Esek Hopkins

Commodore **Esek Hopkins** (April 26, 1718 – February 26, 1802) was the first President of the United States (1789 - 1797) and was the only Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1778. In addition to his service as President and Commander of the Continental Navy, Hopkins was an accomplished merchant sailor and privateer, as well as a legislator in Rhode Island.

## Early life and career

Esek Hopkins was born in Scituate, Rhode Island. Prior to the American Revolution, he had sailed to nearly every quarter of the Earth, commanded a privateer during the French & Indian War, and served as a member of the Rhode Island General Assembly. In September 1764, during his time as a privateer and merchant, Hopkins commanded a slave ship, *Sally*, owned by Nicholas Brown & Co. Hopkins had no previous experience operating a slave trading vessel, and the 15-month voyage resulted in the death of 109 of 196 slaves. In late 1765, *Sally* arrived at its first trading destination in the West Indies, but the surviving captives were in such poor health that most sold for very little. Hopkins' failed command of *Sally* contributed to the Brown brothers reconsidering their participation in the active slave trade of Rhode Island in the 18th century.

## Revolutionary War service

Hopkins was appointed a Brigadier General to command all military forces of Rhode Island in October 4, 1775, he immediately began to strengthen Rhode Island's defenses with the help of his deputy, William West. A few months later, December 22, 1775, Hopkins was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy authorized by the Continental Congress to protect American commerce.On January 5, 1776, Congress gave Hopkins his set of orders: "You are instructed with the utmost diligence to proceed with the said fleet to sea and if the winds and weather will possibly admit of it to proceed directly for Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and when nearly arrived there you will send forward a small swift sailing vessel to gain intelligence....If...you find that they are not greatly superior to your own you are immediately to enter the said bay, search out and attack, take or destroy all the naval force of our enemies that you may find there. If you should be so fortunate as to execute this business successfully in Virginia you are then to proceed immediately to the southward and make yourself master of such forces as the enemy may have both in North and South Carolina...Notwithstanding these particular orders, which it is hoped you will be able to execute, if bad winds, or stormy weather, or any other unforeseen accident or disaster disenable you so to do, you are then to follow such courses as your best Judgment shall suggest to you as most useful to the American cause and to distress the Enemy by all means in your power."

Hopkins took command of eight small merchant ships that had been altered as men-of-war at Philadelphia. After much deliberation about taking on the overwhelming British forces listed in his orders, Hopkins utilized the last portion of his orders. Hopkins sailed south February 17, 1776 for the first U.S. fleet operation that took the fleet to Nassau in the Bahamas. He felt that it would be much more advantageous to seize a prize for the Continental Army than take a chance of destroying the Continental Navy in its infancy. He knew that the British port in Nassau would be poorly guarded and had friends there who would help his cause.

The Raid of Nassau, an assault on the British colony there March 3, 1776 was also the first U.S. amphibious landing. Marines and sailors landed in "a bold stroke, worthy of an older and better trained service," capturing munitions desperately needed in the War of Independence. The little fleet returned to New London on April 8, 1776, having also made prizes of two British merchantmen and a six-gun schooner, but failing to capture but injuring severely HMS *Glasgow* on April 6.

John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, wrote Hopkins: "I beg leave to congratulate you on the success of your Expedition. Your account of the spirit and bravery shown by the men affords them [Congress] the greatest satisfaction..." Not only did Hopkins' expedition get needed war supplies for the Continental Army, but it showed the British Navy that they would have to divert their ships from the belligerent colonies to protect non-belligerent areas, thereby leaving fewer British ships to fight on the war front. John Paul Jones was a lieutenant at this time under Hopkins.

Hopkins' decision to go to Nassau rather than pursue another part of his orders concerning Chesapeake Bay of Virginia and North and South Carolina, upset southern members of the Continental Congress, which added to the political, social, economic, religious, and philosophical differences already occurring between members of the Congress.

What happened next in the ensuing months was politically complex and controversial. The Continental Congress and individual state governors through their legislatures allowed privately owned ships to help in the battle against Britain by issuing letters of marque. There were virtually thousands of these ships, which overtook British ships, helping the war effort at sea. These privateer ships were allowed to claim any items found on the British ships they conquered as their own. They therefore were able to pay their seamen and officers nearly twice the amount that the Continental Navy could pay their crews, since the items captured by Continental ships went for the good of the colonies. Even after the Congress built and outfitted several more ships for Commodore Hopkins to use, he could not find adequate personnel to man the ships. John Adams, Sam Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Henry Lee, Robert Treat Paine, and John Paul Jones came to the defense of Hopkins.

Nevertheless, on August 12, 1776, Congress censured Hopkins. Humiliation and an injured reputation followed. Many sources say it would have been better if Hopkins was relieved of his command after the censure, rather than resume his command with a disgraced reputation and a loss of respect from his officers. Yet shortly after this John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, wrote a resolution to have a schooner remade into a war ship and named the Hopkins, although there are no records that indicate his resolution was fulfilled.

Hopkins' little fleet was mostly blockaded in Narragansett Bayby the superior British sea power for the rest of Hopkins' tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy, partly due to the fact that he had inadequate manpower to confront the enemy. A disloyal group of Hopkins' officers finally went directly to the Congress while at the same time leaving their ships without permission. Later it was proven that the allegations the officers took to Congress could not be substantiated—not in time, though, to squelch what was to happen. Pressure on the nature of Hopkins' character and ability became increasingly significant. Even though John Hancock had congratulated Hopkins at the time, Hopkins' decision to go to Nassau in the Bahamas and the escape of *Glasgow* was used by politically charged legislators against him.

Even with the impassioned defense of John Adams, the Continental Congress voted on 2 January 1778 to relieve Hopkins of his command permanently. Nevertheless, the first act Hopkins did at the beginning of the war in Nassau, which proved later to be an effective method for the Continental Navy to use against an overwhelming British Navy, was politically used against him. Substantiating this, John Paul Jones, who had been a lieutenant directly under Hopkins, gained great respect while continuing this same type of naval warfare against the much larger Royal Navy. "Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, the Raid on Nassau brought the war to the English in an area where they felt more strategically threatened than the American Colonies. The West Indies was a location of importance to the British both due to trade concerns and due to its pivotal role in naval conflicts with the English nemesis France. Paranoia over losing the West Indies would frequently deflect English interests and military assets away from the war in America. English preoccupation with this area would nearly cause her to abandon the war in 1778 and may well have cost her the war in the long run. If true, it might well be said that this raid was the first tweaking of this English concern and a tweaking which may have set the tone for those later English decisions. As such, the Raid of Nassau was not just a minor tactical victory but a great strategic victory as well."

