Benjamin Goodhue
United States Senator
from Massachusetts
In office
June 11, 1796 – November 8, 1800
Preceded byGeorge Cabot
Succeeded byJonathan Mason
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts
In office
March 4, 1789 – June 11, 1796
Succeeded bySamuel Sewall
Constituency2nd district (1789–93)
1st district (1793–95)
10th district (1795–96)
Personal details
Born(1748-09-20)September 20, 1748
Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
DiedJuly 28, 1814(1814-07-28) (aged 65)
Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyFederalist
Alma materHarvard College
OccupationMerchant

Benjamin Goodhue (September 20, 1748[note 1] – July 28, 1814)[2] was a Representative and a Senator from Massachusetts. He supported the Patriot during the American Revolution, and was a strong member of the Federalist Party. He was described by contemporaries as a leading member of the so-called Essex Junto, 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 to Benjamin and Martha (Hardy) Goodue.[1] His father was a blacksmith by trade, but later became a successful merchant. The younger Benjamin graduated from Harvard College in 1766[3] and joined his father in the merchant business. He remained active as a merchant during the American Revolutionary War, and was a member of the state constitutional conventions of 1779 and 1780, the latter one producing the present Constitution of Massachusetts. He then won election as a state representative to the inaugural Massachusetts House of Representatives 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 and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1789, until his resignation in June 1796.[3]

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 as the "Essex Junto". 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. He was elected in 1796 to the United States Senate, filling a vacancy caused by the resignation of George Cabot. 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[4] on July 28, 1814.[3][5]

Legacy

A World War II Liberty ship was named in his honor.[6][7][8]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Goodhue Genealogy states that he was born on "Sept. 20, O. S. or Oct. 1, N. S., 1748."[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Goodhue 1891, p. 20.
  2. ↑ Goodhue 1891, pp. 33–34.
  3. 1 2 3 Goodhue 1891, p. 34.
  4. ↑ "Died". Hartford Courant. Hartford, CT. August 9, 1814. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ↑ Ward, G.A. (1842). "Journal and letters of ... Samuel Curwen, 1775-1784. To which are added, biographical notices of many American loyalists and other eminent persons" – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Liberty Ships built by the United States Maritime Commission in World War II". American Merchant Marine at War. May 4, 2002. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  7. ↑ "EC2 General Cargo Ships (Liberty Ships); Part 1: EMC #s 1 thru 417". Shipbuilding History. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Guide to the Charles T. Lewis California Shipbuilding Corporation (CalShip) Collection". Online Archive of California. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
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