John Davis
Daguerreotype byMathew Brady, March 1849
United States Senator fromMassachusetts
In office March 4, 1835 – January 5, 1841
Preceded by	Nathaniel Silsbee
Succeeded by	Isaac C. Bates
In office March 24, 1845 – March 3, 1853
Preceded by	Isaac C. Bates
Succeeded by	Edward Everett
14th & 17th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 7, 1841 – January 17, 1843
Lieutenant	George Hull
Preceded by	Marcus Morton
Succeeded by	Marcus Morton
In office January 9, 1834 – March 1, 1835
Lieutenant	Samuel Turell Armstrong
Preceded by	Levi Lincoln Jr.
Succeeded by	Samuel Turell Armstrong (acting)
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's5th district
In office March 4, 1825 – January 14, 1834
Preceded by	Jonas Sibley
Succeeded by	Levi Lincoln Jr.
Personal details
Born	(1787-01-13)January 13, 1787 Northborough, Massachusetts, US
Died	April 19, 1854(1854-04-19) (aged 67) Worcester, Massachusetts, US
Resting place	WorcesterRural Cemetery
Political party	Whig Anti-Jackson
Spouse	Eliza Bancroft Davis
Relations	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (great-great grandson)
Children	John Chandler Bancroft Davis,Horace Davis
Alma mater	Yale College
Occupation	lawyer, politician
Signature

John Davis (January 13, 1787 – April 19, 1854) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician fromMassachusetts. He spent 25 years in public service, serving in both houses of theUnited States Congress and for three non-consecutive years asGovernor of Massachusetts. Because of his reputation for personal integrity he was known as "Honest John" Davis.

Born inNorthborough, Massachusetts, Davis attendedYale College before studying law inWorcester, Massachusetts, where he established a successful law practice. He spent 10 years (1824–34) in theUnited States House of Representatives as aNational Republican (laterWhig), where he supported protectionist tariff legislation. He won election as Governor of Massachusetts in a three-way race in 1833 that was decided by the state legislature. After two terms he was elected to theUnited States Senate, where he served most of one term, resigning early in 1841 after he was once again elected governor.

His second term as governor was undistinguished, but he split with fellow WhigDaniel Webster over a variety of issues, and lost the 1843 election toDemocratMarcus Morton. He was reelected to the Senate in 1845, where he served until 1851. He opposed theMexican–American War, and worked to prevent the extension of slavery to the territories, although he did not take a hard line on the matter, voting for most of the provisions of theCompromise of 1850. He retired from public service in 1853, and died the next year.

John Davis was born inNorthborough, Massachusetts to Deacon Isaac Davis and Anna (Brigham) Davis.^[1] He attended local schools and thenLeicester Academy before attendingYale College. He graduated in 1812, and then studied law withWorcester lawyer Francis Blake, gaining admission to the bar three years later.^[2]

He was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1821.^[3]

Davis first practiced law inSpencer, Massachusetts, but soon returned to Worcester, where he eventually took over Blake's practice.^[2] He was briefly in partnership withLevi Lincoln Jr. before the latter was appointed to theMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 1824.^[4] Davis also entered politics in 1824, winning election to theUnited States Congress. He represented Massachusetts from 1825 to 1833 in theHouse of Representatives in the19th,20th,21st,22nd and23rd Congresses. He supportedJohn Quincy Adams inhis successful bid for the presidency, and favored conservative fiscal policies. In keeping with the state's (and Worcester's) increasingly industrial character, he favored protectionist tariff legislation; his speeches in support of theTariff of 1828 were widely reprinted. He opposed the policies of PresidentAndrew Jackson, and was politically aligned withHenry Clay, although he was against Clay'sproposed compromise tariff of 1833.^[5]

