YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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•YAILE-VHlWIEISSflTnf-
Given in memory of
NATHANIEL TERRY BACON, '79 S
by his children
LEONARD BACON, '09
SUSAN BACON KEITH
1926

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First Gnrtrnor flfJVewJork '¦

iiii '/' Krktlm, WJ/asine^'JIT

L I Y E S *

OF

THE GOVERNORS

OF 1HI

STATE OF NEW YORK,

BY JOHN S. JENKINS,
AUTHOR OF THB "HISTORY OF THE WAR WITH MEXICO,11 "¦POLITICAL
HI8TOEY OF HEW YORK," KTC. ETC.

* Suum cuique tribuere."

SYKACUSE:
HALL, MILLS di CO.

1852.
 1

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
DERBY AND MILLER,
In the Clerk's Office for the Northern District of Ne-* York.

Uj3l .li>5

tHOMAS B. SMITJt, STEREOTYPE R,
216 WILLIAM STREET, N. Y.

ro inst
HEV. SIMEON NORTH, LLD.,
FRES1DENT OF HAMILTON COLLEGE,
jis Volume is teepectfnilj} Snecribefo,
IN TOKEN OJ
THE SINCERE REGARD AND ESTEEM 0*
THE AUTHOR.

INTRODUCTION.

Who is there that can look at New York as she is,
and not be proud of her name and her character ? —
who, among her inhabitants, whether descended from
her sturdy Knickerbockers, or sprung from a Saxon
stock, — whether he first drew breath amid her lovely
hills and valleys, or was lulled in infancy by the soft
breezes of another clime, — but has occasion to rejoice,
daily and hourly, that his lot is cast in her ' pleasant
places ?'
What a development of national strength and great
ness is hers ! With one arm she clasps the heaving
bosom of the Atlantic, while the other is sporting among
the tiny wavelets that break upon the shores of her in
land seas. One brief century ago, and the abodes of
her people scarcely interrupted the continuous line of
forest that extended from Manhattan Island to the bi'ink
of the Great Cataract. Now, her verdant plains and
the grassy slopes of her mountains, are fairly gemmed
with towns and cities, — the habitations of wealth and
refinement, of peace and content. Once her population
was counted by scores, — it is now numbered in millions.
Her rivers and canals, all her great thoroughfares, teem
with the rich products of the mighty, the illimitable

VI INTRODUCTION.
West ; while back through her territories, rolls the re
turning tide, laden with the treasures of other lands.
She is great, too, in her scholars and her jurists, her
poets and her philosophers, her divines and her states
men — in her honest and stout-hearted yeomanry, her
merchant princes and her artisans. She is great in
her memories of the Past — in her hopes of the Future.
Every acre of her soil is holy ground* The legends
of her border warfare are graven upon the hills and the
rocks that witnessed the daring of her pioneers, and
printed deep in the hearts'of those whose ancestors fell
beneath the tomahawk of the savage. The trophies of
the Revolution may be found in the valley ofthe Hudson
ahd on the heights of Saratoga, and its traditions are
handed down from father to son with religious care, and
annually recounted at ten thousand different firesides.
She is rich in the arts and sciences ; in the sterling
qualities of her citizens, in their industry and frugality,
their enterprise and perseverance, their love of order
and their respect for the law, and in their attachment
to liberty and the union of these States. What member
of the Confederacy has made greater sacrifices than
she, to secure that end ? Her princely revenues were
yielded to the Nation, — at a moment, too, when her
statesmen, with prophetic vision, saw and foretold , the
greatness that would come upon her ; and yet she still
possesses, in bounteous profusion, all the elements of
wealth and prosperity. Why should we not be proud
of New York?— " Land of the forest and the rock,
Of dark blue lake and mighty river —
Of mountains reared aloft to mock
The storm's career and lightning's shock —
My own green land forever !"

INTRODUCTION. Vll
New York numbers among her sons, by birth or
adoption, many great and distinguished men. She has
her jewels toward whom she cherishes the same feelings
of pride that found a resting-place in the noble heart of
the mother of the Gracchi. Some of these have re
ceived a full share of the honors in her power to bestow,
and their memories are now held in grateful remem
brance. Others enjoyed no such distinctiqn, however
much it might have been merited, and they are almost
forgotten, except by the few who knew and appreciated
their worth. The memoirs of all would undoubtedly
be replete with interest, but for obvious reasons I have
selected those only who, as the rulers of the state, form
a group by themselves.
It has been to me a pleasure and a gratification, to
trace the checkered careers of the eminent citizens,
biographical notices of whom are contained in this
volume, — to mark their aspirations and their strug
gles, their triumphs and their disappointments ; and I
can only hope that others will be equally interested
with myself. The materials for a part of the memoirs,
already before the public, or easy of access, were am
ple ; but in regard to others I found greater difficulty.
Through the kindness of the personal or family friends
of the subjects of the sketches, I have been enabled,
however, to procure all the information I desired, with
some few and comparatively unimportant exceptions.
To all who have in any way assisted me, I owe the ex
pression of my sincere and hearty thanks.
Occasionally I have been at a loss to reconcile con
flicting accounts, and at every step in the preparation
of the work I have been struck with the truthfulness
of the remark of a friend, that " the private history ot

V1U INTRODUCTION.
our public men is for the most part a succession of fa
bles." It will be perceived that I have frequently dis
agreed with the Political History of Judge Hammond.
A critical examination of that work has convinced me
that it contains many errors, as to dates and facts,
which have escaped the corrections of the author ; and
I have not thought it advisable to rely upon his state
ments unless supported by other evidence. It is proper
that I should add, inasmuch as I cannot speak from my
own personal knowledge until within a very recent
period, that where I have differed from him, except
in regard to mere matters of opinion, my assertions
are based upon information derived from sources of
unquestionable authenticity, and from individuals per
sonally and particularly cognizant of the facts to which
they relate.
In justice to those who have aided me in procuring
materials, as well as to myself, I should likewise state,
that for the opinions, inferences, and conclusions,
having reference to political questions and movements,
and for the estimates of character, the writer is alone
responsible. While preparing the memoirs, I have endeavored to
keep in view the remark of Sir James Mackintosh, that
" the biographer never ought to introduce public events
except as far as they are absolutely necessary to the
illustration of character." Too much copiousness of
detail is, in like manner, reprehensible ; and I have at
tempted to avoid these common errors. Biography is
like history, which, we are told, by an able and expe
rienced writer,* cannot be perfectly and absolutely
true ; " for," says he, " to be perfectly and absolutely

INTRODUCTION. JX
tve, lt ought to record all the slightest particulars of
the slightest transactions — all the things done, and all
the words uttered, during the time of which it treats.
The omission of any circumstance, however insignifi
cant, would be a defect. If history were written thus,
the Hodleian library would not contain the occurrences
of a week. What is told in the fullest and most accu
rate annals bears an infinitely small proportion to what
is suppressed. The difference between the copious
work of Clarendon, and the account of the civil wars
in the abridgment of Goldsmith, vanishes, when com
pared with the immense mass of facts, respecting which
both are equally silent."
The engravings accompanying this work are taken
from designs executed by competent artists from origi
nal paintings, and they are believed to be faithful rep
resentations of the Governors of New York.
As. this volume does not embrace memoirs of the
governors anterior to the adoption of the state constitu
tion, a brief review of the colonial history of New
York may be of interest to the reader : —
The first permanent establishments made by any of
the European powers, within the limits of this state,
were two small trading forts erected by the Dutch on
Hudson river, and a few houses built on Manhattan
Island, in the year 1613. The States General of Hol
land claimed the whole interior country back of the
coast line extending from the Connecticut to the Dela
ware river, by virtue of the discoveries of Henry Hud
son and other navigators who were in their employ,
and bestowed upon it the name of " Nieu Nederlandt,"
or New Netherlands. The Dutch rapidly extended
their settlements along the shores of the Hudson, and

INTRODUCTION.

in 1624 it was thought by the States General that the
colony was of sufficient importance to require a formal
government. Peter Minuit, or Minnewit, was sent out in that
year as the first director, or governor, of New Nether
lands. The executive authority was vested in him and
a council consisting of five members. Besides these
officers, there was also a " schout fiscal," who was both
the sheriff and the attorney general. Large tracts of
land were granted by the States General to chartered
companies, by whom they were subdivided into manors
and granted to patroons. Smaller parcels were like
wise assigned to private individuals who did not aspire
to the state and dignity of a patroon.
Director Minuit returned to Holland in 1632, and in
the following year, his successor, Wouter Van Twiller,
arrived out. The latter was too fond of schiedam to
make a very useful officer, and as he was almost con
stantly intoxicated, the Dutch West India Company,
who now controlled the province, removed him from
office, as soon as they were advised of his conduct, and
in 1637, William Kieft was appointed director in his
place. Kieft was likewise addicted to intemperate
habits, though he proved to be a much more faithful
and energetic officer. He was cruel and vindictive,
however, and provoked the Indians, hitherto on peace
ful terms with the colonists, to commit acts of hostility.
Signal and just punishment was inflicted, as he thought,
for the outrages they had committed. But the savages
retaliated ; and one act of injustice after another finally
exasperated them to such an extent, that the colony
was in a constant state of alarm and excitement.
The effects of the mal-administration of Director

INTRODUCTION. Xl
Kieft were soon witnessed in the decrease of the colony
at New Amsterdam, — as the settlement on the site of
the present city of New York and the adjacent territory
was called, — in the number of its population and in
wealth. Accordingly, he was recalled in 1645, and
was succeeded by General Peter Stuyvesant, formerly
director of the island of Curacoa, who entered upon
the duties of his office in 1647.
Governor Stuyvesant was too strict and rigid an of
ficer to be popular, and at one time he was recalled by
the States General, in compliance with the request of
the inhabitants of the colony. Meanwhile the Puritans
of the New England colonies had gradually encroached
upon the settlements of the Dutch, and the English au
thorities began to lay claim to the whole territory. As
a collision was apprehended, and as Governor Stuyve
sant was known to be an able officer, his recall was
countermanded. It was in vain that he attempted to
resist the encroachments of the English. They proved
an overmatch for him, and after a protracted, but inef
fectual struggle to maintain the authority of his gov
ernment, he was forced, in 1664, to surrender the
territory of New Netherlands to a large armed force
commanded by Colonel Richard Nicolls, who had been
sent out by the Duke of York, to whom the province
had been granted by his brother, Charles II.
Colonel Nicolls was appointed the first governor of
the colony, which was now called New York, but in
1667 he was succeeded by Colonel Francis Lovelace.
During the administration of the latter, in 1673, the
territory was recaptured by the Dutch, but it was re
stored to the English again in the following year. Sir
Edmond Andross now assumed the reins of govern-

Xii INTRODUCTION.
ment, but as he was absent for the greater part of the
time, the lieutenant-governor, Anthony Brockholst, of
ficiated in his stead.
Under the English rule, the province increased in
wealth and population with great rapidity. The gov
ernors were repeatedly changed, however, and during
the time the colony continued to be an appendage oi
the British crown— a period of about one- hundred
years — there were over twenty different persons placed
at the head of the government, besides a number of in
terregnums, during which the president of the council
for the time being exercised the chief authority. The
governors were appointed by the English monarch, and
all the important offices in the province were held by
the same tenure, or by appointment from the governor.
The members of the colonial legislature were chosen
by the freeholders, but the powers of the former were
limited, and as the governor had a veto on all their
acts, they could do but little in opposition to his
wishes, unless, as at the commencement of the Revolu
tion, they boldly set his authority at defiance.
For upwards of sixty years the inhabitants of New
York, particularly of the northern and western counties,
were harassed by an almost constant state of warfare
with the French and their Indian allies. The former
had established trading posts at different points on the
southern shores of the St. Lawrence and of Lake On
tario, and had erected a strong fortification at Niagara.
In 1759 this work was captured, mainly by the pro
vincial troops, and in the following year the Canadas
were annexed to the British dominions. This cause
of disturbance being removed, the colony assumed an
air of quiet and tranquillity which it had never before

INTRODUCTION. XIU
known. Agriculture and the arts of peace now flour
ished under the benign influences that were diffusing
their blessings throughout the land ; and happiness and
prosperity smiled in the remotest hamlet, and lighted
up the hearts and the countenances of its inhabitants.
This period of repose was of brief duration. The
colonies had barely recovered from the embarrassments
occasioned by the protracted border war, when they
were again obliged to take up arms, not to fight the
battles of Great Britain, but in defence of their dearest
rights and privileges. The last royal governor was
William Tryon, who appears to have been quite pop
ular among the inhabitants ofthe province. His con
duct was much less exceptionable than that of most of
the governors of the other colonies ; and had they all
been equally kind and liberal, it isnot improbable that
the separation from the mother country, although it
was sure to take place sooner or later, would have been
postponed for many years.
In May, 1775, the powers of the colonial govern
ment were suspended, and the supreme executive au
thority was then committed to the Provincial Congress.
No further change took place till the year 1777, when
a state constitution was adopted, under which George
Clinton was elected the first governor of the State of
New York.

CONTENTS,

?AOH
GEORGE CLINTON  2&
The Clinton Family — Origin and History—Charles Clinton —
His Emigration to America — Settlement at Little Britain — Posi
tion and Character — Death — Birth of George Clinton — Early
Life — Commences the Study of the Law— Admitted to Prac
tice — Forebodings of the Revolution — Course of Clinton in
the Colonial Legislature — His Influence — Elected a Delegate to
the Continental Congress — Vote in Favor of the Declaration of
Independence — Formation of a State Government — Elected
Governor — The "Whigs of New York — An Unjust Charge re
pelled — Campaign of 1111 — Attack on Forts Clinton and Mont
gomery — Escape of the two Brothers — Difficulty with Ver
mont — 'Re-election of Governor Clinton — Close of the "War —
Recommendations in Regard to Education and Internal Improve
ments — Inland Navigation commenced — Division of Parties —
Confiscation Act — Surrender of the Import Duties at New York
to the General Government — Opposition of Mr. Clinton to a
strong Federal Government — The Founder of the RepubKcan
Party in New York — President of the State Ratification Con
vention — Unsuccessful Attempt to defeat hie Re-election — Mis
representation in Regard to his Conduct as a Commissioner of
the Land Office — Tact and Ability as the Manager of a Political
Party — Contest between Clinton and Jay — Canvass of Votes —
Republican Candidate for Vice-President — Declines a Re-elec
tion as Governor — Elected a Member of Assembly — Again
chosen Governor — His Election to the Office of Vice-President —
Re-election — Casting Vote on the Bill to renew the Charter of
the United States Bank — 'Reasons for his Vote — His Death —
Family — Char acter — Anecdotes — Memory.

XVI CONTENTS. PAOK
JOHN JAY  74
Persecution of the Huguenots — Escape of Jay's Ancestors from
France — His Grandfather settles in America — His Father —
Removes into the Country — Birth of John Jay — Early Educa
tion — Enters King's College — Character as a Student — Gradu
ates and studies Law — Anecdote — Admitted to the Bar — Suc
cess in his Profession — His Marriage — Takes the Part of the
Colonists in their Struggle with the Mother Country — Elected
a Delegate to the first Continental Congress — Address to the
People of Great Britain — Extracts — A Member of the Com
mittee of Observation — Commencement of Hostilities — -A Re
dress of Grievances, not Independence, the Object at first sought
to be obtained — Mr. Jay prepares an Address to the People of
Jamaica and Ireland — Appointed a Colonel of Militia — Elected
to the Provincial Congress — The State Constitution drafted by
him — Committee of Safety — Laborious Duties of Mr. Jay —
Address of the Provincial Congress to their Constituents — Ap
pointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New York —
Special Delegate to Congress — Resignation of the Chief Jus
ticeship — Circular Letter to the States — Minister to Spain —
Escape from Shipwreck — Unsuccessful Attempt to conclude
a Treaty — Commissioner to negotiate with Great Britain —
Course of the French Government — Treaty of Peace — Return
of Mr. Jay to the United States — Appointed Secretary for
Foreign Affairs — Opposition to the Confiscation Act — The
Federalist — Chief Justice of the United States — Character as
a Judge — Candidate for Governor of New York — Adverse
Decision of the Canvassers— Special Envoy to England — Treaty
of 1794 — Elected Governor of the State — His Recommenda
tions to the Legislature — Re-election — Independence and In
tegrity as a Politician — Federal Sentiments — Difficulty with
the Council of Appointment — Retires to Private Life — De
clines Re-appointment as Chief Justice — Death of Mrs. Jay —
His Decease — Personal Appearance and Character.

MORGAN LEWIS  132
The Livingston Family — Francis Lewis — His Early Life and
Character — Emigrates to America — Elected a Delegate to
Congress — A Signer of the Declaration a. Independence —
Birth of Morgan Lewis — Education — Elected Captain of a
Volunteer Company in the Provincial Army — The Revolu-

CONTENTS. XVII PAGE
tion — Removal of Arms from the New York Arsenal under
the Guns of the Asia — Appointed a Major in the Second Regi
ment — In the Staff of General Gates— Appointed Quarter
master-general— Campaign of 1777 — Battle of Saratoga — En
gagement with the Indians at Stone Arabia — Close of the
War — Studies Law and admitted to Practice — Elected a Mem
ber of Assembly — Political Preferences — Appointed Attorney
General — One of the Judges of the Supreme Court — Chief
Justice — Elected Governor of the State — Recommends making
some permanent Provision for the Encouragement of Educa
tion — Foundation of the Common School Fund laid — Improve
ment of the Militia — Opposition to Mr. Lewis in the Republican
Party — Candidate for Re-election — His Defeat — Elected State
Senator — Second War with Great Britain — Appointed Quarter
master-general — Promoted to Major General — Campaign un
der Dearborn — Expedition down the St. Lawrence — Placed in
Command at New York — Pecuniary Advances to Prisoners
and Contractors — Remissions of Rents to Tenants serving in
the Army — Honorary Distinctions — His Death — Marriage —
Character.

DANIEL D. TOMPKINS  109
His Father — Family History — Birth — Early Life — Education —
Graduates at Columbia College and commences the Study of
the Law — Admitted to the Bar — His Marriage — Political As
sociations — Elected a Delegate to the Convention of 1801 —
Course in Regard to the Right of Nomination — Chosen a Mem
ber of Congress — Appointed an Associate Justice of the Su
preme Court — His Manner on the Bench — Nominated as the
Republican Candidate for Governor — His Election — Supports
the Measures of Mr. Jefferson — Dissensions in the Republican
Party — The Embargo and Non-Intercourse Laws — Re-election
of Mr. Tompkins — Opponents of De Witt Clinton — Applica
tion for the Charter of the Bank of America — Bribery and
Corruption — Prorogation of the Legislature — Favorable Effect
of the Governor's Course — Support of Mr. Madison — War of
1812 — Position of Governor Tompkins — Patriotic Conduct —
Recommends the most Energetic Measures for carrying on the
"War — Course of the Federalists — Re-election of Tompkins —
Firmness and Patriotism — Defence of the City of New York
provided for — Manly and honorable Conduct of Rufus King and
2

XV111 CONTENTS. PASS
others — The Governor in Command at New York as Major
General — Declines the Office of Secretary of State — War Bills
passed by the Legislature — Treaty of Peace concluded — Im
provement of Inland Navigation recommended by the Gov
ernor — His Popularity in the State and Union — Presidential
Canvass of 1816 — Erroneous Statements of Mr. Hammond —
Meeting of the New York Members — Judge Spencer — Mr.
Tompkins nominated as the Republican Candidate for the Vice-
Presidency — Course of Martin Van Buren and Enos T. Throop —
Re-election of Mr. Tompkins as Governor — Chosen as Vice Presi
dent — Resignation of the Gubernatorial Office — Recommends
entire Abolition of Slavery in the State — Re-elected Vice-Presi
dent — Divisions in the Democratic Party in New York — Mr.
Tompkins again nominated for Governor and defeated — Causes
of his Defeat — His Accounts with the State — Unjust Asper
sions — Member of the Convention of 1821, and President of
that Body — Retires to Private Life — 111 Health — His Death
— FamUy — Character — Anecdote — Personal Appearance — Re
flections.

DE WITT CLINTON  208
General James Clinton — His Character — Revolutionary Ser
vices — Civil Offices filled by him — Death— Birth of De "Witt
Clinton — His Education — Enters Columbia College — Character
as a Student— Commences the Study of the Law — Convention
of 1788 — Chancellor Kent — Appointed Private Secretary to
his Unele— Political Opinions and Preferences — Elected to the
Assembly — State Senator — Member of the Council of Ap
pointment — Dispute in Regard to the Exclusive Right of Nomi
nation — Convention of 1801— Removal of his Political Oppo
nents — Resolutions for amending the United States Constitu
tion — Standing in the Party — Chosen a Senator in Congress —
Course in that Body — Debate on Ross' Resolutions — Speech of
Mr. Clinton — Extracts — Appointed Mayor of New York — Re
signs his Seat in the Senate — Reasons therefor — Elected to the
State Senate — Measures advocated by him — Re-election — Re
moval from the Mayoralty — Course in Regard to the Embargo
Act — Appointed a Commissioner to explore the Canal Route —
Report of the Commissioners — Elected Lieutenant-Governor —
Address on the Iroquois — Extract — Nominated for the Presi
dency — His Political Course — Result of the Election — His

CONTENTS. XIX
PAGE
Character as Mayor— Opposition in the State and National Ad
ministrations—Services during the War of 1812— Final Re
moval from the Office of Mayor— Effect on his Prospects— Me
morial in Favor of the Construction of the Erie and Champlain
Canals— His Agency in furthering this great Enterprise— To
whom belongs the Merit of its Projection— Appointed a Canal
Commissioner— Elected Governor of the State— Difficulties in
the Council— Opposition to a Convention— Re-election— " Green
Bag Message"— Removals from Office— Declines a Renomina-
tion— Removal from the Office' of Canal Commissioner— Public
Sympathy— The People's Party— Again nominated for Gov
ernor—Elected—Completion of the Canals— Celebration— De
clines Mission to England— Western Tour— Re-election— Ab
duction of Morgan— Last Message— His Death— Honors paid
to his Memoiy— His Family— Personal Appearanoe and
Traits— Character as a Citizen— Attainments as a Scholar —
Character as a Politician— Different Opinions.

JOSEPH C. YATES  ;jl9
His Ancestor emigrates to the Colony of New York— The
Yates Family— Distinguished in the Revolution— Chief Justice
Yates— Colonel Yates— Services in the French and Indian War
and the Revolution— His Wife and Children— Birth of Joseph
C. Yates— Education— Difficulties— Studies Law— Admitted to
the Bar— Commences Practice— Success as a Lawyer— One of
the Founders of Union College— First Mayor of Schenectady—
Political Associations and Preferences— Elected to the State
Senate— Appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court-Character
as a Judge-Support of De Witt Clinton for President-Presi
dential Elector- Regent of the University-Constitution ol
1821— Nominated for Governor— Result of the Election— Em
barrassing Position— First Message— Recommendations— Con
test for the Offices— Rejection of his Nominations by the
Senate-Parties in a Republic-The Electoral Bill-Message
of the Governor-Discussions in the Legislature-Resolution
of Postponement-Opposition to his Administration-Personal
Attacks-His Nomination defeated— Proclamation for an Extra
Session-Adjournment of the Legislature-Retires to Private
Life-Participation in Political Affairs-His DeaUr-Family-
Character.

XX CONTENTS;. PAGB
MARTIN VAN BUREN ;  346
His Ancestors — Birth — Education — Early Embarrassments and
Struggles — Enters a Law Office — Practice in Justices' Courts —
Political Opinions and Associations— Admission to the Bar — Pro
fessional Success — Marriage— Death of Mrs. Van Buren — His
Children — Appointed Surrogate — Removal to Hudson — Legal
Studies — Support of Jefferson, Madison, and Tompkins — Oppo
sition to the Bank of the United States and the Bank of Amer
ica — Elected to the State Senate — Supports De "Witt Clinton
for the Presidency — Defence of the War Policy — Answer to the
Governor's Speech — Choice of Clintonian Electors — Republican
Address — War Measures — Speech before the Conference Com
mittee — Classification Law — Opposition to De Witt Clinton —
Speech on his Death — Appointed Attorney General — Removal —
Elected to the Senate of the United States — Delegate to the
Constitutional Convention— Conservative Course — Speech on the
Freehold Qualification — The Appointing Power — Universal Suf
frage — The Judiciary Question — Takes his Seat in the Senate —
Support of Monroe and Crawford — Opposed to the Administra
tion of John Quincy Adams — The Panama Mission — His Speech
— The Colonial Trade — The Tariff Question — State of Parties in
the Union— Support of General Jackson — Reelected to the
Senate — Relations towards De Witt Clinton — His Political Pros
pects and Position — Elected Governor — First Message — The
Safety Fund System — Appointed Secretary of State — His Resig
nation — Minister to England — Rejection — Elected Vice Pres
ident — Character as a Presiding Officer — Elected President-
Inaugural Address — Opposition to Abolitionism — Extra Ses
sion of Congress — The Conservatives — Passage of the Inde
pendent Treasury Bill — Recommendations — Management of the
Foreign Relations — Proposed Annexation of Texas — Civil War
in Canada — Renomination and Defeat — Annexation of Texas —
Support of Mr. Polk — Slavery Question — Nominated for the
Presidency — The Free Soilers — Life and Character — Personal
Appearance — Manners — Oratory — Style as a Writer — Mental
Traits.

ENOS T. THROOP  478
Early History of his Family — Birth and Education — Studies
Law — Residence in Albany — Admitted to Practice — Locates
at Auburn — Political Course and Position — Appointed County

CONTENTS. XXI
PASE
Clerk — Removal from Office and Reappointment — Opposition
to De Witt Clinton — Elected a Member of Congress — Speech
on the Commercial Treaty — The Tariff — Compensation Act —
His Defeat and Resignation — Support of Mr. Monroe — Friend
ship for Governor Tompkins — Removal from the Clerkship-
Appointed Circuit Judge— Character on the Bench — Abduction
of William Morgan — Antimasonry — Sentence of Conspirators —
Elected Lieutenant Governor — Becomes Acting Governor —
Address to the Senate — The Lateral Canals — Financial Policy
of the State — The Chenango Canal — First Annual Message —
Insane Poor — Review of the Financial Condition of the State —
General Fund — -Opposition to Lobby Corps — Elected Governor
— Recommends the Abolition of Imprisonment for Debt —
Views on Borrowing Money — -Dissatisfaction with a Political
Life — The Chenango Canal Interest — Determination to Retire —
The Asiatic Cholera — National Politics — Appointed Naval Offi
cer — Charge d' Affaires to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies —
Final Retirement to Private Life — Agricultural Pursuits —
Style as a Writer — Personal Appearance — Habits and Character.

WILLIAM L. MARCY  546
Ancestors of Governor Marcy — Birth and Education — Enters
Brown University — Character in College — Removes to Troy —
Studies Law and commences Practice — Second War with Great
Britain — Enters the Service as a Volunteer — Affair at St.
Regis — Articles of " Vindex" — Appointed Recorder of Troy —
Political Course— Intimacy with Mr. Van Buren — His Removal
from Office — Opposition to Governor Clinton — Appointed Ad
jutant General — Comptroller — Character as a Financial Officer
Albany Regency — Appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court —
Lockport Trials — Course on the Bench — Chosen a Senator in
Congress — Defence of Mr. Van Buren — Speech on Party Pro
scriptions — The Apportionment Bill— The Tariff Question — In
ternal Improvements — Elected Governor of New York — Finan
cial Views — The Chenango Canal — The Banking Interest —
The Pressure— Loan Law— The Whig Party— Reelection-
Small Bill Law — Abolitionism— Elected for a third Term —
Pressure of 1837— General Banking Law— Independent Treas
ury—Civil War in Canada— Defeat of the Democratic Party-
Appointed Commissioner on Mexican Claims — Divisions in the
Democratic Party — Secretary of War — The War with Mexico —

XX11 CONTENTS. PAGE
Difficulty with Officers — Letter to General Scott — Retirement
to Private Life — Character — Personal Appearance — Mental
Traits — Political Course — Manner as a Speaker — Ability as a
Writer.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD  607
Early History of his Family — Birth and Education — Enters
Union College — Character >as a Student — Address before the
Phi Beta Kappa — Studies Law — Commences Practice at Au
burn — Character as a Lawyer — Forensic Floquence — Success in
his Profession — Trial of Freeman — Political Associations —
Support of Mr. Adams — Eulogy on his Death — Nominated for
Surrogate and rejected — President of Young Men's State Con
vention — Connection with Antimasonry — Elected to the State
Senate — Course in the Legislature — One of the Leaders of
the Opposition Party — Chenango Canal — United States Bank
— Removal of the Deposits — His Speeches — Nullification —
— Opinions in the Court of Errors — Death of Mr. Maynard —
Mr. Seward at the head of the Opposition — The Whig Party —
Nominated for Governor and Defeated — Elected Governor —
First Message — Recommendations — Financial Policy — Course in
regard to Internal Improvements — Anti-Rent Difficulties — Con
troversy with the Authorities of Virginia — New York School
Question — Reelection — Trial of McLeod — Misfortunes of the
"Whigs- — Law of 1 842 — Declines a Renomination — Resumes the
Practice of his Profession — Elected to the United States Sen
ate — Admission of California — The Slavery Question and Mr.
Clay's Compromises — Speech of Mr. Seward — The Higher
Law — French Spoliations — Proposition to abolish Slavery in
the District of Columbia — Personal Appearance — Marriage —
Character of his Mind — Love of Study — Manner as a Speaker
— Addresses — Style — Political Course — Prospects.

WILLIAM C. BOUCK  689
German Palatines — Early Settlement of the Schoharie Valley
— Family of Governor Bouck — Birth and Early Life — Advan
tages in respect of Education — His Character — Becomes an Ac
tive Politician — Town Clerk and Supervisor of his native Town
— Appointed Sheriff of Schoharie — Elected a Member of As
sembly — State Senator — Political Course — Appointed a Canal

CONTENTS. XX1U PAOE
Commissioner — Work on the Western Section of the Erie Canal
— Its Completion — -Other Canals constructed by him — In Favor
of Enlarging the Erie Canal — His Removal from Office— Popu
larity — Nominated for Governor and Defeated — Divisions in the
Democratic Party — Conservatives and Radicals — Law of 1842
— Views of Mr. Bouck — Elected Governor — Embarrassments
of his Administration — Feuds among the Democrats — Opposi
tion of the State Officers — Appointments to Office— Mistaken
Policy — The State Finances and the Canals — His Recommenda
tions — -Opposition to his Renomination — Nomination of Mr.
Wright — Anti-Rent Difficulties — Delegate to the Constitutional
Convention — Appointed Assistant Treasurer — Removal — Re
tirement to Private Life — Hi^ Marriage — Character.

SILAS WRIGHT  722
History of his Family — His Parents — Birth and Early Life —
Youthful Character — Education — Enters Middlebury College —
Teaches School — Politics of his Father — War of 1812 — Com
mences the Study of the Law — Roger Skinner — Admitted
to the Bar — Locates at Canton — Professional Character and
Success — His Popular Manners — Appointed Surrogate — Jus
tice of the Peace and Commissioner of Deeds — Offices in the
Militia^ — Elected to the State Senate — The Electoral Question —
Support of Mr. Crawford—" The Seventeen Senators" — Re
moval of DeWitt Clinton — Defeat of Judge Spencer — Character
and Standing of Mr. Wright in the State Senate — Chosen a
Member of Congress — Report on the Canal and Financial Policy
— His Position — Opposition to Monopolies and Irresponsible
Banks— The Tariff Law of 1828— Reelection— Abolition of
Slavery in the District of Columbia — Appointed Comptroller —
Character as a Financial Officer — Elected United States Senator
— Course as a Politician — The American Senate — His Conduct
and Character — Marriage — Support of Jackson's Administra
tion — Removal of the Deposits — Speech on the New York Reso
lutions — Eloquent Defence of General Jackson — Support of Mr.
Van Buren — The Independent Treasury — Reelection of Mr.
Wright — His Course in Regard to Abolitionism — The Wilmot
Proviso — Fourth of July Oration — Annexation of Texas — Op
position to Whig Measures — Defeat of Mr. Van Buren in the
National Convention — Mr. Wright declines Nomination for the
Vice Presidency — Elected Governor of New York — Financial

XXIV CONTENTS. PASS
Views — Divisions in the Party— His true Policy — The Con
vention Bill — Veto of the Canal Bill — Opposition of the Hunk
ers — The Anti-Rent Difficulties — The Constitutional Convention
— Renomination — His Defeat — Death — Its Cause — Agricultu
ral Address — Appearance and Character.

JOHN YOUNG  793
His Parents — Birth and Education — Difficulties and Embarrass
ments — Commences the Study of the Law — Admitted to Prac
tice — Estabhshes himself at Geneseo — Professional Character
and Success— Political Course — Candidate for County Clerk —
Becomes an Antimason — Elected a Member of the Assembly —
Service in the Legislature — -Chosen a Member of Congress —
Whig Manifesto — Reelected to the Assembly — Prominence of Ida
Position — The Convention Bill— Speeches — Reasons for sup
porting the Convention Bill — The Canal Bill — Views in regard to
the Canal and Financial Policy — Reelection — The War with
Mexico — In favor of Supporting the Country — Remarks in the
Legislature — Divisions among the Whigs — Elected Governor —
His Messages — Proceedings of the Legislature — The Slavery
Question — His Administration — Appointments to Office — Inde
pendent Course — Pardon of the Anti-Renters — Support of Gen
eral Taylor — Friendship for Mr. Clay — Appointed Assistant
Treasurer — The National Whigs— His Political Prospects —
Character — Marriage.
HAMILTON FISH  816
His Family ¦ — Early History — Education — Leaves College —
Commences the Study of the Law — Admitted to Practice — En
gages in Politics — Appointed Commissioner of Deeds— Member
of Assembly — Character as a Legislator — Chosen a Represent
ative in Congress — Service in that Body- — Candidate for Lieu
tenant Governor — Defeated — Elected Lieutenant Governor —
Chosen Governor of the State — His Administration — Moderate
Course — Popularity — The Slavery Question — Extracts from his
Messages — Recommendations — Ineffectual Attempt to elect
him United Siates Senator — Character — Conclusioa

THE GOVERNORS

STATE OF NEW YORK.

GEORGE CLINTON.
American History numbers few more honored names,
among the distinguished men whose merits and virtues
she records, than that of George Clinton. Not for
the possession of extraordinary genius or brilliant pow
ers of oratory, — not for his skill and ability as a sol
dier, — is he thus preferred above so many worthy com
peers ; but for the sterling good sense that characterized
him as a man, his firmness and independence as a
statesman, and that incorruptible patriotism which was
often tried, yet never found wanting. The same rela
tion that Washington sustained to the Union, he bore
to New York : — the one was the Father of his country,
and the other the Pater Patria of his native state.
Each did his duty well ; and when he lay down to die,
2

26 GEORGE CLINTON.
troops of good deeds, like angels, thronged about his
couch, and buoyed him safely up when on the threshold
of another world.
Friendship, with its sympathetic grasp and warm
embrace, may comfort and cheer, — affection, with its
soft, sweet tones quivering with the pulsations of the
throbbing heart, may soften the pillow of the dying,
and relieve many of the pangs and pains of mortal suf
fering ; but, aside from the hope of the Christian, there
is no talisman that can so rob the grim warrior who
unlocks the portals of the tomb, of his power to harm,
as a well-spent life. Warriors and statesmen who turn
aside from the weary pilgrimage of the world, to medi
tate amid the hallowed shades of Mount Vernon, or
beside the sculptured tomb of Clinton, may well afford
to pattern after the lives, and to profit by the examples,
of those to whose memories they pay this brief tribute
of veneration and respect.
The Clinton family is of English origin ; and their
ancestor, William Clinton, from whom they trace their
descent in a direct line, was one of the most devoted
adherents of Charles I. during the imbittered and bloody
strife between him and his subjects. After the unfor
tunate monarch had sacrificed his crown for a punctilio,
and lost his life in defence of the kingly prerogative,
Clinton, who then held a commission in the royal army,
fled to the continent to escape from the fury of Crom
well and his troopers, who were busily hunting down

FAMILY HISTORY. 27
every cavalier that continued faithful to the fortunes
of the house of Stuart. He remained for a long period
in exile, — spending his time partly in France, and partly
in Spain. He ultimately returned to Scotland, how
ever, where he married a lady by the name of Kennedy.
His personal safety being jeoparded, in consequence
of his loyalist principles, he crossed over to the north
of Ireland, where he subsequently died, leaving behind
him an orphan son, by the name of James, who was
only two years of age.
When James attained his majority, he went to Eng
land, to attempt the recovery of his ancestral patrimony,
of which his father had been deprived, and which he
had been unable to recover during his lifetime. Charles
II. was now firmly seated on the throne of his ancestors,
but the claim appears to have been barred by a limita
tion in an act of parliament. Though disappointed in
one suit, young Clinton pressed another with complete
success. The family chronicles do not inform us that
he had become republicanized in his notions; but,
though all danger of the popular fury had long since
passed away, he thought proper to cool the loyalist
ardor which he might have inherited, by an infusion of
Puritanism; and when he returned to Ireland, he was
accompanied by his new wife, Elizabeth Smith, the
daughter of a captain in the quondam army of the Lord
Protector. After his marriage, James Clinton settled perma
nently in the county of Longford, where his son Charles

28 GEORGE CLINTON.
was born, in the year 1690. On arriving at man's es
tate, the latter married a Miss Elizabeth Denniston ;
and in the spring of 1729, having become satisfied that
the incentives to industry and enterprise were greater
in the new world than in the old, and that personal
freedom was not subject to so many irksome restric
tions, he resolved to emigrate to America with a num
ber of his friends and neighbors, who shared in his feel
ings and concurred with him in opinion. Late in the
month of May, the party of colonists, ninety-four in
number, embarked from their emerald home, to ex
change its comparative comforts and luxuries for a life
in the western wilderness. The family of Clinton con
sisted of himself and wife, two daughters and one son.
Among the immigrants was Alexander Denniston, his
brother-in-law. A sufficient stock of provisions was laid in for an or
dinary passage to New York ; but it soon became evi
dent that the captain was protracting the voyage un
necessarily, upon one pretence or another, in the
expectation, either that he would be liberally paid by
the passengers, or that if they were starved to death,
he might possess himself of their property without
being questioned in regard to the right so to do. Daily
he grew more arrogant, and the condition of the immi
grants became worse. Disease and death began to
appear among them, and Clinton was deprived both of
his son and a daughter. The crew and passengers
were several times on the point of rising against the

EMIGRATION TO AMERICA. 29
captain, and taking possession of the vessel. The party
of immigrants regarded Clinton as their leader and head
in any emergency, inasmuch as he had enjoyed greater
advantages of education than his friends ; but he dis
suaded them from engaging in any act of mutiny unless
all the subordinate officers of the ship would unite with
them. His prudent and pacific counsels were regarded ;
and, at length, the captain was induced by the offer of
a large sum of money, to expedite the speed of his
vessel. After a tedious passage of nearly five months' dura
tion, the ship finally arrived off Cape Cod in October,
where the immigrants landed. The season being now
so far advanced, they remained here till the following
spring (1730), when they removed to Ulster county,
in the then colony of New York.* Clinton, and his
two friends, Alexander Denniston and John Young,
bought three farms adjoining each other, in the virgin
wilderness at the foot of the Highlands ; and, mindful of
the father-land, that still claimed a portion of their af
fections, and to whose sovereign their faith and alle
giance were yet due, they named the small and harmo
nious settlement which they founded, Little Britain.
At that time, it formed a part of Ulster county, but
with other territory, was subsequently annexed to the
county of Orange.
* Dr. Hosack, in his Memoir of Dewitt Clinton (p. 23), fixes the date
of the removal to New York in 1731 ; but this is obviously an error.
(See Journal of Joseph Young, in the Appendix to the Memoir, p. 139.)

30 GEORGE CLINTON.
In this secluded retreat, surrounded by the hardy
yeomanry whose descendants, at a subsequent day,
contributed so essentially to the achievement of Ameri
can independence, Charles Clinton occupied himself in
the care of his limited fortune, the cultivation of his
farm, the instruction of his children, and the discharge
of the various public duties devolved upon him by the
partiality of the colonial authorities or his fellow-citi
zens. Being a good mathematical scholar, he was
frequently employed by his neighbors as a surveyor.
Shortly after his arrival and settlement in the colony,
he was appointed a justice of the peace and a judge of
the common pleas of Ulster county. In 1756, he was
commissioned by Governor Sir Charles Hardy, as a
lieutenant-colonel of militia, and in the summer of 1758,
accompanied Colonel Bradstreet, at the head of his
regiment, in which two of his sons were officers, in the
bold, rapid, and successful movement on Fort Fronte-
nac* Repeated offers of advancement in a civil or
military career, were made to him by the British gov
ernors, but the tempting allurements of rank and station
were not powerful enough to wean him from the life
of quiet and ease which he so much preferred ; and
considerations of duty to his adopted country alone
induced him to accept the official trusts bestowed upon
* Previous to this time he had been stationed with his regiment in
the valley of the Mohawk. He constructed the fort at German Flats,
which was afterwards repaired and called Fort Herkimer.

HIS FATHER. 31
him, which were received without solicitation, and
surrendered without regret.
Happy in the enjoyment of a respectable competence,
and the possession of attached friends and a devoted
family, his life glided smoothly on down the current of
time. The education of his children was a subject of
particular interest to him, and he was ardently desirous
to fit them for stations of usefulness. He superintended
their instruction himself, and was assisted in his ' labor
of love' by the Rev. Daniel Thain, who had been edu
cated at the University of Aberdeen. Having attained
a good old age, respected and revered by all who knew
him, for his intelligence, his usefulness as a citizen, and
his manifold private virtues, he died at his residence,
in peace, on the 19th day of November, 1773, just on
the eve of the struggle which severed the political ties
between the land of his fathers, and the home of his
adoption. By those who knew him personally, he is
described as a man of commanding presence, tall in
stature, easy and courteous, yet dignified in his manners,
and kind and generous in disposition. He foresaw the
contest with the mother country, and both by precept
and example encouraged his fellow-citizens and his
children in their opposition to her usurpations. He
was a warm friend, an affectionate husband and father,
a true patriot, and a sincere Christian.
" His wife," says Mr. Campbell, in his Sketch of the
Clinton family, " was an accomplished and intelligent
woman. She appears to have been well acquainted

32 GEORGE CLINTON.
with the military operations of the times, and to have
shared largely in the patriotic ardor of her husband
and her sons. She died at the residence of her son
James, on the 25th of December, 1779, in the 75th
year of her age."*
They had one daughter, Catharine, born in Ireland,
and four sons after their arrival in this country, who
reached man's estate. The former died before her
father, but was married to Colonel James M'Claughry,
afterwards an officer of skill and merit in the revolu
tionary army. Of the sons, Alexander, the eldest,
graduated at Princeton and became a physician ;
Charles also studied medicine, and, in the capacity of
a surgeon, was present at the taking of Havana in 1762,
after which he returned to Ulster county where he
practiced his profession ; James, the third son, was a
soldier from his youth up, and became justly distin
guished for his services as a general officer in the war
of the revolution ; and George, the youngest, is the
subject of this sketch.
George Clinton was born at his father's residence,
on the 26th day of July, 1739, and was probably named
after Admiral George Clinton, son of the Earl of Lin
coln, and who was subsequently colonial governor of
New York, from 1743 to 1753.f He was a youth of
* Life and Writings of Dewitt Clinton, p. 14.
f It is said, I know not with how much truth, that the Clinton family
were remotely connected with that to which Admiral George and his
son Sir Henry belonged.

EARLY LIFE. 33
quick parts, and early discovering great natural shrewd
ness, with a corresponding decision and force of char
acter, he was destined by his father for the legal pro
fession. He was by no means averse to study, yet it
would seem that, even in early life, he was of an active
and enterprising spirit, and not disinclined occasion
ally to lay aside his books and incur the hazards and
chances of war. Soon after the commencement of
the second contest with the French and their Indian
allies, in 1755, he left home clandestinely, and entered
on board a privateer which sailed from the port of
New York. After encountering a great many hard
ships and perils, which do not appear to have tamed
his spirit or cooled his ardor, he returned in time to
accept a subaltern's commission under his brother
James, who commanded a company in the regiment
of their father. He accompanied the Expedition
against Fort Frontenac, and with his brother, at the
head of their company, performed an act of gallant
daring in the capture of one of the enemy's vessels.
Hostilities having terminated, he entered the office
of William Smith, the Chief Justice and historian of
the colony, at that time one of the most eminent prac
titioners in the city of New York. In due time he
was admitted to the bar, and commenced the practice
of his profession in his native county, where, for sev
eral years, he held the office of clerk of the common
pleas. His prospects of success were highly flatter
ing, and the emoluments of his professional calling
3

34

GEORGE CLINTON.

soon equalled his most sanguine expectations. To
straightforward common sense, and an accurate knowl
edge of human nature, he united those qualities of the
heart, that frankness of disposition, and that kindness
and suavity of manner, which are pretty sure to at
tach to the fortunate possessor hosts of warm and de
voted friends ; and few young men ever acquired a
greater share of personal popularity, at so early a
period in life.
In the month of October, 1765, the delegates of the
colonies assembled at New York to take into consid
eration the measures rendered necessary by the pasr
sage of the Stamp Act. The repeal of the obnoxious
law in the following year quieted for the time the ex
citement which had been produced ; but the fires of
revolution had been smothered only, and were not sub
dued. Young Clinton now entered the colonial legis
lature as a member from the county in which he re
sided, and was continued in that capacity till his
subsequent election to the continental congress. Prom
inent among his associates was Philip Schuyler, who
with him battled manfully against the loyalist ma
jority in the assembly. Schuyler and Clinton were
the recognized leaders of the minority — the Pym and
the Hampden of that colonial parliament, to whose
exertions was chiefly owing the early and decided re
sistance of the province to the aggressions of Great
Britain. It can detract nothing from the sterling merit, noth-

INLFUENCE IN THE COLONIAL ASSEMBLY. 35
ing from the unquestionable patriotism of Schuyler, to
say that Clinton exercised the most influence in the
body of which they were members. As Clarendon
remarks of the distinguished leader of the popular
party in the Long Parliament, " His power and in
terest at that time were greater to do good or hurl
than any man's in the kingdom ; * * * for his reputa
tion of honesty was universal, and his affections
seemed so publicly guided, that no corrupt or private
ends could bias them. * * * * He was, indeed, a very
wise man and of great parts, and possessed with the
jnost absolute spirit of popularity, and the most abso
lute faculties to govern the people, of any man I ever
knew."* As the period approached when it became certain
that a redress of grievances could not be obtained by
the colonies without a resort to arms — the ultima
ratio of subjects as well as of kings— Clinton, and his
friends and associates, took a more decided stand. It
did not require the dying admonition of his father,
who, with his latest breath, conjured his sons " to stand
by the liberties of America," to arouse his patriotism
or quicken his zeal. Personal considerations there
were, which, had his heart been less firm and his prin
ciples less fixed, might have swerved him from the
cause of the right. His friend and legal preceptor,
after wavering and hesitating for a long time, finally
took part with the crown; official honors that might
* History of the Rebellion.

36 *¦ GEORGE CLINTON.
have dazzled many an aspirant to fame would have
been gladly heaped upon him by the colonial author
ities, had he but signified his adhesion to the loyalist
party ; and shortly after the contest commenced, the
son of his father's friend, Sir Henry Clinton, was en
trusted with a high command in the royal army. It
was not too late even then to retract ; but where he
had cast his lot he preferred to remain, not from ne
cessity but from choice. With Jay and Livingston,
Yates and Lansing, Hobart, Duane, Scott, M'Dougal,
Morris, Hamilton and Duer, he continued true and
steadfast to the last. With them he associated in$
council, with them he perilled life and fortune'; and
although differences in regard to questions of public
policy ultimately sprang up between them, the friend
ships formed amid the trying scenes of the Revolution
were never obliterated.
On the 22d day of April, 1775, Mr. Clinton was
elected one of the delegates to the second continental
congress, by the provincial convention or congress
which met at New York. He took his seat on the
1 5th of May following. In the body to which he was
now transferred, he advocated all the warlike measures
that were adopted, and in the following year was pres
ent and voted for the Declaration of Independence.
In consequence, however, of the invasion of New
York, and the internal strife and dissensions occasioned
by the loyalists, he hastened home to assume the com
mand of the militia of Ulster county — he having been

ELECTED GOVERNOR. 37
appointed a general of brigade — and to assist in the
preparations for defence then being made ; from which
cause he was absent at the time that instrument was
regularly signed.
The national declaration was approved by the New
York provincial congress, then in session at White
Plains, on the 9th of July, 1776 ; and on the ensuing
day that body formally assumed the title of " The Con
vention of the Representatives of the State of New
York." In accordance with the recommendations of
the Continental Congress, measures were soon taken
for the formation of a State Constitution. A conven
tion was held for that purpose in April, 1777 ; and on
the 20th instant, a constitution drafted by John Jay,
one of the members of a committee previously selected
to perform the task, was duly adopted. Under this
constitution, in the month of June following, George
Clinton was elected, with great unanimity, both as
governor and lieutenant-governor. Having accepted
the former office, the duties of the latter were per
formed by Pierre Van Cortlandt. Robert R. Living
ston was appointed by the convention, chancellor of
the state ; John Jay, Chief Justice, and Robert Yates
and John Sloss Hobart, Associate Justices, of the Su
preme Court ; John Morin Scott, Secretary of State ;
Egbert Benson, Attorney-general ; and Comfort Sands,
Auditor-general. In the position of affairs at this crisis, it may truly
be said, that Governor Clinton entered on the perform-

38 GEORGE CLINTON.
ance of the duties of his high office under circum
stances of great embarrassment. It is well known that
a very large proportion of the population of the state
were either open and avowed loyalists, or at heart un
friendly or indisposed to the cause of independence.
" Of all the colonies," says the son and biographer of
Mr. Jay, " New York was probably the least unani
mous in the assertion and defence of the principles of
the revolution. In almost every county there were
many who openly sided with the mother country, and
still more who secretly wished her success, and impa
tiently waited for the moment when they might, with
out personal danger, claim the reward of loyalty. The
spirit of disaffection was most extensive on Long
Island, and had probably tainted a large majority of
its inhabitants. In Queens county, in particular, the
people had, by a formal vote, refused to send repre
sentatives to the colonial Congress or Convention, and
had declared themselves neutral in the present crisis."*
Availing themselves of the prevailing spirit of dis
affection, the British officers who conducted the military
operations against the revolted colonies, turned their
whole power, during the campaigns of '76 and '77,
against the state of New York. It was designed to
establish a chain of communication, or line of posts
and fortifications, from Sandy Hook to the St. Law
rence ; and thus cut off New England, the hot-bed of
sedition and rebellion, from the support of the southern
* life of John Jay, voL i. p. 41.

NEW YORK DURING THE REVOLUTION. 39
provinces. Indeed, throughout the whole period of
the revolution, this was a prominent object of the
royal commanders ; or, at least, it was never aban
doned until the treason of Arnold had failed to secure
the key of the Hudson. Meanwhile, then, New York,
with the assistance generously contributed by her sister
colonies, but no more than her due, was not only
defending her borders from the murderous forays of
Indians and Tories, but fighting the battles of New
England. Her whole seaboard was in possession of
the enemy, and her western and northern frontiers girt
by a cordon of merciless and infuriated savages,
' More fell than tigers on the Libyan plain."
All the settlements in the interior of New York,
comprised within a line extending westwardly from
the Sacondaga to the rich alluvial flats at the con
fluence of West Canada creek and the Mohawk, —
thence south along the valley of the Unadilla and
eastwardly to the Kaatskill mountains, — were con
stantly agitated by scenes of bloodshed, devastation,
and murder. Of the whole white population, full
one third, consisting mainly of the Scotch and English
settlers, were zealous and active loyalists; another
third were either butchered, or driven from the country
by the savages ; and among the remainder, when the
horrors of that protracted war were ended, there were
more than three hundred widows and two thousand
orphans. Tryon county might well be called the

40 GEORGE CLINTON.
Aceldama of the revolution; for though greater
battles, in which superior numbers were engaged, may
have been fought on other fields, " in no other section
of the confederacy were so many campaigns per
formed, so many battles fought, so many dwellings
burnt, or so many murders committed." *
There was scarce a whig family in this whole
district but mourned the loss of its nearest and dearest
relatives. Not a few were deprived of every male
member ; and some, from the gray-haired sire to the
infant smiling on its mother's breast, were totally
annihilated. The matron saw her son go forth at
early dawn, in the pride of his manly strength, — but
he never returned. The husband and father fell dead
upon his threshold, mingling his life-blood with that
of the feeble and tender ones who had looked to him
in vain for protection. Truly, those were times of
fearful peril and anxiety, and none felt it more keenly
than that feeble band, who formed a living breastwork
against the avalanche of dark warriors rolling down
from the north; when woman, weak and timid though
she was, sometimes forgot the kindlier graces and
gentler attributes of her nature, — in one moment lis
tening with swelling bosom and trembling lips to the
soft tale of love, and in the next, steeling her heart
with a high courage, in defence of those for whom she
was ready to peril everything but honor.
In view of these undisputed facts staring the histor-
* Stone's Life of Brant, vol. ii. p. 236.

THE WHIGS OF NEW YORK. 41
ical reader in the face, how ungenerous is the sneer,
how unworthy the charge of a New England writer,*
that New York was slack and remiss in her duty, —
that she did not furnish her quota of troops, when
nearly one half of the whig population were waging
an unceasing warfare in defence of their firesides, of
their wives and their children! What though the
disproportion between the whigs and loyalists had been
still greater, — should this detract, in aught, from the
determined stand, and the praiseworthy conduct, of
those who made common cause with their brethren in
the other colonies, though suffering far less from the
evils of which the latter complained ? What if nine
tenths of the inhabitants had welcomed Tryon and
Howe with open arms — all honor, still, to Clinton and
Jay, and their noble compeers, who could not be se
duced from the high purpose they had sworn to ac
complish, by the allurements of royal favor, and who
never " despaired of the republic," when the land was
shrouded in darkness and gloom.
During the latter part of the year 1776, General
George Clinton had occupied the passes and forts in
the Highlands with a considerable militia force, in
order to prevent the British from ascending the river.
In the spring of 1777, at the request of the state, the
national Congress decided to select a commander of
the posts in that quarter. This appointment, with the
rank of a brigadier general in the continental service,
* Sabine's American Loyalists, pp. 17, 18.

42 GEORGE CLINTON.
was accordingly conferred upon him; and it need
scarcely be added, that all its duties were discharged
faithfully and with promptitude.
The first republican legislature of New York met at
Kingston, on the 1st day of September, 1777. Owing
to the distracted state of the country, a quorum of the
members did not arrive till the 10th instant; when
Governor Clinton delivered, orally, his first official
address. It was brief, but pertinent, and, of course,
almost entirely occupied with the engrossing subject
of the war. At this time, it will be recollected,
General Burgoyne had advanced from the north, at
the head of a numerous and well-appointed body of
troops, almost to within striking distance of Albany,
at which point he hoped to effect a junction with the
southern army. It, therefore, became highly important
to the success of this project, that the British then in
possession of the city should secure the posts in the
Highlands, and thus obtain the command of the river.
The absence of Washington at the south with the
great body of the continental army seemed to favor
the contemplated movement ; and on the arrival of the
reinforcements which had been for some time expected,
Sir Henry Clinton, the officer in command at New
York, made immediate preparations for the ascent of
the river.
On the 4th day of October he landed at Tarry town
with over three thousand men,— designing to mask the
enterprise he had in view by threatening an attack

ATTACK ON THE HIGHLANDS. 43
upon Peekskill, at which place lay General Putnam
with one thousand continental troops. Intelligence of
the enemy's movements was immediately communi
cated to Governor Clinton by express, who forthwith
prorogued the legislature, and hastened to the defence
of the posts, where his brother General James Clinton
had^been left in command with but about six hundred
militia. These were -Forts Clinton and Montgomery.
on the west side of the river, opposite the lower
Anthony's nose. The two fortifications were sepa
rated from each other by a narrow stream, emptying
into the Hudson ; and, if completed, would have been
almost impregnable. But, although they were still in
an unfinished state, they commanded the passage of
the river, the channel of which was obstructed by
chevauz-de-frise, a boom and chains.
" In the meantime," says the account of this attack
in the American Biographical Dictionary, " the British
troops were secretly conveyed across the river, and
assaults on our forts were meditated to be made on the
6th, which were accordingly put in execution, by at
tacking the American advanced party at Doodletown,
about two miles and a half from Fort Montgomery.
The Americans received the fire of the British, and
retreated to Fort Clinton. The enemy then advanced
to the west side of the mountain, in order to attack
our troops in the rear. Governor Clinton immediately
ordered out a detachment of one hundred men towards
Doodletown, and another of sixty, with a brass field-

44 GEORGE CLINTON.

piece, to an eligible spot on another road. They were
both soon attacked by the whole force of the enemy,
and compelled to fall back. It has been remarked,
that the talents, as well as the temper of a commander,
are put to as severe a test in conducting a retreat, as
in achieving a victory. The truth of this Governor
Clinton experienced, when, with great bravery and the
most perfect order, he retired till he reached the fort.
He lost no time in placing his men in the best manner
that circumstances would permit. His post [Fort
Montgomery], however, as well as Fort Clinton, in a
few minutes were invaded on every side. In the
midst of this disheartening and appalling disaster, he
was summoned, when the sun was only an hour high,
to surrender in five minutes ; but his gallant spirit re
fused to obey the call. In a short time after, the
British made a general and most desperate attack on
both posts, which was received by the Americans with
undismayed courage and resistance. Officers and
men, militia and continentals, all behaved alike brave.
An incessant fire was kept up till dark, when our
troops were overpowered by numbers, who forced the
lines and redoubts at both posts. Many of the Ameri
cans fought their way out. Others accidentally mixed
with the enemy, and thus made their escape effec
tually ; for, besides being favored by the darkness of
the night, they knew the various avenues in the
mountains." From two o'clock until dark, this unequal contest

ESCAPE FROM THE ENEMY. 45
was maintained by the two Clintons — the Governor
commanding at Fort Montgomery and James at Fort
Clinton — with the mere handful of men under their
command. Repeatedly during the assault, the Gover
nor was urged by his brother to make his escape, as it
would be highly injurious to the patriot cause to have
him taken prisoner. The former refused to leave,
however, insisting that they could maintain the posts
till nightfall, when he would take his chance with the
rest. Both therefore remained until dark, when the
enemy saw by the flashing of the American pieces,
that the lines were not more than half manned in
consequence of the small number of troops in the
forts ; whereupon, the assault was successfully made.
By mingling with the victors, the Clintons made their
escape. George managed to cross the river in a boat,
and James, though severely wounded, took advantage
of a favorable opportunity, amid the confusion, and
gave spurs to his horse. Being pursued, he eluded
those who were upon his track by slipping the bridle
from his horse, and letting himself from shrub to shrub,
down a steep precipice one hundred feet high. Pro
ceeding up the gorge at the foot of the precipice, to
the mountains, he found a horse in the morning, upon
which he reached his house, about sixteen miles distant
from the forts, almost exhausted by fatigue and the loss
of blood.
Among the prisoners taken by the enemy was
Colonel M'Claughry, the brother-in-law of the Clintons,

46 GEORGE CLINTON.
who was brought before the British general. On
seeing him, Sir Henry instantly inquired — "Where
is my friend, George?" "Thank God!" replied
M'Claughry, " he is safe, and beyond the reach of
your friendship !"
No permanent advantage resulted to the British
from their success on this occasion. While Sir Henry
Clinton was occupying the entrance to the Highlands,
Burgoyne and his proud army sustained a severe
defeat on the heights of Saratoga, and a few days later
the campaign in that quarter terminated, gloriously for
the American arms, and fortunately for the cause,
in the surrender of himself and his whole command,
to the victorious Gates. Disappointed and chagrined
at this result, Sir Henry Clinton was obliged to content
himself with dismantling the forts he had captured,
and removing the obstructions in the river ; and on the
approach of the winter season, the British again fell
back within their lines in the neighborhood of New
York. The successful attempt of Sir Henry Clinton on the
American forts at the entrance of the Highlands,
demonstrated the importance of providing in a more
effectual manner for the defence of the river. Gover
nor Clinton immediately urged the subject upon the
attention of Congress, and in the winter of 1778, the
site of Fort Putnam, at West Point, was selected by
the veteran general, in whose honor it was named, and
the ground broken under his direction. By dint of

DIFFICULT. !f WITH VERMONT. 47
great personal exertion, and through his extensive
popularity among the inhabitants of the adjacent
country, Governor Clinton procured most of the
materials used in the construction of the work.
During the continuance of the war, the governor,
and the legislature of the state, when in session, were
mainly occupied in providing for the public defence
and security. This was the all-engrossing subject,
with which almost every measure of legislation was
directly or indirectly connected ; and the time of the
Executive was fully employed in carrying their enact
ments into effect, and in the discharge of his duties as
commander-in-chief of the militia. The protracted
dicpute in regard to the north-eastern boundary line of
New York, which, for a period of twenty-six years,
occasioned a great deal of strife and bitterness of
feeling, between the citizens and the inhabitants living
on the Hampshire Grants, who, in 1777, had organized
themselves into the separate state of Vermont, was not
entirely lost sight of by her authorities. As in duty
bound, Governor Clinton repeatedly laid the subject
before the legislature for their consideration ; but the
more important topics demanding attention, forbade any
definite action upon it until after the close of the war.
The controversy was then continued for several years,
in the same spirit as before, but conciliatory counsels
ultimately prevailed ; Vermont paid a certain sum of
money to New York, in consideration of the release
of the claim maintained by the latter, and was duly

48 GEORGE CLINTON.
admitted into the union as a sovereign state, in the
year 1791.
In 1780, Governor Clinton was re-elected, with the
same unanimity that had characterized his original se
lection as the chief magistrate of the state. His
unquestioned patriotism and his strenuous efforts in the
cause of American Independence, united in his favor
the good wishes of the entire whig population of the
state ; and no one thought seriously of bringing forward
a candidate, in opposition to an officer who had served
them so faithfully.
British statesmen were at length forced to admit,
what they had hitherto affected to doubt, that the sub
jugation of the colonies was a hopeless attempt. All
their projects had been frustrated — all their plans com
pletely foiled — and a pacification was now as desirable
to them, as to those who had rallied around the revolu
tionary standard amidst storm and darkness, and upheld
it triumphantly through perils and hardships from
which they anxiously desired to be relieved, but only
when the prize for which they aimed had been secured.
Peace and quiet were once more restored ; and the
young state of New York, freed from the incubus of
tyrannical oppression which had so long weighed down
the energies of the American Colonies, under the lead
and direction of her distinguished men, — of her Clin
tons and Livingstons, her Jays and her Hamiltons, —
advanced with rapid strides upon the high and pros
perous career that opened before her.

RE-ELECTED GOVERNOR. 49
Side by side with Washington, George Clinton en
tered the city of New York, on its evacuation by the
British, at the head of the civil and military procession
which threaded its streets on that memorable 25th of
November, 1783, with banners floating proudly in
triumph, and drums and trumpets echoing back the
joyous shouts of those who came to welcome them.
Previous to this event, and in the same year, Mr.
Clinton had been again selected as the chief magistrate
of the state for another period of three years ; and by
repeated re-elections, he was continued in that high
office until 1795.
Prominent among the subjects which Governor
Clinton recommended to the consideration of the state
legislature, after the termination of hostilities, and the
restoration of tranquillity, were those of education and
internal improvements. In pursuance of his recom
mendations, the board of regents of the university was
established by an act passed in 1784 ; in 1789, lands
were set apart in the new townships for the promotion
of literature and the support of common schools ; and
in 1795, a law was enacted appropriating the sum of
fifty thousand dollars annually, for five years, for the
support of common schools.
With the valuable suggestions contained in his ad
dresses to the legislature, from year to year, in regard
to fostering the cause of education, then in its infancy
and especially in need of encouragement from the
state authorities, were connected many cogent argu-
4

50 GEORGE CLINTON.
ments in favor of constructing works of internal im
provement, with a view of developing the resources
of New York— at this early period already affording
the glorious promise of that brilliant destiny which is
now being fulfilled— and opening the virgin wilderness
in the interior, whose soil has since then nourished so
many abundant harvests, to the enterprising and in
dustrious settler. In the campaign of 1758, he had
accompanied Bradstreet by way of the Mohawk,
Wood Creek, Oneida Lake, and the Oswego River,
to Lake Ontario. Subsequently, during the suspension
of hostilities in the summer of 1783, in company with
General Washington, he had visited the battle-fields
at Saratoga, and passed up the valley of the Mohawk
to Fort Schuyler. These repeated visits to this
section of the state had not only made him acquainted
with the agricultural capacity of the interior, but had
convinced him of the rare facilities afforded for inter
nal water communication.
In his annual, speech to the legislature, delivered on
the 5th day of January, 1791, he recommended the
organization of a society for the promotion of agri
culture, arts, and manufactures ; which suggestion was
approved by the legislature, and an act passed in ac
cordance therewith. With respect to internal im
provements he held the following language, which is
of particular interest, as being the first executive
recommendation in relation to a subject now regarded
of paramount importance : — " Our frontier settlements,"

INLAND NAVIGATION RECOMMENDED. 51
said he, "freed from apprehensions of danger, are
rapidly increasing, and must soon yield extensive
resources for profitable commerce ; this consideration
forcibly recommends the policy of continuing to facili
tate the means of communication with them, as well
to strengthen the bands of society as to prevent the
produce of those fertile districts from being diverted
to other markets." In accordance with the recom
mendations of the governor, an act was passed " con
cerning roads and inland navigation," directing the
Commissioners of the Land Office, to cause the lands
between the Mohawk and Wood Creek, in Herkimer
county, and between the Hudson River and Wood
Creek, in Washington county, to be explored, and
estimates made of the probable expense of construc
ting canals between those points.
At the ensuing session of the legislature, in the
winter of 1792, the Commissioners made their report,
in communicating which the governor remarked, that
the practicability of effecting the desired object at a
very moderate expense, had been ascertained ; and he
trusted, that a measure so interesting to the community
would continue to command the attention due to its
importance, and especially as the resources of the
state would prove adequate to those and other useful
improvements without the aid of taxes. Acts were
now passed providing for the formation of two com
panies—the Northern and the Western Inland Lock
Navigation Companies— to improve the navigation of

52 GEORGE CLINTON.
the Hudson and Mohawk, and to connect the Oneida
and Ontario lakes with the latter, and Lake Champlain
with the former. Furthermore, the state agreed to
become a subscriber to the capital stock of the two
companies, and as an additional encouragement, to
present them with a free gift, or bonus, of several
thousand pounds, whenever ^heir expenditures had
amounted to a certain sum.
In his annual address on the 7th of January, 1794,
the governor again referred to the subject, in the
following terms : — " The Northern and Western Com
panies of Inland Lock Navigation, having, agreeably
to law, produced authentic accounts of their expen
ditures, I have given the necessary certificates to
entitle them to receive from the treasury the sum of
ten thousand pounds, as a free gift on the part of this
state towards the prosecution of those interesting
objects. Although the care of improving and opening
these navigations be committed to private companies,
they will require, and no doubt from time to time
receive, from the legislature, every fostering aid and
patronage commensurate to the great public advan
tages which must result from the improvement of the
means of intercourse."*
Such were the germs — such the feeble beginning —
under the auspices of George Clinton, of that mighty
system of inland water communication, afterwards
* The Western Company did not complete their works until 1797.
In 1820, they were transferred to the state.

