Squatters of Maine, The

DESCRIPTION: "Approach ye Feds, in phalanx brace, With mien and visage ireful." "For Maine her 'squatters' sends to town, On legislative station." "Now, join as one, with heart and hand, exterminate this faction." Federalists can thrive by halting the people of Maine
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1806 (Boston _Independent Chronicle_, according to Gray-SongsAndBalladsOfTheMaineLumberjacks)
KEYWORDS: political nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gray-SongsAndBalladsOfTheMaineLumberjacks, pp. 142-143, "The Squatters of Maine" (1 text)
NOTES [154 words]: In the early days of the United States, what is now the State of Maine was part of Massachusetts. Maine did not separate until 1820. This apparently caused substantial unrest in 1806 (at least according to Gray-SongsAndBalladsOfTheMaineLumberjacks). The Federalist Party had lost the presidency in 1800, by a very slim margin, with most of New England voting Federalist while the rest of the country voted for the Jeffersonians. In 1804, the trend was worse -- the Federalists lost even Massachusetts.
It appears, from the items quoted by Gray-SongsAndBalladsOfTheMaineLumberjacks, that Massachusetts proper remained Federalist (and the state went Federalist in 1808, 1812, and 1816, the last elections in which there was a Federalist candidate), but Maine was Jeffersonian. The people of Massachusetts resented the power of the Maine-ites, and complained about it. This satire was apparently a Jeffersonian counter-blast. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Gray142

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