Christopher Gore (September 21, 1758 – March 1, 1827) was a prominent Massachusetts lawyer, Federalist politician, and U.S. diplomat. Born into a family divided by the American Revolution, Gore sided with the victorious Patriots, established a successful law practice in Boston, and built a fortune by purchasing Revolutionary government debts at a discount and receiving full value for them from the government.
Gore entered politics in 1788, serving briefly in the Massachusetts legislature before being appointed U.S. District Attorney for Massachusetts. He was then appointed by President George Washington to a diplomatic commission dealing with maritime claims in Great Britain. He returned to Massachusetts in 1804 and reentered state politics, running unsuccessfully for governor several times before winning in 1809. He served one term, losing to Democratic-Republican Elbridge Gerry in 1810. He was appointed to the US Senate by Governor Caleb Strong in 1813, where he led opposition to the War of 1812.
Gore invested his fortune in a variety of businesses, including important infrastructure projects such as the Middlesex Canal and a bridge across the Charles River. He was a major investor in the early textile industry, funding the Boston Manufacturing Company and the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, whose business established the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. Gore was involved in a variety of charitable causes, and was a major benefactor of Harvard College, where the first library was named in his honor. His palatial mansion in Waltham, Massachusetts, now known as Gore Place, is one of the finest extant examples of Federal architecture, and has been declared a National Historic Landmark.
Early years Christopher Gore was born in Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, on September 21, 1758, one of many children of Frances and John Gore, a successful merchant and artisan. He was the youngest of their three sons to survive to adulthood."Memoir of Christopher Gore", p. 205.Pinkney, pp. 1–7. He attended Boston Latin School, and entered Harvard College at the young age of thirteen. At the outset of the American Revolutionary War and the siege of Boston in 1775, Harvard's buildings were occupied by the Continental Army, and Gore temporarily continued his studies in Bradford until Harvard could resume operations in Concord.Stark, p. 393. While at Harvard, Gore participated in a speaking club and formed significant lifelong friendships with Rufus King and John Trumbull.
Gore graduated in 1776, and promptly enlisted in the Continental artillery regiment of his brother-in-law Thomas Crafts, where he served as a clerk until 1778.Pinkney, p. 14. The Gore family was divided by the war: Gore's father was a Loyalist who left Boston when the British Army evacuated the city in March 1776.Stark, p. 392. Gore was consequently called upon to support his mother and three sisters, who remained in Boston. In 1779, Gore successfully petitioned the state for the remaining family's share of his father's seized assets.Pinkney, p. 13.
Early legal career After his military service Gore studied law with John Lowell, and was admitted to the bar in 1778 after a comparatively brief tutelage.Pinkney, p. 15. Gore's law practice flourished, in part because many Loyalist lawyers had fled Massachusetts. Gore's clients included Loyalists seeking to recover some of their assets, as well as London-based British merchants with claims to pursue. His briefs were generally well-reasoned, and he was seen as a successful trial lawyer.Pinkney, pp. 16–17.
Gore grew his fortune by investing carefully in revolutionary currency and bonds. The securities he purchased were paper that had been given to Continental Army soldiers in lieu of pay, which they often sold at a steep discount. One batch of securities he purchased, for instance, cost him about $3,700 but had a face value of $25,000.Pinkney, 19. In 1785 he married Rebecca Amory Payne, daughter of a wealthy merchant, maritime insurer, and director of the Bank of Massachusetts. The couple were known for their social graces and became prominent members of Boston society.
In 1786 Gore became concerned about a rise in anti-lawyer sentiment in Massachusetts. Grievances over harsh policies pursued by Governor James Bowdoin blossomed into Shays' Rebellion, which required militia action to crush in 1787. Gore was one of several high-profile lawyers assigned to defend participants in the rebellion (included in this group were Theodore Sedgwick, Caleb Strong, James Sullivan, Levi Lincoln Sr., and Thomas Dawes). Although many rebels were ultimately convicted, a large number received amnesty.Pinkney, pp. 20–21. In 1788, Gore was elected a delegate to the 1789 Massachusetts convention that ratified the United States Constitution. His election was contested because Boston, where he lived, was at the time more inclined toward state power. Gore nonetheless was strongly Federalist, urging support of the new Constitution.Pinkney, pp. 22–25.
Legislator, banker, and speculator In 1788 Gore was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He took a leading role in adopting the state's rules for actions required of it by the new federal constitution. By his proposal the legislature decided that presidential electors would be chosen by a joint session. He also proposed that the state House and Senate agree by separate votes on choices for the United States Senate, a process that would significantly reduce popular input to the choice. His choice was ultimately rejected in favor of a process whereby the House selected a slate of candidates, from which the Senate would choose one.Pinkney, pp. 27–29. In 1789 Gore decided to stand for reelection, but lost, owing to strong anti-nationalist fervor in Boston at the time. He managed to win a seat later, when a special election was held after resignations opened several seats.Pinkney, p. 31.
