Английская Википедия:Amos Singletary
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Good article Шаблон:Infobox officeholder Amos Singletary (September 1721 – October 30, 1806) was an American gristmill operator and justice of the peace from Sutton, Massachusetts, who served in both houses of the Massachusetts General Court (state legislature). An Anti-Federalist, he voted against the U.S. Constitution as a delegate to the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention. He was angered by perceived Federalist arrogance surrounding the adoption of the Constitution and thought that it provided too much power to the national government. He supported the American Revolution and wanted to limit wealthy Bostonians' sway over state politics.Шаблон:Sfn
Early and personal life
He was born in Sutton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, in September 1721. He was the first male birth in the town, the youngest son of Mary Grelee (or Greele) and John Singletary, a farmer and tithingman.Шаблон:Sfnm John had moved to Sutton around 1720 and soon bought a lot on which he built a gristmill for municipal use.Шаблон:Sfn
Singletary never attended school and learned only at home; despite this, town annals published in 1970 note that he was a keen learner in later life.Шаблон:Sfn An earnest Baptist,Шаблон:Sfn he signed a petition in 1742 asking for a parcel of land to be set aside in northern Sutton for a new church.Шаблон:Sfn In late 1747, several dozen churchgoers, including Singletary, broke off from the First Church of Sutton and formed their own in a part of town that is now Millbury.Шаблон:Sfn He was elected as a ruling elder of that church on February 4, 1768.Шаблон:Sfn
He married Mary Curtis, from Topsfield, on September 6, 1742; she died on June 28, 1798.Шаблон:Sfn They had nine children, six girls and three boys.Шаблон:Efn All worked in offices at the church, except his youngest, also named Amos, who town annals call a "profligate."Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn Singletary ran his father's gristmill along Singletary Stream from 1764 to 1777. He had purchased it from his brother, Richard, and later sold it to Abraham Waters.Шаблон:Sfn
Political career
On January 5, 1775, Singletary was elected to be a delegate of Sutton to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in Cambridge held on February 1. Later, on May 22, he was elected again, to a second congress in Watertown on May 31.Шаблон:Sfn He was nominated to be a justice of the peace on September 18 of that year, entering politics upon assuming the office.Шаблон:Sfnm
He and Willis Hall were elected May 19, 1777, to represent Sutton in the General Court in the coming year.Шаблон:Sfn In the next decade, Hall became the chair of Worcester County conventions that hoped to influence the Court; Singletary served in the House of Representatives in the 1781–82 and 1783–84 sessions, representing Sutton with Hall during the former.Шаблон:Sfn During the Revolutionary War, he was listed on a committee to train men in Worcester County to fight in New York and Canada, and as a legislator, he opposed eastern Massachusetts policies that, in his view, tormented western Massachusetts farmers.Шаблон:Sfnm
He was chosen on September 25, 1786, to be a delegate to a county convention in Leicester to ask for the state capital to be moved out of Boston.Шаблон:Sfn Many residents of western Massachusetts resented the influence of Boston elites over the state legislature, which they felt was taxing the Western region too heavily. This resentment also motivated Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising that had emerged that summer.Шаблон:Sfn The town of Sutton selected Singletary as part of a committee to try to mediate between active rebels and the state government, which had sent thousands of troops to suppress the uprising.Шаблон:Sfnm The delegation managed to meet with General Benjamin Lincoln, though the rebellion continued for many months more.Шаблон:Sfnm
Constitution Ratifying Convention
Singletary is best known as a zealous, outspoken Anti-Federalist during Massachusetts's hearings on ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788.Шаблон:Sfn He and David Harwood became the delegates from Sutton on December 10, 1787, to the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention in Boston which began on January 9 of the next year.Шаблон:Sfn On January 25, 1788, over two weeks into the convention, Singletary spoke against the Constitution in response to Representative Fisher Ames.Шаблон:Sfn
He argued that the federal government's powers under the Constitution would be similar to those held by Great Britain, from which they had just won independence.Шаблон:Sfn He worried that the interests of the common people would not be protected and became furious with Federalists' immodesty on pushing for ratification.Шаблон:Sfnm He insisted—breaking with some Anti-Federalists—that the national government should ensure that officials pass a religious test.Шаблон:Sfn Other demands included opposition to a standing army and stricter term limits to avoid life tenure.Шаблон:Sfn The Massachusetts Centinel reported a section of his speech:Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Quote
Representative Jonathan Smith of Lanesborough responded. He cited Shays' Rebellion as justifying the need for a more centralized government, and said that the writers of the Constitution could be trusted.Шаблон:Sfn The Centinel quoted:Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Quote
Although Singletary was not the only delegate to voice opposition,Шаблон:Sfn Massachusetts ratified the Constitution on February 7, 1788, with a 187–168 vote.Шаблон:Sfn Sutton annals write that several town members—along with other parts of the state—celebrated its ratification.Шаблон:Sfn
Later politics and death
Singletary represented Sutton in the state senate, serving four consecutive one-year terms from 1787 to 1790.Шаблон:Sfn In the 1788 election, Singletary received 94% of his vote from Anti-Federalist towns in Worcester County and 4% from Federalist ones; compare this to the Federalist senator Moses Gill, also from Worcester, who received 83% from Anti-Federalist towns and 14% from Federalist ones.Шаблон:Sfn
According to historian Jon L. Wakelyn, "It is unclear whether Singletary took part in post-1789 politics. There is some indication that he had moved to Maine."Шаблон:Sfn He died on October 30, 1806, at age 85.Шаблон:Sfn His remains are interred in the County-Bridge Cemetery, on Providence Street along Blackstone River in Millbury, Massachusetts.Шаблон:Sfn
Notes and references
- Explanatory notes
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