Thomas Hutchinson: Boston's Leading Citizen -- Part One

Following a brief stint on the Boston Board of Selectmen, Hutchinson was elected to the General Court of Massachusetts Bay. During his legislative career, Hutchinson assumed an assertive role in one of the more controversial and recurring questions that faced all of North America. How much paper currency should a colony print? On more than one occasion, England answered this question directly by restricting paper currency in the colonies, but the issue remained a troubling one for each of the colonies throughout the 18th century. For Hutchinson, a man raised in a family that prided itself on fiscal conservatism and responsibility, the issue was simple. Hard currency, backed by gold and silver, was the surest economic foundation for society. Hutchinson and his hard money allies eventually carried the day, thanks in large measure to Great Britain. When Parliament compensated the colonies for their expenses in a frontier campaign in the 1740s, Hutchinson advocated that the money be used to redeem the colony's already depreciated paper money and return the province to a silver standard. (Hutchinson, incidentally, had supervised the initial financing of the province's role in this frontier expedition). It was a bold and highly controversial proposal, and was supported by the royal establishment in the colony. The plan was approved, and immediately helped stimulate trade.

While his role in the money debates was understandably contentious, Hutchinson was practically revered for his fierce advocacy of the colony's territorial interests. As Bernard Bailyn writes: "[I]f Hutchinson's views on monetary matters were controversial, his defense of the colony's political and territorial rights was not. His service to Massachusetts as agent in all matters affecting its external relations was sustained through thirty years and was almost uniformly successful." During his long political career, Hutchinson negotiated with Indian tribes, neighboring colonies, and even royal officials in London, to preserve the territorial integrity of Massachusetts or to serve the interests of the colony's landowners.

Hutchinson's mastery of economics and his active involvement in territorial issues made him one of the most visible and celebrated figures in Massachusetts politics. But his ultimate victory in the fight for "hard money" cost him his seat in the Massachusetts legislature. In 1749, Thomas Hutchinson failed to win reelection. This was an especially tough blow, for Hutchinson had, by this time, ascended to the speakership of the Massachusetts Assembly.

But while his hard money policies had made him unpopular with many voters (and

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