of Portland's largest merchants at the time of his death. Several of his sons were also major merchants and were elected to political offices; Charles Q. Clapp, for whom the still-standing Charles Q. Clapp House and Charles Q. Clapp Block are named, one of them. Another son, Asa W. H. Clapp, represented

Maine's 2nd congressional district Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering , it comprises nearly 92% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metr ...

in the

30th United States Congress The 30th 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 in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1847, ...

(1847–1849).

Career

Clapp was appointed a non-commissioned officer for the colonists during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. After the war, Clapp worked as a sailor. He was present in

Port au Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defined by the IHSI ...

at the beginning of the Haitian Revolution. He and William McLellan were witnesses to the massacre of the white population in the revolution's early stages. Clapp and

Joseph Peabody Joseph Peabody (December 9, 1757 – January 5, 1844) was a merchant and shipowner who dominated trade between Massachusetts and the East Asia for a number of years. Family and career He was descended from Francis Peabody of St. Albans, Engla ...

had assisted the white population against the formerly enslaved rebels. In 1793, Clapp was captured by British officials as part of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and detained in England for six months. He was eventually released and compensated for lost cargo. In 1796, he established himself as a merchant in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, which was then part of the state of Massachusetts. In December 1807, the U.S. Congress passed the

Embargo Act of 1807 The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. Much broader than the ineffectual 1806 Non-importation Act, it represented an escalation of attempts to persuade Br ...

, which forbid merchants like Clapp from trading abroad. Though disastrous to his financial interests and the New England shipping economy in general, Clapp supported the measure. In 1811, he served on the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

under Governor

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry ( ; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death i ...

. Clapp also supported the United States during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

despite it severely hurting his business interests. When the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Second Report on Public Credit, Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January ...

was chartered during the presidency of

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, Clapp was the largest subscriber in the District of Maine and was appointed Commissioner, though he did not maintain interest in the Bank for very long. A supporter of statehood, Clapp was a delegate to the October 1819 Maine statehood convention. After statehood was won, he served in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via ...

from 1820–1823. Clapp was a staunch Democrat and, at the age of 85 in 1847, briefly hosted President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

and Secretary of State

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

during their visit to the city of Portland. He died in Portland on April 17, 1848.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clapp, Asa 1762 births 1848 deaths American businesspeople in shipping People from Mansfield, Massachusetts Businesspeople from Portland, Maine Politicians from Portland, Maine People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives 18th-century American merchants 19th-century American merchants 19th-century members of the Maine Legislature