In 1833 Davis was encouraged byNational Republican Party leaders to run forGovernor of Massachusetts, against formerPresidentJohn Quincy Adams, who was running on theAnti-Masonic ticket, andDemocratMarcus Morton. His political support came from textile interests and a faction of the National Republicans (laterWhigs) led byAbbott Lawrence, as well as outgoing GovernorLevi Lincoln Jr.^[6] In the election Davis gained a plurality of votes, but not the majority that was then required. As a result, the state legislature decided the election, choosing Davis when Adams withdrew, preferring him over Morton.^[7] The Whig-controlled legislature did nothing to reward the Anti-Masons for Adams's move, breaking up any chance that the two parties would form a working relationship. Davis was reelected in 1834, aided by a general dislike in Massachusetts for President Jackson's attacks on theSecond Bank of the United States. During these two terms, Davis made no particular initiatives of his own, continuing Lincoln's business-friendly fiscal and economic policies. The state continued to grow economically, expanding its transportation infrastructure and industry.^[6]

SenatorNathaniel Silsbee, whose term ended in 1835, decided not to run for reelection.^[8] Davis was approached by Whig leaderDaniel Webster about running for the seat in December 1834, as part of a bid to oppose Adams, who had announced his interest in the seat. The idea was that Davis, a strong candidate, would be positioned against Adams (a long-standing rival of Webster who was again running as an Anti-Mason) in the vote, which would be made by the state legislature, whileEdward Everett would have the opportunity to run for governor when Davis vacated that seat.^[9] The state house and senate deadlocked on the two choices until a speech by Adams in Congress arguing in favor of Jackson's foreign policies alarmed enough senators to change their votes in favor of Davis.^[10] The deadlock was not resolved until February 1835; Davis, who had been reelected governor, resigned that post to assume the Senate seat.^[11] Everett went on to win the governor's seat in the next election. (Adams's sonCharles Francis believed that Webster and Everett conspired to achieve this end, but there is no evidentiary support for the idea.)^[9] Webster, in exchange for his advocacy on behalf of Davis, expected Davis's faction in the Whig Party to support him in a future bid for the presidency.^[6]

Davis's term in the Senate was unexceptional, except for the notably hard line he took on the question of the nation's northeastern boundary. This dispute withthe United Kingdom concerned the boundary betweenMaine and the British (nowCanadian) province ofNew Brunswick, and had only been partially resolved after the 1794Jay Treaty. In the 1830s both sides pushed development into the disputed area, leading to petty conflicts (and by 1839 the possibility of war). Massachusetts, which Maine had been a part of prior to 1820, maintained a property interest in some of the disputed land;^[12] Davis took a hard line on the matter, insisting that the United States should not surrender any of the territory it claimed.^[6]

In 1836 Davis sat on a special committee formed to consider legislative responses to a flood of allegedly inflammatory abolitionist materials being sent into southern slave states from northern anti-slavery organizations. Davis, the only northerner on the committee, opposed any sort of legislation, and the committee was unable to reach a consensus. WhenJohn C. Calhoun introduced legislation criminalizing the mailing of such materials, Davis spoke out against it, pointing out that it would effectively act as an unconstitutional gag on people seeking to speak out against slavery. The bill was rendered moot by administrative actions in theUnited States Post Office.^[13]

While serving in the Senate, Davis appeared before theUnited States Supreme Court in 1837, representing the defendants inCharles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge. The plaintiffs were proprietors of theCharles River Bridge, a toll bridge constructed between Boston andCharlestown in 1786, and the defendants were proprietors of a competing bridge to which the state had issued a charter in 1828. The plaintiffs argued that the defendant's charter infringed on their charter, in which they claimed the state granted them an exclusive right to control the crossing. Davis and cocounselSimon Greenleaf argued that the rights granted to the Charles River proprietors had to be interpreted narrowly, and that the state had not granted them an exclusive right. The court found for the defendants, with Chief JusticeRoger B. Taney's decision echoing the defendant's reasoning.^[14] The Charles River Bridge charter would be acquired by the state in 1841, during Davis's next term as governor.^[15]