DIVISION OF PARTIES. 53
carried out and completed by the genius and perse
verance of his illustrious nephew, which has contrib
uted so much to the growth and prosperity of New
York, and to the substantial welfare and advantage of
her enterprising citizens. To the sagacity and foresight
of our first governor, we are much indebted, therefore,
for the early efforts in the cause of internal improve
ment, although they were not immediately productive
of any very beneficial results. Indeed every measure
proposed while he was at the head of the state ad
ministration, that appeared calculated to advance the
interests or promote the happiness of his fellow-
citizens, always received his cordial approbation and
support. During the revolution there may be said to have
been but one political party among the whig colonists ;
and it is usual to refer to the adoption of the federal
constitution as the question upon which the first great
division of parties took place. Parties did exist,
however, in some or all of the states, previous to the
agitation of that subject, though the distinction be
tween them was not strictly made nor clearly defined
until after the adjournment of the federal convention.
When the confiscation act of 1779 was passed by the
legislature of New York, it encountered the opposition
of a large and respectable minority of the whigs, who
notwithstanding, were equally attached with the
majority to the great cause in which they had em
barked together. On the one side it was said that it

54 GEORGE CLINTON.
was but just and proper that they should show some
degree of lenity to the loyalists, who were probably as
sincere in their opinions as those who differed from
them ; and that, by adopting a generous and magnani
mous course, those who had left the country might be
induced to return when hostilities had ceased. On the
other hand it was contended, that the law of necessity,
and the law of revolution, so to speak, gave them the
undoubted right to confiscate the property of every
adherent of the crown, and those who suffered from
the operation of this revolutionary right, must look
to the government to which they acknowledged al
legiance for redress ; and further, that it was not de
sirable to have enemies to their independence return
among them. The opponents of the confiscation act
and other similar measures were styled moderate whigs,
and the majority were called ultra whigs. The former,
as a general rule, became federalists, — and the latter
anti-federalists or republicans. Hamilton, Jay, Schuy
ler, and the Livingstons, were the principal men among
the moderate whigs, while their opponents were headed
by George Clinton, Robert Yates, and John Lansing,
Jun. The Livingstons ultimately changed sides, and
attached themselves to the republican party..
Another measure, agitated for several years in suc
cession in one form or another, contributed largely to
the first organization of political parties in the state of
New York. In the year 1781, an act was passed by
the legislature, in accordance with the recommendation

SURRENDER OF THE REVENUE. 55
of the Congress of the Confederation, granting to the
United States the import duties accruing at the port
of New York, to be levied and collected " under such
penalties and regulations, and by such officers, as Con
gress should from time to time make, order, and ap
point." This act was not cordially approved by Gov
ernor Clinton and his friends, and subsequently they
took a decided stand in opposition to the surrender of
the revenue ; alleging, in support of their position, that
the state, as an independent sovereignty, had associated
with the other colonies only for the purpose of mutual
assistance and protection, and that she ought not to
give up this source of wealth to the nation at large.
At their instance, therefore, the act was repealed in
March, 1783, and a new one passed, granting the du
ties to the United States, but directing their collection
to be made by officers appointed by the state. The
act of 1783 was subsequently amended so as to render
the collectors amenable to and removable by, the au
thorities of the United States. By this time parties
had been formed in regard to this measure, though
personal relations were not yet affected to any great
extent by these divisions. It had now become quite
evident, however, that Governor Clinton and his friends
would not be favorably disposed to the formation of a
strong federal government, and its advocates conceived
the idea of bringing forward a candidate in opposition
to him. Mr. Jay was solicited by General Schuyler
to allow the use of his name for that purpose, in the

56 GEORGE CLINTON.
summer of 1785, but declined to do so. On this ac
count, and as it was pretty well ascertained that Gov
ernor Clinton would receive the support, from personal
considerations, of a large portion of those who dis
agreed with him in relation to the confiscation act and
the surrender of the revenue, no further effort was
made to prevent his re-election, as we shall see, until
the year 1789.
In 1786, another law in regard to the revenue was
enacted, under which the revenue was granted to
Congress, but the. state reserved "the sole power of
levying and collecting the duties." Congress treated
this law as a nullity, and passed a resolution request
ing Governor Clinton to convene the legislature for an
extra session, in order that the subject might be again
submitted to their consideration. With that sturdy
determination eminently characteristic of the man, he
refused to call the legislature together, but laid the
whole subject before that body, in his speech at the
commencement of the session in 1787. The course
of the governor was approved by a large majority, but
the power of collecting the duties was given to the
general government by a subsequent legislature.
Governor Clinton was one of the foremost and most
decided opponents of the federal constitution, as it was
originally formed, and for that reason he has been con
sidered as the father and founder of the republican
party in the state of New York. He approved of the
withdrawal of Messrs. Yates and Lansing;, the two

THE NEW YORK CONVENTION. 57
anti-federal delegates from this state to the Philadel
phia Convention, and remained steadfast in his opposi
tion to the instrument framed in that body, until the
amendments adopted at the suggestion of New York
and other states removed the objectionable features to
which he took exception. He was elected from the
county of Ulster as a delegate to the State Convention
called to consider the propriety of adopting the federal
constitution, and was unanimously chosen to preside
over its deliberations. This convention assembled at
Poughkeepsie on the 17th of June, 1788. A very
large majority of the delegates were anti-federalists ;
and had the question been taken immediately after the
organization of the convention, there can be no doubt
that the constitution would have been rejected by a
decided vote. But while the subject was still under
discussion, the intelligence was received that New-
Hampshire, the ninth state, had duly ratified the con
stitution. The question now assumed a new aspect ;
it was no longer one of principle, but one of expedi
ency ; and the New York Convention, instead of being
called upon to express their approbation of the con
stitution, were in fact required to decide whether or
no they would secede from the Union. Governor
Clinton saw the dilemma in which he was placed, and
though for the sake of consistency, he felt bound to
persevere in his opposition to the ratification of the
constitution, several of his warmest personal friends
in the convention, acting doubtless, under his advice,
3*

58 GEORGE CLINTON.
with a sufficient number of other anti-federal delegates,
united with the federalists on taking the final vote.
The resolution ratifying the Constitution was passed
by a majority of three votes, " in full confidence," as
its language purports, " that the amendments proposed
by this Convention will be adopted." A circular letter
urging the other states to co-operate with New York in
procuring the adoption of the amendments proposed
by her convention, was prepared and signed by the
members. Before retiring from the chair and closing
the session, Governor Clinton delivered a short but
eloquent address, in which he expressed his firm con
viction that a majority of the people of the state were
opposed to the federal constitution, but pledged himself
to exert his power and influence in the maintenance
of peace and good order.
No further efforts were made by the anti-federalists
of New- York in opposition to the adoption of the
federal constitution ; and when the amendments were
adopted, they became generally contented with its
provisions. Governor Clinton undoubtedly foresaw
the future power and greatness of his native state, and
it was but natural that he should feel averse to her
making so great a sacrifice for the general welfare, as
she was called upon to do by the surrender of her import
ant revenues, and, in a degree, of her sovereignty as an
independent state, to the confederated Union. When
the Constitution went into effect, he appeared among
those who welcomed Washington to the chair of state;

HIS REELECTION OPPOSED. 59
and, both by his precept and example, he encouraged
others to conform to the requirements of the funda
mental law of the land, but always manifested great
anxiety lest the powers of the general government
should be enlarged by construction.
Party lines were now drawn with considerable
stringency. In New York the anti-federalists, or re
publicans, were much the most numerous; but their
opponents, though in the minority, numbered among
them a great many of the most active and talented
politicians in the state. As the time for the guberna
torial election in 1789 approached, the latter concluded
that it would be a hopeless attempt to defeat Governor
Clinton by running an avowed federalist against him,
and that it would be absolutely necessary to withdraw
a portion of the anti-federalists from his support-
With this view a somewhat questionable ruse in po
litical warfare was practised. Robert Yates, one of
the judges of the Supreme Court, and a decided op
ponent of the federal constitution until its ratification
by the State Convention, was selected as the candidate
to oppose Governor Clinton by the leading federalists
and a few republicans who had become dissatisfied
with his administration, mainly from personal con
siderations. The election was warmly contested ; but
in those districts where the respective candidates re
sided, the voters seemed to regard it rather as a ques
tion of individual preference, than of political opinion.
Hence, the western district gave a large majority for

60 GEORGE CLINTON.
Mr. Yates, while the county of Ulster bestowed five
sixths of her suffrages for her favorite, Mr. Clinton.
None but freeholders voted at that time for governor,
and there were only about twelve thousand votes taken
in the whole state. Of these Governor Clinton re
ceived a majority of four hundred and twenty-nine.
It was a high evidence of the governor's personal
popularity, that he was elected, in spite of the power
ful influences brought to bear against him, although a
majority of the members of the legislature chosen at
this election, were federalists. From 1789 to 1792, his
administration was opposed, on repeated occasions, by
the federalists ; and just on the eve of the election in
the latter year, a most bitter personal assault was made
on him, by his political opponents in the legislature,
based upon alleged misconduct as one of the commis
sioners of the Land Office, in the sale of the wild and
uncultivated lands belonging to the state. Subsequent
investigations showed most conclusively that these
charges were without any foundation in truth, but
great use was made of them by the federalists in 1792
to secure the defeat of Mr. Clinton. At this election
John Jay was the opposing candidate, and in addition
to the unusual share of popularity which he enjoyed,
the influence of the federal government was exerted
in his favor.
Governor Clinton possessed considerable shrewdness
as the manager and head of a political party, and
was a pretty accurate judge of human nature. He

EXECUTIVE PATRONAGE. 61
had observed much, and had studied men and the
motives that animated them, all his life-time. As the
head of the appointing power in this state, he wielded
the patronage placed in his hands, in a manner cal
culated not to give offence, but so as to strengthen his
own popularity, and to advance his own views in
regard to questions of public policy, as far as was con
sistent and proper. After the organization of the
federal government, through the influence, probably,
of Mr. Hamilton, all the principal offices in the gift of
the former were given to the political opponents of the
governor; and from this time forward, he was less
chary in the bestowal of official favors on his friends
in preference to those who opposed him. Like most
politicians — perhaps like all — he considered that the
interests of the state and nation required that the
views and opinions which he advocated should become
more generally prevalent ; and his own personal suc
cess, therefore, seemed, in his estimation, to be inter
woven with, and to be necessary to, the triumph of his
principles. The canvass for governor, at the April election in
1792, was highly animated. Nearly seventeen thousand
votes were cast, a majority of which were given for
Mr. Jay. The canvassing committee consisted of
twelve members of the legislature, six of whom were
chosen by each house. When they assembled, ob
jections were made to allowing the ballots taken in the
counties of Otsego, Clinton, and Tioga, on account of

62 GEORGE CLINTON.
alleged informalities. The subject was referred to the
two senators in Congress, Rufus King and Aaron
Burr, who disagreed in opinion ; whereupon, a majority
of the canvassers decided to reject the votes, and the
certificate was given to Mr. Clinton, who was declared
elected by a majority of one hundred and eight.
Party feeling at this juncture ran high, and in the
course of the contest, much bitterness of feeling had
been produced on both sides. The decision of the
canvassers was denounced in unmeasured terms by the
federalists, but was as warmly approved by the re
publicans. Under the circumstances, Governor Clinton
could do no less than take the oath of office, but it is
to be regretted that he did not use his influence with
the canvassers to prevent the unjust decision at which
they arrived ; for official power acquired in such a
manner is certainly not to be desired. It is probable,
as it was but natural, that a keen sense of the injustice
done him by the unfounded charges made in respect
to the sale of the public lands, which were not without
their effect on the minds of the electors, so warped his
better judgment that he decided to remain a passive
spectator while the wrong was being committed. It is
some satisfaction, also, to add, that it afterwards ap
peared that a number of illegal votes had been cast
for Mr. Jay in the county of Otsego, and that persons
holding high official stations there had exerted their
authority, and made use of threats and intimidations,
to induce individuals to vote for him who would other-

AGAIN ELECTED GOVERNOR. 63
wise have supported Mr. Clinton. Of course, it need
not be added that Mr. Jay was utterly ignorant of these
extreme measures adopted by his over-zealous friends.
No legal measures were taken to deprive Governor
Clinton of the office with which he had been invested,
and he continued in the discharge of its duties till the
spring of 1795. ' No event of especial importance
signalized this period of his administration, except
that shortly before it expired, a controversy arose
between him and the council of appointment, a
majority of whom were federalists, in regard to the
power of nomination. The governor claimed that
he possessed the exclusive right, and he was un
doubtedly correct in his view of the constitution ;
Governor Jay afterwards made the same claim, under
similar circumstances; but the convention of 1801
decided against them. Governor Clinton formally
protested against the decision of the majority of the
council, but took no further steps to embarrass their
action. At the presidential election in 1792, no opposition
was made to the re-election of General Washington,
but the republican electors inserted the name of George
Clinton on their ballots, intending thereby to designate
him as their candidate for vice-president. He received
fifty votes, and John Adams seventy-seven. On the
22d of January, 1795, Governor Clinton published an
eloquent and impressive address to the freeholders of
the state, in which he declined being a candidate for

64 GEORGE CLINTON.
governor at the ensuing election. He stated that he
had held elective offices for nearly thirty successive
years, and that the condition of his private affairs
imperatively required his attention, as the impaired
state of his health also demanded his retirement from
public life.
For five years Governor Clinton was entirely re
lieved from public cares and anxieties, though by no
means an indifferent observer of the events that were
transpiring around him. During the session of Con
gress in the winter of 1799-1800, measures were
concerted by the republican members to secure the
election of their candidates at the approaching presi
dential election. It was deemed of the highest im
portance to secure the vote of New York. Accord
ingly, great efforts were made by the party in this
state to elect a majority of the members of the legis
lature. Through the address of Colonel Burr, a ticket
was formed in the city of New York, where Governor
Clinton resided, at the head of which the name of the
latter was placed. Brockholst Livingston, Horatio
Gates, and others of the most distinguished republi
cans in the city and state, were associated with him,
and the ticket was triumphantly sustained at the polls.
The name of Governor Clinton was again mentioned
in connection with the vice-presidency, but Colonel
Burr and his friends managed to have the latter joined
with Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Clinton did not, it is probable,
consider himself fairly treated in this matter, particu-

CHOSEN VICE-PRESIDENT. 65
larly by the southern members of Congress; but he_
gave the republican ticket his cordial support, and no
one man contributed more than himself to the political
revolution which terminated in the complete overthrow
of the federal party.
Governor Clinton was again induced to become a
candidate for the office of chief magistrate of the state
in the spring of 1801, and was elected by nearly four
thousand majority over his federal opponent, the late
Stephen Van Rensselaer, a high-minded, estimable,
and deservedly popular man. When the governor
once more entered upon the discharge of the official
duties, the performance of which now devolved upon
him for the sixth time, he found that the custom of
removing political partisans, on account of their opin
ions, had became engrafted on the politics of the state.
It is said that he was opposed to this measure, and
resisted it in the council of appointment, but was over
ruled by his nephew Dewitt Clinton, and Ambrose
Spencer, who were members of it during the early
part of his administration.
Long before the recurrence of another presidential
election, the republican party in the Union had sepa
rated, with but few exceptions, from Aaron Burr.
George Clinton was therefore selected as their can
didate for vice-president, in opposition to Rufus
King, the federal candidate. Mr. Jefferson and Mr.
Clinton received one hundred and sixty-two of the
one hundred and seventy-six electoral votes, which
5

66 GEORGE CLINTON.
.insured their election. As the presiding officer in
the Senate of the Union, Mr. Clinton was distin
guished for his impartiality and promptitude, and for
the urbanity and kindness that he at all times man
ifested, as well towards his political opponents, as to
those whom he ranked among his most attached friends.
Upon the retirement of Mr. Jefferson, he was warmly
urged by many of the republican members of Con
gress from the northern states, as being the most suit
able person to succeed him. The complicated con
dition of our foreign relations, which had been in <
charge of Mr. Madison as Secretary of State, probably
led to his being preferred, and Mr. Clinton was con
tinued in the office of vice-president. At the election
in 1808, the republican candidates were chosen by de
cisive majorities.
While filling the high station to which he had been
again elected — under ordinary circumstances having
neither power nor patronage to any great extent con
nected with it — Mr. Clinton was called upon, by his
casting vote, to decide the question as to the propriety
of renewing the charter of the bank of the United
'States. At the session of 1810-11, a bill providing
for the renewal was introduced into the Senate, and
advocated with much earnestness and ability by sev
eral republican senators. A motion having been made
to strike out the first section of the bill, on taking the
vote, on the 20th day of February, 1811, there ap
peared to be seventeen in favor of the motion, and the

CASTING VOTE ON THE BANK CHARTER. 67
same number opposed to it. Mr. Clinton, as the pre
siding officer, decided the question in the affirmative,
in favor of striking out the first section of the bill, and
accompanied the announcement of his vote with the
following remarks :
" Gentlemen : — As the subject on which I am called upon to decide,
has excited great sensibility, I must solicit the indulgence of the senate,
while I briefly state the reasons which influence my judgment.
" Permit me to observe, that the question to be decided does not de
pend simply upon the right of Congress to establish, under any modifi
cation, a bank, but upon their power to establish a national bank, as
contemplated by this bill. In other words, can they create a body
politic and corporate, not constituting a part of the government, nor
otherwise responsible to it but by forfeiture of charter, and bestow on
its members privileges, immunities, and exemptions, not recognized by
the laws of tlie states, nor enjoyed by the citizens generally ?
" It cannot be doubted that Congress may pass all necessary and
proper laws for carrying into execution the powers specifically granted
to the government, or to any department or officer thereof; but, in doing
so, the means must be suited and subordinate to the end. The power
to create corporations is not expressly granted; it is a high attribute
of sovereignty, and in its nature not accessorial or derivative by im
plication, but primary and independent.
." I cannot believe that this interpretation of the constitution will, in
any degree, defeat the purposes for which it was formed; on the con
trary, it does appear to me that the opposite exposition has an inevi
table tendency to consolidation, and affords just and serious cause of
alarm. " In the course of a long life, I have found that government is not to
be strengthened by an assumption of doubtful powers ; but by a wise
and energetic execution of those which are incontestable ; the former
never fails to produce suspicion and distrust, whilst the latter inspires
respect and confidence.

68 GEORGE CLINTON.
"If, however, after a fair experiment, the powers vested in the gov
ernment shall be found incompetent to the attainment of the objects
for which it was instituted, the constitution happily furnishes the mean
for remedying the evil by amendment ; and I have no doubt that, in
such event, on an appeal to the patriotism and good sense of the com
munity, it will be wisely applied.
" I will not trespass upon the patience of the Senate any longer than
to say, from the best examination I have been able to give the subject,
I am constrained, by a sense of duty, to decide in the affirmative ; that
is, that the first section of the bill be stricken out."
The terseness, and the emphatic brevity, of the re
marks of the vice-president, in announcing his decision,
elicited high encomiums in the ranks ofthe opposition,
as well as among his political friends ; and when, in
later times, opposition to the bank of the United States
became the watchword and shibboleth of the repub
lican, then the democratic party, they were accus
tomed to refer to his course on this occasion in terms
of decided approbation, and in a manner highly favor
able to his memory. The casting vote of Mr. Clinton
— his determined firmness in refusing to yield to the
influences brought to bear at that period on many
qther public men, who concurred with him in opinion,
but from real or supposed motives of expediency chose
to act in a different manner — defeated the application
for a re-charter at this session.*
* A bill providing for tne renewal of the charter of the bank, intro
duced into the House of Representatives at the same session, was
indefinitely postponed, on the 24th of January, 1811, by a vote of 65
to 64 ; but it was generally understood that the Senate bill would meet
with a different fate.

HIS DEATH. 69
When Congress again assembled, George Clinton
once more appeared in his accustomed seat — well
stricken in years, venerable in appearance, and univer
sally respected for the official dignities and popular
favor which he had so long enjoyed. Before that ses
sion terminated, his almost life-long service in a public
capacity was forever ended. Surrounded by
" All that should accompany old age,
As honor, love, obedience," —
by troops of friends, by kindred and children to whom
he was endeared by ties and recollections of no com
mon interest, — he died, as he had lived, at peace with
his fellow-men — at peace with his God.
His death took place at Washington, on the 20th of
April, 1812, and his remains were permanently de
posited in the Congressional Cemetery.- The monument
erected to his memory by his children contains an
appropriate inscription written by his nephew, which
truly says that, "while he lived, his virtue, wisdom, and
valor were the pride, the ornament and security of his
country, and when he died, he left an illustrious
example of a well-spent life, worthy of all imitation."
Mr. Clinton married Cornelia Tappan, of Kingston,
New York, by whom he had one son and five daugh
ters. But two of his children, both of whom were
daughters, lived to an advanced age. One of his
daughters became the wife of M. Genet, the French

70 GEORGE CLINTON.
minister, in 1793, who remained in this country after
his recall, and settled in the state of New York, where
he died.
His personal appearance was decidedly prepossessing.
He was of moderate stature, but heavily moulded.
His appearance was dignified, and his countenance
indicated that stern intrepidity of soul, that energy
and decision of character, for which he was remark
able. He was frank and amiable in private life, and
kind and affectionate in disposition — a staunch friend,
but a good hater. Few men ever occupied a larger
space in the public estimation, and no one name is
more conspicuous than his in the early annals of New
York. His patriotism was never questioned, and from
first to last, during the stormy period of the revolution,
and when the halcyon days of peace had returned,
Washington esteemed and trusted him. At a mem
orable period he saved the army of the latter from
dissolution, by the exercise of his authority — if not
rightful, at least necessary — in the impressment of a
large quantity of flour. He was naturally bold and
courageous. " He had an aversion," said Gouverneur
Morris,* " to councils, because (to use his own words)
the duty of looking out for danger makes men cowards.'1
His talents were far above mediocrity ; for had this
been otherwise, he could not have raised himself as he
did, without the adventitious aids of fortune and
family connections, to the chief magistracy of the
* Eulogy on the death of Clinton, May, 1812.

CHARACTER. 71
state and to the second office in the nation. Sprung
from the people, his heart beat in unison with that of
the masses. He felt for them, — he sympathized with
them. In return they gave him their love and confi
dence, not stmtingly or grudgingly, but with a spon
taneous gushing forth of their enthusiastic regard and
affection. He was, therefore, well calculated to be
the leader of a successful party, — yet he was no
demagogue. The preservation of law and order was
ever of the first importance, in his estimation.
Shortly after the close of the revolutionary war, and
the evacuation of the city of New York by the
enemy, a British officer was seized by the whig popu
lace, and placed in a cart to be tarred and feathered-
Just as the signal for the assault was about to be given,
Governor Clinton rushed in among the crowd with a
drawn sword, and rescued the victim at the risk of
his life. A few years later, a dreadful riot broke out
in New York, called the " Doctors' Mob." The local
magistracy were completely overawed by the furious
assemblage collected in the streets, whose passions had
been excited to the highest pitch because of the
violation of the cemeteries to obtain subjects for dis
section ; and they declared their intention to kill all
the physicians in the city, and raze their houses to the
ground. For two days the governor mingled with the
mob as a private citizen, and besought them not to
commit any infraction of the peace ; at the same time
assuring them that if wrong had been done, the civil

72 GEORGE CLINTON.
authorities would take care that the offenders should
be punished. His counsels not being heeded, he forth
with called out the militia, and soon put an end to the
disturbance. The same regard for the supremacy of
the law was manifested by him on another memorable
occasion. After the discomfiture of the misguided
men, who, under their leader Shays, attempted an in
surrection in Massachusetts, in the year 1786-, numbers
of them escaped, and collected in large bodies at
Lebanon in the state of New York, with the intention
of renewing their efforts. Such a contingency had not
been foreseen by the legislature, and in consequence,
Governor Clinton was not invested with the power
requisite in this emergency ; but he immediately re
paired to the spot, ordered out the militia of the
state on his own responsibility, and dispersed the in
surgents. Governor Clinton was naturally gifted with a strong
mind, which had been well cultivated. His perceptions
were clear ; he was rapid in decision and prompt in
execution. As a speaker and writer, he was rather
forcible than eloquent. His sentences were somewhat
epigrammatic — concise, but always appropriate and
expressive. He may have committed errors during the long
period in which he remained in public life, — for it has
been truly said, that it would be " a novelty in the
political world, to find rulers without private interests
and views of personal emoluments and ambition." —

CHARACTER. 73
but they were few in number. Not one of the public
men of New York, during the revolutionary era, is
better entitled to the respectful and grateful remem
brance of her citizens ; aud the example afforded in his
life and character, is well-deserving of imitation.

JOHN JAY.
For more than thirty years, the reign of Louis XIV.
was unparalleled for splendor in the history of France.
This was especially true of that period which elapsed
between the conclusion of the peace of the Pyrenees,
and his marriage with Francoise d'Aubigne. In arts
and in arms the nation stood pre-eminent, and her
warriors and statesmen, her poets and philosophers,
were known and honored throughout the whole
civilized world. But when the artful and politic
Mazarin, and the great Colbert, were no more,— when
Turenue had found a bloody grave at Saltzbach, and
Conde had secluded himself at Chantilly— when the
faded charms of Maintenon had wound themselves
around the monarch's heart, and Louvois and his
associates yielded a willing ear to her bigoted counsels,
—the star of his fortunes began to decline, and the
power of France trembled beneath the attacks of the
bold Heinsius, as her glory paled when army after
army went down before the victorious banners of
Marlborough and Eugene.

^yy-:'y^Ji:':-J<% ¦ .'r. -,. r:rr,:

wamsmm

¦ :

Second Governor of Mw York.

MM '/MuUuiJ/JMKnJVX

PERSECUTION OF THE HUGUENOTS. 75
First among the prominent events of this era of
errors and misfortunes, was the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes. When this decree was first pro
mulgated by Henry of Navarre, it not only put an end
to the fierce wars and persecutions that had so long
deluged the fairest portions of France with the blood
of her people, but opened the way to a glorious career
of national prosperity and greatness, unwisely and
most unjustly terminated by his degenerate grandson.
The toleration shown to the Religionaires, or Hugue
nots, during the two previous reigns, was not accep
table to the counsellors and confessors of Louis, and
when the indifference of the voluptuary had been
succeeded by the ardor of the devotee, it required but
little effort to mould him to their purposes.
" My grandfather," said the king, in his new-born
zeal and anxiety for the triumph of Romanism, " loved
the Huguenots without fearing them ; my father feared,
without loving them; and I neither fear nor love
them." So, it was proclaimed that Calvinism must be
exterminated, root and branch. The ports of France
were closed against emigration; the frontiers were
guarded ; and bodies of dragoons were sent into the
southern provinces, to demolish the Protestant churches,
and compel those who worshipped in them to abjure
their faith. Thousands upon thousands of the most
valuable citizens in the realm — the most enterprising
merchants, the most industrious peasantry, and the
most skilful artisans — managed to elude the vigilance

76 JOHN JAY.
of their persecutors, and escaped to Switzerland and
Germany, to Holland, England, and America. Some
few, equally determined never to renounce the creed
of their ancestors, lingered behind, until the finishing
stroke in this series of outrages was given, by the
revocation of the edict on the 22d day of October,
1685, when they, too, fled for safety. Among these
victims of oppression was Pierre Jay, a resident of
Rochelle, in the department of Charente-Inferieure,
whose ancestors had originally come from Poitou.
This individual was the ancestor of John Jay.
" Pierre Jay," — said the subject of this memoir, in a
narrative of the early history of his father's family,
which he left unfinished at the time of his death,- —
" was an active and opulent merchant, extensively and
profitably engaged in commerce. He married Judith,
a daughter of M. Francois, a merchant in Rochelle.
One of her sisters married M. Mouchard, whose son
was a director of the French East India Company.
Pierre Jay had three sons and one daughter. The
sons were Francis, who was the eldest ; Augustus, who
was born 23d March, 1665; and Isaac. The daugh
ter's name was Frances. Mr. Jay seemed to have
been solicitous to have one of his sons educated in
England. He first sent his eldest son, but he unfor
tunately died on the passage. Notwithstanding this
distressing event, he immediately sent over his son
Augustus, who was then only twelve years old. In
the year 1683, Mr. Jay recalled Augustus, and sent

HIS ANCESTRAL HISTORY. 77
him to Africa, but to what part or for what purpose is
now unknown.
" Pursuant to an order passed in January, 1685, the
Protestant Church at Rochelle was demolished. The
ensuing summer a number of troops were marched
into the city, and quartered on the Protestant inhabi
tants, and these troops were soon followed by four
companies of dragoons. The attempts made to con
vert or intimidate Mr. Jay proving fruitless, some of
these dragoons were sent to his house to live and act
at their discretion. I have not understood that they
offered any personal insults to Mr. Jay or his family,
but in other respects they behaved as it was intended
they should. Such a situation was intolerable, and
Mr. Jay lost no time in relieving his family from it.
He found means to withdraw them, together with
some articles of value, secretly from the house, and
succeeded in putting them on board a vessel which he
had engaged for the purpose. They fortunately set
sail without being discovered, and were safely landed
at Plymouth, in England. He thought it advisable to
remain behind, doubtless with the design to save what
he could from the wrecks of his fortune.
" It was not long before the absence of his family
excited attention, and produced investigations. After
some time he was arrested and committed to prison.
Being closely connected with some influential Catho
lics, he was by their interposition and good offices

78 JOHN JAY.
soon set at liberty. At that time some vessels in
which he was concerned were expected, and particu
larly one from Spain, of which he was the sole owner.
He determined to effect his escape, if possible, in the
first of these vessels that should arrive ; and for that
purpose instructed a pilot, on whose good-will and
attachment he relied, to watch these vessels, and to
put the first of them that came in, immediately at
anchor, at a place agreed upon between them.
" Of the vessels that were expected, the one from
Spain was the first that arrived. The pilot instantly
went on board, and carried her to the place agreed on,
and gave Mr. Jay notice of it. With the aid of this
faithful and friendly pilot, proper precautions were
taken to prevent discovery, and the moment Mr. Jay
got on board she sailed, and carried him to England.
This ship and her cargo (the principal part of which
was iron) belonged wholly to himself, and together
with the property sent over with his family, and that
now brought over by himself, comprised all that he
saved. What this all amounted to, I have never been
informed : it was such, however, as placed him and his
family above dependency, and was so managed as
that, during the residue of his life, his situation was
comfortable. As soon as Mr. Jay's departure was
known, his estate in France was seized ; and no part
of it afterward came to the use of either himself or
his children.
'' Having escaped from the fury of persecution to a

ESCAPE FROM FRANCE. 79
friendly country, nothing remained to excite his
anxiety but the fate of his son Augustus, whom he had
sent to Africa, and who would probably arrive without
having been apprized of the troubles and flight of his
family. This accordingly happened. On his arrival
at Rochelle, he found himself in a situation not easy
to be described. The persecution was proceeding with
increasing severity, and every circumstance and pru
dential consideration pressed him to decide without
delay on the measures proper for him to take and
pursue. He determined to remain true to his religion,
and to meet the risks and dangers to which it exposed
him. The kindness of his friends facilitated every
necessary arrangement for his departure from the
country, and in a very short time he embarked in a
vessel bound to Charleston, in South Carolina. Thus,
by Divine Providence, every member of the family
was rescued from the rage and reach of persecution,
and enabled to preserve a portion of property more
than adequate to their actual necessities.
" Augustus very properly reflected that his parents
had two younger children to provide for, and that it
became him to depend on his own exertions. It was
his first intention to settle in South Carolina. His
education in England, and the knowledge he had ac
quired of the English language, trade, and manners,
had prepared him for living in an English country.
The climate of South Carolina, however, made so
serious an impression on his health that he went to

80 JOHN JAY.
Philadelphia, which he found in such an infant state,
that he thought it advisable to go to New York. With
New York he was much pleased, and found there
several refugee families from Rochelle. His first
employment was that of supercargo, and he continued
in it for several years. His parents found themselves
relieved from anxiety about his welfare, and with
great satisfaction observed his industry and promising
prospects. The time, however, was approaching, when
the course of life proper for their younger son was to
be determined and provided for. He, it seems, pre
ferred a military life ; and his passion for it was ex
ceedingly excited by the forming a regiment of French
refugees in England to serve a Protestant King against
a Popish competitor. Isaac solicited the consent of
his parents with so much earnestness, that it was at
length obtained. He joined his regiment as a volun
teer, and was with it at the battle of the Boyne, in
1690. He received several wounds ; and returning to
his father, lingered for some months, and died.
"In the year 1692 certain commercial affairs at
Hamburgh induced Augustus to take a passage in a
vessel bound from New York to that place. The ves
sel was captured by a privateer from St. Malo, and
carried into that port. He with other prisoners was
sent to a fortress about fifteen miles from St. Malo.
He was in that fortress when the news of the battle of
La Hogue arrived there. Orders were thereupon
given that the prisoners should that evening be put

HIS GRANDFATHER. 81
and kept in close custody. By negligence or accident
the prisoners became informed of this order. Augus
tus and another prisoner agreed to attempt making
their escape. • The day had been wet and boisterous,
and in the evening the wind and rain increased. Be
fore the time when they expected to be called, they
found means to conceal themselves, so that when the
other prisoners were carried to the places in which
they were to be closely confined, these two remained
without. Favored by the darkness and the storm,
they eluded the vigilance of the sentinels, and pro
ceeded to the part of the wall which they had agreed
on. There Augustus let himself drop into the ditch,
and received no material injury. His companion did
not join him: whether he changed his mind or was
stunned by the fall is uncertain. Augustus took the
road to Rochelle, and so managed as not to arrive
there till the next evening, and at a late hour repaired
to his aunt Mouchard, by whom he was kindly receiv
ed and secreted ; and afterward, through her address
and management, he was privately conveyed to the
Isle of Rhe, where a vessel ready to sail for Denmark
received him. He arrived safe in Denmark. On his
return he went to Holland, and from thence to Eng
land to visit his father and sister. Much to the grief
and loss of the family his mother had lately died, and
he found his father and sister deeply affected by it.
This was the first time they had met since they fled
from France. The excitements to sensibility were
6

82 JOHN JAY.
numerous, and it was natural that on such an occasion
the tears of grief should mingle with those of joy.
The affairs and engagements of Augustus constrained
him to return speedily to America ; and it was not
long before he was obliged to take leave of his afflicted
and affectionate father and sister. With what emo
tions they bade each other a last farewell may easily be
conceived. How much has persecution to answer for !
"In 1697 Augustus married, at New York, Ann
Maria, a daughter of Mr. Balthazar Bayard. The an
cestor of this gentleman was a Protestant professor of
theology at Paris, in the reign of Louis XIII., and who
had been compelled by the persecuting spirit of popery
to quit his country, and go with his wife and children
to Holland. Three of his grandsons, of whom Mr.
Balthazar Bayard was one, afterward removed from
Holland to America. By his marriage Augustus be
came encircled with friends who, from their situations,
were able, and from the attachment to consanguinitv
(for which our Dutch families were always remark
able), were disposed to promote his interest as a mer
chant, and his social happiness as a man. He no
sooner fonnd himself settled and his prospects fair,
than he represented the prosperous state of his affairs
to his father and sister, and earnestly pressed them to
come over and participate in it. But his father thought
himself too far advanced in age to undertake the voy
age, and no considerations could have prevailed on his
excellent daughter to leave him.

HIS GRANDFATHER. 83
" From what has been said, you will observe with
pleasure and with gratitude how kindly and how amply
Providence was pleased to provide for the welfare of
our ancestor Augustus. Nor was his case a solitary
or singular instance. The beneficent care of Heaven
appears to have been evidently and remarkably ex
tended to all those persecuted exiles. Strange as it
may seem, I never heard of one of them who asked
or received alms ; nor have I any reason to suspect,
much less to believe, that any of them came to this
country in a destitute condition. The number of ref
ugees who settled here was considerable. They did
not disperse or settle in different parts of the country,
but formed three societies or congregations ; one in
the city of New York, another at the Paltz, and the
other at a town which they purchased and called New
Rochelle [Westchester county, New York]. At New
Rochelle they built two churches, and lived in great
tranquillity; none of them became rich, but they all
lived comfortably.*
"Augustus Jay, after having had three daughters,
was on the 3d November, 1704, blessed with a son,
whom, in honor of his father, he named Peter. That
good old gentleman lived some time after this, but how
long exactly, I do not recollect. After his death, his
daughter married Mr. Peloquin, a merchant of Bristol."t
» This settlement was made on the manor of Pelham, which Governor
Leister purchased for the Huguenots, in 1689.
f See Life of John Jay, by his son, voL i. p. 8, et seq.

84 JOHN JAY.
All the daughters of Augustus Jay were married to
gentlemen of the colony. His son Peter was sent to
England in early youth, and remained for some time
in the counting-house of his uncle, Mr. Peloquin ; and
shortly after his return he married Mary, the daughter
of Jacobus Van Cortlandt. Her mother was the
daughter of Frederick Phillipse, who emigrated from
Holland in 1658, but whose family were originally
from Bohemia, whence they had been driven by reli
gious persecution. Peter Jay and his wife, Mary Van
Cortlandt, were the parents of John Jay. The senior
Mr. Jay died in the city of New York, in 1751, at the
advanced age of eighty-six years, having steadily and
successfully pursued the mercantile profession up to
the time of his decease. His son Peter followed the
same occupation — devoting his whole time with great
assiduity to his business, and keeping aloof from the
political divisions and disputes which at that early
period disturbed the tranquillity of the colony — till he
had passed his fortieth year. At this time he had ac
quired a fortune sufficient to satisfy his desires, and to
enable him to pass the remainder of his days not in
extravagance, but at his ease.
He therefore purchased a farm at Rye, in the county
of Westchester, and on the shores of Long Island
Sound, to which he retired with his family. He had
ten children, two of whom were afflicted with blind
ness from infancy, in consequence of a severe attack
of the small-pox. John Jay was the eighth child, and

BIRTH AND EDUCATION. 85
was born in the city of New York, on the 12th day of
December, 1745, and but a short time previous to his
father's removal into the country. He was named
after the Honorable John Chambers, one of the puisne
iudges of the Supreme Court of the province, who
had married his mother's sister.
The parents of young Jay were intelligent and es
timable people, sincerely pious, devoted to the happi
ness and welfare of each other and of their children,
and loved and honored by them to the close of their
lives. The father was a prudent, methodical, observ
ing man ; resolute in the accomplishment of every un
dertaking; and possessing a good fund of practical
common sense. The mother was kind and amiable in
disposition, winning in her manners, and had received
an excellent education. Upon her devolved the duty,
after their change of residence; of instructing the
younger children until . they were of a suitable age to
be sent to school, and never was duty more faithfully
discharged. Under her supervision John learned the
rudiments of the English language, and the Latin
grammar ; and when he had reached his eighth year,
he was sent to a grammar-school at New Rochelle,
kept by the pastor of the French church, in whose
family he was a boarder. While here, he was subject
ed to many inconveniences and hardships, owing to
the simple and meagre diet to which he was restricted,
and the bad condition of his lodgings ; but it is prob
able they operated beneficially on his character, in

86 JOHN JAY.
producing that self-reliant, contented disposition, for
which he was distinguished.
From early youth he was remarked for his grave
and studious deportment, and the reflective cast of his
mind. The sports and pastimes of boyhood were not
entirely without attraction for him, yet he never neg
lected his duties to participate in them. Though his
playfellows and associates looked upon him with some
thing of the feelings with which the companions of
Descartes regarded " the little philosopher," he never
lost their respect and esteem ; and those who shared
his intimacy found, underneath the reserve habitual to
him, a deep and copious well-spring abounding in all
the kindly qualities that lend their charms to social
converse. For boisterous amusements he had no
relish, but in rational enjoyment always took sincere
delight. While at New Rochelle, he became quite a
proficient in the French language, from hearing it
spoken so much by the Huguenot emigres and their
descendants, — the knowledge of which, in after life,
was of great service to him.
After remaining three years at the grammar-school,
he was taken home by his father, and placed under
the instruction of a private tutor, who prepared him
for college. In the year 1760, he entered the freshman
class of King's, afterwards Columbia College, in the
city of New York. This institution was then in
charge of the excellent and estimable Dr. Samuel
Johnson, its first president, who was succeeded, on his

CHOOSES THE LEGAL PROFESSION. 87
resignation in 1763, by Dr. Myles Cooper, a gentle
man of considerable literary eminence, but whose high,
tory principles obliged him to leave the country in
1775. Young Jay was naturally diffident, yet at all times
firm in the maintenance of what he believed to be
right. Though exposed to repeated temptations, by
his residence in the city, none had the power to allure
him from his studies ; and throughout his whole colle
giate course, his application and correct deportment
were observed by his teachers and friends with sincere
delight* In every exercise he was well prepared; in
every study thorough and accurate. He was not
blind to his deficiencies, few as they were, and care
fully and diligently corrected them. An impediment
in his speech for a long time caused him great annoy
ance, but with the perseverance and determination of
the Athenian orator, he exercised his voice by reading
aloud, until he obtained complete control over it. As
the time for his leaving college approached, it became
necessary for him to make choice of a profession. In
this he was unbiased by the influence of his father,
* This statement is not at all inconsistent with the fact, that Mr. Jay
was suspended for a short time, during the last year of his collegiate
term, for refusing to inform against some of his companions. He always
insisted that this was not required of him by the statutes of the institution ;
and then, as afterwards, he could not be driven from a position which
he had taken with deliberation. When he returned to college, after the
period of his suspension had expired, he was cordially welcomed by
the president and professors.

88

JOHN JAY.

and after due reflection decided in favor of the law.
, Having formed this resolution, he commenced reading,
in his leisure hours, the great work of Grotius on
natural and national law, in company with a classmate
who had chosen the same profession.
He graduated on the 15th of May, 1764 — on which
occasion he delivered the Latin Salutatory, then, as
now, considered the highest honor of the institution.
Within a fortnight after taking his degree, he entered the
office of Benjamin Kissam, an eminent counsellor in
the city of New York. For nearly two years the
celebrated Lindley Murray was his fellow-student, and
though soon separated from each other by the political
differences of the country, the intimacy then formed
was never entirely lost sight of, but often referred to,
on both sides, with emotions of pleasure. Mr. Kissam
was as famed for the qualities of his heart as for those
of his head. The intercourse between him and young
Mr. Jay was of the most free and unreserved charac
ter ; and the relation of preceptor and pupil seemed to
be merged in the more familiar one of friends. After
Mr. Jay's admission to the bar, he was frequently
brought in contact with Mr. Kissam, by being em
ployed on the opposite side of the same cause. " On
one of these occasions," says his son and biographer,
" the latter [Mr. Kissam] being embarrassed by some
position taken by the other, pleasantly remarked in
court, that he had brought up a bird to pick out his

HIS MARRIAGE. 89
own eyes. ' Oh no,' retorted his opponent, ' not to pick
out, but to open your eyes.' "*
Mr. Jay was admitted to practice in 1768, and im
mediately entered into partnership with Robert R.
Livingston, the cousin of his future wife, then a prac
tising lawyer in the city of New York, and afterwards
chancellor of the state. This connection was soon
dissolved, by mutual consent, and without the least ill-
feeling on either part ; on the contrary, they remained
through life warm and attached friends.
During his clerkship, Mr. Jay had been a careful
and diligent student, and soon after he commenced
practice, he acquired a high reputation for his attain
ments as a jurist, and his honesty, fidelity, and ability
as an advocate. His unremitting devotion to his pro
fessional business in a short time seriously injured his
health, which had previously been quite robust ; and,
under the advice of his physician, he took lodgings out
of town about six miles, and rode into the city every
morning on horseback. In addition to attending to
the regular business of his office, a great portion of his
time, about this period, was employed in discharging
the duties of secretary to the commissioners appointed
to settle the disputed boundary between New York
and New Jersey.
In the year 1774, Mr. Jay was married to Sarah
Livingston, the youngest daughter of William Livings
ton, a delegate to the first continental congress from
* Life of Jay, voL i. p. 23;

90 JOHN JAY.
New Jersey, and afterwards governor of that state for
many years. This connection was, indeed, one of the
happiest events of his life. The union was literally
and truly one of hearts, and not merely one of hands.
Kind, gentle, tender, and affectionate, she was a fitting
helpmate to such a man. The most perfect reciprocity
of sentiment and feeling always existed between them,
and each seemed to act voluntarily and without
thought, in accordance with the well-known proverb —
" He that would thrive
Must ask his wife."
She participated in his counsels ; she shared his vicis
situdes; and joy and happiness borrowed half their
charms from her presence and participation. In the
brilliant salons of Madrid and Paris, she was a com
panion of whom he might well be proud ; and in his
quiet American home, she was the grace and ornament
of the family circle — the faithful friend, and the dis
interested adviser.
In the early movements of the opponents of British
misrule and taxation, Mr. Jay took a deep interest.
His immediate family connections were whigs, though
the Phillipses, and some of the Van Gortlandts, sided
with the crown. Many of his most intimate friends
and associates, also, were tories,^-among them Lindley
Murray and Peter Van Schaack. From the first,
however, he sympathized with the oppressed colonists ;
and when the time came for action, the hitherto un-

DELEGATE TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 91
clouded repose of his" domestic life and all his bright
prospects of professional eminence, were cheerfully
sacrificed for the common good. Others may have
been louder and bolder in their denunciations, but none
approved themselves more staunch or more steadfast.
He was ardent and sincere in his devotion to the cause
of American Independence ; yet his feelings were
softened and mellowed " by that mildness of truth,
Which tempers, but chills not, the patriot fire."
When the intelligence of the passage of the Boston
Port Bill was received in the city of New York, a
meeting of the citizens was called, on the 16th of
May, 1774, to consult on the measures proper to be
pursued, at which a committee of fifty was selected
to correspond with the sister colonies. Mr. Jay was
chosen a member of this committee, and as one of the
sub-committee subsequently appointed, prepared the
draft of a letter in answer to one received from the
Boston committee, in which the proposition of a " Con
gress of Deputies from the Colonies in general," was
first suggested. In the following month of July,
he was duly chosen one of the delegates to the first
Continental Congress, and took his seat in that body,
at Philadelphia, on - the 5th of September, in the same
year. Though still quite a young man, the talents of Mr.
Jay were so widely known, and so highly appreciated,

92 JOHN JAY.
that he was immediately placed on several of the most
important committees. One of these was selected for
drafting an address to the people of Great Britain, and
a memorial to the people of British America. The
duty of preparing the address was assigned to Mr.
Jay by his associates on the committee. Distrustful
though he was, of his ability to perform the task al
lotted to him, with satisfaction to the other members,
he nevertheless knew how important it was, for his
own reputation, that the effort should not be a complete
failure. He therefore withdrew himself from inter
ruption, by leaving his regular lodgings, and taking a
private room in a tavern. Here, shut out from the
world, he composed that manly and eloquent appeal,
on behalf of the colonists to their brethren in the
" father land," which Mr. Jefferson pronounced to be
the production "ofthe finest pen in America."* The
purity of its style, its loftiness of sentiment, and its
earnest and impressive eloquence, may be inferred
from the following extracts, taken from the opening
and the close : —
" When a nation, led to greatness by the hand of liberty, and possessed
of all the glory that heroism, munificence, and humanity can bestow,
descends to the ungrateful task of forging chains for her friends and
children ; and instead of giving support to freedom, turns advocate for
slavery and oppression, there is reason to suspect she has either ceased
to be virtuous, or been extremely negligent in the appointment of her
rulers. " In almost every age, in repeated conflicts, in long and bloody wars,
* Jefferson's Works, vol. i. p. 8.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ADDRESS. 93
as well civil as foreign, against many and powerful nations, against the
open assaults of enemies and the more dangerous treachery of friends,
have the inhabitants of your island, your great and glorious ancestors,
maintained their independence, and transmitted the rights of men, and
the blessings of liberty to you, their posterity.
" Be not surprised, therefore, that we, who are descended from the
same common ancestors ; that we, whose forefathers participated in all
tlie rights, the liberties, and the constitution you so justly boast of, and
who have carefully conveyed the same fair inheritance to us, guaranteed
by the plighted faith of government and the most solemn compacts
with British Sovereigns, should refuse to surrender them to men who
found their claims on no principles of reason, and who prosecute them
with a design that, by having our lives and property in their power,
they may with the greater facility enslave you.
" The cause of America is now the object of universal attention : it
has at length become very serious. This unhappy country has not only
been oppressed, but abused and misrepresented ; and the duty we owe
to ourselves and posterity, to your interest, and the general welfare of
the British Empire, leads us to address you on this very important
subject. " Know Then, That we consider ourselves, and do insist, that we
are and ought to be, as free as our fellow-subjects in Britain, and that
no power on earth has a right to take our property from us without
our consent.
" That we claim all the benefits secured to the subject by the English
Constitution, and particularly that inestimable one of trial by jury.
" That we hold it essential to English liberty, that no man be con
demned unheard, or punished for supposed offences, without having an
opportunity of making his defence.
" That we think the Legislature of Great Britain is not authorized
by the constitution to establish a religion fraught with sanguinary and
impious tenets, or to erect an arbitrary form of government in any
quarter of tlie globe. These rights we, as well as you, deem sacred.
And yet, sacred as they are, they have, with many others, been repeat
edly and flagrantly violated.

94 JOHN JAY.
" Are not the proprietors of the soil of Great Britain lords of their
own property ? Can it be taken from them without their consent ?
Will they yield it to the arbitrary disposal of any man, or number of
men whatever \ You know they will not.
" Why, then, are the proprietors of the soil of America less lords of
their property than you are of yours ? — or why should they Bubmit it
to the disposal of your parliament, or any other parliament or council
in the world, not of their election ? Can the intervention of the sea
that divides us cause disparity in rights ? — or can any reason be given
why English subjects, who live three thousand miles from the royal
palace, should enjoy less liberty than those who are three hundred miles
distant from it ?
" Reason looks with indignation on such distinctions, and freemen can
never perceive their propriety. And yet, however chimerical and un
just such discriminations are, the parliament assert, that they have a
right to bind us in all cases without exception, whether we consent or
not ; that they may take and use our property when and in what man
ner they please ; that we are pensioners on their bounty for all that we
possess ; and can hold it no longer than they vouchsafe to permit. Such
declarations we consider as heresies in English politics, and which can
no more operate to deprive us of our property, than the interdicts of
the pope can divest kings of sceptres, which the laws of the land, and
the voice of the people, have placed in their hands.
******
" We beUeve there is yet much virtue, much justice, and much public
spirit in the English natioa To that justice we now appeal. You
have been told that we are seditious, impatient of government, and
desirous of independence. Be assured that these are not facts, but
calumnies. Permit us to be as free as yourselves, and we shall ever
esteem a union with you to be our greatest glory, and our greatest
happiness ; we shall ever be ready to contribute all in our power to the
welfare of the empire ; we shall consider your enemies as our enemies,
and your interest as our own.
" But if you are determined that your ministers shall wantonly sport
with the rights of mankind : if neither the voice of justice, the dictates

EXTRACTS FROM THE ADDRESS. 95
of the law, the principles of the constitution, or the suggestions of
humamty, can restrain your hands from shedding human blood in such
an impious cause, we must then tell you, that we will never submit to
be hewers of wood and drawers of water for any ministry or nation in
the world.
" Place us in the same situation that we were at the close of the last
war, and our former harmony will be restored. But lest the same
supineness, and the same inattention to onr common interest, which you
have for several years shown, should continue, we think it prudent to
anticipate the consequences.
" By the destruction of the trade of Boston, the ministry have en
deavored to induce submission to their measures. The like fate may
befall us all. We will endeavor, therefore, to live without trade, and
recur for subsistence to the fertility and bounty of our native soil, which
affords us all the necessaries, and some of the conveniences of life. We
have suspended our importation from Great Britain and Ireland ; and in
less than a year's time, unless our grievances should be redressed, shall
discontinue our exports to those kingdoms, and the West Indies.
" It is with the utmost regret, however, that we find ourselves com
pelled, by the overruling principles of self-preservation, to adopt
measures detrimental in their consequences to numbers of our fellow-
subjects in Great Britain and Ireland. But we hope that the magna
nimity and justice of the British nation will furnish a parliament of such
wisdom, independence, and public spirit, as may save the violated
rights of the whole Empire from the devices of wicked ministers and
evil counsellors, whether in or out of office ; and thereby restore that
harmony, friendship, and fraternal affection, between all the inhabitants
of his majesty's kingdoms and territories, so ardently wished for by
every true and honest American."
On the 18th of October, the draft of an address,
prepared by Mr. Jay, was reported from the committee.
A few unimportant amendments were made, and on
the 21st instant it was duly adopted. Although the

JOHN JAY.

powers of this congress were merely advisory, they
recommended, in the strongest terms, the non-importa
tion and non-consumption of British goods, and advised
the appointment of town and county committees to
carry into effect the regulations having that object in
view, which were prepared and approved by them
during their session. In the short period of six weeks
their labors were ended, and after making provision for
the meeting of another congress in May of the follow
ing year, they adjourned sine die.
Mr. Jay and his colleagues hastened home to their
constituents. In accordance with the recommendation
of Congress, the New York committee of correspond
ence called on the citizens to elect a committee of ob
servation. This was immediately done, and the former
committee dissolved. Of the new committee Mr. Jay
was a member; and subsequently, when it appeared
that the powers of this body were too limited, one
hundred persons, including himself, were selected to
form another committee, called the Committee of Asso
ciation, who were invested with the most ample powers
to provide for the safety of the city, and the enforce
ment of the measures proposed by Congress for inter
rupting the commerce of Great Britain with her colo
nies. As the provincial legislature no longer reflected the
sentiments of the people of the colony, but was more
or less controlled by the employes and adherents of the
crown, the New York committee of observation had

COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES. 97
recommended to the counties to select deputies to a
provincial congress. This body did not assemble until
the 28th of May, 1775, prior to which time, the com
mittee of association called upon the citizens to arm
themselves and make every preparation for the ap
proaching struggle. Mr. Jay took an active and in
fluential part in all these proceedings; and his time
and talents were constantly in requisition, in conduct
ing correspondence, and preparing reports and ad
dresses. To the second congress, which assembled at Phila
delphia on the 10th of May, he was also elected a
delegate. Hostilities had now commenced, and blood
had been shed at Lexington and Concord. Hitherto.
a redress of grievances was all that the colonists had
asked for or desired. It had, indeed, been charged
against those who had taken the lead in resisting the
obnoxious measures of the British parliament, that they
looked forward to a separation from the mother country
and the independence of the colonies. But this charge
was wholly unfounded. In August, 1774, Dr. Franklin
assured Lord Chatham, that he had more than once trav
elled almost from one end of the continent to the other,
and that he " never had heard, in any conversation
from any person, drunk or sober, the least expression
of a wish for a separation, or a hint that such a thing
would be advantageous to America."* Mr. Jay bore
similar testimony, from his calm retirement at Bedford:
* Franklin's letter to his son, March 22d, 1775.
7

98 JOHN JAT.
"During the course of my life," said he, "and until
after the second petition of congress, in 1775, 1 never
did hear any American of any class, or of any descrip
tion, express a wish for the independence of the colo
nies. * * * It has always been, and still is my opinion,
and belief, that our country was prompted and impelled
to independence, by necessity, and not by choice."*
So, too, affirmed John Adams and Thomas Jeffer
son. " For my own part," said the former, " there was
not a moment during the revolution, when I would not
have given everything 1 possessed for a restoration to
the state of things before the contest began, provided
we could have had a sufficient security for its continu
ance;" and Mr. Jefferson declared, that before the
commencement of hostilities he "never had heard a
whisper of a disposition to separate from Great Britain ;
and after that, its possibility was contemplated with
affliction by all."t Washington and Madison ex
pressed similar sentiments ; and such, in truth, seems
to have been the real state of feeling existing in the
colonies at the time of the assembling of the second
congress. J
But now the question of a separation from Great
Britain began to be soberly and seriously discussed.
The congress of 1775 direoted an army to be raised — •
not so much to achieve independence, however, as t©
* Life of John Jay, voL ii. pp. 412, 413.
t Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 416, 417.
X Sparks' Writings of Washington, vol iL pp. 498, 600, 501.

SECOND PETITION TO THE KING. 99
resist the efforts of the royal authorities to enforce the
observance of the tyrannous acts of parliament — and
enacted rules and regulations for its governance. At
this crisis, Mr. Jay, though apprehensive of the worst,
still hoped that redress might be obtained.* Concilia
tion was in his heart and on his tongue ; and he spoke
and practised in conformity to the sentiments that fell
from his lips. Upon his motion, a committee was ap
pointed to draft a second petition to the king. This
measure was only carried after long debate ; for many
insisted, that forbearance had already ceased to be
a virtue, and that further humiliation would be fol
lowed by further insults and indignities. The sequel
proved that they were correct ; yet, as Mr. Jay con
tended would be the case, when the subject was under
consideration, many who had previously doubted and
hesitated, were induced, by the rejection of the second
petition, to admit the propriety and necessity of a re
sort to arms. Mr. Jay was appointed on the commit
tee to prepare the petition, but the paper itself was
drawn up by Mr. Dickinson. At this session, a second
address to the people of Great Britain was likewise
adopted; also, an address to their fellow-subjects of
Jamaica and Ireland. The latter was drawn by Mr.
* This feeling seems to have been prevalent in Congress at this ses
sion; for though Dr. Franklin submitted to their consideration, a sketch
of articles of confederation, to be perpetual, in case there should be no
reconciliation with Great Britain, his project was not taken up for dis
cussion.

100 JOHN JAY.
Jay, at the request of his father-in-law, Mr. Livings
ton, who was a member of the committee selected to
prepare it.
Notwithstanding the adoption of the second petition,
congress did not neglect any of the preparations ne
cessary for putting the country in a state of defence,
and strengthening the means of resistance. These
measures, and others of like import, were warmly and
cheerfully supported by Mr. Jay. He was now com
pletely enlisted in the cause, and held himself in readi
ness to obey the call of his country wherever she might
need his services, whether in the field or in the cabinet.
Consequently, while congress was in session, in the
month of November, he received and accepted the
commission of colonel of the second regiment of mi
litia of the city of New York, tendered him by the
provincial congress. He never joined his regiment,
however, as his eloquent pen, his keen sagacity, his
prudence and discrimination, were required in the
councils of that memorable body, whose deliberations
at this period were fraught with such momentous con
sequences. Respectful in tone and loyal in sentiment, as was
the second petition to the king, it nevertheless shared
the fate of its predecessor. All hope of an accommo
dation was now abandoned, and Mr. Jay was among
the boldest and foremost in proposing and advocating
still further warlike measures. It was determined,
among other things, to issue privateer commissions,

ELECTED TO THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. 101
with a view of crippling the commerce of Great Brit
ain, and thus attacking her in the most vulnerable spot ;
but before commencing an offensive warfare, a declara
tion setting forth the causes and necessity of taking up
arms, was prepared by a committee of which Mr. Jay
was a member, and adopted by congress on the 23d
day of March, 1776. A few months later, all ties of
allegiance between the colonies and the mother country
were severed by the Declaration of Independence.
When this important step was taken, Mr. Jay's seat
in congress was vacant, and remained so during the
rest of the session, though he continued to act as a
member of the secret committee of correspondence,
appointed in 1775, upon whom devolved the duty of
communicating with the agents of congress in foreign
countries. In the month of April, 1776, he had been
elected a representative from the city and county of
New York to the provincial convention or congress.
When this body assembled, a grave question was pre
sented for deliberation. It was, whether or not a per
manent government for the colony should be estab
lished. At this time the delegates to the continental
congress from New York were appointed by the colo
nial congress, and were subject to be recalled by them.
Mr. Jay's counsel and advice being needed in the pro
vincial congress, his attendance was required by reso
lution. On receiving the summons he left Philadelphia,
and returned to the city of New York, where the
colonial convention or congress was in session. At

102 JOHN JAY.
his suggestion a series of resolutions were adopted,
calling on the people to elect delegates to a new con
vention, with express power to establish a form of
government. The election took place, and Mr. Jay was regularly
chosen a delegate. The new provincial congress met
at White Plains on the 9th of July, 1776. That very
day the Declaration of Independence adopted by the
continental congress on the 4th instant was received.
But few moments were required for deliberation. The
subject was forthwith referred to a committee of which
Mr. Jay was chairman, who almost immediately re
ported a resolution affirming that the reasons assigned
by the continental congress for declaring these united
colonies free and independent states, were cogent and
conclusive ; and that while they lamented the cruel
necessity which rendered this measure unavoidable,
they approved the same, and would, at the risk of their
lives and fortunes, join with the other colonies in sup
porting it. Thus was Mr. Jay the instrument of pledg
ing- New York to the support of the declaration, though
by his absence from Philadelphia he had been denied
the privilege of voting in its favor.
New York was now invaded by the enemy, and
other subjects connected with the defence of the state
engrossed so much of the time of the provincial con
gress, that they were only able to appoint a committee
to prepare a form of government. Mr. Jay was se
lected as the chairman of the committee, and the

INVASION OF NEW YORK. 103
task of preparing a state constitution was allotted to
him. Disaster and defeat attended the American arms on
Long Island, and the city of New York was soon in
possession of the royal forces. Treason and dis
satisfaction were everywhere prevalent, and the timid
and faint-hearted began to despair. There being no
executive authority organized in the state, the powers
of government were exercised by the convention and
its committees. A Committee of Safety was also ap
pointed by the provincial congress, who were clothed
with almost dictatorial powers, " for inquiring into, de
tecting and defeating, all conspiracies which [might]
be formed in this state, against the liberties of Amer
ica." Mr. Jay was the chairman of this committee,
and rendered most important services, both in reassur
ing those who had begun to falter in the good cause,
and in counteracting the projects of the British officers,
and their tory friends and abettors. The agents of
this committee were distributed throughout the whole
state, and their power was felt in the most remote set
tlements. The emissaries of royalty were tracked to
their hiding-places, and their plans discovered and
frustrated; the disaffected were required to give se
curity for their good behavior; and the tories were
either banished or imprisoned.
This was, indeed, a period of gloom and despond
ency, and the pen of Mr. Jay was often put in requisi
tion, for the purpose of arousing the people to engage

104 JOHN JAY.
* the defence of the country with greater alacrity, of
awakening their attention to the importance of the
emergency— of encouraging their hopes and stimulat
ing their patriotism. Among the ablest and most elo
quent of his productions, is the addres's from the pro
vincial congress to their constituents, which was pre
pared by him, and adopted on the 23d of December,
1776. After enumerating the wrongs of the colonies,
and showing how utterly futile must be every effort to
reduce them to submission, he thus concludes his ear
nest and impressive appeal: "Rouse, brave citizens!
Do your duty like men ; and be persuaded that Divine
Providence will not permit this western world to be
involved in the horrors of slavery. Consider, that
from the earliest ages of the world, religion, liberty,
and reason, have been bending their course towards
the setting sun. The holy gospels are yet to be preached
to these western regions; and we have the highest
reason to believe that the Almighty will not suffer
slavery and the gospel to go hand in hand. It cannot
— it will not be.
" But if there be any among us, dead to all sense of
honor, and love of their country; if deaf to all the
calls of liberty, virtue, and religion ; if forgetful of the
magnanimity of their ancestors, and the happiness of
their children ; if neither the examples nor the success
of other nations — the dictates of reason and of nature ;
or the great duties they owe to their God, themselves,
and their posterity, have any effect upon them — if nei-

STATE CONSTITUTION. 105
ther the injuries they have received, the prize they are
contending for, the future blessings or curses of their
children — the applause or the reproach of all mankind
— the approbation or displeasure of the Great Judge —
or the happiness or misery consequent upon their con
duct, in this and a future state, can move them; — then
let them be assured, that they deserve to be slaves, and
are entitled to nothing but anguish and tribulation.
Let them banish from their remembrance the reputa
tion, the freedom, and the happiness they have inherited
from their forefathers. Let them forget every duty,
human and divine ; remember not that they have chil
dren : and beware how they call to mind the justice
of the Supreme Being : let them go into captivity like
the idolatrous and disobedient Jews ; and be a reproach
and a by- word among the nations. But we think bet
ter things of you — we believe and are persuaded that
you will do your duty like men, and cheerfully refer
your cause to the great and righteous Judge. If suc
cess crown your efforts, all the blessings of freemen
will be your reward ; if you fall in the contest, you
will be happy with God in heaven !"*
The provincial congress were unable, owing to the
exposed condition of the state, and the distractions and
divisions prevailing among a large portion of its inhabi
tants, to enter upon the subject of organizing a state
government, until the spring of 1777. The draft of a
constitution prepared by Mr. Jay, was reported to the
* Life of John Jay, vol. i. p. 56.
5*

106 J0HN JAY-
convention on the 12th of March. In many of its
features, this instrument was decidedly aristocratic in
its character, though probably not more so than might
naturally have been expected, from the position of
those concerned in framing it. At that time, a very
great share of power and influence in the state, even
among the whigs, was held by the Livingstons, the
Schuylers, the Clintons, the Duanes, the Van Rensse-
laers, the Van Cortlandts, the Morrises, and a few
other prominent families ; and furthermore, democratic
notions and principles were hardly as well under
stood, or as popular, at that day, as they have since
become. In the midst of the discussion on the constitution as
reported by the committee, Mr. Jay was summoned to
the bedside of his dying mother, at Fishkill, to which
place his parents had removed when the lower counties
of New York were overrun by the enemy. During
his absence the final vote was taken, and the con
stitution adopted ; much to his regret, however, as he
designed to propose several amendments, and to en
graft some new features, among which was a clause
against the continuance of domestic slavery. Prior to
the adjournment, the convention appointed, temporarily,
the higher judicial and ministerial officers of the state.
Mr. Jay was selected, by general consent, for the office
of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It was also
thought advisable to appoint, a Council of Safety, con
sisting of members of the Convention, upon whom

APPOINTED MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF SAFETY. 107
was devolved the administration of the government,
until the governor and legislature were elected.
Mr. Jay was appointed a member of the Council of
Safety, the duties of which office engrossed his whole
time and attention throughout the summer, with the
exception of a few brief intervals spent in ministering
to the comforts of his aged father, or in the society of
his devoted wife. The first term of the Supreme
Court was held at Kingston, on the 9th of September,
1777, on which occasion the chief justice delivered
an able charge to the grand jury, congratulating them,
and through them the people of the state at large, upon
the favorable turn in the affairs of the infant republic,
and encouraging them to hope for a glorious issue to
the struggle in which she was engaged. Soon after
the delivery of this charge, the temporary appoint
ments made by the convention were confirmed by the
legislature ; Mr. Jay, doubtless, preferring the situation
to which he had been appointed, as he had been re
peatedly solicited to become a candidate for the office
of governor, but had uniformly declined.
Under the constitution of 1777, the veto power ^ ii
lodged in the Council of Revision, which cor .• . „ed of
the governor, the chancellor, and the judges of the
Supreme Cdurt. Consequently, during the, sessions of
the legislature, Mr. Jay was much occupied, in attend
ance at the meetings of the council, and in the
discharge of his official duties ; yet, notwithstanding,
he found time to devote considerable attention to the

108 JOHN JAY.
conduct and progress of the war, even when his other
engagements were the most pressing. His whole time,
indeed, was given to his country and his family, — the
former receiving much the larger share.
On accepting the post of Chief Justice, Mr. Jay
was obliged to vacate his seat in Congress, as the new
constitution prohibited him from holding any other
office, except that of delegate to Congress, on a special
occasion. But on the 10th of November, 1778, the
legislature decided that the difficulty with Vermont
constituted a special occasion which required his
services in congress, and therefore elected him a
delegate without vacating his judicial office. He once
more took his seat in that body, then in session at
Philadelphia, on the 7th of December following, and
three days afterwards, on the resignation of Henry
Laurens, was chosen to preside over its deliberations.
In consequence of the critical condition of the
country, and the frequent necessity of prompt action
to provide for the public safety, congress now took no
recess, but remained constantly in session. Mr. Jay
did not absent himself in a single instance from his
seat; but he soon came to the conclusion that his
protracted absence from the state was hardly consist
ent with his position as chief justice. Accordingly,
he determined on resigning the latter office, in the fall
of 1779. Governor Clinton urgently requested him to
recall his letter of resignation, but he persisted in the
resolution he had formed.

MINISTER TO SPAIN. 109
While acting as president of congress, the high
honor was conferred upon him of being selected to
prepare a circular letter to the states, urging them to
furnish the funds required for a vigorous prosecution
of the war. Like all his productions of a similar
character, this is distinguished for its manly earnest
ness, and its patriotic tone. " Let it never be said,"
he remarked at the close of the letter, " that America
had no sooner become independent than she became
insolvent, or that her infant glories and growing fame
were obscured and tarnished by broken contracts and
violated faith, in the very hour when all the nations of
the earth were admiring and almost adoring the
splendor of her rising."
A secret article annexed to the treaty with France,
concluded in February, 1778, provided, that Spain
might also accede thereto, whenever she thought
proper ; and during the summer of 1779, congress
was repeatedly urged by the French minister, M.
Gerard, to take measures for securing the object con
templated by that article. It was finally concluded to
dispatch an envoy to the Spanish court, and on the
27th of September, Mr. Jay was selected for that im
portant mission. His instructions were delivered to
him on the 16th of October, and on the 18th instant
he set sail from America in the frigate Confederacy.
He was accompanied by his wife, and her brother,
Brockholst Livingston, who acted as his private sec
retary.

110 JOHN JAY.
On the passage, he narrowly escaped shipwreck.
The Confederacy was obliged to put into St. Pierre
in the island of Martinique, in distress. It was for
tunate that this port was selected instead of Fort
Royal, as a large- English fleet was then lying off the
latter town, and would undoubtedly have captured the
American vessel had she come within reach. From
St. Pierre, Mr. Jay and his suite proceeded, in a
French frigate, to Cadiz, where they arrived on the
22d of January, 1780. No time was lost in com
municating his arrival to the Spanish minister, Count
Florida- Blanca ; but weeks and months passed away
without his being honored with a formal reception in
his official character. After much solicitation on his
part, pecuniary assistance, to some extent, was obtained ;
but the Spanish monarch declined to recognize the
independence of the American colonies, or to enter
into a treaty with them, unless they would surrender
their claims to the navigation of the Mississippi. This
Mr. Jay was neither willing, nor prepared to do, on
their behalf. But in the month of July, 1780, he was
authorized by congress to make further concessions,
and not to insist on the free navigation of the Missis
sippi below the southern boundary of the United
States. The projet of a treaty was then drawn up by
him and submitted to the Spanish minister, one article
of which relinquished the claim to the navigation of
the river, in accordance with the instructions of con
gress. The negotiation was now suspended, however,

TREATY OF PEACE. Ill
by the appointment of Mr. Jay, in conjunction with
Messrs. Adams, Franklin, and Laurens, as commission
ers to conclude a peace with Great Britain.
He left Madrid in May, 1782, and on the 23d of
June joined Dr. Franklin in Paris. The instructions
of congress required the commissioners, in any ne
gotiation for a treaty of peace, to act under the advice
of the French government. It soon became evident
to Mr. Jay that France was unwilling that terms of
peace should be concluded, unless they were calculated
to subserve her interests, and, through his persuasion
and influence, his colleagues were induced to unite
with him in disregarding the instructions of congress.
The provisional articles were therefore agreed upon,
without consultation with the French government, and
regularly signed on the 30th of November, 1782.*
* Although Mr. Jay always persisted in affirming that he was per
fectly indifferent as between England and France, (Life by his son, vol
ii., p. 261,) yet it is very evident that he was inclined to be partial to
the former. His ancestors had there found a refuge, when fleeing from
the persecutions of the French Catholics, and it is but natural that he
should have imbibed their prejudices. He opposed the invasion of
Canada, during the revolutionary war, preferring, doubtless, to have it
remain under the dominion of Great Britain, than be transferred to the
original possessors. (Life of Jay, voL i. p. 84.)
France — that is; the government as distinguished from the people,
for they were heart and soul with us — may have desired that America
should become her protegee ; yet it is still a mooted question, whether
Louis and his ministers acted in bad faith ; and the prejudices of Mr.
Jay may have enabled him to discover what escaped the penetration
of Adams and Franklin. The reader will find some able communiea-

112 JOHN JAY.
It deserves to be mentioned of Mr. Jay, in con
nection with this transaction, that he manfully and
resolutely refused to treat with the British commis
sioners, although his associates were disposed to yield
the point, unless the independence of the colonies
was first conceded, by acknowledging their represen
tatives, at the outset, as the commissioners of the
United States of America.
After the arrival of Mr. Jay in Paris, the Spanish
minister, at the French court, proposed to resume the
negotiations which had been broken off at Madrid.
The former readily assented to this, but the question in
respect to the navigation of the Mississippi formed
an insuperable obstacle to any satisfactory arrange
ment. In the spring of 1783, Mr. Jay was invited to
return to Madrid, to renew his negotiations, and he at
one time decided to comply with the invitation. But
the enfeebled state of his health, occasioned by the
unfriendly climate of Spain, and his devotion to his
public duties, compelled him to reconsider his deter
mination. He remained in France until the definitive
treaty of peace was signed, in September, 1783, and
then proceeded to England to try the effect of the
waters of Bath. He rejoined his family, whom
he had left at Paris, in January, 1784, and in the
tions on this subject in the National Intelligencer, during August, Sep
tember, and October, 1847. For Mr. Jay's views upon this subject, and
the details of his course, see his life by his son, vol. i p. 120, et seq., and
vol. iL p. 456, et seq.

APPOINTED SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. 113
month of May following embarked for the United
States. On the 24th of July, 1784, Mr. Jay landed at New
York, and was honored with a most enthusiastic re
ception by his fellow-citizens, who congratulated him
upon the signal services he had rendered to the colonies
during the contest for independence, and in the nego
tiations which resulted in the treaty of peace.. An
address was also presented to him by the corporation
of New York, accompanied with the freedom of the
city, in a gold box.
Many of the friends of Mr. Jay had desired that
he should continue to represent the Confederation at
some one of the European courts, but he refused to
accept any appointment that required his permanent
residence abroad. He had for some years contem
plated retiring to private life, and resuming the practice
of his profession, at the close of the war, though the
death of his father, which had occurred during his
absence, removed one of the reasons that influenced
him in coming to that decision. Upon his return home,
however, he found that he had been elected by con
gress, on the 7th of May previous, to the responsible
office of Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He at first
hesitated about accepting the office, and while he was
still undetermined he was again appointed by the state
legislature one of their delegates to congress. That
body met at Trenton on the 1st of November, but
adjourned on the 23d of December to the city of

114 JOHN JAY. \
New York, which continued to be the place of meeting
till the adoption of the federal constitution.
The removal of the seat of government to New
York, to which Mr. Jay was partial as a place of
residence, obviated his principal objection to the office
of Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He therefore ac
cepted the appointment, and immediately entered upon
the discharge of his official duties. For two years
the office had been without a head, and he found its
affairs in a most complicated condition. But order
was soon restored under his auspices, and everything
moved on harmoniously and with great dispatch. The
post which he now held was in every respect the most
important in the country, as the whole correspondence
with foreign governments and with the states, was
conducted by him. He was, in truth, the executive
head of the Confederation, at least when congress was
not in session ; and while they were convened, he was
almost always consulted upon every measure of more
than ordinary consequence. While acting in this
capacity, he was again selected by congress to nego
tiate a treaty with the Spanish minister, but the
navigation of the Mississippi still proved an insur
mountable difficulty. In accordance with his advice,
he. received instructions to consent to a suspension of
the navigation for twenty years, below the southern
boundary of the United States. But even this con
cession did not satisfy the Spanish envoy, and no treaty
was concluded. For offering this advice an unsuc-

DECLINES BEING CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR. 115
cessful attempt was made in congress to revoke the
commission given to Mr. Jay. All the southern
delegates, with one exception, supported the motion,
but it was defeated by the unanimous vote of the
other members.
In the summer of 1785, General Schuyler and other
friends of Mr. Jay, urged him quite warmly to become
a candidate for the office of governor of the state ; but,
although the duties of his present situation were a
great deal more arduous, and the post itself far less
lucrative, he declined giving the desired permission to
bring him forward as a candidate.
From the first organization of parties, Mr. Jay was
a decided federalist, though usually moderate in the
avowal of his opinions. The confiscation act of New
York had been passed while he was in Spain, but he
was so much opposed to the law that he could never
even speak of it with complacency, and ever refused
to purchase any land forfeited in pursuance of its pro
visions. Though he took no active part in the contro
versy, he approved of the surrender of the import
duties at New York to the general government.
His position as secretary enabled him to discover
and appreciate the defective features in the articles of
confederation. He was, therefore, among the foremost,
in advocating the formation of a central government,
possessing more power than had been given to the
continental congress. The great evil of the existing
system, in his opinion, was the " want of energy both

116 JOHN JAY.
in state and federal governments."* He was, therefore,
not an inattentive observer of the proceedings of the
convention assembled at Philadelphia in 1787, and the
constitution which they framed met with his cordial
approbation. Those matchless papers written in its
favor, which, under the collective appellation of " The
Federalist," have survived all the mutations of parties,
and are still regarded as safe guides in the determina
tion of constitutional questions, were prepared by him,
in connection with Madison and Hamilton, He con
tributed the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th numbers, and was
then obliged to discontinue writing, in consequence of
a serious wound in the forehead from a stone thrown
at him when attempting, with others, to preserve the
peace of the city during the "doctors' mob." Subse
quently, however, he prepared the 64th number, on
the treaty-making power. He also published an able
address to the people of New York, but without his
name, in support of the constitution.
In April, 1788, he was elected a delegate from the
city of New York to the state convention called to
ratify the constitution, upon the same ticket with
Robert R. Livingston, Richard Morris, James Duane,
John Sloss Hobart, and Alexander Hamilton. The
federalists were then largely in the majority in the
city, but on account of his personal popularity, Mr.
Jay ran considerably ahead of his associates, and out
of 2833 votes given, he received all but 98. At the
* Life of John Jay, vol. i. p. 261.

CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES. 117
state convention he took an active part in discussing
the constitution, and offered the resolution by which it
was ratified. The great preponderance of anti-feder
alists in the convention rendered it impossible for the
comparatively few federal members to exert much in
fluence ; but such was the confidence of all parties in
Mr. Jay, that he was selected to draft the circular let
ter to the states, urging the adoption of the amend
ments proposed by the New York convention.
Upon the organization of the federal government,
General Washington tendered to Mr. Jay any office
in his power to bestow. He selected that of Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States,
and was duly appointed to that office on the 26th of
September, 1789. At the request of the president, he
officiated as secretary of state until the arrival of Mr.
Jefferson at the seat of government. The supreme
court was not fully organized till April, 1790, when
Mr. Jay entered upon his judicial duties. As a judge,
he was distinguished for his firmness, impartiality, and
integrity. His abilities, too, were held in high estima
tion, and the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred
upon him by Harvard University as a compliment to
his attainments as a jurist. No man ever held in
higher respect the fundamental principles of law and
equity — none reverenced more sincerely the sacred
fountains of jurisprudence; but unwise precedents
never found favor in his eyes, and unmeaning statutes
were regarded as of but little worth.

118 JOHN JAY.
While upon the bench, Mr. Jay scrupulously refrain
ed from interfering with political controversies, though
he was often consulted by General Washington in re
gard to questions of public policy. In the month of
February, 1792, he was nominated at a meeting of the
federalists in the city of New York, as a candidate for
governor, and was supported as such at the ensuing
election. This nomination was made without solicita
tion on his part, and he reluctantly yielded to the wishes
of his friends. The election was closely contested.
His competitor, George Clinton, had hitherto been re
garded as the most popular man in the state, and many
of the warmest federalists in former years, including
the Livingston family, took ground against Mr. Jay.
The latter received a greater number of the votes
cast; but the canvassers, a majority of whom were
his political opponents, rejected the votes of Clinton,
Tioga, and Otsego counties, on account of some techni
cal irregularities, and declared Mr. Clinton to be duly
elected governor of the state.*
The friends of Mr. Jay denounced the proceedings
of the canvassers in the strongest terms, and had he
contributed in any way to keep up the excitement, or
had he favored even indirectly a resort to violent
measures, a scene of anarchy and confusion would
soon have been presented. But he invariably replied
to the addresses poured in upon him, in a mild and
conciliatory tone, and on all occasions exerted himself
* See page 61, antS.

