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Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Richard Cutts was the son of Saco merchant Thomas Cutts and his wife Elizabeth Scammon. A well-educated man, Cutts graduated from Harvard in 1790 and studied law, but chose to go into the family business as a merchant. He also had a long political career, first serving in the Massachusetts house of representatives and then being elected to the United States Congress in 1800, where he remained until 1813. Cutts was a Democratic-Republican, the party of Thomas Jefferson. A firm supporter of his party's principles, he voted in favor of the Non-Importation and Non-Intercourse acts, the Embargo of 1807, and the declaration of war in 1812. He did so despite the fact that these measures were financially disastrous for him. During the War of 1812, Cutts served as superintendent general of military supplies. In 1817, after the war was over, he was appointed the first Comptroller of the Treasury and he served in that capacity until 1829. Once he left public office, Cutts remained a resident of Washington D.C. in his retirement.Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Richard Cutts, Slave Owner
In 1804, Cutts married Anna Payne, the sister of Dolly Madison, wife of President James Madison. The Madisons were wealthy slave owners with a large plantation in Virginia. Dolley wrote to her sister complaining about her enslaved maid. She asked Anna about hers: "I would buy a maid but good ones are rare & as high as 8 & 900$—I should like to know what you gave for yours." Slavery was legal in the District of Columbia and while living there, the Cutts family had several enslaved people in their household, as was recorded in the 1820 and 1830 censuses. In 1820, the family had one enslaved female under the age of 14. Ten years later, the family had three enslaved individuals in their household: two females under the age of ten and one between the age of 24 and 35. The younger girls may have been the children of the older woman. All were probably engaged in domestic duties.