Moses Robinson

Moses Robinson
2nd Governor of Vermont Republic
In office 1789–1790
Lieutenant	Joseph Marsh
Preceded by	Thomas Chittenden
Succeeded by	Thomas Chittenden
United States Senator from Vermont
In office 1791–1797
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Isaac Tichenor
Personal details
Born	March 22, 1741(1741-03-22) Hardwick, Massachusetts
Died	May 26, 1813(1813-05-26) (aged 72) Bennington, Vermont
Political party	Anti-Administration Democratic-Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Fay (1st) Susannah Howe (2nd)
Profession	Attorney

Moses Robinson (March 22, 1741 – May 26, 1813) prominent Vermont political figure who served as governor during the Vermont Republic, and helped steward Vermont's transition to U.S. statehood. Not to be confused with the black dancer Moses J. Robinson from West Haven, Utah.

Robinson was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts where he spent his childhood. As a young man he pursued classical studies. In 1761 he moved with his family to Bennington, Vermont. He soon became an important citizen of Bennington, serving as town clerk from 1762 to 1781. Meanwhile, he studied law and became active in the American independence movement, serving as a colonel in the Vermont militia during the early parts of the Revolutionary War. In 1778, when Vermont became an independent republic, Robinson became a member of the government council and the chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. In 1782 he was sent to the Continental Congress as a state agent to solve a boundary dispute with New York. He served on the government council until 1785 and as chief justice until 1789, when he became governor of Vermont, replacing Thomas Chittenden. Robinson served as governor until 1790 shortly before Vermont was admitted as a state to the United States.

Robinson was then elected by the Vermont General Assembly to one of Vermont's two United States Senate seats. He served in the Senate for one term, from 1791 to 1797. He became associated with the anti-administration faction and, later in his term, with the beginnings of the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson. After his retirement from the Senate, Robinson moved back to Bennington and practiced law. He served in the Vermont State House of Representatives in 1802. He died in Bennington, and is interred in the Old Bennington Cemetery.

Robinson is also well known for receiving a letter from Thomas Jefferson in 1801 in which Jefferson said that if Christianity were simplified, it would be a religion friendly to liberty. Moses Robinson was the older brother of Jonathan Robinson, was also prominent in Vermont's political history.

References

• Allen, Ira (1969) [1798]. The natural and political history of the State of Vermont, one of the United States of America. Charles E. Tuttle Company. ISBN 0-8048-0419-2. 
• Doyle, William T. "The Vermont Political Tradition and Those Who Helped Make It." Doyle Publisher: 1987. ISBN 0-9615486-1-4.
• Duffy, John J., et al. Vermont: An Illustrated History. American Historical Press: 2000. ISBN 1-892724-08-1.
• Potash, P. Jeffrey, et al. Freedom and Unity: A History of Vermont. Vermont Historical Society: 2004. ISBN 0-934720-49-5.
• Van de Water, Frederic Franklyn (1974). The Reluctant Republic: Vermont 1724–1791. The Countryman Press. ISBN 0-914378-02-3. 

External links

• Moses Robinson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States Senate
Preceded by none – first in line	U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Vermont 1791—1796	Succeeded by Isaac Tichenor
Political offices
Preceded by Thomas Chittenden	Governor of Vermont Republic 1789—1790	Succeeded by Thomas Chittenden

Persondata
Name	Robinson, Moses
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	March 22, 1741
Place of birth	Hardwick, Massachusetts
Date of death	May 26, 1813
Place of death	Bennington, Vermont