SPECIAL ENVOY TO ENGLAND. 119
to allay the storm. The legislature sustained the de
cision of the canVvassers, and, like a good citizen, he
acquiesced without a murmur, — confident, meanwhile,
that the " sober second thought" of the people would
do him that justice which their representatives had
withheld. The result of the next gubernatorial elec
tion showed most conclusively that he was not mis
taken. In the month of February, 1793, a suit was decided
in the supreme court of the United States, which in
volved the important question, whether a citizen of
one state could bring an action against another state.
The chief justice delivered the prevailing opinion in
the cause, by which the right to sue was maintained.
This decision occasioned considerable dissatisfaction
in the southern states, and it was only quieted by the
adoption of the amendment to the constitution, which
declares that the judicial power of the United States
shall not extend to suits prosecuted against one of the
states, by citizens of another state, or citizens or sub
jects of a foreign state.
Mr. Jay was consulted by Washington in regard to
the proclamation of neutrality, issued in April, 1793.
He not only approved of that measure, but in his offi
cial capacity, and as a private individual, enjoined its
observance upon his fellow-citizens. In the following
year, when it was determined to dispatch a special en
voy to England to remonstrate with the British gov
ernment against its repeated violations of the treaty

120 JOHN JAY.
of 1783, and its efforts to monopolize the trade of
America, John Jay was selected for the mission. His
name was sent into the senate on the 16th of April,
1794, and was soon after confirmed. Without resign
ing the office of chief justice, as his absence from the
country was designed to be but temporary, he embark
ed from New York on the 12th of May.
The result of Mr. Jay's mission was the celebrated
treaty which bears his name, concluded on the 19th
of November, 1794. The anti-federalists, or repub
licans, had originally endeavored to defeat his nomina
tion, and denounced in unmeasured terms all further
attempts at negotiation ; and when the treaty was pub
lished, it at once encountered a most violent storm of
denunciation. It did not want for able defenders,
however, and was ultimately approved by the president
and senate. The merits and demerits of this treaty
have been often discussed ; but the space to do justice
to them could hardly be afforded in a mere biographi
cal sketch. It was not in every respect such as was
desired ; Mr. Jay himself hesitated to sign it ; Presi
dent Washington declined taking the responsibility of
approving it, until he was advised so to do by the sen
ate ; and the latter only ratified it, with some modifi
cations, by the constitutional vote of two thirds. On
the other hand, it was undoubtedly the best that could
then have been obtained ; and, although it did not pre
vent a second war with Great Britain, it had the effect

ELECTED GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK. 121
of postponing hostilities till the country was better
prepared for them.*
Ill health prevented the return of Mr. Jay to Amer
ica until the spring of 1795. During his absence he
was again put in nomination by his federal friends for
the office of governor. The election took place in
April, 1795, and before the contents of the treaty were
made known. Public opinion was strongly enlisted in
behalf of Mr. Jay, in consequence of the manner in
which he had been defeated at the previous election,
and in a poll of twenty-five thousand votes, he obtain
ed nearly sixteen hundred majority over the opposing
candidate, Robert Yates, chief justice of the supreme
court of the state. The former landed at New York
on the 28th of May, and on the 1st of July took the
oath of office as governor of the state ; having pre
viously resigned his seat on the bench of the supreme
court. Governor Jay delivered his first speech to the legis
lature, at the commencement of the session in January,
1796. He declared that he would proscribe no one
for the sake of his political opinions, and that he would
" regard all his fellow-citizens with an equal eye," and
* See Marshall's Life of Washington, vol. v. p. 533, et seq.; Life of
John Jay, vol. i. p. 305, et seq. ; vol. ii. p. 235, et seq. ; Sparks' Writ
ings of Washington, vol. xi. p. 35, et seq. ; Gibbs' Administrations of
Washington and Adams, vol. i. p. 190, et Beq. ; Randolph's Vindication
of his Resignation, Philadelphia, 1794; Examination of the Conduct of
Great Britain respecting neutral states, Philadelphia, 1807.
6

122 JOHN JAY.
" cherish and advance merit, wherever found." How
ever praiseworthy may have been the motives that
prompted this declaration, — however noble the theory
of the new governor, — he was utterly unable to reduce
it to practice ; and during his administration a great
number of removals were made from political consider
ations. Probably Mr. Jay did not concur in the pro
priety of making all these changes, but if so, he re
mained a passive spectator in the council composed
of his friends.*
Among the recommendations of the governor were
the mitigation of the criminal code, and the establish
ment of institutions for the employment and reforma-
* The biographer of Mr. Jay, (voL i. p. 391) Bays that when the lat
ter entered upon the office of governor, " most if not all the offices" in
the gift of the executive, were filled by the political friends of Governor
George Clinton ; and he adds, furthermore, (ibid, p. 392) that " during
the six years of Governor Jay's administration, not one individual was
dismissed by him from office on account of his politics." Now, either
one or other of these statements is incorrect; for it is undeniably true,
that when the republican party regained the ascendency in the state,
near the close of Governor Jay's administration, they found that " most
if not all the offices" were filled by his political friends. The writer
may have intended that his language should be construed strictly, and
to be understood as saying that Governor Jay, in his own proper per
son, did not actually remove any person from office on account of his
politics; but if such be the construction he designed to have put upon
his words, the fairness and impartiality of the writer are not very ob
vious, especially when we reflect that all appointments, of any import
ance, were made by the council of which the governor was a member,
and upon his nomination.

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. 123
tion of criminals. Both these suggestions were ap
proved by the legislature, and the necessary laws
passed. He also urged the importance of facilitating
and multiplying the means of intercourse between dif
ferent parts of the state. Although he had long been
in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery, he did not
think proper to recommend the measure, lest it might
become connected with party politics. An intimate
friend of his, however, introduced a bill providing for
the abolition, at an early day in the session. There
were still too many and too powerful prejudices to
overcome, and a favorable vote was not this year ob
tained ; but the subject was pressed, at each annual
meeting of the legislature, by the friends of the gov
ernor, acting under his counsel and advice ; and in
the winter of 1799, their efforts were crowned with
complete success, and the bill which had so often been
postponed or defeated became the law of the land. In
this manner was Governor Jay identified with the first
effort made towards the abolition of slavery in the
state of New York.
The session of the legislature in the winter of 1797
passed off without any occurrence of unusual interest.
At the ensuing session the governor recommended the
passage of laws providing for the more strict observ
ance of the Sabbath. One of the first acts of his ad
ministration had been the recommendation of a day
of public thanksgiving, in accordance with the pre
vailing custom in the New England states. Bu.

124 JOHN JAY.
"eastern notions" were not at all popular among the
descendants of the old Knickerbockers, and he never
repeated the recommendation. The measure which
he suggested in 1798 was much more acceptable, and
a law was enacted, in conformity with his suggestions.
At this session, also, a company was incorporated to
make a navigable communication between Lakes Erie
and Ontario, but it never went into operation.
At the April election in 1798, Mr. Jay was again a
candidate. He would willingly have retired from the
chair of state, but his friends insisted that no other
man belonging to the party could be chosen, and the
prospect of a war with France rendered it highly im
portant that the national administration should be sus
tained by the powerful state of New York. The ex
citement in regard to the treaty with Great Britain in
1794, had now nearly subsided, but the republicans
were active and determined in preparing for the can
vass, and they presented as their candidate, Robert R.
Livingston, the chancellor of the state, and the inti
mate friend and relative of Mr. Jay. The latter would
have preferred almost any other opponent, but no al
ternative seemed to be left to him. The election went
off without any disturbance or difficulty, notwithstand
ing the heated passions and prejudices of the rival
parties. About thirty thousand votes were cast, over
sixteen thousand of which were given to Mr. Jay.
The first two years of the second term of Mr. Jay's
administration passed away quietly. In the summer

HIS CHARACTER AS A POLITICIAN. 125
of 1798, an extra session of the legislature was held,
in pursuance of his proclamation, for the purpose of
adopting measures for the defence of the state, in co
operation with the general government; a war with
France being at that time threatened. At the April
election in 1800, a majority of republican members
were returned to the New York assembly ; and it was
now certain, that if the choice of electors were to be
made by the legislature, Mr. Jefferson would be elected
president. In ordgr to prevent this result, Alexander
Hamilton wrote a letter to Mr. Jay, urging him to con
vene the old legislature, whose terms of office did not
expire until the 1st of July, for the purpose of chang
ing the law so as to permit the choice of electors by
the people in districts. By this means, he said, " a
majority of votes in the United States for a federal
candidate" would be ensured. To the honor of Gover
nor Jay, be it said, he refused to have any part in such
a proceeding ; and upon the letter of Mr. Hamilton,
afterwards found among his papers, he made this en
dorsement : " Proposing a measure for party purposes,
which I think it would not become me to adopt."*
This act was strictly in keeping with the character
of Mr. Jay as a politician. Tnrougnout his whole life,
he was a firm, decided, and consistent federalist ; but
he never manifested the bitterness that characterized
Ames and Sullivan, and belonged rather to that con
servative school headed by the Pinckneys, the Ad-
* Life of Jay, vol. i. p. 412 et seq.

126 JOHN JAY.
arnses, and the Kings, than to that ultra class led on
by Hamilton, Pickering, and Wolcott. He was op
posed to the election of foreigners to office.* He
thought the right of suffrage ought to be restricted, in
most cases, to freeholders ; for it was ever a favorite
maxim with him, that " those who own the country,
ought to govern it ;"+ and he had a great horror of de
mocracy, believing that "pure democracy, like pure
rum, easily produces intoxication."J Previous to the
adoption of the federal constitution, he expressed him
self in favor of a strong central government, which
should possess the power of commissioning and remov
ing all- the principal officers in the different states ;§ and
though he lived to see the Union successful beyond the
most sanguine expectations of its friends — to behold
the daughter outstripping the mother country — "matre
pulchra filia pulchrior" — in all the elements of na
tional wealth and greatness — he had but little confi
dence in the stability of the government.|| He was a
friend to the people, but he preferred to be their pro
tector, rather than their equal.
In entertaining these views, and in uttering them on
all suitable occasions, he^was frank and sincere ; but he
was no political bigot, and he never failed to rejoice in
the happiness and prosperity of his native land.
• In his first speech to the legislature, in January,
* Life of John Jay, vol. L p. 407. f Ibid. p. 70.
X Ibid. voL ii, pp. 309, 313, 351, 366, ct alibi. § Ibid. voL i p. 266.
|| Ibid. vol. a p. 295.

RETIRES TO PRIVATE LIFE 127
1796, Governor Jay recommended that something
should be done to remove the ambiguity in the consti
tution, relative to the exclusive right of the governor
to make nominations, which had occasioned the dispute
between Governor Clinton and the council of appoint
ment. No action was had in the premises, however ;
and at the session of the legislature, in the month of
November, 1800, the republican majority in the assem
bly made choice of a council, composed of a majority
of their political friends. De Witt Clinton and Ambrose
Spencer, the leading republicans in the senate, were
members of this council. They were not convened by
the governor until the 11th of February, when his
nominations were summarily rejected by the majority ;
and at a subsequent meeting, they claimed the concur
rent right of nomination. Governor Jay was determin
ed not to yield the point ; he therefore refused to put
any nominations, except those made by himself, and
forthwith adjourned the council. He immediately
sent a message to the legislature upon the subject, and
the majority of the council also made a written com
munication to the assembly. The two houses could
not agree upon the measures necessary to be adopted,
though a law was passed at this session, recommending
a convention ; and the governor did not again call the
council together during the remainder of his official
term. An effort was made by the party friends of Mr. Jay,
to induce him to become a candidate a third time ; but

128 JOHN JAY.
it proved unavailing. The period had now arrived, at
which he had long previously determined to retire to
private life ; and he could not be induced to forego the
quiet and repose to which he had looked forward with so
much satisfaction, for a participation in the imbittered
strifes and controversies of political partisans. On the
19th of December, 1800, he was appointed by the presi
dent and senate Chief Justice of the United States ;*
but even the tempting prospect thus afforded, of a
return to his old post, could not induce him to alter his
determination; and in the month of May, 1801, he
bade a final adieu to the cares and anxieties of office,
and retired to his estate at Bedford, in the county of
Westchester. Here he spent the remainder of his life,
surrounded by a few friends, who knew and could ap
preciate his worth — by children who revered and loved
him ; occupying himself in the care of his farm, in
works of benevolence and charity, in the study of the
Bible, and in advancing the interests of religion.
He lost his wife within the first year after his remo
val to Westchester county; but severe as was this
blow, it fell upon a heart sustained and cheered by the
Christian's hope — patient in every trial, and resigned
in every affliction. He survived her many years;
and though never unmindful of her absence, he did not
* It would seem that the nomination of Mr. Jay was not very ac
ceptable to the Hamiltonian federalists. See the letters of Wolcott and
McHenry — Gibbs' Administrations of Washington and Adams, vol. ii.
pp. 460, 461, 468.

HIS DEATH. 129
mourn " as one without hope." He could look back on
his past life with few emotions of regret ; and as for the
present, how could he have been otherwise than con
tent and happy, when each returning anniversary of
his birth reminded him how
" Noiseless falls the foot of time, that treads on flowers."
He died at Bedford, on the 17th of May, 1829, in the
eighty-fourth year of his age— leaving a rich legacy to
his children, in an unspotted name, and in the thousand
noble virtues with which it is imperishably associated.
The personal appearance of Mr. Jay was indicative
of his origin. At the age of forty-four, he is described
by Mr. Sullivan, as being a little less than six feet in
height — " his person rather thin, but well formed. His
complexion was without color, his eyes black and pen
etrating, his nose aquiline, and his chin pointed. His
hair came over his forehead, was tied behind, and
lightly powdered. His dress black. The expression
of his face was exceedingly amiable. When standing,
he was a little inclined forward, as is not uncommon
with students long accustomed to bend over a table."*
His talents were of a high order. His mind was
well stored with the learning of the ancient and modern
world, and in the English classics he was well versed.
His style as a writer was like his character, simple and
pure, but elevated and impressive. As a speaker, he
was easy and fluent, presenting a happy mixture of
* Familiar Letters on Public Characters, Lett xv.
9

130

JOHN JAY.

earnestness and dignity. He did not " lead to bewil
der, and dazzle to blind." His eloquence was not like
the mountain torrent, dashing and impetuous ; nor yet
like the swelling of the ocean, grand and magnificent ;
but like the never-failing rivulet, gentle and tranquil
in its course, yet surely and slowly making its way to
its end. He was slow in judgment, but clear-headed
and accurate. He never adopted an opinion hastily,
but deliberated patiently ; and the decisions at which
he arrived were almost as sacred, in his estimation, as
the laws of the Medes and Persians to those who believ
ed in their infallibility.
In regard to his public character, but little can be
said in addition to what may be gathered from the fore
going pages. He was honest and true, faithful and
prompt in the discharge of every duty, and of unim
peachable integrity. Cherishing his own convictions
in all sincerity, he respected the motives of those who
differed from him in opinion. Amid all the blandish
ments of public favor, he never forgot what he owed to
himself, to his family, to his country, and to his Maker.
Unseduced by the allurements of office, unterrified by
threats and denunciations, he did not falter when the
path was plain before him ; but in and through all, pre
served the jewel of his honor untarnished and unsoiled.
So, too, in private life, every obligation was dis
charged cheerfully, and with promptitude. As was
said of Petrarch, " his word was sufficient." He was
a dutiful son; a kind and faithful husband; and an

CHARACTER. 131
affectionate parent. He was charitable and generous,
and in all his dealings with his fellow-men, the scales of
justice were held at an even poise. His piety was sin
cere and unaffected ; not made up of outward show
and forms; but the genuine religion of the heart.
Truly, might it be said of such a man : —
" Felix non solum claritate vitae,
tied etiam oppor tunitate mortis !"

MORGAN LEWIS.
No one family occupies a more conspicuous* place
in the early annals of New York than that ofthe Liv
ingstons. At the commencement of the revolutionary
struggle — amidst storm and darkness — they devoted
themselves to the colonial cause ; and the record of
their patriotic services forms no small part of the his
tory ofthe country. The honors which they gathered
were neither few nor unimportant. In the legisla
tive hall, and in the cabinet — in the forum, and in the
field — they were alike distinguished. The evidences
that bear witness to their talents multiply upon exami
nation, and their integrity and fidelity during the
contest for freedom cannot be gainsayed. They were
interested in many a well-fought conflict, and on the
bright roll of American statesmen and civilians they
were worthily represented.*
* A history of the Livingston family is a desideratum in the literature
of New Tork. The materials for such a work must be ample ; yet,
with the exception of Sedgwick's Life and Letters of William Living
ston, and a few meagre biographical sketches of other members of the
family, we have nothing that can supply the deficiency.

y^' '*%

Jmm-

mmvsrAm OS "WIS.
Third (dvcrrur rf Yew York.

Ilfh ' I-' ikdidm UlKt.u.inS!

HIS FATHER. 133
It is usual with politicians, and perhaps is not im
proper, to refer to the Livingston family, as embracing,
as well those who bore the name, as the prominent men,
— such as Jay, Tillotson, Armstrong, Thompson, and
Lewis, — who were connected with it by marriage.
The last of these, Morgan fewis, is the subject of this
sketch. Of his parentage he had just right to be
proud : his father was one of the little band of patriot
statesmen, who affixed their names to the declaration
of American Independence, and in the midst of trials
and reverses, that severely tested his constancy and
faith, remained firm and steadfast even unto the end.
Francis Lewis, the father, was born in the town of
Llandaff South Wales, in March, 1713. At the age
of four or five years, he was left an orphan, in charge
of a maiden aunt, who taught him the rudiments of
learning, and instructed him in the ancient Welsh lan
guage. Subsequently, he was sent to Scotland, where,
while residing in the family of a relative, he acquired
a pretty correct knowledge of the Erse. His educa
tion was afterwards completed at the school of West
minster, at which he enjoyed the reputation of being a
good classical scholar. On leaving the school, he en
tered the counting-room of a London merchant, and by
his assiduous attention to business, soon won the regard
and esteem of his employers, and became well skilled
in the duties appertaining to the mercantile profession.
When he arrived at man's estate, he determined to
seek his fortune in the western world. The decision

134 MORGAN LEWIS.
once made, he did not lack the energy and enterprise
necessary to carry it into effect. Converting all his
means into merchandise, he embarked for New York,
and arriv.ed there in the spring of 1735. He left a
part of his goods at this place to be disposed of by his
partner, Edward Annesly^nd with the remainder pro
ceeded to Philadelphia, where he established himself in
business. In 1737, Mr. Lewis returned to New York, and in
a few years was regarded as one of the most active and
enterprising merchants in the city. His commercial
transactions were very extensive, and were principally
connected with the foreign trade. He frequently ac
companied his vessels in their voyages, and was twice
shipwrecked on the Irish coast. In the last French
and Indian war, he acted as the agent of the govern
ment in procuring supplies for the troops, and was pres
ent at the obstinate defence of Oswego, in the summer
of 1756. On this occasion he manifested a great deal
of firmness and ability; and in consideration of his
valuable services, he received at the close of the war,
a grant of five thousand acres of land, portions of
which eventually became quite valuable.
He was included in the surrender to Montcalm,
and with about thirty other prisoners, was delivered up
by the French commander to the head chief of his In
dian allies, in open and shameful violation of the terms
of the capitulation. Mr. Lewis had obtained a smat
tering of the Indian language, and being able to com-

HIS PUBLIC COURSE. 135
municate with the chief, he so pleased him by his con
versation, that he escaped the sad fate which befell his
companions in misfortune, many of whom were cru
elly murdered.* Indeed, he so won upon the chief,
that the latter interceded with Montcalm, in order to
obtain permission for him to return to his family with
out ransom. The request was denied, and he was sent
as a prisoner of war to France. He remained there,
till he was regularly exchanged, when he returned to
America. From his position as a merchant, and from his con
nection with the commercial and maritime interests of
the colonies, Mr. Lewis was among the first to feel the
effects of the arbitrary taxation and the restrictive
measures adopted by the home government. What
ever he could do to warn his fellow-citizens against the
impending danger, he did boldly and without hesitation.
At an early stage of the struggle, he foresaw that the
evils of which the colonists most justly complained,
would be immedicable, without an entire separation
from the mother country. His high character for prob
ity and intelligence, and his fearlessness in the mainte
nance and utterance of his opinions, commanded the
* It has been said, that Mr. Lewis was able to converse with the In
dian warrior, by reason of the similarity of his dialect to the ancient
Welsh ; but this resemblance, as well as the tradition respecting the
settlement of the Welsh prince in the valley of the Mississippi, has long
since been shown to be purely fictitious. We cannot regret, however,
that the tradition was once regarded as authentic, since it has given us
the beautiful ' Madoc' of Southey.

136 MORGAN LEWIS.
respect and confidence of the people of New York ;
and in 1775, he was unanimously elected a delegate to
the continental congress. In the following year, he
had the honor of affixing his name to the Declaration
of Independence. He continued to represent New
York in the national legislature, of which his business
habits and talents rendered him a most valuable mem
ber, until the year 1779. During the war, he was con
cerned in the importation of military stores for the
army, and rendered many secret services, at the
request of congress, of the most important character.
Shortly after he took up his residence in the city of
New York, Mr. Lewis married the sister of his part
ner, by whom he had several children. Being appre
hensive of an attack upon New York, he removed his
family and effects, early in 1775, to a country-seat
which he owned, on Long Island. Here he deemed
them secure ; but the sequel showed his mistake. In a
few months, the whole island was overrun by the
British troops, and his house was attacked and plunder
ed by a party of cavalry. His large library and all his
most valuable papers were destroyed, and his wife was
taken prisoner. She was detained as such for a num
ber of months, and kept in close confinement. At
length, through the intercession and remonstrance of
Washington, she was released ; but she had experienced
such barbarous treatment during her captivity, that
her constitution was completely shattered, and she soon
sunk into the grave.

HIS BIRTH AND EDUCATION. 137
Previous to the revolution, the affairs of Mr. Lewis
had been exceedingly prosperous ; but he literally and
truly perilled everything, by his firm adherence to the
revolted colonies. His losses during the contest were
so great, that he spent the close of his days in com
parative poverty. His death occurred on the 30th of
December, 1803, in the ninetieth year of his age.
Morgan Lewis, the son of Francis Lewis, was born
in the city of New York, on the 16th day of October,
1754. At an early age he was sent to the Elizabeth-
town academy, and from thence transferred to the
college of New Jersey, at Princeton. While a member
of this institution, he was distinguished for his correct
deportment, and for his studious disposition. He stood
in the foremost rank of his class ; and at the annual
commencement in 1773, delivered one ofthe honorary
orations. At this time he took his degree, and in the
same year entered the office of John Jay, as a student
at law.
In common with other young men of his acquaint
ance, in the city and'colony of New York, he regarded
with deep interest the ominous forebodings of the ap
proaching struggle. Inheriting the zealous and self-
sacrificing patriotism of his father — in him but the
more conspicuous, because it was manifested with all
the ardor of youth — he never hesitated as to what
course he should pursue. In 1774, he joined a volun
teer company, composed mainly of his associates, or
those about the same age as himself, who had united to-

138 MORGAN LEWIS.
gether for the purpose of perfecting themselves in mili
tary discipline, under the instruction of one of the sol
diers of the " Great Frederic." The ability of the
teacher, and the manner in which they profited by his
tuition, may be inferred from the fact, that this one
company furnished to the army of the revolution more
than fifty of its best officers.
When the tocsin of war was sounded at Lexington
and Concord, young Lewis threw down his books, and
caught up the musket. In the month of June, 1775,
and but a few days subsequent to the battle of Bunker-
hill, he joined the army before Boston, as a volunteer,
in a rifle company, commanded by Captain Ross, of
Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His absence from New
York was but temporary, as he was soon elected to the
command of the company of volunteers organized in
that city, as has been mentioned. He returned home
towards the close of the month of August, and on the
25th of that month was ordered by the provincial con
gress to cover with his company a party of citizens,
while engaged in removing the arms, ordnance, and
military equipments, from the arsenal on the Battery.
The Asia, a British man-of-war, which had been or
dered from Boston, to overawe the city, and prevent
any outbreak or disturbance by the " sons of liberty,"
then lay at anchor in the bay, nearly abreast of the ar
senal, and within short cannon range of the shore.
It was necessary, therefore, to proceed with great cau
tion, lest the design should be discovered ; for though

REMOVAL OF STORES FROM THE ARSENAL. 139
the possession of the guns and materiel was of sufficient
importance to risk a collision, it was advisable to
effect the object, if possible, without drawing the fire
of the British vessel upon the city.
Information, however, of the contemplated move
ment had been communicated to the commander of the
Asia, by the spies of Governor Tryon ; and shortly after
nightfall, the former dispatched an armed barge, to
watch the proceedings on shore. The work of remo
val had but just commenced, when the boat was dis
covered gliding slowly in with muffled oars. The
sentinel who discovered her immediately hailed, and
receiving no answer, fired a shot over her, at the same
time ordering those on board to come to the shore, or
at once to pull out into the stream. The order was
unheeded ; but a small blue light was exhibited under
the bow of the boat. This was, doubtless, the concerted
signal; and in an instant the battle-lanterns of the
Asia were lighted, and her guns opened their fire in the
direction of the arsenal. Captain Lewis promptly de
tailed a section of his command, who fired a volley
into the boat, which killed one of the crew, and
severely wounded another. The cannonade was kept
up from the vessel, and the houses on the Battery
were considerably injured, but no other serious damage
was done.
In the month of November, following, the provincial
congress organized the militia of New York into regi
ments. Captain Lewis was commissioned as first

140 MORGAN LEWIS.
major in the second regiment of foot. John Jay was
appointed colonel of the regiment ; but as he never
joined it on account of the pressing nature of his other
public duties, the command devolved on the first major.
Accordingly, during the ensuing winter, Major Lewis
spent most of his time in organizing, equipping, and
disciplining his regiment. But he ardently desired to
be employed in more active service, and in June,
1776, accompanied General Gates to the northern fron
tier, as the chief of his staff, with the rank of colonel.
On joining the army, which had now returned from
Canada, he was appointed quartermaster-general of the
northern department, in which capacity he was con
tinued until the close of the war.
The duties devolving upon Colonel Lewis by virtue
of this appointment, though useful and important,
were not such as history delights to chronicle. It
need only be said of them that, arduous and difficult as
they were, fidelity and promptitude, at all times and
under all circumstances, characterized his performance
ofthem. He accompanied the army when Ticon-
deroga was evacuated, and rendered most valuable ser
vices in securing the attirail, munitions and supplies,
and transporting them to the islands in the Hudson,
above the embouchure ofthe Mohawk, where Schuyler
had determined to make a final stand against the in
vading forces led by Burgoyne. To him, also, was
that same army, reinforced by the militia of New
England and New York, deeply indebted, for the com-

CAMPAIGN UNDER GATES. 141
pleteness of their preparations, in anticipation of the
memorable campaign under the ambitious but patriotic
Gates. When the latter moved forward to the po
sition which he ultimately occupied, on Bemis' Heights,
he found everything in readiness for the march and
the encampment, that the department over which
Colonel Lewis presided was required to furnish, and
repeatedly expressed his satisfaction with the arrange
ments that had been made.
After the battle of Stillwater, on the 19th of Sep
tember, a general order was issued providing that, in
the event of another conflict, the quartermaster-general
should perform the duties of an aid-de-camp for the
occasion, and directing that all orders given on the
field by that officer, should be considered as coming
from head-quarters, and obeyed accordingly. The
final engagement on the 7th of October, as it will be
remembered, was fought mainly in the woods, and
Gates himself saw little or nothing of the movements
that were made, though he was kept constantly in
formed of the changing aspects of the battle, by the
videttes and messengers whom he had dispatched to
.he scene of action when the drums first beat the alarm.
A party of these, consisting of six or eight of the most
intelligent and best mounted of Vernejour's troops,
were under the command of Colonel Lewis, /who
placed himself in close proximity to the hostile lines, in
a favorable place for observation, and communicated al
most instant information of every movement to his chief.

142 MORGAN LEWIS.
This action was the fitting prelude to the capitula
tion on the 17th instant. While Burgoyne and his
officers were forgetting the misfortunes which had pre
ceded the surrender, in the kindness of their reception
by the courtly Gates, and his gallant brethren in arms,
Colonel Lewis conducted the downcast and dispirited
soldiers whom the former had commanded, to the plain
on the margin of the Hudson, where they piled their
weapons, and then through the long lines of American
yeomanry to the rear of the encampment. The bright
star which thus shed its beams over the plains of Sara
toga, rose upon a land darkened with misfortune and
gloom ; but it proved the blessed harbinger of weal, and
when it set, the hour of deliverance had come.
No further attempt at the invasion of Canada was
made by the continental army, and the head-quarters
of the northern department were now transferred to
the city of Albany. Here Colonel Lewis was for the
most part employed in discharging the duties con
nected with his staff appointment. In the fall of 1780,
he took part in the expedition under General Robert
Van Rensselaer, against the partisan corps under Sir
John Johnson, and the fierce warriors of the savage
Brant, who were laying waste the beautiful and fertile
valley of the Mohawk. On this occasion, he was hon
ored with the command of the advance ; and in the en
gagement at Stone Arabia, 'he did good service at the
head of his men, exposing himself fearlessly in the
milee, and contributing essentially to the defeat and

MEMBER OF THE ASSEMBLY. 143
rout of the enemy. Subsequently, he accompanied
Governor Clinton to Crown Point, with a strong party
of troops, in order to cut off the retreat of the same
party of marauders' who had debarked at that place and
crossed over the country on another errand of destruc
tion. The attempt was unsuccessful, and the mongrel
band escaped the fate which they had so richly deserved.
At the close of the war, Mr. Lewis resumed his pro
fessional studies, and was duly admitted to the bar.
He commenced practice in the city of New Ybrk, and
soon secured a very respectable share of business. He
was naturally fond of the "pomp and circumstance" of
war, and was appointed colonel commandant of a legion
ary corps of volunteer militia, at the head of which he
escorted General Washington on the occasion of his
first inauguration as President of the United States.
Previous to this event, but in the same month, he had
been elected a member of assembly from the city and
county of New York on the federal ticket. Before
the time for the next annual election came round he
removed to Dutchess county, but his friends insisted
on presenting his name to the electors of that county,
and he was again returned to the legislature. Soon
after this, he was appointed one of the judges of the
Dutchess Common Pleas.
The political associations of Mr. Lewis when he
first entered public life were decidedly federal, but in
common with a majority of the other members of the
Livingston family, he abandoned the party almost as

144 MORGAN LEWIS. «
soon as it was formed, and in 1790 entered the repub
lican ranks. On the 8th of November, 1791, he was
appointed attorney-general of the state, to fill the va
cancy occasioned by the resignation of Aaron Burr,
who had recently been elected a senator in Congress.
Mr. Lewis continued rapidly to ascend the official
grades, which finally conducted him to the highest
office in the state. In the summer of 1792, the coun
cil of appointment determined to create a fourth judge
of the sttpreme court, and by the casting vote of Gov
ernor Clinton the office was conferred on Mr. Lewis ;
and in 1801, the latter was made chief justice. Upon
the bench, he presided with dignity and impartiality.
His decisions were marked by candor and good sense ;
and by his firmness, tempered by a kind and agreeable
manner, he commanded respect, and enforced obe
dience, without incurring the ill-will of suitors or
attorneys. After the nomination of George Clinton, as the
republican candidate for vice-president, in the winter
of 1804, it became necessary to select some other per
son to fill the gubernatorial office in New York.
Aaron Burr possessed -many warm and attached
friends in the republican party who still adhered to the
waning fortunes of their patron and friend, like the
dying knight to his pedigree, and labored unceasingly
to secure his nomination. But the circumstances at
tending the presidential contest in the house of
representatives, in 1801, had alienated the affections

ELECTED GOVERNOR. 145
of the great majority of his former political friends ;
and the Clintons and Livingstons threw the whole
weight of their influence against him. Nevertheless,
his more devoted adherents insisted on bringing him
forward ; and though they found it impossible to pro
cure the endorsement of a legislative caucus, his name
was duly presented at a meeting held for that purpose.
The federalists made no nomination ; but, with the ex
ception of the immediate personal friends of Alexander
Hamilton, resolved to support Mr. Burr.
John Lansing, jun., then chancellor ofthe state, was
nominated, in the first instance, by the republican legis
lative caucus, for the office of governor ; but he declin
ed becoming a candidate. A second meeting was then
held, at which Chief Justice Lewis was put in nomi
nation. John Broome was nominated for lieutenant-
governor. So great was the preponderance of the
republicans in the legislature, at this time, that the
address, recommending these candidates to the favor
of the electors, was signed by one hundred and four of
the one hundred and thirty-two members.
The result of the election was a matter of some
doubt. Mr. Burr possessed considerable personal
popularity among the republicans of the state ; and
had the whole strength of the federal party been ex
erted in his behalf, it is very probable that he would
have been elected. But Mr. Lewis received much the
greater portion of the republican suffrages. There
were, in all, about fifty-three thousand votes taken, of
10

146 MORGAN LEWIS.
which nearly thirty-one thousand were given to Mr.
Lewis, who was consequently elected by almost nine
thousand majority, and immediately resigned his seat
on the bench of the supreme court.
Among the first official acts of Governor Lewis, was
that of recommending to the legislature, in his speech
at the opening of the session in January, 1805, the sub
ject of making some permanent provision for the en
couragement of education, and the support of common
schools ; and if he had no other claim upon the favor
able regard of his fellow-citizens, this alone should en
title him to their lasting gratitude. " I cannot con
clude, gentlemen," said he, " without calling your
attention to a subject which my worthy and highly-
respected predecessor in office* had much at heart, and
frequently, I believe, presented to your view — the en
couragement of literature. In a government resting
on public opinion, and deriving its chief support from
the affections of a people, religion and morality can
not be too sedulously cultivated. To them, science is
an handmaid ; ignorance, the worst of enemies. Lit
erary information should then be placed within the
reach of every description of citizens, and poverty
should not be permitted to obstruct the path to the fane
of knowledge. Common schools, under the guidance
of respectable teachers, should be established in every
village, and the indigent educated at the public ex
pense. The higher seminaries, also, should receive
* George Clinton.

FOUNDATION OF COMMON SCHOOL FUND. 147
every support within the means of enlightened legisla
tion. Learning would thus flourish, and vice be more
effectually restrained than by volumes of penal
statutes." These were words of wisdom, and they were wisely
heeded. On the 5th day of February succeeding, the
governor sent a special message to the legislature, in
which he advised that the proceeds of the public lands
of the state, amounting to one and a half millions of
acres, should be exclusively appropriated to educational
purposes. A bill was forthwith introduced, which be
came a law on the 2d of April, setting apart the net
avails of the first five hundred thousand acres of land
that should be sold, and three thousand shares of bank
stock, as a fund for the use of common schools, to ac
cumulate till the interest amounted to fifty thousand
dollars per annum ; after which, the latter was to be
annually distributed, for the promotion ofthe great ob
ject in view, in such a manner as the legislature
might direct.
In this manner, upon the recommendation of Mor
gan Lewis, was the foundation of the present common
school fund first laid. One improvement after another
has been made, until now we have a splendid system
of education, to which the citizen of New York may
justly point with exultant pride. Its influence is felt in
every nook and corner of the state ; in the crowded
thoroughfares of our large towns and cities, and in the
quiet hamlet embosomed amid the leafy drapery of our

148 MORGAN LEWIS.
virgin forests ; in the marble palace of the millionaire,
and in the humble cottage of the laborer. " The dis
trict school is no longer the repulsive, dreary, and tedi
ous place of mental and bodily torture, which has furn
ished the fertile theme of wit and sarcasm to so many of
the highest class of minds. Music and innocent hilarity ;
play-grounds, adorned with the choicest flowers, and
cultivated with the most assiduous care ; walls, orna
mented with the most tasteful and attractive drawings ;
and seats and desks, arranged with the utmost regard for
the comfort and convenience of the occupant ; kind,
attentive, and faithful teachers, and cheerful, obedient,
and happy pupils — now meet the eye on every hand ;
and the work of education is everywhere progressing,
with a power and success hitherto unknown."*
The wish of Governor Lewis has been fulfilled.
Poverty no more obstructs " the path to the fane of
knowledge," and the indigent are educated " at. the public
expense." The starting-point in the career of learning
has been made free to all ; and the son of the rich
man enjoys no greater privileges, in this respect, than
the young stripling, with no fortune but an honest
heart and a determined spirit, who presses forward be
side him in the race.
In the autumn of 1805, the governor visited most of
the counties in the state, in his character as com
mander-in-chief, and personally inspected the militia.
As has been remarked, he was naturally fond — perhaps
* District School Journal, May, 1846.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE MILITIA. 149
too much so — of military show and display. The im
provement of the militia system was one of the principal
themes of his speech, at the commencement of the
legislative session in the winter of 1806 ; and this, to
gether with the reviews, furnished abundance of mate
rial for the small wits of the day, in their attacks upon
him. In the course of his speech, he referred to the
almost universal want of experienced drummers, and
remarked, that the " drum was all-important in the day
of battle." His political enemies at once pounced
upon this expression, and rung the changes upon it
from one end of the state to the other. It has since
been the text of one of those peculiar paragraphs of
Mr. Hammond, the propriety or good sense of which
it is alike difficult to discover.* No doubt, the idea in
tended to be conveyed by the governor, might have
been expressed in a manner less obnoxious to puerile
criticism ; but whatever may be said in regard to the
mere choice of words, the sentiment itself was plain
matter-of-fact ; for every one whose opinions are enti
tled to the least consideration, knows very well that
martial music is of especial importance to an army,
whether in battle or out of it. •
Another recommendation of the governor was like
wise made the subject of ridicule, by those who were
unable to appreciate its value and utility. This was
the introduction of light artillery — a measure which,
howsoever it may have been derided, survived the storm
* Political History, voL i. p. 232.

150 MORGAN LEWIS.
of obloquy *_> which it was exposed; and when the ex
perience of the second war with Great Britain had
demonstrated its usefulness, was elevated to a high
place in the estimation of the public. The governor
further called the attention of the legislature to the pro
vision of the existing constitution, which required the
establishment of magazines in each county in the state,
His counsels were followed to a great extent, and
the happy effect of observing them was witnessed in
the readiness with which the militia were prepared to
take the field, during the war of 1812.
It appeared from the speech of the governor, that the
debt due from New York to the general government
amounted to nearly eight hundred thousand dollars ;
and inasmuch as the former had a right to expend up
wards of five hundred thousand dollars in constructing
works of fortification for the defence and security of
her harbors and other exposed points, he earnestly
urged the legislature to take the matter into con
sideration. Whoever has taken the pains to examine with any
care the early political history of New York, must have
remarked the commanding influence exerted, for a long
period, by the Clintons and the Livingstons. While
Aaron Burr was at the height of popularity, he man
aged dexterously to change from one side to the
other, as the prospect of " future favors" chanced to
appear the most inviting. The federalists were defeat
ed in 1800, by a union of the three interests ; and the

OPPOSITION FROM THE CLINTONIANS. 151
Clintons and the Livingstons combined to overthrow
Burr at the gubernatorial election in 1804. In the fol
lowing summer, occurred the fatal duel between the
latter and General Hamilton ; and public opinion at
once pronounced against the survivor its unsparing de
cree of ostracism. Thenceforth, the contest was be
tween the Clintons and the Livingstons ; for the fede
ralists, meanwhile, were in a sort of dormant state —
not literally sucking their paws, but supporting them
selves on equally unsubstantial food, the hope of better
days to come.
Governor Lewis had scarcely seated himself in the
chair of state, when his proceedings began to be severe
ly criticized and censured by De Witt Clinton and his
friends. The first cause of dispute, probably, was the
bestowal of the offices. Political, like every-day char
ity, always begins at home ; and it was no more than
natural for the governor to manifest some preference
for those to whom he felt the most indebted. The
manner in which he dispensed the executive patronage
was not at all satisfactory to the Clinton faction ; and
when he refused to join in the crusade against the
Merchants' Bank, the breach became irreparable. The
council chosen by the legislature of 1806 was composed
of a majority of Clintonians — one of the number being
De Witt Clinton— and they had no sooner been appoint
ed, than '.hey commenced removing the Lewisites from
office. The governor was not naturally calculated for a pol-

152 MORGAN LEWIS.
itician, else he might have stemmed the torrent, which
was fast bearing him down, with entire success. He
lacked boldness and decision, and possessed but an
ordinary degree of shrewdness. The federalists, or, at
least, the greater portion of them, came to his rescue ;
and in the legislature of 1807, the Lewisite republicans,
with the assistance of the former, were in a respectable
majority. A new council, friendly to the governor,
was now chosen, and matters soon began to assume a
more promising appearance. But the signs of the
times were deceptive. At a meeting of his republican
friends, held in the city of New York, on the 1st day
of January, 1807, Mr. Lewis had been nominated for
re-election ; a majority of the members of the legisla
ture, however, belonging to that party, were opposed to
this step, and sixty-five of them united in recommend
ing the support of Daniel D. Tompkins. Forty-five of
the republican members affixed their names to the ad
dress, urging the electors to vote for Governor Lewis.
At the April election, the great mass of the federal
ists gave their suffrages to Mr. Lewis, and h<S also
received a number of the republican votes; tyut his
competitor was generally looked upon as the regular
candidate, and at the close of the canvass, it appeared
that he had received a little over four thousan/I major
ity above the former incumbent, in a poll of sixty-six
thousand votes.
Notwithstanding his temporary association with the
federalists. Governor Lewis was still a republican in

SECOND WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 153
principle, and cordially supported the administrations
of Jefferson and Madison. After his defeat, he was
disinclined again to enter public life ; but at the annual
election in 1810, he was induced to yield to the solici
tations of his friends, and became a candidate, on the
republican ticket, for the office of senator from the
middle district of the state. His party succeeded in
electing him, by an unusually large majority ; and as
a member of the legislature, he sustained, by his vote
and influence, the republican administration of Gover
nor Tompkins. He was chosen a member of the
council of appointment, and took an active part in pro
curing the passage of the bill incorporating the Bank of
America. The war of 1812 found Mr. Lewis somewhat ad
vanced in years. The noon-time of life had passed
away. Age had impaired the vigor of his body, but it
had neither weakened the strength of his mind, nor de
stroyed, in aught, the fire of patriotism that continued
to burn in his heart. His services were promptly of
fered to the general government, in anticipation of
a collision, and in the month of May, 1812, he was ap
pointed quartermaster-general of the army of the
United States, with the rank of brigadier-general. He
was constantly employed in the business of his office,
till the close ofthe campaign, and in March, 1813, was
promoted to the rank of major-general. His connec
tion with the quartermaster's department now ceased,
and he accompanied General Dearborn to the Niagara
17*

154 MORGAN LEWIS.
frontier. At the capture of Fort George, General
Lewis followed closely the movement of the advance
corps under Colonel Scott, with the whole of his di
vision, and aided in dispersing and scattering the
enemy's troops. He then ordered the pursuit to com
mence, but almost immediately countermanded his
orders, under the direction of the commander-in-chief.
Thus was Scott recalled when the enemy were " within
his grasp near Queenstown;"* and thus were many of
the substantial advantages that might have resulted
from the attack lost to the army, through no fault of
General Lewis.
In the fall of this year occurred the memorable and
unfortunate expedition of General Wilkinson down the
St. Lawrence. General Lewis took part in the move
ment, as the second in command. When the army
left Sackett's Harbor he was in feeble health, and con
tinued so during the remainder of the campaign. On
the day previous to the engagement at Chrystler's
fields, General Wilkinson gave up the command to
Lewis, on account of indisposition. The latter imme
diately rose from his sick bed, and in person reconnoi
tred the enemy who were pressing upon their rear.
At midnight he dispatched an order to General
Boyd, who commanded on shore, requiring him forth
with to strike his camp and form a junction with the
advanced column under General Brown ; and at the
* Letter of Colonel William J. Worth, quoted in the National Portrait
Gallery.

HIS LIBERALITY. 155
same time he instructed the officers in charge of the
boats to close up. Had this movement been carried into
effect the enemy would have been drawn further from
their resources ; their flotilla would have been entan
gled in the rapids, and a retreat rendered impossible ;
thus circumstanced, it would have been easy to fall
upon them with the united strength of the army, and
to crush them at a blow. But the order of General
Lewis had scarcely been delivered to General Boyd,
when the latter received instructions from the com
mander-in-chief, directing him " to face about and beat
the enemy." The disastrous action of the 11th of No
vember was the result ; and the American troops soon
after retired into winter-quarters, — both officers and
men chagrined beyond measure at the ill-success of
the expedition.
In 1814, General Lewis was intrusted with the
command of the forces destined for the defence of New
York ; but as the apprehended attack was not made,
he had no opportunity to measure strength with the
enemy, or to test the completeness of his preparations
for their reception.
But it was not only by his own personal services in
the field, that the patriotism of General Lewis was
manifested. In the summer of 1812, he advanced up
wards of fourteen thousand dollars, from his own private
means for the relief of the American prisoners in
Canada. When the contractors for the army were unable to

156 MORGAN LEWIS.
fulfil their engagements for the want of funds, he loaned
them money to enable them to keep the troops properly
supplied. In a spirit of generosity becoming a mag
nanimous soldier, he likewise discounted the drafts of
British officers who had been captured by the Ameri
cans. * At the commencement of the war, the late
General Leavenworth raised a company in the county
of Delaware, with which he joined the army. Many
of its members resided on the patrimonial estate of
General Lewis ; and as agricultural labor and products
had been greatly reduced in that county, by reason of
the war, he directed his agent to remit one year's rent
for every campaign served by a tenant, or by the son of
a tenant living and working with him. Subsequently,
for the same reason he remitted to all tenants residing
on their farms all arrearages of rent, accruing up to
the 1st day of February, 1816. The aggregate of
these remissions was upwards of seven thousand dol
lars. Acts like these speak volumes in favor of the
kindness of heart, and the patriotic devotion to the in
terests of his country, which were such prominent
traits in the character of Morgan Lewis.
At the close of the war he retired from public life,
though he was afterwards frequently elevated by the
partiality of his fellow-citizens to places of honor and
usefulness. At the celebration of the centennial
anniversary of the birthday of Washington, on the
22d of February, 1832, he delivered the oration, at the
request of the common council of the city of New

HIS DEATH. 157
York. In 1835, he was elected president of the New
York Historical Society ; and at the time of his death
he was the presiding officer of the state society of
Cincinnati, and the Grand Master of the Masonic
Grand Lodge of New York. He rarely participated
in political controversies, though always recognized as a
member of the republican or democratic party. In
the animated contest of 1840 he took a deep interest,
and so far deviated from his usual custom, as to pre
side at a mass meeting held by his friends at Kingston.
Most of his time was spent in the city of New York,
where he became a resident, or at his country-seat in
Dutchess county. He was quite often among the
company at Saratoga during the summer, and delighted
to visit the scene of Burgoyne's disasters, and " fight his
battles o'er again." There are many who still remem
ber the earnestness with which he used to recount tlie
storied incidents of that hallowed field ; and who never
failed to forget the privileged garrulity of age, when
they saw the fire of past days kindling in his eye, and
marked the scintillations of patriotic thought falling
from his lips like the flashes of an expiring taper.
He lived to an age far beyond the ordinary allot
ment of humanity, and died in the city of New York on
the 7th day of April, 1844. He was married in the
spring of 1779, to Gertrude Livingston, the sister of
Robert R. and Edward Livingston. This union was
a long and happy one, and was terminated by the
death of Mrs. Lewis in the seventy-sixth year of her

158 MORGAN LEWIS.
age. They had a large family, and many of the de
scendants are among the most useful and enterprising
citizens in the city and state of New York.
Mr. Lewis was not a great man : that is, he did not
possess striking characteristics or showy talents; but
his many sterling qualities of heart and mind entitle
him to be held in grateful remembrance. To the
amenities of the gentleman he united the attainments
of a scholar. He was a friend to the unfortunate ; a
public benefactor; kind and amiable in the relations
of private life ; and a patriot, sans peur, et sans re-
proc/ie.

BAIII11L B T©lEPT£ra£„
Fccu'lh GoicriwrcFJYin York .

hlh '. FMuhlJn, iHNi.ssailS'r

DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
When Fortune seemed the most adverse to the suc
cess of the American colonies, in their struggle with
Great Britain — when their armies had sustained a dis
astrous, though perhaps not altogether unexpected de
feat, on Long Island — when New York was evacuated
by the soldiers of Washington, and her hotels convert
ed into barracks, and her churches into riding-schools
and drill-rooms, for the mercenaries of De Heister —
when the neighboring counties were overrun by the
enemy, who quartered themselves in the houses of
those who disdained to take protection of the invader,
and despoiled them of the products of their farms and
the labor of their hands — when hundreds and thousands
of good men and true, who were too faint-hearted to
hope, and yet too patriotic to utterly despair, faltered
in the cause — there were but three firm and unyielding
whigs in the little settlement of Fox Meadows, in the
county of Westchester. One of these individuals was
Jonathan G. Tompkins, the father of the subject of this
memoir. The family of the elder Tompkins was of English

160 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
origin. Daniel D. was his seventh son,* and was born
at the residence of his father, in the present town of
Scarsdale, on the 21st day of June, 1774. He was a
farmer's son ; inured to toil from early boyhood ; accus
tomed to use the hoe, and to follow the plough. With
a heart as light and happy as that of the lark, to whose
matin song he listened, and with the lay of the merry
ploughboy upon his lips, he went forth to his wonted
labor ; and at eventide, when his allotted task was
done, he found a sweet relief from fatigue in reading
and study. The information thus acquired was lim
ited, but it awakened a desire to become acquainted
with the great stores of human knowledge. He did
not want ambition, and his friends were naturally
anxious that it should be rightly directed. " The boy
gave promise of the man." It was his dearest wish to
obtain a liberal education, and paternal thrift and in
dustry supplied the means for its acquisition.
After going through the usual course of preparatory
study, he entered Columbia College, in the city of
New York. Here he was respected and esteemed, not
more for the winning manners that rendered him so
pleasant a companion, than for his constant and unre-
* It used to be said by the political opponents of Governor Tomp
kins, when he was running as a candidate, that every old woman in the
state who believed in the common superstition with regard to a seventh
son, exerted her influence in his favor ; for, according to their logic, as it
must be admitted that he could cure all manner of bodily ailments, it
was quite certain that he would find effectual remedies for the diseases
of the state.

EDUCATION AND ADMISSION TO THE BAR. 161
mitting attention to his studies. His progress was
rapid, but sure. Not content with the ordinary routine
of a collegiate course, he stored his mind with the rich
wealth of ancient and modern lore, and was distin
guished among his companions for his extensive reading
and general intelligence, while his acquirements as a
scholar were held in high respect.
He graduated with honor in the year 1795, and im
mediately commenced the study of the law. In 1797,
he was admitted to the bar, and at once opened an
office in the city of New York. Shortly after he en
tered upon the practice of his profession, he married the
daughter of Mangle Minthorne, one of the wealthiest
and most respectable citizens of New York. This
alliance not only extended his business connections, but
increased his influence. He soon became known as a
lawyer, and his legal knowledge and talents enabled
him to take and maintain a high stand. Thus flatter
ing were his prospects at the outset of his career, and
they continued to grow brighter and brighter as he ad
vanced in years.
When he first became a voter, the line between the
federal and republican parties was closely drawn.
From the first, he identified himself with the latter ; and
through good report and evil report, through weal and
through woe, his fortunes were interwoven with those
of his parly. In the great contest of 1800 he took an
active and decided part, and rejoiced most sincerely
over the triumphant election of Mr. Jefferson.
11

162 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
In the month of August, 1801, an election was held
throughout the state of New York, for the purpose of
choosing delegates to the state convention, called, in
pursuance of an act passed the previous winter, for
two objects — to reduce and limit the number of mem
bers of the legislature, and to declare the true construc
tion of the 23d article of the constitution, relating to
the power of appointment. Mr. Tompkins was nom
inated and elected by the republicans of the city of
New York, as a delegate. The convention assembled
on the 13th of October, at Albany. It will be recol
lected, that during the administration of George Clin
ton, the federal council of appointment claimed the con
current right of making nominations ; and that the
same claim was put forth by the republican council,
during the administration of John Jay ; both these emi
nent men resisting to the utmost this violent interpre
tation of the constitution. Consequently, most of the
leading members of the convention were committed in
favor of the concurrent right ; and they only registered
the opinion which they had long before advanced, un
der the influence of high party excitement, when they
adopted a resolution, pronouncing their judgment to be,
that the right to nominate all officers, other than those
directed, in express terms, to be appointed in a differ
ent manner, was vested in the governor, " and in each
of the members of the council of appointment."
But little debate took place on the merits of the
question, prior to the passage of the resolution.

ELECTED MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 163
There was no need of this, because the majority
were ready to pronounce their foregone conclusion.
Only fourteen members advocated the exclusive
right of the governor to make nominations, and voted
agamst the resolution. In the minority was Mr.
Tompkins, who was too young to have participated,
to any great extent, in the previous controversies, and
too honest to sanction a construction so abhorrent to
the letter and spirit of the constitution ; and conse
quently, in the convention of 1821, he congratulated
himself that, at so youthful an age, and when he was so
liable to err, he had resisted this unwarrantable en
croachment upon the rights of the executive.*
The session of the convention was of brief duration,
and, of course, did not interfere with the professional
business of Mr. Tompkins. He had been repeatedly
solicited to become a candidate for the state legisla
ture, and had invariably declined the kind offices of
his friends in this behalf. But at the April election in
1804, he consented to accept a nomination for con
gress, as one of the city representatives. He was
elected by a large majority, but never took his seat in
the house, in consequence of his receiving an appoint
ment equally useful and honorable, and more conge
nial to his tastes and disposition.
At this same election, Morgan Lewis, the chief jus
tice of the supreme court of the state, was chosen
governor. Immediately after his inauguration, in the
* Carter and Stone's Debates in the New York Convention, p. 116.

164 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
month of July following, he called the council of ap
pointment together, who promoted Judge Kent to the
office of chief justice, and filled the vacancy by the ap
pointment of Daniel D. Tompkins as an associate
justice. Thus, at the early age of thirty years, was he
elevated to a seat on a bench honored by the wisdom
and purity of Jay, the learning of Kent, the genius of
Livingston, the clear-headedness and sound judgment
of Thompson, and the astute reasoning of Spencer.
Compared with these giants of the law, he appeared to
no disadvantage. Of talent and learning he had suffi
cient to grace any position ; and his reported opinions,
while they do not suffer when placed beside those of
his associates, are alike creditable to himself, and to
those by whom he was appointed.
But the fitness of his selection was made more strik
ingly manifest when he came to preside at the circuits.
At Nisi Prius, he stood pre-eminent. Justice, as per
sonified by him, was no cold, blind, and passionless
statue, but a living, animated reality, sympathizing with
those who were to feel the effect of its mandates, and
happily blending the principles of law and reason with
the dictates of mercy and humanity. Well read in his
profession, he was quick in perceiving the real merits
of a cause, and in comprehending the bearing of testi
mony. He was, therefore, prompt, and rarely incor
rect, in his decisions. If they were favorable to the
suitor, they were gratefully remembered; if adverse,
his kindness disarmed censure, and ensured respect.

NOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR. 165
In the short period of three years, during which he oc
cupied a seat on the bench, he acquired a popularity
that has never been excelled, if it has even been equal
led, by any other judicial officer in our state. The
charm of his manners was irresistible. He was at the
same time dignified and affable, firm and faithful in the
discharge of duty, and yet kind and condescending to
all who approached him. He was attentive to the
business of the court, but never allowed the austerity
of the judge to overshadow and conceal all the finer
feelings of the man. Furthermore, his appearance
was prepossessing, and there was a fascination in his
manners and conversation to which no one could be
indifferent. Once having entered public life, Mr. Tompkins ad
vanced with rapid strides along the high-road to fame
He had scarcely made himself familiar with the routine
of his judicial duties, when he was selected by the re
publican legislative caucus, held on the evening of the
16th of February, 1807, as their candidate for the office
of governor. This nomination was doubtless made
through the influence of De Witt Clinton and Ambrose
Spencer, who were then the acknowledged leaders of
the republican party in the state. The Livingstpn in
terest, who constituted but a minority of that party,
though recognized at Washington as being among the
most faithful supporters of the general administration,
were represented in New York mainly by Governor

166 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
Lewis, who, as has been intimated, was more estima
ble as a man, than skilful as a politician.
It has often been said, that the object of Messrs.
Clinton and Spencer, in bringing forward so young a
man as Mr. Tompkins, for the important office of
chief magistrate of the state, was, through his popu
larity, to elevate themselves to power; it being pre
sumed that he would carry out their wishes in the ad
ministration of the government. But this supposition
is equally unjust to him and to them. He was much
too able a man, and if not that, too ambitious, to be
controlled by any self-constituted council of advisers ;
and certainly they could not be ignorant of this. Un
doubtedly, as was to have been expected from their
position, they hoped to have considerable influence
with him, but nothing more ; and this was so, in fact,
until, as Mr. Tompkins believed, the support of the
republican principles which he had ever maintained
required him to separate from them.
Governor Lewis was a candidate for re-election, and
was supported by his immediate friends, and by the
great body of the federal party. The popular manners
of Judge Tompkins also secured him many federal
votes ;• and when the result of the canvass was ascer
tained, it appeared that he had been elected over his
competitor, by the respectable majority of four thou
sand and eighty-five.
On the 1st day of July, 1807, Mr. Tompkins took
the oath of office, as governor of the state. His first

support of jefferson's administration. 167
speech to the legislature was delivered at the com
mencement of the annual session, held in Albany, in
the winter of 1808.* It was written with marked
ability, and reviewed and defended, in a clear and for
cible manner, the foreign policy of the administration
of President Jefferson, and justified the passage of the
Embargo Act. His views were sustained by the legis
lature, in the answers of the two houses, which were
adopted by decided majorities. At the special session,
held in November, 1808, and at the regular session
commencing in January, 1809, the governor repeated
the sentiments that he had previously expressed, in re
gard to the measures of the general administration,
which, in like manner, received the approbation of the
legislature. If the idea that Governor Tompkins could be
moulded to subserve their private purposes, if any they
had, was ever seriously entertainedby DeWitt Clinton
and Ambrose Spencer, they must have early discov
ered their mistake. As soon as he became fairly seat
ed in the executive chair, he sought by every means
to strengthen himself; and their influence began sen
sibly to decline. The decision of the convention of
1801 had deprived the governor ofthe exclusive pos
session of the official patronage ; still, as one of the
council, while its members were his friends, his wishes
were quite likely to be regarded as much or more than
those of any other single individual ; and this fact was
* Albany became the seat of government of the state, in 1807.

168 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
pretty well known among the applicants for office.
The Lewisites were not idle ; they were ardent and
zealous in their support of the general administration,
and at home endeavored to produce a rupture between
DeWitt Clinton and Governor Tompkins. The latter
gave no countenance to these attempts, though he was
far from being unwilling to increase the number of his
friends, or to profit by their efforts.
When the legislature met, in November, 1807, for
the choice of presidential electors, many of the most
ultra friends of George Clinton, the vice-president,
who believed that Mr. Madison had been unjustly pre
ferred to their favorite by the congressional caucus,
desired to nominate such persons as would give him
their votes for the higher office, instead of that for
which he had been again put in nomination. Mr. Clin
ton and Mr. Spencer both favored this movement ; but
Governor Tompkins and others protested against it,
and showed the utter folly and uselessness of thus
throwing away the votes of the state of New York.
The design was therefore abandoned, and electors were
chosen without regard to their individual preferences.
After the election of Mr. Madison, Governor Tomp
kins gave the same cordial support and approbation to
his measures which he had previously rendered to
those of his distinguished predecessor ; although, in
common with a large proportion of the republican party
in New York, and elsewhere throughout the Union, he
thought that the tone of the administration, with re-

the embargo act. 169
spect to the foreign relations of the country, was less
bold and energetic than was demanded by the exi
gency of the times.
During the first term of the administration of the gov
ernment by Governor Tompkins, no very important
measures of state policy were either proposed or
adopted. Public attention was generally directed to
the protracted warfare on the European continent ; to
the orders and decrees of the belligerent powers, under
the operation of which our commerce was seriously
crippled ; to the restrictive policy of the American ad
ministration, designed to compel an abandonment of
those arbitrary regulations ; and to the negotiations,
which had been so long continued that few anticipated
a peaceful issue, and many began to hope they would
terminate in hostilities.
At the regular legislative session held in the winter
of 1810, the governor in his speech again signified his
approbation of the course pursued by the general gov
ernment in regard to the repeated violation of the
rights of the United States as a neutral power, by the
European belligerents. The restrictive system adopted
by Jefferson, and continued by Madison, had been at
tended with one fortunate consequence. Previous to
the passage of the Embargo Act, the foreign commerce
of the country had employed a great share of the capi
tal and attention of our citizens ; but now they were
obliged to employ their means in developing those in
ternal resources which had hitherto been neglected.

170 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
Domestic manufactories sprung up all over the Union,
and the question of affording them legislative assist
ance and protection was now agitated. The governor
referred to them in favorable terms, and recommended
the subject of their encouragement by legal enactments
to the consideration of the legislature. He also called
their attention to the common school fund, and sug
gested the propriety of taking immediate measures to
ctrry the law of 1805 into effect.
At the spring election in 1809, the federalists had
elected a majority of the members of assembly, and the
answer of that body to the governor's speech did not
accord with his views, particularly with reference to
the manner in which the foreign affairs of the general
government had been conducted. Moreover, the
measures which he had recommended received but
little notice on their part, inasmuch as most of the
time of the session was spent in discussing questions of
national policy, with a view to the effect which the
debate might have at the approaching gubernatorial
election. In the senate, the republicans were in a
large majority, but they could do nothing without the
co-operation of the other branch of the legislature.
Early in the winter of 1810, the federal members
held their caucus, and nominated Jonas Piatt as their
candidate for governor. Their supremacy in the
house, and the treachery of a republican senator, en
abled them to secure the council of appointment, and
the official guillotine was kept constantly in motion.

RE-ELECTION. 171
It was highly important, therefore, that they should
succeed at this election if they wished to retain the
offices of which they had taken possession. Their
hopes of success were sanguine, but they counted alto
gether too much on the divisions in the republican
party. Whatever may have been the symptoms of
dissatisfaction, manifested during the previous year,
the necessity of sustaining Mr. Madison's administra
tion was so urgent, that all minor considerations were
merged in this more important one. The friends of ex-
Governor Lewis, also, were now warmly enlisted in
favor of Mr. Madison and Mr. Tompkins. At the re
publican legislative caucus, held on the 5th of Febru
ary, 1810, the latter was nominated for re-election
without a dissenting voice. John Broome, the lieu
tenant-governor, was likewise put in nomination.
Many citizens were present at the caucus from other
parts of the state, who took part in the proceedings, and
signed the address which was drawn up by De Witt
Clinton, then a member of the senate.
The republican party achieved a brilliant triumph
at the election. Almost eighty thousand votes were
cast for governor, of which Governor Tompkins re
ceived a little over forty-three thousand ; thus securing
his re-election by a majority of between six and seven
thousand votes.* The republicans elected their can-
* Mr. Hammond (Political History, voL i. p. 285) puts down the ma
jority of Governor Tompkins at ten thousand ; but his statement is
erroneous.

172 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
didates for senators in all the districts, and nearly two
to one of the members of assembly.
Peculiarly gratifying as was this expression of ap
probation on the part of his fellow-citizens to the feel
ings of Governor Tompkins, the result was yet more
satisfactory to him, because it indicated the determina
tion of the people of the state to sustain the general
government in the controversy in which it had become
entangled with the European powers, and, if need be,
to aid it in untying the Gordian knot with the sword.
The principal feature of the governor's speech at the
meeting of the new legislature, on the 29th of January,
1811, was a review and examination of the triangular
difficulty with Great Britain and France, and a vindica
tion of the course pursued by Mr. Madison in conduct
ing the negotiations with those governments. He once
more urged the encouragement and protection of do
mestic manufactures upon the favorable attention of
the legislature, and repeated his suggestions in regard
to the common school fund. Action was had upon
the last recommendation of the executive, and pre
paratory measures taken to organize the school system.
Five commissioners were authorized to be appointed
bjr the governor, whose duty it should be to report a
plan for the organization, at the ensuing session of the
legislature. The commissioners made their report in
the winter of 1812, and an _ act was then passed estab
lishing the system.
For several years there had existed a faction in the city

MARTLING MEN.

173

of New York, composed of Lewisites, Burrites, and other
disaffected republicans, who were neither few in num
bers, nor weak in influence, although the latter was
confined to the city. They were known in the political
contests of the day as Martling Men, and all their efforts
seemed to be directed against DeWitt Clinton. Their
objections were principally of a personal character, and
they boasted loudly of their independence of the dicta
tion of the gentleman who had incurred their displeas
ure. They were countenanced, however, by many
persons holding high offices under the general govern
ment, and Mangle Minthorne, the father-in-law of
Governor Tompkins, was one of their leading men.
It is very doubtful whether the governor himself con
curred in their movements, but he was not indifferent
to flattery ; and when they sounded his praises, he did
not inquire into the propriety of coupling with them
anathemas of one whom he began to regard as his
rival. Naturally looking upon himself as the leader
of the party, and cherishing, it may be, at that time
aspirations for still higher honors, he did not regret
to see the influence of Mr. Clinton with his republican
friends gradually diminishing, partly through the efforts
of his enemies, and partly through his own mistakes.
In consequence of the death of Mr. Broome, the lieu
tenant-governor, in the summer of 1810, a law was
passed, authorizing the vacancy to be filled at the an
nual election in April, 1811. De Witt Clinton was nom
inated, and elected to the office, in spite of the opposi-

174 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
tion of the Martling Men, who supported another can
didate in the city of New York, and of the federal
party, who also made a nomination. Governor Tomp
kins took no active part in this contest. It is more
than probable that he did not approve of the republican
nomination, though he was too rigid a party man to
oppose the decision of the caucus. But all these cir
cumstances tended to keep alive and increase his jeal
ousy of Mr. Clinton.
We come now to one of the most important acts of
Governor Tompkins, during his administration of the
state government — one which called down upon his
head the severest censure of those who disapproved of
the step, and elicited the warmest encomiums of such
as concurred with him in opinion. By the failure of
the old United States Bank to obtain a re-charter, at
the session of congress in 1810-11, a large amount of
its capital was rendered useless. The project was then
started, by those who were interested in -its re-establish
ment, of procuring an act of incorporation from the
legislature of New York, under which it might, in ef
fect, be continued ; and of locating the revived institu
tion, which they proposed to call " The Bank of Amer
ica," in the commercial emporium of this state. No
sooner had this plan been concocted, than agents were
dispatched into the interior counties, to sound the
members elect, and, if possible, prepossess them in its
favor. Governor Tompkins was early made acquainted

BANK OF AMERICA. 175
with these movements, and his speech at the opening
ofthe legislative session, in January, 1812, was princi
pally devoted to an exposition of the evils arising from
a redundant paper currency. Although he did not
refer, in terms, to the application about to be made, he
had it in view in his remarks. He insisted that addi
tional banking capital was not required by the citizens
of the state, in the transaction of their business ; and
not only protested against any considerable increase
being made, but intimated, that in his opinion, banks
had " already been multiplied to an alarming extent.'"*
Shortly after the commencement of the session, the
petition for the incorporation of the Bank of America
was presented in the assembly. As an inducement for
granting the charter, the petitioners offered a most
splendid bribe — the payment of a bonus of six hun
dred thousand dollars; four hundred thousand dol
lars of which were to be added to the common school
fund, one hundred thousand dollars to the literature
fund, and the remaining one hundred thousand dollars
to be paid into the treasury, at the expiration of twenty
* The speech of the governor on this occasion occupied three columns
of a newspaper— in those days a mere Lilliputian affair in comparison
with the mammoth sheets now issued by the daily and weekly press—
and he therefore felt it incumbent upon him to apologize for its " un
usual length!" What would he have said could he have lived to wit
ness the annual inflictions, in this age of progress, upon the patience of
the American public, in the shape of executive messages, able, it may
be, but insufferably prolix, and
" In linked sweetness long drawn out."

176 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
years from the date of the act of incorporation, pro
vided no other bank charter should in the meanwhile
be granted. It was further proposed to loan one million
of dollars to the state, at five per cent, interest, for the
construction of canals; and the same amount to fai-
mers, at the usual rate of six per cent. Printed hand
bills, in which this tempting lure, this gilded bait, was
displayed in the most captivating form, were laid upon
the desks of members, and placed on the tables at their
boarding-houses, and lavishly distributed all over the
state. It cannot excite feelings of gratification, in the
bosom of the New Yorker, to contemplate these pro
ceedings ; and when he rises from the perusal of this
chapter in the history of his state, it must be with a
malediction trembling on his lips. His mind at once
reverts to the wretched condition of the Roman empire,
when the Praetorian cohorts awed both her patricians
and plebeians into submission ; when public and private'
faith were hawked about in the forum, and the throne
of the Caesars was filled by the proud Dives, whose
gold had more charms, in the eyes ofthe soldiery, than
the imperial purple. The Mississippi scheme and the
South Sea bubble — every act of corruption — every be
trayal of public confidence and trust — recorded in the
legislative annals of the world — will pass in review be
fore him. Emotions of pity and regret, of sorrow and
anger, will swell in his bosom, and his language cannot
be otherwise than strong and indignant.

BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION. 177
All honor to Governor Tompkins that he remonstrat
ed, in eloquent and energetic terms, against the passage
of the act incorporating the Bank of America ! Judge
Spencer, John Tayler, and Elisha Jenkins, all three in
fluential members of the republican party, likewise ex
erted themselves to defeat it. De Witt Clinton, also,
disapproved of the measure, though he could not be in
duced to come out openly against it, because many of
his warmest personal friends were friendly to the bill.
The remonstrances of these distinguished men would
have been successful, had not the most barefaced bribe
ry, and the most glaring fraud and corruption, been re
sorted to and practiced by the agents employed to
secure the charter. A considerable number of the
members of the legislature — good and worthy men, too
— were honestly in favor of granting the application ;
but in order to secure the requisite vote, it was neces
sary to make pecuniary offers, in some cases to a large
amount, to those who could be influenced by such con
siderations. This was done without scruple : and a
majority was thus secured in both houses. The bill
passed the assembly, by a vote of fifty-eight to thirty-
nine, and was sent to the senate. A vote having been
taken in that body, which indicated with certainty
what would be the result, it was necessary, at once, to
take some bold and decisive step, to save the honor
and credit of the state.
Judge Spencer, and other prominent republicans,
had repeatedly urged the governor to exercise the au-

178 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
thority conferred upon him by the constitution, and to
prorogue the legislature. He at first hesitated; but
when the long-foreseen emergency had arrived, and it
became apparent that the appliances used by the
agents of the bank had been but too successful, he felt
that his duty was made plain. " We concurred in the
opinion," says Judge Spencer, " that a crisis had arriv
ed, when some bold measure was to be taken, to pre
serve the fountain of all our laws from the impure
approaches of bribery and corruption ; and that a pro
rogation, with the reasons which produced it, would
awaken public attention to these enormities, and would
strike an awe into the actors in these profligate scenes,
which would not fail to produce a wholesome and
salutary state of things."*
On the 27th of March, 1812, the governor sent his
message to the legislature, proroguing the two houses
until the 21st day of May then next, and assigning as
the reason and justification for the adoption of this ex
treme measure, that sufficient proof had been furnished
to him, that the applicants for the charter had cor
rupted, or attempted to corrupt, the members of the
legislature. This bold step was entirely unexpected ;
and the reading ofthe message was followed by a fierce
storm of denunciation from those members who were
actively enlisted in behalf of the bank. No epithet
could be too strong, or too severe, to be hurled against
Governor Tompkins. He was called a tyrant and a
* Defence of Judge Spencer, 1843.

PASSAGE OF THE BILL. 179
usurper ; he was charged with reviving a prerogative
borrowed from monarchical governments, which had
long been a dead letter in the constitution ; and there
were those who went so far as to declare themselves in
favor of continuing the business of the session, notwith
standing the mandate of the governor.
The legislature adjourned, however, in accordance
with the message of prorogation. But the passage of
the Bank Bill was merely postponed, and not defeated.
When the two houses again came together, the senate
immediately resumed the consideration of the subject ;
and although every inch of ground was contested by its
opponents, it finally passed, by a vote of seventeen to
fourteen. During the recess, petitions had been circu
lated, which were addressed to the council of appoint
ment, requesting them to appoint two additional judges
of the supreme court, as it was ascertained that a ma
jority of the council of revision were friendly to the
bill. The avowed object of this movement was to de
feat the act of incorporation in the council ; but as the
proper legal business of the court did not require any
additional force on the bench, Governor Tompkins
could not be induced to sanction the measure, and no
action was had thereupon in the council of appoint
ment. But although the prorogation of the legislature did
not defeat the application for this particular charter, it
had the tendency to stem successfully the tide of cor
ruption, that was violently surging over the rampart|

180 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
of the law and the constitution. It called the attention
of the people to the influences that were poisoning the
fountains of public and private virtue. The charges
of malconduct subsequently underwent examination in
the state courts, and one of the agents of the bank was
convicted, and sentenced to the state prison; others
were indicted and tried, and only escaped because the
witnesses against them, though the testimony was con
clusive and generally credited, were the members of
the legislature to whom bribes had been offered, and
had supported the persons on trial, for important offices,
subsequent to the occurrence of the circumstances
which they detailed. Yet upon the whole, the. action
of the governor, and the proceedings in the courts,
were attended with the most happy result ; for no sim
ilar attempt was afterwards made to corrupt the legis
lature of the state.*
Previous to the final adjournment of this legislature,
* At the session of the legislature in the winter of 1813, the Bank
of America applied to be relieved from the payment of the bonus to
the state, and asked permission to reduce the amount of their capital.
The bait had taken, and as their purpose had been accomplished, they
did not care to fulfil the conditions upon which the charter was origin
ally granted. An excuse was ready, however. It was said, as the
applicants for the charter probably anticipated, that all the stock could
not be taken unless the act was amended so as to relieve the bank
from making such heavy payments. In conformity with the application
now made, the capital was reduced, and the bonus remitted, with the
exception of one hundred thousand dollars, which was to be paid to the
common school fund.