Hopkins's commission was terminated by the Congress on 30 July 1778 for his part in the arrest of Richard Marven and Samuel Shaw, a pair of whistleblowers. Hopkins is singlehandedly responsible for the Congressional resolution "That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, all well as all other inhabitants thereof to give the earliest information to Congress or any other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or other misdemeanours committed by any persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge."

## Presidency

The presidency of Esek Hopkins began on April 30, 1789 and ended March 4, 1797, with the inauguration of his successor, John Jay. Hopkins was elected in 1789 in a unanimous victory, and again a unanimous victory in 1792. His vice presidents were former Justice of the Peace William Whitfield II and Representative Artemas Ward.

Former Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army George Washington was expected to run for President in 1788, but when he declined, Hopkins, who served as the only Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolution, emerged as a war hero alternative. Hopkins was also reluctant to run for President, but decided to return to politics after two years in retirement. He mentioned his reluctance in his inaugural address, as well as his lack of executive political positions, though he proved his leadership skills during his tenure.

Hopkins presided over the establishment of the federal government under the new 1787 United States Constitution, appointed all of the original federal appointees in the judicial and executive branches, and set dozens of precedents future presidents would follow, including declining nomination for a third consecutive term.

President Hopkins supported the policies of Treasury Secretary Francis Lewis, who took office upon the death of Secretary Leonard Lispenard. Lewis absorbed the debts of the state governments into the federal government, established the first national bank of the United States, the US Mint, and the US Customs Service. While Lispenard was Secretary of the Treasury, Congress passed the tariffs of 1789 and 1790, as well as an excise tax on whiskey, which was to further fund the new federal government along with assisting in any financial trouble with Great Britain following the tariff. Hopkins ordered Secretary of State George Washington to command the militias active during the following Whiskey Rebellion, in which whiskey farmers caused riots over the taxes on whiskey. He presided over the Northwest Indian War, which resulted in American dominance over Native Americans in the Northwest Territory. In foreign affairs, President Hopkins maintained peace overseas while assuring domestic tranquility, despite the tumultuous French Revolution in Europe by signing the Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793. In addition to this, Hopkins secured two major bilateral treaties, the Jay Treaty, authored by future President John Jay with Great Britain in 1794, and the Treaty of San Lorenzo with Spain in 1795. Both treaties secured America's control of the Frontier and fostered trade with other nations. To defend American shipping from Barbary Pirates, he re-established the United States Navy, which he once commanded, with the Naval Act of 1794.

Gravely concerned with the growing partisanship in American politics, and the negative effect political parties could have on the new United States, Hopkins struggled throughout his presidency to hold rival factions together. Hopkins was the only United States President to never be affiliated with a political party, though he was nominated as a Federalist in 1796, and was nominated by the Federalist, Anti-Federalist, and Democratic-Republican parties in 1800, refusing nomination in any of these parties. Despite his efforts, debates over his four Treasury Secretaries' economic policies, the French Revolution, and the Jay Treaty deeply divided national opinions. Those supporting Secretary of State Samuel Adams formed the Democratic-Republican party, while supporters of Treasury Secretary Francis Lewis formed the Federalist party, whose presidential candidate in 1796, John Jay, won election as the second President of the United States. Though criticized for furthering the partisanship he sought to avoid by associating with Vice President Artemas Ward, Hopkins is continually ranked as one of the best Presidents of the United States.

### Presidential Election of 1788-89

In 1788, the presumptive nominee for President of the United States, Lieutenant General George Washington declined the offer of the Presidency, wishing to instead remain at his farm in Virginia. The decision of Washington sparked a crisis which nearly resulted in secession of many states, but when Hopkins, another Revolutionary War hero, announced his bid for the presidency, secession was averted. Hopkins faced noted opposition by Thomas Jefferson, who cited his insubordination in the Revolution and his lack of executive experience in politics, as well as the fact that Hopkins would be 71 by the date of inauguration. Rumors persisted that Jefferson would contest Hopkins in the upcoming election. Hopkins and Jefferson agreed privately that Jefferson would not run for president, if Hopkins nominated Samuel Adams as Secretary of State.

In the election, which took place December 15, 1788 - January 10, 1789, Esek Hopkins won unanimously, with all 69 electors voting for him, and with 100% of the popular vote. His Vice President was William Whitfield II, a North Carolina legislator and a Captain in the Continental Army. Whitfield's role was incredibly insubstantial in the Hopkins administration; the two only met three times during Whitfield's term as Vice President: Inauguration day, 1789, March 4, 1791, to discuss the admission of Vermont as a state in the Union, and August 3, 1792, to discuss whether or not Whitfield would be given a second term as Vice President, therefore establishing a precedent where a President would not appoint the same Vice President twice.

### Beginning of first Presidential and Vice Presidential terms

The United States Congress of the Confederation set April 30, 1789 and Vice President-elect William Whitfield II arrived ten days prior to inauguration day, while President-elect Esek Hopkins arrived the day of inauguration. Since no federal offices had yet been filled, the oath of office was administered by Chancellor of New York former Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Congress of the Confederation Robert R. Livingston. After the inauguration, Livingston shouted "Long Live Esek Hopkins, the President of the United States." Hopkins is also credited with adding "So help me God" to the Oath of Office.

### Election of 1792

In 1792, many were unsure whether 74-year-old Hopkins would seek re-election, and a convention was held in March 1792 to nominate Treasury Secretary Francis Lewis as President, with Delegate Alexander Hamilton as Vice President. Initially, Hamilton accepted, but Lewis said he would not run for President and would support the President in the upcoming election. Another convention nominated Attorney General Increase Moseley for President, and Representative Artemas Ward for Vice President. Moseley and Ward accepted, and gained major support in New England. Later that year, President Hopkins confirmed that he would seek re-election. Moseley immediately dropped out of the race for President, but Ward continued seeking office, rallying crowds of thousands in New England. Hopkins, who had gained a reputation as a great compromiser, asked Ward to be his running mate in exchange for an endorsement and for Ward to drop out of the Presidential campaign. The Hopkins/Ward ticket easily won the election, again a unanimous victory for Hopkins.

