Samuel Ward (American statesman)

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Samuel Ward (American statesman) bigraphy, stories - Rhode Island colonial governor

Samuel Ward (American statesman) : biography

25 May 1725 – 26 March 1776

Samuel Ward (1725–1776) was a farmer, politician, Supreme Court Justice, Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and a delegate to the Continental Congress. The son of an earlier Rhode Island Governor, Richard Ward, he was well educated as he grew up in a large Newport, Rhode Island family. After marrying, he and his new wife received property in Westerly, Rhode Island from his father-in-law, and upon settling there he took up farming. Entering politics as a fairly young man, he soon took sides in the hard money/paper money controversy, favoring hard money, or specie. His primary rival over the money issue was Providence politician Stephen Hopkins, and the two men became bitter rivals, alternating as governors of the colony for several terms.

During this time of political activity, Ward became a founder and trustee of Rhode Island’s first college, Brown University. The most contentious issue he faced during his three years as governor involved the Stamp Act which had been passed by the British Parliament just before he took office for the second time. This act, putting a tax on all official documents and newspapers, infuriated the American colonists, being done without their consent. Representatives of the colonies met to discuss the unpopular act, but when it came time for the colonial governors to take a position in regards to the act, Ward was the only one who refused it, threatening his position, but bringing him recognition as a great patriot.

After last serving as governor in 1767, Ward retired to his farm in Westerly, but in 1774 he was called back into service as a delegate to the Continental Congress. War was looming with the mother country, and to this end he devoted all of his energy. After hostilities began, Ward made his famous statement, ending with "Heaven save my country, is my first, my last, and almost my only prayer." During a meeting of the Congress in Philadelphia, slightly more than three months before the signing of the American Declaration of Independence, he died of smallpox, and was buried in a local cemetery. His remains were later re-interred in the Common Burying Ground in Newport.

Political life

Stephen Hopkins, Ward’s bitter rival, became his partner in the Continental Congress]]

Ward first became active in politics in 1756 when he was elected as a Deputy from Westerly, a position he held for three years. The divisive political issue of the day was the use of hard money, or specie, versus the use of paper money, and Ward sided with the former group, while his chief rival, Stephen Hopkins of Providence sided with the latter. So bitter was the animosity between these two men that Hopkins commenced an action for slander against Ward, putting damages at 40,000 pounds. The case was moved to Massachusetts for a fair trial, and in 1759 the judgment went against Hopkins by default, and he paid the costs.

For ten years the two men, each at the head of a powerful party, went back and forth as Governor of the colony, until in 1768 Josias Lyndon was elected as a compromise candidate. In 1758 Hopkins won the election as Governor, and beat Ward again in the following three elections. In 1761 the Assembly named Ward to the office of Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, but he only served in this capacity for a year, finally being elected Governor in 1762. During this first year in office, the plan of founding a college in the Rhode Island colony was discussed, and received Ward’s hearty support. He took an active part in the establishment of "Rhode island College," later Brown University, and when the school was incorporated in 1765, he was one of the trustees, and one of its most generous supporters.

While the French and Indian War had ended in North America in 1760, other aspects of this global war, known in Europe as the Seven Years’ War, continued to involve Rhode Island. In the spring of 1762, General Jeffrey Amherst, the commander of British and Colonial forces in North America, ordered that 207 men from Rhode Island be sent as part of an expedition against Cuba. In the early summer, Havana was put under siege, the castle of Moro was taken, and the city surrendered in August. It was a very costly victory, as only 112 of the Rhode Island men survived the operation, many succumbing to disease. The Peace of Paris concluded the war, with France losing all of its territory in North America (other than two small islands near Newfoundland), and Spain ceding Florida to Britain in exchange for having Havana returned. Following these events, General Amherst was recalled to England and replaced by General Thomas Gage, who would later play a prominent role in events leading to the American Revolutionary War.