The early government of Dedham, Massachusetts describes the governance of Dedham from its founding in 1636 to the turn of the 18th century. It has been described as being both "a peculiar oligarchy" and a "a most peculiar democracy." Most freemen could participate in Town Meeting, though they soon established a Board of Selectmen. Power and initiative ebbed and flowed between the two bodies.
Background
The colonial settlers met for the first time on August 18, 1636, in Watertown. By September 5, 1636, their number grew from 18 at the first meeting to 25 proprietors willing to set out for the new community. By November 25, however, so few people had actually moved to Dedham that the proprietors voted to require every man to move to Dedham permanently by the first day of the following November or they would lose the land they had been granted. A few young men without families set off to spend the winter there, including Nicholas Phillips, Ezekiel Holliman, and likely Ralph Shepard, John Rogers, Lambert Genere, Joseph Shaw, and the Morses.
The first town meeting held in Dedham was on March 23, 1637. Most of the proprietors were present, and it is believed that most of them must have been living in Dedham by then.
For the first fifty years of Dedham's existence, it enjoyed a stable, tranquil government. The town elected a group of wealthy, experienced friends as Selectmen and then heeded their judgement. It also adopted a clause in the covenant that mandated mediation, which supported stability of the society. There was not so much a system of checks and balances so much as there was system where each individual voluntarily restrained himself.
Due to its unique features it was both "a peculiar oligarchy" in that only a few men were chosen for political office and "a most peculiar democracy" in that laws of suffrage changed frequently both to restrict and to expand the franchise.
Covenant
While the first settlers were subject to the General Court, they had wide latitude to establish a local government as they saw fit. The first public meeting of the plantation was held on August 18, 1636. A total of 18 men were present, and the town covenant was signed. It was a diverse group and included husbandmen, wool-combers, farriers, millers, linen weavers, and butchers. Many of them barely knew each other. Eventually 125 men would ascribe their names to the document.
The covenant outlined both the social ideal they hoped to achieve and the policies and procedures they would use to reach it. As the Covenant stipulated that "for the better manifestation of our true resolution herein, every man so received into the town is to subscribe hereunto his name, thereby obliging both himself and his successors after him forever." They swore they would "in the fear and reverence of our Almighty God, mutually and severally promise amongst ourselves and each to profess and practice one truth according to that most perfect rule, the foundation whereof is ever lasting love."
They also agreed that "we shall by all means labor to keep off from us all such as are contrary minded, and receive only such unto us as may be probably of one heart with us, [and such] as that we either know or may well and truly be informed to walk in a peacable conversation with all meekness of spirit, [this] for the edification of each other in the knowledge and faith of the Lord Jesus..." It was not to be a theocracy, however, as colonial law prohibited clergy from serving as civil officers. The church and the civil society were largely separate institutions.
Before a man could join the community he underwent a public inquisition to determine his suitability. Every signer of the Covenant was required to tell all he knew of the other men and if a lie was uncovered the man who spoke it would be instantly excluded from town.
While great effort was taken to ensure disagreements were resolved before they grew into disputes, the covenant also stipulated that differences would be submitted to between one and four other members of the town for resolution. They "eschew[ed] all appeals to law and submit[ted] all disputes between them to arbitration. This arbitration system was so successful there was no need for courts. The same system was used to resolve disputes with other towns.
It was also expected that once a decision was made that all would abide by it with no further dissent or debate. For the first fifty years of Dedham's existence, there were no prolonged disputes that were common in other communities. They also agreed to pay their fair share for the common good.
Town Meeting
The town meeting "was the original and protean vessel of local authority. The founders of Dedham had met to discuss the policies of their new community even before the General Court had defined the nature of town government." The early meetings were informal, with all men in town likely participating. Attendance at Meetings was considered vital for the life of the community.
Even when it did not fully exercise them, "the power of the town meeting knew no limit." The town meeting created principles to regulate taxation and land distribution; it bought land for town use and forbade the use of it forever to those who could not pay their share within a month; it decided the number of pines each family could cut from the swamp and which families could cover their house with clapboard. The men who went to that town meeting hammered out the abstract principles under which they would live and regulated the most minute details of their lives. The decisions they made then affected the lives of their children and grandchildren.
Just as the selectmen did, they enacted bylaws, appointed special committees, and granted small favors to individual residents. It was typically the meeting to voted to accepted new residents to live within the town and appointed lower officers. Votes were generally not recorded and decisions were made by consensus.
It was often the case that even after "meetings [had] been agreed upon and times appointed accordingly" many townsmen would still arrive late to the meeting and those who arrived promptly "wasted much time to their great damage." To discourage tardiness the town set fines in 1636 of one shilling for arriving more than half an hour after the "beating of the drum" and two sixpence shilling if a member was completely absent. In 1637 those fines increased to twelve pence for being late and three shillings and four pence for not arriving at all.
