A gubernatorial election was held in Massachusetts on April 7, 1788. John Hancock, the incumbent governor, defeated Elbridge Gerry, a former delegate to the United States Constitutional Convention.
The election took place in the immediate aftermath of a narrow vote to ratify the United States Constitution, which Hancock supported and Gerry opposed. A political moderate, Hancock's public endorsement of the Constitution was decisive in Massachusetts: although too ill to take his seat as president of the Massachusetts ratifying convention, his speech recommending adoption of the Constitution with amendments persuaded the closely-divided assembly to vote in favor of ratification. In recognition of his importance to the pro-ratification cause, the "friends of the Constitution" decided to promote the popular Hancock as the Federalists' candidate for governor; meanwhile, Gerry was put forward by the Anti-Federalists who remained skeptical of the incoming federal government. Gerry had been a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, but refused to sign the final document in protest of the Three-Fifths Clause, which inflated the representation of the slave states in the United States House of Representatives, and the lack of a bill of rights. Although Gerry publicly accepted the outcome of the ratification vote, the issue of the Constitution loomed large in the gubernatorial campaign. Despite the significant opposition to ratification, Gerry was ultimately unable to overcome Hancock's immense personal popularity and was defeated by more than 12,000 votes.A New Nation Votes
Results
By county John HancockFederalists Elbridge GerryAnti-Federalists Scattering County total County Votes Percent Votes Percent Votes Percent Barnstable 334 80.87 75 18.16 4 0.97 413 Berkshire 923 66.02 471 33.69 4 0.29 1,398 Bristol 875 50.23 863 49.54 4 0.23 1,742 Cumberland 707 95.93 20 2.71 10 1.36 737 Dukes 91 100.00 — — 91 Essex 2,268 82.35 481 17.46 5 0.22 2,754 Hampshire 2,129 69.48 892 29.11 43 1.40 3,064 Lincoln 778 83.93 142 15.32 7 0.76 927 Middlesex 2,560 89.45 292 10.20 10 0.35 2,862 Nantucket No votes recorded — Plymouth 1,068 89.37 103 8.62 24 2.01 1,195 Suffolk 2,841 97.43 48 1.65 27 0.92 2,916 Worcester 2,866 79.61 708 19.67 26 0.72 3,600 York 416 87.95 50 10.57 7 1.48 473 TOTAL 17,856 80.53 4,145 18.70 171 0.77 22,172
References