Cheshire's Freedom Cheese

On this day in 1801, the Berkshire County town of Cheshire in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, made a 1235-pound ball of cheese and shipped it to Washington, D.C. as a gift for the newly-elected President, Thomas Jefferson, who was a popular figure in western Massachusetts. When news of the "mammoth cheese" reached the eastern part of the state, it caused consternation. Jefferson had won the presidency by defeating John Adams, Massachusetts' native son. Westerners were more in sympathy with Jefferson's vision of a nation of independent yeoman farmers than they were with the strong central government advocated by Adams and his supporters in the Federalist Party. Cheshire's cheese was a sign of the tensions over ideology, economics, and politics that long divided the state's eastern and western regions.


As the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities writes:

"When news of the "mammoth cheese" reached the eastern part of the state, it caused consternation. Jefferson had won the presidency by defeating John Adams, Massachusetts' native son. Westerners were more in sympathy with Jefferson's vision of a nation of independent yeoman farmers than they were with the strong central government advocated by Adams and his supporters in the Federalist Party. Cheshire's cheese was a sign of the tensions over ideology, economics, and politics that long divided the state's eastern and western regions."

As Bob from Blue Mass Group writes:

"Strong central government," is an understatement. Adams was locked in a bitter partisan battle to hold on to power. To help win, he supervised passage of some of the most repressive legislation ever approved by the Congress, including the Sedition Act, which said anyone, "opposing or resisting any law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United States," could be imprisoned for up to two years. The Act also made it illegal to, "write, print, utter, or publish," anything critical of the president or Congress. The gambit backfired. Jefferson's campaign slogan was pointed: "Jefferson and Liberty." The repressive legislation was vigorously criticized by the bloggers of the day. When the opposition won the election, many called the event the Revolution of 1800.

A salute to the good people of Cheshire and western Massachusetts and their giant ball of, dare I write it, Freedom Cheese."

Sources:
Wikipedia
Mass Moments