Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
On the first Monday in September 1816, voters across Maine gathered at town meetings to vote on separation from Massachusetts. The selectmen of each town were to fill out this form with the results and send it on to a convention to be held in Brunswick at the end of the month. In order for the separation to happen, Maine residents had to vote for the measure by a five-to-four majority. Samuel Merrill recorded in his diary that the vote was unsuccessful in Biddeford: 43 for separation and 88 against. In the end, most inland towns voted for separation but most coastal towns did not. The final vote was 11,969 in favor and 10,347 opposed. While a majority, it was not sufficient to pass.