Elisha Cooke Jr. and his supporters win the majority of seats as Selectmen.

Cooke and four others win five of the seven positions. Cooke’s organization, sometimes called the first political machine in Boston, may have been the original Caucus Club and includes physicians, landlords, shopkeepers, mechanics and shipyard workers. Its main cause is the establishment of a private bank and it is criticized for spending much of its campaign funds trying to influence voters at taverns. Three other Caucuses – in the North End, South End, and middle of town – are established by 1771.