The more wealthy a voter was, the more likely he would attend the meeting. However, "even though no more than 58 men were eligible to come to the Dedham town meeting and to make the decisions for the town, even though the decisions to which they addressed themselves were vital to their existence, even though every inhabitant was required to live within one mile (1.6 km) of the meeting place, even though each absence from the meeting brought a fine, and even though the town crier personally visited the house of every latecomer half an hour after the meeting had begun, only 74 percent of those eligible actually showed up at the typical town meeting between 1636 and 1644."
Franchise
A colony law required all voters to be Church members until 1647, though it may not have been enforced. Even if it were, 70% of the men in town would have been eligible to participate. The law changed in 1647 and, as it was interpreted in Dedham, all men over 24 were eligible to vote.
The colony added a new requirement that a man must own taxable property of at least 20 pounds in 1658, and increased that sum to 80 pounds in 1670. The 1658 requirement reduced the number of voters from 91 to 83 members, and the 1670 increase had a grandfather clause allowing all those who previously were qualified to keep the franchise. Those not covered, however, may have to wait until they were 40 until they had accumulated enough wealth to earn the right to vote.
From 1648 to 1670, 60% to 90% of men had the right to vote. In 1686, only 25% of the taxpayers had an estate worth 80 pounds so, with those grandfathered in, only 50% of men could vote. In 1691, the property requirement was lowered back to 20 pounds bringing the percentage of men eligible to vote up from 40% to 70%.
In provincial elections, only church members could vote, limiting the share of men to 50% in 1662. The number continued to fall from there. While in many respects Dedham and Massachusetts society resembled England, the franchise was more widespread in the colony than it was in the mother country, as were the powers of local elected officials. Regardless of whether or not they were able to vote, records indicate that all men were able to attend and speak.
One needed to be present to vote, however. As some proprietors never moved to Dedham, they effectively gave up their say over how the Town would be run. Others, for whatever reason, chose not to attend. John Ellis attended meetings in Watertown but his name does not appear in the records as an attendee for nearly two years after moving to Dedham. Ezekiel Holliman felt he had been wronged by the Town and so boycotted the meetings in protest before selling his land and leaving town in July 1637.
Selectmen
Year first elected Selectman Total years served 1639 Edward Allen 3 1639 John Kingsbury 12 1639 John Luson 2 1639 Eleazer Lusher 29 1639 John Dwight 16 1639 Robert Hinsdale 3 1639 John Bachelor 2 1640 Ralph Wheelock 1 1640 John Hayward 9 1641 Samuel Morse 2 1641 Thomas Wight 6 1641 Nathan Aldis 3 1641 Michael Metcalf 1 1641 Francis Chickering 15 1642 Henry Chickering 6 1643 Peter Woodward 16 1643 Michael Powell 4 1644 William Bullard 2 1644 Timothy Dwight 24 1645 Joseph Kingsbury 2 1645 Henry Phillips 1 1646 Anthony Fisher 2 1646 Edward Richards 9 1649 Joshua Fisher 21 1650 Daniel Fisher 32 1651 Nathaniel Colburn 5 1654 John Gay 1 1658 John Hunting 15 1658 Jonathan Fairbanks 1 1661 Richard Everett 1 1661 John Bacon 4 1661 Henry Wright 10 1661 Ralph Day 2 1661 Daniel Pond 14 1663 Thomas Fuller 14 1664 William Avery 8 1673 Richard Ellis 9 1675 John Aldis 12 1675 John Farrington 2 1677 Thomas Battelle 5 1678 Thomas Metcalf 10 1681 Nathaniel Stearns 5 1684 William Avery 22 1687 Peter Woodward 1 1688 Timothy Dwight 1 1688 James Thorpe 1 1690 John Fuller 5 1690 Daniel Fisher 9 1690 Ezra Morse 4 1690 Joseph Wight 18 1692 Asahel Smith 3 1692 Nathaniel Chickering 1 1693 Samuel Guild 20 1693 Eleazer Kingsbury 10 1694 Nathaniel Bullard 2 1697 Josiah Fisher 5 1698 Samuel Gay 1 1698 Robert Avery 1 1699 Jonathan Metcalf 1
The whole town would gather regularly to conduct public affairs, but it was "found by long experience that the general meeting of so many men... has wasted much time to no small damage and business is thereby nothing furthered." In response, on May 3, 1639, seven selectmen were chosen "by general consent" and given "full power to contrive, execute and perform all the business and affairs of this whole town." The first board was established just a month after the ordination of church leaders, a process that was preceded by every member of the church confessing their innermost thoughts, desires, and ambitions.
Though John Allin could not be elected due to his position as the minister, those who were, were clearly very closely connected with him. Four of them, Edward Allen, Eleazer Lusher, John Luson, Robert Hinsdale, were founding members of the church. John Kingsbury was under the control of Allin's former pastor, George Phillips, and John Dwight would become Allin's business partner at the water mill. John Bachelor didn't have a direct link to Allin, but was probably elected due to his previously serving as a selectman in Watertown in 1636.