COURSE IN REGARD TO THE WAR. 181
De Witt Clinton was nominated for the presidency, at
a caucus of the republican members. Governor
Tompkins, with many other leading men belonging to
the party, was opposed to the movement, and to the
choice of Clintonian electors at the special session of
the next legislature, held in the fall of 1812. This op
position was based, not so much on personal consider
ations, although they undoubtedly had some influence
with the governor, but mainly on his approbation of
the wise and prudent motives which had controlled the
policy of Mr. Madison, during his administration. In
common with many of the most prominent republicans
in the Union, the former had desired to see a little more
energy displayed by the national executive ; but the
passage of the new Embargo Act, in April, 1812, in
pursuance of the recommendation of the president, and
other proceedings at Washington, assured him that
bolder counsels were about to prevail. He thought it
unwise, therefore, to divide the republican party, upon
a mere question as to men, at such a crisis, and par
ticularly unjust to oppose the re-election of a public
officer, whose fidelity to the country no one distrusted,
and whose ability no one questioned.
As the electors were then chosen by the legislature;
Governor Tompkins, and those who concurred with him
in desiring to see Mr. Madison sustained, could do no
thing more than express their preferences, which they
did not hesitate to do on all suitable occasions. An
estrangement had been gradually springing up between

182 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
the governor and De Witt Clinton ; and when the for
mer avowed his determination not to place himself in
opposition to the republican party in the other states,
who were unanimous in favor of the re-election of Mr.
Madison, the breach was so far widened that it could
never again be healed.
It is unnecessary to say, that when the act declaring
war against Great Britain was passed by congress, in
June, 1812, it met with a hearty response from Gover
nor Tompkins. His position, as the executive head of
the state of New York, was one of great importance.
His patriotic devotion to the country was well known ;
and all eyes were instantly turned towards him, to
mark his conduct. He did not disappoint public ex
pectation. From the beginning to the end of the con
test, he stood firm and unflinching in support of strong
and decisive measures. The weight of his name and
influence, his time and his means, were never with
held. New York, upon her northern and western bor
ders, was the scene of important military operations ;
and with the conduct of the war in this quarter of the
Union, his name is indissolubly connected.
Immediately after the president issued his procla
mation, Governor Tompkins ordered out the militia of
the state, and accepted the services of the volunteers.
They were organized and equipped, and sent into the
field, with all possible expedition. The resources at
his control were limited ; but where the law had not
clothed him with sufficient power, to protect the state

DEFENCE OF THE STATE. 183
from invasion, and to render the required assistance
to the general government in maintaining the national
honor, he exercised it wisely and prudently, yet firmly,
without legal warrant, and on his own responsibility.
Public opinion justified him in pursuing the course
which he did. He relied upon the people to sustain
him, and he did not rely in vain. Through his exer
tions in the summer of 1812, a large militia force was
collected on the Niagara frontier under the command
of General Van Rensselaer, and considerable bodies
of troops were stationed at other exposed points.
Through no fault of his, and principally in consequence
of disputes and disagreements between the officers of
the militia, and those of the regular army, the cam
paign of 1812 terminated in disaster and disgrace.
Other difficulties were not wanting to increase his
embarrassments. The restrictive policy pursued by
Jefferson and Madison had weighed heavily upon the
eastern and middle states. In New England the fed
eralists were largely predominant, and in New York
they presented a powerful opposition. At the April
election, in 1812, they secured a majority in the lower
branch of the legislature, and at the extra session in
November, the governor vainly recommended the
adoption of energetic measures for carrying on the
contest with Great Britain. The republicans had the
control in the senate, and promptly passed such bills as
were adapted to the emergency ; but in the assem
bly, the time was spent in fruitless discussions, and

184 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
the recommendations of the executive were un
heeded. A similar state of things was witnessed at the
regular session in the following winter. Unfortunate
as was the issue of the previous campaign, the energy
and decision of the governor had not been unproduct
ive of results. The enemy were kept at bay until the
general government had time to bring their forces into
the field, but a large amount of money was required
for the operations of the ensuing year. This was dif
ficult to be obtained. The eastern federalists had ex
erted themselves, for the most part with success, to
prevent capitalists in that section from making the de
sired loans. In New York a like course was pursued,
though not to the same extent. Governor Tompkins
.therefore, recommended in his speech at the com
mencement of the session, that a loan should be made
by the state to the national government, to enable it
to carry on the war. But the federalists still adhered
to -their position, and when the senate adopted a reso
lution authorizing a loan to be made, it was defeated
by the federal majority in the assembly.
Another general election was to take place in April
following, and on the 4th of February, 1813, Governor
Tompkins was again nominated for re-election, at the
republican legislative caucus, without a dissenting
voice. A portion of the members desired that De Witt
Clinton should be re-nominated, but his course had not
been satisfactory to the party generally, and through

RE-ELECTION. 185
the influence of Ambrose Spencer, and Elisha Jenkins,
John Tayler was selected in his stead, as the candidate
for lieutenant-governor. The candidates of the oppo
sition were Stephen Van Rensselaer and George
Huntington. Both were popular and estimable men
and the fact that the former had commanded the state
troops on the Niagara frontier the previous season,
was made use of by their friends, when it was neces
sary, to disprove the charge of opposition to the war.
The federalists, therefore, counted with considerable
confidence on their success, especially when the imme
diate friends of DeWitt Clinton came out in opposition
to the republican candidates, and denounced them
as the tools of President Madison. But they were
doomed to experience a sad disappointment. The con
test was close, yet Governor Tompkins and Mr. Tayler
received about thirty-six hundred majority in a poll of
eighty-three thousand votes. The victory was not all
on one side, however. Owing to the defection of Mr.
Clinton's friends, the federalists again secured a ma
jority in the assembly, while the republicans maintained
their ascendency in the senate.
Notwithstanding this partially unfavorable result, the
governor had cause for self-gratulation. Upon his
own conduct the people had pronounced a favorable
judgment. Inspired, therefore, by the same patriotic
motives, which had hitherto influenced his action ; and
feeling assured that they, to whom alone he was re
sponsible, would sustain him, — he continued to render

186 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
all the service in his power in carrying on the war, and
keeping the state in a posture of defence ; and no practi
cable efforts in furtherance of those objects were in
termitted on his part. However remiss others might
be, he was determined that his duty should not remain
unfulfilled. The sneers of the envious he disregarded ;
the cavils of those who doubted the propriety of his
movements passed him by like the " idle wind ;" and
the waves of party clamor were disparted by his firm
ness and resolution, as the waters of the ocean are bro
ken by the bold promontory that lifts its head in defi
ance of the storm.
In his speech at the commencement of the session of
the legislature in January, 1814, he presented a detailed
statement of the events of the war, and recommended
the assumption by the state of its quota of the direct tax
authorized to be levied by a law of congress. This rec
ommendation, like those of former years, was approved
by the senate, but the assembly refused to pass the bill by
a strict party vote. Other measures intended to aid the
general government in the prosecution of the war, were
likewise adopted in the senate, but rejected by the lower
house. Collisions between the two branches of legisla
ture were almost of daily occurrence, and the session
passed away without accomplishing anything of mo
ment, either for the security of the state or for the as
sistance of the general government.
At the spring election, the federalists were com
pletely prostrated as a party, and the republicans re-

THREATENED ATTACK ON NEW YORK 187
gained the ascendency in the assembly. During the
summer, rumors of invasion were rife throughout the
state ; partly founded on conjecture, and partly on re
liable information. The neglect of the legislature im
posed a double duty on the governor, but he was
ready to perform it. He required the militia to meet
often for inspection and drill, and urged the officers to
perfect the discipline of their men as rapidly as possible.
In accordance with his directions, the state troops
were so disposed that they might render their aid at
any point that might be menaced. A portion of them
did good service under General Porter at Chippewa
and Niagara, and others were among the foremost in
rallying around the standard of Macomb.
The city of New York was in a most exposed con
dition. Measures had been taken for its defence by the
authorities of the United States, and fortifications were
being constructed under the direction of General
Lewis. But everything was yet incomplete. All sum
mer long an attack was apprehended, and after the
capture of Washington, it was confidently believed that
the next blow would be struck in this quarter. The
alarm was now at its height. Danger was imminent.
Party ties were obliterated for the time, and party at
tachments dispelled. The governor was appealed to
by the leading federalists and republicans in the city
and its neighborhood, to exert his authority, and if the
public safety required him to transgres's it, they pledged
themselves to stand by him. "Venerable and patri-

188 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
otic citizens," said he, "such as Colonel Rutgers,
Colonel Willet, Governor Wolcott, Mr. [Rufus] King
and others animated me to the greatest efforts ; the
latter gentleman in an interview with me, was pecu
liarly impressive — he said ' that the time had arrived
when every good citizen was bound to put his all at
the requisition of the government — that he was ready
to do this ; that the people of the state of New York
would and must hold me personally responsible for its
safety.' I acquainted him with the difficulties under
which I had struggled for the two preceding years,
the various instances in which I had been compelled
to act without law or legislative indemnity, and urged,
that if I should once more exert myself to meet all the
emergencies and pecuniary difficulties with which we
were pressed, I must inevitably ruin myself. ' Well,
sir, (added he, with that enthusiasm which genius lends
to patriotism,) what is the ruin of an individual com
pared with the safety of the republic ? If you are
ruined, you will have the consolation of enjoying the
gratitude of your fellow-citizens ; but you must trust to
the magnanimity and justice of your country, you must
transcend the law, you must save this city and state from
the danger with which they are menaced, you must
ruin yourself if it becomes necessary, and I pledge
you my honor that I will support you in whatever you
do.' "* Such an appeal, at such a time and under such
circumstances, was not to be resisted. Surely, it was
* Letter of Governor Tompkins to Archibald Mclntyre.

PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE. 189
a noble sight — when the armies of Great Britain, fresh
from the laurelled fields of Spain, were menacing our
frontier — when her fleets were hovering on our sea-
coast, and her predatory bands engaged in the work of
plunder and devastation — when the war and its abet
tors were denounced from the pulpit by the divines of
New England — and when treason, or nullification, was
plotted at Hartford — to behold the two great leaders
of the rival parties in New York standing together, in
support of the country, of her honor and her rights,
like brother with brother, and patriot with patriot !
Governor Tompkins had promptly issued his procla
mation, requiring the new legislature to convene for
an extra session on the 26th of September ; but the im
minence of the danger was such that immediate action
was required, and delay might be attended by the
most disastrous consequences. He procured money,
therefore, on his own personal responsibility, to a con
siderable amount, and expended it in purchasing sup
plies for the troops and completing the defences of
New York. Large bodies of militia from the river
counties were ordered to the city, and in a compara
tively short time an army of between ten and fifteen
thousand men was concentrated at this point. Of
this force Governor Tompkins himself assumed the
command, by virtue of a temporary appointment as a
major-general in the army of the United States. Hap
pily, however, the British expedition which had suc
ceeded at Washington, but was repulsed at Baltimore,

190 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
sailed away to the far south to meet the doom that
awaited it on the plains of Chalmette. When this
became known, the alarm which had prevailed in New
York entirely subsided, and apprehensions of danger
were no longer entertained.
In the meantime, President Madison had solicited
Governor Tompkins to accept the office of Secretary
of State ; it being understood that Mr. Monroe would
be permanently transferred to the War Department,
which had been placed under his charge upon the
resignation of General Armstrong. However much
the governor might have been inclined at any other
time to accept of an appointment of this character, he
could not but feel, in the present condition of affairs,
that duty to his native state required him to remain in
the position to which he had been elevated by her citi
zens, and the offer of the president was, therefore, de
clined.* * It is said by Mr. Hammond, (Political History, voL L pp. 390, 391
405) that the offer of the president to place Governor Tompkins at the
head of the State Department, was a commitment, on the part of the
administration, to support him for the next president. Now this state
ment rests entirely on the naked assertion of the writer for support, and
it is obviously incorrect. Mr. Madison and Mr. Monroe, it is well known,
were rival candidates for the presidency in 1808, but the former was
preferred by a large majority of the members of the legislature of Vir
ginia, and by the Congressional Caucus. It was then understood,
throughout the Union, that Mr. Monroe was the prominent candidate for
the succession. Had the war been protracted, and had it been necessary
to adopt the plan of increasing the army by drafts from the whole body
of the militia, to which the term conscription was applied, recommended

WAR MEASURES OF THE ASSEMBLY. 191
The New York legislature assembled, in pursuance
of the governor's proclamation, on the 26th of Sep
tember, 1814. His speech was chiefly confined to the
war, and the recommendation of various measures for
its prosecution. The republican majority in the two
houses went to work vigorously, and laws were soon
passed, increasing the pay of the militia, when in the
service of the United States ; for the encouragement
of privateering and authorizing associations for that
purpose ; for classifying the militia, so as to secure a
force of twelve thousand men, enlisted for two years, to
be placed at the disposal of the general government ; for
raising a corps of sea fencibles for the defence of the
city of New York ; for the reimbursement to the
governor, of expenditures made on his own responsi
bility; and for completing the fortifications on Staten
Island. Other laws, constituting features of more or
less importance in the general system of measures,
were likewise enacted. Most of the bills thus intro
duced and carried by the dominant party, were op
posed by the federal members.
At the annual session, commencing in the month of
January following, further measures were proposed for
carrying on the war ; but all were rendered unneces
sary by the treaty of peace, intelligence of the conclu-
by Mr. Monroe to Congress in October, 1814, he was determined upon
^withdrawing from the contest, because he saw that the measure would
be unpopular with the people. In that event Mr. Tompkins might have
been the favorite candidate, though that is by no means certain,

192 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
sion of which was received early in the month of Feb
ruary. During the continuance of the war, the prosecution
of works of internal improvement was wholly out of
the question; and the attention of the public was
diverted from the canal enterprise by the urgent neces
sity of providing for the security of their firesides. In
1815, the law authorizing the commissioners to borrow
five millions of dollars was repealed ; but on the resto
ration of peace, the friends of the measure renewed
their efforts. Governor Tompkins was not averse to
the construction of the work, neither was he ar
dent in advocating it; but he desired to proceed
with caution and deliberation, and not to plunge
the state headlong into debt, regardless of conse
quences. He called the notice of the legislature to
the subject, in his opening speech at the commence
ment ofthe regular session, in January, 1816, and said,
that it would rest with them to say, " whether the pros
pect of connecting the waters of the Hudson with those
of the western lakes and of Champlain, [was] not suffi
ciently important to demand the appropriation of some
part of the revenues of the state to its accomplishment,
without imposing too great a burden upon [their] con
stituents. The first route," he remarked, in addition,
" being an object common with the states of the west,
we may rely on their zealous co-operation in any judi
cious plan that can perfect the water communication
in that direction. As it relates to the connecting the

PRESIDENTIAL CANVASS. 193
waters of the Hudson with those of Lake Champlain,
we may, with equal confidence, count on the same spir
ited exertions of the patriotic and enterprising state of
Vermont." Petitions in favor of this great project
flowed in upon the legislature, during the session, in a
continuous stream, and provision was made by law for
procuring the necessary surveys and estimates, prepara
tory to the commencement of the work.
The patriotic course of Governor Tompkins during
the second war with Great Britain, and his triumphant
election in the spring of 1813, raised him to the zenith
of popularity. The " Farmer's Boy of Westchester"
was toasted at every gathering of the republican party.
His name was coupled with that of Madison, in the
public prints, and their mutual praises were sounded
from one end of the Union to the other. These tokens
of approbation were not unworthily bestowed; none
deserved them better, and none could regard them with
greater thankfulness. It was natural that the aspira
tions of the governor should now be directed to other
and higher honors. But I can discover no foundation
for the assertion or intimation, repeatedly put forth by
Mr. Hammond, that he had set his heart on obtaining
the nomination for the presidency, in 1816.* Gover
nor Tompkins was not devoid of ordinary prudence as
a politician. He well knew that
" High favors like as fig-trees are,
That grow upon the sides of rocks, where they
* PoUtical History, voL i. pp. 360, 391, 405, et alibi.
13

194 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
Who reach their fruit, adventure must so far
As to hazard their deep downfall."
His hopes were undoubtedly fixed upon the presiden
tial chair; but the desire to reach that high position
was an honorable one, and the expectations which he
might have indulged were by no means unreasonable.
His prospects were highly flattering, and it was only
necessary that he should patiently " bide his time."
The great mass of the republican party in New York
were anxious thus to reward his noble sacrifices and
patriotic efforts in the late war, and only wanted but
the opportunity to indicate their regard for him. But
beyond the limits of the state, he had been known but
a short time. He was still a young man; and it is no
disparagement to his capacity or his talents to say, that
he was not considered a sufficiently mature statesman
to render the propriety of his nomination for the presi
dency obvious to the electors of the Union at large.
Mr. Monroe, on the contrary, who, as has been re
marked, was the most prominent candidate, had been
before the people ever since the year 1808. He, too,
had evinced his patriotism, in the recent contest, by
pledging his individual credit to provide the means for
the defence of New Orleans. Public opinion, in all
sections of the country, had settled firmly down upon
his name; and in the summer and fall of 1815, an al
most equally general expression had been elicited in
favor of the nomination of Mr. Tompkins to the second
office. Mr. Crawford was also made one of the presi

LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS. 195
dential candidates, by the politicians who were hot par
ticularly friendly to Mr. Monroe ; but he himself ab
solutely refused to co-operate in any way in the move
ment. The leading republican papers in the state of
Georgia, of which he was a resident, came out deci
dedly in support of Monroe, and her delegation in con
gress entertained similar preferences, although they
could not but vote for Mr. Crawford, when his name
was presented to the congressional caucus.
In the month of February, 1816, Governor Tomp
kins was unanimously nominated by the republican
members of the New York legislature, as their candi
date for the presidency ; and a resolution was adopted,
instructing the senators and representatives in congress
to use all proper efforts to secure his nomination. The
main object of this movement — the opinion of Mr.
Hammond to the contrary notwithstanding — at least
with those who were sincerely devoted to the governor,
was to bring his name before the people, and place him
in the line of succession. If any other design was
cherished, it must have been on the part of Judge
Spencer, who was mainly instrumental in procuring
the caucus nomination, and was" then the active man
ager in the republican party ; for he was at that time
more than suspected of urging forward Governor
Tompkins prematurely, in order that the republicans in
the southern states might take offence, and treat the
proceeding as a sectional and factious one, and that he
might be thus completely prostrated, in a political

196

DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.

sense, in an abortive attempt to reach the presi
dency. At Washington, the canvass commenced as soon as
the session opened. It was early ascertained, by the
New York members, that the true question was solely
between Mr. Monroe and Mr. Crawford, and that the
attempt to nominate Governor Tompkins for the first
office must prove an utter failure ; yet they likewise
discovered, that the nomination for the vice-presidency
would be cheerfully bestowed on him. Judge Spen
cer was then at Washington ; and through his means,
a meeting of the delegation was held, for the purpose
of obtaining a united expression in support of Mr.
Crawford, who was really his favorite candidate.
Whether he supported him with any ulterior object in
view, connected with his own personal advancement,
it is unnecessary to inquire ; yet it is certain that he
was not a very ardent friend to Governor Tompkins,
who was a much younger man than himself, and that
he would have been glad to have distanced him in the
contest for official honors, if he could.
It must be remembered, that a caucus nomination
was not then regarded as being absolutely binding ;
and in connection with this fact, the announcement
which was made by Mr. Clay, and other friends of Mr.
Monroe, that the name of the latter should not be with
drawn in any event, and that if the caucus decided
against him, they would appeal from the politicians to
the people, possessed deep significance. It was so

CANDIDATE FOR VICE-PRESIDENT. 197
regarded by Peter B. Porter, Enos T. Throop, John
W. Taylor, and William Irving, the older and more
experienced members of the New York delegation, and
they did not think it advisable to hazard the chances
of Governor Tompkins' nomination and election to the
vice-presidency, and of destroying their influence, it
might be, with the next administration, by taking sides,
as a delegation, between the two candidates, Mr. Mon
roe and Mr. Crawford. Their advice was heeded ; the
meeting broke up, without coming to any determina
tion ; and each member was left to vote according to
his individual preferences. The caucus was held on
the 18th of March; Mr. Monroe was nominated for
the presidency, over Mr. Crawford ; and Mr. Tomp
kins was selected as the republican candidate for vice-
president — eighty-five votes being given for him on the
first ballot, and thirty for Simon Snyder, of Penn
sylvania. While upon this subject, it may be as well, in order
to save repetition, to refer to the* charge of bad faith,
made by Mr. Hammond against Mr. Van Buren, and
indirectly and by inuendo against Mr. Throop, whose
biographical sketches may be found in this work, in
connection with the presidential canvass of 1815-16.*
Governor Tompkins had no warmer or truer friends,
from the time of his election as governor down to the
period of his retirement from public life, than Martin
Van Buren and Enos T. Throop. Both regarded him
* Political History, vol. i. p. 409, et seq.

198 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
as the future hope of the republican party in New
York, and did not wish to see him make a misstep.
They were not, like Mr. Hammond, subservient to the
views of Judge Spencer ; and that will account, with
out further explanation, for their not committing them
selves in the presence of the former, which circum
stance, in the case of Mr. Van Buren, seems to have
been so very mysterious in his estimation.* The asser
tion, that the governor thought " unkindly" of the
course of the New York members, as Mr. Hammond
avers,f is also highly improbable, not to say impossi
ble. Could Mr. Tompkins have been nominated, they
would unquestionably have supported him ; and if he
found fault with their action at all, it must have been
because they came so near falling into the trap set for
them by Judge Spencer.
Before the result of the congressional caucus was yet
known at Albany, it became necessary to select candi
dates for the gubernatorial election. Mr. Tomp
kins and Mr. Tayksr were again nominated for the
respective offices of governor and lieutenant-governor,
and succeeded at the April election over their federal
competitors, Rufus King and George Tibbits, by nearly
seven thousand majority.
Governor Tompkins signified his acceptance of the
nomination for the vice-presidency, on the 6th of April,
1816, and in the month of December following was
* Political History, p. 411, note. — Mr. Van Buren was not a member of
Congress, but merely a casual visitor at Washington. \ Ibid. p. 411.

RECOMMENDS THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. 199
duly chosen to fill that office. He received one hun
dred and eighty-three of the two hundred and twenty-
one electoral votes ; the remainder were divided be
tween different candidates.
Inasmuch as the official term of president and vice-
president did not commence until the 4th of March,
1817, Mr. Tompkins continued to discharge the duties
of governor until near the close of the month of Feb-
ruary previous to that day, when he resigned the
office. The administration of the state government
now devolved on the lieutenant-governor. By virtue
of a special law passed for the purpose, a governor was
authorized to be chosen, to supply the vacancy, at the
annual election in April. De Witt Clinton was the suc
cessful candidate, and took the oath of office on the 1st
day of July, 1817.
Almost the last act of Governor Tompkins, as the
chief executive officer of the state, was one which de
serves ever to be mentioned to his credit. On the
27th of January, 1817, he sent a special message to the
legislature, urgently recommending the entire abolition
of domestic slavery in the state, to take place on the
4th day of July, 1827. The recommendation was ap
proved, and a law passed in conformity thereto. From
that time, this institution had no longer a legal exist
ence in New York.
Mr. Tompkins took the oath of office, as vice-presi
dent, on the 4th of March, 1817 ; and in December,
1820, he was re-elected to the same high office, for an-

200 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
other term of four years, by a still larger electoral vote.
As the president of the Senate, he displayed the same
traits of character for the possession of which he had
ever been distinguished — always uniting the polished
urbanity of the gentleman with the dignity appropriate
to his position.
In the meantime, divisions had sprung up in the re
publican ranks, in New York, and the governor, De
Witt Clinton, had become obnoxious to the majority of
the party. His canal policy, however, had made him
extremely popular with the people ; and it was thought
by those who wished to see him superseded, that no
one but Mr. Tompkins, who was believed to be invin
cible, could be elected over him. The republican
nomination was therefore tendered to the vice-presi
dent, in the spring of 1820, and duly accepted by him.
The election was contested with warmth and spirit on
both sides ; but Mr. Tompkins was defeated by about
fifteen hundred majority. One of the causes — perhaps
the only one — of this defeat, was the circulation of a
most unjust calumny on the fair fame of the republican
candidate. During the war of 1812, large sums of
money, amounting to several millions of dollars, had
passed through his hands, as the agent in making dis
bursements of the general and state governments ; and
upon the settlement of his accounts with the state, it
appeared that there was a balance against him of about
one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, for which he
could produce no vouchers. He claimed, however,

CHARGE OF DEFALCATION. 201
that there was a considerable balance due him for com
missions. No one dared to charge him openly with
an intentional appropriation of the public funds to his
own private purposes, but the deficiency was occasion
ed, partly by his neglect to take proper vouchers, partly
by the unmethodical manner in which he kept his ac
counts, and partly by blending the public moneys with
his private funds.
So thought the commissioners who investigated his
accounts, and who were his political opponents. So
thought every candid and impartial man who examined
into the subject. So thought the legislature; and a
law was passed authorizing him to charge commis
sions on the money borrowed by him on his own per
sonal responsibility and converted into specie funds, so
as to enable him to balance his account. A dispute
then arose between him and the comptroller, Archi
bald Mclntyre, in regard to the construction of the
law, and an angry correspondence ensued. The politi
cal friends of the comptroller were in the majority in
the legislature of 1820, and sustained that officer in
the view he had taken of the law. The matter was
still unsettled, therefore, when the election took place
in 1820, and was used, not so much openly as secretly,
to the prejudice of the vice-president. At the next
session of the legislature, in the winter of 1821, a law
was enacted, authorizing his account to be balanced,
on his executing a release to the state of his claim for
commissions. But this act of reparation came too late.
9*

202 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
The blow had been struck, and the victim cowered be
neath it. The poisoned dagger was already quivering
in his heart. None had the effrontery to charge him
publicly with culpable malconduct, but sly malice
whispered her insinuations, and slander " filled her
mouth with lying words," and uttered them covertly in
the dark.
Public honors still awaited him. In the spring of
1821, he was elected a delegate to the convention
called to amend the state constitution, from the county
of Richmond, and was chosen by a flattering vote, to
officiate as president of that body. He participated to
some extent in the debates, and especially distin
guished himself by his advocacy of universal suffrage.
Previous to the final adjournment of the convention, a
complimentary vote of thanks was unanimously adopted,
and in reply thereto, he delivered the following neat
and appropriate speech, in which the chasteness and
simple elegance of his style as a speaker and writer are
conspicuous : —
" Gentlemen : I am penetrated with a due sense, not only of the honor
conferred by your seleotion of me to preside in this highly respectable
body — but also of your kindness and regard manifested by the unani
mous resolution which you have been pleased to adopt at the close of
the solemn duties which the people have committed to us.
" It is my sincere hope that the approbation of this community may
crown the result of our consultations, and that it may accomplish the
momentous objects for which we have been assembled, and redound to
the liberty, tranquillity, and permanent welfare of our constituents and
of posterity.

HIS DEATH.

203

" Whilst I tender to you an affectionate adieu, indulge me, gentlemen,
in a fervent expression of my acknowledgments for your uniform sup
port and approbation, and of my best wishes for your respective happi
ness and prosperity."
Subsequent to this period Governor Tompkins took
no active part in the politics of the state. He contin
ued to discharge the duties of vice-president until the
close of his term, on the 3d day of March, 1825, when
he finally retired from public life. After his defeat at
the gubernatorial election in 1820, habits of intempe
rance rapidly grew upon him. Like Othello, his occu
pation was gone. His cup of disappointment was full
to overflowing. His temperament became nervous
and irritable. Fits of melancholy and gloom alterna
ted with brief glimpses of the genial sunshine of former
years. The light of his eye became vague and un
settled, and the lines of his face deep and care-worn.
When he returned from Washington to his residence
at Tompkinsville, on Staten Island, the bode of death
preceded his footsteps. Disease came on with rapid
strides, and on the 11th day of June, 1825, his mortal
career was closed, while yet in the full maturity of
manhood, but alas! in the decrepitude of his fame.
He left several children. One of his sons entered
the army, and another represented, in part, the first
senatorial district in the New York senate, during the
years 1840 and 1841, in a manner creditable alike to
himself and to his constituents.
The personal qualities of Governor Tompkins were

204 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
worthy of all praise. His heart was full of kind and
generous sentiments. His disposition was frank, manly,
and ingenuous. True native nobleness of soul charac
terized his conduct in all the relations of private life.
His kindness and urbanity, his winning address and
engaging manners, were commended by every one
who approached him. He was often applied to, during
the war with Great Britain, by relatives having friends
serving with the state troops, for their discharge from
the service. Most of these applications were refused ;
but it was done so kindly and so gently, that the pang
of disappointment was soon forgotten, and the heart
whose desire could not be gratified, was lightened of
half its load.
In illustration of this remarkable trait in his charac
ter, Mr. Hammond relates this anecdote : "A respecta
ble farmer residing in one of the interior counties in
the state, unfortunately had a son who was convicted
of a felony and sentenced to several years' confinement
in the state prison. The father had twice called on
Governor Tompkins with a petition for the pardon of
his son, which had been denied. After Mr. Clinton
became the successor of Mr. Tompkins, the old man
being acquainted with Mr. Miller and aware of his in
timacy with the governor, called on him and solicited
his influence in behalf of his son. Mr. Miller, being
convinced that it was a case proper for the exercise of
the executive clemency, promised to give him his aid,
and forthwith called on the governor, and his represen-

ANECDOTE. 205
tations produced the same convictions on the mind of
Mr. Clinton. Mr. Miller, however, in order to turn
the act to some political advantage, told the governor
that the father of the convict was a man of considerable
influence in the place where he lived ; that he (Mr. Mil
ler) would send him to Governor Clinton, and he hoped
he would treat him in such a manner as to secure his
esteem and friendship ; and with this request the gov
ernor promised compliance. The old man called at
the governor's office, according to the custom of coun
try people, early in the morning, and Mr. Clinton, being
informed of his name, went himself to the door, and
urged him to come in and breakfast with him. The
petitioner did so, and the governor made great efforts
to appear agreeable during the repast, and after break
fast delivered to the anxious father an unconditional
pardon of his son. He went immediately to Mr. Mil
ler's office, who inquired of him how he had succeeded,
and how he liked the governor. ' The governor,' said
the old man, ' was so good as to ask me to breakfast,
and promptly pardoned my son ; but you asked me how
I liked him, and I must say that, although I have seen
Governor Tompkins but twice, and although at each
time he positively refused to grant me the favor I de
sired, and Governor Clinton has granted me that very
favor upon the first time of asking, I like Governor
Tompkins better than I like or can like Governor Clin
ton — I cannot tell the reason why.' "*
* Political History of New York, vol. ii. p. 271.

206 DANIEL D. TOMPKINS.
Governor Tompkins was not a man of brilliant or
showy parts ; it cannot be said that he belonged to the
higher order of minds ; but his talents were decidedly
respectable. He possessed a rare facility in adapting
himself to any society, and the sturdy and illiterate
backwoodsman felt as easy in his presence as the most
polished gentleman. He possessed " in a most eminent
degree," says Professor Renwick, " the art of ingratiat
ing himself with the people. He had the faculty, which
is invaluable to him who seeks for popular honors, of
never forgetting the name or face of any person, with
whom he once conversed ; of becoming acquainted and
appearing to take an interest in the concerns of their
families ; and of securing, by his affability and amiable
address, the good opinion of the female sex, who, al
though possessed of no vote, often exercise a powerful
indirect influence."* His personal appearance, too,
was in his favor ; it was dignified and prepossessing,
and his form was above the ordinary height, though
somewhat inclined to corpulency, when in the full vigor
cf perfect health.
Here, perhaps, this memoir should end. It was said
of Marlborough, by his most inveterate political op
ponent, the Earl of Peterborough, after death had ter
minated their rivalry, — " He was so great a man that I
have forgotten his faults." But there is a duty to be
discharged to the living, as well as reverence to be paid
* Life of De Witt Clinton, p. 66.

REFLECTIONS. 207
to the dead. It is not ungenerous or unjust, to point
in a becoming manner to the moral presented in the
sad termination of the career of Tompkins. It needs
no amplification. Great names always render great
faults more conspicuous, and an evil example is of
far more pernicious tendency, when exhibited in the
character of one occupying a high position in society,
than in that of a more humble individual.
To such as have felt the snares of the syren — to
those that have been beguiled by the s®ft blandishments
of the Delilah who would woo them to their undoing,
— this moral may be profitable. Many — ah ! how
many — yield to habits of indulgence, as the young sap
ling bends before the breath of the tempest : but few
there are who rise again, and, like the noble oak, in the
majesty and dignity of conscious strength, bid defiance
to the storm and the wThirlwind. Many enter the fiery
furnace, but few escape unscathed and uninjured. He
who would tempt the ordeal — let him pause, ere he
makes venture of all that is dear, and listen to the ad
monition — " A fiend lurks close behind
The radiance of thy planet — Oh, be warned !"

DE WITT CLINTON.
The early history and origin of the Clinton family
have been so fully detailed in the memoir of George
Clinton, that it seems unnecessary to recapitulate the
facts there narrated, for the purposes of this sketch.
James Clinton — it will be borne in mind by the
reader — was the third surviving son of Charles Clin
ton, the founder of the family in this country. He was
born at Little Britain, the residence of his father, on
the 9th of August, 1736. Nature had gifted him with
strong and active powers of mind, but associated them
with a kind and affectionate disposition. Consequently,
while we find him in battle calm and self-possessed, en
ergetic and resolute — when we follow him to the quiet
and retirement of private life, we see the gentler vir
tues of his character, like sweet but humble flowers,
shedding their fragrance on every side.
Like his other brothers, he received an excellent
education, under the instruction or immediate super
intendence of his father. He often assisted the latter
in surveying, and early evinced a great predilection for
the study of the exact sciences, in which he acquired

Fiftli Governor of JewYork.

Ii'S, 'FMMmjnXaaaaJtyV

HIS FATHER. 209
much proficiency. He was warmly attached to field
sports, and manifested fh his youth an almost passion
ate fondness for a military life. " Born," says Mr. Camp
bell, " upon the frontiers, with a hardy and vigorous
constitution, and accustomed to alarms and Indian in
cursions, he became in early life attached to the profes
sion of arms."* The last French and Indian war af
forded him the opportunity of entering a profession in
which he subsequently distinguished himself. In 1756,
he received an ensign's commission, in the regiment of
militia of which his father was made lieutenant-colonel,
from Sir Charles Hardy, the governor of the province;
and in the following year he was promoted to a lieu
tenancy. Being authorized to enlist troops, he soon
raised a company, of which he was made captain, for
active service in the provincial army ; and in the sum
mer of 1758, he accompanied the regiment commanded
by his father, to which he continued to be attached, in
the expedition against Fort Frontenac.
His first campaign was signalized by the successful
execution of a bold and difficult enterprise. To his
company was intrusted the capture of a sloop of war
on the lake (Ontario) which seriously retarded or ob
structed the operations of the army under Bradstreet.
Embarking with his men in row-boats, he gallantly
led them to the attack. A few moments served to
place them alongside the enemy's vessel, and after a
* Life and Writings of De Witt Clinton, p. 15.
14

210 DE WITT CLINTON.
brief struggle, in which he displayed commendable skill
and courage, she fell into his hands.
During the remainder of the war, he was either sta
tioned at the frontier posts, or engaged in border con
flicts with the savage allies of the enemy. His ser
vices, and his influence, too, were, in the meanwhile,
often employed by the colonial governors, in enlisting
new recruits. The capture of Quebec, and the subse
quent surrender of M. Vaudreuil, at length terminated
forever the ascendency of the French in the Canadas :
but the Indians who had been in their pay continued
their depredations on the northern and western bor
ders of New York, and the inhabitants of the frontier
settlements were kept in a constant state of alarm.
Such was the confidence reposed in Clinton by the
provincial authorities, that, in 1763, he was empowered
to raise a corps of two hundrsd men, to be designated
as "guards of the frontier," over whom he was ap
pointed captain-commandant. In this capacity, his
duties were both responsible and arduous — the safety
of a line of frontier fifty miles in extent depending en
tirely upon him and his command.
Quiet was soon restored, however, by the conclusion
of the treaty of peace between France and Great
Britain, and the provincial army was disbanded.
James Clinton now retired to his farm in Little Britain,
and shortly afterwards married Mary De Witt, a
daughter of Egbert De Witt, and a young lady of great
respectability, and of rare personal charms and accom-

REVOLUTIONARY SERVICES. 211
plishments. Her ancestors originally came from Hol
land. She bore her husband four sons ; — Alexander,
who was for a long time the private secretary of his
uncle, the governor; Charles, who studied law and
practiced in Orange county ; De Witt, the subject of
this memoir ; and George, who also became a lawyer,
and was for five years a representative of this state in
Congress. The soft and gentle influences of domestic tranquillity
had no enervating power ; the spirit of Ae soldier still
glowed in the bosom of the fond husband and affection
ate father ; and in his relaxation from sterner cares,
he did not lose sight of his responsibilities as a citizen.
On the contrary, the new ties which he had formed
only furnished additional motives for discharging them
aright. In the organization of the militia of Ulster
and Orange counties, he took a deep interest, and rose
to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. The war of the Rev
olution found him firm in his opposition to the tyran
nical measures of the British ministry, and a fast friend
to the colonial cause. Side by side, hand in hand, with
his brother George, he entered into the contest. In
the summer of 1775, he was appointed colonel of the
third regiment of New York troops raised by order of
the continental congress. This regiment formed part
of the army which invaded Canada, in the fall of that
year, under the command of the brave but unfortunate
Montgomery ; and Colonel Clinton shared with his

212 DE WITT CLINTON.
comrades in the dangers and disasters, the fatigues
and privations, of that memorable campaign.
On the 9th of August, 1776, he was raised to the
rank of brigadier-general in the army of the Confede
ration, and during the greater part of the war com
manded the New York line. He was stationed at the
posts in the Highlands, in the summer of 1777, and
with his brother, then governor of the state, took an
active and important part in the gallant though un
successful deftace of Forts Clinton and Montgomery,
on the 6th of October, 1777.* In this affair, he exhib
ited many proofs of his unflinching and resolute
courage. He was the first to counsel resistance, and
the last to leave the works. In the assault he was
severely wounded by the thrust of a bayonet, and his
attending servant was killed at his side. He managed
to escape in the confusion incident to the capture of
the forts. Under cover of the darkness, and by means
of his knowledge of the country, he eluded his pursuers,
and reached his house, on the following morning, in a
state of complete exhaustion.
In the summer of 1778, the savage bands of Thayen-
danegea, and the infuriated Tories under the command
of the Butlers, spread terror and consternation through
out Tryon county. The fierce sa-sa-kwan of the In
dian warrior was heard upon the banks of the Cobles-
kill and at Herkimer, and it mingled with the exultant
shouts of the white monsters who revelled amid
* See ante, p. 43, et seq.

sullivan's expedition. 213
the havoc and slaughter at Cherry Valley and Wyo
ming. The attention of Washington and the continental
congress was now drawn to the defenceless state of
the frontier settlements of New York ; and it was de
termined to dispatch an army into the Indian country,
early in the ensuing year, to put an end to the inroads
of the banditti, and lay waste the towns and villages
where they rallied, and the fields from which they de
rived their subsistence. The command of this expedi
tion was assigned to General Sullivan, who proceeded
up the valley of the Susquehanna to Tioga Point, with
the main body of his troops. At the same time, Gene
ral Clinton ascended the Mohawk, with about two
thousand men, as far as Canajoharie. Leaving the
river at this point, he crossed the country to Lake
Otsego, — all his boats, two hundred and eight in num
ber, and his stores, being transported with great labor
overland for the distance of twenty miles. This task
being completed, the division moved down the lake to
the outlet, where General Clinton remained several
weeks, awaiting further orders from the commander of
the expedition.
About the middle of August, the necessary instruc
tions were received, and General Clinton forthwith
made his preparations for descending the outlet of the
lake to Tioga, at which place he was ordered to unite
with the main army. The stream being reduced so
low by the heat of the summer that his boats could not

214 DE WITT CLINTON.
float, he resorted to the singular expedient of damming
up the lake ; and when the water had been raised to a
sufficient height, he made an opening in the dam,
through which the boats passed in gallant style, and
descended the river on a spring tide. On the 22d of
August he joined General Sullivan at Tioga, and in the
morning of the 26th instant, the whole army com
menced moving up the valley of the Chemung.
In the engagement at Newtown, and during the
march to the Genesee river, General Clinton and his
men freely partook of the dangers and shared in the
hardships that were encountered. At the close of the
campaign he led his division back to the Hudson, and
was subsequently assigned to the command at West
Point. In the fall of 1780, he was placed in charge of
the northern department, and established his headquar
ters at Albany. Here he remained till the month of
August, 1781, when he was ordered to join the com
mander-in-chief, with the New York troops, in the
bold and decisive movement against Lord Cornwallis.
He was present at the siege of Yorktown, and after the
surrender accompanied the American army to the
north. Early in 1782, a junior officer being promoted
over him by the continental congress, he resented the
indignity thus offered to him in a proper manner, and
solicited and obtained leave to withdraw temporarily
from the service. His patriotism was much too sin
cerely cherished, however, to permit him to dissolve his
connection with the army, but he held himself in readi-

DEATH OF HIS FATHER. 215
ness for active duty if the public exigency required.
He appeared for the last time in arms on the occasion
of the evacuation of New York, having been now pro
moted to the rank of major-general. This last act in
the drama of the Revolution being closed, he took leave
of Washington and his compatriots, and retired to his
farm at Little Britain.
After the war was ended, General Clinton was fre
quently called upon to serve his country in a civil capa
city. He represented Orange county in the Convention
of 1788, called to ratify the constitution of the United
States, and, with his brother George, opposed the un
conditional adoption of that instrument. He was not a
bigoted partisan, though he always acted with the repub
lican party, and, consequently, enjoyed a great share of
popularity in his own and in the adjoining counties.
He was elected a member of the State Senate from
the Middle District, without opposition, and, also, a
delegate to the Convention of 1801, from the county
of Orange. He was likewise appointed a commissioner
to run the boundary line between New York and Penn
sylvania ; and, at another time, was employed by the
state legislature to settle certain controversies in regard
to lands in western New York. All these various
trusts and duties were discharged with ability and fidel
ity. Indeed, his whole life was eminently useful, and
when it finally terminated, the public lost a benefactor
whose memory deserves to be carefully cherished. He
survived his brother, the vice-president, but a few

216 DE WITT CLINTON.
months, and died at his residence in Orange county,
" without fear and without reproach," on the 22d of De
cember, 1812.
De Witt Clinton was born at Little Britain, on
the 2d day of March, 1769. His early life was un-
checkered by important incidents. The rudiments of
his education were acquired at the grammar school in
his native town, and he was afterwards sent to the
academy at Kingston, which was the only seminary
then in the state, at which the higher classical studies
were taught, and all the young men desirous of attain
ing a collegiate education, resorted thither. Having
prepared himself for the junior class of Columbia Col
lege, he became a member of that institution in the
spring of 1784.
The college had just been revived, under the auspi
ces of the new Board of Regents of the University,
and De Witt Clinton was the first student admitted
under the new order of things.* "' I may say, I trust
without the imputation of egotism," he subsequently
remarked, " that I was the first student and among the
first graduates of this our Alma Mater on its revival ;
and I shall never forget the reverential impression
made on my youthful mind, by the condescension and
devotion to education of the great men who, at that
time, presided over the interests of the University."!
* The first examination for the admission of students at which the
Regents of the University were present, was held on the 17th of May,
1784. f Address to the Alumni of Columbia College, May, 1827.

CHARACTER AS A STUDENT. 217
In college Mr. Clinton was faithful and diligent in
his studies. The great truth, which cannot be too
often repeated, was early impressed upon his mind,
" that application is the price to be paid for mental ac
quisitions, and that it is as absurd to expect them with
out it, as to hope for a harvest when we have not sown
the seed."* High talents he possessed, indeed, but
these never, of themselves alone, achieved true great
ness for their possessor. Long years of severe study,
of anxious and earnest thought, are required to com
pass this end ; and though the goal be reached at last,
it is possible, still, to lose the reward. The noblest
structure of human fame ever reared by the skill and
industry of man will not remain self-supported ; but
the ceaseless toil that may have aided in its erection,
must be followed by ceaseless vigilance in its preserva
tion, or it will full surely pass away " like the baseless
fabric of a vision."
From his boyhood to his grave, De Witt Clinton
was a careful and laborious student. He wooed
Science with the ardor of a lover ; and^lhough she re
warded his devotion with none of her appropriate
triumphs, his intellectual character was moulded and
strengthened while he ministered at her altar. Poesy
numbered him among her votaries ; and though her
wreaths of laurel, sprinkled with the dews of Castaly,
never glistened on his brows, her spell was breathed
upon him, and a matchless charm and grace imparted
* Bailey's Essays on the Formation and Publication of Opinions.
10

218 DE WITT CLINTON.
to his manly eloquence. As a painter examines a thou
sand different models, and from each transfers some
striking feature to his canvass, and blends them all to
gether in one harmonious whole ; so he gathered beau
ties in every department of knowledge, and while he
stored his mind with the noble thoughts and precepts
of philosophy, culled the richest flowers of song to dec
orate and adorn it.
He was not merely correct and punctual in going
through the routine of his ordinary studies and exer
cises. Books were his constant companions through
out his whole life. He selected them with great judg
ment and care, — choosing such only as were really
valuable, and leaving those of a different stamp to has
ten on, without hindrance or obstruction on his part,
to that oblivion for which they were destined. H«
loved to hold converse with the mighty dead, and was
never so happy as when he could summon, like Pros-
pero his attendant spirits, a thousand shapes of thought,
types of glorious conceptions, to people the solitude of
his study. H*»read not for amusement alone, but for
profit and instruction. His pen was ever in his hand;
his commonplace book lay on the table beside him, and
from the entries in the latter, it appears that he read
and made extracts from nearly one hundred different
works, during the first year of his collegiate course.
He graduated in 1786, at the head of his class, and
shortly thereafter commenced the study of the law in
the office of Samuel Jones, then a prominent lawyer

COMMENCES STUDY OF THE LAW. 219
and politician in the city of New York, and subse
quently comptroller of the state.
In June, 1788, the Convention called to consider the
question of ratifying the constitution of the United
States, met in Poughkeepsie. " Among the numerous
citizens assembled at this most interesting and impor
tant Convention, and who watched from day to day the
changing phases of thought and opinion, was De Witt
Clinton. He was nineteen years of age, and even
then, was commanding in person and dignified in man
ners. The late Chancellor Kent, once stated to the
writer that he met De Witt Clinton at that time ; and
he described his appearance as he recollected it, on
that first meeting of two young men, both of whom
were destined to fill such large spaces in the history of
their native state. The future chancellor had just
commenced the practice of the law in the village of
Poughkeepsie, in partnership with Gilbert Livingston,
who was a member of the Convention, and whose po
litical sympathies were with the Clintons. Mr. Kent
was in favor of the constitution, and was a federalist.
In such times of political excitement there was not
that close and confidential intercourse which might
otherwise have existed between two young and highly-
gifted men. The visit paid by Mr. Clinton to Mr.
Kent was formal, but courteous, and the venerable
chancellor at the age of fourscore spoke with animation
of the fine personal appearance of the youthful states
man ; he remarked that Mr. Clinton even then had a

220 DE WITT CLINTON.
hauteur in his manner, which, whether arising from
pride or from diffidence he did not pretend to decide,
and which in after life was contrasted strongly with
the character and bearing of some of his political com
petitors."* s
Young Mr. Clinton took a deep interest in the de
bates and discussions in the Convention, and commu
nicated a report of the speeches and proceedings for
publication in one of the New York journals. Like
his father and uncle, although his opinions at that early
age can hardly be said to have been well considered
and fully matured, he was opposed to the unconditional
adoption of the federal constitution ; but when the pro
posed amendments were also adopted, with his rela
tives, he gave it his hearty assent and support.
Before he had completed his course of legal study, he
was solicited by his uncle, George Clinton, to become
his private secretary. Alexander, the eldest brother
of De Witt, Jiad previously occupied that place, but it
was vacated in 1789 by his decease. After some hesi
tation, the latter consented to fill the office, and con
tinued to discharge its duties till the year 1795, when
his uncle retired, temporarily, to private life. The
nephew immediately finished his legal studies, was ad
mitted to the bar, and commenced practice in the city
of New York.
De Witt Clinton was educated in the republican
school to which his venerable uncle belonged, and his
* Campbell's Life and Writings of De Witt Clinton, pp. 27, 28.

HIS POLITICAL POSITION. 221
political opinions accorded with the instruction which
he had there received. This is not only true of his
sentiments when he first entered public life, but equally
just with reference to his entire career as a politician.
Whatever may have been his associations in later
years, he was always a republican in principle. Mr.
Hammond, indeed, intimates that his political integrity,
in 1795, or about that time, was not, like the virtue of
Caesar's wife, wholly above suspicion, but that some of
the leading federalists in the city of New York, Alex
ander Hamilton among the number, entertained the
opinion that he would ultimately become a federalist.*
Although this imputation is not supported by any relia
ble authority, it might be improper to pronounce it an
unfounded calumny ; yet, certain it is, that the public
life, character, and conduct of De Witt Clinton were
utterly inconsistent with it. True, he numbered
among his intimate associates the leading men of New
York belonging to both political parties. In private
life he did not often stop to inquire whether his com
panion was a republican or a federalist. Whenever
or wherever he discovered genius, talent, or learning,
his sympathies naturally turned in that direction ; and
no differences with respect to a political creed, pre
vented him from welcoming the fortunate possessor
to his heart, and ranking him among his friends. This
was the head and front of his offending ; and none but
* PoUtical History, voL i. p. 109.

222 DE WITT CLINTON.
a narrow-minded partisan could base a serious charge
upon a foundation so unsubstantial.*
Notwithstanding his unquestioned abilities, the man
ner of Mr. Clinton was not well calculated to fill his
office with clients, and he does not appear to have en
tered much into the practice of his profession. He
officiated as secretary to the board of regents of the
University, and to the board of fortifications in the city
of New York, while there was a- prospect of a war
with France.
But his position as the private secretary of his uncle
had made him acquainted with the leading men in the
state, and had excited a desire in his bosom to enter
into the political arena. In 1797, he was elected a
member of assembly from the city of New York, and
in the following year was returned as one of the sena
tors from the southern district ; being supported, on
both occasions, by the republican party. In the legis
lature he was active and efficient, and able, as he
was decided, in his opposition to the administration of
Mr. Jay. In 1801, he was chosen a member of the
council of appointment, and, with Ambrose Spencer,
and Robert Roseboom — together constituting a ma-
* Just as little reliance is to be placed on the assertion of Mr. Ham
mond (PoUtical History, voL i. p. 109,) that Mr. Clinton was utterly
opposed to the proceedings of Mr. Genet, the French minister. The
latter had many warm personal friends in this country ; none were
more sincerely attached to him than the Clinton family ; and his last
wife was the firBt cousin of De Witt Clinton.

A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE. 223
jority of the council — resisted the claims of the gover
nor to the exclusive right of nomination. There is a
common, but expressive saying, that " politics often
make strange bedfellows." Mr. Clinton, in the ensu
ing summer, was elected a delegate to the convention
called to decide this question, from the county of Kings,
in which he then resided, and took the same ground in
that body which he had previously maintained in the
council.* It must be conceded that his view of the
constitution was warranted neither by its letter nor its
spirit ; and it is said that he afterwards expressed him
self to that effect.
Mr. Clinton continued to be a member of the coun
cil after the return of his uncle to the executive chair.
As such, he approved of the removal of all the more
important officers belonging to the federal party, and
the substitution of his political friends in their places.
He did not favor persecution or proscription for opin
ion's sake ; but it was ever a part of his creed, that
official honors should be bestowed upon the supporters
of the appointing power, and that those who were op
posed should be generally excluded therefrom. Whether
this principle was right or wrong, correct or incorrect,
it was honestly adopted and entertained on his part,
and always openly avowed.
While a member of the state senate, in 1802, he
offered a resolution, which was adopted, proposing an
* Mr. Clinton made the only speech of importance deUvered on that
side of the question in the Senate.

224 DE WITT CLINTON.
amendment to the constitution of the United States,
which provided for the division of each state into single
districts, each one of which should be entitled to choose
an elector of president and vice-president, and for the
designation by every voter, on his ballot, of the candi
dates whom he preferred.
It can scarcely be said that De Witt Clinton served
any apprenticeship in a political organization ; and to
this fact may be attributed the commission of many of
those mistakes which checkered his course. When he
first entered public life, he took his position in the front
rank, as one of the leaders of the republican party.
He contributed essentially to " the great triumph of
1800 ;" and when General Armstrong resigned his
seat in the senate of the United States, the general
sentiment of the republican members of the legislature
was directed towards him as the fit successor of the
former incumbent. He was accordingly elected to fill
the vacancy on the 4th day of February, 1802, and
soon after took his seat in the distinguished body to
which he had been transferred. In this new field,
which demanded talents of a high order if honor or
distinction was desired, he was equally conspicuous.
He did not often participate in the discussions that
took place ; and it was only when subjects of deep
importance were being considered, that his mind un
locked her capacious storehouses, and poured forth its
eloquent thoughts and enlarged and statesman-liJke
views.

DEBATE ON ROSS RESOLUTIONS. 225
His ablest speech in the senate was made in Feb
ruary, 1803, in the debate on the resolutions of Mr.
Ross, a federal senator from Pennsylvania, authorizing
and requiring the president to take immediate posses
sion of New Orleans, and empowering him to call out
thirty thousand militia to effect that object. This
movement was predicated upon the refusal of Spain to
permit citizens of the United States to deposit their
goods at that place, in accordance with treaty stipula
tions, and partly, it may be, on the belief that she had
ceded Louisiana to France from unfriendly motives
towards the American government. The republican
friends of Mr. Jefferson regarded this proposition as
being designed to embarrass the administration ; but,
irrespective of that consideration, they opposed it, be
cause it was calculated, in their opinion, to plunge the
country unnecessarily, and when she was illy prepared,
into a war with Spain.
Mr. Clinton's speech was most able, and he dwelt
particularly upon this last consideration, and, collateral
thereto, on the advantages and blessings of peace. He
deprecated a resort to arms, and depicted the horrors
of war in glowing colors. The following extracts are
among the brilliant passages to be found in this speech,
and to which the colleague of Mr. Clinton,* in a flatter-
ino- compliment uttered during the same debate, ap
plied the terms "harmonious periods," "musical tones,"
and " impressive eloquence :"
* Gouverneur Morris.
15

226 DE WITT CLINTON.
" I shall not attempt to occupy your attention by threadbare decla
mation upon the evils of war ; by painting the calamities it inflicts upon
the happiness of individuals, and the prosperity of nations. This ter
rible scourge of mankind, worse than famine or pestilence, ought not to
be resorted to until every reasonable expedient has been adopted to
avert it. When aggressions have been committed by the sovereign or
representatives of the will of a nation, negotiation ought in all cs-ses to
be first tried, unless the rights of self-defence demand a contrary course.
This is the practice of nations, and is enjoined by the unerring monitor
which the God of nature has planted in every human bosom. What
right have the rulers of nations to unsheath the sword of destruction,
and to let loose the demons of desolation upon mankind, whenever ca
price or pride, ambition or avarice, shaU prescribe ? and are there no
fixed laws founded in the nature of things which ordain bounds to the
fell spirit of revenge, the mad fury of domination, and the insatiable
thirst of cupidity ? Mankind have, not only in their individual charac
ter, but in their collective capacity as nations, recognized and avowed
in their opinions and actions, a system of laws calculated to produce the
greatest happiness of the greatest number. And it may be safely as
serted, that it is a fundamental article of this code, that a nation ought
not to go to war until it is evident that the injury committed is highly
detrimental, and that it emanated from the will of the nation charged
with the aggression, either by an express authorization in tlie first in
stance, or by a recognition of it when caUed upon for redress, and a re
fusal in both cases to give it. A demand of satisfaction ought to pre
cede an appeal to arms, even when the injury is manifestly the act of
the sovereign ; and when it is the act of a private individual, it is not
imputable to his nation, until its government is called upon to explain
and redress, and refuses; because the evils of war are too heavy aud
serious to be incurred without the most urgent necessity ; because re
monstrance and negotiation have often recalled an offending nation to a
sense of justice, aud a performance of right ; because nations, like indi
viduals, have their paroxysms of passion, and when reflection and rea
son resume their dominion, will extend that redress to the olive-branch
which their pride will not permit them to grant to the sword ; because

EXTRACTS, 227
a nation is a moral person, and as such is not chargeable with an offence
committed by others, or where its will has not been consulted, the au
thorized conduct of individuals being never considered a just ground of
hostiUty until then- sovereign refuses that reparation for which bis right
of controUing their actions, and of punishing their misconduct, necessa
rily renders him responsible. These opinions are sanctioned by the
most approved elementary writers on the laws of nations.
****¦»***
" A vast augmentation of our national debt would be the certain con
sequence of this measure. It is a. moderate estimate to say, that our
annual expenditures, over and above our surplus revenue, would be
twenty milUons of doUars ; and we cannot reasonably expect that the
war would continue a shorter period than five years. Hence one hun
dred millions would be added to our debt, and the great experiment
which we are now trying of extinguishing it in fourteen years would
certainly fail ; — an experiment which has been defeated in Europe, by
war and prodigality ; and for the success of which, in this country,
every friend of repubUcan government looks with the greatest anxiety.
But this is not all : heavy and oppressive taxation would be necessary,
in order to pay off the interest of the accumulating debt, and to meet
the other exigencies of government. We are now a happy nation in
this respect. Neither the temper nor the habits of our citizens will
patiently submit to severe burdens ; and happuy, the posture of our
financial arrangements does not require them. Give the rein, however,
to chimerical notions of war ; embrace the proposition now submitted
to us ; and the weight of your impositions will be felt in every nerve
and artery of our poUtical system. Excises, taxes on houses and lands,
will be reintroduced, and the evils of former administrations wiU be
multipUed upon us. But the misohief wiU not stop here : with the in
creasing calls for money from the people, their means to satisfy them
wiU be diminished. The superior naval force of the enemy would
cripple our commerce in every quarter of the globe. Great Britain
and Spain hold the keys of the Mediterranean : we should therefore be
entirely shut out of that sea, unless we could persuade the former to
unite her exertions with ours. With the decay of our commerce, with

228 DE WITT CLINTON.
our exclusion from foreign markets, the labors of our farmers would be
palsied ; the skul of our manufacturers would be rendered useless ; and
with the fruits of their industry perishing on their hands, or greatly
undersold, how would they be able to meet the augmented wants of
government ? What in the meantime would become of the claim of
our merchants upon Spain, for at least five miUions of dollars J and to
what perils would your commercial cities be exposed S These certain
evils would be encountered, without producing the least benefit to our
western brethren. The seizure of New Orleans would vest us with a
place of deposit. But a place of deposit without the free navigation of
the Mississippi would be entirely useless. As long as the enemy holds
the country below New Orleans, and possesses a superior naval force,
so long we wiU be excluded from the Mississippi. Suppose, however,
this obstacle removed ; suppose we are enabled to pass into the
Gulf, without molestation ; is it not necessary for vessels to hug the
island of Cuba on their passage to the Atlantic states ! and will not
this expose them to certain capture, as long as Spain retains that im
portant possession ? To secure the great object said to be aimed at by
this resolution, and to estabUsh beyond the reach of annoyance, a free
communication between the Atlantic and western states, we must seize
not only New Orleans, but the Floridas and Cuba ; and we must imme
diately create a formidable navy. It is needless to mention that the
Atlantic states are, with few exceptions, the carriers of western pro
duce. Three-fourths of that trade is managed by the merchants of the
state I have the honor to represent. I therefore view tliis measure as
pregnant with great mischief to the commerce of Atlantic America, and
as a certain exclusion of the western states frpm market, as long as the
war shall continue.
" It is no slight objection in the minds of the sincere friends of repub
licanism, that this measure wiU have a tendency to disadjust the bal
ance of our government, by strengthening the hands of the Executive,
furnishing him with extensive patronage, investing him with great dis
cretionary powers, and placing under his direction a large standing
army. It is the inevitable consequence of war in free countries, that
the power which wields the force will rise above the power that ex-

EXTRACTS. 229
presses the wiU of the people. The state governments wiU also re
ceive a severe shock. Those stately pillars, which support the magni
ficent dome of our national government, wiU totter under the increased
weight of the superincumbent pressure. Nor will the waste of morals,
the spirit of cupidity, the thirst of blood, and the general profligacy of
manners, which wul foUow the introduction of this measure, be viewed
by the great body of our citizens without the most fearful anxiety and
the most heartfelt deprecation. And if there are any persons in this
country, and I should regret if there are any such in this house, who
think that a pubUc debt is a pubUc blessing, and that heavy taxation
is expedient in order to produce industry; who beUeve that large
standing armies are essential to maintain the energy, and that extensive
patronage is indispensable to support the dignity, of government ; who
suppose that frequent wars are necessary to animate the human charac
ter, and to call into action the dormant energies of our nature ; who
have been expeUed from authority and power by the indignant voice of
an offended country, and who repine and suffer at the great and unex
ampled prosperity which this country is rapidly attaining under other
and better auspipes — such men, whoever they are, and wherever they
be, will rally round the proposition now before us, and wiU extol it to
the heavens, as the model of the most profound poUcy, and as the off
spring of the most exalted energy.
" If I were caUed upon to prescribe a course of poUcy most impor
tant for this country to pursue, it would be to avoid European connec
tions and wars. The time must arrive when we will have to contend
with some of the great powers of Europe ; but let that period be put
off as long as possible. It is our interest and our duty to cultivate
peace, with sincerity and good faith. As a young nation, pursuing in
dustry in every channel, and adventuring commerce in every sea, it is
highly important that we should not only have a pacific character, but
that we should really deserve it If we manifest an unwarrantable am
bition, and a rage for conquest, we unite aU the great powers of
Europe against us. The security of all the European possessions in our
vicinity wiU eternaUy depend, not upon their strength, but upon our
moderation and justice. Look at the Canadas ; at the Spanish territo-

230 DE WITT CLINTON.
ries to the south ; at the British, Spanish, French, Danish, and Dutch
West India Islands ; at the vast countries to the west, as far as where
the Pacific roUs its waves. Consider well the impression which a mani
festation of that spirit will make upon those who would be affected by
it. If we are to rush at pnce into the territory of a neighboring nation,
with fire and sword, for the misconduct of a subordinate officer, wiU not
our national character be greatly injured ? WiU we not be classed
with the robbers and destroyers of mankind ? WiU not the nations of
Europe perceive in this conduct the germ of a lofty spirit, and an en
terprising ambition, which will level them to the earth, when age has
matured our strength, and expanded our powers of annoyance — unless
they combine to cripple us in our infancy ? May not the consequences
be, that we must look out for a naval force to protect our commerce
That a close alUance wiU result. That we will be thrown at once into
the ocean of European poUtics, where every wave that rolls, and every
wind that blows, wiU agitate our bark ? Is this a desirable state of
things ? WUl the people of this country be seduced into it by aU the
colorings of rhetoric and all the arts of sophistry ; by vehement appeals
to their pride, and artful addresses to their cupidity ? -No, sir. Three-
fourths of the American people, I assert it boldly and without fear of
contradiction, are opposed to this measure. And would you take up
arms with a nullstone hanging round your neck? How would you
bear up, not only against the force of the enemy, but against the irre
sistible current of public opinion ? The thing, sir, is impossible ; the
measure is worse than madness : it is wicked, beyond the powers of
description. *******
" If negotiation shall prove successful — and of this I have no doubt —
aU the evils resulting from war will be averted. If, on the contrary, it
shaU eventuate unfortunately, and we shaU be compelled to face all
consequences, and risk all dangers in the maintenance of our national
honor and national rights, great and abundant advantages will stUl re
sult from the pursuit of this course ; and we will be enabled to appeal
to the sword, with a full conviction of the justice of our conduct ; with
the unanimous suffrage of our country ; and to the perfect satisfaction
of the world. In the meantime, we can form some necessary prepara-

APPOINTED MAYOR OF NEW YORK. 231
tions, and we can ascertain the feelings and bearings of foreign govern
ments. Every day of procrastination wiU find us better prepared, and
wiU give us more people, more resources, more treasure, more force,
with less debt. Our national character wiU stand high for moderation
and justice ; our own citizens, and foreign nations, wiU entertain but
one opinion on the subject ; and we can then confidently appeal to that
great and good Being, who holds in his hands the destiny of nations, to
smile upon our cause. But, if in the inscrutable decrees of His provi
dence it is ordained that we must perish, we wiU at least fall with dig
nity, and maintain our character when we lose our existence."
Mr. Clinton supported, generally, the measures of Mr.
Jefferson's administration,* and was regarded as one
of the ablest and most promising, if not the most distin
guished champions of the republican party in con
gress. When he delivered his sentiments on any ques
tion, he was listened to with marked deference and
respect ; there were none of the tricks or devices of the
demagogue in his speeches, but his views were elevated
and statesmanlike. His career as a senator, however,
was soon closed. He remained in the national legis
lature but two sessions, and resigned his seat in the
summer of 1803, in consequence of his receiving the
appointment of mayor of the city of New York, as the
* Although Mr. Clinton was very friendly to Mr. Jefferson, it was
said by the opponents of the former, (Wood's Exposition of the Clin-
tonian faction, Newark, 1802,) that he was quite cool to Mr. Madison
when he first went as a, senator to Washington. This was probably
true. Mr. Clinton, doubtless, entered into the feelings of his uncle, and
identified himself with his interests. It was nothing strange, therefore,
if both were jealous of Mr. Madison

232 DE WITT CLINTON.
successor of Edward Livingston, then recently ap
pointed United States district attorney for the district
of New York.
At that time, the mayoralty was a most dignified
position, and it was sought after by men of the most
elevated standing and of the highest order of talent.
The judicial powers annexed to the office were great,
and the emoluments so large as to render it very de
sirable in a pecuniary point of view. Mr. Clinton ac
cepted the appointment without hesitation, and forth
with entered upon the new duties devolved on him.
At first blush, it would seem that this step was a most
injudicious one, and that Mr. Hammond has properly
censured Mr. Clinton, whom he declares to have then
been looking forward to the presidency, for retiring
from an arena so well fitted to his talents, and where
their display would have secured him the applause of
the nation, to take part in the disputes and dissensions
of opposing factions in the state of New York. Had he
remained at Washington, it is urged, he would soon
have become known to the country at large, and ob
tained an influence and established a character as a
statesman, that would have contributed materially to
his further advancement.*
Unquestionably, De Witt Clinton was ambitious.
Indeed, his desires in this respect — more particularly at
a later period in life— might justly be considered as in
ordinate. Like Wolsey, perhaps,
* Hammond's PoUtical History, vol. i. p. 197, et seq.

REASONS FOR ACCEPTING THE MAYORALTY. 233
" He was a man
Of an unbounded stomach ;"
yet it is as idle to suppose that he then cherished any
presidential aspirations, except with reference to the
far-off future, as it is unjust to imply, by such a suppo
sition, that he could have been ungrateful to his vener
able uncle, his benefactor and friend. A few words
will present this matter in its true light, and show that
it was to subserve the political interests of his distin
guished relative alone, that he retired from a far more
honorable position, and accepted the mayoralty of New
York. It was said by the Clintons and their friends,
that George Clinton had been defrauded — to use the
term which they did not hesitate to employ — of the
nomination for the vice-presidency, in 1800, by Aaron
Burr. Although they acquiesced in the decision of the
congressional caucus, and supported the republican
nominees, they were very willing to avail themselves
of the course of Mr. Burr, in respect to the contest in
the house of representatives, in the winter of 1801,
to prejudice his standing in the republican party.
George Clinton was avowedly their candidate for the
succession to the presidency ; and they desired to ele
vate him to the position occupied by Mr. Burr, at the
next election, in order to accomplish the great object
which they had at heart.
Mr. Burr had not then committed those indiscretions
which forever alienated from him the affections of the
great mass of the republicans in the state and nation ;

234 DE WITT CLINTON.
and in 1802 and 1803, the state of New York was
constantly agitated by the fierce contest between his
friends and the Clinton interest — each striving to gain
the permanent ascendency, for the purpose of making
an impression at Washington. It was deemed of par
amount importance, therefore, that George Clinton
should have the voice of his own state, whenever his
claims were again pressed ; and it was thought to be
especially necessary, that the city of New York,
which was the centre of the strife and agitation be
tween the Burrites, on the one part, and the Clintons
and their friends on the other, should have for its ex
ecutive head, and highest judicial officer, a person
who was entirely devoted to the latter interest.
Without disparaging the efforts made in other parts
of the Union, it may be said, with justice, that that
great emporium was mainly instrumental in the eleva
tion of Thomas Jefferson to the presidency, in 1 800.
How natural was it, then, that a fast friend of George
Clinton should be selected for its chief magistrate ; — and
who was better adapted, or more likely to be chosen,
to fill this important position, than his own nephew,
De Witt Clinton ? Considerations, such as have been
mentioned, may not have influenced him in retaining
this office for so many years, at a later period ; but it
is impossible to doubt, that he was originally influenced
by them. And his course, in this respect, so far from
indicating any want of shrewdness, as has been said,

ELECTED TO THE STATE SENATE. 235
when rightly viewed, appears to have been dictated by
the most powerful motives of political policy.
Mr. Clinton continued to hold the office of mayor of
the city of New York, by annual appointment, till the
winter of 1807, when he was removed by the council,
consisting of a majority of the friends of Governor
Lewis, to whom he was then decidedly opposed. In
the meantime, he had been elected to the state senate,
in the spring of 1805, by the republicans of the south
ern district, and was again returned at the April elec
tion in 1807. As a member of the legislature, Mr.
Clinton was distinguished for the advocacy of all meas
ures designed to promote the welfare of his fellow-
citizens in their individual capacities, to further the
great interests of science and promote the cause of
education, and to develop the resources of the state
by the construction of works of internal improvement.
He was the author or advocate of almost all the bills of
this character which were introduced, or discussed in
the senate, while he continued in that body ; and dur
ing the sessions of 1809, 1810, and 1811, he brought for
ward laws " to prevent kidnapping or the further intro
duction of slaves, and to punish those who should treat
them inhumanly; for the support of the quarantine
establishment ; for the encouragement of missionary
societies ; for the improvement of the public police ;
for the prevention and punishment of crime ; for per
fecting the militia system ; for promoting medical
science, and for endowing seminaries of education."

236 DE WITT CLINTON.
In the winter of 1806, Mr. Clinton was elected a
member of the council of appointment. A majority
of the other members being his particular friends, and
as an irreconcilable feeling of hostility, originating,
probably, in mutual jealousy, had sprung up between
him and Mr. Lewis, who then occupied the chair of
state, at his suggestion a great many of the supporters
and adherents of the governor were removed from
office. The following year saw the Lewisites all-
powerful in the council, and Mr. Clinton, as he must,
doubtless, have anticipated, was ousted from the may
oralty of New York, in a very natural, if not justifiable,
spirit of retaliation.
Mr. Clinton did not whine like a school-boy over his
loss, but determined to carry the war into Africa. He
was no friend to half-way measures, and in politi
cal warfare adopted the motto — " Expedition is equal
to strength." He went to work vigorously, and at the
April election in 1807 completely changed the aspect
of affairs. Mr. Tompkins, the governor elect, was
nominated through his instrumentality, and he was
himself triumphantly re-elected as state senator. In
February, 1808, a new council was chosen, composed
of his friends, by whom he was promptly restored to
the office of mayor. In 1810, he was again superseded
by a federal council, but in the winter of 1811, he was
once more re-appointed.
When the Embargo Act, recommended by Mr. Jef
ferson, in December, 1807, was first passed, Mr. Clin-

CANAL COMMISSIONER. 237
ton was inclined to oppose it ; and he officiated as
chairman of a public meeting in the city of New York,
at which resolutions were adopted disapproving of the
law. His first impressions must have taken color, and
derived their character, to some considerable extent,.
from the persons around him, — from the merchants,
and those who were engaged in commercial pursuits,
in the city of New York, who thought that the meas
ure was calculated seriously to jeopard their interests.
Subsequently, he reconsidered his opinion, and ac
quiesced in the propriety of the embargo. He not
only defended the policy pursued by Mr. Jefferson, but
at the session of the legislature in 1809, delivered a
most violent philippic against the eastern federalists.
We now come to by far the most important feature
in the life and career of De Witt Clinton, — his connec
tion with the internal improvements, and more particu
larly the canal system, of New York. In the winter
of 1810, a joint resolution was offered in the New York
senate, by Jonas Piatt, appointing Gouverneur Morris,
De Witt Clinton, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Simeon De
Witt, William North, Thomas Eddy, and Peter B.
Porter, commissioners to explore the whole route for
inland navigation, from the Hudson river to Lake On
tario and Lake Erie. At this session, also, a number
of memorials were presented, showing that a great pro
portion of the internal trade of the state was being di
verted to Canada, on account of the natural facilities
for water communication afforded in that direction,

238 DE WITT CLINTON.
and urging the importance of adopting measures to
counteract such diversion. Through the representa
tions of Mr. Piatt and Mr. Eddy — the latter of whom
had suggested the introduction of the resolution before
mentioned — De Witt Clinton was induced to turn his
attention to the subject of constructing a canal from
the Hudson to the lakes ; and once having examined
it, from that moment he became warmly enlisted in its
favor. The resolution of Mr. Piatt was adopted, and in the
following summer the commissioners made a careful
examination and reconnaissance of the valley of the
Mohawk and of western New York. Mr. Clinton
kept a journal during his tour, in which he carefully
and minutely noted down his observations. This has
been recently published by Mr. Campbell, in his Life
and Writings of De Witt Clinton, lt has already an
antiquarian value, and no one at all familiar with the
history of that portion of the state which its author
traversed, can be otherwise than interested in its pe
rusal. Personal examination of the ground, and inspection
of the water-courses between the Hudson and the lakes,
convinced Mr. Clinton and his associates of the prac
ticability of the projected enterprise. Their conclusions
were submitted to the legislature of the state, in a re
port drawn up by Mr. Morris, and presented at the
session of 1811. They estimated the cost of the con
templated work at five millions of dollars, and recom-

SERVICES AS CANAL COMMISSIONER. 239
mended that its construction should be offered to the
general government. The legislature shortly after
wards passed a law, prepared by Mr. Clinton and sup
ported by him and Mr. Piatt with great earnestness,
authorizing the commissioners appointed at the previ
ous session, with Robert Fulton and Robert R. Living
ston, to consider all matters relative to the inland navi
gation of the state ; to make application to the general
government, and to any of the states or territories, for
aid or co-operation ; to accept of donations from indi-
dividuals or companies ; and to ascertain on what
terms loans could be obtained, and at what price the
rights of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Com
pany could be purchased. De Witt Clinton and
Gouverneur Morris were subsequently appointed by
the board a sub-committee to visit Washington. They
repaired thither, and laid the whole subject before the
president, the heads of departments, and the leading
and most influential members of congress of both po
litical parties. They failed to obtain any assistance,
however, and were not flattered even with the hope of
future encouragement. Consequently, they returned
home to acquaint the legislature which had appointed
them, of their ill-success.
By reason of his partial opposition to the Embargo
Act, Mr. Clinton had temporarily lost caste with the
republicans of New York ; but his subsequent approval
of that measure restored him to favor, and he con
tinued thereafter to be regarded as the great leader and

240 DE WITT CLINTON.
head of the party. At the legislative caucus, in the
winter of 1810, at which Daniel D. Tompkins was
nominated for re-election, he was particularly active,
and prepared the address, recommending the support
of the -candidates nominated, which was adopted on
that occasion. In the month of August of the same
year, the office of lieutenant-governor became vacant,
by the death of John Broome, the incumbent ; and at
the ensuing session of the legislature, a special act was
passed, authorizing the vacancy to be filled. Mr.
Clinton now had everything in his own way, and he
had but to express a wish for a nomination, when it
was immediately gratified.
He was nominated with almost entire unanimity, by
the republican legislative caucus, as their candidate
for lieutenant-governor, and was duly chosen to that
office, at the April election in 1811, by a large ma
jority over Nicholas Fish, the opposing federal candi
date. In the city of New York, and in some of the
adjacent counties, a third ticket, on which was placed
the name of Marinus Willett, was supported by the
Lewisite opponents of Mr. Clinton ; but it received a
comparatively small number of votes.
In December, 1811, Mr. Clinton read, before the
New York Historical Society, upon their invitation, an
address, on the origin, history, and character of the
Iroquois, or Six Nations. This is one of the ablest and
most elaborate productions that ever emanated from his
pen. The whole discourse should be read, in order to

ADDRESS ON THE IROdUOIS. 241
appreciate it as it deserves ; but the subjoined extract
may serve to give some idea of its excellence : —
" From the Genesee river to Lewiston, on the Niagara river, there is
a remarkable ridge or elevation of land, running almost the whole dis
tance, which is seventy-eight nnles, and in a direction from east to west.
Its general altitude above the neighboring land is thirty feet, and its
width varies considerably : in some places it is not more than forty
yards. Its elevation above the level of Lake Ontario is perhaps one
hundred and sixty feet, to which it descends by a gradual slope ; and
its distance from that water is between six and ten miles. This re
markable strip of land would appear as if intended by nature for the
purpose of an easy communicatioa It is, in fact, a stupendous natural
turnpike, descending gently on each side, and covered with gravel ; and
but Uttle labor is requisite to make it the best road in the United States.
When the forests between it and the lake are cleared, the prospects
and scenery which will be afforded from a tour on this route to the
cataract of Niagara, wiU surpass all competition for sublimity and
beauty, variety and number.
" There is every reason to beUeve, that this remarkable ridge was the
ancient boundary of this great lake. The gravel with which it is cov
ered was deposited there by the waters ; and the stones everywhere
indicate, by their shape, the abrasion and agitation produced by that
element. AU along the borders of the western rivers and lakes, there
are smaU mounds or heaps of gravel, of a conical form, erected by the
fish for the protection of their spawn ; these fish-banks are found in a
state that cannot be mistaken, at the foot of the ridge, on the side to
wards the lake ; on the opposite side none have been discovered. AU
rivers and streams which enter the lake from the south, have their
mouths affected with sand in a pecuUar way, from the prevalence and
power of the north-westerly winds. The points of the creeks which
pass through this ridge, correspond exactly in appearance with the en
trance of the streams into the lakes. These facts evince, beyond doubt,
that Lake Ontario has, perhaps one or two thousand years ago, receded
from this elevated ground. And the cause of this retreat must be as-
16

242 DE WITT CLINTON.
cribed to its having enlarged its former outlet, or to its imprisoned
waters (aided, probably, by an earthquake,) forcing a passage down the
present bed of the St. Lawrence ; as the Hudson did at the Highlands,
and the Mohawk at the Little FaUs. On the south side of this great
ridge, its vicinity, and in aU directions through this country, the remains
of numerous forts are to be seen ; but on the north side, that is, on the
side toward the lake, not a single one has been discovered, although the
whole ground has been carefuUy explored. Considering the distance to
be, say seventy mUes in length, and eight in breadth, and that the bor
der of the lake is the very place that would be selected for habitation,
and consequently for works of defence, on account of the faciUties it
would afford for subsistence, for safety, for all domestic accommodations
and miUtary purposes ; and that on the south shores, of Lake Erie these
ancient fortresses exist in great number ; there can be no doubt but
that these works were erected, when this ridge was the southern boun
dary of Lake Ontario, and, consequently, that their origin must be
sought in a very remqte. age.
" A great part of North America was then inhabited by populous
nations, who had made considerable advance in civUization. These nu
merous works could never have been suppUed with provisions, without
the aid of agriculture. Nor could they have been constructed without
the use of iron or copper ; and without a perseverance, labor, and de
sign, which demonstrate considerable progress in the arts of civiUzed
Ufe. A learned writer has said, ' I perceive no reason why the Asiatic
North might not be an qfficina virorum, as weU as the European. The
over-teeming country to the. east of the Ripkean mountains, must find
it necessary to discharge, its inhabitants., The first great wave of
people was forced forward by the next to it, more tumid and more
powerful than, itself : successive and new impulses continually arriving,
short rest was given to that whioh spread over a more eastern tract ;
disturbed again and again, it covered fresh regions. At length, reach
ing the farthest limits of the old world, it found a new one, with ample
space to occupy, unmolested, for ages.'* After tlie north of Asia had

* Pennant's Arctic Zoology, vol. i. p. 260.

