[1] He was educated in Portsmouth and Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, and attended Harvard University, from which he graduated in 1789.

[2] After graduating, Cutts studied law with attorney John Pickering, was admitted to the bar in 1795, and practiced in Portsmouth.

[3] In 1810, Cutts was elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Nahum Parker, and he served from June 21, 1810, to March 3, 1813.

[3] While Cutts served in the Senate, the federal government was concerned with prosecuting the War of 1812 and then beginning the post-war recovery.

[4] Cutts was appointed to several select committees concerned with the finance and the economy, foreign trade, and military defense, and frequently served as chairman.

[3] As Secretary, Cutts oversaw preparations for the Senate's move from its temporary downtown quarters in the Patent Office, which had been necessitated by the burning of the US Capitol during the War of 1812 to the hastily erected "Brick Capitol", a building which was located on the site of the current US Supreme Court Building.