Background
John Davis was born on January 13, 1787 in Northboro, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. He was the fifth and youngest son of Isaac and Anna (Brigham) Davis.
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John Davis was born on January 13, 1787 in Northboro, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. He was the fifth and youngest son of Isaac and Anna (Brigham) Davis.
Preparing at Leicester Academy, Davis graduated from Yale College in 1812 with high honors, studied law with Francis Blake of Worcester, was admitted to the bar in 1815.
Davis was admitted to the bar in 1815, and after practising at Spencer, Massachusetts, settled in Worcester. There he rapidly made a reputation as a forceful advocate in the courtroom, being recognized as a redoubtable antagonist by even such lawyers as Choate, Mason, and Webster.
Elected to Congress in 1824 as a supporter of John Quincy Adams for the presidency, he served four consecutive terms.
In 1833, Davis was the National Republican candidate for governor of Massachusetts, and received a plurality of votes over Adams (Anti-Mason) and Morton (Democrat). Because the law required a majority, the election was thrown into the legislature, where, after Adams had withdrawn, Davis was chosen over Morton. A year later he again defeated Morton, this time by a popular majority of 8, 000. Elected by the General Court as United States senator to succeed Nathaniel Silsbee, Davis took his seat, December 7, 1835, as a member of the newly formed Whig party.
At the insistence of the state Whig organization, Davis resigned in 1840 in order to run for governor against his old rival, Marcus Morton, over whom he was again victorious by a considerable majority. In 1841, he once more won over Morton, but in 1842 the election was thrown into the legislature, where Davis was beaten. He then returned to his law practice, but when Isaac C. Bates, who had succeeded him in the Senate, died (March 16, 1845), Davis was again sent to the Senate, and in 1847 was elected for the full term. He retired on March 3, 1853, after more than twenty-five years of public service in state and nation. John Davis died on April 19, 1854, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and was interred in the Worcester Rural Cemetery.
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In Congress, first as a Federalist and later as a National Republican and a Whig, John Davis held conservative views on most controversial questions. He became a spokesman for those New England interests which demanded a protective tariff, and consequently opposed Clay's compromise tariff act of 1833. He made some widely circulated replies to the free-trade arguments of Southern statesmen.
A consistent opponent of President Jackson and all his works, Davis protested when, in 1837, the Senate expunged from its records the well-known resolution censuring the Executive. He was against any further spread of slavery in the states or territories, and was one of two senators to vote against the declaration of war with Mexico.
It seemed for a time that Davis would be Clay's running mate on the Whig ticket in 1844, but his uncompromising position with regard to slavery prevented his nomination. It is probable that if Clay had been elected Davis would have been appointed secretary of the treasury.
His speech of August 12, 1846, caused the Senate session to end without a vote on the Wilmot Proviso and led to criticism of his "unseasonable loquacity. " He was opposed to the compromise measures of 1850, and exerted all his influence in the campaign of 1852 for the success of the Whig candidate, General Scott.
John Davis was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1821.
Although John Davis had little grace of manner and, because of his shaggy locks, reminded people of "a great white bear, " Davis possessed a kind of awkward dignity which was impressive. Without being showy or brilliant, he was convincing because of his sincerity and earned the nickname of "Honest John. "
Though temperamentally cautious, Davis did not lack courage in a crisis. A man of judgment rather than of imagination, he enjoyed the respect and confidence of his constituents.
Davis married on March 28, 1822, Eliza Bancroft, daughter of Rev. Aaron Bancroft and sister of George Bancroft. Three of their sons, John Chandler Bancroft, Horace, and Andrew McFarland, had distinguished careers.