George Cabot was an American merchant, seaman, and politician from Boston.
Background
Cabot was born in Salem, Massachusetts on January 16, 1752. His father was Joseph Cabot, a ship merchant. His mother was Elizabeth Higginson. He had ten siblings, including John Cabot, Joseph Cabot Jr. , and Samuel Cabot. The Cabot family is originally from Jersey and likely Norman-French.
Education
Cabot attended Harvard College for two years before he dropped out to go to sea. By the age of 21, he was captain of his own ship.
Career
After studying at Harvard, Cabot went to sea. He became a shipowner and successful merchant, retiring from business in 1794. Cabot was a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention (1779–80), of the state Senate (1783), and of the Massachusetts convention that ratified the Federal Constitution (1788). He served in the U. S. Senate (1791–96), where he was a leading supporter of the financial policies of treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, and in 1793 he was named a director of the Bank of the United States. He was president of the Hartford Convention, a secret meeting called on December 15, 1814, to express the opposition of the New England Federalists to the War of 1812. Its report of January 5, 1815, attacking President James Madison’s administration and the war, aroused charges of lack of patriotism from which the party, already unpopular, never recovered.
Achievements
Politics
Cabot became active in politics as early as 1778 in connection with a group of Essex County merchants and lawyers who later formed the nucleus of the Federalist Party and were known as the "Essex Junto. "
Membership
He was a member of Massachusetts Provincial Congress.
Connections
George Cabot had four children: Charles, Henry, Edward, and Elizabeth.