During the early years of his political career Davis was on good terms with Daniel Webster, who was highly influential in party politics both at the state and national levels, and to whom he looked up.^[16] However, in the late 1830s Davis and other Massachusetts Whigs (notably Abbott Lawrence) came to believe that Webster lacked broad-based national support to successfully contend with Henry Clay andWilliam Henry Harrison after his weak showing in the1836 Whig convention.^[17] This introduced a rift between Webster and Davis that deepened in 1838 when the two split on western land policies.^[18] The split between Davis and Webster became permanent after Webster harshly criticized Lawrence in an 1842 speech celebrating his successful negotiation of theWebster-Ashburton Treaty with Great Britain, which resolved (among other matters) the northeast boundary.^[19][20]

Not long after Marcus Morton won the1839 gubernatorial election, Whig leadership prevailed on Davis to run again for governor. In the 1840 election Davis rode the coattails of Harrison'slandslide presidential victory into office.^[21] Harrison's death in April 1841 reenergized the Democrats, who attacked Davis in that year's election. They charged that protectionist tariffs he supported taxed the poor, and that his opposition to western land policies was hypocritical because he also speculated in those lands.^[22] Davis won a narrow majority over Morton,^[23] and was reelected in 1841. This period in office, like his first term as governor, also did not contain any new programs or initiatives, but was overshadowed by the ongoing negotiations between Daniel Webster (nowSecretary of State) andLord Ashburton over the boundary issue. Davis and Webster had contentious disagreements over the negotiations, although Webster was finally able to convince Davis to accept the final agreement. The matter deepened the division between the two men, who stopped speaking to each other.^[6]

In 1842 the anti-slaveryLiberty Party had risen to sufficient prominence in the state that neither Morton nor Davis was able to secure a majority. The state senate, which had a Democratic majority, elected Morton.^[23] Davis's showing in the election was undoubtedly harmed by his ongoing feud with Webster, who refused to campaign on his behalf.^[6]

Davis was considered as a potential vice presidential nominee in the1844 Whig Party convention. He was nominated by the state Whig convention over Webster's opposition,^[6] but Webster worked to ensure he was not chosen at the national convention.^[24] Webster forces successfully got Webster elected to the Senate in early 1845, despite opposition from the Lawrence-Davis faction. Davis was himself elected to the Senate again later in 1845 to fill the vacancy caused by the death ofIsaac C. Bates,^[6][25] and was elected to a full term in 1847. He opposed the annexation ofTexas on the grounds that it would expand slaveholding territory, but was not willing to split the party over the issue of slavery.^[26] Davis was one of only two senators who voted against theMexican–American War.^[27]

Davis was opposed to slavery and its extension into the territories, but he voted for most of the provisions of theCompromise of 1850,^[28] including the bill on Texas borders, shocking some anti-compromise Whigs.^[29] He regularly voted in favor of theWilmot Proviso, a measure to ban slavery from territories won in the Mexican war which was frequently attached to legislation in the late 1840s but was never adopted. In one notable debate, Davis used procedural measures to delay vote on an amendment to remove it from a military appropriations bill, hoping to force a vote without time to conference on differences between the House and Senate versions before Congress adjourned. However, due to a difference in the clocks in the respective chambers, the House adjourned before he finished speaking, scuttling the bill.Salmon P. Chase wrote of the episode, "Ten political lives of ten John Davises, spent in the best direction, could not compensate for this half-hour's mischief", and Polk noted that if the loss of the bill delayed the end of the Mexican war, Davis would "deserve the execrations of the country."^[30] Scholarship is divided on whether Davis's claimed strategy would really have worked.^[31]

Davis's weak stance on slavery began to cause a decrease in his popularity as abolitionist sentiment in the state gained ground during the 1840s. He also refused to support Webster in his1852 presidential bid, campaigning on behalf ofWinfield Scott.^[6] He declined renomination for election in 1852,^[32] and retired from public life.^[33]

In his later years Davis was associated with theAmerican Antiquarian Society, where he served as president for many years.^[31] He died in Worcester on April 19, 1854,^[4] and was interred in the WorcesterRural Cemetery.^[34] He was known as "Honest John" Davis, because of an impeccable reputation for personal integrity.^[31]

In 1844, Davis and his nephewIsaac were among the founders of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, one of only five life insurance companies in the country.^[35] Davis served as its president until his death, after which his nephew took over.^[36][37]

