Caleb Strong

Caleb Strong
Portrait attributed to Gilbert Stuart
United States Senator from Massachusetts
In office March 4, 1789 – June 1, 1796
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Theodore Sedgwick
6th and 10th Governor of Massachusetts
In office June 5, 1812 – May 30, 1816
Lieutenant	William Phillips Jr.
Preceded by	Elbridge Gerry
Succeeded by	John Brooks
In office May 30, 1800 – May 29, 1807
Lieutenant	Samuel Phillips Jr. Edward Robbins
Preceded by	Governor's Council (acting)
Succeeded by	James Sullivan
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
Personal details
Born	(1745-01-09)January 9, 1745 Northampton, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
Died	November 7, 1819(1819-11-07) (aged 74) Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party	Pro-Administration Federalist
Alma mater	Harvard College
Profession	Lawyer, politician
Signature

Caleb Strong (January 9, 1745 – November 7, 1819) was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father 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, his political success delayed the decline of the Federalists in Massachusetts.

A successful Northampton lawyer prior to 1774, Strong was politically active in the rebel cause during the American Revolutionary War. He played an influential role in the development of the United States Constitution at the 1787 Philadelphia Convention and, as a U.S. Senator, in the passage of its 11th Amendment. He also played a leading role in the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789, which established the federal court system.

Adept at moderating the sometimes harsh political conflict between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans in Massachusetts, he navigated the state in a Federalist direction through the early years of the 19th century as the rest of the country became progressively more Republican. Although he sought to retire from politics after losing the 1807 governor's race, 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 governments' weak defense of Massachusetts' northern frontier during Strong's tenure contributed to the successful drive for Maine's statehood, which was granted in 1820.