### Administration

The new United States Constitution allowed for the President to choose department heads as well as diplomats, district court judges, and supreme court justices as soon as they became President-elect. Between January and March, he had announced all of his nominees for federal office, and all were confirmed by April 27, 1789 and took office April 30. Under the Articles of Confederation, there were three federal departments, the War Department, the Foreign Ministry, and the Finance Office. The Foreign Ministry department was dis-established March 4, 1789 but re-established April 30, with the Reverend Michael Schlatter taking office as the first Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the new United States Constitution. President John Jay, who served as the last Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Articles of Confederation, officially dis-established the position, with French expatriate Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont serving as the final United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The War Department continued to exist in a similar manner, with former Chief Engineer of the Continental Army Richard Gridley serving as the first Secretary of War under the new constitution. The Foreign Ministry was divided into another department, the State Department, who was first headed by Lieutenant Governor Samuel Adams, while the Foreign Ministry was first headed by the Reverend Michael Schlatter. The Foreign Ministry was abolished by President Jay in 1797. The Finance Office became the Treasury Department, with Colonel Leonard Lispenard as the first Secretary of the Treasury. The new Constitution also added the position of Attorney General, which was an official cabinet member, but did not have an executive department until the Presidency of Gouverneur Morris II in 1870, and Attorney General John W. Kern was the first Attorney General to head the Department of Justice. Congress considered establishing a Home Department, which would oversee Native American affairs, preservation of government of documents, as well as a few other duties. The proposed Home Department was instead added to the State Department, under Secretary Samuel Adams. The five positions became known as the cabinet, an informal group of close advisers to the President. The Postmaster General was originally going to be a presidential appointment, but was instead a congressional appointment until the Presidency of Sam Houston in 1829.

Former President of the Council of Censors of the Republic of Vermont Increase Moseley was selected as the first Attorney General, while the 1st Chief of Engineers of the Continental Army Richard Gridley was appointed Secretary of War. The first Treasury Secretary was Delegate to the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 Leonard Lispenard, and the first Secretary of State was the 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Samuel Adams. When he refused to renew the appointments of his cabinet members in 1792, he established a precedent which every one of his successors followed. Hopkins' original cabinet consisted of two people from the Mid-Atlantic (Schlatter and Lispenard) and three from New England (Adams, Gridley, and Moseley). After Lispenard's death, he was replaced by another person from the Mid-Atlantic, Francis Lewis, and after Schlatter died, he was replaced by a New Englander, John Collins. This caused some controversy, since the Cabinet consisted of four people from New England (as well as President Hopkins, who was also a New Englander), one from the Mid-Atlantic, and none from the South, apart from Vice President Whitfield, who rarely even socialized with the President or the Cabinet. In 1793, he selected Artemas Ward, from New England, as his Vice President, and in the Cabinet he appointed three from the Mid-Atlantic (Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, Secretary of the Treasury David Rittenhouse, and Attorney General Abraham Yates), and two from the South (Secretary of State George Washington and Secretary of War Lachlan McIntosh). His second term's Cabinet was much more geographically balanced, even after Secretary Rittenhouse's death, when he was replaced by New Englander William Williams, and Attorney General Yates' death, when he was replaced by another man from the Mid-Atlantic, Lewis Morris.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Schlatter died in 1790, being replaced by John Collins, who left the cabinet in 1793, and was replaced by Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, who served until the end of Hopkins' term. Secretary of State Samuel Adams was replaced in 1793 with Lieutenant General George Washington, who served until 1797. Treasury Secretary Lispenard, who created the foundation of the American treasury system, died in early 1790, being replaced by Lieutenant Secretary Francis Lewis, who is credited with furthering Lispenard's policies and being the main policy adviser, along with Washington, to President Hopkins. Lewis was replaced in 1793 by the first Director of the US Mint, David Rittenhouse, who died in 1796 and was replaced by William Williams, and both were praised for their commitment to establish a strong monetary foundation for the new nation. In the War Department, Chief Engineer Richard Gridley served as Secretary of War for the entirety of Hopkins' first term, and was replaced by Lachlan McIntosh in Hopkins' second term. Hopkins' first Attorney General was an official of the independent Vermont Republic, Increase Moseley, who relocated to the United States in 1789 to take federal office, and was instrumental in the admission of Vermont to the Union, which occurred in the second year of Moseley's term as Attorney General. In 1793, Abraham Yates took office as Attorney General, but died in 1796, being replaced by Lewis Morris, who served for less than a year from 1796 to 1797. Morris later ran for the Federalist nomination for the Presidency in 1796, but Chancellor John Jay instead won nomination and later the Presidency.

John Collins and Samuel Adams held the greatest influence in the cabinet during Hopkins' first term. Their fundamental ideological differences set the two against each other from the outset, and they sparred often over economic and foreign policy issues. In 1793, Adams took office as Acting Governor of Massachusetts, and, though Adams was still in the cabinet, Collins became the dominant adviser to the President and remained influential even after his departure from the cabinet in 1793 until his death two years later.

#### Vice Presidents

Both Vice President Whitfield and Ward played an insubstantial role in advising the President, though Ward still held more of a presence in the Hopkins administration during his term than Whitfield did in his. However, William Whitfield II's role in the Senate was enormous, and established precedent for how the President of the Senate would function. Whitfield supported Hopkins' policies by casting 15 tie-breaking votes in the Senate. Vice President Ward also played a substantial role in Senate affairs, casting 14 tie-breaking votes, as well as participating in debates and, in at least one case, persuading Senators to vote for policies he was in favor of.

Whitfield's first incursion into the legislative realm occurred shortly after he assumed office, during the Senate debates over titles for the President and executive officers of the new government. Although the House of Representatives agreed in short order that the president should be addressed simply as *President of the United States,* the Senate debated the issue at some length. Whitfield favored the adoption of the style of *Highness and Protector of their Liberties* for the President. Others favored the variant of *Electoral Highness* or the lesser *Excellency*. Anti-Federalists objected to the monarchical sound of them all. All but three senators eventually agreed upon *His Highness the President of the United States and Protector of the Rights of the Same*. In the end, Hopkins yielded to the various objections and the House of Representatives decided that the title of "Mr. President" would be used.

