Editing Caleb Strong (section)

==American Revolution==
Strong and Hawley were both elected to the [[Massachusetts Provincial Congress]] in 1774. When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, Strong was unable to serve in the military because of his damaged sight, but he was otherwise active in the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] cause. He served on the Northampton [[Committee of safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]] and in other local offices but refused service in the [[Continental Congress]].<ref>Lodge, p. 294.</ref><ref name=Trumbull596>Trumbull, p. 596.</ref> He was a delegate to the [[Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779–1780|1779 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention]] and was elected to the committee that drafted the [[Constitution of Massachusetts|state constitution]], ratified in 1780.<ref name=Trumbull596/> He then served on the first governor's council and in the state senate from 1780 to 1789.<ref>Lodge, p. 295.</ref>

Strong's legal practice thrived during the tumultuous war years and was one of the most successful in Hampshire County. He became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1775 and was appointed county attorney of Hampshire County the following year, a post he held until 1800. On more than one occasion he was offered a seat on the state's [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court|supreme court]] but rejected the position on account of its inadequate salary.<ref>Trumbull, pp. 594–595.</ref> Strong was described by a contemporary as meticulously detailed in his preparation of legal paperwork and a persuasive advocate when speaking to a jury.<ref>Trumbull, p. 595.</ref>

In 1781 Strong was one of the lawyers (another was [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]] lawyer and future [[United States Attorney General]] [[Levi Lincoln Sr.]]) who worked on a series of legal cases surrounding [[Quock Walker]], a former slave seeking to claim his freedom. One of the cases, ''[[Commonwealth v. Jennison|Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Nathaniel Jennison]]'', firmly established that [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] was incompatible with the new state constitution.<ref>Higginbotham, pp. 90–95.</ref>