Fisher Ames

Fisher Ames ( born April 9, 1758 in Dedham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, † July 4, 1808 ) was an American politician. Between 1789 and 1797 he represented the state of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

Fisher Ames attended both public and private schools and then studied until 1774 at Harvard College. He then worked for some time as a teacher. After studying law and his 1781 was admitted to the bar he began in Dedham to work in this profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career. In 1788 he was a member of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, as well as a delegate to the meeting at which the state of Massachusetts ratified the Constitution of the United States. Politically, he was the federal government under President George Washington close (Pro - Administration). Later he became a member of the Federalist Party, founded by Alexander Hamilton. He was a political opponent of the future President Thomas Jefferson.

In the first midterm elections of 1789 Ames was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he took up his new mandate on March 4, 1789. After three re- elections, he was able to complete in Congress until March 3, 1797 four legislative sessions. Since 1795 he represented there the eighth constituency of his state. From 1789 to 1791, he headed the selection committee. During his time as a congressman, the first ten constitutional amendments, the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791. In 1795, the ratification of the eleventh additional article followed. In 1796 Ames gave up another Congress candidate.

After the end of his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, he practiced as a lawyer again in Dedham. In the years 1798-1800 he served on the staff of the governor of Massachusetts. In 1804 he was elected president of Harvard University. But this office he declined for health reasons. He died on July 4, 1808 in his home town of Dedham.