EXTRACT. 243
thus exhausted its exuberant population by such a great migration, it
would require a very long period of time to produce a co-operation of
causes, sufficient to effect another. The first mighty stream of people"
tliat flowed into America, must have remained free from exlernaLjpres-
sure for ages. Availing themselves of this period of tranquility, they
would devote themselves to the arts of peace, make rapid progress in
civUization, and acquire an immense population. In course of time, dis
cord and war would rage among them, and compel the estabUshment
of places of security. At last, they became alarmed by the irruption
of a horde of barbarians, who rushed like an overwhelming flood from
the north of Asia,—
A multitude, like which the populous north
Pour'd never from her frozen loins, to pass
Rhene or the DanaW, when her barb'rous sons
Came like a deluge on the south, and spread
Beneath Gibraltar to the Lybian sands.*
" The great law of self-preservation compeUed them to stand on their
defence, to resist these ruthless invaders, and to construct numerous
and" extensive works for protection. And for a long series of years the
scale of victory was suspended in doubt, and they firmly withstood the
torrent : but like the Romans, in the decline of their empire, they were
finaUy worn down and destroyed by successive inroads and renewed
attacks. And the fortifications of which we have treated are the only
remaining monuments of these ancient and exterminated nations. This
is, perhaps, the airy nothing of imagination, and may be reckoned the
extravagant dream of a visionary mind : but may we not, considering
the wonderful events of the past and present times, and the inscrutable
dispensations of an over-ruling Providence, may we not look forward
into futurity, and without departing from the rigid laws of probabiUty,
predict the occurrence of simUar scenes, at some remote period of time.
And, perhaps, in the decrepitude of our empire, some transcendent
genius, whose powers of mind shall only be bounded by that impene-
* Milton's Paradise Lost, book i. Une 351.

244 DE WITT CLINTON.
trable circle which prescribes the limits of human nature,* may raUy
the barbarous nations of Asia under the standard of a mighty empire
following the track of the Russian colonies and commerce toward the
north-west coast, and avaiUng himself of the navigation, arms, and
militar/skUl of civiUzed nations, he may, after subverting the neigh
boring despotisms of the old world, bend his course toward European
America, The destinies of our country may then be decided on the
waters of the Missouri, or the banks of Lake Superior. And if Asia
shaU then revenge upon our posterity the injuries we have inflicted on
her sons, a new, a long, and a gloomy night of Gothic darkness wiU
set in upon mankind. And when, after the efflux of ages, the returning
effulgence of inteUectual light shaU again gladden the nations, then
the wide-spread ruins of our cloud-capp'd towers, of our solemn
temples, and of our magnificent cities, will, like the works of which
we have treated, become the subject of curious research and elaborate
investigation." Since the address, from which the foregoing extract
is taken, was delivered, the examinations made by
Squier, Davis, and others, the geological survey of
this state, and the learning and philosophical investi
gation of -Schoolcraft and Gallatin, have added a great
deal to our stock of knowledge respecting the ancient
proprietors of the land which we inhabit ; yet eth
nology, so far as it concerns the American aborigines
even, is still a conjectural science. Many of the spec
ulations of Mr. Clinton have been shown to be errone
ous, though others seem to be confirmed by irrefragable
testimony ; nevertheless, the early history of the coun
try, in great part, remains involved in the mists of ob
scurity. Here and there are glimpses of sunlight, but
* Roscoe's Lorenzo de Medici, p. 241.

THE CLINTONS AND LIVINGSTONS. 245
they merely serve to render the surrounding darkness
deeper and more palpable.
We now approach the turning point in the political
fortunes of Mr. Clinton, the crisis of a career more bril
liant in its promise and in its deserts, than in its results;
for, viewed in his character as a politician, his nomina
tion for the presidency in opposition to Mr. Madison,
was the great error of his life. Though he afterward
rose to higher stations than he had yet filled, and en
joyed, at intervals, a much larger share of popular fa
vor ; it was rather as a public benefactor, than as the
leader of a political party, that he was thus honored,
and his popularity was more confined to the state and
less national.
As has been seen, the rival families of the Clintons
and the Livingstons, for a long time gave character to
the politics of New York. Though their contests were
not as bloody as those of the Montagues and Capulets,
they were often marked, considering the age, by equal
virulence and animosity. Both Mr. Jefferson and Mr.
Madison, it would seem, were more friendly to the
Livingstons than to the Clintons ; the former, prob
ably, because of his long intimacy and acquaintance
with the chancellor, and the latter, for the reason,
that the Clintons were originally ultra anti-federalists,
and, as such, had zealously opposed the adoption of
the federal constitution, of which he had been justly
termed the father. It may well be also, that Mr. Mad
ison was influenced, to some extent, by jealousy of

240 PE WITT CLINTON.
the popularity of the Clintons in New York — for poli
ticians are no more exempt, perhaps less so, from such
feelings, than other men ; and that he hoped, by favor
ing the Livingstons, to keep up the hostility that ex
isted between the two factions of the dominant party
in so important a state, and thus his own political for
tunes would be made more secure.
Whatever may have been the cause, it is.certain
that the Clinton family were never very warm in their
attachment to Mr. Madison, and after the selection of
the latter, in 1808, as the republican candidate for the
presidency in preference to George Clinton, the com
mon danger, — for the federalists were still a powerful
party, — alone prevented a rupture. When New York
came to choose her electors in November of that year,
the family and intimate friends of George Clinton de
sired that such persons should be chosen as would give
the vote of the state to him for president ; not with
a hope of securing his election to that high office, but,
more probably, in order tp show what was thought to
be a proper resentment. Their counsels did not pre
vail, however, and electors were chosen without re
gard to their particular preferences, some of whom
gave their votes to Mr. Clintpn, when they saw it would
not affect the general result.
In his appointments to office, Mr. Madison favored
the opponents of the Clinton interest, and the breach
between them, though yet only of a personal rather
than of a political character, gradually became wider

FEELINGS TOWARD MR. MADISON. 247
and wider. De Witt Clinton warmly resented the al
leged injustice which had been done to his uncle, and
openly censured " the Virginia Dynasty," as he termed
the confidential friends of Mr. Madison. He, in turn,
was attacked by the administration papers in Virginia
and at the capital ; and when, upon the death of his
uncle, his high standing and talents placed him at the
head of the faction to which he belonged — a position
that he had before practically occupied— his course
and conduct were criticised in no friendly manner by
the especial favorites and adherents of the president.
That he may have given cause for this harshness, is
quite probable ; he was ardent in his resentments as in
his friendships, and he did not stop to select the mildest
terms when expressing his feelings of indignation.
The opposition to Mr. Clinton in the republican
party, had its origin ahd centre mainly in the city of
New York. Here were a majority of those holding
the more prominent offices in the state under the gene
ral government, and their influence, from being un
friendly, became decidedly hostile, to him. There
were, also, leading republicans in other sections of the
state among the warmest of his opponents ; yet up to
the time of which we are speaking, he, if any one, was
the leader and head of the party, and his voice and his
wishes were regarded, above all others, in the council
of appointment, during the earlier years of Governor
Tompkins' administration. Mr. Clinton was .unable,
indeed, to attach the governor to his interest ; but the

248 DE WITT CLINTON.
latter, though opposed to his nomination as lieutenant-
governor, dared not take ground against him. Coin
ciding in sentiment with Governor Tompkins, though
more open in the expression of their hostility, were
Morgan Lewis, the late governor, Nathan Sanford, and
the Livingston family.
Mr. Clinton himself was not without able friends and
supporters. Prominent among them was Judge Spen
cer, ever since 1798 his "fidus Achates," and now in
timately connected with him by marriage.* The
Judge had considerable of the hauteur of Mr. Clinton,
and, like him, was loth to recognize the right of the
rank and file of the party to criticise his plans, or to
differ with him in opinion ; but he possessed far more
shrewdness as a politician than his friend, was better
schooled in the study of human nature, and easier in
his manners and more courteous in his address. He
was always a warm friend, but a most bitter enemy ;
and as he advanced in years, the equability of his tem
perament was much more easily disturbed. His high
talents commanded general respect and admiration,
and his ability and impartiality on the bench were com
mended by every one. At one period, too, he stood
second only to De Witt Clinton in the estimation of
the republican party of New York, and after the presi
dential canvass of 1812, up to the year 1816, he was the
acknowledged leader of the Madisonian republicans.
Mr. Hammond, in his Political History, has repeat-
* The second wife of Judge Spencer was a sister of De Witt CUnton.

JUDGE SPENCER. 249
edly charged Judge Spencer with being actuated by
improper or corrupt motives, in his course as a poli
tician.* These charges, it is almost needless to say,
are both ungenerous and unjust. Judge Spencer was
a warm partisan, but few politicians had a higher
sense of honor than himself. He was, indeed, intoler
ant and overbearing, but these feelings were oftener
manifested toward those who disagreed with him in his
own party than toward his and their political oppo
nents. He could not look with complacency on the
young men who claimed, or whose friends claimed for
them, an equal standing in the party, and when forced
to come in competition with them, he withdrew from
the contest. In his retirement he could not forget his
disappointments, and his language, when alluding to
those who had crossed his purposes, was sometimes as
bitter as the venom of the serpent. Aristocratic in his
nature, he could not sympathize with the progressive-
ism of the day ; and while cautious and far-seeing men
regarded its vagaries with regret, he viewed them with
abhorrence. Yet, aside from his talents, and the
charms of his conversation, enriched as they were with
the experience and the acquirements of half a century,
he possessed many attractive and kindly qualities ; his
motives were as honest as those of any of his political
cotemporaries, and purity and blamelessness of life
were crowning glories in his character.
* Vol. i. pp. 182, 30*7, 332, et al.— See, also, Defence of Judge
Spencer, 1843. 11*

250 DE WITT CLINTON.
In Judge Spencer, Mr. Clinton found a most efficient
coadjutor, and when acting together, they were all-
powerful in the state of New York. But the latter
had an unusual share of self-confidence, notwithstand
ing his diffidence of manner ; that is, he did not plaee
a very high estimate on the opinions of his friends when
conflicting with his own. He was not formed to be
led or influenced : if their advice pleased him, it was
well enough, but if disagreeable, he was inclined to
suspect their fidelity, though there really existed no
cause for the suspicion.
De Witt Clinton was no tactician ; he knew but
little of the strategy of political warfare ; and he
affected to treat with contempt — and, perhaps, the feel
ing was often genuine — the efforts of his personal ene
mies to weaken his influence and undermine his popu
larity. He underrated equally their importance, and
the importance of securing or strengthening his posi
tion. The Livingston interest, now represented by
Ex-Governor Lewis, and the Martling men, or Madi-
sonian republicans in the city of New York, — at the
head of whom was the father-in-law of Governor
Tompkins, — were constantly at work to destroy him as
a public man ; but he seemed for a long time to be in
different to their movements. While he dispensed the
official patronage of the state, this mattered little ; but
as Governor Tompkins grew stronger in the affections
of his party, he began to be regarded more and more
as the appointing power, until at length he supplanted

POLITICAL COURSE. .251
Mr. Clinton almpst entirely ;in this respect. The elec
tion of the, latter to the office of; lieutenant-governor,
though it brought him ,no power, kept him conspicu
ously before the public, and afforded turn the oppor
tunity of mingling and . associating with their repre
sentatives at the, seat of government, without being
suspected of having any ulterior designs in contempla
tion ; yet, after all, it did not restore him to the van
tage-ground he had once occupied. This was lost
when Mr. Tompkins was, elected .governor; for Mr.
Clinton, doubtless, supposed that the fprmer. would be
willing tp consult his interests and to further his aspira
tions. In this he was mistaken. That gentleman had
no sooner been inaugurated, than it became evident
he was not the man to be put in leading strings. He
at once set up for himself; the influence of the gene
ral administration was exerted in his behalf; and it
required the most powerful efforts ,pf Mr. Clinton,
when fully awakened to a sense of his danger, to
maintain himself in anything li,ke a respectable posi
tion in regard to popularity.
It will be remembered, that Mr. Clinton was at first
opposed to the embargo act. He was not at all in
clined to favor the restrictive policy of Jefferson and
Madison, and .especially for the reason, that it operated
with peculiar severity upon the commercial classes in
the middle and eastern states. Other prominent and
.influential republicans — those, too, who enjoyed the
confidence of both those eminent statesmen-^took the

252 DE WITT CLINTON.
same ground with Mr. Clinton. But while they were
respected for their independence, he was charged, with
opposing the administration merely for the sake of op
position. Further reflection convinced him that, harsh
and oppressive as was the restrictive policy in some
instances, it was absolutely necessary ; and in January,
1809, he offered his resolutions in the state senate, ap
proving of the measures of the national administra
tion, and supported them in an able speech.
It has been intimated, that this movement on the
"part of Mr. Clinton was made in the hope, or with the
expectation, that it would bring about the desired en
tente cordiale between him and the friends of Mr.
Madison. This is not probable. On the contrary, it
must have been his chief object to set himself right
with the mass of the party. Among his personal
friends were Gouverneur Morris, Stephen Van Rensse
laer, and Samuel Jones, all leading federalists. He
never took any pains to conceal his intimacy with
them, or with others of similar political sentiments,
many of whom there were, that he admitted to his
friendship; and his enemies predicated upon it the
plausible charge, that he was coquetting with the fede
ralists. But political considerations had very little to do with
his private friendships— if anything, too little for his
success in public life. He was supported for the presi
dency, it is true, in 1812, by the federal party, but he
never adopted their political creed. No matter who

OPPOSITION OF MARTLING MEN. 253
gave him their votes — what men or what party — he
was none the less a republican. As such he lived, and
as such he died. It was natural that he should wish to
disabuse his republican friends, of the opinions unfa
vorable to his integrity as a politician, which had been
widely spread through the instrumentality of the Mart
ling men. This he attempted to do by his speech and
resolutions. In the former, perhaps, he went farther
than was necessary, for he attacked the federalists with
great asperity. He charged them with plotting the
dissolution and overthrow of the Union, with opposing
the measures of the administration, both to render it
unpopular and the government odious. He averred
that, so long as they were unable to wield the power
of which they had been deprived, and to control the
destinies of the country, they preferred its ruin; and
he closed his eloquent, but scorching denunciations,
with declaring that, like the apostate angel, they had
rather '.' reign in hell, than serve in heaven."
The speech of Mr. Clinton drew upon him the fier
cest fire of the federal leaders in the legislature, and
when once attacked, the sympathies of his own party
were generally aroused in his favor., But it seemed as
if he could do nothing that would satisfy the leaders
of the faction opposed to him. His approbation of the
policy of the administration had been declared in the
strongest terms ;# yet that did not content them, and he
was charged with being secretly hostile to Mr. Madison.
After his frank and decided avowal of his sentiments

254 DE WITT CLINTON.
in 1809, his friends seemed to gather new courage/and
to increase in numbers. In the southern district, where
he resided, they were much more numerous than the
opposing faction, and in other districts their preponder
ance was still greater.
But what the Martling men lacked in numbers they
made up in zeal. Their attacks were not only not in
termitted, but they were continued with even greater
earnestness. All throughout the years 1810 and 1811,
they were exceedingly active and bitter in their oppo
sition. They did everything that was possible to pre
vent his nomination for lieutenant-governor, and sub
sequently labored, though in vain, to defeat his election
at the polls. Every act of his was misrepresented, and
if he took the pains at any time to avow his motives,
for fear of misconstruction, they were sure to be stig
matized as false and deceitful. When he engaged in
the canal project, it was said that his only object was
popularity, and when he visited Washington, in 1811,
to secure the assistance of the general government, it
was openly charged that he had gone on an election
eering tour.
Meanwhile, Mr. Clinton was not altogether idle nor
indifferent to the movements of his opponents. Some
times he turned boldly upon them, and poured out his
volleys of indignation ; but he, soon relapsed again into
his accustomed indifference ; and while buried in the
solitude of his study, enjoying those hours of relaxation
from worldly cares, which so delighted his heart, his

AMBITIOUS HOPES. 255
enemies were constantly upon his track. Calumny
always flourishes by what it feeds on ; like the gnaw
ing tooth of time, its effects may long remain invisible,
but sooner or later, the most spotless reputation will be
injured, if not destroyed. Mr. Clinton was not invul
nerable. He often invited attack by his overbearing
manner, and his untimely denunciations. He lacked
caution in speech and in action. He was intolerant
and exacting, also, and unnecessarily alienated from
himself many friends whose services he needed.
Long before the presidential canvass of 1812, it was
said by the enemies of Mr. Clinton that his aspirations
were raised to the highest office in the gift of the
American people. If such was his ambition, it was no
"grievous fault," but in every way worthy of one
whose character and talents fitted him to adorn any
station. But it is a mistake to suppose, as Mr. Ham
mond repeatedly intimates in his Political History, that
the hopes of Mr. Clinton were so early fixed upon the
presidency, except as something that might be attained
at a distant day. During the administration of Mr-
Jefferson, the efforts of himself and of his friends were
directed to the elevation of his uncle to the presidential
chair; and these efforts were never intermitted till
shortly before the death of the elder Clinton, and when
his advanced age, and consequent infirmities, admon
ished them that his political career, with his life, was
rapidly drawing to a close.
It was nothing strange that DeWitt Clinton should

256 DE WITT CLINTON.
have become impressed with the conviction, that the
mantle of his beloved and distinguished relative would
most appropriately fall upon his shoulders, and that he
should inherit the claims of the latter, certainly not
altogether unfounded, to the presidential office. But
he was yet a very young man, having just passed his
fortieth year, and he could have afforded to wait in
patience, till the times seemed more favorable for
urging those claims. This he would probably have
done — for it was surely the dictate of sound policy —
but in the exasperated state of his feelings, he remem
bered only his personal grievances. He stood well be
fore the republicans of the Union, and was the idol of
the great majority of the party in his own state. He
ought not lightly to have hazarded these advantages.
As respected his political fortunes, it was a grave error
to distract and divide the party at so momentous a
crisis. But he and his friends thought, that the man
ner in which he had been treated by the confidential
adherents of Mr. Madison, released them from all obli
gation to continue their support of that gentleman;
and that they were justified, from personal motives, in
opposing his renomination, and attempting to substi
tute another republican, Mr. Clinton himself, in his
place. In the winter of 1811-12, the friends of Mr. Clinton
began first to urge his name seriously in connection
with the presidency, and to avow their intentions to
substitute him, if possible, for the then incumbent.

AMBITIOUS HOPES. 257
The time, and the political condition of the country,
did not seem altogether unfavorable. A quite general
feeling of dissatisfaction with the foreign policy of the
administration pervaded the republican party. It was
thought that Mr. Madison was too timid, and lacked
energy and decision. The friends of Mr. Clinton took
advantage of this feeling, and they pointed to his well-
known character for firmness, nerve, and intrepidity,
as affording the assurance that he would pursue no
temporizing course if he were at the head of affairs.
Mr. Ingersoll, a warm and devoted friend of Madison,
does full justice to Mr. Clinton in this respect. "If
De Witt Clinton," he says, " had superseded Madison,
by the presidential election of 1812, it is no disparage
ment of either to say, that the tone of executive ac
tion would have been much more imposing." * Mr.
Clinton had none of the constitutional timidity of
Madison ; he would have cheerfully taken upon him
self responsibilities which the other was afraid to as
sume ; he would not have been over fearful of tran
scending his powers, but in peace or in war, his policy
would have been bold, prompt and energetic, and cal
culated either to command, or to enforce respect.
It was originally the intention of Mr. Clinton's
friends to procure a nomination of their favorite for
the presidency, at the winter session of the legislature
in 1812, and before the Congressional Caucus was
held. This was prevented by the agitation of the
* History of the War of 1812, voL L p. 69.

258 DE WITT CLINTON.
question of incorporating the Bank of America. Mr.
Clinton himself was opposed to the incorporation, but
among its advocates were many of his most zealous
friends. Their support was not in some respects very
desirable, for it was accompanied with extreme servil
ity and the most fulsome adulation ; but he was much
too fond of flattery, and, while they sounded his
praises, though he did not admit them to his confi
dence, he shared with them his purse. Not, that he
paid them for their flatteries ; but as they were mostly
men of " battered and bankrupt fortunes," he allowed
them the use of his name to procure banking accom
modations, and in this way ultimately ruined himself
in a pecuniary point of view.
At the session of 1812, this class of men were actively
employed in electioneering both for Mr. Clinton and the
bank. Many of his friends, among them Judge Spencer
and Judge Tayler, urged him to take a decided stand
with them against the incorporation. A most excited
state of feeling was produced throughout the whole
state, and in several counties public meetings were held
at which the bank and its advocates were denounced
in the strongest language. There were few prominent
politicians, but committed themselves positively, either
one way or the other. Mr. Clinton, notwithstanding
his own convictions were adverse to the incorporation,
refused to quarrel with those friends who were in favor
of it, and this refusal led to a rupture between himself
and Judge Spencer.

NOMINATION FOR THE PRESIDENCY. 259
It must not be supposed that all the advocates of the
bank were friendly to Mr. Clinton. This might readily
be inferred from Mr. Hammond's history, but nothing
could be more erroneous. The bank had no more
steadfast friends than the Livingston family ; and Mor
gan Lewis, and Edward P. Livingston, both members
of the Senate, voted in favor of the act of incorpo- •
ration. Early in the winter, a private meeting of the friends
of Mr. Clinton, — or rather of all the prominent repub
licans in the state, except the Martling men, now
known as the Tammany party, — was held at Albany,
to consult upon the propriety of bringing him forward
for the presidency. This movement was avowed to
be in opposition to Mr. Madison, and it was pretty
broadly intimated that their hopes of success were
founded, in great part, upon the aid they expected from
the federalists. Many of the republicans from the in
terior were alarmed at this. Ambrose Spencer, Eras
tus Root, John Tayler, and Enos T. Throop, with
Governor Tompkins, earnestly opposed the movement ;
and those of them who were really anxious to pro
mote the political advancement of Mr. Clinton, en
treated that he should not be placed in a position that
would forever mar his prospects ; for it was certain he
could not carry with him the republican party out of
New York, and if he failed in that, as he must inevita
bly fail, their good wishes would be so far alienated
from him that they could never be regained. It could

260 DE WITT CLINTON.
not be disguised, that the whole proceeding was irregu
lar ; and it was idle to suppose that a nomination by
the republicans in the New York legislature would be
followed by a nomination in the Congressional Caucus.
Others, who had taken decided ground against the
bank, objected, to use the language of a cotemporary
of Mr. Clinton, in a letter to the author, that " the
body-guard of Clinton was tainted with the odor of the
bank." The bank men, on the other hand, who were
in favor of his nomination, desired that the charter
should first be acted on, in order that they might se
cure votes for that measure from the more zealous
friends of Mr. Clinton, by threatening to oppose him.
There being such a want of harmony at this infor
mal caucus, nothing was immediately done toward
procuring a legislative nomination, and in March the
session was abruptly terminated, by the prorogation of
the legislature for sixty days, by Governor Tompkins.
During the vacation, and on the 18th of May, Mr.
Madison was unanimously nominated for reelection,
at a caucus of the republican members of Congress.
In. his last annual message the president had assumed
a bolder tone, and recommended that the country
should be placed in a condition of defence. Congress
had adopted his suggestions, and he had now regained
that place in the estimation of the party which he had
nearly forfeited by his timidity. Mr. Clinton's adhe
rents alone remained aloof. Gideon Granger, the post
master-general, Obadiah German of the Senate, and

PRESIDENTIAL CANVASS. 261
Pierre Van Cortlandt of the House, represented Mr.
Clinton at Washington, and they had previously writ-
fen home to their friends, advising and urging his
immediate nomination.
Mr. Clinton needed nothing to heighten the ardor
of his ambition, and no suggestions of his more cau
tious and disinterested friends were listened to, in op
position to the advice received from Washington. His
old friend, Judge Spencer, was now estranged from
him, and he listened alone to the counsels of the fiery
and ambitious spirits by whom he was surrounded.
He not only consented that the nomination should be
made, but, by his conduct and manner, showed that
his heart was fully set upon it ; and those republicans
who still claimed the right to doubt its propriety, soon
found that they had incurred his lasting displeasure.
Mr. Clinton was formatly nominated for the presi
dency at a legislative caucus, held on the 29th of May
by the republican members, against the earnest protest,
however, of the minority. All the most prominent
and leading men in the party in the state were opposed
to the nomination ; some from personal hostility to Mr.
Clinton, and others because they were truly attached
to him, and foresaw the ruin of his political prospects.
Besides Ex-Governor Lewis, Nathan Sanford, the
Livingston family and the Martling men— Governor
Tompkins, Judge Spencer, Judge Tayler, Elisha Jen
kins, then secretary of state, General Root, and General
porter— all either regretted the movement, or took

262 DE WITT CLINTON.
ground openly and decidedly against it. Had the elec
tors been chosen at that time by the people, Mr. Clin
ton would undoubtedly have secured the vote of the
state, because the federalists gave him their support;
but it is very questionable whether he would have re
ceived a majority of the republican suffrages, for those
leading members of the party, who, as it was, could do
nothing to aid Mr. Madison after the nomination of his
opponent, would have been obliged to act, and to bring
forward and support an electoral ticket, if they desired
to stand well with the republican party of the nation.
There can be little doubt that Mr. Clinton's hopes
of success were for a long time of the most sanguine
character. But close upon the heels of his nomination,
came the war message of Mr. Madison, followed by
the declaration; and the disaffection, upon which the
friends of the former had counted so much, was forth
with at an end. Out of New York the nomination of
Mr. Clinton was still-born ; there came no answering
response from the republican party elsewhere ; and his
position now became, clearly, one of mere personal
antagonism. The war was a popular one, and it was the only im
portant question at stake. The whole foreign policy
of Jefferson and Madison, which had been, in the main,
approved by the republican party, and by Mr. Clinton
himself, was on trial. The principal cause of com
plaint against Mr. Madison had been his want of en
ergy, and now that he manifested so much boldness, it

FEDERAL CONVENTION. 263
was impossible for the republicans of the Union to de
sert him. Mr. Clinton was in a false position. With
Gallatin and Pinkney, and other eminent republicans,
he thought the declaration of war was premature,
while the country was so unprepared for hostilities, and
his friends in Congress voted against the act ; yet he
was satisfied that a war could not be avoided, and when
once declared, he was in favor of its continuance till
redress was obtained, but, had he been elected'presi-
dent, it would have been prosecuted, probably with
more vigor than under the auspices of Mr. Madison.
The federalists alone were opposed to the war.
Toward Mr. Madison they felt extremely bitter, and
were anxious to prevent his reelection. A candidate
of their own political faith was out of the question ;
and when they saw a candidate put in nomination by
a portion of the republican party, in opposition to the
regular nominee, they determined to support nim. Mr.
Clinton had at no time avowed a change in his senti
ments ; he never, at any period of his life, advocated
federal doctrines ; yet any one was better, in their es
timation, than Mr. Madison. So he could be defeated,
they cared not who was successful. Accordingly, a
convention of leading federalists was held in the city
of New York, early in September, which continued in
session three days. The delegates from New York
were not particularly favorable to the support of Mr.
Clinton, whose bitter denunciations still rung in their
ears. Gouverneur Morris, his warm personal friend,

264 DE WITT CLINTON.
doubted its expediency ; and Rufus King, who, with
his friends, was personally hostile to Mr. Clinton, "pro
nounced the most impassioned invective against Clin
ton, and was so excited during his address, that his
knees trembled under him." * Theodore Sedgwick of
Massachusetts, and Joseph Hopkinson of Pennsylvania,
also opposed the nomination of Mr. Clinton. But the
majority of the convention, influenced by the eloquence
of Harrison Gray Otis, came to a different conclusion,
and resolved to support Mr. Clinton, at the same time
nominating Jared Ingersoll as their candidate for vice-
president. Mr. Clinton had made no sacrifice of his principles,
yet he was now receiving the support of the Essex
Junto, — of all the bitterest opponents of Jefferson and
Madison, — while the more moderate federalists, such
as the Adamses and the Kings, either opposed him
openly, or" acquiesced, under protest, in the decision of
the federal convention. The fact could not be dis
guised, nor denied, that he had sought the aid of the
federalists. For this reason, and because the declara
tion of war entirely changed the aspect of affairs, many
of his old republican friends who had aided in bringing
about his nomination by the legislative caucus, or who
had assented to it after it was made, thought themselves
absolved from all obligation to support him. Judge
Spencer and Judge Tayler made an ineffectual effort to
procure the withdrawal of Mr. Clinton, but neither he
* Sullivan's Letters on Public Characters, No. lxiv., note.

RESULT OF THE ELECTION. 265
nor his intimate friends, would listen to any suggestions
of that character.
The contest terminated, as every discerning man
foresaw it would, in the election of the regular repub
lican candidate. All the New England states, (Ver
mont excepted,) New York, New Jersey, and Dela
ware, voted for Mr. Clinton, and he also received five
of the eleven votes of Maryland — making, in all, eighty-
nine electoral votes. Mr. Madison received one hund
red and twenty-eight votes. In the New York legis
lature, there were nearly thirty Madisonian republi
cans, headed by General Root, who steadily refused to
vote for electors friendly to Mr. Clinton. The fede
ralists had a larger number of members than either of
the two republican factions, but the latter, when
United, had a majority. The Clintonian republicans
finally selected a ticket, which was voted for by a suffi
cient number of the federal members to render it suc
cessful.* * Judge Spencer, in his Defence against the aspersions of Mr. Ham
mond, intimates that the election of Rufus King to the TJ. S. Senate, in
1813, was the quid pro quo demanded and received by the federaUsts,
for the support of the CUntonian electoral ticket ; and that the " bar
gain" was consummated through the address of Mr. Van Buren, then a
member of the State Senate. This is altogether improbable. Mr.
Van Buren was elected as a CUntonian republican, in opposition to
Edward P. Livingston, a Madisonian, and of course went with his party
friends ; and I make no doubt, that Rufus King's friends voted for the
federal electoral ticket, which received over forty votes, because that
gentleman himself, according to Mr. SuUivan, (ubi supra.) was very
12

266 DE WITT CLINTON.
Such was the result of what Mr. Clinton himself
afterward admitted to be the great mistake in his politi
cal career. His pretensions to the presidency were
not by any means unfounded, and he was honest, no
doubt, in supposing that he could serve his country, at
this crisis, better than Mr. Madison. But his well-
earned fame ought not to have been so unwisely jeop
arded. He should have patiently bided his time. The
prize was a most tempting one, and he had strong rea
sons for the belief that the national administration had
proscribed him and his friends ; yet, notwithstanding
this, he should have hesitated. The consequences
which his best friends anticipated, were soon witnessed.
He lost caste forever with the republican party abroad,
and at home, in New York, the prestige of his name
was gone. One by one his old friends deserted him,
till at length he was left without a party ; and when he
regained, and added even to his lost popularity, he was
no longer the exponent of a political creed.
While events of so much importance, in respect of
the future prospects of Mr. Clinton, were transpiring,
he was steadily and carefully discharging the duties of
the mayoralty. His character as chief magistrate of
the city of New York was highly honorable to him.
He watched over the interests of the corporation with
parental solicitude and care. He was punctual and
prompt, and his fellow- citizens ever found him a safe
unfriendly to Mr. Clinton, and it is well known they were always per
sonally hostile to each other. •

CHARACTER AS MAYOR. 267
adviser and a firm friend. He took a deep interest in
the improvement of the city, and charitable and educa
tional enterprises found in him a patron whose favor
was well worth securing. By virtue of his office, he
was the presiding judge in the court of general ses
sions, and, " in my opinion," said the late Richard
Riker, " he was one of the safest judges that ever pre
sided in a court of criminal jurisdiction. He was pa
tient, discriminating, master of all the great principles
of criminal law, severe when justice required it, but
always inclined to the side of mercy.*
Mr. Clinton was a firm friend to the New York
Hospital, and he contributed essential aid in procuring
the passage of the act founding the Bloomingdale Asy
lum for the Insane. He was, also, one of the founders
of the New York Historical Society, and in 1814
wrote the able memorial to the legislature, which se
cured the liberal donation of twelve thousand dollars
from the state. Mr. Clinton was subsequently presi
dent of this society, and at all times one of its most
active and useful members.
Twice during the mayoralty of Mr. Clinton, the city
was visited by that dreadful pestilence, the yellow
fever. His kindness and care for the sick and desti
tute, his efforts to prevent the spread of the disease,
his indefatigable and unceasing labors, and his fearless
ness in exposing his person, were topics of universal
commendation. The traits in his character thus ex-
* Hosack's Memoir, (Appendix,) p. 186.

268 »E WITT CLINTON.
hibited shone bright and clear through the dark clouds
of political misfortune which had gathered round him,
and many a spontaneous tribute of mingled thanks and
praises was sent forth in his honor from warm and
grateful hearts.
As the time approached for the gubernatorial elec
tion in the spring of 1813, the Martling men, or Tam
many party, began to exert themselves to prevent the
renomination of De Witt Clinton for lieutenant-gover
nor. In this they were successful. The republican
party in the state were unanimous in their support of
the war, and although Mr. Clinton was himself in favor
of prosecuting it vigorously, they well knew that he
was obnoxious to the charge of acting with and re
ceiving the support of the federalists. He was no
more the pride and hope of the party, — the setting sun
had few worshippers. Judge Spencer, Judge Tayler,
and Elisha Jenkins, opposed his nomination ; Governor
Tompkins was unfriendly to him, though being himself
a candidate, he could take no active part; and Mr.
Van Buren was now lukewarm in his support. At the
Caucus, held in February, 1813, Governoi Tompkins
was unanimously renominated, and the war measures
of the national administration were approved without
a dissenting voice ; but Mr. Clinton received only six
teen votes as the candidate for lieutenant-governor, and
Judge Tayler was nominated in his stead.
Shortly after the Caucus, an address was issued,
signed by Philip Van Cortlandt, Mr. German, and

SERVICES DURING THE WAR. 269
thirty-nine other friends of Mr. Clinton, reviewing the
late presidential election, attacking the administration
of Mr. Madison, charging Governor Tompkins and
Judge Tayler with being the mere tools of the na
tional executive, and earnestly protesting against their
support. The address was remarkable for its asperity,
and was written by Mr. Clintqn himself. This cir
cumstance shows how strong and how bitter were his
feelings. He could forgive no one who, when profess
ing to be a political friend, refused in aught to follow
his wishes and to further his views. The address, how
ever, failed entirely of its object, and the republican
candidates were elected by a, decided majority.
Mr. Clinton was now at the head of but a small
personal party, the only bond of union between whose
members was devotion to his person. He had no af
fection for the doctrines of the federal party, and a
union with them was impossible, even were it not im
politic, since they were upon the point of disbanding.
Toward both the state and national administrations he
was hostile,— not hostile because he was opposed to
their measures, or to their principles as connected with
their policy, but personally hostile.
While the war was in progress, Mn Clinton did not
withhold his services from the country. He exerted
all his influence in aiding to procure the loans desired
by, the government, and was very active in providing
for the defence of the seacoast, and particularly of the
city of New York, of which he was then mayor. Both

270 DE WITT CLINTON.
by precept and example, he sought to uphold the honor
of the nation. Having been appointed a major-gen
eral of militia, he proposed, through a friend, in the
summer of 1814, to Governor Tompkins, to be called
into active service. The governor was probably
jealous of Mr. Clinton, and fearful lest he might re
cover the ground he had lost, if a military command
should afford him the opportunity to distinguish him
self. He objected, therefore, in reply to the suggestion,
that Mr. Clinton was so recently commissioned, if he
should be preferred over older generals, it would give
offence. But Mr. Clinton's popularity in the city was
so great and the people had such confidence in his
capacity, that Governor Tompkins finally agreed that
he should be employed as he solicited, provided the city
was attacked.
The Tammany men were not yet satisfied. They
insisted upon the removal of Mr. Clinton from the
office of mayor. Personally, nothing could be more
unjust, since no one denied that he had discharged his
duties ably and faithfully ; but there were political rea
sons in favor of the removal, sufficiently powerful to
sway any set of politicians. The office was an im
portant one, and the influence wielded by the incum
bent was considerable. The star of Governor Tompkins
was now in the ascendant; he was idolizes by the re
publicans of New York, and was looking forward to a
nomination for the presidency in 1816. It was neces
sary, therefore, as he thought, that the office should be

REMOVAL FROM THE MAYORALTY. 271
filled by some one friendly to himself. Judge Spencer
also desired the removal to take place, as he was ope
rating to secure the succession for General Armstrong.
In January, 1815, a republican council was chosen,
and after some little delay, occasioned by the scruples
of one of the members, Mr. Clinton was removed.
Although not entirely unexpected, this was a severe
blow to him. Careless in pecuniary matters, and gene
rous to a fault in assisting his friends, he had become
insolvent for many thousands of dollars, and depended
upon the salary and perquisites of his office for the
means of support for himself and his family. " Genu
ine greatness," said he on another occasion, " never
appears in a more resplendent light, or in a more sub
lime attitude, than in that buoyancy of character which
rises superior to danger and difficulty."* His pros
pects appeared to be blasted forever ; but the very se
verity of the blow proved his salvation. It was some
thing worthy of a mighty mind to struggle against ad
versity in so dark an hour. It was not in his nature to
cower before the storm that howled so fiercely around
him. He preserved his firmness and his dignity ; like
Caesar, in the frail bark that bore him and his fortunes,
relying upon himself, upon his irrepressible energies and
his unconquerable will.
Throughout his life Mr. Clinton was a great favorite
with the Irish adopted citizens of New York. The
public generally sympathized with him on his removal,
* Memorial of the N. T. Historical Society, 1814.

272 DE WITT CLINTON.
but they gave utterance to their feelings in words. He
was addressed on their behalf by Thomas Addis Era-
mett and Dr. William J. Macneven, who assured him
of the continued regard of his friends, and that they
preferred the moment of his retreat from office, for
the expression of their deep sense of his " manifold
and important services to the public." The reply of
Mr. Clinton was well suited to the occasion ; it was
deeply affecting, and replete with feeling and eloquence.
In his retirement, Mr. Clinton spent most of his
time in literary studies and pursuits. The subject of
opening a canal navigation between the lakes and the
Hudson river also engaged his attention, and occupied
the greater share of his thoughts. He was now
thoroughly enlisted in favor of this important enter
prise, and by means of public addresses, by his corres
pondence, and by personal interviews with prominent
politicians and influential husiness men, sought to cre
ate an interest in it that might insure its speedy com
pletion. From some he received encouragement —
from others only a doubting shake of the head, or a
cold shrug of the shoulders. Mr. Jefferson, with all
his practical foresight, doubted whether the project was
then feasible, and said that it was a century in advance
of the age.* Many ofthe earlier friends of the meas
ure became discouraged, but Mr. Clinton steadily per-
* After the completion of the Erie Canal, Mr. Jefferson wrote to Mr.
CUnton, congratulating him on the success of the enterprise, and saying
that his prediction was a century too late.

CANAL MEMORIAL. 273
i
severed to the end, amid obloquy and abuse. He
staked his reputation for sagacity, his character as a
statesman — but staked them not in vain. The hour
of his triumph came at last, and brought with it the
full realization of his fondest hopes.
While the war continued, all efforts in furtherance
of the project were necessarily suspended ; but they
were promptly renewed, on his part, after the termina
tion of hostilities. Shortly before the meeting of the
legislature in January, 1816, a large meeting, composed
of the most respectable and influential citizens, was
held in the city of New York, at the instance of De
Witt Clinton, Thomas Eddy, and Jonas Piatt, at which
a memorial, drawn up by Mr. Clinton with more than
his usual ability, in favor of the construction of the
Erie and Champlain canals, was adopted with great
enthusiasm and unanimity. This memorial was pre
sented by him to the legislature, and he remained at
Albany during the greater part of the session, zealously
engaged in urging upon the attention of members the
manifold considerations in support of the proposed
measure that had suggested themselves to his mind.
The question as to whom belongs the chief merit of
originating this great enterprise, has been often dis
cussed, and it is not proposed to renew the discus
sion here.* There have been many claimants, but it is
* See Hosack's Memoir, (Appendix,) p. 245, et seq ; Watson's Histo
ry of the Rise and Progress of the Western Canals ; Yates' History of
the New York Canals ; Canal Policy of New York, by Tacitus (De
18

274 DE WITT CLINTON.
very doubtful whether any one individual is justly en
titled to the honor. The idea of connecting the lakes
with the Hudson river by canals, and the removal ot
obstructions in the intermediate streams, was not a new
one. It was familiar to the public men of New York
at an early day. In the report of Governor Tryon on
the state of the province, made in 1774, it is distinctly
stated that " a most effective inland navigation" might
be opened, between the Hudson and Lakes Ontario
and Champlain, by way of the Mohawk and the main
branch of the river ; " a short cut" being made from
Wood Creek to the Mohawk, the rifts removed, and
the necessary locks constructed.* In 1784, Christopher
Colles made his proposals to the New York legislature
for the improvement of the navigation of the Mohawk ;
and in 1786, Jeffrey Smith,' a member of that body,
asked leave to introduce a bill for improving the navi
gation of the Mohawk, and for extending the same, if
practicable, to Lake Erie. Previous to this time, and
as early as the year 1777, Gouverneur Morris had con
ceived the project of " tapping Lake Erie," but he pro
posed to do this by way of Oswego and Lake Ontario, f
Cadwallader Colden, General Washington, George Clin
ton, General Schuyler, Elkanah Watson, and other
eminent men, likewise came to the conclusion, from
Witt Clinton) ; Facts and Observations, in relation to the origin and
completion of the Erie Canal ; Life of Thomas Eddy ; Renwick's Life
of CUnton ; and Turner's History of the Holland Purchase.
* Documentary History of New York, vol. i. p. 761.
f Facts and Observations, etc.

THE FATHER OF THE CANAL SYSTEM. 275
their knowledge of the country, that an important sys
tem of inland navigation niight easily be constructed
in the manner which had been suggested. An over
land navigable canal between the Hudson and Lake
Erie was first conceived by Jesse Hawley, of Ontario
County, in 1805, who published the first essay upon
the subject, in the Pittsburg Commonwealth, in Janu
ary, 1807, and afterward wrote several articles which
appeared in the Ontario Messenger, over the signature
of Hercules.* In 1808, the same idea suggested itself
to Joshua Forman, then a member of the New York
Assembly, and he introduced some resolutions provid
ing for a survey of the proposed route.
It has been sometimes said by the more zealous
friends of Mr. Clinton, who were not familiar with the
history of the New York canals, that he was their
originator or projector. This was not so. Yet his
claims to the gratitude of the people of New York are
as enduring as her glory and prosperity. He found the
project crude and ill-formed ; he gave it shape and sub
stance, life and animation. When the scheme was
first suggested to him, he was able to judge of its prac
tical value, from his knowledge of the resources and
topography of the interior of the state, derived from
his father and uncle ; and in his tour in 1810, he satis
fied himself upon this point, by personal observation.
Having once formed his opinions, he entered heart and
* Hosack's Memoir, (Appendix,) p. 306 ; Canal Policy of New York ;
and Turner's History, pp. 628, 666.

276 DE WITT CLINTON.
soul into the enterprise from which he rightly predicted
such incalculable benefits were to flow. He did not
wait for Hercules, but put. his own shoulder to the
wheel. He was emphatically the master-spirit, not in
the projection, but in the execution of those great
works which still trumpet forth his praises. He, more
than all others, gave that impetus to the project which
carried it successfully forward, — he was truly the father
of the canal system of New York.
His memorial was circulated far and wide through
out the state. It attracted attention everywhere. Its
author was looked upon as the leader in the canal
movement, and those who were earlier enlisted in the
cause than himself, were content to follow under his
guidance. Action, spirit, enterprise, determination,
perseverance, genius, had long been needed, — and all
were furnished in his own person. He directed and
controlled everything. He prepared plans and esti
mates. He pointed out the how and the where ; from
whence the means could be procured ; and the im
mense advantages of the policy he advocated. He
had, probably, too much of enthusiasm on the subject,
and had it not been that his ardor was restrained by
the greater caution and prudence of Samuel Young
and Martin Van Buren, the state might have been
plunged headlong into debt. Be this as it may, — had
he not possessed just so much enthusiasm, it is more
than likely that the first prediction of Mr. Jefferson

SPLENDID RESULTS. 277
would have been verified, and he would have been " a
century in advance of the age."
And how splendid were the results of his efforts ?
They are scattered over the length and breadth of the
land, — not transient, but ever-enduring, ever-increas
ing. Towns have sprung up in a night, like the gourd
of the prophet. Deserts have been transformed to
fields and cities. " And the old wilderness is changed
To cultured vale and hUl —
And the circuit of its mountains
An empire's numbers fill."
Daily and hourly the humblest citizen of our state
has occasion to rejoice. Vast stores of wealth — the
fruits of successful commerce — have been accumulated,
which, had it not been for the construction of the
canals of New York, would never have found a place
in her coffers. And where the end is to be, no man
can yet say ; for the wildest fancy of to-day seems to
become matter of history to-morrow.
The memorial of Mr. Clinton was presented on the
21st of February, 1816, and was soon followed by
others of a like character. The popular feeling was
aroused, and it could not be resisted. The Assembly,
therefore, passed a bill, providing for the immediate
commencement of the Erie and Champlain Canals:
but it was amended in the Senate, on motion of Mr.
Van Buren, so as to authorize the appointment of five

278 DE WITT CLINTON.
canal commissioners, whose duty it should be to make
the necessary preliminary surveys and estimates of ex
pense, and to ascertain the practicability of making
loans on the credit of the state. Great doubts were
still entertained in regard to the financial practicability
of the scheme, and after some considerable discussion
the bill, as amended in the Senate, became a law.
Stephen Van Rensselaer, De Witt Clinton, Samuel
Young, Joseph Ellicott, and Myron Holley, were Ihe
commissioners appointed by the act.
In February, 1817, the reports of the canal com
missioners were presented. They were ably written,
and proceeded, in whole or in part, from the pen of Mr.
Clinton. Considerable opposition was manifested, on
the part of some of the more bitter and zealous oppo
nents of Mr. Clinton, to the passage of any act posi
tively committing the state to the construction of the
proposed canals. Weeks were spent in the discussion
of the bill introduced in pursuance of the recommen
dation of the commissioners. Mr. Clinton's influence
was still needed. He had secured for the measure the
favor and approbation of the people, and now the co
operation of the legislature was alone required to in
sure its success. Some of the anti-Clintonian members
stoutly refused to vote for the bill, but Mr. Van Buren
came to the rescue, and prevailed upon a number of
his friends to unite with him in its support. The votes
thus gained proved sufficient. On the 10th day of
April, 1817, the Assembly passed the act authorizing

RECONCILIATION WITH JUDGE SPENCER. 279
the construction of the canals to be commenced, by a
vote of sixty-four to thirty-six, and on the 15th instant
it was sustained in the Senate by a vote of eighteen to
nine. The hour of Mr. Clinton's triumph had at
length come ; and thenceforth, though no more, strictly
speaking, the leader of the republican party, till the
day of his death, with the exception of a brief inter
val pending the discussion of the project for a consti
tutional convention, he was the favorite of the people
of New York.
Early in the year 1816, a reconciliation was effected
between Mr. Clinton and Judge Spencer ; and it was
then thought, that all the republicans in the state would
reunite under their old leaders. But Governor Tomp
kins, Mr. Van Buren, General Porter, Colonel Young,
Erastus Root, the Livingstons and their friends, — in
deed, all the prominent men in the party, — refused to'
go with Judge Spencer, and he was left to fight the
battles of Mr. Clinton alone. Yet he and Mr. Clinton
constituted a host in themselves, and though the latter
might not have been popular with the politicians, he
was certainly popular with the people.
The unfortunate results of the election in 1812
did not prevent Mr. Clinton from continuing to cherish
his presidential aspirations. He persevered in regard
ing himself as the proper and natural successor of the
revolutionary worthies, and consequently, did not at
all favor the pretensions of Governor Tompkins in
1816, though, being still in bad odor with the republi-

280 DE WITT CLINTON.
can party, he could do nothing against him. Neither
did he coincide with Judge Spencer, who, — when the
defeat at Bladensburg and the capture of Washington
had put his friend, General Armstrong, then secretary
of war, in Coventry as a politician, — exerted himself
to procure the nomination of Mr. Crawford as the re
publican candidate. Mr. Clinton's preferences were
decidedly for Mr. Monroe, because he had rendered
important services during the Revolution and the or
ganization of the federal government ; and while the
idea that he would and ought to be president had be
come familiar with the public, it did not seem to ex
clude himself, which the selection of a younger man
would have done.
In the summer and fall of 1816, the friends of Mr.
Clinton began openly to express their preferences for
him as the successor of Governor Tompkins, who had
been nominated at the Congressional Caucus as the
republican candidate for vice-president. The council
of appointment chosen the previous winter was under
the control of Judge Spencer, and thus a most power
ful engine was wielded in his favor. The canal inter
est, of course, was arrayed on the same side, and all
the leading federalists in the state, with the exception
of Rufus King and his particular friends, declared them
selves decidedly favorable to Mr. Clinton, and intimated
that they would run no candidate in opposition if he
should be the nominee of the republican party.
So powerful were all these influences, that Gov-

NOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR. 281
ernor Tompkins, Mr. Van Buren, and their friends, la
bored in vain against them. The current in favor of
the nomination of Mr. Clinton, particularly in those
sections of the state to be benefited by the construc
tion of the Canals, was much too strong to be resisted.
At the regular session of the legislature in 1817, the
question of the succession was the principal topic agi
tated among the republican members. A majority of
them — not so much, perhaps, because their personal
preferences pointed in that direction, as for the reason
that they could not mistake the indications of the sen
timent prevailing among their constituents — were soon
ascertained to be friendly to the nomination of Mr.
Clinton, yet, in consequence of the determined oppo
sition, and, in the case of the Tammany men, the bitter
hostility manifested toward him by his opponents, it
was feared that he would be unable to secure the
nomination in the legislative caucus. In order to pre
vent such a result, it was proposed by Judge Spencer
and others, that delegates should be selected by repub
lican conventions in those counties represented by fed
eralists, who, with the republican members, should
constitute a state convention for the purpose of nom
inating candidates for governor and lieutenant-gov
ernor. This mode of selecting candidates was undoubtedly
fairer than that before adopted, and nothing could be
said against it. But it was unfortunate for Mr. Clin
ton that it should have been suggested at this juncture,

282 DE WITT CLINTON.
and that, too, by his friends ; for it was an innovation,
in respect of established usages, that was entirely un
necessary to secure his nomination. Had it not been
for this, he might have overcome the hostility of his
republican opponents, bitter as it was ; but they now
saw that he was disposed to resort to extraordinary
measures, and though many of them felt obliged to sup
port him, it was without cordiality, and they were
ready at any moment to embrace a favorable opportu
nity, should one present itself, for destroying his stand
ing in the party.
Mr. Tompkins having been chosen vice-president,
he resigned the office of governor, and a law was
passed providing for a special election. The friends of
Mr. Clinton had secured the council of appointment
at the session of 1817, and they had everything their
own way. The convention, of republican members of
the legislature and delegates, was held on the 25th of
March, 1817. The opponents of Mr. Clinton, headed
by Mr. Van Buren, made great efforts to prevent his
nomination, and supported Peter B. Porter as their
candidate, who was a warm anti-Clintonian, but equally
ardent in advocating the Canal policy. On balloting
for the gubernatorial candidate, Mr. Clinton received
the votes of sixty members and twenty-five delegates
and General Porter those of thirty-four members and
seven delegates.
In accordance with their promises to the friends of
Mr. Clinton, no nomination was made by the federalists.

RESULT OF THE ELECTION. 283
The Tammany men refused outright to support the
candidates of the republican convention, and distribu
ted tickets throughout the state with the name of Gen
eral Porter upon them ; but no effort was made to se
cure votes for this ticket out of the city. There was
but little excitement, therefore, at the polls, and more
than one half of the electors did not vote at all on the
gubernatorial question. Although Mr. Clinton was
elected, he did not receive as large a vote as Mr.
Tompkins had done the year previous. There were
less than forty-five thousand votes cast for governor,
of which Mr. Clinton received upwards of forty- three
thousand, and General Porter about fifteen hundred,
most of them given in the city of New York.
After the resignation of Governor Tompkins, and
until the close of the civil year, the state government
was administered by the lieutenant-governor, Judge
Tayler. Mr. Clinton took the oath of office on the 1st
of July, 1817, and immediately entered on the dis
charge of the executive duties. Almost the first act
of his administration, was the removal of the Tam
many men from office in the city of New York. He
had no disposition to conciliate his opponents in the
party, and manifested none. Attachment to himself
was practically declared to be the test of fitness and
capacity in candidates for official favors. He did not
make open war upon Governor Tompkins, Mr. Van
Buren and their friends, but he returned their want of
cordiality with a coldness that could not well be mis-

284 DE WITT CLINTON.
taken. The truth was, they had already determined
he should not again become the leader of the party.
not so much because of any want of fidelity to his re
publican principles, though his relations toward the
federalists were much too intimate to have their origin
in mere personal friendship, but for the reason that he
could not tolerate the least resistance to his will, and
would admit no one to his counsels unless entirely de
voted to him.
In the autumn of 1817, Governor Clinton issued a
proclamation, recommending that the 13th of Novem
ber should be observed as a day of thanksgiving and
prayer. It will be remembered that Governor Jay
made a similar recommendation, but was unable to in
troduce the custom which had long prevailed in the
eastern states, on account of the opposition to New
England notions and inventions. But the Yankees
and Knickerbockers had now become more thoroughly
fused and blended together, and the citizens generally
united in observing the day recommended by Gover
nor Clinton. The precedent thus established by him,
has been ever since followed by his successors in the
chair of state.
When the legislature assembled for its regular session
in January, 1818, the insecurity of Mr. Clinton's posi
tion was soon made apparent. The speech of the new
governor was favorably received, and was in fact highly
creditable to him. It contained a flattering review of
the financial condition and resources of the state, and

PARTY DIVISIONS. 285
a most able exposition of the views of the writer upon
the subject of internal improvements. He recom
mended the appointment of a district attorney in each
county in the state, and several other legal reforms.
A tolerable degree of harmony prevailed among the
republican members, yet the calm was deceitful. But
very few of them, even those known as Clintonians,
were really attached to him. It was both his misfor
tune and his fault that he was surrounded by a coterie
of parasites who could do nothing but harp his praises,
and this gave color to the charge that he was seeking
to establish a personal party. He had deceived him
self as to his real strength. His nomination and elec
tion were mainly owing to the prevailing sentiment in
favor of the construction of the canals, but he attrib
uted it entirely to his own individual popularity. He
could not be made to believe, therefore, that there .was
danger of his standing being impaired, when there
should no longer be any opposition to the canal policy.
With very few exceptions, he was not on friendly
terms with any of the prominent republicans in the
state, and toward Mr. Van Buren and Colonel Young,
who stood in the front rank, he was not only distant and
reserved, but sometimes manifested the most vindictive
feelings. His whole reliance was upon his persona]
popularity and upon himself, and he seemed to care but
little about the efforts of his opponents.
The council of appointment chosen this winter con
sisted of Peter R. Livingston and Henry Seymour,

286 DE WITT CLINTON.
both anti-Clintonians; Henry Yates, a friend of Mr.
Clinton's, but caring more for the republican party than
for the governor ; and Jabez D. Hammond, formerly a
land-agent of the governor, and upon whom he had
bestowed many favors, and therefore ready to carry
out his wishes in everything. If Governor Clinton
had thought proper to exercise his influence, he might
have secured a majority of the council, but this he did
not do, and hence the result. Ostensibly Mr. Yates
was his friend, and therefore the public inferred that
the operations of the council were controlled by him ;
whereas, in point of fact, the former had pretty much
his own way. The governor and Mr. Hammond were
disposed to remove or supersede all the anti-Clintonians
holding important offices, but Mr. Yates would not
consent to the proscription of republicans in good
standing in the party, and who had always supported
its nominations. If the governor's candidates were
satisfactory to him he voted fo*r them ; if not, he went
with Mr. Livingston and Mr. Seymour.
The session passed without any open disagreement
between the two factions ; but all the active republican
leaders — for the influence and popularity of Judge
Spencer were now on the wane — were determined to
reorganize the party without delay. It was the object
to separate as many republicans from Mr. Clinton as
possible, and in this they were successful, as they car
ried nearly the whole party with them.
In the next legislature there were about sixty-five

BREACH WITH THE REPUBLICANS. 287
Clintonians, fifty-six or fifty-seven anti-Clintonians, and
upwards of thirty federalists. In the assembly alone
the Clintonians had a still greater majority over the
other faction. But the latter, by means of a secret
understanding, collected in force at the Capitol on the
night previous to the first day of the session, and suc
ceeded in nominating their candidate for speaker at the
republican caucus. The next day the Clintonians re
fused to support the candidate nominated, and with the
assistance of the federalists elected one of their own
friends. The breach was now made, and at a caucus
subsequently held for the nomination of a senator in
Congress, open war was declared between the two fac
tions. The caucus broke up in confusion, and as the
federalists adhered to Mr. King, the incumbent, no
senator was elected at this session.
By the act of 1817, the canal commissioners were
authorized only to construct canals between Lake
Champlain and Fort Edward on the Hudson river,
and between the Mohawk and Seneca rivers. Mr.
Clinton, therefore, urgently recommended, in his an
nual speech in January, 1819, that the entire line of
canal navigation from Lake Erie to the Hudson, and
from Fort Edward to the head of sloop navigation,
should be opened. Some of his friends in the legis
lature did not approve of these recommendations, but
they were sustained by the votes of the leading anti-
Clintonians, who, by pointing to this fact, withdrew

288 DE WITT CLINTON.
from Mr. Clinton many of the republican friends of the
canals. The council of appointment chosen this winter was
friendly to Mr. Clinton, and regarded his wishes in
making removals and appointments. Yet, notwith
standing the Clintonians were able to elect a council,
through their want of tact and policy, they suffered
their opponents, now called Bucktails, to elect Mr.
Seymour as a canal commissioner to fill a vacancy,
which gave the latter a majority in the board. From
this time forth, the opponents of Mr. Clinton controlled
the canal influence. Still, the works were prosecuted
with vigor, and he omitted no opportunity to urge their
speedy completion.
Mr. Clinton no longer concealed his determination
to exclude his opponents from office. In April, 1819,
a pretty general sweep of the bucktails was made, and
in July, Mr. Van Buren was himself removed from the
office of attorney-general. The new appointments
were made from Clintonians and federalists, but chiefly
from the latter, who soon composed the main body of
Mr. Clinton's supporters. The great majority of the
republican party adhered to Mr. Tompkins and Mr.
Van Buren, while all the federalists, with the exception
of Rufus King and his particular friends, arrayed them
selves on the side of the governor.
As early as the winter of 1818, a movement had
been made in the legislature, looking toward the amend
ment of the constitution so as to do away with the

REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION. 289
council of appointment. This project originated with
the bucktails, and was not at at all pleasing to Mr.
Clinton ; and he exerted all his influence to prevent the
adoption of a resolution which had been introduced,
and by which a state convention was authorized to be
held. He never regarded with favor the revision of
the constitution in 1821, and even when he saw the
proposition for a convention rapidly gaining ground
among the people, he only yielded so far as to signify
his willingness to submit to the electors the question
whether or no a convention should be called. At the
extra session of the legislature, in November, 1820, an
act was passed by the votes of the bucktail members,
who then controlled everything, providing for a con
vention with unlimited powers. At first, the object of
the bucktails had been only to take away the appoint
ing power from the council, but as the judges of the
supreme court, or rather a majority of them, had also
opposed the convention project, it was determined to
constitutionize them out of office. By the act alluded
to, no provision was made for submitting the question
to the people, and the council of revision vetoed the
bill. Chancellor Kent and Judge Spencer voted
against the bill in the council, and Judges Yates and
Woodworth in its favor. Hence it devolved upon
Governor Clinton to give the casting vote ; which he
did, against the bill. But the expressions of public
opinion were so strong in favor of the proposed con
vention, that the governor was ultimately forced to
19

290 DE WITT CLINTON.
acquiesce and to approve the law passed in the winter
of 1821.
The legislative session commencing in January,
1820, was spent mainly in discussing the questions
arising upon the unsettled accounts of Governor
Tompkins; the Clintonians and federalists opposing,
with great vehemence and bitterness, the terms of
adjustment proposed by him, and defended by his re
publican friends in the legislature. At this session,
also, resolutions were passed opposed to the admission
of any new slave states into the union, which Mr.
Clinton cordially approved.
In April, 1820, a new election of governor was to
take place. Mr. Clinton was now completely estranged
from the republican party of the state, though there is
no evidence that he had changed his principles. In
deed, this was a time when republican principles were
cherished by everybody. Mr. Monroe had introduced
" the era of good feeling," and it was only here and
there a federalist could be found bold enough to declare
his attachment to the doctrines of 1798. The repub
lican friends of Governor Clinton were in a feeble mi
nority in the legislature, and they did not think it
advisable to show their weakness in point of numbers
by meeting for the purpose of making a legislative
nomination. Mr. Clinton and Judge Tayler, therefore,
were again put in nomination at a large public meeting
of their friends held in the city of Albany. The buck-
tails were aware that it would be necessary to bring

REELECTION. 291
out their strongest man to overcome the popularity of
Mr. Clinton among the friends of the canals, strength
ened as he would be by the influence and votes of the
federalists. Accordingly, they fixed upon the vice-
president, Mr. Tompkins, with great unanimity, as the
opposing candidate.
The election in 1820 was closely contested, and Mr.
Clinton was chosen by a meagre majority.* It is evi
dent that his personal popularity, or the charge of defal
cation secretly whispered against Tompkins, though
none dare utter it openly, produced this result ; for the
bucktails, or regular republican party, succeeded in re
turning a respectable majority of the members of the
legislature. All the federalists, except a small faction,
comprising for their numbers a large share of talent,
headed by the sons of Rufus King and Alexander
Hamilton, and by William A. and John Duer, and call
ing themselves " high-minded federalists," supported
Governor Clinton ; while nine tenths of the republican
party gave their votes to vice-president Tompkins.
It was a matter of general notoriety, for it could not
well be disguised, that the official patronage of the
general government, through the instrumentality of
Mr. Tompkins and Mr. Van Buren, was now wielded
adversely to Mr. Clinton ; and the latter, in his annual
speech at the extra session in the fall of 1820, intimated
very distinctly, that, in his opinion, the officers under
* The majority of Mr. Clinton was less than fifteen hundred in a poU
of ninety-three thousand votes.

292 DE WITT CLINTON.
the federal government had interfered in the late elec
tion. The Senate immediately passed a resolution re
questing the governor to communicate any information
he might possess upon the subject. The charge had
been made by inuendo ; and, of course, the governor
had no idea that he should be called upon for his proofs.
He was not the man, however, to avoid a collision, and
he returned a brief and curt reply to the resolution,
stating that he fully appreciated " the patriotic solici
tude" of the Senate, and would in due time make a
communication. The republican members of the Sen
ate conceived this reply to be insulting, as it was doubt
less intended to be; and after waiting five days without
receiving any further message from the governor, they
passed another resolution, censuring him for making
such charges and insinuations as he had done, and not
adducing the evidence in support of them. To this
last resolution he replied briefly, but with great spirit,
on the last day of the session, expressing his regret
that any branch of the legislature should "lose sight
of the respect due to itself, and the courtesy due to a
coordinate department of the government." The ma
jority in the Senate were not loth to continue the
quarrel, and they promptly ordered the communication
of the governor to be forthwith returned to him. — Such
is a specimen of the bitterness that characterized the
political contests between Mr. Clinton and his oppo
nents. Where both parties were so much at fault, it

GREEN BAG MESSAGE. 293
is not wonderful that he was calumniated, nor that he
often gave cause for attack.
At the ensuing regular session, the governor sent a
special message to the assembly, accompanied with a
mass of certificates, letters, and depositions, having
reference to the interference of the federal officers in
the state elections. So voluminous were the docu
ments that they were sent to the House in a green bag>
and the message was ever after known as the " Green
Bag Message." The proofs of the governor were
wholly insufficient to establish his charges, except in
one or two instances, although the general fact was
evident enough, because it had always been customary
for the officers referred to, active politicians as they
generally were, to take part in elections. Whether it
was right or wrong, Mr. Clinton exhibited more spleen
than consistency in making the charge, for he was
himself too much of a partisan to have stickled at any
such means, if necessary to his own success.
The popular feeling in favor of a convention to re
vise the constitution was so strong, that Governor
Clinton and his friends were at length forced to yield.
In the winter of 1821, therefore, they proposed to pass
a law submitting the question to the people, and requir
ing the convention, if one should be called, to prepare
and submit all amendments separately and severally.
To the latter proposition the bucktails would not listen
for a moment, but they finally consented to have the
question of calling a convention submitted to the vot-

294 DE WITT CLINTON.
ers of the state at the April election. In this shape
the law was passed, and approved by the council. At
the April election, the people decided in favor of a
convention, by a majority of nearly seventy-five thou
sand. The delegates were chosen in June, and as the
republicans now had everything their own way, they
secured the entire control of the convention.
At the extra session, in November, 1820, a council
of appointment had been chosen decidedly unfriendly
to Mr. Clinton, and as soon as they had been called
together they commenced removing the Clintonians
from office. Thus, both the state and the national pat
ronage were now. in the hands of his opponents; and
when the constitutional convention, which assembled
in August, 1821, enlarged the basis of the right of
suffrage, it was not difficult to foresee his defeat, should
he be brought forward for reelection under the new
order of things. The bucktails omitted no opportunity
to prejudice him in the minds of the electors. His
opposition to the convention was constantly harped
on, and at the regular session of the legislature, in
1822, a resolution was adopted condemning the prac
tice of delivering a speech. This was designed as a
personal attack upon the governor, because he had
again alluded to his difficulty with the Senate, by ex
pressing the wish that both houses would cooperate
with him in cultivating mutual respect and forbear
ance. In any other view the resolution was entirely
uncalled for, since the practice condemned was not

RETIREMENT. 295
yet done away by the new constitution, which was
now waiting the final action of the people.
It was difficult for Mr. Clinton to convince himself
that he had lost ground with the people, by his tardy
acquiescence in their wishes in respect to a conven
tion. Many of his friends, too, were anxious that he
should dare the popular ordeal, not doubting but that
he would be triumphantly sustained. He ardently de
sired to witness the fruits of his canal policy in the
station he then filled, and to see the important works
in progress fully completed under his auspices. But it
was impossible to blind his eyes to the true state of the
case. His friend, Judge Spencer, had opposed with all
his ability the popular reforms adopted in the conven
tion, and a great share of the odium naturally fell upon
him. Following the advice of his more sagacious
friends, and the counsel of his own better judgment, he
ultimately resolved to retire. Lest it might be said he
had been driven ingloriously from office, a public meet
ing of his friends was called in the city of Albany, at
which a committee, consisting of Ephraim Hart, Peter
Gansevoort, and others, was appointed to solicit his
consent to become a candidate for reelection. In reply
to the committee, he signified his intention positively
to retire from public life; and on the 1st day of Janu
ary, 1823 — the civil year having been changed so as
to correspond with the calendar year, by the new con
stitution — he was succeeded by Judge Yates, who had
been chosen governor at the November election.

296 DE WITT CLINTON.
Though he had retired from the gubernatorial chair,
Mr. Clinton did not vacate the office of Canal Commis
sioner, but continued to devote even a greater portion
of his time and attention to the important public works
in progress. The subject of internal improvements en
grossed a large share of his thoughts. All over the
Union he was known as a public benefactor, whose
energy, foresight and sagacity, had achieved a great
deal for his native state, and promised to bless and en
rich her for all time to come. His correspondence with
the projectors of improvements in this country and in
England was very extensive, and his advice and his
opinions were eagerly sought for in every quarter.
Much of his time, too, was spent in those scientific
studies and pursuits, which never failed to cheer and
delight him amid the busy strife and confused turmoil
of politics. Like Maecenas he loved to mingle the
charms of literature with the cares of state ; yet he
was not content, with being the mere patron of scholars
— he was himself a ripe scholar and a sound one.
The presidential contest' of 1824 will not soon pass
from the memory of the American people. Its many-
sided aspects proceeded naturally from the harmonizing
policy of Mr. Monroe ; and, perhaps, it was a fitting
introduction to the reorganization of parties, — for all
the political elements were aroused, as was necessary
before the negative could be succeeded by the positive,
and when they subsided, two distinct parties were wit
nessed, with the lines between them broadly defined.

RE-NOMINATION. 297
Mr. Clinton was the first prominent man in the northern
states who declared himself friendly to General Jack
son. It is probable that he might have looked forward
to the succession, and, regarding Mr. Adams as his
natural rival in this section of the Union, was prejudiced
against him in advance. He took no active part in
politics ; but from the first favored the movement look
ing to a change in the mode of choosing presidential
electors. In 1802, he had proposed in the State Senate
to amend the federal constitution so that electors should
be chosen by the people in districts ; and while gover
nor, in his speech at the commencement of the extra
session in November 1820, he recommended that a
state law should be passed providing for the choice of
the electors by the people, by general ticket, to con
tinue in force till the constitution of the United States
should be amended as he had before proposed.
In the fall of 1823, and throughout the following
year, the electoral question was the great theme of dis
cussion in the state of New York. Its original agita
tors were bucktails, who were opposed to Mr. Craw
ford ; and the Clintonians, being all Adams men or
friends of General Jackson, immediately fell in with
them. Mr. Clinton was very anxious, as were all his
intimate friends, that he should again become governor
ofthe state, and in the summer of 1824 great efforts
were made to secure his nomination by " the people's
party," as those who advocated the choice of the elec
tors by the people were called. These efforts proved
13*

298 DE WITT CLINTON.
successful, and Mr. Clinton was nominated at a state
convention of the friends of the proposed change in the
electoral law, over James Tallmadge, a bucktail, and
one of the original founders of " the people's party."
Two years previous, Mr. Clinton's popularity had
declined so much, that it was not thought advisable to
bring him before the people as a candidate ; but now
his friends had seized the thunder ofthe original " peo
ple's men," and were bearing him along triumphantly.
Apparently, this change in his fortunes would seem to
have been produced by his early advocacy of the pro
posed measure ; but this was not the case. Just before
the close of the session of the legislature in the spring
of 1824, he had been removed from the office of Canal
Commissioner by the bucktails ; the people's men be
longing to that party, as well as those opposed to chang
ing the electoral law, voting for the removal.
No cause was assigned for removing Mr. Clinton,
and the course of the majority was denounced in strong
and eloquent terms by his friends in the legislature.
The policy of the removal was defended strictly on
party grounds ; for in any other view, it could not for
a moment be contended that it was right or proper to
eject him from an office appropriately bestowed on so
early a friend of the Canals. Much has been said, then
and since, upon this question. The removal was un
questionably an injudicious display of party spirit, but
it could not be called positively unjust, for Mr. Clinton
had very few compunctions in regard to the removal

REMOVAL AS CANAL COMMISSIONER. 299
»
of his opponents from office. He never asked any
favors in this respect, as he never granted any. To
the people, however, it seemed like striking a fallen
enemy. On the spur of the moment large meetings of
his friends were called in the principal cities in the
state, and resolutions were adopted unequivocally con
demning the proceedings of the legislature.
Public sympathy once fairly aroused in behalf of
Mr. Clinton, the old benefactor and friend of the peo
ple and the state, it was impossible to stem the tide.
The bucktails nominated Samuel Young, who had ex
pressed himself favorable to the choice of the electors
by the people, and well known as a friend of the ca
nals, and they entered into the contest with unusual
energy and spirit. But the current had set, and its
course could not be changed. Nearly two hundred
thousand votes were cast for governor, and Mr. Clin
ton was borne into office by a majority of over sixteen
thousand. His term of office commenced on the 1st day of
January, 1825. The first message from his pen con
tained a long and able exposition of his views upon
the subject of internal improvements. He advised the
creation of a board to have cognizance of such mat
ters, and recommended an extensive system of canals.
In relation to the mode of choosing the presidential
electors, he repeated the views he had before express
ed. He congratulated his fellow -citizens upon the
important beneficial changes made by the new con-

300 DE WITT CLINTON.
stitution, and particularly the abolition of the council
of appointment. Other reforms he thought were ad
visable, and he recommended the further extension of
the right of suffrage and the election of justices of the
peace by the people. Both these recommendations
were subsequently approved by the legislature and
their constituents, and the constitution was amended
in accordance with his suggestions.
In February, 1825, President Adams tendered the
English mission to Mr. Clinton. The Clintonian
Adams men urged him strongly to accept the proffered
appointment, but his confidential friends advised him
against it. This advice was hardly needed, for it was
so palpably a scheme to get rid of him before the next
presidential election, that he did not hesitate promptly
to decline the appointment. It was justly feared that
he might soon become a formidable rival to Mr. Adams,
for his popularity was now rapidly on the increace.
After the adjournment of the legislature, and tow
ard the latter part of May, Mr. Clinton visited Phila
delphia, where he was received with great respect, and
complimented with a public dinner. Shortly after this,
he was honored by a formal invitation from the state
of Ohio to be present at the ceremony of breaking
ground on her magnificent canal. The invitation was
accepted, and, in company with several friends, he com
menced his western tour. The highest honors awaited
him in the Buckeye state, and as the day appointed for
the ceremony was the anniversary of independence,

CANAL CELEBRATION. 301
a vast concourse of people assembled to greet him.
When he rose to address them, says an eye-witness,
the entire mass, "by one simultaneous movement,
which could only have been prompted by one common
absorbing emotion of respect, rose from their seats."*
Mr. Clinton was sensibly touched by this mark of re
spect, and could with difficulty give utterance to his
thanks. From Ohio he proceeded to Louisville, Ken
tucky, where a public dinner was tendered to him and
accepted. The year was destined to be one of continued jubi
lees and rejoicings. Returning from the west, Mr-
Clinton had the prouder satisfaction of taking part in
the celebration of his own state. Early in October,
1825, it was announced that the Erie Canal would be
in readiness on the 26th instant, to permit the passage
of boats from Buffalo to the Hudson ; and extensive
preparations were made for honoring the occasion as
best became it. Cannon of large calibre were sta
tioned, at p»oper intervals, along the canal and river,
from Buffalo to Sandy Hook, to announce the depart
ure of the first boat from Lake Erie to tide-water, and
to keep up continuous salutes. " At nine o'clock on
the morning of the 26th, a procession was formed in
front of the court-house [Buffalo.] It consisted of the
governor and lieutenant-governor of the state, the
New York delegation, delegations from villages along
the whole line of the canal, various societies of me-
* Eulogy of Alfred Conkling, 1828.

