Fisher Ames (; April 9, 1758 – July 4, 1808) was a Representative in the United States Congress from the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts. He became conspicuous in promoting the new Constitution during his state's ratifying convention, which propelled him to election to the United States Congress for four terms concurrent with the Washington Administration. In this role, he was an important leader of the Federalist Party in the House of Representatives and soon became famous for his powerful skill as an orator. Ames was on the committee that inaugurated President Washington, he framed the final accepted wording in the First Amendment regarding freedom of religion in 1789 and fought many key legislative battles successfully for the Federalists in Congress. In his day, his greatest performance was a defense of the Jay Treaty in 1796, which secured enough votes to pass the appropriation for the treaty. Ames's Jay Treaty oration was known for decades afterward and set a standard for later statesman in debate and oratory to follow well into the 19th Century. Ames left Congress in 1797, due to declining health, and continued to be a Federalist essayist for a decade after his Congressional career. Ames died on July 4, 1808, at the age of fifty; making him the first of three Founding Fathers who died on July 4 - along with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams - who both died in 1826.

Personal life

Ames was born in Dedham in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. His father, Nathaniel Ames, died when Fisher was but six years old, but his mother, Deborah Fisher, resolved, in spite of her limited income, to give the boy a classical education. He belonged to one of the oldest families in Massachusetts and in his line of his ancestry was William Ames.

He had a brother, also named Nathaniel Ames. The brothers had opposite political views and social styles. Nathaniel "enjoyed his role as country doctor, servant of the proletariat, and champion of the common man." He became the leader of the Democratic-Republican Party in Dedham. He was most at home around the farmers and laborers with whom he grew up. Fisher, on the other hand, liked to dress well, hobnob with Boston society, and was an influential Federalist. Fisher operated his law practice out of the first floor of the Ames Tavern.

He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1793.

Framer of the Religious Freedom portion of the 1st Amendment

From June to August 1789, the First Congress worked on the Bill of Rights. Fisher Ames listened to his colleagues' suggestions as they were brought to the floor in the discussions regarding how they should codify preventing a type of national church, such as Church of England, as well as enshrine freedom of religion, and near the end of the summer, on August 20, 1789 motioned his suggestion: "Congress shall make no law establishing religion, or to prevent the free exercise thereof, or infringe the rights of conscience." This wording the House members were satisfied, and it was passed to the Senate along with all other amendments. The Senate would make a number of changes to Ames's wording, but after a few weeks, realized what Ames wrote was the arrangement all had sought, and the final version that became the part of the 1st Amendment regarding religious freedom read: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting a free exercise thereof; ...."

Views on slavery

Fisher Ames wrote in one letter of 1790: "I am no advocate of slavery," but there are no other known statements by him that establish if he was for abolition of slavery or even against it. It is well documented in his other correspondences and primary sources that verify his parents owned slaves and also the family of his wife were slave owners. However, Fisher Ames himself never purchased a slave, sold one, or was in a position to free one. As a Congressman, Ames voiced irritation over wasting time on slavery issues in the Congress, and felt it was an issue for the states, not the federal government to deal with. Ames did vote in the affirmative for the first Fugitive Slave Act, but outside of scant mention of slavery by Fisher Ames in his correspondence between 1789-1808, they are not sufficient to fully establish a strong view on the issue one way or another. Most likely, his position on the institution of slavery was that he himself had no desire to own slaves, but did not think abolition was possible, and like most people of his time tacitly accepted it as a part of the world men lived in.

Later years

In the late 18th century, Massachusetts was a solidly Federalist state. Dedham, however, was divided between Federalists and Republicans.

Ames returned home to Dedham in 1797. Upon returning, he was alarmed by the growing number of Republicans in town, led by his brother Nathaniel, who lived next door. In 1798, he hosted a Fourth of July party for 60 residents that was complete with patriotic songs and speeches. The attendees wrote a complimentary letter to President John Adams, pledging their support should the new nation go to war with France. Referring to the XYZ Affair, they wanted France to know that "we bear no foreign yoke--we will pay no tribute."

Nathaniel Ames wrote in his diary that his brother had convinced "a few deluded people" into signing the letter by "squeezing teazing greazing" them with food and drink. Despite his brother the Congressman's efforts, Nathaniel believed that "the Great Mass of People" in the town were with the Republicans. For his part, Fisher wrote to Secretary of State Timothy Pickering after the party that "the progress of right opinions" was winning out in Dedham over "perhaps the most malevolent spirit that exists," the Republican Party. Members of the Federalist elite continued to visit him at his Dedham home, including Alexander Hamilton on June 24, 1800.

Ames supported calling Joshua Bates as minister of the First Church and Parish in Dedham, but later left that church and became an Episcopalian.

While attending a Town Meeting in Dedham, he rose to speak and delivered one of his "oratorical gems." A laborer rose to speak after him and said "Mr. Moderator, my brother Ames' eloquence reminds me of nothing but the shining of a firefly, which gives just enough light to show its own insignificance." He then immediately sat down.

In 1805, Ames was chosen president of Harvard University. He declined to serve because of failing health.

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Works cited

Further reading

  • Arkin, Marc M. "Regionalism and the Religion Clauses: The Contribution of Fisher Ames." Buffalo Law Review 47 (1999): 763+.
  • Bernhard, Winfred E.A. Fisher Ames: Federalist and Statesman, 1758-1808. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1965.
  • Douglass, Elisha P. "Fisher Ames, Spokesman for New England Federalism." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 103.5 (1959): 693–715. in JSTOR
  • Farrell, James M. "Fisher Ames and political judgment: Reason, passion, and vehement style in the Jay treaty speech." Quarterly Journal of Speech 76.4 (1990): 415–434.
  • Dictionary of American Biography (1934): Ames, Fisher
  • Knudsen, Harold M. Fisher Ames, Christian Founding Father & Federalist, Framer of Religious Freedom & Greatest Orator of the Early Republic. Maitland, Florida: Liberty Hill Publishing, 2025.

Primary sources

  • Works of Fisher Ames: With a Selection from His Speeches and Correspondence. Edited by Seth Ames. 2 vols. 1854.
  • Fisher Ames Collection at the William L. Clements Library