Joseph Hiss (April 3, 1826 – October 2, 1878) was an American politician who was expelled from the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

in 1855. He was the first member of the House to ever be expelled.

Early life

Hiss was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

on April 3, 1826. On September 28, 1845 he married Caroline Matilda Mason. The couple had one child together. The Hisses eventually moved to Boston, where Joseph worked as a clothier and became involved with the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

House of Representatives

In 1854, the Know Nothings won every seat in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

and all but 4 in the House. Hiss was elected to represent Suffolk County in the House of Representatives. On January 22, 1855, the House approved a petition from the citizens of

Foxborough, Massachusetts Foxborough is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, about southwest of Boston, northeast of Providence, Rhode Island and about northwest of Cape Cod. Foxborough is part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 18,618 at ...

that would allow for government inspection of "convents, nunneries, or by whatever name they may be designated". A joint special Nunnery Committee was created and Hiss was appointed to serve on it. On February 15, 1855, the House voted to allow the committee to inspect Catholic "Theological Seminaries, Boarding Schools, Academies, Nunneries, Convents and other institutions of a like character, as they may deem necessary, to enable them to make a final report on the subject committed to their consideration". The committee later voted to allow guests to join them during their investigative trips. The committee and their guests visited the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

and the Notre Dame Academy in Roxbury on March 26 and a Catholic School in Lowell on March 29. While in Lowell, Hiss requested a room at his hotel for a "Mrs. Patterson" and requested that dinner be brought to her room. A chambermaid later testified that it appeared two people had slept in Mrs. Patterson’s bed while Hiss’ bed appeared to have not been used that night. As a guest of the committee, Mrs. Patterson’s bill was covered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The ''

Boston Daily Advertiser The ''Boston Daily Advertiser'' (est. 1813) was the first daily newspaper in Boston, and for many years the only daily paper in Boston. History The ''Advertiser'' was established in 1813, and in March 1814 it was purchased by journalist Nathan ...

'', published by

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

and

Charles Hale Charles Hale (1831–1882) of Boston was an American legislator and diplomat. Intermittently from 1855 to 1877, he served in the Massachusetts state House and Senate. He was Speaker of the House in 1859. In the 1860s he lived in Cairo, Egypt, as ...

came out against the committee. The Hales objected to the committee’s warrant-less searches that were conducted with "no sufficient particular reason" as well as the food, alcohol, travel, and lodging expenses racked up by the committee. The ''Advertiser'' was joined by ten of the city’s eleven other newspapers in calling for an investigation into the committee. A committee was formed to investigate the activities of the committee at the school in Roxbury and a separate committee was formed to investigate Hiss’ activities in Lowell. On May 9, 1855, the committee investigating Hiss recommended his expulsion from the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The House then voted 230 to 30 to remove him. On May 14, Hiss twice returned to the House Chamber and was removed by the

sergeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

both times. It was believed that Hiss did this on the advice of his legal counsel. On May 16 he was arrested at the insistence of Bemis & Boise, one of Hiss’ creditors, on a

Mesne Mesne (an Anglo-French legal form of the O. Fr. ''meien'', mod. ''moyen'', mean, Med. Lat. ''medianus'', in the middle, cf. English ''mean''), middle or intermediate, an adjective used in several legal phrases. * A mesne lord is a landlord who has ...

process. Hiss petitioned for a writ of ''

Habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

'', on the grounds that he was a member of the House of Representatives and immune from arrest. Hiss, represented by

Benjamin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...

and

Benjamin Dean Benjamin Dean (August 14, 1824 – April 9, 1897) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Early life Born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, U.K., fifth child of Alice Lofthouse and Benjamin Dean, he moved ...

, had his case heard by the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

. Butler argued that because the House was not granted the power to expel members in the

Constitution of Massachusetts The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. As a member of the Massachuset ...

and not included in the rules and orders of the House, Bliss’ expulsion was illegal. In an opinion written by Chief Justice

Lemuel Shaw Lemuel Shaw (January 9, 1781 – March 30, 1861) was an American jurist who served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1830–1860). Prior to his appointment he also served for several years in the Massachusetts House ...

, the Court found that although the Constitution did not authorize expulsion, there was no indication that the framers intended to withhold this power and the "power of expulsion is a necessary and incidental power, to enable the house to perform its high functions, and necessary to the safety of the state".

Later life

Following the scandal, Hiss returned to Baltimore, where he died on October 2, 1878.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiss, Joseph 1826 births 1878 deaths Expelled members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts Know Nothings Politicians from Baltimore Politicians from Boston