Gore's financial speculations in the late 1780s significantly multiplied his wealth. In 1788 he and Andrew Craigie, a Boston businessman who had retained Gore for legal services, entered into a secret agreement to purchase Continental securities with a face value of $100,000 in a speculative bid that their value would rise. By late October of that year, the pair had met this goal: Gore had purchased $90,000 worth of paper for about $20,000, and encouraged Craigie to purchase more than the $11,000 he had acquired if his funding would allow for it. Gore also purchased Massachusetts war-related debts, and lobbied Massachusetts Congressmen for the U.S. government to assume those as well.Pinkney, pp. 33–35.
Gore's windfall was realized when in 1790 the United States Congress, acting on a proposal made by Alexander Hamilton and supported by Gore's friend Rufus King, passed legislation that exchanged Continental and state paper for new U.S. paper at face value. Not only did Gore win on this exchange, but the paper he received appreciated in value before he sold it. The exact amount he made is unclear from the surviving documents: John Quincy Adams wrote that Gore's speculations made him the wealthiest lawyer in the country.Pinkney, pp. 36–38.
The success of Gore's speculations prompted him to enter a partnership with Craigie, William Duer and Daniel Parker in an attempt to acquire U.S. foreign debt obligations on favorable terms. Parker was a business partner of Craigie's, and Duer was an influential New York businessman and Treasury Department official whose lavish lifestyle impressed Gore.Pinkney, pp. 34, 38. The partnership promoted sales of U.S. lands in Europe, and sought to acquire U.S. obligations to France. Although Gore sank $10,000 into this venture, it failed: more powerful and experienced Dutch bankers outmaneuvered the Americans.Pinkney, pp. 38–40. Gore also engaged in other ventures with these partners, but apparently carefully stayed with financial speculations, and avoided the partners' less successful land ventures.Pinkney, p. 42.
Much of Gore's financial activity was mediated through the Bank of Massachusetts, where his father-in-law was a director. Gore himself was elected to its board in 1785, when he also became a shareholder. During his time on the board the bank tightened its regulations on loan repayments, a move that improved the stability of its capital. Gore used the bank for most of his personal deposits, but also drew on lines of credit for as much as several thousand dollars. The bank shares he held paid relatively high dividends until 1791, when the bank received serious competition from the First Bank of the United States.Pinkney, pp. 43–45.
The Bank of the United States was established by Alexander Hamilton to provide stable banking services on a national scale, and sought to open a branch in Boston. Hamilton recruited heavily in the Bank of Massachusetts, and Gore decided to make the move. He sold his shares in the Massachusetts bank, and became a director of the Boston branch of the U.S. Bank. He also purchased 200 shares in the new bank, a relatively large investment. Gore was influential in making hiring decisions for the branch, and sought to merge state-chartered banks into the organization, arguing that only a nationally chartered bank could provide consistent and stable service. Gore resigned from the board in 1794, citing the demands of his law practice.Pinkney, pp. 45–47.
Gore's financial successes enabled him to join the elite society of Boston. In 1789 he purchased a large mansion on fashionable Bowdoin Square, and also bought a country estate in Waltham that grew over time to . He had a house built on the estate, most of which he operated as a gentleman farmer. He and other similarly situated Federalists formed the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, of which he served as a trustee for several years; the organization was not seen as significantly contributing to advances in agriculture.Pinkney, pp. 49–50.
District attorney and diplomat In 1789 President George Washington appointed Gore the first United States Attorney for Massachusetts as a reward for his support. Gore controversially refused to resign from the state legislature, arguing that the state constitution's prohibitions against holding multiple offices did not apply to federal posts. He eventually resigned the legislative seat under protest because of pressure from his fellow legislators.Formisano, p. 66.
Gore served as district attorney until 1796. His principal matter of concern was the enforcement of U.S. neutrality with respect to the French Revolutionary Wars. He attempted several times to prosecute the French consul in Boston, Antoine Duplaine, for arming and operating privateers out of the Port of Boston, but he was stymied by local juries that sympathized with the French. Duplaine was eventually expelled on orders from President George Washington based on evidence provided by Gore.Pinkney, pp. 52–54.
Gore also promoted anti-French sentiment with political writings in Massachusetts newspapers. Writing under the pseudonym "Manlius", he denounced the formation of "Democratic Societies" formed to oppose Federalist policy and support pro-French positions. He suggested to President Washington that someone be sent to England to negotiate with the British. John Jay traveled to London in 1794 and negotiated the Jay Treaty, whose ratification Gore vocally supported.Pinkney, pp. 59–60. Although Gore was hostile to French policy, he was on friendly terms with individual Frenchmen: he hosted the future French statesman Talleyrand when he visited the U.S.Pinkney, p. 55.