Elbridge Gerry - Congress and Revolution

Congress and Revolution

Gerry was elected to the provincial assembly, which reconstituted itself as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress after Governor Thomas Gage dissolved the body in October 1774. He was assigned to its committee of safety, responsible for assuring that the provinces limited supplies of weapons and gunpowder remained out of British Army hands. His actions were partly responsible for the storage of weapons and ammunition in Concord; these stores were the target of the British raiding expedition that sparked the start of the American Revolutionary War with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775. (Gerry was staying at an inn Menotomy, now Arlington, when the British marched through on the night of April 18.) During the Siege of Boston that followed, Gerry continued to take a leading role in supplying the nascent Continental Army, something he would continue to do as the war progressed. Unlike some merchants, there is no evidence that Gerry profiteered from this activity (he spoke out against it, and in favor of price controls), although his war-related merchant activities notably increased the family's wealth.

Gerry served in the Second Continental Congress from February 1776 to 1780, when matters of the ongoing war occupied the body's attention. He was influential in convincing a number of delegates to support passage of the United States Declaration of Independence in the debates held during the summer of 1776; John Adams wrote of him, "If every Man here was a Gerry, the Liberties of America would be safe against the Gates of Earth and Hell." He was implicated as a member of the so-called "Conway Cabal", a group of Congressmen and military officers who were dissatisfied with the performance of Major General George Washington during the 1777 campaign. However, Gerry took Pennsylvania leader Thomas Mifflin, one of Washington's critics, to task early in the episode, and specifically denied knowledge of any sort of conspiracy against Washington in February 1778.

Gerry's politics was one of limited central government, and he regularly advocated for the maintenance of civilian control of the military. He held these positions fairly consistently throughout his political career (wavering principally on the need for stronger central government in the wake of the 1786–87 Shays' Rebellion) and was well known for his personal integrity. In later years he was against the idea of political parties, remaining somewhat distant from the developing Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties until later in his career. It was not until 1800 that he would formally associate with the Democratic-Republicans in opposition to what he saw as attempts by the Federalists to centralize power in the national government. In 1780 he resigned from the Continental Congress over the issue, and refused offers from the state legislature to return to the Congress. He also refused appointment to the state senate, claiming he would be more effective in the state's lower chamber, and also refused appointment as a county judge, comparing the offer by Governor John Hancock to those made by royally-appointed governors to benefit their political allies.

Gerry was convinced to rejoin the Confederation Congress in 1783, when the state legislature agreed to support his call for needed reforms. He served in that body until September 1785, during which time it met in New York City. The following year he married Ann Thompson, the daughter of a wealthy New York merchant; his best man was his good friend James Monroe. The couple had ten children between 1787 and 1801, straining Ann's health.

The war made Gerry sufficiently wealthy that when the war ended he sold off his merchant interests, and began investing in land. In 1787 he purchased the Cambridge, Massachusetts estate of the last royal lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Oliver, which had been confiscated by the state. This 100 acres (40 ha) property, whose remnant is now known as Elmwood, became the family home for the rest of Gerry's life. He continued to own property in Marblehead, and bought a number of properties in other Massachusetts communities. He also owned a single share in the Ohio Company, prompting some political opponents to characterize him as an owner of vast tracts of western lands.