302

DE WITT CLINTON.

chanics with appropriate banners, and citizens gener
ally; the whole escorted by the Buffalo band, and
Capt. Rathbun's rifle company. The procession moved
down Main street to the head of the canal, where the
pioneer boat, the ' Seneca Chief,' was in waiting-
The governor and lieutenant-governor, and the com
mittees, including that of Buffalo, were received on
board. * * * * All things being in readiness, the
signal gun was fired, and continuing along from gun
to gun, in rapid succession, in one hour and twenty
minutes the citizens of New York were apprised that
a boat was departing from the foot of Lake Erie, and
was on its way ' traversing a new path to the Atlantic
Ocean.' The Seneca Chief led off in fine style,
drawn by four gray horses fancifully caparisoned.
Three boats, the Perry, Superior, and Buffalo, fol
lowed."* Thus, like the Roman conqueror honored with a
triumph, was Mr. Clinton borne along toward the Capi
tal. Celebrations and addresses, bonfires "and rejoic
ings, marked his progress to the Hudson. From Albany
he proceeded down the river to New York, and accom
panied by an immense fleet of boats and steamers,
three miles in circumference, sailed through the bay
and Narrows to Sandy Hook, where, from the deck of
a vessel, he emptied a keg of water brought from Lake
Erie on the Seneca Chief into the Atlantic Ocean, ac
companying the act with appropriate remarks. With
* Turner's History of the HoUand Purchase, p. 634.

REELECTION. 303
this ceremony, reminding one of the spousals of the
Adriatic, closed the protracted celebration.
While Governor Clinton was enjoying the honors
and commendations so well deserved, the bucktails
were busily preparing for the fall election. This took
place in November, and resulted in their complete res
toration to their former ascendency in the state legis
lature. It is impossible to disguise the fact, that the governor
sought to strengthen himself by recommending improve
ments in various sections ofthe state. In 1825 he had
advised the construction of a state road from Lake
Erie to the Hudson, through the south-western tier of
counties, and the recommendation was repeated in his
annual message in 1826. He thought the question
should never be asked, whether a proposed improve
ment would ever afford sufficient revenue to repay the
cost of construction, but that the inquiry should be,
whether the public benefit would be promoted. These
opinions were controverted with much ability by
Colonel Young as a member of the Canal board, and
they would seem properly to belong to the enthusiastic
rather than the practical statesman. Like other men,
Mr. Clinton had his hobbies, and sometimes rode them
till they would bear him no longer. His views have,
since his day, found many advocates, though they have
never been approved by the great body of the people
of the state.
Toward the close of Mr. Clinton's term, it became

304 DE WITT CLINTON.
evident to intelligent and reflecting politicians, that a
new organization of parties would take place. Mr.
Van Buren and his particular friends among the buck-
tails were preparing to support General Jackson for
the next presidency, in opposition to Mr. Adams, and
it was well known that Mr. Clinton concurred with
them in sentiment. No positive or definite under
standing was ever had between Mr. Clinton and Mr.
Van Buren, or their confidential friends, with reference
to their acting together in the support of General Jack
son ; but it was tacitly understood that they agreed in
opinion on the presidential question, and this produced
a more friendly state of feeling between them. Edwin
Croswell, the editor of the Albany Argus, Benjamin
Knower, the former state treasurer, and other leading
bucktails and friends of Mr. Van Buren, occasionally
dined with Mr. Clinton ; and the particular friends of
the latter were appointed by him, in several instances,
to important offices, and confirmed by the republican
majority in the Senate, because they were known to
be Jackson men.
The rank and file of the bucktail, or republican
party, were still decidedly hostile to Mr. Clinton ; and
this was also the case with the prominent men among
them who were friendly to Mr. Adams. It was the
policy of Mr. Van Buren and his Jackson friends to
bring over the great body of the party to the support
of their favorite, and this they were ultimately enabled
to do, for the Clintonians, having, for the most part,

SUPPORT OF GENERAL JACKSON. 305
originally been federalists, were inclined to sustain Mr.
Adams. Some few of the latter were prepared to come
out openly for General Jackson, whenever Mr. Clinton
gave the word, but matters were not considered ripe in
1826. Accordingly, the bucktails nominated William
B. Rochester as their candidate for governor, and the
Clintonians put their favorite once more in nomination.
The bucktail candidate for lieutenant-governor, Na
thaniel Pitcher, was a Jackson man and a friend to the
state road, while the Clintonian candidate, Henry Hunt
ington, was an Adams man and not favorable to the
construction of the proposed road. Judge Rochester
was also an Adams man and unfriendly to the road.
In the city of New York, the more zealous Jackson
men openly supported Mr. Clinton and Mr Pitcher,
and many Clintonian Adams men voted for Judge
Rochester. But the two parties generally supported
their respective nominations, except in the southern
and south-western counties, where the friends of the
state road gave Mr. Clinton and Mr. Pitcher a heavy
vote and thus secured their election.
In the legislature of 1827, the bucktails had a large
majority, and most of the members belonging to that
party were likewise Jackson men. Mr. Van Buren
was now a candidate for reelection to the United States
Senate, and was duly chosen to that office, with the
votes, too, of the Clintonian Jackson men. Immedi
ately after this result, the confidential friends of Mr.
Clinton and Mr. Van Buren openly announced their

306 DE WITT CLINTON.
intention to support General Jackson, and in a few
months the old republican party was once more re
united. A number of Mr. Clinton's personal friends
who had been federalists continued to adhere to him,
but most of the original members of that party still on
the stage of action, arrayed themselves on the side of .
Mr. Adams. Some few of the bucktails, also, took the
same ground, though nearly all decided to follow the
fortunes of Mr. Van Buren. Here and there were in
dividual exceptions, but, as a general rule, the new
Adams and Jackson parties, in the state of New York,
were thus organized.
Efforts were made in the state of Virginia and in
New York, as well as in some of the western states, to
bring forward Mr. Clinton for the presidency, but he
was not disposed again to hazard his cause prema
turely, and therefore resisted all the importunities of his
friends. He adhered faithfully to General Jackson, and
on the 8th day of January, 1828, was present at a pub
lic dinner given in the city of Albany, in honor of the
hero of New Orleans.
The second term of Mr. Clinton under the new con
stitution passed by with few incidents of importance.
In his annual message at the regular session in 1827,
he repeated his recommendations in behalf of an exten
sive plan of internal improvements, though, at the same
time, he advised the speedy extinguishment of the public
debt. He further recommended, that the banking system
of the state should be thoroughly remodelled, in order to

LAST MESSAGE. 307
prevent ruinous expansions and sudden contractions of
bank discounts, and to insure a sound paper currency.
In January, 1828, Governor Clinton communicated
his last annual message to the legislature. Like all his
state papers, it was able and interesting. He again re
commended additional internal improvements, and the
construction of lateral and tributary canals. The en
couragement of domestic manufactures, to which he
was ever friendly, and the agricultural condition and re
sources of the state, were prominent topics discussed in
the message. But its crowning feature was his eloquent
remarks in regard to common schools. This subject had
ever been one in which he had taken deep interest, and
his "last words" in regard toit are worthy to be preserved.
He recommended the establishment of schools for
the instruction of teachers in each county town in
the state, and called the attention of the legislature to
the importance of providing in a suitable manner for
all classes of youth, whether rich or poor, high or hum
ble, the youngest as well as those who were more ad
vanced in years. " That part of the revised laws
relative to common schools," he remarked, " is operative
on this day, and presents the system in an intelligible
shape, but without those improvements which are re
quisite to raise the standard of instruction, to enlarge
its objects, and to elevate the talents and qualifications
of the teachers. It is understood that Massachusetts
has provided for these important cases ; but whether
the experiment has as yet been attended with promis-

308 DE WITT CLINTON.
ing results, is not distinctly known. It may, however,
be taken for granted, that the education of the body of
the people, can never attain the requisite perfection,
without competent instructors well acquainted with the
outlines of literature and the elements of science. And
after the scale of education is elevated in common
schools, more exalted improvements ought to be en
grafted into academical studies, and proceed in a cor
respondent and progressive ascent to our colleges.
" In the meantime, I consider it my duty to recom
mend a law, authorizing the supervisors of each county
to raise a sum not exceeding two thousand dollars,
provided the same sum is subscribed by individuals, for
the erection of a suitable edifice for a monitorial high
school, in the county town. I can conceive of no
reasonable objection to the adoption of a measure so
well calculated to raise the character of our school
masters, and to double the powers of our artisans, by
giving them a scientific education. The fixing the
building in the county town, will save local conflicts,
and, as the execution of the law will be discretionary
with the supervisors, they may advance to the object
with the propitiating progress of public sentiment. * * *
" Permit me to solicit your attention to the two ex
tremes of education — the highest and the lowest : And
this I do, in order to promote the cultivation of those
whom nature has gifted with genius, but to whom for
tune has denied the means of education. Let it be
our ambition, (and no ambition can be more laudable)

LAS1 MESSAGE. 309
to dispense to tne obscure, the poor, the humble, the
friendless, and the depressed, the power of rising to
usefulness, and acquiring distinction. With this view,
provision might be made for the gratuitous education
in our colleges, of youth eminent for the talents they
have displayed, and the virtues they have cultivated in
the subordinate seminaries. This would call into ac
tivity all the faculties of genius, all the efforts of in
dustry, all the incentives to ambition, and all the
motives to enterprise, and place the merits of transcen
dent intellect on a level at least with the factitious
claims of fortune and ancestry."
The conclusion of his message was in his happiest
style, and was both beautiful and impressive. Bearing
in mind how soon he was summoned to join the assem
bly of the dead, it seems like the last admonition of a
dying patriot. " We are inhabitants," said he, " of the
same land, children of the same country, heirs of the
same inheritance, connected by identity of interest,
similarity of language and community of descent, by
the sympathies of religion, and by all the ligaments
which now bind man to man in the closest bonds of
friendship and alliance. Let us then enter on the dis
charge of our exalted and solemn duties, by a course
of conduct worthy of ourselves and our country ; which
will deserve the applause of our constituents, insure
the approbation of our own consciences, and call down
the benediction of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe."
On the morning of the 11th of February, 1828, Mr.

310 DE WITT CLINTON.
Clinton was in the Executive Chamber at the capitol,
apparently enjoying his usual good health. After trans
acting his customary business he returned home. Hav
ing dined, he repaired to his study, wrote up his diary,
read his letters and wrote several in reply. He then
engaged in conversation with two of his sons who were
present ; but all at once he paused, and complained of
a severe stricture across his chest. His head almost
immediately fell back upon his chair, and long before
a physician could be called, he was beyond the reach
of medicine. His death seemed to be instantaneous,
and his countenance underwent no change ; "there was
no struggle or convulsion ; the color of his cheeks was
Do '
unchanged, and his departure was quiet as if he had
dropped asleep." *
His decease was occasioned by a catarrhal affection
of the throat and chest, which had been long neglected,
and produced a fatal disease of the heart.
So ended the career — thus suddenly and unexpect
edly — of one of the greatest men New York has ever
produced. When his prospects, once clouded, seemed
brightening happily, in an instant the hopes of his
friends were crushed, and his life was ended. It is
needless to say that the shock was universally felt.
Sorrow for the loss of such a man was no transient
emotion, to be indulged for a moment, and then dismiss
ed forever. Political opponents and friends mourned
together. At Washington the members of Congress
* Renwick's Life of Clinton, p. 296.

HIS FAMILY. 311
from this state were addressed by Mr. Van Buren in
eloquent and forcible language. Eulogies were pro
nounced in all the cities and principal towns in the
state. The legislature being in session, ample provision
was made for the funeral ceremonies, and his body was
borne to the tomb amid all the pageantry of woe, — amid
tears and regrets that could not be stifled or suppressed.
Mr. Clinton was twice married. His first wife was
Maria Franklin, the eldest daughter of Walter Frank
lin, an eminent merchant of the city of New York.
By her he had seven sons and three daughters. Four
of his sons and two daughters survived him. One of
the sons, Charles A. Clinton, was for many years the
clerk of the Superior Court in the city of New York ;
another, George W. Clinton, is a prominent lawyer in
Buffalo, and has been mayor of the city and United
States' district attorney for the northern district of
New York. Mr. Clinton's second wife was Catharine
Jones, the daughter of Thomas Jones, a physician in
the city of New York, whom he married in 1819. By
his first wife Mr. Clinton received a large fortune, but
for many years previous to his decease, his pecuniary
affairs were embarrassed. He never made use of his
official positions to amass wealth, and he was much too
liberal and too generous to possess a very large share
of the faculty of accumulation. He died poor, and
the legislature voted the sum of ten thousand dollars
as a provision for his minor children.
In person Mr. Clinton was well calculated to attract

312 DE WITT CLINTON.
attention, and to command respect. His features were
finely moulded. His forehead was broad and full, and
his eyes keen and penetrating. His countenance was
highly expressive, and presented a happy combination
of the grace of beauty and the dignity of intelligence.
His traits of character, like his political course, have
been differently viewed by his friends and opponents.
His eulogists and biographers seem to have been entirely
possessed with feelings of admiration ; and the por
traiture of Mr. Hammond, who claims to be impartial,
is much like an imbroglio. At one time no language
can be sufficiently " intense" to give full expression to
his praises; and at another, apparently through fear
lest he should be charged with partiality, he displays all
his little weaknesses in bold relief. He accords to him
every characteristic of greatness, and then blackens
his memory with the most perfect nonchalance.
Mr. Hammond says that " among the mass of his
fellow-citizens," Mr. Clinton was "personally unpopu
lar ;" * and in reply to this, Judge Spencer declares
that he was "the most popular man of his time."f
His life affords abundant evidence that Mr. Hammond
is mistaken. No public man of New York has ever
had warmer or more attached friends, or enjoyed a
higher degree of personal popularity. It may be that
there was nothing peculiarly winning about him, and
that he was more calculated to excite admiration than
* PoUtical History of New York, vol. ii. p. 270.
t Defence of Judge Spencer, 184S.

TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 313
love. But popularity may have its rise in either emo
tion. At every step of his career, it is apparent that
the man was worshipped more than his principles.
His habits were those of the student. He was an
early riser, and unusually industrious. Naturally
diffident, and inclined to fits of abstraction, as is very
common with hard students and profound and intense
thinkers, his coldness was misunderstood by those who
could not appreciate him, and the reserve of his man
ner was mistaken for dignified imperiousness. His
diffidence once overcome, and the barriers of his re
serve, which rarely offered more than a, feeble resists
ance, broken down, he was a social and .agreeable
companion. In conversation he was rarely witty, but
at all times interesting and instructive. He was a man
of strong feelings, kind and affectionate, and generous
to a fault. Occasionally he was inclined to be queru
lous, and often unguarded in his speech. Having been
bred a politician, he was not always frank, and only
opened himself fully to his most intimate friends. Yet
he was naturally urbane and courteous, and never
sought a personal altercation with any one unless he
thought he nad been wronged, when he did not hesitate
to give full expression to his feelings.
In private life he was most exemplary — not perfect,
indeed, for who is perfect — but in matters of business,
and in his relations toward his family and his friends,
he was careful to discharge his duties aright, and if he
erred, the fault was not in his heart.
14

314 DE WITT CLINTON.
In some of his mental characteristics, he was su
perior to any of the great men of New York ; in others
their equal, and in none below mediocrity. He pos
sessed great moral courage ; was ardent and indefati
gable, pertinacious and inexorable. He had alike the
boldness and versatility of Shaftesbury, and though he
"often changed his associates, he never changed his
purposes." His intellect was gigantic, yet it wanted
simplicity. His views of human nature were, for a
politician, extremely broad and liberal, comprehensive
and enlarged ; and no narrow prejudices contracted
" the capacious breadth of his sleepless mind."
Allusion has been made to his character as a student,
and to the extent and variety of his studies. It cannot
be said that he was thoroughly versed or a proficient
in all, because one life could scarcely compass so vast
an amount of knowledge. His education was an ex
cellent elementary one, and upon this foundation he
reared a noble superstructure. Like Carteret, he was
a profound scholar, fond of admiration, and ambitious
to achieve a literary reputation. In every department
of science, if not entirely at home, he had made valu
able and extensive acquisitions. Educated men abroad
and at home were his correspondents and friends, and
his talents and acquirements were honored wherever
he was known. He was the president of the Academy
of Fine Arts, and of the New York Literary and
Philosophical Society, and an honorary member of the
Linnean and Horticultural Societies of London. In

ATTAINMENTS AS A SCHOLAR. 315
1812, Rutgers' College conferred upon him the degree
of doctor of laws, and in 1824 Columbia College hon
ored him with the same distinction.
Himself a scholar, he was ever a steadfast friend to
the diffusion of education among the masses. Institu
tions of learning of every class and grade found him a
patron and benefactor. He was particularly interested
in common schools. As secretary of the Regents of
the University, he drew up the report in favor of the
incorporation of Union College, which contained " the
earliest official recommendation of the establishment
of schools, by the legislature, for the common branches
of education." * As a legislator he aided in establish
ing the system which is now the pride of our state ;
and it was strengthened and perfected, in pursuance of
his recommendations, and under his auspices, while
occupying the gubernatorial chair.
Though Mr. Clinton possessed the learning of Scae-
vola, he lacked his eloquence. His manner as a
speaker was energetic and forcible, but not graceful.
As a writer his style was polished and correct, yet it
was almost too elaborate. It had the energy of Mon
taigne, but not the gloss, or brilliancy, or eloquence, of
the classic models of the Augustan age which he imi
tated. The finish of the workman was perfect and
complete, yet he wanted the art to conceal his labor.
Beside his state papers and decisions as a member of
* Account of the First Semi-Centennial Anniversary of Union
College, (1845) p. 112, note.

316 DE WITT CLINTON.
the Court of Errors, and the speeches and addresses
before mentioned, he left behind him an address before
the Free School Society of the city of New York, of
which he was president, delivered in 1809 — an address
before the American Bible Society, of which he was
subsequently the presiding officer, delivered in 1823 —
and an address before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of
Union College, also delivered in 1823. All these pro
ductions are characterized by great ability, and afford
ample evidence of the capacity and richness of his
mind and the extent of his learning.
He early attached himself to the Masonic Society,
and in 1816 was unanimously elected to the highest
office in that institution in the United States. His
heart was full of benevolence, and no enterprise hav
ing that in view appealed to his sympathies in vain.
Different opinions have been entertained in regard
to his character as a politician. This is natural, — for
like Chatham he had many incongruities. He was a
great statesman, and he had great faults and great vir
tues. He abounded in opposites, and was full of seeming
contradictions. Though he loved admiration and often
acted for effect, he was not a demagogue, nor did he
delight in coquetting with " that many-headed monster,
the mob." He was fond of power, but a conserva
tive in disposition, and hated, equally, federalism and
Jacobinism. He was firm and consistent in his prin
ciples, yet, like Halifax, an expert " trimmer." He
was not moderate and cautious, and thus able to keep

CHARACTER AS A POLITICIAN. 317
himself in office, as Burleigh or Liverpool, but original,
dashing, and dazzling, like Bolingbroke or Canning.
He could not endure a rival any more than Sir Robert
Walpole, nor was he disposed, upon party questions, to
be either courteous or liberal toward his political oppo
nents. In his own party he was unwilling to own or ac
knowledge a superior, and he thought his will should be
regarded, if for no other reason, because it was his will.
He was ambitious, — that need not and cannot be
disguised. Yet he loved his country and her institu
tions in all sincerity and truth. In his youth he spoke
and wrote against the adoption of the federal consti
tution, and throughout his life he was a state-rights re
publican. To New York he was warmly attached.
Mingled with all his aspirations was his undying love
for his native state. Toward her he cherished the de
votion of a son ; and if, at any time adopting her noble
motto — " Excelsior!" — he purposed to rise higher, it was
his desire that she should be the companion of his flight.
New York, indeed, owes him a debt of gratitude,
which it will be difficult to repay. " The greatest pub
lic improvement of the age," said his distinguished
rival, Martin Van Buren, " was commenced under the
guidance of his counsels, and splendidly accomplished
under his immediate auspices."* "This state," said
another prominent political opponent, " since the for
mation of its government,— nay more, since the set
tlement of the country,— has never produced an indi-
* Address to the members of Congress from New York, Feb. 1828.

318 DE WITT CLINTON.
vidual who has exerted so great an influence upon the
interests of the state, or whose name is more likely to
be perpetuated in history."*
It is, perhaps, for the interest he took in works of
internal improvement, in promoting the welfare and
happiness of the American people, and of the citizens
of his own state in particular, that Mr. Clinton will be
longest remembered. The fame ofthe statesman will
grow dim — the laurels of the warrior may fade— but the
merits and virtues of the public benefactor will live
forever in perennial bloom. Much has been said and
written, and justly too, in disapprobation of the neg
lect of the people of New York to erect a suitable
monument to his memory, — yet De Witt Clinton needs
no monument. The benefits conferred by Peter and
Alexander upon their country will do more to perpetu
ate their names and their fame than the equestrian
statue or the noble monolithe that adorn the Russian
Capital. The Simplon is a far prouder monument to
the memory of Napoleon, than the Arc de l'Etoile.
So of our Clinton, — the canals of New York, and the
schools and seminaries of learning of which he was
the friend and patron, are his most appropriate monu
ments. Of him it may be truly said, in the language
of the inscription in St. Paul's Cathedral, in honor
of the great English architect —
" Si monumentum requiris — circumspice 1"
* Remarks of Benjamin F. Butler in N. Y. Legislature, Feb. 1828.

Sixth Governor of.VwTorh.
Mi r/Mi<fidu.yjlk,:m.t;L

JOSEPH C. YATES.
Among the earliest settlers at Schenectady, or Cor-
lear, as it was styled in the olden time, was Joseph
Yates, — an honest, pains-taking, and enterprising Eng
lish yeoman. He was a native of Leeds, in Yorkshire,
and emigrated from the mother country to the colony
of New York, during the troubles between Charles I.
and his subjects, and shortly before the establishment
of the Commonwealth.
His descendants were numerous; — but, although
they preserved the patronymic of their ancestor, they
soon lost their nationality, in a great degree, by frequent
intermarriages with their Dutch and German neigh
bors. The Yates figure conspicuously in the early
annals of our state, and in the Revolution they were
staunch Whigs. This was the more remarkable, be
cause the Tories were undoubtedly the most numerous
in the section of country in which they resided ; and
with some of the prominent loyalists they were them
selves connected by marriage. Nearly all the inhabi
tants of the valley of the Mohawk, and the intersecting
vale of Schoharie, of English or Scotch descent, were
Tories ; but the Germans and Dutch, with the excep-

320 JOSEPH C. YATES.
tion of those families allied to the Johnsons, or under
their influence, were Whigs.
Robert Yates, one of the first judges of the Supreme
Court of New York, and subsequently Chief Justice ;
Abraham Yates, Jun., an influential citizen of Albany,
and afterwards its mayor ; and Christopher Yates, the
father of the subject of this sketch, were cousins, and
at an early day identified themselves with the great
movement which terminated in the independence of
the American colonies. Chief Justice Yates was a
member of the Committee of Public Safety, and of the
convention that adopted the state constitution, in
1777. When a judicial appointment was tendered to
him, his practice as a lawyer was extensive and lucra
tive. " Regardless, however, of private interest, he
entered upon the duties of that office, rendered at the
time peculiarly delicate and dangerous. He sat upon
the bench, as a writer has expressed it, ' with a halter
about his neck,' exposed to punishment as a rebel, had
our efforts for emancipation proved abortive ; nor were
these the least of his dangers. For in counties ravaged
or possessed by the enemy, or by secret domestic foes
watching every opportunity to ruin or betray their
country, he was sometimes obliged to hold his courts.
But no dangers could appal, nor fears deter him, from
a faithful and honest performance of the functions of
his office." * He represented New York in the Phila-
* Secret Proceedings and Debates of the Convention of 1181, (Rich
mond, 1839,) p. 830.

HIS PARENTS. 321
delphia convention in 1787, and was also a member of
the state convention called to ratify the federal consti
tution. Abraham Yates, Jun., was widely and favorably
known for his active exertions in support of the Whig
cause during the revolutionary struggle : he wrote a
number of spirited patriotic articles, that were publish
ed over the signatures of ' Sidney' and ' Rough-Hewer,'
and attracted much attention.
Christopher Yates was one of the leading men of
Schenectady for many years prior to the Revolution.
During the last French and Indian war he held a cap
tain's commission in the provincial troops. He took
part in the unsuccessful* attempt made in 1758, to dis
lodge General Montcalm from his position at Ticon-
deroga, and while bravely leading his men to the assault
was disabled by a severe wound. In the following
year, he accompanied the army under General Pri-
deaux and Sir William Johnson, in the expedition
against Fort Niagara, and was present at the capture
• of that important work.
The conquest of Canada having been effected, and
peace restored, he returned to his duties and occupa
tions as a citizen. Shortly after the termination of
hostilities, he was elected to the colonial legislature,
and continued a member of that body for several sue- ^
cessive years. In the stirring questions that agitated
the colonies previous to the Revolution, he was deeply
iterested, and manifested his opinions both in action

m iv^j. ^'-"'•¦"-"•j ""¦ l(

322 JOSEPH C. YATES.
and in word. On all occasions he boldly and fearlessly
advocated a determined resistance to the oppressions
of the English ministry ; and when peaceful measures
had failed to secure redress for the multiplied wrongs
which the colonists had suffered, he was among the
first to recommend a resort to force. Though allied
to the notorious Butlers, whose deeds of infamy and
cruelty stand out in such bold and dark relief on the
pages of American history, he cherished no feeling or
principle in sympathy with them.*
When the first alarm was raised, his services were
offered to his country. A commission in the New
York troops was tendered to him and accepted, and he
was ultimately promoted to the rank of colonel.
Throughout the war he was employed on the northern
frontier. He was at the battle of Saratoga, and wit
nessed the surrender of Burgoyne. Punctual and
faithful in the discharge of every duty, he gained the
confidence of his superiors, and won the respect of
those under his command.
Colonel Yates married Jane Bradt, whose memory
is at this day affectionately cherished by her posterity,
as that of an excellent and pious woman. She was
descended from an old and respectable Dutch family
that emigrated to the colony of New York, and settled
in the lower valley of the Mohawk, at a very early
period. She was the mother of several children, sons
and daughters. Of the former, Joseph C. was the
* Colonel Yates was a brother-in-law of the son of John Butler.

HIS BROTHERS. 323
governor of the state ; Henry represented the Eastern
senatorial district, for a number of years, in the legis
lature of New York, and was a member of the council
of appointment,* — he was also a delegate from the
county of Schenectady to the Convention of 1821 ;
John B., recently deceased, was for a long time a re
spectable and prominent citizen of Madison county ;
and Andrew, " the conscientious, punctual, and kind-
hearted," f was an eminent clergyman, a professor in
* This venerable and estimable man, now a resident of the city of
Albany, seems to have incurred the especial displeasure of Mr. Ham
mond, with whom he was associated as a member of the councU of ap
pointment in 1818 ; and he is described in the Political History of that
gentleman as a "professed repubhcan CUntonian," and a bargainer for
office, (vol. i. p. 458, et seq.) These calumnious imputations are in
every respect unjust and undeserved. Senator Yates was an honest
and high-minded politician ; one who could not be tampered with, and
whose practice always corresponded with his profession. He had been
the constant friend of De Witt Clinton, and beUeved him to be the fit
test man in the state for governor ; yet his devotion to the republican
party, and his attachment to repubhcan principles, were stronger than
his friendship for any man. He had been selected for the councU, as
Mr. Hammond is forced to admit, from necessity ; and he neither en
joyed, nor desired to enjoy, the confidence of Mr. CUnton. He may
have been regarded as a CUntonian, but he was also a repubhcan ; and
he would not, like Mr. Hammond, lend himself to the views of Mr. CUn
ton, who desired to remove every repubhcan from office who was not
thoroughly devoted to his interests. The attempt was made in tha
council of 1818, but defeated by the firmness of Mr. Yates, who voted
with the two BucktaU members, and thus left Governor CUnton and
Mr. Hammond in the minority.
f Address of Professor Potter on the Semi-Centennial Anniversary
of Union CoUege, July, 1845.

324 JOSEPH C YATES.
Union College, a trustee of Hamilton College, and
principal of " The Polytechny" at Chittenango. All
the daughters, with one exception, are now deceased.
Joseph C. Yates was born at Schenectady, on the
9th day of November, 1768. His early life was not
signalized by any events of particular importance. He
grew up a stout, hearty lad, differing only from his
fellows in exhibiting an unusual fondness for study.
Nature had endowed him with a fund of strong good
sense ; and with an aptitude for acquiring information
and habits of reflection, she had associated a cheerful
and generous disposition. Inheriting many of the
peculiar traits of his maternal ancestors, he adopted,
in the spring-time of life, the favorite maxim of their
nation — " Een-dracht madkt macht ;" — and this motto,
like the magic word in the Arabian tale, removed many
an obstacle that obstructed his path, and served, often
times, to cheer and encourage him.
As the means of the elder Mr. Yates were compar
atively ample, he determined to give his sons all the
advantages of education which were to be obtained in
that part of the colony. These were, indeed, quite
limited, at that time ; and during the continuance of
the war with Great Britain, but little attention was
paid to the instruction of the rising generation. Lib
erty was thought by the colonists to be " the chief
good ;" and when that was secured, time and oppor
tunity would be afforded for taking care of those
objects necessary to its preservation. The academy

HIS EDUCATION. 325
at Kingston was the only institution of importance in
the province, out of the city of New York ; and most
of the families in the northern counties, who were
able, employed private tutors for their children. This
was particularly necessary after the opening of hostili
ties. New York then resembled a fortified camp
rather than a peaceful state. The weapons of carnal
warfare stood beside the emblems of religion in the
temple of God ; legislators sat with arms in their
hands ; the farmer shouldered his musket when he
went out to his daily task ; and the rifle was the com
panion of the lover in his visits to his mistress.
At the commencement of the Revolution, Colonel
Yates employed a Mr. Jacob Wilkie as his family
tutor, who remained with him in that capacity for
several years, and until death terminated his labors as
a teacher. After the occurrence of this event, Joseph
was sent to Caughnawaga, and placed under the tuition
of the Rev. Dr. Romeyn, who was assisted by his son
Theodoric Frelinghuysen Romeyn. In this secluded
country hamlet, it was not, of course, to be expected,
that a knowledge of the great world should be obtain
ed ; its follies and its vices are rarely learned amid the
solitudes of nature, where nothing is in harmony with
them ; but they oftener flourish in the crowded seats
of learning, where scholastic attainments of the highest
grade are acquired, — the pure being mingled with the
impure — the bright and the dark blended together.

§26 JOSEPH C YATES.
Yet the germs of a substantial education were there
planted, and with them, too,
" The seeds of Truth and Virtue, holy flowers
Whose odor reacheth Heaven 1"
Joseph remained at Caughnawaga, till a residence
there was deemed unsafe, on account of the repeated
incursions of the Johnsons and the Mohawk leader,
Joseph Brant. He then returned to Schenectady, and
continued his studies with the Rev. Alexander Miller,
a Presbyterian clergyman, who instructed him in all
the branches of education commonly taught at colleges.
Mr. Miller eventually gave up his school, whereupon
a few gentlemen of Schenectady procured the valuable
services of John Honeywood as an instructor. With
him Joseph completed his education, and then entered
the office of his father's cousin, Peter W. Yates, a
lawyer of considerable distinction, and an active and
leading anti-federalist, in the city of Albany. While
a student at law, he was under the guardianship of his
father's uncle, Abraham Yates.
Having spent the usual time in the study of his
profession, he was admitted to practice, and immedi
ately opened an office in his native town. Endeared
to the inhabitants of Schenectady and the surrounding
country, by his connection with the oldest and most
respectable families in the Mohawk valley, and yet
more, by his many kindly qualities of head and heart,
he soon reaped the substantial rewards of industry and

FIRST MAYOR OF SCHENECTADY. 327
application. A prudent and sagacious counsellor, and
sufficiently able and skilful as an advocate, he secured
far more than an average number of good and substan
tial clients, who implicitly trusted him as an adviser,
and sincerely esteemed him as a friend.
But it was not only in the line of his profession
that he became a useful citizen. The circumstances
of his own education had shown him the necessity and
importance of establishing a seminary of learning, at
which all the higher studies should be taught, in the
northern part of the state. With other members of
his family, therefore, — and with the Glens, the Fondas,
the Van Ingens, the Oothouts, the Veeders, and the
Duanes, — he was very active in founding Union Col
lege. He was one of the persons to whom the funds
raised by subscription were required to be paid, and
also one of the first trustees named in the charter
granted by the Regents of the University in 1795. He
always took a deep interest in the welfare of this insti
tution, and remained a member of the board of trustees
up to the time of his decease.
In March, 1798, Schenectady was incorporated as a
city,* and Mr. Yates was selected as the first mayor.
The welfare of the town had ever been near to him,
but from this time forward, he was particularly con
cerned in the promotion of her prosperity; and in
return for advancing their interests, her citizens fre-
* Previous to its incorporation, the corporate property was held
under letters patent granted in 1684.

328 JOSEPH C YATES.
quently bestowed upon him the most flattering proofs
of their confidence and regard.
Mr. Yates became a voter shortly after the adoption
of the federal constitution, and he was consequently
too young to have participated to any great extent in
the exciting contest that preceded its ratification. But
his associations and sympathies were all with the anti-
federalists. His legal preceptor, Peter W. Yates, was
especially violent in his opposition to the constitution,
and was one of the most active participants in an
affray that took place between the federalists and anti-
federalists of the city of Albany, in the spring of 1788.
The latter had publicly burned the constitution, and
the federalists attacked them with swords and bay
onets. Their opponents replied with paving stones
and brick-bats, and a serious conflict ensued, in which
several persons were dangerously wounded. Chief
Justice Yates, and other members of the family, were
likewise earnestly opposed to the ratification of the
constitution, and the former retired from the Philadel
phia convention, because of his disapprobation of its
proceedings. But when the requisite number of states
had ratified that instrument, all further opposition was
rendered useless and unavailing ; and as the necessary
steps were taken to secure the adoption of the amend
ments desired by the anti-federalists, the Yates acqui
esced without a murmur, as did many other republicans
of the straitest sect, in the decision which had been
pronounced.

ELECTED TO THE STATE SENATE. 329
Joseph C. Yates united with the republican party,
and supported its candidates, when he first exercised
the privilege of an elector. His political preferences
were decided ; but he never displayed the violence or
vindictiveness of a partisan. Inducements for enter
ing public life were repeatedly held out to him, but he
preferred to follow the legitimate pursuits of his pro
fession and to enjoy its emoluments ; or if he consent
ed to serve his fellow-citizens in an official capacity,
it was such as did not withdraw him entirely from his
ordinary vocation. For more than fifteen years he
devoted himself with untiring assiduity to his constant
ly increasing legal business, and at the expiration of
that period he had the satisfaction of finding himself,
not only in the receipt of a respectable income, but
occupying a highly honorable position in the front rank
of the bar.
Prior to the April election in 1805, a division arose
between the republicans of Schenectady and Albany,
in regard to the selection of a candidate for senator
from the eastern district ; those residing in either city
claiming, respectively, that the choice of one of the
candidates belonged to them, in preference to the oth
ers. As the matter could not be compromised or set
tled, the republicans of Schenectady inserted the name
of Joseph C. Yates, on the ticket with the other nomi
nees of their party in the district, and the republicans
of Albany adopted John P. Quackenboss as their par
ticular candidate. The latter received the countenance

330 JOSEPH C YATES.
of the Albany Register, the leading republican paper
in the state, and by that means, a greater proportion
of the republicans in the district were induced to cast
their votes in his favor. But Mr. Yates was exceed
ingly popular in his own vicinity, where he received
an almost unanimous vote, and the federalists generally
supported him. With their assistance, in addition to
that of his republican friends, he was elected over Mr.
Quackenboss by a large majority.
Mr. Yates continued to practice his profession, after
his election to the senate, with the same zeal and fidel
ity which had characterized him in former years. As
his legislative duties engrossed but a small share of his
time, the interests of his clients were not permitted to
suffer through his inattention or neglect.
The election of Daniel D. Tompkins as governor of
the state, in 1807, and his consequent resignation of
the judicial office which he had previously held, occa
sioned a vacancy on the bench of the Supreme Court.
There were several competitors for the appointment,
and among others, Mr. Yates was warmly urged by his
numerous friends in the legislature from the western
counties. Besides their influence, which was by no
means inconsiderable, he received the powerful support
of De Witt Clinton, whose good wishes, at that day,
were almost a sine qua non to the political aspirant,
if he hoped or desired to achieve success. Thus
strengthened, the application made in behalf of Mr.
Yates was favorably considered, and in the month of

JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT. 331
February, 1808, he was duly appointed one of the
judges of the Supreme Court of New York.
As a judge, he was distinguished for his plain and
practical common sense, for his uprightness and im
partiality, and for the courtesy and urbanity which
gained him the respect and esteem of the profession
and the public. Abler jurists have adorned the New
York bench, — more learned lawyers have pronounced
the decrees of the blind goddess whom they served, —
but none ever brought to the office greater honesty or
integrity. Though he made no startling display of
legal knowledge and acumen, he committed very few
mistakes. His perceptions were not rapid, yet his
judgment was clear and accurate, and his decisions
were rarely incorrect. If he committed errors, how
ever, he was prompt to acknowledge them, and to sug
gest the appropriate remedy.
Since the convention of 1821, a great and manifest
change has taken place in the conduct of our higher
judicial officers, with reference to the politics of the
state. Previous to that time they frequently took a
deep interest in political movements and discussions,
and their interference was not considered at all inap
propriate. The ermine of the judge was not thought
to be soiled if he appeared at the hustings, and if he
laid aside his judicial robes to harangue his fellow-citi
zens at a party gathering, no one called his conduct in
question. "It was the fashion of the day, and the

332 JOSEPH C YATES.
error of the times." * Judge Yates probably con
cerned himself less with politics than most of his asso
ciates, but he never refrained from the free expression
of his opinions, and his position was well understood.
He supported the administration of Jefferson and Madi
son, and sustained Governor Tompkins while he was
at the head of the state government. In common with
the great body of the republican party in New York
he approved of the nomination of De Witt Clinton as
a candidate for the presidency, in opposition to Mr.
Madison, in 1812, and his name was placed at the
head of the Clintonian electoral ticket chosen by the
legislature in November of that year.
In the month of February previous, Judge Yates
was also complimented with an appointment as one of
the Regents of the University, which station he held
for about twenty years.
Notwithstanding his support of De Witt Clinton,
Judge Yates was warm and decided in his approbation
of the war measures of the state and national admin
istration. He was likewise a sincere friend to the
canal policy with which Mr. Clinton became identified ;
and he adhered to that gentleman personally, until, as
he thought, there was too close a connection between
him and the leaders of the federal party. In 1817, he
was urged by his friends to become a candidate for the
gubernatorial nomination in opposition to Mr. Clinton,
but he declined giving the desired permission to use
* Defence of Judge Spencer.

NOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR. 333
his name. He subsequently acted, however, with the
" Bucktails," and gave his support to the project of call
ing a convention to amend the state constitution.
After a long struggle between the Bucktails on the
one side, and the Clintonians and federalists on the
other, the convention law was passed, and in the fall of
1821 a new constitution was framed and adopted. The
term of office of the governor, previously fixed at three
years, was now reduced to two ; and a new election,
therefore, was made necessary, in the fall of 1822. The
opposition of De Witt Clinton and his immediate
friends to the project of calling a convention, or, at
least, their tardy acquiescence in the decision of the
people, as authoritatively expressed at the polls, had
rendered him temporarily unpopular, and it was quite
evident that he could not be re-elected. He was not
himself disposed to retire from the field, and many of
his most enthusiastic admirers insisted that he was ab
solutely invincible ; but he finally adopted the advice
of his more intelligent and sagacious friends, and wise
ly concluded not to risk his name before the electors
of the state at this peculiarly unpropitious juncture.
A number of candidates for the republican nomina
tion for governor, were proposed by their respective
friends, either with or without their own consent, but
the list of rival claimants was ultimately reduced to
two— Judge Yates and Samuel Young. The latter
was the favorite candidate of the ultra republicans, and
of the younger and more ardent members of the party;

334 JOSEPH C YATES.
while the former was preferred by the old and experi
enced politicians. At the caucus of the republican
members of the legislature, Judge Yates received a
large majority of votes over his competitor, and was
declared regularly nominated. Without their own
chosen leader, the Clintonians were utterly powerless ;
and as they felt assured, from their knowledge of the
man, that the course of the republican nominee, if
elected, would be mild and conciliatory, they did not
bring forward a candidate. The election was almost
unanimous. Over one hundred and thirty thousand
votes were taken, all of which, with the exception of
about three thousand thrown in favor of Solomon
Southwick, a self-nominated candidate, were given for
Judge Yates. The republican candidate for lieutenant-
governor at this election, was Erastus Root, who re
ceived the same unanimous vote. An entire new
senate was likewise chosen at this time. All the
senators elect, and five sixths of the members of as
sembly, were republicans.
On the 1st day of January, 1823, Judge Yates took
the oath of office as governor of the state. From a
cursory glance at his position, it might be inferred that
his administration commenced under the most favora
ble auspices. But this was not so in truth — appearan
ces were grossly deceptive. The vote was altogether
too unanimous. Had there been an opposing candi
date supported by a powerful minority, the necessity
of the case would have secured the preservation of a

DIFFICULTIES OF HIS POSITION. 335
tolerable degree of harmony and good feeling in the
ranks of the dominant party ; but as it was, the latter
were so largely in the majority, they fancied they
could do pretty much as they pleased. The old con
stitution had been swept away, and with it all the
superstructures, which were now to be constructed
anew, after a different model, and upon a different
foundation. The work of remodelling the laws, and
adapting them to the new order of things, was com
paratively easy, but this was not the only, nor the great
difficulty. The tenure of a thousand different offices
had been changed, and many additional ones had been
created. All these were to be filled; for each place
there was a score of applicants ; and when the time
came for making the selections, divisions and heart
burnings, strife and dissension, were to be anticipated.
Who, then, could envy Judge Yates his position ? —
who wonder that he committed mistakes ?
Hitherto it had been customary for the Executive to
address the two houses of the legislature, in an oral
speech, at the opening of the session ; but the more
appropriate method of communication, in a republican
government, by written message, was now substituted.
The first message of Governor Yates, delivered at the
annual session, which commenced in January, 1823,
was brief and pertinent, and in all respects a credita
ble production. It was principally confined to the
recommendation of various laws, the passage of which
was required in order to carry the new constitution

336 JOSEPH C YATES.
into full effect. He also recommended caution in
making changes, the encouragement of domestic indus
try, and economy in the public expenditures as con
nected with the important works then rapidly ap
proaching completion.
There was no longer a council of appointment, and
all nominations, except for the higher state offices,
were ,to be made by the governor to the senate,
for their approval and confirmation. " Early in the
winter, the city of Albany was thronged with the
place-hunters, whose appetites had become keenly
whetted since the ratification of the constitution.
Like jackals they had scented their prey afar off,
and were already congratulating themselves, in ex
pectancy, upon the anticipated banquet they were
soon to share, over the victims of the civil revolu
tion which had just been effected. All the hangers-
on of the political party then in the ascendency,
were exceedingly anxious to mend their 'battered
and bankrupt fortunes,' and the first to make known
the important sacrifices they had made in the cause
of popular liberty. Among the numerous expectants
of official preferment, and the eager aspirants to place
and power, there were, no doubt, many honest and
deserving men ; and it is a singular fact, that most of
the selections made by Governor Yates, out of the
incongruous mass that blockaded the capitol, were
highly judicious and appropriate."
One of the most important questions agitated and

CONTEST FOR THE OFFICES. 337
discussed among the politicians assembled at Albany,
was, whether the governor would nominate, and the
senate confirm, the old judges, for places on the bench
of the new Supreme Court. Mr. Yates was sincerely
desirous of acting in accordance with the wishes of
his friends ; but, at the same time, he was constitu
tionally opposed to innovation and change, and he
desired to take good care that the interests of the
people should be protected. After some hesitation, he
sent in the names of three of the old judges, which
was the requisite number for the new court. Two of
the nominees^Ambrose Spencer and Jonas Piatt —
were especially obnoxious to most of the republican
senators who belonged to the legal profession, and the
nominations were promptly rejected. The governor
instantly corrected himself, and sent in other names,
which were approved. On another occasion, he nom
inated a federalist for the unimportant office of notary,
but the senate refused to confirm the nomination. In
the main, however, the appointments of the governor
were satisfactory to his political friends. Where an
appointment was to be made for a particular locality,
he always consulted the leading men belonging to the
party who resided in the vicinity ; and where county
conventions were held, he usually adopted their recom
mendations. " The head of a party," said Cardinal De Retz, " can
do what he pleases." However true this may be in
monarchical governments, it is the exception, rather
22

338 JOSEPH C. YATES.
than the rule, in a republic. We have had but one
Washington, and but one Jackson. — The great una
nimity with which Governor Yates had been elected,
had served to impress him with some extravagant no
tions in regard to his popularity, which, in the sequel,
he learned to estimate at their proper worth. Although
he was elected without opposition, he was none the
less the candidate of a political party. For the time
he was its nominal leader, but he was also the servant
of an army of sovereigns, and the same power that
made him, was strong enough to unmake, whenever it
thought proper so to do.
Pending the exciting canvass that preceded the elec
tion of Mr. Munroe's successor, the question of giving
to the people the choice of presidential electors was
agitated in New York, and the fall election in 1823
was more or less affected by it. As this matter will
hereafter be examined in detail,* it is only necessary
to remark in this place, that, in its origin, the move
ment was a mere electioneering device, and yet it
added a great deal to the embarrassments of Governor
Yates' position, and contributed to render him unpopu
lar with his party, though every one admitted his mo
tives to be good and his intentions well-meant.
The proposition was a captivating one, and had it
been brought forward with the understanding, that, if
adopted, it should go into effect in future, no plausible
objection could have been urged against it. But the
* See Memoir of SUas Wright, p. T89 infra.

THE ELECTORAL BILL. 339
design of its authors was to defeat the election of Mr.
Crawford, and to give the coup de grace to his presi
dential aspirations, — and the reader, if he be familiar
with the political history of the country, need not be
informed that the project was successful.
Long before the New York legislature assembled for
ts annual session, in January, 1824, it was generally
known that this subject would be brought forward for
the consideration of its members at an early -day. So
much had been said upon the question, during the few
months previous, that Governor Yates thought his duty
required him to refer to it in his message : — " The
choice of electors of president and vice-president,"
said he, " has excited much animadversion throughout
the nation ; and it is to be regretted, that a uniform
rule on this subject is not prescribed by the constitu
tion ofthe United States. It is manifest, that the man
ner of electing may have an essential effect on the
power and influence of a state, with regard to the
presidential question, by either dividing the votes, or
enabling the state, with greater certainty, to give an
united vote ; and until a uniform rule is ingrafted in
the constitution of the United States, the manner of
electing will continue to fluctuate, and no alteration
made by any one state, will produce a material change
in the various modes now existing throughout the
Union. In some states the people will vote by a gen
eral ticket ; in some by districts, and in others by the
legislature ; and no practical remedy probably does

340 JOSEPH C YATES.
exist, competent to remove the evil effectually, except
by an amendment of the national constitution.
" Although this state has heretofore sanctioned an
attempt to accomplish that important object, which
proved unsuccessful, the measure on that account
should not be abandoned ; and as the subject has re
cently been brought before congress, it is to be expect
ed that another opportunity will shortly be presented
for the legislature of this state to sanction an amend
ment, not only establishing a uniform rule in the choice
of electors, but also securing the desirable object of
directing such choice to be made by the people. A
more propitious period of evincing its propriety, and
consequently affording a more favorable prospect of
obtaining a constitutional number of the states to as
sent to it, 1 am inclined to think has not presented
itself since the organization of the government. Per
suaded that you, as the representatives of a free people,
will only be influenced by reason and true patriotism,
it is submitted to your wisdom and discretion, whether,
under existing circumstances, the present manner of
choosing electors ought, at this time, to be changed."
Governor Yates' style as a writer was somewhat in
volved and obscure, but the only fair construction to
be put upon his language is, that he desired a change
to be made in the manner of choosing presidential
electors, but preferred to have it general throughout
the Union, and, to that end, looked to congress to adopt
some one of the various propositions then pending be-

VIEWS OF THE GOVERNOR. 341
fore it. In the meantime, in his opinion, it was not
advisable for the legislature to interfere, or to surrender
their right to make choice of the electors.
In the same message, the governor repeated his
recommendations of the previous year, with respect
to the encouragement of domestic manufactures by
the imposition of duties on foreign goods imported into
the country, the revision of the statutes of the state,
and the economical appropriation of the public
moneys. A heated and angry debate took place in either
branch of the legislature, upon the proposition to
change the electoral law of the state. A bill at length
passed the assembly, authorizing the people to choose
the electors by general ticket, but by a majority of
votes, instead of a plurality, as was desired by the
original friends of the measure, who termed themselves
" The People's Party." In the senate, after consider
able discussion, the whole matter was disposed of, by
the adoption of a resolution directing its further con
sideration to be postponed till the first Monday in No
vember following, at which time the legislature was
required to meet by law for the purpose of choosing
presidential electors.
Very soon after Governor Yates entered upon the
discharge of his executive duties, the friends of Mr.
Young began to express their dissatisfaction with his
course ; and in a short time, quite a list of grievances,
most of which, however, were entirely fanciful, was

342 JOSEPH C YATES.
accumulated against him. He was also attacked, most
ungenerously and unjustly, in the public prints, in a
number of satirical articles written by De Witt Clin
ton, or his personal friends. Although these attacks
annoyed him exceedingly, he was too easy in his dis
position to make any very serious efforts to counteract
the machinations of his enemies. The current was
setting against him, but he had not the nerve and in
trepidity requisite to stem it triumphantly. It was
charged by his opponents, that the resolution of the
senate postponing the consideration of the electoral
bill, was adopted in pursuance of his advice. This he
emphatically denied ; and the charge was undoubtedly
without foundation. Most of the prominent leaders
of the republican party adhered to him faithfully, and
insisted that he was entitled to a renomination. But
the decision of the legislative caucus, held in April,
1824, was adverse, and the- nomination was conferred
on Colonel Young. The People's Party also held a
caucus, but they concluded to nominate the guberna
torial ticket at a convention of delegates to be held in
the ensuing month of September.
After the adjournment of the legislature, and during
the entire summer and fall, the state was constantly
agitated by the jarring strifes and controversies of op
posing factions. Everything was in disorder. The
senators who had voted for the postponement of the
electoral bill were denounced in unmeasured terms ;
and yet they and their friends supported the republican

EXTRA SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 343
nominee for governor, who had avowed himself in
favor of the proposed change in the mode of choosing
electors. De Witt Clinton had been removed from
the office of canal commissioner, and public sympathy
was aroused in his behalf; but some of the leading
People's men, who ultimately nominated him as their
candidate for the gubernatorial office, had voted for his
removal. The charmed pot of the weird sisters did
not exhibit ingredients more various, elements more
diverse, than were here presented.
Governor Yates could not but feel aggrieved at the
manner in which he had been deserted by his friends ;
and it is possible that, amid the general confusion in
politics, he might have fancied that the 'People's con
vention would decide to give him their support, pro
vided he could assure them of his readiness to support
their favorite measure. This he was able to do, be
cause the adjournment of congress without adopting
any general provision as he desired, convinced him
that no change could be effected through their instru
mentality. He therefore issued a proclamation on the
2d day of June, requiring the legislature to assemble
on the 2d of August, alleging, among other reasons, for
calling an extra session, that the people were justly
alarmed lest their undoubted right of choosing the
presidential electors should be withheld from them.
This movement was an unhappy and ill-timed one ;
and it tended to estrange from the governor many of
his republican friends who up to that moment had con-

344 JOSEPH C YATES.
tinued to adhere to him. The legislature assembled in
accordance with the proclamation, but they refused,
by a large majority, to transact any business, and after
a brief session of four days they again adjourned.
At the expiration of his term of office Governor
Yates finally retired to private life. He resumed his
residence at Schenectady, and amid the scenes of his
youth, with the associates and playmates of former
years, grew old together. He remained attached to
the republican party, and supported the administration
of Andrew Jackson, and that of his successor. He
rarely took any active part in the political contests of
this period, and his last appearance on an occasion of
that character, was as the president of an " indignation
meeting," called in the winter of 1832, by the demo
crats of Schenectady, to express their dissatisfaction
at the rejection of the nomination of Martin Van Bu
ren as minister to England.
Having attained a venerable age, with resignation
and in peace, he was at length gathered to his
fathers. He died in the city of his birth, and of his
residence for the greater portion of his life, on the 19th
day of March, 1837.
Governor Yates was married three different times.
His first wife was Mrs. Ann Ellice, of Schenectady,
by whom he had no issue. For his second wife he
married Miss Maria Kane, a resident of Albany ; she
bore him one daughter, who became the wife of John
Keyes Paige, for many years a clerk of the Supreme

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER. 345
Court, and afterwards mayor of Albany. His third
wife was Ann Elizabeth Delancy, who is now living,
and by whom he had two daughters ; one of them mar
ried Mr. J. D. Watkins, of Georgia, and the other is
the wife of Samuel Neal, of New York.
In person, Governor Yates was rather above the
medium size and height. His appearance was digni
fied, and his manners easy and courteous. In his de
portment he was modest and unassuming. He was
cautious and reserved to a degree bordering on timid
ity. He did not possess, in the extreme sense of the
word, a vigorous mind, but it was well-balanced and
disciplined. His deliberations were slow in coming to
maturity, but his conclusions were generally very cor
rect. In all the private relations he was every way esti
mable. But as a public man, as a politician, he was
not calculated to succeed. He was prudent over
much, and he lacked the boldness and energy, for
want of which the most brilliant talents are often
times doomed to experience the bitterness of disap
pointment.

• MARTIN VAN BUREN.
With the eminent statesman whose name stands at
the head of this biographical sketch, a new race of gov
ernors came upon the stage. . Each one of his prede
cessors either took part in the Revolution, or was old
enough to participate in its closing scenes, — but when
he first drew breath, its rolling thunders were rapidly
dying away, and ere he arrived at the age of manhood,
its memories were among the hallowed treasures of the
Past. In his inaugural address as president of the
United States, there is a happy allusion to this fact.
" Unlike all who have preceded me," said he, " the revo
lution that gave us existence as one people was achieved
at the period of my birth ; and while I contemplate,
with grateful reverence, that memorable event, I feel
that I belong to a later age, and that I may not expect
my countrymen to weigh my actions with the same
kind and partial hand."
Mr. Van Buren was the first representative of the
original Dutch settlers of New York, who was elevated
to the high office of chief magistrate of the state. His
ancestors, on both sides, were among the early emi-

IMBXTUIfl "WAM HIS
Sevenlh Gorertwr afjfewl&rk.

Jkf 'IMuAelmJHNasia.iy'Mf

HIS FATHER. 347
grants from Holland, who settled upon the manor of
Rensselaerwyck, in the then colony of New Netherlands.
His father, Abraham Van Buren, was an humble tiller
of the soil, and occupied a farm near the present town
of Kinderhook. He was in moderate circumstances,
but highly respected among his neighbors, as he deserved
to be ; for wealth, like rank, " is but the guinea stamp."
By his children, and by those of his associates and
cotemporaries who still survive him, he is remembered
as a man of sterling character, of practical good sense,
firm and decided but kind and amiable in his disposi
tion, and of exemplary conduct in all the relations of
life. He married the widow of a Mr. Van Alen, and a
distant connection of his family. Her maiden name
was Hoes, or, as it was originally written, Goes, — the
former being the corruption of a name not undistin
guished in the annals of old Netherlands. Pride of
birth, however, has never been cherished by her de
scendants ; and it is barely possible that they have in
quired, whether their maternal ancestors belonged to
the Gueux, or to the party of Granvella or Alva, —
whether they fought with the Prince of Orange, or with
Don John of Austria.*
* There is an anecdote told of Mr. Van Buren which may not be
inappropriate here, although in its main features it is unfounded— for
anecdotes of public men, in nine cases out of ten, are mere fables, —
yet this is not at all inconsistent with his character, and it can do no
harm to repeat it. During Mr. Van Buren's brief mission to Eng
land, it is said, he attended one of the soirees of Queen Adelaide,
at which, in a conversation with him, she inquired how far back he

348 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
The mother of Mr. Van Buren is said to have been
a woman of rare excellence and worth, sincerely pious,
and gifted with more than ordinary intelligence and
sagacity. Both his parents lived to witness the bril
liant professional triumphs of their son, and to see him
making an- assured progress on the road to distinction
and fame. The father died in 1814, and the mother
four years later, in 1818. They were the parents of
five children, three sons and two daughters. Martin,
the eldest son, was the future governor and president ;
Lawrence followed the occupation of his father, and
now resides on the farm belonging to him in his life
time ; and Abraham A., like his elder brother, studied
law, practiced for several years in the city of Hudson,
and filled the office of surrogate of the county.
Martin Van Buren was born in the present town
of Kinderhook, in Columbia, then Albany County, on
the fifth day of December, 1782. The pecuniary means
of his father were quite limited, and he was unable to
afford his son anything more than a common education.
In his early boyhood the latter had manifested a fond
ness for reading, a quickness of apprehension, a shrewd
ness of observation, and an aptness of remark, that de
noted a superior mind, and augured well for the future.
could trace his ancestry ? " As far back as Kinderhook, may it please
your majesty," repUed Mr. Van Buren, with tho grave urbanity char
acteristic of him. Supposing the name to be that of some distinguished
aboriginal chieftain, the fair descendant of a long Une of German princes
paid still greater deference to her guest.

education. 349
Encouraged by the advice and approbation of his rela
tives and friends, he zealously pursued the studies
usually taught in the common schools of that day, and
afterward entered the academy in the village of Kin
derhook. Here he made himself a tolerable proficient
in all the higher branches of a course of English study,
and acquired considerable knowledge of Latin.
At the academy, young Van Buren was distinguished
not only for his industry and application, but for his
unwillingness to take anything upon trust, and his con
sequent habits of investigation and reflection. He was
fond, too, of argumentative discussions ; he had never
studied dialectics as taught in the schools, and knew but
little about Aristotle or Locke, yet he was a natural
logician, and handled the weapons, of whose very
names he was ignorant, with great skill and ability. He
was ambitious to surpass his companions in extempo
raneous speaking and English composition, and many
were the encomiums he received for his superior excel
lence in these respects.
It must not be supposed, however, that Mr. Van
Buren obtained anything like a finished education. It
was only a bare introduction to knowledge that he re
ceived, and at the early age of fourteen years, he left
the academy forever, and commenced the study of the
law. Except as it depended upon his own exertions,
in his leisure hours, without a teacher, or any extrane
ous assistance beyond the occasional advice of a few
kind friends, his education was completed.

350 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
Such, and so comparatively unimportant, was his
preparation for the study of that great science, which
has been pronounced " the perfection of human reason."
The members of the profession which he had embraced
were then distinguished, even more than now, for high
scholarship ; and as Sydney Smith once said of educated
men in England, Greek and Latin had become among
them " almost the only test of a cultivated mind."*
But of classical literature young Van Buren knew
barely the elements, and though he labored assiduously
while engaged in his professional studies, to correct his
deficiency in this respect, his talents, because of it,
have ever been underrated by men of first-rate acquire
ments. The attainments of the scholar cannot be valued too
highly, yet they are not always absolutely necessary to
success ; and " self-made men" — as they are perhaps
incorrectly termed, because it seems like elevating the
mere creature above the Creator — do not so often fail
for the want of these, as they mar their fortunes by the
self-sufficiency and presumption, to which as a class,
they are exceedingly prone. Mr. Van Buren was des
tined to be the artificer of his own fame, and to native
talent of a high order he added the caution and tact
that restrained him from presuming too much. He had
not the varied knowledge of Crichton or Brougham, but
he possessed that true intellectual strength, which, like
the holy sword of Thalaba, is all-powerful in driving
* " Professional Education"— Edinburgh Review, 1809.

SELF-EXERTION. 351
away those dark sorcerers that ensnare the mind, Error
and Ignorance. He had, also, something of that innate
genius which gives life to the dull marble, inspiration
to the poet and the orator, victory to the warrior, skill
to the statesman, and a soul and a spirit to the corusca
tions of eloquence and the sallies of wit. He was
cheered, too, by the examples of Kepler and Ferguson,
of Eldon and Erskine, of Franklin and Henry. Thus
gifted, and thus encouraged, he could not fail.
Truly, there can be no nobler sight in the universe,
than that of a young man boldly entering the arena of
professional life, bearing his torch proudly like the
young champion in the grove of Academus, and alone
and unaided carving out for himself a high destiny!
There is something almost more than human, in his
earnest and protracted effort to achieve a reward wor
thy of a life of toil and care, — in the stern purpose of
soul, and the burning impress of constant and unweary
ing thought, glowing upon the brow where Genius has
erected her altar and lighted her vestal flame. His
faculties may be taxed to the utmost, but the lofty
spirit and indomitable will must triumph in the end.
The consciousness of the possession of mental power
buoys him up and sustains him ; it arouses all his ener
gies into vigorous action; it brings out all the finer
and choicer attributes of his nature, as does the sun
light the gorgeous colors of the blossom ; and it points
him, in the language of encouragement, to the bright
Beyond which he may hope to reach. He cannot be

352 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
faithless to his trust, for he knows and feels, that he
has within him an emanation from the great centre ot
intellect and mind, — that "God's mysteries are there!"
In 1796, while yet in his fourteenth year, Mr. Van
Buren entered the office of Francis Sylvester, a highly
respectable lawyer in Kinderhook. As he had not re
ceived a collegiate education, nor spent any time in
studying the classics after the age of fourteen, his term
of clerkship, of course, was seven years. His legal
studies, and the copying and drawing papers and plead
ings usually performed by a lawyer's clerk, did not en
gross his whole time ; but he found considerable leisure,
which he wisely improved, for reading history, for
making himself familiar with general literature, and
increasing his knowledge of the more important scien
ces the study of which he had commenced at the
academy. At this period there was a great deal of
litigation in Columbia county, — though not more than
in other counties of the same amount of population, —
and much of this originated in courts of justices of the
peace. These tribunals afforded to the law student a
fine field for improvement in public speaking, in exam
ining witnesses, in arranging testimony, in sharpening
the perceptive faculties, and in exercising and disci
plining the judgment. They were schools, too, in which
human nature could be studied in all its phases and
characteristics. Mr. Van Buren often appeared in the justices' courts
in Kinderhook and the neighboring towns ; he was some-

POLITICAL OPINIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS. 353
times pitted against the veterans of the Columbia bar,
and on one occasion, when in his sixteenth year, tried
an important cause against two of its ablest members.
This kind of discipline not only fitted him for the active
duties of his profession, and laid the foundations of that
skill and ability which he afterward displayed as an
advocate, but it furnished him, at the same time, with
the means of support.
While a student, he was also an active politician.
His father had been a warm whig during the Revolu
tion, and was afterward equally zealous in the support
of George Clinton and Thomas Jefferson. The son
inherited his party predilections, and though the repub
licans were in a small minority in the county, and the
wealth and patronage, and the talent too, were ar
rayed on the federal side, — nothing daunted at the dis
parity in numbers and in strength, he placed himself
among the opposition. His legal preceptor was a fed
eralist, but the ties of friendship were less powerful than
the convictions of his judgment. He made himself
familiar with the political intelligence of the day, at
tended the meetings and conventions of his party, and
watched the movements of men aDd things with a keen
and sagacious eye. During the great contest between
Adams and Jefferson, in 1800, he advocated and de
fended the republican principles he had espoused, with
all the ardor of a lover. Notwithstanding his youth,
he frequently made speeches at the republican gather
ings, and wrote resolutions and addresses ; and in the
23

354 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
fall of 1800, being then less than eighteen years of age,
he represented the republicans of his native town in
the Congressional Convention for that district.
The last year of Mr. Van Buren's clerkship was
spent in the city of New York, in the office of William
P. Van Ness, who was eminent both as a lawyer and
as a politician. Mr. Van Ness was a leading member
of the republican party, and was appointed by President
Jefferson, a few years later, to the office of District
Judge for the Southern district of New York. He
was, also, a warm friend of Aaron Burr, who frequently
visited him at his office. In this manner Mr. Van
Buren became acquainted with the vice-president, and
was honored with his particular notice and regard. It
was a prominent trait in the character of Mr. Burr, to
seek the acquaintance and friendship of promising
young men of his own party, and they, in turn, were
inclined to regard him as a political oracle. At
this time he probably anticipated his nomination for
governor in the spring of 1804, and on learning that
Mr. Van Buren was an active politician and wielded
considerable influence in Columbia county, he mani
fested toward him more than ordinary kindness. Mr.
Burr was undoubtedly a great political tactician, but
the young law-student seems to have already learned a
lesson which his friend did not teach, either by precept
or example, — and that was faithfully to adhere, at all
times, to the nominations of his party. It will be seen,
therefore, that the flattering attentions of this distin-

ADMISSION TO THE BAR. 355
guished man were insufficient to detach him from the
support of the regular republican candidate.
Just before he completed his twenty-first year, in the
month of November, 1803, Mr. Van Buren was ad
mitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of New York
as an attorney at law, and immediately returned to
Kinderhook to practice his profession. By her first
marriage with Mr. Van Alen, his mother had two sons
and a daughter. The sons, John I. and James I. Van
Alen, were both extremely kind to their half-brother
Martin, and the former assisted him considerably while
he was pursuing his professional studies. James I. was
now a lawyer in Kinderhook, in good practice, and,
being also an active politician,* he needed a partner in
his business. Accordingly, upon the admission of Mr.
Van Buren to the bar, a connection was proposed be
tween them and at once formed.
The bar of Columbia county presented at this time a
most brilliant array of intellectual strength. At its head
were William W. Van Ness, Elisha Williams, Thomas
P. Grosvenor, and Jacob R. Van Rensselaer, all prom
inent federalists, and equally distinguished as lawyers
and politicians. Against such competitors Mr. Van
Buren was obliged to contend, at the very outset of his
professional life. The influence of a powerful party
was. in great part, adverse to his success, and ultimately
decidedly hostile to him. His energetic industry and
promising talents had attracted notice, however, and
* Mr. Van Alen was a representative in Congress from 1807 to 1809.