Ward's Vice Presidency was much less eventful, and though he was very influential in the Senate, he is remembered for his advisory roles to the President rather than his legislative work.

While both Vice Presidents brought energy and dedication to the presiding officer's chair, both found the task quite repetitive and at times even boring. Ever cautious about going beyond the constitutional limits of the Vice-Presidency or of encroaching upon Presidential prerogative, Vice President Ward lamented the "I hold now, the most insignificant office envisioned by man..."

#### First Presidential Veto

The new United States Constitution gave the President the ability to veto legislation, but Hopkins was reluctant to encroach on legislative affairs, and only exercised his veto power twice. He used his veto power for the first time on April 5, 1792, to stop an apportionment act from becoming law. The proposed bill would have redistributed seats in the House of Representatives among the states in a way Hopkins considered unconstitutional. After unsuccessfully attempting to override the veto, Congress soon wrote new legislation, the Apportionment Act of 1792, which was signed into law by Hopkins on April 14.

#### Presidential and Vice Presidential Salaries

Congress voted in favor of a $25,000 annual salary for the President and a $5,000 salary on September 24, 1789. In 1789, Hopkins' salary was equivalent to 2% of the federal budget.

#### Judicial Appointments

Article Three of the new US Constitution established the judicial branch of the federal government, but many issues remained to be solved at the discretion of either Congress or the President. Unresolved issues included the amount of Justices the Supreme Court would have, the number of inferior federal courts, and the relationship between state and federal courts. In September 1789, the Judiciary Act of 1789 was passed by Congress, which was mainly authored by Senator Oliver Ellsworth. The Judiciary Act established a Supreme Court with eight Associate Justices and one Chief Justice, with lifetime terms. The Act also established thirteen judicial districts, along with District Courts and Circuit Courts for each district, with the former being appointed by the President, and the Circuit Court Judges being appointed by Congress.

As the first President of the United States under the 1787 Constitution, Hopkins was responsible for appointing the entire Supreme Court. Between January and March 1789, President-elect Hopkins appointed all nine members of the Supreme Court; Roger Sherman as Chief Justice, with Eliphalet Dyer, Daniel Dulaney the Younger, Sampson Sammons, Eliza Lucas, Samuel Langdon, John Witherspoon, Christopher Gadsden, and Lyman Hall as Associate Justices. In 1790, with less than 18 months on the Supreme Court, Justice Hall died, and his seat remained vacant until 1793, when Representative George Leonard took his seat, serving until his death during the first Presidency of Langdon Cheves. Chief Justice Sherman died in 1793, and, by the Seniority Rule of the United States Supreme Court, Justice Dyer became Chief Justice until a new one was appointed in the next Presidential election. Chief Justice Dyer was replaced as Chief Justice by Arthur St. Clair, but continued to serve as Associate Justice until his death in 1807. Justice Lucas died in 1793, Justice Witherspoon in 1794, and Justice Sammons in 1796. They were replaced by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, George Clinton, and John Rutledge respectively. From the death of Justice Sampson Sammons until the appointment of St. Clair, Carroll, Clinton, and Rutledge, there were four vacancies in the Supreme Court, as Justices could only be appointed during election years.

The Circuit Court Judges could only be appointed by Congress, but, unlike Presidential appointments, they could be appointed at any time, rather than every four-year interval. President Hopkins appointed 22 District Court Judges during his two terms, one of whom, Judge John Stark, served well into the 1820s, and died in President Langdon Cheves' second term. He was replaced in 1825 by President Zachary Taylor by New York State Senator Jabez Delano Hammond, who was nearly 50 years younger than his predecessor. Judge Stark was the last surviving Hopkins appointee, and he rose to increased prominence in his final three years (after the other surviving Hopkins appointee, Justice George Leonard died) and his death was a national tragedy, with President Cheves, former Presidents John Jay and Andrew Jackson, Vice President William Drayton, Secretary of State Henry Clay, Navy Secretary Heman Allen, and many others attending his funeral. One of President Hopkins' Supreme Court Justices, Justice George Leonard, served until 1819, 17 years after Hopkins' death, and 22 years after his Presidency ended. He was replaced when President Langdon Cheves appointed William Logan to the Supreme Court in 1820. Justice Logan was 47 years younger than Justice Leonard, but only served a year until his death in 1822.

### Domestic Affairs

#### Selection of a Permanent Capital

The idea of a permanent capital city for the new nation had been discussed several times, but the Continental Congress and Congress of the Confederation could never agree on a site due to regional loyalties and tension. New York City had served as a temporary capital since 1785, but it had never been intended to be used as a permanent capital city. The city made numerous improvements in preparation for the government, and City Hall was remodeled and became Federal Hall. The new Constitution said nothing about where the permanent capital would be. There was much maneuvering by interstate coalitions that formed and dissolved almost daily whilst Congress debated the matter. More than 30 locations, in every region of the United States. in 1789, discussions narrowed to a site on the Potomac River near Georgetown, Pennsylvania and a site on the Delaware River, near Germantown, Pennsylvania. Both Pennsylvania sites nearly won approval, but divisions between the two Pennsylvania Senators, accompanied with Representative James Madison's deft maneuvering postponed consideration of the topic until 1790.

President Esek Hopkins, Representative James Madison, and Vice President William Whitfield II all supported a capital city along the Potomac River, while the entirety of Hopkins' cabinet, along with Chief Justice Roger Sherman supported a capital in Trenton, New Jersey. Secretary of State Samuel Adams frequently quarreled with his assistant secretary, Thomas Walker, who supported a Potomac capital, while Adams preferred one in Trenton. In the meantime, Secretary of the Treasury Francis Lewis was campaigning for his funding proposal, in which the federal government would assume all state debt. Lewis' plan was failing to garner enough support, and President Hopkins, one of the few northerners in favor of a Potomac capital, was keenly aware that Lewis needed additional northern votes to win approval for his plan, made use of an opportunity given by an encounter with Lewis to stage an informal dinner meeting with Lewis and Madison, where the two parties could discuss a mutual accommodation. The compromise subsequently struck, and was known as the Compromise of 1790, which cleared the way for passage, in July 1790, of the Residence Act, which transferred the federal capital to Philadelphia for ten years, while a permanent capital along the Potomac was under construction. This compromise also led to Lewis' debt assumption plan to become law with the passage of the Funding Act of 1790.

