He entered the Junto of Rome in 1848 and was elected deputy by Viterbo to the national assembly.
Next year she supported the election of the Whig speaker, John Smith, but long resisted the influence and claims of the Junto, as the Whig leaders, Somers, Halifax, Orford, Wharton and Sunderland, were named.
As an ultra Federalist - he was a prominent member of the group known as the Essex Junto - he strongly opposed the purchase of Louisiana and the war of 1812.
Ames was one of the group of New England ultraFederalists known as the "Essex Junto," who opposed the French policy of President John Adams in 1798, and were conspicuous for their British sympathies.
He was a member of the Essex County convention of 1778, called to protest against the proposed state constitution, and as a member of the "Essex Junto" was probably the author of The Essex Result, which helped to secure the rejection of the constitution at the polls.