Caleb Strong

Caleb Strong (January 9, 1745 – November 7, 1819) was a Massachusetts lawyer and politician who served as the sixth and tenth Governor of Massachusetts between 1800 and 1807, and again from 1812 until 1816. He assisted in drafting the Massachusetts State Constitution in 1779 and served as a state senator and on the Massachusetts Governor's Council before being elected to the inaugural United States Senate. A leading member of the Massachusetts Federalist Party and a member of the Essex Junto, his political success delayed the decline of the Federalists in Massachusetts.

Adept at moderating the sometimes harsh political conflict between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans and popular in Massachusetts, the Northampton native navigated the state through the early years of the 19th century as the rest of the country became progressively more Democratic. Although he sought to retire from politics, the advent of the War of 1812 brought him back to the governor's office as a committed opponent of the war. He refused United States Army requests that state militia be placed under army command, and in 1814 sought to engage Nova Scotia Governor John Coape Sherbrooke in peace talks. The state and federal government's weak defense of the Massachusetts northern frontier (Castine, Maine was occupied by the British) during Strong's tenure contributed to the successful drive for Maine's statehood, which was granted in 1820.