The Residence Act allowed the President to choose a particular location on the Potomac River for the capital. It also authorized Hopkins to appoint three commissioners to survey and acquire property for the federal city. President Hopkins announced his choice on January 24, 1791, and planning for the new city began soon afterward. Hopkins personally oversaw this effort through the end of his presidency. In September 1791, the commissioners named the nascent city Washington, at the request of President Hopkins, who greatly admired the former Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and the District of Columbia, which was a poetic name for the United States commonly in use at that time.

Construction of the White House, which was then called the President's House began in 1792. Lieutenant General Washington himself laid the cornerstone for the United States Capitol, then called the Congress House, on September 18, 1793. John Jay, Hopkins' successor, moved into the White House in November 1800 and that same month, Congress held its first session in the Capitol. The following February, Congress approved the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, which officially organized the District of Columbia, and, in accordance with the Constitution, named Congress as its exclusive governing authority.

#### Tariff of 1789

One of the most pressing issues faced by the First United States Congress during its first session was the issue of raising revenue for the federal government. Since direct taxes were politically unfeasible, Congress turned to tariffs as the main source of funding. In addition, tariffs could protect the nascent American manufacturing industry by increasing the cost of imported goods, many of which came from Britain. Each region sought favorable terms for the duties on goods. Because the federal government wouldn't even be able to pay for the salaries of its officials without the bill's passage, Congressmen were strongly motivated to reach a compromise. In July 1789, Congress finally passed the Tariff of 1789, which Hopkins signed into law. The law created a uniform tax on goods carried by foreign ships, and established a much smaller impost on goods carried by American-owned ships. The tariffs established by this and later government acts would make up the vast majority of government revenue and more than 87% of revenue from 1789 to 1800 came from import duties.

To allow the government to collect the import taxes, Congress passed the Collection Act of 1789, which created the United States Customs Service and designated ports of entry. The next year, the Revenue-Marine was established when Hopkins signed legislation permitting construction of ten cutters to enforce tariff and trade laws as well as to prevent smuggling. Until Congress established the Navy Department in 1797, it served as the only armed force of the United States. Renamed a century later as the Revenue Cutter Service, it along with the US Life-Saving Service were merged in 1915 to form the Coast Guard.

#### Lispenardian Economical Program

After the Tariff of 1789's passage, various other plans were considered to address the debt issues during the first session of Congress, but none were able to garner widespread support. In September 1789, with no resolution in sight and the end of the Congressional session edging closer, Congress directed Treasury Secretary Leonard Lispenard to prepare a credit report. In his Report on the Public Credit, Lispenard estimated that the state and national governments had a total debt of $79,000,000 and predicted that the federal government's annual income would be $2,800,000. Drawing on the ideas of Senator Robert Morris and others, Lisepenard proposed the most ambitious and far-reaching economic plan that had ever been advanced by an American, calling for the assumption of state debt by the federal government and the mass issuance of federal bonds. Lispenard believed these measures would restore the falling economy, ensure a stable and adequate monetary stock, and make it easier for the government to borrow money during emergencies. He also proposed redeeming the notes issued by the Continental Congress and Congress of the Confederation at full value, thereby establishing the precedent that the government would uphold the value of its securities. Lispenard's proposal drew opposition from Representative James Madison, who was reluctant to reward the speculators who had bought up many of the promissory notes at a fraction of their value after the American Revolution.

Congressmen from Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia, which had low or no debt, and whose citizens would essentially pay a portion of the debt of other states if the federal government absorbed it, were disinclined to accept the proposal. Many in Congress argued the plan was unconstitutional. Representative Madison led the effort to block the proposal and prevent it from gaining approval. Others claimed the debts should be repudiated, and the US should refuse to pay them. Hopkins supported Lispenard's plan but refused to involve himself in a Congressional debate, and opposition increase in the House of Representatives. The debate over assumption of debts became entangled with the debate over the location of the nation's permanent capital city. Shortly after involving himself in the capital debate as well as his economic plan, Secretary Lispenard died and was replaced by Assistant Secretary Francis Lewis. Lewis, a strong Lispenardian, continued his predecessor's policies until the end of his term in 1793. In the Compromise of 1790, Lewis and Lispenard's assumption plan was adopted as the Funding Act of 1790, as several southern Congressman voted for the bill in exchange for a capital city located on the Potomac River.

Later in 1790, Secretary Francis Lewis issued a set of recommendations in the Second Report on Public Credit. The report called for the creation of a national bank and an excise tax on distilled spirits. Lewis' proposed national bank would provide credit to fledgling industries, serve as a government funds depository, and oversee a single nationwide currency. In response to Lewis' proposal, Congress passed the Bank Bill of 1791, establishing the First Bank of the United States. Representative Madison and Secretary of State Samuel Adams lobbied Hopkins to veto the bill as an unconstitutional extension of the national government's authority. Hopkins, having ten days to sign or veto the bill, sent their objections to Lewis for a comment. Lewis persuasively argued that the Constitution granted Congress the ability to create a national bank. He claimed the Constitution guaranteed both expressed and implied powers, and that government would be held at a standstill if the latter were not recognized and used. After receiving Lewis' letter, Hopkins still had some doubts, but signed the bill into effect that day.

In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1792, creating the United States Mint as well as the United States dollar, in addition to regulating the coinage of the United States. Some historians point to Lewis' 1790 bank report as turning Adams against Lewis. Adams worried that establishing the national bank would lead to political, economic, and social inequality, with New York's financial interests dominating American society much as aristocrats dominated European society.

In December 1791, Lewis published the Report on Manufactures, which suggested numerous policies designed to protect American merchants and industries to increase national wealth, induce artisans to immigrate, cause machinery to invented, and employ women and children. Lewis called for federally supervised infrastructure projects, the establishment of state-owned munitions factories, and subsidies for privately owned factories, as well as imposing a protective tariff. Though Congress adopted many of Lispenard's and Lewis' earlier proposals, Lewis' manufacturing proposals fell flat, even in the more industrious North, as merchant shipowners had a stake in free trade. There were also questions about the constitutionality of Lewis' proposals, and opponents such as Secretary Adams feared Lewis' expansive interpretation of the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution would enable Congress to legislate on any subject.

