Thomas Green Fessenden

Thomas Green Fessenden , 1771-1837, American journalist and satirical poet, b. Walpole, N.H. Throughout his life he practiced law and edited various newspapers. Under the pseudonym Christopher Caustic he wrote satirical poems, of which "Democracy Unveiled" (1805), a scurrilous attack on Jefferson and other Democratic leaders, was the most famous. In 1822 he established in Boston the New England Farmer, which he edited until his death. He also wrote various agricultural handbooks including the widely used Complete Farmer and Rural Economist (1834). In 1836 he was elected to the Massachusetts General Court.

Bibliography: See study by P. G. Perrin (1925).

Fessenden, Thomas Green (1771–1837), New Hampshire author, whose varied career included law practice, invention, and the editing of newspapers in New York, Brattleboro, and Boston. His Hudibrastic satire Terrible Tractoration (1803) was aimed at English critics of Elisha Perkins's “metallic tractors,” an invention for which Fessenden was the agent. His Original Poems (1804) include The Country Lovers, which is thought to have suggested Lowell's The Courtin'. Democracy Unveiled (1805) is a virulent attack on Jefferson and the Democrats. He used the pseudonym Christopher Caustic.