Davis married Eliza Bancroft in 1822. She was the daughter of Worcester ministerAaron Bancroft and sister to historian and statesmanGeorge Bancroft.^[38] They had five children, including diplomatJohn Chandler Bancroft Davis, generalHasbrouck Davis, and CongressmanHorace Davis;^[39] their descendants include AssemblymanGherardi Davis (1858–1941), physiologistHallowell Davis,Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.^[35]John Davis Long, the grandson of a cousin, and who was named in his honor, also served as Governor of Massachusetts^[40]

• Davis political family

• Brauer, Kinley (1999). "Davis, John".Dictionary of American National Biography. Vol. 6. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 206–208.ISBN 9780195206357.OCLC 39182280.
• Dalzell, Robert (1973).Daniel Webster and the Trial of American Nationalism. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.ISBN 9780395139981.OCLC 571952.
• Darling, Arthur (1925).Political Changes in Massachusetts, 1824–1848. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.OCLC 1593840.
• Davis, Horace (1897).Ancestry of John Davis and Eliza Bancroft. San Francisco, CA: self-published.OCLC 8023109.
• Davis, William Thomas (1895).Bench and Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Volume 2. Boston: Boston History Co.OCLC 15711603.
• Handlin, Lilian (1984).George Bancroft: The Intellectual as Democrat. New York: Harper & Row.ISBN 0060390336.OCLC 10183133.
• Hart, Albert Bushnell, ed. (1927).Commonwealth History of Massachusetts. New York: The States History Company.OCLC 1543273. (five volume history of Massachusetts until the early 20th century)
• Holt, Michael (1999).The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 9780195055443.OCLC 231788473.
• Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard (eds) (1904).The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Volume 7. Boston, MA: Biographical Society.OCLC 6182270.{{cite book}}:|author2= has generic name (help) No page numbers.
• Johnson, John, ed. (2001).Historic US Court Cases, Volume 1. New York: Taylor and Francis.ISBN 9780415937559.OCLC 24847153.
• Kinnicutt, Thomas (1854).Notice of the Life and Character of Hon. John Davis. Boston: J. Wilson. p. 5.OCLC 13297703.
• Knowlton, Elliott (1984).Worcester's Best: A Guide to the City's Architectural Heritage. Worcester, MA: Worcester Heritage Preservation Society.ISBN 9780914274124.OCLC 11655281.
• Merry, Robert (2009).A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent. New York: Simon and Schuster.ISBN 9780743297431.OCLC 310397742.
• Parish, Peter (December 1967). "Daniel Webster, New England, and the West".The Journal of American History.54 (3):524–549.doi:10.2307/2937405.JSTOR 2937405.
• Peterson, Merrill (1987).The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun. New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 9780195038774.OCLC 15016375.
• Remini, Robert (1997).Daniel Webster: The Man and his Time. New York: Norton.ISBN 9780393045529.OCLC 231718657.
• Roe, Alfred (January 1902)."The Governors of Massachusetts".The New England Magazine. Vol. 25, no. 5.OCLC 1644447.
• Tucker, Stanley, ed. (2013).The Encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.ISBN 9781851098538.OCLC 773022366.
• Varg, Paul (1992).Edward Everett: The Intellectual in the Turmoil of Politics. Selinsgrove, PA: Susquehanna University Press.ISBN 9780945636250.OCLC 24319483.
• Warren, Charles (July 1908)."The Charles River Bridge Case".The Green Bag.20 (7):346–354.

• United States Congress."John Davis (id: D000117)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• 1787 births
• 1854 deaths
• Businesspeople from Massachusetts
• Governors of Massachusetts
• Massachusetts lawyers
• People from Northborough, Massachusetts
• United States senators from Massachusetts
• Yale College alumni
• Massachusetts Whigs
• Whig Party United States senators
• National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts
• Burials at Rural Cemetery (Worcester, Massachusetts)
• Whig Party state governors of the United States
• 19th-century American businesspeople
• 19th-century American lawyers
• Leicester Academy alumni
• 19th-century United States representatives
• 19th-century United States senators

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