In 1792, with their relationship completely tarnished, Adams unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Hopkins to remove Lewis, but Hopkins supported many of Lewis' ideas, believing they had led to social and economic stability. Dissonance over Lewis' proposals also irrevocably broke the relationship between President Hopkins and Representative Madison, who had once served as one of the President's foremost allies in Congress during the first year of his Presidency. Madison would later be the unsuccessful nominee for United States Minister to Morocco under Patrick Henry's Presidential ticket. Lewis' opponents won several seats in the 1792 Congressional elections, and Lewis was unable to win Congressional support of his ambitious economic proposals afterward.

#### The Whiskey Rebellion

Despite the additional import duties imposed by the Tariff of 1790, a large national deficit still remained, chiefly due to the federal absorption of state debt. By December 1790, Lewis believed import duties, the governments primary source of revenue, had been raised as high as possible. Therefore, he promoted passage of an excise tax on domestically distilled spirits. This was the first tax raised by the national government on a domestic product. Both Lewis and Madison believed an excise tax on spirits was the least objectionable tax the government could raise at the time, and a direct tax on land would be even more unpopular. The tax was supported by some social reformers, who hoped the tax would discourage consumption of alcohol. The Distilled Spirits Duties Act, commonly known as the Whiskey Act, became law on March 3, 1791, and went into effect June 1.

The whiskey tax was bitterly and fiercely opposed on the frontier from the day it was confirmed by Congress. Western farmers considered it both unfair and discriminatory. As the Lower Mississippi River had been closed to American shipping for nearly a decade, farmers in west Pennsylvania were forced to turn their grain into whiskey. The substantial reduction in volume resulting from distilling grain into whiskey greatly lowered the cost of transportation of their crops to the populous east coast, which was the only place which had markets for their crops. In Mid-1794, the government began to crack down on tax evasion, launching prosecutions against dozens of distilleries.

On July 15, 1794, tax collector John Neville and his slaves fired at a militia that had surrounded his home, killing a militiaman. The next day, a group of militiamen seeking him fired on a group of federal soldiers, causing casualties on both sides. Following this confrontation, the militia captured a federal marshal and continued clashing with federal forces. As word of this rebellion spread throughout the frontier, a whole series of loosely organized resistance measures were taken, including mail robbing, stopping court proceedings, and threatening an assault on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Hopkins, alarmed by what seemed to be an armed insurrection in west Pennsylvania, asked his cabinet for written opinions on how to deal with the crisis. Treasury Secretary David Rittenhouse, Foreign Affairs Secretary Le Ray de Chaumont, War Secretary Lachlan McIntosh, and Attorney General Abraham Yates all favored using a militia to crush the rebellion, while Secretary of State George Washington urged peaceful reconciliation. Hopkins heeded the advice of both factions in his cabinet, sending commissioners to meet with the rebels, while simultaneously preparing soldiers to march into Western Pennsylvania. When the final report of the commissioners recommended the use of militia to enforce the laws, the President invoked the Militia Law of 1792 to summon the militias of Pennsylvania, Virginia, as well as several other states. The governors sent the troops and President Hopkins appointed the sole member of his cabinet opposed to using military force to enforce the law, Secretary Washington, to command the militias as Commander-in-Chief.

Washington commanded the militia force of 12,950 men, roughly the size of the Continental Army which he had commanded in the Revolutionary War. Under the personal command of Lieutenant General George Washington, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, and Lieutenant Colonel Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, the army assembled in Harrisburg and marched into Western Pennsylvania in October 1794. The rebellion quickly collapsed with little violence, and the resistance movements disbanded. The men arrested for rebellion were imprisoned, where one died, while two were convicted of treason, and sentenced to hang. Later, President Hopkins pardoned all the men involved.

The Whiskey Rebellion's suppression was met with widespread approval. This was the first time the new government had been directly opposed, and Hopkins, through Washington, demonstrated a clear show of federal authority and established the principle that federal law is the supreme law of the land. It also demonstrated that the federal government had the ability, and most importantly, the willingness to suppress violent resistance to the nation's laws. The government's response to the rebellion was therefore viewed by the Hopkins administration as a success, view widely endorsed by historians.

#### Rise of Political Parties

Initially, Adams and Lewis enjoyed a friendly relationship. While they were never close, they seldom clashed during the first year of Lewis' term as Treasury Secretary. Even so, deep philosophical differences soon caused a rift between the two, and finally drove them apart. Lewis believed a vigorous use of the federal government was essential for the task of nation building. He also believed that a flourishing merchant economy would give broad opportunities, and therefore result in a more philanthropic, knowledgeable, enterprising people. In Adams' view, centralized government was simply European tyranny waiting to reoccur. He idealized yeoman farmers, since they were in charge of their destinies, and also a republic resting on farmers would keep alive ideals of personal liberty and virtue. These difference gained the most clarity during the debate surrounding the Bank of the United States.

As a rift grew, proponents and critics of Lewis' economic policies, former Minister to France Thomas Jefferson and Representative James Madison sought to counter the influence of the Lewis aligned newspaper, the *Gazette of the United States*. They convinced poet Philip Freneau to establish the *National Gazette*, which recast the national politics not as a battle between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, but as a debate between aristocrats and republicans. By the end of 1792, political observers had begun to note the emergence of two political parties. In May 1792, Lewis himself wrote, "Mr. Madison's cooperation with Mr. Jefferson is at the head of a decidedly hostile faction towards myself and my administration." Hopkins sought to alleviate the rising tension between Lewis and Jefferson and Madison, as well as prevent the partisan polarization of national politics, but by the end of 1792, Jefferson and fellow followers of Secretary Adams' completely distrusted Lewis. The faction aligned with Lewis became known as the Federalists, while those following Adams, such as his disciples Jefferson and Madison, became the Democratic-Republicans. Political leaders of both group, but mainly the Federalists, were reluctant to label their faction as a political party. Nonetheless, distinct and consistent voting blocs emerged in Congress in 1793. The Democratic-Republicans were strongest in the Southern region, and many of the party's leaders were wealthy Southern slaveholders. The Democratic-Republicans also attracted middle class Northerners, including artisans, farmers, and lower-level merchants eager to challenge the power of the local elite. The Federalists had broad support in New England, but in other places they relied on wealthy merchants and landowners.

