biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1752–1823)
|
| biography:
| Merchant and US senator, born in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. After early years at sea (1768–77), he made a substantial fortune as a shipping merchant and also worked with his family's cotton mills. As a staunch Federalist, he became a close associate of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, championing ratification of the Constitution in 1788. A prominent member of the Essex Junto, wealthy Federalists from Essex County, MA, he represented Massachusetts in the US Senate (1791–96), favouring co-operation with Britain, after which he returned to his business interests. During the War of 1812 he presided over the Hartford Convention (1814), convened to rally Federalist opposition to the war, but he served only as a moderating influence. |
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