Judge Cooper's chief political opponent in the county was Jedediah Peck,who settled in Burlington, Otsego county, in 1790, a man of an entirelydifferent type from Judge Cooper, yet equally famous in the politicallife of the times. Coarse and uneducated, Peck overcame alldisadvantages by his shrewdness, intellectual power, [Pg 97]and great naturalability. He gained much influence with the people of the county by hishomely skill as a traveling preacher, going about distributing tracts,and preaching wherever he could gather an audience. He was an aggressivesupporter of the political views and administrative policies of ThomasJefferson, and violently antagonized the Federalists of the county, whowere under the leadership of Judge Cooper. This opposition culminatedduring the administration of President Adams in 1798, when Peck wasarrested under the Alien and Sedition Act for circulating petitionsagainst that Act. He was indicted and taken to New York in irons, butwas never brought to trial, and upon the repeal of the Act wasdischarged. Peck's arrest and imprisonment fastened attention upon him,and, together with his continued denunciation of the federaladministration, made him the recognized leader of the Republican(Jeffersonian) party of Otsego county, so that he dictated its policyand nominations for many years thereafter. Indeed, the overthrow of theFederal party in this State, with the consequent success of Jefferson inthe presidential canvass, is attributed to the excitement andindignation aroused by the spectacle of this little dried up man,one-eyed but kindly in expression and venerable, a veteran of theRevolutionary War, being transported through the State in the custody offederal officials, and manacled, the latter an unnecessary andoutrageous indignity.
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