Ames, Fisher, 1758–1808, American political leader, b. Dedham, Mass.; son of Nathaniel Ames. Admitted to the bar in 1781, he began political pamphleteering and by a speech in the Massachusetts convention that ratified the federal Constitution started on the road to becoming a leading Federalist. As a Congressman (1789–97) and after his retirement he was high in party councils, a staunch follower of Hamilton, and a vicious opponent of Jefferson. Of Ames's able speeches perhaps the best known was that made in 1796 when the House was disposed to nullify Jay's Treaty by withholding appropriations; he spoke for the treaty. He was the archetype of the New England conservative of his period, a strong proponent of order and of the rights of property.

Bibliography

See biography by W. E. Bernhard (1965).

Ames, Fisher

(born April 9, 1758, Dedham, Mass.—died July 4, 1808, Dedham, Mass., U.S.) U.S. essayist and Federalist politician. He graduated from Harvard College in 1774 and taught school for five years before turning to the law; he was admitted to the bar in 1781. Supporting the creation of a strong central government, Ames argued for ratification of the new U.S. Constitution at the Massachusetts constitutional convention. He became known for his uncompromising advocacy of the rights of property and his protective attitude toward commercial interests, which he defended in trenchant writing and commanding speech. In 1788 he defeated Samuel Adams for a seat in the first session of the U.S. House of Representatives; he was reelected three times. His eloquent support of the treaty negotiated by John Jay to preserve peace with England (1794) convinced the House to pass an enabling appropriation.