Maine's Road to Statehood - The American Revolution and Early Attempts at Separation

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The American Revolution and Early Attempts at Separation

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Overwhelmingly dedicated to independence from Britain, Mainers quieted any murmurs of separation during the American Revolution. The question, however, did not die out. The burning of Falmouth in 1775 by the British was a final straw for many of those undecided about separation. In fact, America’s independence ultimately made the question more relevant, and it was not long after the war ended that the issue separation reappeared.

The town of Falmouth, burnt by Capt. Moet, October 18, 1775
Maine Historical Society

On April 30, 1785, the Falmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser, a Maine newspaper founded for the purpose of advocating separation, published a full front-page article submitted by “A Farmer” regarding the separation of the District of Maine from Massachusetts.[4] Separation was not a new proposition, “Farmer” noted: “It was in contemplation before the war, and is an object considered by many as more important since the establishment of our independence.” Immediately following this tract, on the second page, was another submission sent by one “Philanthropos,” again regarding separation.[5] The Falmouth Gazette's printers, Thomas Wait and Benjamin Titcomb, were part of a new epoch of the separationist movement; one that involved newspapers, Euro-American statesmanship, and the people's voice. The movement began in the 1780s and lasted just shy of forty years.

Separationist Call to Meeting, FalmouthPublished in The Falmouth Gazette, Sept 17, 1785.

Within the columns of the Falmouth Gazette, separation was often debated and more commonly defended. The debate was not one of passion, but of erudition and practicality. Did it make sense for Mainers to remain part of the Commonwealth? Some of the District's leading gentlemen—William Gorham and Stephen Longfellow III for example—led the charge for complete separation and organized a meeting to discuss the organization of a future convention regarding independence. Heeding to the call from a newly established committee, delegates from twenty Maine towns met in October 1785, and then again in January 1786 to formally examine the question. Meeting at Falmouth Neck (present-day Portland), the committee drafted a report entitled "The Separation of Maine from Massachusetts."[6]

(1) That the interests of the two communities were different, and that Massachusetts did not understand, and therefore could not promote, those of Maine
(2 and 3) the distance of the seat of government, and the consequent inconveniences
(4) the expense of obtaining justice, since all the records of the Supreme Court were kept in Boston
(5) the unjust and unequal operation of the regulations of trade, which depressed the price of lumbar, the chief industry of Maine
(6) the denial of representation in the House of Representatives to 'a great part of the inhabitants of these counties' (unorganized districts sent no members to the general court)
(7, 8 and 9) an unjust system of taxation of polls and estates, an undue burden by reason of the excise and impost acts, and the unequal incidence of the tax on deeds, on account of the smaller value of land conveyed and its more frequent conveyance.