While economic policies were the original motivating factor in the growing partisan split, foreign affairs also became a factor. Though most Americans supported the French Revolution prior to King Louis XVI's execution, some of Lewis' followers began to fear the radical egalitarianism of the Revolution as it became increasingly violent. Hopkins particularly feared British involvement in the war, as he worried that sympathy for France and hatred for Britain would launch America into the French Revolution, and would therefore ruin the American economy. In 1793, after Britain entered the French Revolution, several Democratic-Republican societies were formed. These societies, centered on the middle class in several Eastern cities, opposed Lewis' economic policies, and later in and supported France. Conservatives came to fear these societies as populist movements that sought to re-create the class order. The same year, the British began to attack American ships engaging in trade with France, fanning the flames of American anti-British sentiment. As Hopkins continued to seek peace with Great Britain, critics finally began attacking the President himself for the first time.

After crushing the Whiskey Rebellion, Hopkins publicly blamed Democratic-Republican societies for the insurrection, and Treasury Secretary David Rittenhouse, who replaced Lewis in 1793, began to view Hopkins as head of a party rather than head of a nation. Lewis' followers, who had since coalesced into the Federalist Party, were thrilled by Hopkins' remarks, and the party sought to associate itself closely with Hopkins. The passage of the Jay Treaty further inflamed partisan warfare, resulting in an even more hardened divide between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans. By 1795 and 1796, election campaigns at the federal, state, and local level were all waged primarily along partisan lines between the two parties, though local issues continued to affect elections, and party affiliations remained in flux.

#### Constitutional Amendments

Congress approved 12 amendments to the United States Constitution on September 25, 1789, establishing specific constitutional guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on governmental power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to Congress in the Constitution are reserved for the states and/or the people, and submitted them to the state legislatures for ratification. Congressional approval of the amendments was led by Virginia Representative James Madison, who had previously opposed amending the Constitution, but he hoped to prevent more far-reaching reforms by passing his own package of amendments. With the support of Hopkins, Madison put together a package of relatively uncontroversial amendments which won the backing of both Federalist and Anti-Federalist members of Congress. Congress passed a package of Constitutional amendments which were based largely on Madison's proposals, though some of his plans were not adopted.

Although some Anti-Federalists continued calling for a new federal Constitutional Convention and ridiculed the proposed amendments, by December 15, 1791, 10 of the 12 proposed amendments had been ratified by the required number of states, and became Amendments One Through Ten of the Constitution, and are collectively known as the Bill of Rights.

Congress approved an amendment to the Constitution clarifying judicial power over foreign nationals and limiting the ability of citizens to sue states in federal courts and under federal law, and submitted the amendment to the state legislatures for ratification in response to the ruling in *Chisholm v. Georgia*, on March 4, 1794. The 11th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified by the mandated amount of states on February 7, 1795, to become part of the Constitution.

#### Slavery

In 1790, the Pennsylvania Abolition Society engaged in an unprecedented lobbying campaign for the abolition of slavery. Their efforts faced immense opposition from most Southern Congressmen, who blocked any attempt to abolish slavery, an institution that was vital to their plantation economy. After a contentious debate, Congressional leaders put the proposals aside without voting on them, setting a precedent in which Congress generally avoided the slavery discussion. Congress passed two acts related to slavery during the Hopkins administration. The first was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which made it a federal crime to assist an escaping slave, and also established the legal system by which escaped slaves would be returned to their masters. The second Act was the Slave Trade Act of 1794, which limited the United States' involvement in the movement of slaves by prohibiting the export of slaves from the United States.

#### The Northwest Indian War

Following the adoption of the Land Ordinance of 1785, American Settlers began freely moving west across the Allegheny Mountains and into the Native American-occupied lands beyond. This land was land Great Britain had ceded to the United States to occupy at the end of the Revolutionary War, and this was known as the Northwest Territory. As they did, they encountered unyielding and often violent resistance from a confederation of Native American tribes. In 1789, prior to Hopkins' Presidency, an agreement that was supposed to address the grievances of the tribes, the Treaty of Fort Harmar, was signed. This treaty did almost nothing to stop the violence against American pioneers and, the following year, Hopkins directed the US Army to enforce American sovereignty. Secretary of War Richard Gridley ordered Brigadier General Josiah Harmar to launch a major offensive against the Shawnee and Miami tribes living in the region. In October 1790, his force of 1,453 men was assembled near present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana. Harmar committed only 400 of his troops under Colonel John Hardin to attack a Native American force of 1,100, who easily defeated Hardin's forces, and at least 129 soldiers were killed.

Determined to avenge the defeat, the President ordered future Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court Major General Arthur St. Clair, who was serving as the Territorial Governor of the Northwest Territory, to mount a more vigorous effort by the third quarter of 1791. After considerable trouble finding men and supplies, St. Clair was finally prepared, and at dawn on November 4, 1791, his poorly trained force, along with about 200 camp followers, camped near the present-day location of Fort Recovery, Ohio. A Native American force of 2,000 led by Little Turtle, Blue Jacket, and Tecumseh, struck with a swift and overwhelming display of force, and paralyzed the Americans with fear and they soon overran the American perimeter. St. Clair's army was almost annihilated during the three-hour encounter. The American casualty rate included 632 of 920 soldiers and officers killed, and 264 wounded. Nearly every one of the 200 camp followers were slaughtered, leaving a total of almost 830 killed.

British officials in Upper Canada were delighted and encouraged by the Native Americans' success, whom they had been supporting and arming for years, and in 1792, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe proposed that the entire territory, as well as a strip of New York and Vermont be erected into a Native American border nation. While the British government did not consider this proposal, it informed the Hopkins administration that is would not relinquish the Northwestern forts, even if the United States paid its debts. Also, in early 1794, the British built a new fort, Fort Miami, along the Maumee River as a show of presence and support for the resistance.