356 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
were well appreciated by his political opponents. Great
efforts were made by his federal friends and acquaint
ances, and particularly by his half-brother, John I.
Van Alen, to win him over to their side. The in
ducements held out to him were many and powerful ;
for, in addition to the private friendships which he had
formed, and desired to cherish, the landed aristocracy
of the cpunty/the wealth, the power and patronage,
were with the federalists.
None of these influences or considerations were suf
ficient to detach him from the party with which he had
united ere he arrived at the age of manhood. Sprung
from the humbler ranks in life, his sympathies were with
the people. Without money or influential connec
tions, and relying solely upon his own energies and
talents, he won his way to distinction. The federal
ists saw that he could not be swerved in his political
course, and they turned upon him the whole weight of
their artillery. The republicans, few though they were
in number, admired both his spirit and his talents;
they rallied around him, and he was soon the leading
lawyer of his party in the county. His business in
creased, and his clients daily became more numerous.
All this while he was an active politician ; yet in this
respect his position'could hardly be considered an en
viable one. The fire of party spirit burned intensely,
and its influence was felt in every relation of life : — it
consumed the ties of friendship; it gave additional
heat and bitterness to business strifes and contentions ;

HI8 MARRIAGE. 357
and in the breast of the judge, it warmed into life
feelings of partiality and favoritism.
Though Mr. Van Buren was then, as he ever has
been, distinguished for his unfailing courtesy toward
his political opponents, he was attacked by the federal
press, and by the speakers in that interest, with unusual
zeal and animosity. His humble origin was referred to in
the language of contempt ; his character was traduced,
and his talents depreciated. Being slight of frame,
and moderate in stature, his person was also sneered
at ; but those who watched his course attentively, must
have been reminded of Bos well's description of Wil-
berforce when addressing the electors of York from,
the hustings, after his triumphant return in 1784 ; —
" I saw," said he, " what seemed a mere shrimp mount
upon the table, but as I listened, he grew and grew, un
til the shrimp became a whale." — So Mr. Van Buren,
as the difficulties multiplied in his path, bore himself
with greater manliness, and in a very few years he
stood beside the ablest of his federal compeers, in the
front rank of the Columbia bar.
In 18.06 Mr. Van Buren was married to Hannah
Hoes, a distant connection of his by the mother's side,
and whose brother had married one of his sisters. The
attachment which had thus ripened into marriage was
formed in early life, and consummated as" soon as Mr.
Van Buren's circumstances would permit. His wife
was a most estimable woman, as well in disposition as
in character ; and how sincere and ardent was his af-

358 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
fection, may be inferred from the fidelity with which
he has treasured the memory of her who has
" gone before
To that unseen and sUent shore."
She died of consumption in 1818, and he has ever
since remained a widower. By her he had four sons,
Abraham, John, Martin, and Smith Thompson. John
was for a long time a prominent lawyer and poli
tician in the city of Albany ; from 1845 to 1848 he
was attorney-general ; he is now practicing his profes
sion in the city of New York with eminent success ;
and there is probably no man of his age who wields a
greater influence in the democratic party of the state.
Abraham was educated at West Point, entered the
army, and rose to the rank of major in the second regi
ment of dragoons ; after serving a few years in this
position, he resigned on account of his ill health, but
during the war with Mexico he offered his services to
the government, and received the commission of pay
master. In 1804, notwithstanding his personal friendship for
Mr. Burr, who was supported for the office of gover
nor by the federalists and a small fraction of the re
publican party, Mr. Van Buren gave his vote — the
first he ever deposited in the ballot-box — for General
Lewis, as the regular republican nominee. For the
same reason he supported Mr. Tompkins in 1807, in
opposition to Governor Lewis, then a candidate for re-

APPOINTED SURROGATE. 359
election under circumstances similar to those of Colonel
Burr three years previous.
At the election in 1807 the united forces of the
Lewisites and federalists were defeated ; Mr. Tompkins
was chosen governor, and with him a majority of the
republican candidates for the legislature. In the follow
ing winter, therefore, a new council of appointment was
selected, by which most of the Lewisites and federalists
were removed from office, and their places filled with
republicans. The first official distinction which Mr.
Van Buren ever received was conferred upon him by
this council. On the 20th of March, 1808, he was ap
pointed Surrogate of the county of Columbia.
In consequence of this appointment, and in the hope
of adding to his professional business, necessarily limited
in a place so retired as Kinderhook, Mr. Van Buren
determined to remove to Hudson, the county seat, which
he accordingly did toward the close of the year. His
reputation as a lawyer had already extended beyond
the limits of the county, and his removal to Hudson
was followed by an increase of business. Wealth, and
the honors of the profession, constantly flowed in upon
him. Mr. Van Ness had now been appointed one of
the Judges of the Supreme Court of the state, and there
remained no one at the bar of the county to dispute the
superiority with him except Elisha Williams, also a
resident of Hudson.
Mr. Williams and Mr. Van Buren were almost al
ways arrayed against each other. The former was no

360 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
mean antagonist, and before a jury was probably more
effective than his rival. Both were able reasoners, but
Mr. Williams dwelt too much upon the strong points
of his case and amplified and illustrated them, while
Mr. Van Buren was systematic and concise, though
he neglected nothing. Both possessed eloquence, but
that of Mr. Williams was extraneous to his argument,
while that of Mr. Van Buren was inherent in it. Mr.
Williams was imaginative and a splendid declaimer,
and his oratory told in the jury-box. Mr. Van Buren
was clear, plausible and convincing, and consequently
more successful with the Court. The one trusted too
much to his own genius, but the other was careful
to prepare himself properly for every professional en
counter. Mr. Van Buren, however, had not pursued as thorough
a course of legal reading and study as he desired to
do, on account of the constant employment of his time
in his practice, but upon his removal to the county seat,
he found that his business, though more extensive, did
not call him so much from home, and he determined to
remedy the difficulty before it was too late. " He pur
chased a very extensive and well-selected library which
had been the property of an eminent lawyer, then de
ceased, and devoted his best energies to a systematic
and extended course of reading. But he made no
parade of his assiduity ; indeed, his habits were rather
fitted to conceal it. During the busy part of the day,
he was seen constantly mingling in conversation, or

POLITICAL COURSE. 361
engaged in his ordinary business, with those who had
occasion to consult him. He mingled with freedom,
and even with zest, in the social circle and more formal
visiting assemblies ; and in the habitual cheerfulness
of his manner there was nothing to indicate the severe
student. He chose that his industry should rather ap
pear by its proper fruits at the bar, than be indicated
by morose infractions of social customs, or the anxious,
care-worn visage, which many put on, as an evidence
of severe thought. But in the stillness of the night, he
buried his whole soul in the researches of legal science.
At that propitious season, he knelt at the shrine of that
' jealous mistress which allows no rival,' and communed
with those eloquent oracles of enlightened reason, which
are too often allowed to repose in silence on the dusty
shelf."* Throughout the administration of Mr. Jefferson, the
subject of this memoir was among the warmest and
most active of his friends and supporters. He approved
of the restrictive policy, and, generally, of all the prom
inent measures affecting the domestic or foreign rela
tions of the country. In 1808, his preferences were for
George Clinton as the successor of Mr. Jefferson, but
he cheerfully acquiesced in the decision of his party
in favor of Mr. Madison. In 1810 he supported Gov
ernor Tompkins for reelection. In the following year
he signalized his attachment to the venerable Clinton
* HoUand' s Life of Van. Buren, p. 60.
16

362 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
by justifying and defending his casting vote against the
re-charter of the old bank of the United States. *
In 1812, Mr. Van Buren opposed with all his ability
and influence the proposition to charter the Bank of
America, and warmly sustained Governor Tompkins in
his prorogation of the state legislature. At a repub
lican convention held in Columbia county, he deliv
ered an able speech upon this subject, and procured the
adoption of a series of resolutions denouncing and con
demning the incorporation of the bank.
Previous to the annual election in the spring of 1812,
Mr. Van Buren was put in nomination by the republi
cans of the Middle District, to which Columbia county-
belonged, as their candidate for State Senator. His
opponent was Edward P. Livingston, a Madisonian
republican and a friend to the Bank of America. Mr.
Van Buren was the regular candidate of his party, but
Mr. Livingston, who was then a member of the Senate
and afterward voted for the bank charter, received the
support of the interest advocating it, and of the entire
federal party of his district, in addition to that of his
Lewisite friends. The former was successful, in spite
of the influences opposed to his success ; yet his ma
jority was only two hundred in a poll of twenty thou
sand votes. From this time he remained almost con
stantly in public life, up to the period of his retirement
from the presidency.
Elected to the New York Senate as a Clintonian
republican, Mr. Van Buren would have been faithless

SUPPORT OF DE WITT CLINTON. 363
to his friends had he not supported De Witt Clinton at
the presidential election in 1812. He was not a mem
ber of the legislature by which that gentleman was
originally nominated, but he undoubtedly approved of
its proceedings. His support of Mr. Clinton was an
error, perhaps, but after his election to the Senate he
could not well have avoided it. Admitting that he
erred in this respect, it will not appear at all strange,
when we reflect that more than three fourths of the
republican party in New York were ardently in favor
of Mr. Clinton.
It is a gross mistake, however, to charge Mr. Van
Buren, as has been done in the heat of party contests,
with opposition to the war of 1812. He approved of
all the war measures adopted at the congressional ses
sion of 1811-12, including the declaration, and the
records of the New York legislature show that he sus
tained the national authorities, from first to last, to the
utmost of his ability. Had he not been convinced
that the war would be prosecuted with greater vigor
and energy under the auspices of Mr. Clinton than
under those of Mr. Madison, he would have withheld
his support from the former even at the last moment.
But such was his firm conviction ; and, considering the
character of the two men — the one bold and decisive,
and the other timid and hesitating — it is impossible to
see how he could have arrived at a different conclusion.
Mr. Van Buren took his seat in the Senate at the
extra session in November, 1812. Though it was his

364 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
first appearance in a legislative body, his character and
talents were so well known and so highly appreciated,
that he was complimented with the unusual honor of
an appointment on the committee to prepare an answer
to the governor's speech. The answer was drawn up
and reported by him. In it he fully approved of the
war, and insisted, to quote its language, " that at a
period like the present, when our country is engaged
in a war with one of the most powerful nations of
Europe, difference of opinion on abstract points should
not be suffered to impede or prevent our united and
vigorous support of the constituted authority of the
nation." In the republican legislative caucus held for the
nomination of presidential electors, Mr. Van Buren
took a prominent part. The friends of Mr. Madison
claimed that a portion of the electors ought to be se
lected by them ; but he opposed this in a speech, and
contended that the republicans of the state had de
cided at the election in the spring of 1812, and at the
legislative caucus in May following, that Mr. Clinton
was their choice for the presidency. He earnestly
protested, therefore, against any division of the vote of
New York, and a majority of the caucus coincided
with him in opinion. Through his tact and address,
for he at once took the lead of the Clintonian repub
licans, electors were fixed upon, and chosen by the
legislature, who gave their votes to Mr. Clinton. The
federalists had now taken up Mr. Clinton as their can-

REPUBLICAN ADDRESS. 365
didate, and they held the balance of power in the legis
lature, between the Clintonian and the Madisonian re
publicans. Yet Mr. Van Buren would not, nor did he
consent, to any union with his old opponents. The
votes of some of the federal members were given for
the Clintonian electors, but there was no amalgamation
of parties.
It has been charged against Mr. Van Buren, that,
through his instrumentality, a bargain was made with
the federal members, and that, they agreed to vote for
the Clintonian electors, upon the consideration that
Rufus King should be returned to the Senate of the
United States.* This was certainly not the case.
There was no friendship whatsoever between De Witt
Clinton and Mr. King; but the federalists, without
doubt, had an understanding with the friends of Mr.
Clinton who favored the incorporation of the Bank of
America. The latter were ripe for intrigue, and Mr.
King was indebted to them for his election.
Almost the first business of the members of the legis
lature at the regular session in the following winter,
was to select candidates for the gubernatorial election.
Mr. Van Buren advocated and voted for the renomi-
nation of Governor Tompkins, at the republican caucus,
and was selected to prepare the address to the electors
of the state. The following extracts from this paper
are favorable specimens of his style as a writer, and show
the position which he occupied in regard to the war.
* Defence of Judge Spencer, 1843.

366 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
" In making this appeal, which is sanctioned by usage and the ne
cessity of which is rendered imperious by the situation of our com
mon country, we feel it to be our duty, as it is our wish, to Hpeak to
you in the language which alone it becomes freemen to use — the lan
guage to which alone it becomes freemen to listen — the language
of truth and sincerity ; — to speak to you of things as they are and
as they should be, — to speak to you with unrestrained freedom of
your rights aud your duties, — and if by so doing we shall be so for
tunate as to convince you of the correctness of the opinion we hold ;
to communicate to you the anxious solicitude we feel for our country
and its rights ; to turn your attention from the minor considerations
which have hitherto divided, distracted, and disgraced the American
people, and to direct it exclusively to the contemplation and support
of your national honor and national interests, our first and only object
wiU be effected.
" That tempest of passion and of lawless violence which has hitherto
almost exclusively raged in the countries of the old world, which has
ravaged the fairest portions of the earth, and caused her sons to drink
deep of the cup of human misery — not satiated by the myriads of vic
tims which, have been sacrificed at its shrine, has reached our hitherto
peaceful shores. After years of forbearance in despite of concessions
without number, and we had almost said, without Umitation, that cruel
and unrelenting spirit of oppression and injustice which has for centu
ries characterized the British cabinet, overwhelmed nation after nation,
and caused humanity to shed tears of blood, has involved us in a war, —
on the termination of which are staked the present honor, and the
future welfare of America,
" While thus engaged in an arduous and interesting struggle with the
open enemies of our land from without, the formation of your govern
ment requires that you should exercise the elective franchise, — a right
which in every other country has been destroyed by the ruthless hand
of power, or blasted by the unhaUowed touch of corruption; but
which, by the blessings of a munificent Providence, has as yet been
preserved to you in its purity.
" The selection of your most important functionaries is at hand. In

REPUBLICAN ADDRESS. 367
a government Uke ours, where aU power and sovereignty rest with the
people, the exercise of this right and the consequent expression of pub
lic interest and public feeling, is, on ordinary occasions, a matter of
deep concern, but at a period Uke the present, of vital importance ; —
to satisfy you of that importance, and to advise you in its exercise, is
the object of this address."
After presenting a clear and succinct account of the
origin and causes of the war, showing the necessity
that forced its declaration upon the government ofthe
United States, and referring to the temporary repeal
of the orders in council, and their reenactment, the
address continues : —
" The American people — a people rich in resources, possessed of a
high sense of national honor, the only free people on earth, — had re
solved in the face of an observing world, that those orders were a di
rect attack upon their sovereignty — that a submission to them involved
a surrender of their independence ; and a solemn determination to ad
here to them, was officially declared by the ruler of the British nation.
Thus situated, what was your government to do ? Was there room
for doubt or hesitation as to the hostile views of England ? No. lest
such doubts might prevent a rupture, to acts of violent injustice were
continually added acts of the most opprobrious insult. While the
formal relations of amity remained yet unbroken — while peace was yet
supposed to exist — in cool blood an unprovoked attack is made upon
one of your national ships, and several American citizens basely and
cowardly murdered. At the moment your feelings were at the highest
pitch of irritation in consequence of the perfidious disavowal of Ers
kine's agreement, a minister is sent, not to minister to your rights — not
to extenuate the conduct of his predecessor-'-but to beard your Execu
tive — to add insult to injury ; and to fling contumely and reproach in
the face of the Executive of the American nation, in the presence of
the American people.

368 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
" To cap the cUmax of her iniquity ; to fill up the measure of our
wrongs ; she resolved to persist in another measure, surpassed by none
in flagrant enormity — a measure which of itself was adequate cause of
war — a measure which had excited the UveUest solicitude, and received
the unremitting attention of every administration of our government,
from the time of Washington to the present day ; the wicked, the odi
ous and detestable practice of impressing American seamen into her
service ; of entombing our sons within the walls of her ships of war ;
compelling them to waste their lives, and spill their blood in the ser
vice of a foreign government — a practice which subjected every Ameri
can tar to the violence and petty tyranny of a British midshipman,
and many of them to a Ufe of the most gaUing servitude — a practice
which never can be submitted to by a nation professing claims to free
dom ; which can never be acquiesced in by government without rescind
ing the great article of our safety, the reciprocity of obedience and pro
tection between the rulers and the ruled.
" Under such accumulated circumstances of insult and of injury, we
ask again, what was your government to do ? We put the question
not ' to that faction which misrepresents the government to the people,
and the people to the government ; traduces one half the nation to ca
jole the other — and by keeping up distrust and division, wishes to be
come the proud arbiter of the fortune and fate of America,' — not to
them, but to every sound head and honest heart in the nation, it is that
we put the question, — What was your government to do ? Was she
basely and ingloriously to abandon the rights for which you and your
fathers fought and bled ? Was she so early to cower to the nation
which has sought to strangle us in our infancy, and which has never
ceased to retard our approach to manhood? No: we wUl not for a
moment doubt, that every man who is in truth and fact an American
will say that war, and war alone, was our only refuge from national
degradation — our only course to national prosperity 1
" FeUow-citizens — throughout the whole period of the poUtical
struggles, which, if they have not absolutely disgraced, have certainly
not exalted our character, no remark was more common — no expecta
tion more cheerfuUy indulged in— than that those severe and malevo-

REPUBLICAN ADDRESS. 369
lent contentions would only be sustained in time of peace ; that when
tho country should be involved in war, every wish, and every senti
ment would be exclusively American. But unfortunately for our
country, those reasonable expectations have not been realized, notwith
standing every one knows, that the power of declaring war, and the
duty of supporting it, belong to the General Government ; notwith
standing that the constitutional remedy for the removal of the men to
whom this power is thus delegated, has recently been afforded ; not
withstanding the reelection of the same president by whom this war
was commenced, and a majority of representatives, whose estimate of
our rights, and whose views are similar to those who first declared it ;
men, who, by the provisions of the constitution, must retain their re
spective stations for a period of such duration, as precludes a continued
opposition of their measures without a complete destruction of our
national interest — an opposition at once unceasing and malignant, is
still continued, to every measure of the administration. * * * *
Among the most prominent of those charges, [charges against the
state and national administrations,] is that of enmity to commerce, on
the part of the republican administrations. Never was there a calum
ny more wicked. Enmity to commerce ! We ask, and w<3 ask em
phatically, where is the evidence of it ? What is the tasis on which
they rest their claim to public confidence ? It is that the administra
tion is engaged in a war which they claim to be unpopular. What are
the causes for which this war is waged, and which have hitherto em
broiled us with the nations of Europe ? They are the violation of our
commercial rights, and the impressment of our seamen 1 The adminis
tration then, are jeopardizing tbcir interest with the people; they
furnish weapons of offence to tfieir adversaries ; they brave all dangers,
for the maintenance and support of our commercial rights ; and yet
they are the enemies of commerce ! Can such base sophistry, such
contemptible nonsense, impose on the credulity, or pervert the under
standing of a single honest man ?
" Suffer not yourselves to be deceived by the pretence, that because
Great Britain has been forced by her subjects to make a qualified re
peal of her orders, our government ought to abandon her ground.
24

370 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
That ground was taken to resist two great and crying grievances, the
destruction of our commerce and the impressment of our seamen. The
latter is the most important, in proportion as we prefer the liberty and
lives of our citizens to their property. Distrust, therefore, the man
who could advise your government at any time, and more especially, at
this time, — when your brave sailors are exciting the admiration, and
forcing the respect of an astonished world ; when their deeds of heroic
valor make old Ocean smile at the humiUation of her ancient tyrant —
at such a time, we say again, mark the man who would countenance
government in commuting our sailors' rights for the safety of our
merchants' goods. * * * *
" Fellow-citizens — should those poUtical witlings, who are not only
ignorant themselves of the leading points of controversy in our dis
putes with the belligerents, but who are uniformly assaUing you as
men destitute at once of spirit and of judgment — should they point to
the wars which agitate and have convulsed Europe, as arguments
against the prosecution of that just and necessary one which has been
forced upon us, we know that you wiU indignantly repel the unfounded
suggestion. The wars of Europe are waged by monarchs, to gratify
their individual malice, their individual caprice, and to satiate their law
less ambition. Ours is in defence of rights which must be defended,
or our glory as a nation will be extinguished — the sun of our greatness
will set forever. As well might it have been said during the revolution
that war should not be "waged, because wars had desolated Europe.
The same rights you then fought to obtain you must now fight to pre
serve—the contest is the same Row as it was then— and the feelings,
which then agitated the public mind, which on the one hand supported,
and on the other sought to destroy, the liberties of the country, wiU be
seen and felt in the conduct of the men of fliis day. * * * *
" We soUcit the honest men of all parties— to remember that ours is the
last republic— that all the influence of the crowned heads of Europe
has been exerted to propagate the doctrine, that a government like
ours can never stand the rude shock of war; to reflect that this is the
first occasion in which this government has been engaged in a war, and
that the great and interesting questions, whether man is capable of

support of madison's administration. 371
self-government, whether our repubUc must go the way of its prede
cessors, or whether, supported by the hearts and arms of her free citi
zens, she shall deride the revilings, and defeat the machinations of her
enemies, are now to be tried."
After reading this address, no one could mistake the
position which Mr. Van Buren occupied in relation to
the war. Indeed, had it not been for the support of
Mr. Clinton by the federalists in 1812, this would never
have been questioned. The truth was, that nearly all
the republican members of the New York legislature
who were the most active in procuring the original
nomination of Mr. Clinton, and in securing electors
friendly to him, cordially and heartily supported the
war measures of the national administration. This
was especially true of Mr. Van Buren. He approved
of the declaration of war from the first, and at all
times, and on all occasions, defended the policy and
the measures of Mr. Madison. His support of • Mr.
Clinton was a mere matter of personal preference, and
he was mainly influenced in this by his ardent desire
to see the war prosecuted with greater vigor. At the
time, his position was well understood. Notwithstand
ing he had preferred Mr. Clinton to Mr. Madison,
when the latter was reelected, he was ranked among
the firmest friends of his administration, and was hon
ored with repeated marks of the confidence reposed in
his political fidelity as well as in his ability as a law
yer. — Mr. Dallas, afterward the secretary of the treas
ury, being unable to attend the court martial held for

372 martin van buren.
the trial of General Hull, appointed Mr. Van Buren as
special judge advocate, and he conducted this impor
tant proceeding, in a manner highly creditable to him
self, and to the entire satisfaction of the government.
Subsequently, he was appointed to perform the same
duty on the trial of General Wilkinson, but the latter
objected to the appearance of a special judge advocate,
and his objection was sustained by the court.
At the extra session of the legislature in the fall of
1812, Mr. Van Buren voted for a resolution authorizing
the comptroller of the state to subscribe half a million
of dollars to the United States' loan of sixteen millions,
which passed the Senate, but was defeated by the fed
eralists in the Assembly. In the winter of 1813, he
advocated a proposition to loan the national govern
ment half a million of dollars, but this also failed.
Mr. Van Buren entered public life with strong par
tialities in favor of De Wit Clinton. The political rela
tions between them, however, were subsequently dis
solved in 1813, and they a few years afterwards became
members of different political parties, — positions which
they continued to occupy till the death of Mr. Clin
ton. Political animosities in those days were pecu
liarly violent, and it was impossible that the differences
between them should not affect their private relations.
Those were for many years of an unfriendly character,
and at times elicited bitter and acrimonious feelings,
but which do not appear to have been implacable on
either side.

SPEECH BEFORE THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. 373
Governor Tompkins was reelected in the spring of
1813, but owing to the disaffection of Mr. Clinton and
his personal friends, the federalists maintained their
ascendency in the lower branch of the legislature.
Consequently, nothing could be done, as the republican
majorit)' in the Senate desired, toward sustaining and
supporting the general government in the prosecution
of the war. The legislative session commencing in
January, 1814, was characterized, therefore, by the
usual disagreements between the two houses, and the
scenes of political violence, of crimination and recrimi
nation, to which they always give rise. The Senate
promptly passed such acts as the exigencies of the
country seemed to require, but the other house as
promptly rejected them. In order to reconcile these
differences, committees of conference were frequently
appointed. " In these conferences the measures in
dispute were publicly discussed, and the discussion em
braced the general policy of the administration and the
expediency of the war. The exciting nature of the
questions thus debated, the solemnity of the occasion,
the discussions being .conducted in the presence of the
two houses, and the brilliant talents of the parties to
the controversy, drew vast audiences, and presented a
field for the display of eloquence unsurpassed, in dignity
and interest, by the assemblies of ancient Greece.
Mr. Van Buren was always the leading speaker on the
part of the Senate ; and by the vigor of his logic, his
acuteness and dexterity in debate, and the patriotic

374 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
spirit of his sentiments, commanded great applause.
A speech which he delivered on one of those occasions
was so replete with eloquence and patriotic views, that
a committee*appointed by the republicans of Albany,
formally presented him the thanks of the party, and
requested a copy for publication. This request could
not be complied with, as the speech had been delivered
entirely without notes." f
Rarely has so high a reputation as a legislator been
achieved in so brief a time, as in the case of Mr. Van
Buren. When first elected to the Senate, he was com
paratively little known beyond the limits of Columbia
and the adjoining counties, but he very soon became
the acknowledged leader of the republican phalanx in
the legislature. A friend of the writer, and a warm
admirer of Mr. Van Buren, then a resident of Albany,
describes his appearance when he first came to that
city as a senator, as being anything else than pre
possessing. Dressed in a green coat, buff breeches,
and white topped boots, and, withal, bearing himself
somewhat jantily, he looked much more like a sports
man than a legislator. Only a few months passed by,
however, before his opinions and his wishes were re
garded with deference in the political circles of the
capital. He was found to be shrewd and intelligent ;
well versed in the knowledge of human nature; a
skilful and ready debater ; powerful in argument, and
eloquent, or at least interesting, on all occasions ; cool
* William James, Ellsba Jenkins, and Isaiah Townsend, composed the committee.
t Holland's Life of Van Buren, p. 103.

WAR MEASURES. 375
and cautious in deliberation, but prompt and energetic
in execution, — and possessing such traits, it was not
difficult for him to reach that commanding position
which his talents enabled him to maintain.
The patriotic efforts of Mr. Van Buren, supported
though they were by the eloquence of Nathan Sanford
and Erastus Root, proved unavailing ; and the year
1813 rolled away, without any effort having been made
in support of the war, worthy of the character and
position of the great state of New York. But the war
was popular with the people, and at the annual election
in the spring of 1814, the republicans elected a majority
of the members of the assembly, and thus secured both
branches of the legislature.
Governor Tompkins lost no time in convening the
new legislature. On account of the exposed condition
of the state, and in view of the unexampled severity
with which the war had been waged on the Atlantic
coast during the summer, an extra session was called,
which commenced in September. Mr. Van Buren
again prepared the address in reply to the governor's
speech. This paper abounded in patriotic sentiments,
and. in strong and eloquent language exhorted the
people of the state to forget their party divisions, and
to rally like brethren to the defence of the national
honor and their common country.
At this session several war measures of a most de
cided character were proposed and adopted. Among
them were acts to encourage privateering, and to au-

376 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
thorize the raising of troops for the defence of the
state, the latter of which was drafted by Mr. Van
Buren. This act, commonly known as " the classifi
cation law," authorized the governor to place at the
disposal of the general government twelve thousand
men for two years, who were to be raised by classifica
tions of the militia of the state ; and it was afterward
justly characterized by Senator Benton, of Missouri,
as " the most energetic war measure ever adopted in
our America." The federalists in the New York legis
lature resisted the passage of the bill at every step,
and sought to render it and its author unpopular and
odious, by calling it the " conscription bill." It finally
passed both houses, and became a law on the 24th of
October. Previous to this time a copy of it had been
sent to Mr. Monroe, the then secretary of war, and it
may have suggested to him some of the features of the
similar measure proposed by him in his report to Con
gress of the 15th of October.
In the council of revision, both the act to encourage
privateering, and the classification law, encountered the
warm and determined opposition of Chancellor Kent,
who, in politics, was a federal of the old school. As a
member of the council he delivered opinions adverse
to the bills, which were overruled by the other mem
bers, but made public through the Albany papers.
Samuel Young, the speaker of the assembly, immedi
ately entered the lists in defence of the classification
law, and in several articles signed "Juris Consultus,"

CLASSIFICATION LAW. 377
to which the chancellor replied under the signature of
"Amicus Curiae',' defended the measure with great
ability.* Mr. Van Buren was well satisfied with what
Colonel Young had said upon the subject of the im
peached law ; but as the chancellor had dwelt at much
length, and with unusual earnestness, on the unconsti
tutionality and the immoral tendencies of the act to
encourage privateering, he came to the aid of his
friend, and examined the strictures of the chancellor
in a number of ably written papers signed "Amicus
Juris Consultus." The articles written by Mr. Van
Buren reviewed the whole ground of controversy in
respect to both measures, but were chiefly confined to
the objections of the chancellor to the act to encourage
privateering. At the next regular session of the legislature, which
commenced in January, 1815, Mr. Van Buren again
took the lead in bringing forward and advocating the
adoption of war measures. On his motion a committee
was appointed, of which he was made chairman, to
consider whether any, and what, additional provisions
were required to carry the classification law into suc
cessful operation ; in which duty he was engaged, when
the intelligence was received that a treaty of peace
had been signed in the month of December previous.
On the 13th of February, 1815, he was appointed on
a committee to prepare resolutions expressing the sen
timents of the legislature in relation to the brilliant
victory of General Jackson at New Orleans ; and as a
* The original bill, in Mr. Van Buren's handwriting, is now on tlie flies of the
Senate.

378 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
member of the committee, he prepared the appropriate
preamble and resolutions reported to the Senate. At
the same session, he made an able report, from a com
mittee of which he was chairman, recommending a
loan to the general government for the immediate pay
ment of the militia of the state who had been called
into the national service.
After the peace, at the regular session of the legisla
ture in the winter of 1816, Mr. Van Buren once more
referred to the recent contest, in an answer to the
governor's speech which he prepared, as a war, " not
only righteous in its origin but successful in its prose
cution." — Thus, from the commencement to the close
of hostilities, was he intimately identified, in his capa
city as a member of the New York legislature, with
"the second war of Independence." No man con
tributed more than he to the adoption of the important
war measures which have been mentioned. Through
out the contest he supported and defended both the
national and state administrations ; he Counselled and
advised with Governor Tompkins, and sustained him
in the energetic and decided course which he saw fit
to pursue, in that dark period of the struggle, when a
powerful enemy were plundering and devastating our
frontier towns, and treason was plotting at Hartford.
His senatorial duties did not withdraw Mr. Van
Buren from his profession, but he continued its practice
with a daily increasing reputation. The legal knowl
edge and ability displayed in his forensic encounters

PROFESSIONAL CAREER. 379
before the Supreme Court when in session at the capi
tol, and in his opinions as a member of the Court of
Errors, together with the talent exhibited by him in the
debates in the Senate, led to his appointment, in the
month of February, 1815, as attorney general of the
state, in the place of Abraham Van Vechten. During
the same session of the legislature, he was also ap
pointed one of the regents of the university.
After his appointment as attorney general, his pro
fessional business, aside from that connected with his
office, at once became more extensive ; and in addition
to the consideration and influence which naturally
follow success in such a career, he reaped an abundant
harvest of wealth and fame. He was often called to
distant sections of the state, to attend the circuits ; and
both here, and before the court in bank, he was accus
tomed to meet, either as associate counsel, or as oppo
nent, the leading members of the bar of New York,
conspicuous among whom were Aaron Burr, Abraham
Van Vechten, Thomas Addis Emmett, John Wells,
John V. Henry, Elisha Williams, Samuel Jones, and
Thomas J. Oakley. In comparison with these eminent
advocates Mr. Van Buren suffered nothing ; and from
the time of his appointment as attorney general till his
final retirement from the bar, his life presents an array
of professional triumphs and distinctions not often sur
passed in brilliancy.
He was reelected to the Senate in the spring of 1816,
and shortly afterward removed to the city of Albany,

380 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
on account of the increase of his professional business,
and in order to discharge the duties of his office with
greater ease and dispatch. In 1817, he took into part
nership his his distinguished pupil, Benjamin F. Butler,
who has reflected so much honor on his preceptor, and
afterward became attorney general of the United
States and secretary of war ad interim, and is now
justly considered one of the ablest lawyers in the state
and nation. Mr. Butler remained connected with him
in business, till his election to the United States' Senate
in 1821, with the exception of a few months in 1819,
which the former spent at Sandy Hill in charge of the
Washington and Warren bank. After his election as
a senator in Congress, Mr. Van Buren partially with
drew from practice, leaving his large business to Mr.
Butler. He was occasionally employed, however, in
important causes. In 1823, he argued the case of
Wilkes against Lion, and in 1828, that of Varick
against Johnson, before the Court of Errors. Both
these cases were of great importance, as property to a
very large amount depended on the decisions ; the ar
guments of Mr. Van Buren were reported at length,
and they may be regarded as favorable specimens of
forensic eloquence.* He appeared for the last time
before a jury in the trial of the Astor case, and that
of the Sailors' Snug Harbor, in the city of New York,
in the fall of 1827.
During the war, the canal projects, in the advocacy
* Cowen's Reports, vol. u. p. 333 ; WendeU, voL ii p. 166.

SUPPORT OF THE CANAL PROJECT. 381
of which De Witt Clinton took so conspicuous a part,
were necessarily laid aside. But on the return of
peace, the subject was again agitated with increased
earnestness. The examinations and surveys of the
commissioners were laid before the legislature in
March, 1816. On the 21st instant, a committee of the
assembly reported in favor of the immediate construc
tion of the Erie and Champlain canals, and on the 13th
of April, an act passed that body providing for accu
rate surveys and estimates, and the commencement of
the work without delay. But five days of the session
remained for the consideration of the subject in the
Senate. Mr. Van Buren was a sincere friend fo the
measure, but nearly all of his Bucktail or republican
associates, and some of the friends of Rufus King,
being bitterly hostile to Mr. Clinton, were opposed to
it ; and as the surveys and estimates which had been
made were loose and inaccurate, and little to be relied
on, he thought if the matter was pressed forward pre
maturely, its ultimate success would be prejudiced.
The bill was not taken up in the Senate till just before
the close of the session, on the 16th of April ; and for
the reason above stated, Mr. Van Buren moved to
strike out that part of the bill authorizing the immedi
ate commencement of the work. This motion pre
vailed by an almost unanimous vote, and the assembly
concurred in the amendment. At the ensuing session,
in the winter of 1817, the measure was once more pro
posed, and on the 11th of April, the assembly passed a

382 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
bill authorizing the immediate commencement of the
work. The desired surveys and estimates having now
been made and procured, no reason existed for further
delay, and Mr. Van Buren advocated the passage of
the bill in the Senate with great zeal and with his usual
ability. His speech on the subject is said to have
been " a masterly effort ;" and when he had concluded
it, " Mr. Clinton, who had been an attentive listener in
the Senate chamber, breaking through that reserve
which political collisions had created, approached him,
and expressed his thanks for his exertions in the most
flattering terms." *
Through the persuasions of Mr. Van Buren, a num
ber of the Bucktail senators were induced to vote for
the Canal bill, and on the 15th of April, 1817, it finally
passed the Senate, with his vote, and, in no small de
gree, by reason of his influence.
Besides his support of the war measures and the
canal project, Mr. Van Buren was identified with other
important questions considered in the legislature while
he was a member of the Senate. He was one of the
earliest advocates of a free system of banking, and
made repeated efforts to procure the repeal of the re
straining law. He also introduced a bill to abolish im
prisonment for debt, and urged its passage for several
years in succession. His efforts in behalf of this great
reform in the civil code of the state ultimately secured
a favorable vote in the Senate, but the time had not
* Hosack's Life of Clinton, p. 451. — See also p. 105 et seq.

SUPPORT OF GOVERNOR TOMPKINS. 383
yet arrived for such a work of justice and charity, and
the bill failed in the assembly. He was one of the
most prominent advocates of the abolition of slavery
in the state of New York, which Governor Tompkins
so earnestly recommended. In regard to the Missouri
question, he did not approve of the violent and denun
ciatory course of many politicians in the northern
states, but he voted for a resolution, in 1820, which
passed the legislature by an unanimous vote, instruct
ing the senators and requesting the representatives of
the state in Congress, to oppose the admission as a state
into the union of any territory not comprised within
the original boundaries of the United States, without
making the prohibition of slavery therein an indispen
sable condition of admission. The sentiment embodied
in this resolution was one which generally prevailed
among the citizens of the state, and which met with
his approbation ; but after the question had been settled
by the compromise, he acquiesced in the decision of
Congress, and opposed any further agitation.
In the debates upon the disputed accounts of Gover
nor Tompkins he took an active part, and at the winter
session of 1820, he occupied a portion of two days in
the delivery of one of the ablest and most effective
speeches which had been delivered in that body for
several years. He was listened to with deep and
marked attention, and the eloquent terms in which
he alluded to the patriotic services of his friend,

384 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
made a powerful impression upon the minds of his
hearers. Mr. Van Buren cheerfully supported Governor
Tompkins for reelection in 1816, and also as a candi
date for the vice-presidency in the same year. Mr.
Hammond does the former great injustice in imputing
to him bad faith in carrying out the expressed wishes of
the republican legislative caucus by which, in the month
of February, 1816, Governor Tompkins was put in
nomination for the presidency.* Mr. Van Buren
would most cheerfully have aided in raising Governor
Tompkins to the presidency, but knew very well that
it was then impossible to do so. As between Mr.
Crawford and Mr. Monroe, he preferred the former ;
but after the decision of the congressional caucus, he
uniformly supported Mr. Monroe as the regular can
didate of the republican party. He had the right to
differ with Governor Tompkins, if he saw fit, and
he would not have hesitated to exercise it, but his
course was perfectly satisfactory to that gentleman.
From 1812 to the death of Governor Tompkins, he
was his intimate and confidential friend, and the con
fidence of the former in the sincerity of his friendship
was never shaken.
In 1817, Mr. Van Buren endeavored to prevent the
nomination of De Witt Clinton as the successor of
* Political History, vol. i. p. 411 (note) — See also ante, p. 19V,
et seq.

OPPOSITION TO MR. CLINTON. 385
Governor Tompkins. But the canal interest was too
powerful. The star of Mr. Clinton was in the
ascendant — •' A Jove principium, Jovis omnia plena."
Mr. Clinton was not in good standing in the republican
party, and all its leading members, with the exception
of Judge Spencer, were opposed to his nomination.
But the people were determined that he should be gov
ernor, and Mr. Van Buren was forced to submit to a
decision that overruled the behests of party.
When Mr. Clinton was duly nominated, Mr. Van
Buren supported him as the republican candidate, but
there was no cordiality of feeling between them. They
viewed each other as personal rivals ; and as soon as
Mr. Clinton manifested a disposition to form a party
devoted to him, from the federalists and that small por
tion of the old republican party who faithfully adhered
to his fortunes, Mr. Van Buren felt himself justified,
as a matter of self-defence, in making the effort to re
organize the republican party of New York by the
exclusion of the Clintonians. In this he was success
ful. He carried with him the great majority of the
republicans of the state, and in 1820 he was mainly
instrumental in bringing forward Governor Tompkins
in opposition to Mr. Clinton. He also supported Colo
nel Young, in 1824, and Judge Rochester in 1826, as
the candidates of the republican party opposed to Mr.
Clinton. - 25

386 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
Notwithstanding their respective positions as the
leaders of opposing parties — and the failure of mu
tual friends, to reconcile the political differences that
separated them — Mr. Clinton and Mr. Van Buren
cannot be said to have been personal enemies ; and
while the former, especially during the latter years of
his life, repeatedly expressed his confidence in the per
sonal integrity of Mr. Van Buren, and his respect for his
talents, the latter never withdrew from his great rival
that tribute of praise which was his due. When the
sudden death of Mr. Clinton was made known at
Washington, a meeting of the New York senators and
representatives was held, at which Mr. Van Buren of
fered resolutions of condolence, prefacing their intro
duction with the following remarks alike creditable to
his head and his heart.
" Ma. Chairman : — We have met to pay a tribute of respect to the
memory of our late Governor and distinguished fellow-citizen, De Witt
CUnton. Some of our brethren have been so kind as to ask me to pre
pare a suitable expression of our feelings ; and I have, in pursuance
of their wishes, drawn up what has occurred to me as proper to be
said on the occasion. Before I submit it to the consideration of the
meeting, I beg to be indulged in a few brief remarks. I can say
notliing of the deceased, that is not familiar to you all. To aU he was
personally known, and to many of us intimately and familiarly, from
our earliest infancy. The high order of his talents, the untiring zeal
and great success with which those talents have, through a series of
years, been devoted to the prosecution of plans of great pubUc utiUty,
are also known to you all, and by all, I am satisfied, duly appreciated.
The subject can derive no additional interest or importance from any eulo
gy of mine. All other considerations out of view, the single fact that the
greatest public improvement of the age in which we live, was com-

REMARKS ON THE DEATH OF CLINTON. 387
menced under the guidance of his counsels, and splendidly accomplished
under his immediate auspices, is of itself sufficient to ful the ambition
of any man, and to give glory to any name. But, as has been justly
said, his life, and character, and conduct, have become the property of
the historian ; and there is no reason to doubt that history will do him
justice. The triumph of liis talents and patriotism, cannot fail to be
come monuments of high and enduring fame. We cannot, indeed, but
remember, that in our public career, collisions of opinion and action, at
once extensive, earnest, and enduring, have arisen between the deceased
and many of us. For myself, sir, it gives me a-deepfelt, though melan
choly satisfaction, to know, and more so, to be conscious, that the de
ceased also felt and acknowledged, that our political differences have
been wholly free from that most venomous and corroding of aU poisons
— personal hatred.
" But in other respects it is now immaterial what was the character
of those colUsions. They have been turned to nothing, and less than
nothing, by the event we deplore ; and I doubt not that we wUl, with
one voice and one heart, yield to his memory the well-deserved tribute
of our respect for his name, and our warmest gratitude for his great
and signal services. For myself, sir, so strong, so sincere, and so en
grossing is that feeling, tliat I, who, whilst living, never — no, never !— -
envied him anything, now that he has fallen, am greatly tempted to
envy him his grave, with its honors.
" Of this, the most afflicting of all bereavements, that has faUen on
his wretched and desponding family, what shall I say? — Nothing.
Their grief is too sacred for description ; justice can alone be done to
it by those deep and silent, but agonizing feelings, which on their ac
count pervade every bosom."
In the bitter and heated strife between the Clintoni
ans and Bucktails Mr. Van Buren was not overlooked.
When the former obtained the control of the council
of appointment, he was removed from the office of
attorney general, in July, 1819. In the following year,

388 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
the republicans regained the ascendency in the legisla
ture, though Mr. Clinton was reelected, and his party
friends offered to reinstate him in the office from which
he had been ejected, but he declined the appointment.
In the fall of 1819, just before the regular session of
the legislature in 1820, Mr. Van Buren published an
able pamphlet, entitled " Considerations in favor of the
appointment of Rufus King to the Senate of the United
States," written by him and William L. Marcy, subse
quently governor of the state, but mainly prepared by
himself. There were then three parties in the legisla
ture, — the federalists, the Clintonians, and the republi
cans, — neither of which had a majority. At the pre
vious session a similar state of things had existed, and
neither party had been able to elect their candidate for
senator. Mr. King had previously filled the office, and
as he was not friendly to Mr. Clinton, Mr. Van Buren
advised the Bucktail members to support him, in con
sideration of his patriotic efforts and services during
the war of 1812. Mr. King was reelected by the
almost unanimous vote of the legislature, and he and
his friends ultimately acted with the republicans in
opposition to Mr. Clinton's administration.
Mr. Van Buren's second term as state senator ex
pired in 1820, and he was not a candidate for reelec
tion. He now devoted his whole time to the practice
of his profession in the city of Albany, of which he
remained a resident. But it is unnatural, if not often
impossible, for an active political leader, such as was

ELECTED TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 389
Mr. Van Buren, to turn his back upon his party. To
say nothing of personal ambition, from whose influence
few are exempt, there are a thousand other consider
ations, which, as it were, seem to compel him to con
tinue in the career upon which he has entered. The
friends of Mr. Van Buren ardently desired to secure
his services to the state and nation in a higher and
more honorable sphere, and their wishes were gratified
by his election to the Senate of the United States on
the 6th day of February, 1821, as the successor of
Nathan Sanford. Mr. Sanford was a republican and
a candidate before the New York legislature for reelec
tion, but the superior fitness of Mr. Van Buren for the
station was acknowledged by all, and he received more
than two thirds of the votes in the republican caucus.
In the legislature the Clintonians and federalists, merely
out of opposition to Mr. Van Buren, voted for Mr.
Sanford, but not with his consent or approbation. When
the next vacancy occurred, Mr. Sanford was again re
turned to the Senate by his republican friends, in the
place of Mr. King.
Mr. Van Buren was not a member of the legislature
when the law providing for a constitutional convention
was passed, and as he resided in a county a majority
of whose electors were politically opposed to him, he
did not suppose that he would be chosen a delegate to
that body. He had ever been a warm friend of the
measure, and on account of his active agency in pro
curing the passage of the law, and his eminent talents,

390 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
he was, contrary to his expectations, elected as a dele
gate from the strong republican county of Otsego.
The convention of 1821 was composed ofthe ablest
men belonging to the great political parties in New
York. Among them were James Kent, Rufus King,
Ambrose Spencer, Daniel D. Tompkins, Erastus Root,
Samuel Young, William W. Van Ness, Jonas Piatt,
Stephen Van Rensselaer, Abraham Van Vechten, James
Tallmadge, Elisha Williams, Peter R. Livingston and
Nathan Sanford. Mr. Van Buren was not the least
among the foremost. He took part in all the important
discussions, and his friends may recur to his course in
this body with proud satisfaction, as that of a high-
minded and independent statesman.
There were three parties in the convention : the
Clintonians and the federalists, who were opposed to
making many important changes, and desired to retain
most of the old governmental machinery ; the radical
republicans, who sought to overturn the whole system
of the state government ; and the conservative republi-
cans, who were opposed to hasty legislation and wished
to preserve what was good and valuable, and to substi
tute for that which was bad, wise and prudent measures
of reform. His position throughout was eminently
conservative. His speeches, of which he delivered a
number, were very able ; there was none of that ad
caplandum sort of eloquence about them calculated to
touch the prejudices or the passions ofthe multitude, but
the sentiments were high-toned, elevated, and manly.

SPEECH ON THE FREEHOLD QUALIFICATION. 391
One of his ablest efforts was made in support of the
abolition of the council of revision, and the entire
separation of the judiciary from the legislative power.
He opposed the reduction of the gubernatorial term
from three years to one year, and supported the propo
sition adopted by the convention limiting the term to
two years. He also advocated the amendment, cor
responding to the similar feature in the federal consti
tution, conferring the veto power upon the governor
instead of the council of revision. He spoke and
voted, too, in favor of abolishing the freehold qualifica
tion of voters. Judge Spencer proposed, as an amend
ment to the original report of the committee on the
subject of the extension of the right of suffrage which
gave the right to vote to persons paying taxes, or work
ing on the highways, or doing military duty — to require
as a qualification to vote for senators, a freehold estate
of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, as in the
old constitution. One of Mr. Van Buren's best speeches
was made in opposition to the amendment offered by
Judge Spencer, and the annexed extracts from it will
show, both his general views upon the subject, and the
spirit and temper in which he discussed the great topics
brought before the convention : —
" I am opposed to the amendment under consideration, offered by
the gentleman from Albany (Chief Justice Spencer ;) and I will beg
the indulgence of the committee, for a short time, while I shall attempt
to explain the reasons, which, in my opinion, require its rejection. The
extreme importance which the honorable mover has attached to the

392 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
subject, and the sombre and frightful picture which has been drawn by
his colleague, (Chancellor Kent,) of the alarming consequences which
will result from the adoption of a course different from the one recom
mended, renders it a duty, which those who entertam a contrary
opinion, owe to themselves and their constituents, to explain the mo
tives which govern them. If a stranger had heard the discussions on
this subject, and had been acquainted with the character of our people,
and the character and standing of those, who find it their duty to op
pose this measure, he might weU have supposed, that we were on the
point of prostrating with lawless violence, one of the fairest and firm
est pillars of the government, and of introducing into the sanctuary of
the constitution, a mob or a rabble, violent and disorganizing as were
the Jacobins of France, and furious and visionary as the radicals of
England are, by some gentlemen, supposed to be. The honorable
gentleman from Albany (Chancellor Kent,) tells us, that if we send the
constitution to the people, without the provision contemplated by the
proposition now under consideration, it wiU meet with the scorn of the
wise, and be haUed with exultation by the vicious and the profligate.
I entertain a high personal respect for the mover of this amendment,
and also for his learned colleague, who has so eloquently and patheti
cally described to us the many evUs and miseries which its rejection
will occasion : I declare my entire conviction of his sincerity in what
he has uttered ; his simplicity of character, which he has himself so
feeUngly described, his known candor and purity of character, would
forbid any one to doubt, that he spoke the sentiments of his heart.
But beUeving as I do, that those fears and apprehensions are whoUy
without foundation, it cannot be expected, that I will suffer them to
govern my conduct. * * * *
" There are two words which came into common use with our revo
lutionary struggle ; words which contain an abridgment of our political
rights ; words which, at that day, had a taUsmanic effect — which led
our fathers from the bosoms of their families to the tented field — which
for several long years of toU and suffering kept them to their arms —
and which finally conducted them to a glorious triumph. They are
'Taxation' and 'Representation,' — nor did they lose their influence

SPEECH ON THE FREEHOLD QUALIFICATION. 393
with the close of that struggle. They are never heard in our halls of
legislation, without bringing to our recoUections the consecrated feelings
of those who won our liberties, or without reminding us of everything
that is sacred in principle. * * * *
" Apply for a moment the principles they inculcate to the question
under consideration, and let its merits be thereby tested. Are those of
your citizens represented, whose voices are never heard in your Sen
ate ? Are these citizens in any degree represented or heard, in the
formation of your courts of justice, from the highest to the lowest ?
Is, then, representation in one branch of the legislature, which by itself
can do nothing — which instead of securing to them the blessings of
legislation, only enables them to prevent it as an evil — anything more
than a shadow ? Is it not emphatically ' keeping the word of promise
to the ear, and breaking it to the hope V Is it not even less than the
virtual representation, with which our fathers were attempted to be ap
peased by their oppressors ? It is even so ; and if so, can we, as long
as this distinction is retained, hold up our heads, and, without blush
ing, pretend to be the advocates for that special canon of political
rights, that taxation and representation are, and ever should be, indis
soluble? I think not.
" In whose name, aud for whose benefit, I inquire, are we caUed upon
to disappoint the just expectations of our constituents, and to persevere
in what I cannot but regard as a violation of principle ? It is in the
name, and for the security of 'farmers' that we are called upon to
adopt this measure. This is, indeed, acting in an imposing name ; and
they who use it know full well that it is so. It is the boast, the pride,
and the security of this nation, that she has in her bosom a body of
men who, for sobriety, integrity, industry and patriotism, are unequalled
by the cultivators of the earth in any part of the known world, —
nay more, to compare them with the men of similar pursuits in other
countries, is to degrade them. And woful must be our degeneracy,
before anything which might be supposed to affect the interests of the
farmers of this country, can be listened to with indifference by those
who govern us.
" I cannot yield to any man in respect for this invaluable class of
17*

394 MARTIN VAN BUREN.

our

citizens, nor in zeal for their support ; but how does this matter
stand ? Is the allegation that we are violating the wishes, and tamper
ing with the security of the farmers, founded in fact, or is it merely
colorable! Who, I ask, have hitherto constituted a majority of the
voters of the state ? The farmers I Who called for, and insisted upon
the convention? Farmers and freeholders I Who passed the law ad
mitting those who were not electors, to a free participation in the de
cision of the question of Convention or No Convention, and also in the
choice of delegates to that body? A Legislature, a majority of whom
were farmers, and probably every one of them freeholders, of the value
of two hundred and fifty doUars and upwards ! The farmers of this
state have, by an overwhelming majority, admitted those who were not
freeholders, to a full participation with themselves in every stage of
this great effort to amend our constitution, and to ameUorate the con
dition of the people -.—Can I then, ought I, to be told, that they wUl
be disappointed in their expectations, when they find that by the pro
visions of the constitution as amended, a great portion of their feUow-
citizens are enfranchised, and released from fetters which they them
selves had done all in their power to loosen ? I do not believe it.
" Again, I inquire, who are we, that have been chosen to perform
this great, and I cannot but think, good work? A great majority of us
are practical farmers— aH freeholders, and of no smaU amounts. Are
we our own worst enemies ? Can we be suspected of a want of fidelity
to the freehold interest i No ! The farmers have looked for such an
event; they earnestly desire it. Whatever ravages the possession of
power may have made in the breasts of others, they, at least, have
shown that they can ' feel power without forgetting right.' If anything
could render this invaluable class of men dearer and more estimable
than they are, it is this magnanimous sacrifice which they have made
on the altar of principle, by consenting to admit those of their fellow-
citizens, who, though not so highly favored as themselves by fortune,
have still enough to bind them to their country, to an equal participa
tion in the blessings of a free government. Thus I understand their
wishes, and I wiU govern myself accordingly, — having the consolation
to know, that if I shall have misunderstood them, they will have the

SPEECH ON THE FREEHOLD QUALIFICATION. 395
power of rescuing themselves from the effects of such misapprehension,
by rejecting the amendments which shall be proposed for their adop
tion. " But let us consider this subject in another and different point of
view. It is our duty, and I have no doubt it is our wish, to satisfy aU,
so that our proceedings may meet with the approbation of the whole
community ; it is my desire to respect the wishes and consult' the inter
ests of aU ; I would not hamper the rich nor tread upon the poor, but
would respect each alike. I will submit a few considerations to the
men of property, who think this provision necessary for its security,
and in doing so, I will speak of property in general, dropping the im
portant distinction, made by the amendment offered, between real and
personal estate. Admitting for the sake of argument, that the distinc
tion is just, and wise, and necessary, for the security of property — is the
object effected by the present regulation ? I think not ; property is not
now represented in the Senate to the extent it is erroneously supposed
to be. To represent individual property, it will be necessary that
each individual should have a number of votes in some degree at least,
in proportion to the amount of his property, this is the manner in which
property is represented, in various corporations and in moneyed insti
tutions. Suppose in any such institution one man had one hundred
shares, and another one share, — could you gravely teU the man who
held»one hundred shares, that his property was represented in the di
rection, if their votes were equal ? To say that because a man worth
millions, as is the case of one in this committee, has one vote, and
another citizen worth only two hundred and fifty dollars in real estate,
has one vote for senators, that therefore their property is equally repre
sented in the Senate, is, to say the least, speaking very incorrectly ; it
is literally substituting a shadow for a reaUty ; and though the case I
have stated by way of Ulustration, would not be a common one, still,
the disparity which pervades the whole community is sufficiently great
to render my argument correct. * * * *
" The representation, then, of property in the Senate, under the
existing constitution, is, as it respects individual estates, whoUy delu
sive, and as it respects the interest of property in the different sections
of the state, so flagrantly unequal as to destroy practical advantage to

396 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
property from a representation of it, and not only so, but to make it
infinitely worse than if property was not professed to be represented
ataU. * * * *
" And what, I inquire, have been its practical effects ? have they been
such as to afford any additional security to property ? have the mem
bers of the Senate, for years past, been more respectable for talents or
integrity ? have they shown a greater regard for property ? have
they been more vigUant in guarding the public treasury than the
Assembly ?
" The Senate is the only legislative body in which I have ever had
the honor of a seat ; and I have been there from a very early age —
almost aU my political connections have been with that body — my earU
est poUtical recollections are associated with its proceedings ; and I
have had, in some of its proceedings, as much cause for individual
gratification as could well, under the same circumstances, faU to the lot
of any man ; notwithstanding which, and also the strong partiality I
have always felt for that body, I cannot say, that in the many years
I was there, the sentiment never occurred to me that such was the case.
On the contrary, a regard to truth constrains me to say, that everything
which regarded the imposition of pubUc burdens, and the disposition
of pubUc property, was more closely looked into, and more severely
scrutinized, by the Assembly than the Senate. The sense of immedi
ate responsibUity to the people, produced more effect on the Assembly,
than the consideration that they represented those who were supposed
principaUy to bear the burdens, did in the Senate ; and such, I con
scientiously beUeve, wiU always be the case. I ask the members of
the committee, whether they beUeve that there has been a moment for
the last forty years, when a proposition in the Assembly to make an
unjust distinction between real and personal property, in the imposition
of pubUc burdens, would not have been hooted out of that body, if
any one had been found mad enough to have dared its introduction ?
Why, then, I ask, alarm ourselves by fear for the future, which the
experience of the past has demonstrated to be erroneous i Why dis
regard the admonitions of experience, to pursue the dubious path of
speculation and theory ?

SPEECH ON THE FREEHOLD QUALIFICATION. 397
" I have no doubt but the honorable gentlemen who have Bpoken in
favor of the amendment, have suffered from the fearful forebodings
which they have expressed. That ever to be revered band of patriots
who made our constitution, entertained them also, and therefore they
engrafted in it the clause which is now contended for. But a fuU and
perfect experience has proved the fallacy of their speculation ; and we
are now called upon again to adopt the exploded notion, and on that
ground, to disfranchise, if not a majority, nearly a moiety of our citi
zens. I am an unbeliever in the speculations and mere theories on the
subject of government, of the best and the wisest men, when unsup
ported by, and especially when opposed to, experience. I beUeve with
a sensible, and elegant modern writer, ' that constitutions are the work
of time, not the invention of ingenuity ; and that to frame a complete
system of government, depending on habits of reverence and experi
ence, is an attempt as absurd as to bund a tree, or manufacture an
opinion.' * * *
" If, then, it is true that the present representation of property in
the Senate is ideal, and purely ideal, does not sound policy dictate an
abandonment of it, by the possessors of property ? I think it does ; I
think so because I hold it to be at all times, and under all circumstan
ces, and for all interests, unwise to struggle against the wishes of any
portion of the people — to subject yourselves to a wanton exposure to
public prejudice, to struggle for an object, which, if attained, is of no
avail. I think so, because the retaining of this qualification in the
present state of public opinion, wiU have a tendency to excite jealousy
in the minds of those who have no freehold property, and because
more mischief is to be apprehended from that source than any other.
It is calculated to excite that prejudice because, not requiring sufficient
to effect the object in view, it, in the language of Dr. Franklin, ' exhibits
liberty in disgrace, by bringing it in competition with accident and in
significance.' * * *
" If I could possibly believe, that any portion of the calamitous con
sequences could result from the rejection of the amendment, which
have been so feelingly portrayed by the honorable gentlemen from
Albany, and for whom I will repeat the acknowledgment of my respect

398 MARTIN VAN BUUEN.
and regard, I would be the last man in society who would vote for it
But, believing, as I conscientiously do, that those fears are altogether
unfounded, — hoping and expecting that the happiest results wiU follow
from the abolition of the freehold qualification, and hoping too, that
caution and circumspection Will preside over the settlement of the
general right of suffrage, which is hereafter to be made, — and knowing
besides, that this state, in abolishing the freehold qualifications, will be
but uniting herself in the march of principle, which has already pre-
vaUed in every state of the union, except two or three, including the
royal charter of Rhode Island, — I wiU cheerfully record my vote against
the amendment."
The amendment proposed by Judge Spencer was re
jected, and the original proposition of the committee
was adopted. Previous to this, however, Mr. Van
Buren made an attempt to add to the highway qualifi
cation that of being a householder. Not succeeding
in this — the only point in regard to which he dissented
from the report of the committee — he gave his vote in
favor of sustaining the report.
Over-zealous friends have sometimes claimed for him
the credit of being among the foremost in advocating
the doctrine of universal suffrage, in the convention of
1821 ; while, on the other hand, his opponents have
ungenerously misrepresented the course which he pur
sued upon this and other questions. It was not his
wish to do anything hastily. He desired carefully to
examine the ground before taking a single step in ad
vance ; and not to overthrow the old constitution in an
instant, and erect another on its ruins, based entirely
upon abstract theories, and without the light of experi-

VIEWS IN REGARD TO UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE. 399
ence to guide and direct in its construction. In another
speech on the property qualification, Mr. Van Buren
said that there were probably not twenty members of
the committee of the whole who were in favor of uni
versal suffrage. " We had already reached," he said,
" the verge of universal suffrage. There was but one
step beyond. And are gentlemen prepared to take
that step ? We were cheapening this invaluable right.
He was disposed to go as far as any man, in the exten
sion of rational liberty ; but he could not consent to
undervalue .this precious privilege so far as to confer
it, with an indiscriminating hand, upon every one,
black or white, who would be kind enough to conde
scend to accept it." *
Mr. Van Buren was particularly opposed to the
further extension of the right of suffrage, because it
would give the lowest classes of the population in the
cities an undue influence in proportion to that of the
agricultural districts in the interior. Subsequently, his
views on this question were modified ; and when he
saw how well the change made by the convention of
1821 operated, he approved of the amendment extend
ing the right of suffrage still further, and hailed it as
another auspicious onward movement in that moderate
and judicious reform which he had advocated.
In regard to the appointing power, as the chairman
of the committee on the subject, he reported a plan,
giving to the people the right of choosing more than
* Debates in the IT. Y. Convention of 1821, p. 277.

400 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
eight thousand of the militia officers previously ap
pointed by the governor and council, and conferring
upon the legislature the power to designate in what
manner a majority of the civil officers should be ap
pointed or chosen. During the war of 1812, he had
seen the evils resulting from disagreements between
the executive and the civil officers, and he desired that
the former should possess a large share of the appoint
ing power. He thought that justices of the peace
ought not to be elected by the people, unless it was de
cided to confer the same power in the case of all the
higher judicial officers of the state; and this no one
deemed advisable. He proposed, therefore, that the
supervisors, and the judges of the court of common
pleas of a county, should each nominate candidates for
justices of the peace, and if they agreed, the individu
als nominated were to be appointed ; but if not, that
then the governor should select the justices from the
two lists. This plan was rejected by the convention
by two majority, and the appointment of justices was
given to the boards of supervisors and judges exclu
sively. The constitution was shortly after amended,
so as to give the power of choosing these officers to
the people, no one concurring more heartily in the
amendment than Mr. Van Buren.
For similar reasons, he opposed the election of
sheriffs and county clerks by the people, but the con
vention decided against him. As to the right of the
people in the abstract to choose their own officers as

COURSE UPON THE JUDICIARY QUESTION. 401
far as they could do so, he never doubted or denied it-;
but his course in the convention was influenced by this
consideration — he thought it unadvisable, when they
had hitherto enjoyed this right to a very limited extent,
to destroy the old system at a single blow, but preferred
that the right should be surrendered to them by de
grees, as fast as they proved themselves capable of ex
ercising it properly. He had an abiding faith in the
capacity of man for self-government, but he was op
posed to hasty and inconsiderate reforms. To divest
the slave of his manacles, and at the same moment
place the sceptre in his hands, no one would esteem
wise or prudent ; and the same principle, in the opinion
of Mr. Van Buren, should govern in remodelling laws
and amending constitutions.
All the younger republicans in the convention were
exceedingly anxious to alter the judiciary system of
the state, in order to get rid of the old judges. Rigid
party man as was Mr. Van Buren, he opposed this
movement, almost alone of his political friends, but
without success. Nearly all the judges had long been
among the most determined of his opponents, and one
of them (Judge Van Ness) who was most deeply in
terested in this matter, as his main dependence was
upon the emoluments of his office, had been peculiarly
bitter in his opposition. Much to his credit, Mr. Van
Buren disdained to be influenced by such considera
tions. " If personal feelings," said he, " could or ought
to influence us against the individual who would prob-
26

402 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
ably be most affected by the adoption of this amend
ment, I suppose that I, above all others, would be
excused for indulging them. I can with truth say, that
I have through my whole life been assailed from that
quarter, with hostility, political, professional, and per
sonal — hostility which has been the most active, keen,
and unyielding. But, sir, am I, on that account, to
avail myself of my situation as a representative of the
people, sent here to make a constitution for them and
their posterity, and to indulge my individual resent
ments in the prostration of my private and political
adversary ? I hope it is unnecessary for me to say, that
I should forever despise myself if I could be capable
of such conduct. I also hope that that sentiment is
not confined to myself alone, and that the convention
will not ruin its character and credit by proceeding to
such extremities." *
The convention terminated its labors on the 10th
day of November, 1817, and Mr. Van Buren soon
after repaired to Washington, to take his seat in the
Senate, for the first time, in the month of December
following. Transferred to this new sphere, his talents
were not long in securing for their possessor an honor
able place among his compeers. Able and distinguished
as they were, they willingly recognized him as an
equal. On the 17th of December he was elected a
member of the committee on finance, and also of the
committee on the judiciary. Of the latter committee
* Debates in the Convention, p. 525.

SUPPORT OF MR. CRAWFORD. 403
he afterward became chairman, and was continued as
such while he remained in the Senate. His first speech
was made on the land claim of the Marquis de Maison
Rogue. The question was not one that afforded an
opportunity for oratorical display, but the i-emarks of
Mr. Van Buren were said by the National Intelligencer
to evince " much talent," and to have produced " con
siderable effect." During the same session, he spoke
with his accustomed ability on the apportionment bill ;
on the French land claims in Louisiana; the settle
ment of difficulties between the states ; and the pay
ment of salaries to public officers indebted to the
government, the last question having reference to the
case of John Quincy Adams, then secretary of state.
It would be impossible, however, in a mere biographi
cal sketch like the present, to do justice to Mr. Van
Buren's services in the Senate of the United States,
and at the same time to preserve strict chronological
order. For this reason it may be proper to consider
separately the more important questions with which he
was connected, or in which he was in any wise con
cerned. With respect to. his political course, as it related to
individuals and parties, it may be said, that he supported
the administration of Mr. Monroe to its close, but was
one of the most active friends of Mr. Crawford, in the
contest for the succession. He was present at the
congressional caucus by which that gentleman was
nominated, and did everything in his power to secure

404 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
his election. Failing in this, he was at first disposed
to acquiesce in the decision of the people, and to give
his support to the administration of Mr. Adams. But
when the policy of the latter began to be developed, he
became alarmed. He opposed the American System
in all its features. His first decided stand against the
administration was taken on the Panama Mission. His
principal speech on this question, delivered in March,
1826, was one of the happiest efforts ever made by him
before a legislative body, as the following extracts will
show : —
"I wUl now, Mr. President, caU the attention of the Senate to
another view of this subject, to a question of the gravest character, and
most deeply affecting the dearest interests of the country — a question
growing out of considerations which have heretofore occupied the best
minds, and interested the purest hearts our country has produced : — ¦
Would it be wise in us to change pur established policy upon tlie subject
of political connections with foreign states ? The President has said
that 'to form alliances' is not among the motives of our attendance at
the Congress. But what description of alliance does he mean ? They
are of various kinds, and of different extent. We are, at that Con
gress, to stipulate in some form, (and I care not in what,) that we will
resist any attempt at colonization, by the Powers of Europe, in this
hemisphere, (or within our own borders if you please ;) and that, in the
event of any interference on their part, in the struggle between Spain
and the Spanish American states, we will make common cause with
the latter in resisting it. To this end we have been invited, and upon
these points we have promised that our ministers shall have full powers.
We must do this, or the whole affair becomes empty pageantry ; which,
though it may be the offspring of personal ambition, will assuredly
terminate in national disgrace. CaU it an ' alliance,' or whatever name
you please, it is a political connection, at war with the established

SPEECH ON THE PANAMA MISSION. 405
policy of our government. And is this a Ught matter ? Sir, when it
is proposed to subvert a fundamental principle in our foreign policy, in
the support of which we stand alone among all the nations of the
earth— which, commencing with our government, is endeared to the
people, and upon whose deep foundations has been erected the mag
nificent superstructure of unequalled national prosperity — it surely
becomes those entrusted with the management of affairs, to pause, and
weigh with scrupulous exactness, the importance of the step.
" In the discussion of this subject, I shall first consider the general
principle : then the grounds of the distinction attempted to be made
between its application to the Spanish American states, and to those of
Europe. At this moment the United States, (thanks to the wisdom of
their early councils !) are unfettered. No government has a right to
demand our aid or interference in any of the changes in the condition
of the world — come what may, we are now unembarrassed in our
choice. Until lately, I had flattered myself that the acknowledged ob
ligation on the part of our government to maintain that condition, was
as firmly fixed as its republican character. I had the best reason to
think so, because I knew it to be a principle in our political poUcy,
which had for its support all that is instructive in experience, all that
is venerable in authority. That authority is no less than the parting
admonitions of the Father of his country. The earnest, eloquent, and
impressive appeals upon this subject, contained in his Farewell Ad
dress, are yet, and will, I trust, long remain, fresh in our recollections •
nor were the sentiments he thus avowed mere speculative opinions,
founded upon an abstract consideration of the subject. No ! they were
sentiments matured by reflection,- and confirmed by actual experience,
of the practical results which had arisen from a connection of the
character he so ardently and so justly deprecated. A reference to the
history of that period will iUustrate the fact, and is replete with in
struction. During the War of our Revolution, we entered into an alU
ance with France, ' the essential and direct end of which was, to main
tain effectually the liberty, sovereignty, and independence, of the
United States, absolute and unlimited, as well in matters of govern.
ment as of commerce.' By the treaty of alliance, we, in consideration

406 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
of the guarantee by France of the freedom and independence of the
United States, undertook, on our part, to guarantee to France the pos
sessions she then had in America. The revolution in France involved
that country in war with the principal powers of Europe. Her Ameri
can possessions were brought in danger ; and, among other things
claimed under the treaty of alUance, she caUed upon us for the fulfil
ment of our guarantee. At no period of our history has our govern
ment been placed in a more humiliating and embarrassing situation.
The signal benefits we had received from France were known to the
World, and fully appreciated by our citizens. Upon the terms of the
compact there could be no dispute. The consideration upon which we
had entered into it, was of the most sacred character. But the danger
of compliance was imminent, and prevailed over every other consider
ation. Reposing itself upon the great principle of self-preservation — a
principle extending itself as well to nations as to individuals — our
government refused to comply with its engagement ; and General
Washington issued his celebrated proclamation of neutrality. The
grounds relied upon to justify the step were, that our alliance was a
defensive one only ; that the war, on the part of France, was an offen
sive war, in which we were not obliged, by the law of nations, to take
part ; that the contest was, moreover, so unequal, and our means so in
adequate, that, upon the principle of self-preservation, we were justi
fied in refusing to take part with our ally. It was not expected that
France would acquiesce in the validity of the grounds thus taken. She
did not. The loud, solemn protests of her ministers, are remembered ;
as also, the measures resorted to for the purpose of obtaining, indi
rectly, some of the advantages claimed from the alliance — such as fitting
out vessels of war in our ports, and enUsting our citizens in her service.
England remonstrated, made strong imputations of partiaUty against
our government — imputations founded on suspicions growing out of
the known connection between us and France — and resorted to similar
means to annoy her enemies and commit our neutrality. General
Washington found it impossible to satisfy either party of the strict im
partiality that governed our conduct. The result was war, in fact,
with France, and many of the evils of war with England. She en-

SPEECH ON THE PANAMA MISSION. 407
forced against our commerce new and unjustifiable principles of public
law on the subject of blockades and articles contraband of war. The
sagacious mind of Washington, and the great men who enjoyed his
confidence, traced the multipUed embarrassments of the country at that
trying period, to tlie treaty of alliance with France"
Mr. Van Buren then referred to the departure of the
elder Adams from the Washington policy, in proposing
the Berlin mission, the object of which was to form
alliances with neutral nations for the protection and
security of neutral rights. This question, with others,
was distinctly put in issue at the presidential election
in 1800, and the people decided adversely to the federal
doctrine. Mr. Jefferson now came into power, and
was pledged against all "entangling alliances" with
foreign nations. To this pledge he faithfully adhered
except in a single instance, in 1803; when, for the pur
pose of securing the navigation of the Mississippi — a
matter of paramount importance to the western part
of the Union — he proposed to guaranty to the king of
Spain, and his successors, his dominions west of that
river, provided he would sell to the United States all
his possessions between the Mobile and the Mississippi.
Fortunately, Spain did not accept the guaranty — fortu
nately, because when she demanded a fulfilment of the
treaty in 1818, the United States could only have com
plied by making war against the friends of freedom in
the Mexican states, and the non-acceptance of the
guaranty when first proposed left them at liberty to
decline a compliance with the demand. Mr. Madison

408 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
kept entirely clear of these objectionable alliances
during his administration, as did Mr. Monroe also during
his first term. But in 1819, through the influence, in
great part, of Mr. Adams, then secretary of state, a
treaty was concluded with England for the suppression
of the slave-trade, yielding the right of search, and au
thorizing the authorities of that country to enforce the
laws of the United States upon the citizens of the
United States. The object of this alliance was a
praiseworthy one, but the means for carrying it into
effect were, from the necessity of the case, such as the
American people could not approve. The treaty was
rejected by the Senate ; and so strong was the popu
lar feeling against it that a similar treaty concluded with
the republic of Colombia, shortly after shared the same
fate, by an almost unanimous vote. Mr. Van Buren
contended that the Panama mission was a departure
from the established policy of the government, like
those measures of a kindred character to which he re
ferred. He insisted that the proposed alliance with
the South American states would necessarily be inju
rious, because, when the time came for carrying it into
effect, innumerable difficulties would arise ; and as an
illustration in point, he referred the Senate to the mem
orable stipulation of the five great European powers
at Vienna, in 1815, pledging themselves to unite in the
suppression of the slave-trade, and the inability of their
representatives, at the conference held at Aix-la-Cha
pelle in 1818, to agree upon the terms of cooperation.

SPEECH ON THE PANAMA MISSION. 409
" But I cannot consent," he added, " to trespass longer upon the time
of the Senate in pushing the discussion of this point further, although .
various considerations operating against the measure, press upon my
mind. If it were proposed to form a connection with any European
power, 6uch as now designed with the Spanish American states, it is
hoped and believed, that the measure would not meet with one ap
proving voice — shaU I say — on this floor ? No — not in the country ! —
But it has been supposed that the United States ought to pursue a
different policy with respect to the states in this hemisphere. It is
true, Mr. Monroe, in his message, makes a distinction of this character,
although he by no means carries it to the extent proposed. If he did,
all that the distinction could derive from that circumstance would be,
the weight of his opinion, always considerable, but never decisive. The
question still recurs — is the distinction founded in principle and policy ?
If it be, it must arise from one of two reasons ; either the character ol
the governments of the Spanish American states, or their local situa
tion, — or, perhaps, from both.
"The United States have hailed the emancipation of those states
with satisfaction : they have our best wishes for the perpetuity of their
freedom. So far as we could go to aid them in the establishment of
their independence, without endangering the peace, or embarrassing the
relations of our country, we have gone. More than that ought not to
be asked. Nor has it. Sensible of the embarrassments which their
invitation might produce, they declined to proffer it until advised that
we desired to receive it. Next to being right, it is important to govern
ments, as well as individuals, to be consistent. Has the character of
these governments been the principle upon which we have hitherto
acted in relation to those states ? It has not. Mexico and Brazil were
the last to shake off their dependence on foreign authority. They
were among the first whose independence we acknowledged. Mexico
was, at the period of its acknowledgment, under the dominion of the
Emperor Iturbide, and Brazil of its Emperor, Don Pedro. As a spe
cial compliment to the Emperor of Mexico, we sent, or rather intended
to send, to his court, one of the most distinguished men of the nation,
(General Jackson.) At the court of the Emperor Don Pedro, we have
18

410 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
our minister : whilst in the republic of Peru — the power with which
the first of the treaties, in virtue of which the Congress of Panama is
to be held, was concluded — we have not yet been represented. Do our
principles admit that we should adopt the measures proposed with such
reference, and upon such grounds ? What are those principles ? — That
man is capable of self-government ; that the people of every country
should be left to the free selection of such form of government as they
think best adapted to their situation, and to change it as their interests,
in their own judgments, may seem to require. Wherein consists our
objection to the Holy Alliance ? Because they confederate to maintain
governments similar to their own, by force of arms, instead of the force
of reason, and the wiU of the governed. If we, too, confederate to
sustain, by the same means, governments simUar to our own, wherein
consists the difference, except the superiority of our cause ? What is
their avowed motive? Self-preservation, and the peace of Europe.
What would be ours j Self-preservation, and the peace of America.
" I wish to be understood. I detest, as much as any man, the prin
ciples of the Holy AUiance. I yield to no man in my anxious wishes
for the success of the Spanish American states. I wiU go as far as I
think any American citizen ought to go, to secure to them the blessings
of free government. I commend the soUcitude which has been mani
fested by our government upon this subject, and have, of course, no de
sire to discourage it. But I am against all alUances, against all armed
confederacies, or confederacies of any sort. I care not how specious,
or how disguised, — come in what shape they may, I oppose them. The
states in question have the power and the means, if united and true to
their principles, to resist any force that Europe can send against them.
It is only by being recreant to the principles upon which their revolu
tion is founded ; by suffering foreign influence to distract and divide
them ; that their independence can be endangered. But, happen what
may, our course should be left to our choice, whenever occasion for
acting shall occur. If, in the course of events, designs shall be mani
fested, or steps taken in this hemisphere by any foreign power, which
so far affect our interest or our honor, as to make it necessary that we

RESOLUTIONS ON THE PANAMA QUESTION. 411
should arm in their defence, it wUl be done ; there is no room to
doubt it.
" The decision of*that question may safely be left to those who come
after us. That love of country and of freedom, which now animates
our public councils, is not confined to us, or Ukely to become extinct.
We require neither alliance nor agreement to compel us to perform
whatever our duty enjoins. Our national character is our best, and
Bhould be our only pledge. Meanwhile, let us bestow upon our neigh
bors, the young republics of the South, the moral aid of a good exam
ple. To make that example more- salutary, let it exhibit our modera
tion in success, our firmness in adversity, our devotion to our country
and its institutions, and, above all, that sine qua, non to the existence
of our republican government — our fidelity to a written Constitution."
Previous to the delivery of this speech on the Pan
ama question, Mr. Van Buren had made an ineffectual
attempt to have the discussion in the Senate carried
on with open doors. In his view it was of the most
important character, and should not be concealed from
the American people. He had hitherto been disposed,
as were most of the republican senators from the north
who usually voted with him, not to offer any regular
opposition to the administration; but its course in this
respect he regarded as having an alarming tendency,
and therefore resisted it at every step. In order to
bring the question distinctly before the Senate, he sub
mitted resolutions, on the 14th of March, 1826, declar
ing that the Constitution of the United States did«not
authorize the nomination, by the President, of minis
ters to an assembly like that proposed to be held at
Panama, and that, waiving the constitutional objec-

412 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
tion, the embassy in question was inexpedient. The
Senate negatived the resolutions, however, by a vote
of twenty-four to nineteen, and Commissioners were
appointed ; but, fortunately perhaps for the peace of
the country, they were unable to attend the Panama
Congress, and no " entangling alliance" was concluded
with the Spanish American states.
The subject of internal improvements by the general
government was repeatedly agitated during the period
of Mr. Van Buren's service in the Senate. At the
session of 1821-2 he voted for a law authorizing the
collection of tolls on the Cumberland road, for two rea
sons : because he desired to counteract the perpetual
drain of the road upon the treasury, and to aid in the
improvement of the western states as far as he could
do so consistently with the Constitution. Upon a
more careful consideration of the principle involved in
this measure, he came to the conclusion that it was
not authorized by the Constitution, and said that if
the question were to be again presented, he would op
pose it.* In his opinion, the federal government did
not possess the power, under the Constitution, to carry
on works of internal improvement within the states ;
and, if it were desirable to grant the power, he thought,
with Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, that the Consti
tution should be amended. John Quincy Adams, it is
well known, entertained views upon this question di-
* Speech on Mr. Foote's Amendment to the rules of the Senate,
April, 1828, (note.)

