Representative Samuel Clesson Allen

Samuel Clesson Allen (January 5, 1772 – February 8, 1842) was a U.S. politician from Massachusetts during the first third of the nineteenth century. He began his public life as a member of the Federalist Party and later became a staunch supporter of Democratic presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, reflecting the broader realignment of American politics in the Jacksonian era. Over the course of his career he served in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature and in the United States House of Representatives, and he remained active in state politics into the 1830s.

Allen was born on January 5, 1772, in Bernardston in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. He was educated in nearby New Salem, Massachusetts. He was descended from Edward Allen (1640–1696), who was born in England and settled in the Connecticut Colony, a lineage that placed him within the longstanding New England colonial community. Raised in the religious and civic traditions of rural Massachusetts, Allen’s early life was shaped by the closing years of the colonial period and the aftermath of the American Revolution.

Allen pursued higher education at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, from which he graduated in 1794. Following his graduation he studied theology, was ordained as a Congregational minister, and entered the pulpit. He served as a minister for three years, reflecting the close connection between religious and civic leadership in New England at the time. Deciding to change professions, Allen then turned to the study of law and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1800, establishing himself in legal practice and preparing for a career that would increasingly focus on public affairs.

Allen’s formal political career began in 1806, when he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He served in the House until 1810, participating in state legislative debates during a period marked by tensions over trade restrictions and the approach of the War of 1812. After a brief interval out of office, he was elected to the Massachusetts Senate, in which he served from 1812 to 1815. His service in the state senate coincided with wartime pressures and the economic and political strains that affected New England, particularly the Federalist opposition to national Democratic-Republican policies.

In 1816, a year after leaving the state senate, Allen was elected as a Federalist to the United States House of Representatives. He took his seat in March 1817 and served continuously until 1829, encompassing the Fifteenth through the Twentieth Congresses. During his twelve years in Congress he represented Massachusetts at a time when the nation confronted issues such as postwar economic policy, internal improvements, and the Missouri Compromise. Although elected as a Federalist, Allen became a noted supporter of the administration of John Quincy Adams, aligning himself with the Adams faction that favored a strong national government, support for internal improvements, and a broad interpretation of federal power.

After leaving Congress in 1829 and returning to Massachusetts, Allen’s political views evolved further in response to the social and economic changes brought on by industrialization, particularly in western Massachusetts. He became increasingly affected by the plight of farmers and laborers whose livelihoods were being disrupted by new economic conditions and the growth of manufacturing centers. As a result of his observations and concerns, Allen emerged as a vocal supporter of the Massachusetts Workingmen’s Party, one of the early labor-oriented political movements in the state. Reflecting his shift from Federalist and Adams supporter to Jacksonian Democrat and labor advocate, he accepted the Workingmen’s Party nomination for governor of Massachusetts and was its unsuccessful candidate in both 1833 and 1834.

In his later years Allen remained identified with the Democratic and reform currents of his time, supporting the presidencies of Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren and maintaining an interest in the political and economic issues affecting ordinary citizens. He died in Northfield, Massachusetts, on February 8, 1842. Allen was buried in his native town of Bernardston, Massachusetts, underscoring his enduring connection to the rural community in which he had been born. His family’s involvement in public life continued into the next generation; his son, Elisha Hunt Allen, also served in the United States Congress and later held diplomatic and judicial posts, extending the Allen family’s influence in American political and legal affairs.