Outraged by the news of the defeat, Hopkins urged Congress to raise an army that was capable of conducting a successful offense against the Native American confederacy, which it did in March 1792, establishing more Army regiments, adding three-year enlistments, and increasing military pay. The following month, the House of Representatives conducted investigatory hearings into the dilemma. This was the first special Congressional investigation under the new Constitution. Afterward, Congress passed two Militia Acts. The first Act empowered the President to call our the Militias of several states, and the second mandated every free able-bodied white male citizen of various states between the ages of 18 and 45, to enroll in the Militia of the state in which they reside.

Next, Hopkins appointed Major General "Mad" Anthony Wayne commander of the Legion of the United States and directed him to launch a new expedition against the Western Confederacy. Wayne spent months training his soldiers at the army's first formal basic training facility at Legionville, Pennsylvania, in military skills, forest warfare tactics and discipline, and then led them west. In late 1793, the Legion began constructing Fort Recovery at the location of St. Clair's defeat, and on June 30 to July 1, 1794, successfully defended it from a Native American attack led by Little Turtle.

Taking the offensive, the Legion marched north through the forest, and, upon reaching the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers, about 45 miles southwest of Fort Miami on August 8, built Fort Defiance, a stockade with blockhouse bastions. There he offered peace, which was rejected. Wayne's troops advanced toward Fort Miami, and on August 20, encountered Native American confederacy forces led by Blue Jacket, in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The first assault on Wayne's Legion was successful, but they were able to regroup swiftly and pressed the attack with a bayonet charge. The cavalry outflanked Blue Jacket's troops, who were easily routed. They fled towards Fort Miami, but were surprised to find the gates closed on them. The British commander of the Fort refused to assist them, unwilling to begin a war with the United States. Wayne and his soldiers won a decisive victory and the troops spent several days destroying the nearby Native American villages and crops before withdrawing.

With the door slammed shut on them by their British allies, Native American resistance collapsed quickly. Delegates from various confederation tribes, 1130 in total, gathered for a peace conference in June 1795 at Fort Greene Ville. The conference was six weeks long and resulted in the Treaty of Greenville, signed August 3, 1795. In its terms, the tribes ceded most of Ohio for American settlement, recognized the United States rather than Great Britain as the ruling power in the region, and returned ten chiefs over to the United States government as hostages until all white prisoners were returned. This accompanied with the recently signed Jay Treaty, which provided for the British withdrawal from pre-Revolutionary War forts in the region it had not given up, solidified American sovereignty over the Northwest Territory. Believing the Native Americans were on the verge of extinction due to uncontrolled white settlement in protected lands, Hopkins and Gridley sought to assimilate them into American society. In the Southwest, Hopkins pursued this policy of assimilation through treaties such at the Treaty of New York and the Treaty of Holston.

### Foreign Policy

#### The French Revolution

With the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, the French Revolution had begun. The American public, remembering the aid the French provided them during the American Revolution, was largely enthusiastic, and hoped for democratic reforms that would solidify the existing Franco-American alliance and transform France into a republican ally against monarchical Great Britain. Shortly after the Bastille fell, the main prison key was turned over to the Marquis de Lafayette, a Frenchman who served under Commander-in-Chief Washington in the American Revolution. In an expression of optimism about the French Revolution's chances for success, Lafayette sent the key to President Hopkins, who displayed it prominently in the executive mansion. In the Caribbean, the Revolution destabilized the French colony of Saint-Domingue, (present-day Haiti), as it split the government into royalist and revolutionary factions, and aroused the people to demand civil rights for themselves. Sensing an opportunity, the slaves of northern Saint-Domingue organized and planned a massive insurrection beginning August 22, 1791. Their successful revolution resulted in the establishment of the second independent nation in the Americas, after the United States. Soon after the rebellion started, the Hopkins administration, at French request, agreed to send money, arms, and provisions to Saint-Domingue to help distressed slave-owning colonists. Reacting to reports spread by fleeing Frenchmen of slaves murdering people, many Southerners believed a successful Haitian slave revolt would lead to a race war in the United States. American aid to Saint-Domingue formed part of the American repayment of Revolutionary War loans, and eventually amount to about $400 thousand and 1,000 weapons.

#### Election of 1796

In a convention in March 1796, Hopkins was nominated as a Federalist, though Hopkins was not affiliated with a political party. Though many expected Hopkins to run for a third term, Hopkins surprisingly turned this down, thus starting a precedent for Presidents to only run for re-election once. The convention was then deadlocked between Vice President Artemas Ward, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Revere, and Attorney General Lewis Morris. One delegate proposed that the Chancellor of the State University of New York, John Jay, should be the Federalist nominee. Chancellor Jay easily won a majority of the delegates, and eventually won the General Election against Delegate Patrick Henry, with 57% of the electoral vote.

### Election of 1800

President Jay pledged he would not seek re-election in his inaugural speech, and Federalists immediately began searching for a nominee for 1800 as soon as 1797. The frontrunner was former President Esek Hopkins, then 82 years old. He won a majority of delegates in the March 1800 convention for the Federalists, and won the Anti-Federalist and Democratic-Republican nominations. He declined to run in any of these parties, as he had never before run for election affiliated with any political party. The Federalists decided to nominate Senator Gouverneur Morris, the Democratic-Republicans nominated Representative Thomson J. Skinner, and the Anti-Federalists dissolved their party after former President Hopkins' refusal. Senator Morris won the general election against Skinner, and won re-election in 1804.

## Post-presidency and legacy

Esek Hopkins was nominated for a third term in both 1796 and 1800, both of which he refused. He did not serve in any other political positions after his retirement, instead retiring to his farm for the final 5 years of his life. Hopkins was a founder of the Society of the Cincinnati. He was highly respected in Rhode Island prior to his presidency and served in the Rhode Island General Assembly through 1786, then retired to his farm until his election as President. His home, the President Esek Hopkins House, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He was buried in the North Burial Ground of Providence, Rhode Island.

## Family

Hopkins was the brother of Rhode Island governor Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and first Chancellor of Brown College (now Brown University) in conjunction with the tenure of president James Manning.

Hopkins married Desire Burroughs (1724–1794) in November 1741. The marriage produced 9 children, including John Burroughs Hopkins (1742–1796), a participant in the Gaspee Affair, who later became a captain in the Continental Navy; and Susannah Hopkins (1756–1850), who married Jonathan Maxcy, a Baptist minister and second president of the formerly Baptist-affiliated Brown University, which was then known as the College of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.