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��Matthew Harvey.
��the control of Republicanism in 1805.
William Plumer then wrote Uriah
Tracy as follows :
"• Democracy has obtained its long expected triumph in New Hampshire. John Langdou is governor-elect. His success is not owing to snow, rain, hail, or bad roads, but to the incon- trovertible fact that the Federalists of this state do not compose the majori- ty. Many good men have grown weary of constant exertions to sup- port a system whose labors bear a close affinity to those of Sisyphus."
To comprehend all that was implied in the popular conception of this po- litical chano-e, one needs to reflect in part upon a condition of society no longer obtaining. The dominant Fed- eral element was largely embodied in the professional and official classes, who formed a kind of select aristoc- racy, more separated from the sym- pathy and cooperation of the common people than any considerably influen- tial class in New Hampshire to-day. In a sense, the triumph of Republi- canism was the success of the masses of the people. The commonalty, so to speak, had asserted their right to lead as well as to be led. The rights of the people have formed the theme of every anti-Federalist since the adoption of the constitution.
In 1800, the town of Hopkinton, N. H., was in a prosperous and thriv- ing condition. Its population was in- creasing. It kept on increasing for at least thirty more years. Hopkin- ton, during a considerable portion of this time, was a town of public dis- tinction and celebrity. It was a cen- tre of commercial, judicial, political, and social activity and enterprise. Its influence was felt in every department of the commonwealth. Besides, in
��1800, the conditions of political clas- sification in Hopkinton differed in no material respect from those of the rest of the state. Consequently, in 1804, when the tide of political favor was turning towards Republicanism, the public position of Hopkinton made it a favorable field for the location of some individual of political ambition, who might improve the opportunity of the flooding tide of Republicanism to ride on to fortune. The opportun- ity witnessed the aspirant. The right man appeared. His name was Mat- thew Harvey.
Matthew Harvey was born in Sut- ton, N. H., June 21, 1781. He was a son of Matthew Harvey and Hannah Sargent. He prepared for college under the tuition of the Rev. Samuel Wood, D. D., of Boscavven. He grad- uated at Dartmouth college in the class of 1806. He studied law with John Harris, of Hopkinton, and was admitted to the bar in 1809. He then opened an office in Hopkinton, and began his professional career. Pos- sessed of merit and capacity, he rose to distinction ; endowed with certain temperamental characteristics, he be- came a prominent leader in Republi- can (or Democratic) politics. In a special sense he became an eminently popular public official.
The possession of honesty, capaci- ty, knowledge, judgment, and refine- ment does not guarantee the com- mand of a majority of the popular vote. There were honest, capable, informed, judicious, and refined Fed- eralists (or Whigs) in New Hamp- shire in Matthew Harvey's day, but, by the same elective instrumentalities, they could not occupy his station. The same may also be said of certain
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