and worked to get them back. He also demonstrated a sense of superiority over his own flock. By 1808, even Fisher Ames would have enough with Bates and would join Dedham's Anglican church. He asked to be dismissed from the church at a parish meeting in November 1817 to accept the presidency of Middlebury College. It is assumed that, due to his differing political beliefs and his politically tinged sermons, that many in the congregation were glad to let him go. The church called for a council of churches to dissolve the bond between themselves and their pastor, but the parish refused to go along. They did, however, vote to simply dismiss him. A council was held anyway on February 4, 1818. His last sermon was delivered February 5, the pastorate was terminated on the 20th, and Bates left Dedham on the 28th of February. Political views Politically, he was an ardent Federalist while Dedham and the church were strongly anti-Federalist. Though he was not as liberal as some had hoped, his sermons often were intolerant of those whose politics who differed from his own and were not well received. He believed Thomas Jefferson to be an infidel and that his followers were, at best, doubtful Christians. He was a "high-toned Calvinist school," and he was not particularly charitable towards those of other denominations. Just after midnight on the Fourth of July, 1809, a group of Republicans dragged the old town cannon to just below Bates' bedroom window. They stuffed it with sod from his lawn and were about to set it off when Bates appeared in his nightshirt. Not recognizing him immediately, one celebrant yelled "Get out of the way, you old bugger, or you'll get your brains blown out!" Bates and his bucket of water convinced the crowd to leave, but they soon returned. They fired the cannon, which was more than 150 years old, and awoke Bates again to the sound of shattering windowpanes. Academic career From 1818 to 1839, Bates was president of Middlebury College. During his tenure, Bates helped to stabilize the struggling institution and oversaw the construction of the Old Chapel, an icon of the college that is on the National Register of Historic Places. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1834. He was Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives for the twenty–sixth Congress.