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 413
rec'tly the reverse, and it was probably owing chiefly
to his influence in the cabinet, that Mr. Monroe was
induced, toward the close of his administration, to sur
render in part the high ground he had previously oc
cupied. In January, 1824, Mr. Van Buren called the atten
tion of the Senate to the dangerous assumption of
power by the general government, in regard to internal
improvements, and submitted amendments to the Con
stitution limiting and defining its exercise. At the
following session, the policy of Mr. Adams was fully
developed, and he earnestly recommended the subject
of internal improvements to the favorable considera
tion of Congress. This feature of the American Sys
tem at once encountered the opposition of Mr. Van
Buren. On the 19th of December, 1825, he offered
two resolutions on the subject : one declaring that
Congress did not possess " the power to make roads
and canals within the respective states ;" and the other
proposing a select committee to prepare an amend
ment to the Constitution, prescribing and defining the
power of Congress in this respect. These resolutions
were highly approved by Mr. Jefferson,* but, though
advocated and defended by the mover with great abil
ity, did not secure a majority vote in the Senate. At
the same session, in accordance with the sentiments
expressed in his speech and resolutions, Mr. Van Buren
voted against the appropriation for the Louisville
* Jefferson's Works, vol. iv. p. 424.

414 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
canal, and the proposition to subscribe to the capital
stock of the Dismal Swamp Canal. From the views
advanced by him in the Senate, and indicated by his
votes, Mr. Van Buren never deviated while he re
mained in public life.
Being at the head of the committee on the judiciary,
many of the most important laws passed in Congress
were brought under his particular notice. Of this
character were the bills establishing District and Cir
cuit Courts in the new states and territories. At first
he was inclined to favor a change in the judiciary sys
tem of the federal government, which should relieve
the judges of the Supreme Court from travelling on the
circuits, and confine them to the discharge of term
duties only,— additional District Courts being estab
lished to take the place of the circuits which would
be abolished. Subsequently his views underwent a
change, and in an able speech delivered on the 7th of
April, 1826, he reviewed the whole subject, showing
the importance of requiring the judges to preside at
the circuits, and adding to their number, when re
quired by the increase of the circuits. He pointed
out the natural tendency of the Supreme Court to
strengthen itself and to enlarge its powers, from the
tenure of the appointment of its members ; and con
tended that, if their duties should become merely re
visory, and they be no longer brought into contact
with the people by presiding at the circuits, they
would lose all sympathy with them, and every feeling

CHOICE OF ELECTORS. 415
of dependence upon them, and thus become a court
above the reach of the popular judgment, above the
law and superior to the Constitution.
In view of the result of the presidential contest in
1824, Mr. Van Buren made repeated efforts to procure
an amendment of the Constitution dividing the states
into electoral districts ; each district to choose one
elector; the electors to vote for president and vice-
president, and if no one had a majority of votes, then
the electors to be again called together by the presi
dent and to vote for one of the two highest candidates ;
and if, upon the second vote, there should be no choice,
then the election to devolve upon the House of Rep
resentatives, as the Constitution already provided.
The adoption of this amendment was advocated by
him with much earnestness, at three successive ses
sions, but it failed of success.
As Mr. Van Buren had favored a proposition to
abolish imprisonment for debt in the state of New
York, so he attempted to procure a similar reform in
the civil code of the general government. He sup
ported the bill having this object in view, brought for
ward by Richard M. Johnson in 1823, and endeavored,
though in vain, by various amendments and modifica
tions which he proposed, to render it satisfactory to a
majority of the Senate.
He also advocated the establishment of a uniform
system of bankruptcy, in the winter of 1827, but op
posed every effort to ingraft upon the bill then under

416 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
discussion, any of the- features of an insolvent law. At
the same session, an interesting debate took place in
the Senate on the subject of the trade with the British
West India Colonies. In an able speech delivered on
the 24th of February, 1827, Mr. Van Buren reviewed
the whole controversy with Great Britain in regard to
the colonial trade. After referring to the laws passed
by Congress imposing discriminating and alien duties,
the non-intercourse acts of 1818 and 1820, and the or
der in council laying countervailing duties on Amer
ican vessels, he said that there was good reason, in
1824, to anticipate a speedy settlement of the difficulty.
In 1817, the United States had adopted the principle
" that the reciprocity of burdens and exemptions should
extend to the cargo as well as to the vessel ;" and that
the same privileges ought to be allowed to American
produce imported into the British Colonies that were
allowed to the produce of the mother country or its
colonies. The British ministry declared this principle
to be wholly inadmissible, but in the negotiations of
1824 a disposition was manifested to abandon their
ground. It was then proposed by the British govern
ment to place the United States on a footing with the
most favored nation, but the American minister, in
pursuance of positive instructions received through
Mr. Adams, then secretary of state, insisted that Amer
ican produce should not be subjected to a higher duty
or impost than that arriving from " any other place,"
— thus, in effect, denying to Great Britain the right of

SPEECH ON THE COLONIAL TRADE. 417
imposing discriminating duties for the encouragement
of her own productions. The negotiations in 1824
therefore failed, but when Mr. Adams became presi
dent, they were renewed again in 1826, and the Amer
ican minister was then instructed to yield the point
which had prevented an amicable adjustment in 1824.
But as the American authorities had suffered nearly
two years to elapse without accepting the terms pro
posed by the British government in 1824, the latter
now refused to abide by its previous offer.
Meanwhile, however, acts had been passed in par
liament in June and July, 1825, opening British ports
to foreign vessels coming from a foreign country, upon
equal terms with British vessels, provided that the
country engaging in such trade and having colonies,
should allow British vessels to trade with its colonies
on similar terms, or if not having colonies, that it
should place the trade with the British Colonies on a
footing with the most favored nation. To these acts
the British ministry pointed in reply to the American
proposition, in 1826, as forming the basis upon which
a new negotiation must be opened. At the session
of Congress in 1825-6, an ineffectual effort had been
made which Mr. Van Buren supported, to pass a law
reciprocating the terms proposed by the British acts.
The passage of this bill was successfully resisted by
the friends of Mr. Adams, and the British govern
ment by an order in council, of July, 1826, closed the
norts of their Wesf India Colonies against the vessels
v 27

418 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
of the United States. The trade thus interrupted was
of great value and importance to the American people,
and all parties professed to be anxious to secure it. It
was the policy of the administration to force the Brit
ish government to abandon its position, by countervail
ing measures, although the United States had been
placed in the wrong by neglecting promptly to accept
the offer made in 1824, or to reciprocate the British
acts of 1825. At the session of 1826-7, therefore, the
friends of Mr. Adams in Congress proposed to pass
a law closing our ports against British vessels coming
by sea from certain enumerated ports, unless, within a
specified time, the president should receive satisfactory
information that the enumerated ports were open to
American vessels upon the same terms prescribed in
the British acts of 1825. This measure was avowedly
one of retaliation, and Mr. Van Buren opposed it for
that reason. He proposed, in its stead, to remove the
ground of collision by abolishing the alien and discrim
inating duties upon certain conditions, and in the same
law to present to the British government the ultima
tum of the United States in the very terms which the
former had offered in 1824. In this way, he insisted,
the final determination of the American government
would be made known, and there would be no sacri
fice of national dignity. The position taken would be
firm, yet at the same time conciliatory, and if the Brit
ish government revoked its order in council of 1826,
the president would then, by proclamation, remove the

FAVORS THE CESSION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS. 419
discriminating duties imposed by former acts. The
controversy would thus be narrowed down to a single
point. If Great Britain accepted the terms which she
had herself proposed, the colonial trade would be
opened ; if not, the United States would continue its
retaliatory policy.
In consequence of a disagreement between the two
houses of Congress, no act was passed at the session
of 1826-7 in regard to the colonial trade, and on
the 17th of March, 1827, President Adams issued a
proclamation, in pursuance of the act of 1823, declar
ing the trade with certain British ports to be prohib
ited. The general sentiment of the country was un
doubtedly in favor of an abandonment of the coercive
policy, as Mr. Van Buren and others desired; but
the administration seem to have approved this policy,
though they proposed, in 1826, the same terms offered
by the British government in 1824. By the proclama
tion of the president, in March, 1827, the dispute was
rendered still more difficult of adjustment ; and under
such unfavorable circumstances, the question was left
by Mr. Adams to be settled by his successor.
Upon the subject of the public lands, Mr. Van Buren
was early committed against the policy of distribution
subsequently advocated with so much zeal and ability
by Mr. Clay. While the former was in the Senate,
this question was not presented in the shape it after
ward assumed, but in a few remarks submitted by
him, in May, 1826, on a motion for information, he

420 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
declared his readiness to vote for a proposition vesting
the lands in the states in which they lay on just and
equitable terms as related to the other states. This
idea — the cession of the public lands to the states —
shortly after became the antagonist proposition to Mr.
Clay's plan of distribution.
Mr. Van Buren was never friendly to a high protec
tive tariff. Upon this important question he seems to
have occupied a sort of compromise ground. He did
not adopt the extreme views of the friends of a strictly
revenue tariff, but was in favor of protection to a mod
erate extent. In his opinion, " the establishment of
commercial regulations, with a view to the encourage
ment of domestic products," was " within the consti
tutional power of Congress."* Yet he did not think
a greater amount of revenue should be raised by a
tariff of duties, than was necessary for the economical
administration of the government; but that the degree
of protection he favored might be realized by discrim
inating duties. His position was that, in the main,
held by the republicans of the northern states, and
though not exactly, in accordance with that main
tained by the same party in the anti-tariff states, came
much nearer to it than that of his opponents in the
political contests through which he passed.
He voted for the tariff act of 1824, though not en
tirely satisfied with all its details. The tariff move
ment in 1827-8 was almost wholly of a political char-
* Letter to the Shocco Springs' Committee, October, 18S2.

THE TARIFF. 421
acter ; and John Randolph pithily said of the act ot
1828, that it referred " to manufactures of no sort or
kind, but the manufacture of a president of the United
States." The remark was no less witty than true.
Political considerations connected with the approach
ing presidential election, either guided or controlled
the proceedings that led to the passage of the act, and
operated most powerfully upon the minds of its framers.
It has been justly said of the administration of John
Quincy Adams, that "the merits and demerits of his
policy were positive.* But he failed to carry out any
of the great measures which he recommended. The
proceeds of the public lands were not distributed
among the states ; no provision was made for a general
system of internal improvements; the coercive policy
failed to secure the colonial trade ; and the Panama
mission, though sustained in Congress, was defeated, in
the end, by a combination of circumstances. In regard
to the tariff he did not fully commit himself in favor of
the hio-h protective system until his last annual mes
sage ; yet the subject was repeatedly brought before
Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Rush.
Previous to this time the tariff question had not en
tered much into national politics. But the interest
which had been fostered by the acts of 1816 and 1824,
had now become a most powerful one, and not content
with the encouragement it had already»received, was
clamorous for additional protection. This was desired
* American Annual Register.

422 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
not only by the manufacturers of iron, and of cotton
and woollen goods, but by the wool and hemp growers
of the middle and western states. The producers of
corn and rye also asked to be protected against the im
portation of molasses for the manufacture of spirits,
which was carried on somewhat extensively in the
New England states. The whole Union, indeed, with
the exception of the staple states at the south, seemed
to be in favor of increasing the protective duties. It
was evident, then, that this great interest must exert a
controlling influence upon the presidential election in
1828, and politicians of all parties engaged with zeal
and earnestness in the effort to secure it for their par
ticular side.
Mr. Adams was inclined to be partial to the manu
facturers in the Eastern states, a large majority of whom
were his political friends; and after the defeat of the
woollens bill in 1827, he encouraged, if he did not ad
vise, the convention of the advocates of increased pro
tection held at Harrisburg in the summer of 1827. At
this convention a tariff of high duties was agreed
upon, which was satisfactory to the manufacturers, but
did not meet the wishes of the agriculturists. Mr.
Van Buren took a prominent part in a public meeting
held in the city of Albany on the tenth of July, called
for the purpose of considering the propriety of sending
delegates to #ie Harrisburg convention, and was the
principal speaker on the occasion. In his remarks he
expressed himself friendly to a protective tariff, but he

NEW ORGANIZATION OF PARTIES. 423
warned the manufacturers against uniting their for
tunes with any political adventurer. He said that no
system could be permanent that did not protect all the
great interests of the country alike ; that neither the
manufacturer nor the agriculturist should be favored at
the expense of any other class ; and that moderate
counsels were much more reliable than the intemperate
zeal manifested by the leaders in the movement then
making, which, as he firmly believed, proceeded " from
the closet of the politician rather than from the work
shop ofthe manufacturer."
Meantime the political elements had been moving
adversely to the interests of Mr. Adams. Not a single
measure of his administration had been successful, and
none had added materially to the number of his friends.
His union with Mr. Clay brought him no considerable
accession of strength, for many of the most ardent ad
mirers of the latter no longer adhered to his fortunes.
Mr. Adams had been reared in that school of moderate
federalists to which his father belonged, and of which
Rufus King was for many years the representative ;
and while he supported the policy of Jefferson and
Madison in respect to the foreign relations of the
country, in its domestic legislation he seems to have
been inclined to favor the doctrines of the school in
which he was educated. From 1816 to 1825 parties
were in a sort of transition state ; but upon the elec
tion of Mr. Adams, all the moderate federalists, and the
conservative republicans — the latter, however, forming

424 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
a small proportion of the republican party — rallied
around his administration. The ultra federalists di
vided ; one portion forgetting their family differences
with the Adamses and uniting with the administration
party, and the other portion turning their backs on the
principles they had once advocated, and going over to
the new republican party now rallying under the lead
ership of Andrew Jackson.
In the 19th Congress Mr. Adams' friends were in a
large majority, but in the next Congress his opponents
were the most numerous, and they were consequently
enabled to give the tariff question such a direction as
inured to the benefit of their favorite candidate. Be
fore referring to the passage of the act of 1828, how
ever, it may be well to explain more particularly the
political course of Mr. Van Buren.
For many years there had been two political parties
in the state of New York, divided more upon personal
than political questions. These were the Clintonians
and the Bucktails. The former were composed of a
fraction of the old republican party and the great ma
jority of the federalists, while the Bucktails consisted
of the main body of the republicans united with the
small number of federalists who had supported Madison
and the war. During the administration of Mr. Mon
roe the two parties were separated upon state issues, or
the merits of De Witt Clinton ; but when Mr. Adams
became president, the members of either party soon
found themselves disagreeing upon national questions.

REELECTED TO THE SENATE. 425
The leaders of both these parties, Mr. Clinton and Mr.
Van Buren, were opposed to Mr. Adams. The former
was one of the earliest friends of General Jackson in
the northern states. Mr. Van Buren had supported
Mr. Crawford during the contest of 1824, and after
ward adhered to him faithfully till his continued ill-
health rendered it impossible that he should again be
come a candidate, when, with the whole Crawford
party, the former united with the Jackson republicans
and that portion of Mr. Clay's friends who could not
be prevailed on to support Mr. Adams.
With Mr. Clinton and Mr. Van Buren both arrayed
against the administration, it was almost a hopeless
task to think of securing the great state of New York
for Mr. Adams, at the presidential election in 1828.
Their views in regard to the succession were well
known, but the Adams' men seem to have feared a col
lision, and to have carefully avoided it up to the last
moment. The Clintonian Adams men in the New
York legislature, nearly all of whom had been federal
ists, attempted to prevent the reelection of Mr. Van
Buren to the Senate in the winter of 1827, and for that
purpose held a caucus at which Stephen Van Rensse
laer was nominated as the opposing candidate. But
the Bucktail Adams' men could not be 'prevailed upon
to desert their leader, and but two of them attended
the caucus. Mr. Van Buren was reelected, therefore,
on the 6th of February, 1827, by a large majority. Be
sides receiving the support of the Bucktail members,

426 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
he was also voted for by several Clintonian Jackson
men, who were known to be the confidential friends of
Mr. Clinton, and very probably acted in accordance
with his wishes.
Mr. Van Buren's tact and skill as a party discipli
narian never stood him in greater stead than at this
crisis. He possessed a rare faculty of governing and
controlling men. His knowledge of human nature was
extraordinary. He studied men as well as books. He
was a practical politician, and he not only had ability,
but he knew when and how to use it, and in what man
ner to take advantage of times and circumstances.
No man contributed more than he to the organization
of the Bucktail party, and it was almost a perfect piece
of human machinery which could be guided and di
rected in accordance with his will. A firm adherence
to regular nominations and to the decisions of party
caucuses, was the cardinal feature of his creed, and it
became that of his political friends. All merit has
been denied to Mr. Van Buren in this respect, but that
of a capacity for intrigue and cunning. A superficial
observer might be disposed to concur in this judgment,
but he who examines causes and effects more critically
will see that Mr. Van Buren was obliged, as it were,
to adopt this policy by the new order of things. Un
der the old constitution of the state and the party cus
toms then in vogue, the members of the legislature
controlled everything ; they elected the council of ap
pointment, and they nominated the candidates for gov-

SUPPORT OF GENERAL JACKSON. 427
ernor and lieutenant-governor, and elected all the other
state officers. Prior to 1828, also, the presidential
electors were chosen by the legislature.
But when the new constitution enlarged the basis
of the right of suffrage, and nominating conventions
composed of delegates appointed for a specified pur
pose, were substituted for legislative caucuses, it be
came necessary for the political leader who desired to
be successful, to change his tactics. Executive patron
age alone was not sufficient; Mr. Clinton tried it and
failed. But Mr. Van Buren, in addition to this, im
pressed upon his followers the absolute necessity, in
order to be successful, of adhering firmly to the party
organization, and of supporting with fidelity the nomi
nees of caucuses and conventions. The result de
monstrated his shrewdness and his wisdom. He suc
ceeded where others had experienced failures and dis
appointments, and his policy we have seen adopted
and imitated by all the public men of his state.
At the fall election in 1827 the issue was made be
tween the friends and opponents of General Jackson.
No formal understanding had been entered into be
tween Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Clinton, but the inti
mate friends of the former frequently visited the gov
ernor, and whatsoever influence he could bring to bear
upon the Clintonian Jackson men was cheerfully
exerted. Mr. Van Buren carried the whole Bucktail
party with him in support of General Jackson, with the
exception of a few federalists or particular admirers of

428 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
Mr. Clay. Consequently a very large majority of
the members of the legislature chosen at this time
were friendly to General Jackson, now become the
leader and head of the reorganized republican, or, as it
was called in the northern and western states, the
democratic party.
This demonstration alarmed the friends of Mr.
Adams, and their only hope rested on the tariff ques
tion. But the Jackson men were in the majority, in
both Houses of Congress. They elected the speaker
of the House of Representatives, and the committee
on manufactures was constituted unfavorably to Mr.
Adams. The tariff of duties agreed upon at Harris
burg was not approved by the committee, but a new
bill was prepared which favored the agriculturists
more than the manufacturing interest desired to do.
This bill was drawn up by Silas Wright, a warm friend
of Mr. Van Buren, and it provided for the imposition
of a high rate of protective duties. While the bill was
still pending, the New York legislature passed resolu
tions by an almost unanimous vote, instructing their
senators to vote in its favor. Mr. Van Buren did not
feel satisfied with the bill ; it is very probable, however,
that he desired to have something done to secure the
tariff' interest in the middle and western states for Gen
eral Jackson ; and his votes upon the various amend
ments offered in the Senate seem to have been influ
enced more or less by this consideration. When the

EFFECTS OF THE TARIFF BILL. 429
final vote was taken, he obeyed his instructions, and
supported the bill.
The law of 1828, no doubt, added materially to the
strength of General Jackson in the middle states, or to
speak more properly, perhaps, it served an important
purpose in preventing the administration from alienat
ing from him those tariff friends whose votes contrib
uted to his success. The Adams' men were completely
outwitted; and their candidate failed. But the law was
a bad one — unfair and unjust — and should never have
been passed. It is very doubtful, indeed, whether the
result of the presidential election would have been dif
ferent, taking the whole Union together, if the law had
not been enacted. Giants, however, are as liable to
stumble as pigmies, and great men sometimes commit
errors as well as fools.
At the same session of Congress, Mr. Van Buren
advocated the passage of the bill for the relief of the
surviving officers of the revolutionary army, in an able
speech delivered on the 28th of January, 1828. He
also defended the position assumed by the vice-presi
dent, Mr. Calhoun, that the latter had no right to call
a senator to order for words spoken in debate ; and in
his speech on this question— which had an important
political bearing, because Mr. Adams himself, who had
been assailed by John Randolph in the Senate, attacked
the decision of the presiding officer, in the National In
telligencer  Mr. Van Buren entered into an elaborate
review of the history of political parties, and showed,

430 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
as his friends claimed, that the administration party
had supported measures, and entertained opinions in
regard to the powers of the government, similar to
those brought forward and advocated by the federalists
under the administration of the elder Adams.
The question of the unconstitutionality ofthe United
States Bank, or of its recharter, was not agitated while
Mr. Van Buren was in the Senate ; but in his speech
on the powers of the vice-president, he fully comtnit-
ted himself upon it, in advance, and said that he re
garded the old bank as the "great pioneer of constitu
tional encroachments."
The peculiar position of De Witt Clinton and Mr.
Van Buren with reference to national politics, they be
ing the leaders of rival parties in the state, yet both the
friends and admirers of General Jackson — their per
sonal relations from 1825 till the death of Mr. Clinton
— and the effect of that sad event upon the political
fortunes of Mr. Van Buren — have been so often the
subjects of comment, that it will not be out of place to
introduce here some extracts from a letter addressed
to the author by a cotemporary of those eminent men,
whose means of information were such as to entitle his
statements to be received with the fullest confidence :
" There were not," says the letter, " any authorized
steps taken toward bringing about a friendly under
standing between Governor Clinton and Mr. Van
Buren in the winter of 1827-8, in view of the presi
dential election. The posture of parties and interests

RELATIONS TOWARD DE WITT CLINTON. 431
at that time, while it did not invite or produce personal
antagonism or political asperity between those gentle
men, precluded anything like an arrangement or un
derstanding. At an earlier day, viz. during the session
of 1826, interviews were certainly had between Ben
jamin Knower, Perley Keyes, and Governor Clinton,
and between the friends of Governor Clinton and Mr.
Van Buren ; but with less reference to the presidential
question and to national politics, than to questions of
state policy and of immediate legislative action. Indeed,
at that time, the course of the democratic party in the
state, — although the indications, to those familiar with
moving causes, pointed in one direction, — the preva
lent, but quiet, feeling of that party, in all its public
movements, was to avoid a discussion of, or direct
committal upon, the presidential question, and to re
serve the democratic strength for an expression at the
proper time that should carry its united energies, with
auxiliaries from other parties, to the support of General
Jackson. The legislative appointments of that session
(1826), of Chancellor Jones and Colonel McKown,
and particularly the desire of the friends of Mr. Van
Buren to induce Governor Clinton to nominate Mr.
Redfield * to the vacancy occasioned by the resigna
tion of Judge Rochester, led to these interviews and
partial understandings. But the presidential question,
although remote and not yet publicly mooted, was un
doubtedly not without its effect upon the action of the
[* Heman J. Redfield]

432 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
day ; and led to a conciliatory course toward Gover
nor Clinton, and, no doubt, to a readiness to recipro
cate it on his part. After the election of 1824, and
upon the accession of Mr. Adams in 1825, Governor
Clinton avowed his preference for General Jackson.
Many believed, — and I was so assured by prominent
friends of his — that he declined the mission to Eng
land, ostensibly because he was unwilling to quit the
state government, or to incur the expense of a foreign
embassy in the state of his pecuniary affairs, but really
because he preferred not to accept office under Mr.
Adams, and thus identify himself with his adminis
tration. "In the spring of 1826, so well known were Gover
nor Clinton's views toward Mr. Adams, that among
the prominent politicians in the democratic party at
Albany, an unwillingness was felt and expressed to
bring out a candidate in opposition to him at the en
suing state election. The extent of this feeling was
not unknown to Governor Clinton. The personal re
lations of Governor Clinton and Mr. Van Buren were
at this time, if not cordial, at least friendly.* * * *
But such was the prevalent desire of the democrats of
the interior, where the old feeling was yet active, to
offer a candidate of their own, that it was not deemed
expedient or even practicable to resist it. A knowl-
[* During the summer of 1826 friendly visits were interchanged
between Governor CUnton and Mr. Van Buren. They dined with each
other, and often met at the houses of their respective friends.]

RELATIONS TOWARD DE WITT CLINTON. 433
edge, however, of the existence of a qualified friendly
feeling toward Governor Clinton at Albany, and a be
lief that any opposition to him would be unsuccessful,
induced Chancellor Sanford and other prominent
gentlemen to refuse their names as opposing candi
dates, although the former was urgently appealed to,
when it was found that an opposing nomination was
unavoidable. The nomination of Judge Rochester was
then suggested, and promptly acquiesced in and cordi
ally supported by Mr. Van Buren and his friends. The
greatly reduced majority by which Governor Clinton
was reelected, evinced the activity and vigor with
which the contest was conducted by the democratic
party of the state.
" Although this contest had, so far as the action of
parties was involved, again separated Mr. Van Buren
and Governor Clinton, and little opportunity for per
sonal intercourse was afforded, no personal asperity
was manifested by either. Nor was it politic to in
dulge it, on either side, in any offensive manner, since
whatever may have been Governor Clinton's induce
ments to a state of modified good feeling, the reelec
tion of Mr. Van Buren to the United States Senate,
at the session of 1827, was a result which his friends
were desirous to accomplish, and which, however con
fident of success, they would not leave to the hazard
of any fortuitous adverse combinations. It is undoubt
edly true, that, subsequently, the peculiar political as
pects, the known partiality of Governor Clinton for
28

434 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
General Jackson, and the belief that it was in a degree
at least reciprocated, threw a doubt over Mr. Van
Buren's fortunes, and seemed to foreshadow an ulti
mate conflict between them for position in the adminis
tration. It is true, also, that this feeling produced its
effect upon the minds of the principals, and the more
immediate friends of each, and that some of them were
not unwilling to effect an understanding that should
enable both to support General Jackson, and cooperate
in his administration. A sort of armed truce followed
the reelection of Mr. Van Buren to the Senate, two or
three of the Clintonian friends of General Jackson
having voted for him, while the great body of the party
with which Governor Clinton acted voted against him,
as they ultimately voted against General Jackson. * * *
What would have been the course of events — what
the struggle for ascendency in the cabinet or adminis
tration of General Jackson — and which would have ob
tained the mastery — for it is obvious that their aims
and interests, and the parties attached to each, would
clash — is now, and ever can be only matter of con
jecture, since the sudden death of Governor Clinton
terminated his career and the aims of his friends, and
placed Mr. Van Buren in the commanding position
which led directly to his ascendency in the national
councils." It may be idle to speculate upon the turn which the
fortunes of Mr. Van Buren would have taken, if Mr.
Clinton had not died at this particular juncture ; yet

HIS PROSPECTS. 435
it seems to be necessary, because it has been said that
the former was indebted entirely for his subsequent
success to the decease of his rival. The death of Gov
ernor Clinton, indeed, was fortunate for Mr. Van
Buren, inasmuch as it removed a barrier to his politi
cal advancement ; but it is by no means improbable
that that barrier, if such it had in reality proved, would
have been overcome. If the chief magistracy of
New York had contented Mr. Clinton, he would un
doubtedly have received the support of Mr. Van
Buren ; but, had he aimed to secure a controlling in
fluence in the new administration, a collision between
them would have been unavoidable. It was said by
the presses in the interest of Mr. Adams, that if Mr.
Van Buren had been appointed minister to England
in 1825 instead of Rufus King, there would have been
no contest for the presidency in 1828 ; yet this com
pliment to his standing and importance, however de
served, had very little of truth, in other respects, to
commend it. The ambition of Mr. Van Buren looked
to advancement in the general government, and a for
eign mission was certainly not calculated to further
his views.
Mr. Van Buren occupied the vantage ground of
Mr. Clinton with reference to national politics. He
was the acknowledged leader of the old Crawford in
terest, and no politician belonging to the republican, or
democratic party, as they now styled themselves, in the
northern states, contributed more than he to pave the

436 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
way for the success of General Jackson. During the
administration of Mr. Adams he stood in the front rank
of the minority in the Senate. His fascinating address,
his imperturbable temper, and his unfailing courtesy in
times of the highest excitement, gained him many
warm friends in Congress, and secured the respect of
his opponents ; while, at the same time, his talents
were achieving for him a national distinction, and
many already anticipated his advancement to a larger
sphere of usefulness. He had no rival from the north
in Congress ; in the west, he had the powerful support
of Thomas H. Benton ; and in the south, John Forsyth
was his firm ally and friend. John C. Calhoun wielded
a commanding influence in Pennsylvania, and in South
Carolina and the adjoining states, but he had mani
fested his repugnance to De Witt Clinton at the very
outset of his political career. Edward Livingston and
Felix Grundy were the confidential friends of General
Jackson ; the former, though now a resident of Louis
iana was the head of the Livingston family of New
York and had inherited not a few of their prejudices
against the Clintons ; and both were inclined to be par
tial to Mr. Van Buren rather than to Mr. Clinton.
In respect of character and ability, also, Mr. Van
Buren had the advantage of Mr. Clinton. Both pos
sessed talents of a high order. Mr. Van Buren had
less genius, but more practical tact. Mr. Clinton had
more self-reliance, Mr. Van Buren greater self-com
mand. The one was wilful, headstrong and impatient ;

ELECTED GOVERNOR. 437
the other calm, cautious and prudent. Mr. Clinton
was reserved in manner, but gave free utterance to
his thoughts, — Mr. Van Buren was frank in manner,
but concealed his thoughts. Mr. Clinton was always
bold and decided, — Mr. Van Buren only so at the prop
er time. The former studied books, — the latter men.
The one could scarcely control himself, much less gov
ern others ; the other was a complete master of him
self, and, therefore, easily obtained the mastery over
others. Such being the distinctive traits of each, it is
not difficult to determine which was the better poli
tician of the two, or which was more likely to be suc
cessful. By the death of Mr. Clinton, in February, 1828, a
vacancy occurred in the executive administration of
New York. The friends of Mr. Van Buren, as well
as himself, were then looking forward to a seat in the
cabinet, and they supposed it would advance his and
their views, if they could stamp upon him the approba
tion of the democratic, or Jackson party, in the state,
by electing him to the vacant gubernatorial chair. He
was well satisfied with his position in the Senate, but
deferred to the advice of his friends. But when it was
decided that he should become a candidate, there was
still a difficulty in the way ; and that was the selection
of a proper person for lieutenant-governor, for, in case
Mr. Van Buren were to take a seat in the cabinet,
upon the former would devolve the executive duties for
nearly the entire term. Mr. Van Buren, of course, had

438 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
no desire that the office should be filled by one who
was unfavorably disposed toward himself; and in the
event of the Jackson party being successful, it was
foreseen that great caution and prudence would be re
quired in the appointments to offices, most of them be
ing then filled by Clintonians, and the Bucktail Jack
son men naturally regarding themselves as better en
titled to favor.
It was finally agreed that Enos T. Throop, then cir
cuit judge of the seventh circuit, was the most suitable
person to be supported for the office of lieutenant-gov
ernor. Besides possessing the requisite talents for the
proper discharge of the duties of the higher office,
Judge Throop was a firm party man, and cherished
no ulterior views that could possibly clash with the in
terests of Mr. Van Buren. Accordingly, the latter
visited the Judge at his residence on the Owasco Lake,
near Auburn, in the summer of 1828, and prevailed
upon him to permit the use of his name before the
democratic convention soon to assemble.
The Jackson convention met at Herkimer in Sep
tember, and Mr. Van Buren and Judge Throop were
nominated for governor and lieutenant-governor. The
selection of' the former had been generally anticipated,
and no opposition was made to his nomination in the
convention. The election was a warm and exciting
one, particularly in relation to the contest for the pres
idency. For the state offices there were three tickets
in the field. Smith Thompson, one of the Justices of

ENTERS UPON HIS DUTIES AS GOVERNOR. 439
the Supreme Court of the United States, was supported
for governor by the Adams men, or National Repub
licans, and Solomon Southwick by the Anti-masons, a
new political party then recently formed. The Anti-
masonic ticket drew off from Mr. Van Buren a num
ber of Jackson men in the western part of the state ;
and, consequently, he did not receive a majority over
both the opposing candidates. There were over two
hundred and seventy-six thousand votes cast for gov
ernor; the plurality of Mr. Van Buren over Judge
Thompson was upwards of thirty thousand ; and Mr.
Southwick received only about thirty-three thousand
votes. If there had been but two tickets, Mr. Van
Buren would still have been elected without any ques
tion, although Mr. Hammond is so positive in express
ing a contrary opinion.* The masons among the na
tional republicans would never have voted for an anti-
mason, and all the leading anti-masons were as yet de
cidedly adverse to a coalition with either one of the
two principal parties. f The true test was the electoral
ticket ; the Jackson candidates receiving upwards of
five thousand majority in the state.
Having resigned the office of Senator, Mr. Van
Buren took the constitutional oath as governor of the
state on the first day of January, 1829. His message
at Ihe commencement of the session of the legislature
in the same month was admitted to be an able one by
* Political History, voL ii. p. 289.
f Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Throop were not masons.

440 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
members of all parties. He referred approvingly to
the canal system and policy of the state, but advised
caution in the prosecution of other works. He recom
mended, also, the abolition of the auction monopoly,
the revision of the election laws so as to prevent the
unnecessary expenditure of money at elections, the
repeal of the district system of choosing presidential
electors and the substitution of a general ticket ; but
the principal topic of his message, as it was the engross
ing subject of discussion in the legislature, was the re
newal of the bank charters, a large portion of which
were about to expire. A reform in the banking system
of the state had long been called for, and had been re
peatedly recommended by De Witt Clinton. The peo
ple of the state had suffered a great deal from the fre
quent failures of banking institutions, and demanded a
change. Different plans had been proposed to remedy
the evils complained of, but one, subsequently known
as the safety fund system, prepared by Joshua Forman,
then a resident of Syracuse, but who afterward re
moved to North Carolina where he died, appeared to
be the most feasible. This was submitted to Mr. Van
Buren, and after undergoing some modifications sug
gested by himself or the experienced bankers whom he
consulted, was adopted by him. He recommended it
to the attention of the legislature in his annual mes
sage, and soon after laid it before them in detail. The
plan, in substance, was approved of by the legislature,
and the safety fund law enacted ; and all the banks in

APPOINTED SECRETARY OF STATE. 441
the state were soon brought under this system. Sub
sequent events showed that it did not afford a perfect
protection against fraud or failure ; but it was so great
an improvement on the old system, that Mr. Van
Buren is entitled to much credit for perceiving its
merits and for adopting it.
Mr. Van Buren's career as governor of the state
was brief, indeed. His administration had just fairly
commenced when he was invited by General Jackson,
as had been anticipated by himself and his friends, to
take a seat in the cabinet as secretary of state. The
position thus tendered to him was accepted in compli
ance with the wishes of the democratic members of the
legislature to whom the invitation was made known,
and who advised its acceptance. On the 6th day of
March, 1829, the nomination of Mr. Van Buren was
unanimously confirmed by the Senate of the United
States, and on the 12th instant, he announced to the
legislature his resignation of the gubernatorial office.
Resolutions were adopted by that body congratulating
him on his appointment and approving of his decision;
and accompanied by the best wishes of his friends he
repaired to his post at the seat of government of the
nation. Though removed, as it were, from the politics of
New York, Mr. Van Buren left behind him a great
number of devoted friends to take care of his interests,
to represent him in his native state, and to sustain him
in his new position by her voice and influence. Among
19*

442 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
them were the acting governor, Judge Throop, William
L. Marcy, lately comptroller but then an associate
justice of the supreme court, Silas Wright, jr., the
comptroller, Azariah C. Flagg, secretary of state, Ed
win Croswell, editor of the Albany Argus, James
Porter, Register in Chancery and a brother-in-law of
Governor Throop, and Benjamin F. Butler, the former
law-partner of Mr. Van Buren. All were men of de
cided talents, and for many years they wielded an in
fluence in this state in favor of Mr. Van Buren that
was irresistible. They were termed by their opponents
the Albany Regency, and Mr. Van Buren was called,
somewhat derisively, the favorite son of New York.
Whether these appellations were just or unjust, it is
certain that they exercised a regent's power, and he
was the fortunate, if not the favorite son, of his native
state. The office of secretary of state afforded no opportu
nity for particular distinction. The policy introduced
by Mr. Van Buren and approved by General Jackson,
in the management of our foreign relations, was frank
and liberal, but firm and decided. While he had
charge of the department, the negotiations with Eng
land were reopened, the coercive policy was aban
doned, and the colonial trade finally secured upon the
most favorable terms. Other important negotiations,
particularly with reference to long pending claims,
were commenced under his auspices, and, after he left
the department, conducted to a satisfactory adjustment

DIVISIONS IN THE CABINET. 443
of the different questions involved, in the manner he
had foreshadowed.
It was the desire of General Jackson that his cabinet
should be a unit. Determined himself to assume all
the responsibility of the acts of his administration,
he wished his advisers to act harmoniously together.
This was found to be impossible. Divisions and jeal
ousies sprung up, and the cabinet was at length dis
solved. The ostensible cause of this apparently un
toward event affected only the private relations of the
members of the cabinet, but the real source of the dif
ficulty was more important. There were now two
rival candidates for the succession — Mr. Van Buren
and Mr. Calhoun — made so principally by the action
of their friends. Each party endeavored to secure the
higher position in the administration, and each was rep
resented in the cabinet. Mr. Van Buren had the
whole republican party in the north and west, with a
few unimportant exceptions, in his favor. Mr. Calhoun
had many warm friends all over the union, but at the
south, where his chief popularity lay, the Crawford
men divided the power with him. Mr. Van Buren
was the favorite with the old Crawford party ;* and
they now arrayed themselves on his side. The sup
porters of Mr. Calhoun claimed to be particularly the
* The Crawford men in Georgia gave the vote of the state for
vice-president, in 1824, to Mr. Van Buren, and in 1828 they refused
to support Mr. Calhoun, and gave the electoral vote of the state to
William Smith, of South CaroUna.

444 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
friends of General Jackson, and the Crawford men, who
could not forget that the former had been the chief
cause of the defeat of their candidate in 1824, replied
by charging them with being secretly hostile to the ad
ministration ; and they pointed to Mr. Calhoun's course
as a member of Mr. Monroe's cabinet in advising the
censure of General Jackson for his conduct during the
Seminole war, as affording the evidence of his per
sonal hostility to the incumbent of the presidential
chair. The strife in the cabinet and in the party resulted in
the ascendency of Mr. Van Buren, and the original
Crawford and Jackson men became arrayed against
the friends of Mr. Calhoun. For a long time after the
elements of dissolution were found to be at work in the
cabinet, Mr. Van Buren kept it together by his concil
iatory course, his admirable temper, his kindness of
manner, and his prudence of speech and action. But
he was ultimately convinced that the success of the
administration, and his own prospects for the future,
demanded his retirement from a position so unpleasant;
and on the 11th of April, 1831, he opened the way to a
dissolution of the cabinet, by a voluntary resignation
of the office which he held.
General Jackson had now become warmly attached
to Mr. Van Buren. He had great confidence in his
ability, and desired to secure his services in another
capacity. It had been his wish to settle all the ques
tions in difference with Great Britain, such as the right

APPOINTED MINISTER TO ENGLAND. 445
of blockade, the impressment of seamen, and the right
of search, which had occasioned the war of 1812, and
still remained unadjusted. Had Mr. Van Buren con
tinued in the state department, he would have had the
management of the negotiations ; and it seemed to the
president that the same thing might, in effect, be ac
complished, by the appointment of the late secretary
as minister to England, with full powers to conduct the
negotiation upon those questions. Immediately after
his resignation, therefore, the mission was tendered to
Mr. Van Buren. His immediate friends were anxious
that he should remain in the country, but the president
so earnestly urged his acceptance that he finally com
plied and embarked for England in the course of the
following summer. He reached London in September,
and was received by the British court with every mark
of favor.
The appointment of Mr. Van Buren having been
made during the recess, it was one of the first brought
forward for consideration when the Senate assembled
at the regular session of Congress in December. It
soon began to be whispered abroad that it would be
opposed, and the question of his confirmation was thus
placed in doubt. The instructions of Mr. Van Buren
to Mr. McLane, by whom the negotiations for the re
covery of the colonial trade had been conducted, were
called for ; and from these it appeared that that gen
tleman had been instructed, in his discretion however,
to inform the British cabinet, if necessary to remove

446 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
the bad feelings produced by the course of the pre
vious administration, of the position occupied by those
then in authority with reference to the colonial trade.
The tone of these instructions, though what might
reasonably have been expected from Mr. Van Buren,
considering his decided opposition to the coercive
policy of Mr. Adams, was displeasing to the friends of
the late administration in the Senate, and they voted
against the confirmation. With them voted the two
senators from South Carolina, Mr. Poindexter of Mis
sissippi, and Mr. Moore of Alabama, who were the
confidential friends of Mr. Calhoun. The vote was
now a tie, and the vice-president, Mr. Calhoun, decided
it in the negative, that the Senate would not advise or
consent to the appointment.
Like the removal of Mr. Clinton from the office of
Canal Commissioner, the rejection of Mr. Van Buren
was an ill-advised act, and it often returned "to plague
the inventors." It gained him troops of friends in
every state in the union. He was regarded as a perse
cuted man, and meetings of indignation were held all
over the country. In New York the proceedings were
marked by great enthusiasm and devotion to Mr. Van
Buren, and when he returned home he was welcomed
by a perfect shower of addresses and resolutions, ex
pressing condemnation of the act of rejection and the
warmest attachment to his person.
The rejection did more than this. It secured him
the nomination for the vice-presidency on the same

ELECTED VICE-PRESIDENT. 447
ticket with General Jackson in 1832, by a national
democratic convention held at Baltimore in the month
of May. This nomination was made in accordance
with the general sentiment of the party as expressed
at the county and state conventions. The republicans
of Pennsylvania alone withheld from him their support,
because he was understood to be opposed to a high
protective tariff. He received a large majority of the
electoral votes, however. The whole number was two
hundred and eighty-six, one hundred and eighty-nine
of which were given to him.
As the presiding officer of a deliberative body Mr.
Van Buren had no superior. Both friends and enemies
conceded to him the possession of rare qualities for
such a station. A political opponent bears this honor
able testimony : " A model presiding officer was Mr.
Van Buren. The attentive manner in which he lis
tened, or seemed to listen, to each successive speaker,
no matter how dull the subject, or how stupid the
orator, the placidity of his countenance, unruffled in
the midst of excitement, the modest dignity of his de
portment, the gentlemanly ease of his address, his well-
modulated voice and sympathetic smile, extorted ad
miration from even an opposing Senate ; while the
proper firmness he displayed on all occasions, the read
iness with which he met and repulsed any attack upon
the privileges or dignity of the chair, the more conspicu
ous in contrast with the quiet indifference with whicli

448 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
he entertained any merely personal assault, gained him
the good-will of all beholders."*
The office of vice-president is one mainly of honor ;
and rarely in itself one of high importance. Mr. Van
Buren supported the administration of General Jackson
with all his influence, in the contest with the United
States Bank, the removal of the deposits, the compro
mise, the controversy with South Carolina, the French
difficulty, and all the other great measures and ques
tions with which it was identified. Ever since his re
jection it had been tacitly understood that he would be
the candidate of the democratic party to succeed Gen
eral Jackson ; and at a national Convention held at
Baltimore, in May, 1835, he was nominated by an
unanimous vote on the first ballot, and the late Richard
M. Johnson, of Kentucky, was selected as the republi
can candidate for vice-president. The protracted
struggle of the United States Bank was now ended,
and the country was apparently peaceful and prosper
ous. The election in 1836, therefore, passed off quiet
ly, and Mr. Van Buren succeeded by a large majority.
In the state of New York the majority for the Van
t
Buren electors was nearly twenty-eight thousand. In
the union he received one hundred and seventy of the
two hundred and ninety-four electoral votes. He was
duly inaugurated on the 4th day of March, 1837, on
which occasion he delivered an address, the following
extracts from which will show the views and prin-
* March's Reminiscences of Congress, p. 215.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 449
ciples with which he entered upon the presidential
office. " The success that has attended our great experiment is, in itself,
sufficient cause for gratitude, on account of the happiness it has actu
ally conferred, and the example it has unanswerably given. But to
me, my fellow-citizens, looking forward to the far distant future, with
ardent prayers and confiding hopes, this retrospect presents a ground
for still deeper delight. It impresses on my mind a firm belief that
the perpetuity of our institutions depends upon ourselves ; that, if
we maintain the principles on which they were established, they are
destined to confer their benefits on countless generations yet to come •
and that America will present to every friend of mankind the cheering
proof, that a popular government, wisely formed, is wanting in no
element of endurance or strength. Fifty years ago its rapid failure
was boldly predicted. Latent and uncontrollable causes of dissolution
were supposed to exist, even by the wise and good ; and not only did
unfriendly or speculative theorists anticipate for us the fate of past
republics, but the fears of many an honest patriot overbalanced his
sanguine hopes. Look back on these forebodings, not hastily, but
reluctantly made, and see how, in every instance, they have completely
failed. " An imperfect experience, during the struggles of the Revolution,
was supposed to warrant a belief that the people would not bear the
taxation requisite to the discharge of an immense public debt already
incurred, and to defray the necessary expenses of the government
The cost of two wars has been paid, not only without a murmur, but
with unequaUed alacrity. No one is now left to doubt that every
burden will be cheerfuUy borne that may be necessary to sustain our
civU institutions, or guard our honor or our welfare. Indeed, all ex
perience has shown that the willingness of the people to contribute to
these ends, in cases of emergency, has uniformly outrun the confidence
of their representatives.
" In the early stages of the new government, when all felt the im
posing influence, as they recognized the unequaUed services ofthe first
29

450 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
president, it was a common sentiment, that the great weight of his
character could alone bind the discordant materials of our government
together, and save us from the violence of contending factions. Since
his death nearly forty years are gone. Party exasperation has been
often carried to its highest point; the virtue and fortitude of the
people have sometimes been greatly tried ; yet our system, purified
and enhanced in value by aU it has encountered, still preserves its
spirit of free and fearless discussion, blended with unimpaired fraternal
feeUng.. " The capacity of the people for self-government, and their willing.
ness, from a high sense of duty, and without those exhibitions of
coercive power so generally employed in other countries, to submit
to all needful restraints and exactions of the municipal law, have also
been favorably exemplified in the history of the American Btates.
Occasionally, it is true, the ardor of public sentiment, outrunning the
regular progress of the judicial tribunals, or seeking to reach cases not
denounced as criminal by the existing law, has displayed itself in a
manner calculated to give pain to the friends of free government, and
to encourage the hopes of those who wish for its overthrow. These
occurrences, however, have been far less frequent in our country than
in any other of equal population on the globe ; and with the diffusion
of intelUgence, it may well be hoped that they will constantly diminish
in frequency and violence. The generous patriotism and sound com
mon sense of the great mass of our fellow-citizens wUl assuredly, in
time, produce this result ; for as every assumption of iUegal power
not only wounds the majesty of the law, but furnishes a pretext for
abridging the liberties of the people, the latter have the most direct and
permanent interest in preserving the great landmarks of social order,
and maintaining, on all occasions, the inviolability of those constitu
tional and legal provisions which they themselves have made.
" In a supposed unfitness of our institutions for those hostile emer
gencies which no country can always avoid, their friends found a
fruitful source of apprehension — their enemies of hope. While they
foresaw less promptness of action than in governments differently
formed, they overlooked the far more important consideration, that,

INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 451
with us, war could never be the result of individual or irresponsible
will, but must be a measure of redress for injuries sustained, voluntarily
resorted to by those who were to bear the necessary sacrifice ; who
would consequently feel an individual interest in the contest, and
whose energy would be' commensurate with the difficulties to be
encountered. Actual events have proved their error ; the last war,
far from impairing, gave new confidence to our government; and amid
recent apprehensions of a similar conflict, we saw that the energies
of our country would not be'wanting in ample season to vindicate its
rights. We may not possess, as we should not desire to possess, the
extended and ever ready military organization of other nations ; we
may occasionally suffer in the outset for the want of it, but, among
ourselves, all doubt upon this great point has ceased, while a salutary
experience will prevent a contrary opinion from inviting aggression
from abroad.
" Certain danger was foretold from the extension of our territory,
the multiplication of states, and the increase of population. Our sys
tem was supposed to be adapted only to boundaries comparatively
narrow. These have been widened beyond conjecture ; the members
of our confederacy are already doubled; and the numbers of our
people are incredibly augmented. The alleged causes of danger have
long surpassed anticipation, but none of the consequences have follow
ed. The power and influence of the repubUc have risen to a height
obvious to all mankind ; respect for its authority was not more appa
rent at its ancient than it is at its present limits ; new and inexhaustible
sources of general prosperity have been opened ; and effects of distance
have been averted by tlie inventive genius of our people, developed
and fostered by the spirit of our institutions ; and the enlarged variety
and amount of interests, productions, and pursuits, have strengthened
the chain of mutual dependence, and formed a circle of mutual benefits,
too apparent ever to be overlooked.
• " In justly balancing the powers of the federal and state authorities,
difficulties nearly insurmountable arose at the outset, and subsequent
collisions were deemed inevitable. Amid these, it was scarcely be-
Ueved possible that a scheme of government, so complex in construe-

452 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
tion, could remain uninjured. From time to time embarrassments
have certainly occurred; but how just is the confidence of future
safety imparted by the knowledge that each in succession has been
happily removed 1 Overlooking partial and temporary evils as insep
arable from the practical operation of aU human institutions, and look
ing only to the general result, every patriot has reason to be satisfied.
WhUe the federal government has successfully performed its appro
priate functions in relation to foreign affairs, and concerns evidently
national, that of every state has remarkably improved in protecting
and developing local interests and individual welfare; and if the
vibrations of authority have occasionaUy tended too much toward one
or the other, it is unquestionably certain that the ultimate operation
of the entire system has been to. strengthen aU the existing institutions,
and to elevate our whole country in prosperity and renown.
" The last, perhaps the greatest, of the prominent sources of discord
and disaster supposed to lurk in our poUtical condition, was the insti
tution of domestic slavery. Our forefathers were deeply impressed
with the delicacy of this subject, and they treated it with a forbear
ance so evidently wise, that, in spite of every sinister foreboding, it
never, until the present period, disturbed the tranquillity of our com
mon country. Such a result is sufficient evidence of the justice and
the patriotism of their course ; it is evidence not to be mistaken, that
an adherence to it can prevent all embarrassment from this, as well as
every other anticipated cause of difficulty or danger. Have not recent
events made it obvious, to the slightest reflection, that the least devia
tion from this spirit of forbearance is injurious to every interest, that
of humanity included ?
" Amid the violence of excited passions, this generous and fraternal
feeling has been sometimes disregarded ; and standing as I now do
before my countrymen, in this high place of honor and of trust, I can
not refrain from anxiously invoking my feUow-citizens never to be
deaf to its dictates. Perceiving, before my election, the deep interest
this subject was beginning to excite, I believed it a solemn duty fully
to make known my sentiments in regard to it ; and now, when every
motive for misrepresentation has passed away, I trust that they will

INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 453
be candidly weighed and understpod. At least, they wiU be my
standard of conduct in the path before me. I then declared that,
if the desire of those of my countrymen who were favorable to
my election was gratified, ' I must go into the presidential chair the
inflexible and uncompromising opponent of every attempt on the part
of Congress, to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, against the
wishes of the slaveholding states; and, also, with a determination
equally decided to resist the sUghtest interference with it in the states
where it exists.' I submitted also to my fellow-citizens, with fulness
and frankness, the reasons which led me to this determination. The
result authorizes me to believe that they have been approved, and are
confided in by a majority of the people of the United States, including
those whom they most immediately affect. It now only remains to
add, that no bUl conflicting with these views, can ever receive jny
constitutional sanction. These opinions have been adopted in the firm
belief that they are in accordance with the spirit that actuated the
venerated fathers of the republic, and that succeeding experience has
proved them to be humane, patriotic, expedient, honorable, and just.
If the agitation of this subject was intended to reach the stabUity of
our institutions, enough has occurred to show that it has signally faU-
ed ; and that in this, as in every other instance, the apprehensions of
the timid and the hopes of the wicked for the destruction of our
government, are again destined to be disappointed. Here and there,
indeed, scenes of dangerous excitement have occurred— terrifying
instances of local violence have been witnessed ; and a reckless disre
gard of the consequences of their conduct has exposed individuals to
popular indignation ; but neither masses of the people, nor sections
of the country, have been swerved from their devotion to the bond of
union, and the principles it has made sacred. It wiU be ever thus.
Such attempts at dangerous agitation may periodicaUy return, but,
with each, the object wUl be better understood. That predominating
affection for our political system which prevails throughout our terri
torial Umits, that calm and enlightened judgment which ultimately
governs our people as one vast body, will always be at hand to resist

454 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
and control every effort, foreign or domestic, which aims, or would
lead, to overthrow our institutions.
" What can be more gratifying than such a retrospect as this ? We
look back on obstacles avoided, and dangers overcome, — on expecta
tions more than realized, and prosperity perfectly secured. To the
hopes of the hostile, the fears of the timid, and the doubts of the
anxious, actual experience has given the conclusive reply. We have
seen time gradually dispel every unfavorable foreboding, and our
constitution surmount every adverse circumstance, dreaded at the out
set as beyond control. Present excitement will, at all times, magnify
present dangers ; but true philosophy must teach us that none more
threatening than the past can remain to be overcome ; and we ought,
for we have just reason, to entertain an abiding confidence in the
stability of our institutions, and an entire conviction that, if adminis
tered in the true form, character aud spirit, in which they were
established, they are abundantly adequate to preserve to us and our
children the rich blessings already derived from them ; to make our
beloved land, for a thousand generations, that chosen spot where
happiness springs from a perfect equality of political rights.
"For myself, therefore, I desire to declare, that the principle that
will govern me in the high duty to which my country calls me, is a
strict adherence to the letter and spirit of the constitution, as it was
designed by those who framed it. Looking back to it as a sacred
instrument, carefully and not easily framed ; remembering that it was
throughout a work of concession and compromise ; viewing it as limit
ed to national objects ; regarding it as leaving to the people and the
states all power not explicitly parted with, I shall endeavor to pre
serve, protect, and defend it, by anxiously referring to its provisions
for direction in every action. To matters of domestic concernment
which it has intrusted to the federal government, and to such as relate
to our intercourse with foreign nations, I shall zealously devote my
self ; beyond those limits I shall never pass. * *
" In receiving from the people the sacred trust twice confided to my
Ulustrious predecessor, and which he has discharged so faithfully and
so well, I know that I cannot expect to perform the arduous task with

OPPOSITION TO THE ABOLITIONISTS. 455
equal ability and success. But united as I have been in his counsels,
a daily witness of his exclusive and unsurpassed devotion to his coun
try's welfare, agreeing with him in sentiments which his countrymen
have warmly supported, and permitted to partake largely of his confi
dence, I may hope that somewhat of the same cheering approbation
will be found to attend upon my path. For him, I but express, with
my own, the wishes of all, that he may yet long live to enjoy the
brilliant evening of his weU-spent life ; and for myself, conscious of
but one desire, faithfuUy to serve my country, I throw myself without
fear on its justice and kindness. Beyond that, I only look to the
gracious protection of the Divine Being whose strengthening support
I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down upon us
all. May it be among the dispensations of his providence to bless our
beloved country with honors and with length of days ; may her ways
be ways of pleasantness, and all her paths be peace !"
It will be seen that the subject of the abolition of
slavery constituted an important feature in the inau
gural address. The agitation of this question had
commenced in 1834-5 in the northern states. Mr.
Van Buren and his friends in New York had, from
the first, set their faces steadily against the movement.
He deprecated the excitement as being likely to lead
to sectional animosities which would disturb the peace
and tranquillity of the union. While a candidate for
the presidency in 1836, he declared himself, in reply
to numerous inquiries, unequivocally and unalterably
opposed to the anti-slavery agitation ; and while he
felt bound to admit that Congress possessed the power
of abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, which
the abolitionists were then striving to accomplish, he
said that, in his opinion, there were objections to the

456 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
exercise of that power as imperative in their nature
and obligation " as the most palpable want of constitu
tional power would be." * Wisely, therefore, with a
view of preventing the further spread of the excite
ment, and of quieting the fears of his republican
friends at the south who had so generously and so
warmly supported him during the recent canvass, he
pledged himself on the threshold of his administration
not to countenance in aught the designs of the aboli
tionists. From the tone of his inaugural address, from his in
timacy with General Jackson and his well-known ap
proval of the leading measures of the late administra
tion, the inference was irresistible, that Mr. Van Buren
designed to carry out the same policy which had been
pursued by his distinguished friend and predecessor.
Had he not expressed himself so fully on this point,
the conclusion would have been a natural one ; espe
cially when it was seen that he continued in office the
cabinet advisers of General Jackson.
Mr. Van Buren was fortunate indeed in being sur
rounded by counsellors so able and distinguished on his
first advent to power. At the head of the state depart
ment was his old and tried friend, the chivalric, accom
plished and talented John Forsyth ; Levi Woodbury,
the able lawyer, the cool-headed statesman, and the
skilful financier, presided over the destinies of the
Treasury; Joel R. Poinsett, eminent both as a scholar
* Letter to the citizens of Jackson, North Carolina, March 6, 1886.

THE SURPLUS REVENUE. 457
and politician, was selected to take charge of the war
department recently vacated by the appointment of
Governor Cass as minister to France ; Mahlon Dicker-
son, for many years the sagacious and high-minded sen
ator from New Jersey, was the secretary of the navy ;
Amos Kendall, the shrewd and forcible political writer,
was the postmaster-general ; and Benjamin F. Butler,
the pupil, law-partner and protege of the new presi
dent, filled the office of attorney-general,. With such
men to counsel and advise, had Mr. Van Buren pos
sessed a bare tithe of the talents which were really his
own, he could scarcely have failed to conduct his ad
ministration creditably and respectably, if not safely,
through the trials and difficulties, the dangers and em
barrassments, which constantly beset it from its begin
ning to its close.
The fourth of March, 1837, was a bright and beau
tiful day ; and if the natural world ever sympathized
with the pursuits and interests, the hopes and desires,
of those who inhabit it, this might have been deemed
a favorable augury for the new administration. Pros
perity smiled on every hand, and happiness beamed in
every countenance. But the former was unreal, and
the latter, of course, evanescent. The bitter conse
quences of the high tariff policy were now apparent.
A vast surplus of revenue had accumulated under the
law of 1828 and the compromise act, which large ex
penditures had failed to absorb. Divided among the
state banks selected as the depositories of the public
20

458 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
treasure, it became the basis of discounts to be counted
only by millions. The expansion of the circulating
medium was as rapid as the inflation of a balloon.
Banking accommodations were furnished liberally, in
many cases lavishly. Money was no more plenty than
it had been, but the country was flooded with a paper
currency. Credit was substituted for money, — the
mere representative of money was mistaken for money
itself. Every one thought he was becoming richer, and as
the volume of the currency enlarged, his ideas ex
panded. A mad spirit of speculation was the result.
An unwonted energy — not the vigor of health, but the
fiery vehemence of fever — was infused into every de
partment of business. Cautious and far-seeing men
looked on with doubt and trembling as they saw this
strange delusion running riot through the land. Con
gress hastened to remedy the evil, and in 1836 the sur
plus was directed to be distributed among the states.
Mr. Van Buren was opposed to this law, and his inti
mate friends in the Senate, Mr. Wright and Mr. Ben
ton, predicted that it would have the effect which was
soon witnessed. As the basis of the credit system was
withdrawn the banks curtailed their discounts. The
day of payment came — the delusion was over — and
paper was no longer money !
Within less than two months after the inauguration
of Mr. Van Buren the reaction took place. It could
not be otherwise than terrible ; but it stunned more

THE PRESSURE. 459
than it astonished, — it bewildered rather than sur
prised. The calamity was a national one, and it was
not unnatural that government should be looked to for
relief. The merchants and principal business men of
the chief commercial city of the union earnestly ap
pealed to the president to rescind the specie circular,
to extend the time of payment on duty bonds, and to
call an extra session of Congress. The requested for
bearance was granted without hesitation ; but the
specie circular, originally designed to check the insane
speculation in the public lands, seemed to Mr. Van
Buren to be particularly necessary now in order to
protect the government against the impending failure
of the banks ; and the exigencies of the country did
not seem to require a special convocation of the na
tional legislature.
When the decision of the president was made
known the banks suspended specie payments, and in
the month of May the pressure of 1837 was at its
height. The real worth of the paper currency was
now tested.- It was found to be inconvertible into
gold and silver, and instantly fell, by a sudden depre
ciation, at least ten per cent, below the nominal value.
The prices of everything shared the same fortune;
disaster and ruin stared every one in the face ; and the
government itself was threatened with bankruptcy.
Mr. Van Buren and his cabinet immediately decided
upon calling Congress together, and on the 15th of
May the executive proclamation was issued.

460 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
The state bank deposit system had palpably failed,
and the incorporation of a national bank as the fiscal
agent of the treasury, was out of the question, since
Mr. Van Buren and his party were pledged against it.
In examining his position, however, he found that a
graver principle was involved than a choice between
two systems, one of which had been discarded on
constitutional grounds, and the other had just demon-
strated its incompetency. He was called upon to
decide whether or no the connection between bank
and state, which had been severed by the suspension,
should be again renewed. To his mind, an entire
separation seemed to be more consistent with the con
stitution, and with the doctrines of the old republican
school; and he determined, therefore, to recommend
that the public treasure of the nation should be kept
by its own officers, and that henceforward there should
be no connection between the business and funds of
the government and those of the banks. He foresaw
that he should encounter opposition, not only among
the members of the powerful party arrayed against the
previous administration, but among his own political
friends ; but he never doubted that " the sober second
thought of the people," — to use his own happy ex
pression, — would do him justice in the end. " We can
not know," said he to a friend, when about preparing
his first message recommending the divorce of bank
and state, " how the immediate convulsion may result,
but the people will, at all events, eventually come right,

OPPOSITION OF THE CONSERVATIVES. 461
and posterity at least will do me justice. Be the present
issue for good or for evil, it is for posterity that I will
write this message."
Some weeks previous to the assembling of Congress,
the plan of an independent treasury was foreshadowed
in some articles written by Silas Wright, then a sena
tor in Congress from New York, and a confidential
friend of Mr. Van Buren, which were originally pub
lished in the St. Lawrence Republican, but generally
copied by the democratic papers. The public, there
fore, were scarcely surprised, to find the subject oc
cupying so prominent a place in the message of the
president, delivered at the extra session commencing
on the 4th of September.
A powerful opposition was offered to the independent
treasury plan, as recommended by Mr. Van Buren. A
bill framed in accordance with his views was intro
duced into the Senate by Mr. Wright, but the whig
senators attacked it with unsparing vehemence. Mr.
Rives, of Virginia, and Mr. Tallmadge, the other sen
ator from New York, also united with them in de
nouncing it, and earnestly advocated the continuance
of the state banks as the depositories of the public
money. But, on the other hand, the administration
received the powerful support of Mr. Calhoun and his
friends, who had hitherto acted with the opposition on
the currency question, but now took ground in support
of Mr. Van Buren.
The incorporation of a national bank was a question

462 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
not much mooted, and the antagonist proposition to
the independent treasury was the special deposit sys
tem. The chief advocates of the latter were the con
servatives, as Messrs. Rives and Tallmadge, and the
members of the House who followed their lead were
termed; but the whigs generally voted with them,
though they probably preferred a national bank.
Nominally, the administration had a majority in
both houses of Congress. In the Senate the indepen
dent treasury bill was sustained, but it was defeated
in the lower house by the votes of the whigs and con
servatives. Congress now adjourned without having
done anything toward allaying the excitement pre
vailing throughout the country, and the elections
which took place this fall resulted adversely to the
administration. The state bank interest, from being
partially or positively attached to Mr. Van Buren, had
become decidedly hostile, and continued to be so while
he remained at the head of the nation.
In his annual messages, in December 1837 and
1838, at the two regular sessions of the 25th Congress,
the president again and again recommended the inde
pendent treasury and the separation of bank and state,
but no law was passed. In 1838, the elections took a
more favorable turn ; a majority of the members of
the 26th Congress were decided friends of Mr. Van
Buren; and at the first regular session a law was
finally passed providing for the independent treasury,
and was approved and signed by him on the 4th day

MANAGEMENT OF THE FOREIGN RELATIONS. 463
of July, 1840. This law was repealed in the following
year, but was reenacted at the first session of the 29th
Congress, and seems now to be the permanently estab
lished policy of the country. Experience has demon
strated that the fears of the state banks, in regard to
its supposed injurious effects upon their business, were
not well founded, and that powerful interest would ap
pear to have at length acquiesced in the adoption of
the system.
The divorce of bank and state, with which the
name of Mr. Van Buren will be ever identified, was
the great measure of his administration ; and it will
not be possible in a work of this character to do more
than glance at its other prominent incidents.
Among the measures which he recommended were
a bankrupt law applicable to banks and bankers, a
preemption law, and the cession of the public lands to
the states. No bankrupt law was enacted during his
administration, but the preemption system which he
recommended was approved by Congress, and a bill
passed in both houses.
In the management of the foreign relations of the
country, Mr. Van Buren displayed great prudence and
discretion, together with proper firmness and inde
pendence. He obtained indemnities for spoliations
from Mexico, Great Britain, Texas and Holland ; and,
under his auspices, important commercial treaties were
concluded with the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, and
with Holland, Greece, Sardinia, Ecuador and Bel-

464 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
gium. In the summer of 1837, the authorities of
Texas, in conformity to a vote taken among the
citizens of the young republic, proposed to annex' that
country to the United States. This proposition was
declined by Mr. Van Buren, for these reasons : be
cause, in his judgment, the acknowledgment of the
independence of Texas, previously made by the United
States, only admitted her separate existence as a
government de facto and not de jure ; because, while
a state of war continued between her and Mexico—
the United States continuing at peace with the latter
power — the question of war with Mexico would be
necessarily involved in the annexation ; and because
the conditions of the existing treaty of amity and peace
ought to be scrupulously observed, so long as Mexico
performed her duties, and respected the rights of the
United States.
In 1837 a civil war broke out in Canada between
the " patriots," so called, on the one hand, and the
loyalists, supported by the British authorities, on the
other. The preservation of strict neutrality was a
matter attended with great difficulty, especially for the
reason that there were many of our people who heartily
sympathized with the cause of the " patriots," and on
account of a pending dispute between Great Britain
and the United States with reference to the north
eastern boundary of the state of Maine, which had
very much inflamed the minds of the inhabitants in
that quarter. The course pursued by Mr. Van Buren

RE-NOMINATION AND DEFEAT. 465
was in harmony with the tone of executive action
throughout his administration. He was firm and de
cided in maintaining the laws, even though, by so do
ing, he alienated from him the sympathizers upon the
frontier, and thus lost the support and the vote of his .
own state. But at the same time he was equally firm
in defending the national honor and dignity, and amid
the multiplied embarrassments that seemed to thicken
around him at every step, he bore himself as became
the chief magistrate of a free people.
In May, 1840, Mr. Van Buren was unanimously
nominated for reelection at a national democratic, con
vention held in the city of Baltimore. The candidate
of the opposition was William Henry Harrison of Ohio.
The canvass was spirited beyond parallel, and Mr. Van
Buren was warmly, and in many respects most un
justly, assailed. The result of the election was hardly
a matter of doubt. What with the defection of the
conservatives, the opposition of the friends of the Ca
nadian patriots and the state bank interest, and the
positive ill-will of the abolitionists, who were dissatis
fied with the pledges given at the time of his inaugu
ration and while he was a candidate, the party of which
he was the head was considerably reduced in numbers.
The accession of the State Rights men headed by Mr.
Calhoun did not make up for what had been lost. Be
sides, the opposition party had a great advantage.
They were composed ofthe most uncongenial elements,
but the very diversity of sentiment only made them
30 '

466 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
stronger when they were out of office. They were
contending for the spoils of victory, and their aims and
interests did not clash till these came to be divided.
The various combinations arrayed in opposition to
Mr. Van Buren were successful in procuring his de
feat and the election of General Harrison. The former
received the votes of New Hampshire, Virginia, South
Carolina, Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas,
making sixty in all, while two hundred and thirty-four
were given to his opponent.
Shortly after the inauguration of his successor, Mr.
Van Buren returned to his native state, and was wel
comed on his arrival at the city of New York in the
midst of a severe storm of wind and rain, by a large
concourse of his democratic friends who had faithfully
adhered to him in prosperity and were the last to de
sert him at such an hour. His reception was more
than cordial ; it was deeply affectionate, and made a
profound impression upon his mind.
Having purchased the mansion and estate belonging
to the late Judge Van Ness, about two miles south of
the village of Kinderhook, to which he has given the
name of Lindenwald in allusion to the noble linden
trees amid which the dwelling is imbosomed, Mr. Van
Buren retired hither to spend the remainder of his days
among his family connections and friends. It was his
intention that this retirement should be final, and he
was only prevented from announcing his determination
to that effect by the urgent entreaties of his intimate

HIS VIEWS ON THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 467
political friends. They conceived that he had been
unfairly defeated in 1840, and were desirous that he
should be the standard-bearer of his party through
another campaign. To these pressing solicitations
he so far yielded as to permit the use of his name in
connection with the candidatecy. Early in 1843 six
teen states besides New York had declared in his favor
as the presidential candidate in 1844, and the demo
crats of his own state then united most heartily in
whar seemed to be so general an expression.
But a new issue was now presented. Under the
administration of Mr. Tyler a treaty had been con
cluded providing for the annexation of Texas. Pend
ing the agitation and discussion of this question the
opinions of the two prominent candidates for the next
presidency, Mr .Van Buren and Mr. Clay, were elicited
in reply to letters addressed to them. Both expressed
themselves in favor of the acquisition of Texas, if the
American people desired it, provided, however, that
the consent of Mexico should first be obtained, or, at
least, that efforts should be made to procure it. One
of the principal reasons urged by Mr. Tyler and his
friends for the annexation, was the security of the slave-
holding interest of the south against the designs of
British abolitionists who were understood to be seeking
to gain a foothold in Texas. Neither Mr. Van Buren
nor Mr. Clay objected to the annexation on account
of the slavery question thus connected with it.
The views of Mr. Clay were satisfactory to a ma-

468 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
jority of his party friends, and he was put in nomina
tion ; but the democratic members of Congress were
generally in favor of the immediate annexation of
Texas, and through their influence the national demo
cratic convention, which met at Baltimore in May,
1844, decided adversely to Mr. Van Buren. A vote
of two thirds was required to make a nomination. Mr.
Van Buren received a large plurality of the votes on
several ballotings, but his friends were finally induced,
under the persuasion that he could not be noirfna-
ted, to surrender their preferences and to support Mr.
Polk, who was duly declared to be the candidate of
the convention.
Although the convention concluded to take up a
new candidate, Mr. Van Buren was by no means for
gotten. "No one who was present on that occasion is
likely ever to forget the torrent of enthusiasm by
which every individual was hurried away, on the first
mention of his name after the completion of the nomi
nation, when the whole body rose, amidst the waving
of handkerchiefs, and cheers whose, uproar seemed
destined never to subside."* Among the resolutions,
too, was one declaring " that this convention hold in
the highest estimation and regard their illustrious fellow-
citizen, Martin Van Buren, of New York ; that we
cherish the most grateful and abiding sense of the abil
ity, integrity and firmness, with which he discharged
the duties of the high office of President of the United
* Democratic Review, July, 1844.

DECLINES ENGLISH MISSION. 469
States ; and especially of the inflexible fidelity with
which he maintained the true doctrines of the consti
tution and the measures of the democratic party, du
ring his trying and nobly arduous administration; that
in the memorable struggle of 1840 he fell a martyr to
the great principles of which he was the worthy rep
resentative, and we revere him as such ; and that we
hereby tender to him, in his honorable retirement, the
assurance of the deeply seated confidence, affection
and respect of the American Democracy."
The friends of Mr. Van Buren in the state of New
York were undeniably much chagrined at the result in
the Baltimore Convention. Not so with him. Possess
ing a rare equanimity, that mere political disappoint
ments could never disturb, he cordially acquiesced in
the decision of the convention. He not only support
ed the nominations himself, but through his influence
many who had freely expressed their dissatisfaction,
were ultimately induced to sustain the democratic
candidates. Having contributed by his vote to the
election of Mr. Polk, he was friendly to his adminis
tration ; and the former signified his regard for his
distinguished predecessor by tendering to him the
mission to England — the settlement of the Oregon
question being particularly in view — but he declined
to accept it. In regard to the war with Mexico, Mr.
Van Buren regarded it as the direct consequence of
the annexation of Texas, but after hostilities had once
commenced, he favored its vigorous prosecution.

470 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
Meanwhile the democratic party in the state of New
York, which Mr. Van Buren had left strong and
united, had separated into two factions, known as
conservatives §r hunkers, and radicals or barnburners.
Originally they had divided upon questions of state
policy which were disposed of by the amended con
stitution of 1846, though among the conservatives
there were many who had opposed the independent
treasury or only supported it as a party measure.
Mr. Van Buren's sympathies and prepossessions were
probably with the radicals, or barnburners, from the
first, but he kept entirely aloof from state politics, and
was not positively identified with either till the sum
mer of 1848. A new issue was then presented, upon
which the two factions took sides. By the treaty of
Guadalupe, which terminated the war with Mexico,
a large tract of territory was added to the United
States. In view of this acquisition efforts had been
made in Congress, at every session since that at which
the existence of the war was declared, in 1845-6, to
procure the absolute prohibition of domestic slavery
in the territory thus acquired. The barnburners of
New York generally favored this movement, and Mr.
Van Buren, as he had approved of the resolutions of
the New York Legislature in 1820, involving the same
principle, also approved it. They have subsequently
taken ground to a considerable extent in favor of the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. The
sentiments of Mr. Van Buren in regard to this extreme

THE FREE-SOIL CANDIDATE. 471
position have never been made known. In all his
public action he has steadily adhered to the doctrine
of non-interference entertained by most northern
democratic politicians ; and if he has departed from
it, the reason may possibly be found in the position
assumed at the time of the conclusion of the Tyler
treaty and afterward, that the annexation was neces
sary for the security of the slave interest, thus making
that institution the object of national protection, in
stead of considering it as being strictly the subject of
state regulation.
The hunker and barnburner factions each styled
themselves the democratic party of the state, and each
selected a full set of delegates to represent them in the
National Convention held at Baltimore, in May, 1848.
The convention refused to decide between them, but
resolved to admit both delegations. The barnburners
then withdrew in a body, and returned home. On
the 22d of June following a convention of that faction
was held at Utica, over which the veteran Samuel
Young presided, to hear the report of their delegates.
This body decided that they were not bound by the
decisions or nominations of the Baltimore Convention,
and insisted- that their delegates were excluded by
reason of their course in regard to the prohibition of
slavery in the territory acquired from Mexico. Simi
lar sentiments were expressed in a letter addressed by
Mr. Van Buren to the delegation from the city of
New York, and he was nominated by acclamation,

472 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
against his declared wishes, as an independent demo
cratic candidate.
Both the two great parties at the north were dis
satisfied with their candidates. General Cass, the
nominee of the democratic party, held to the doctrine
of non-interference ; and General Taylor, the whig
candidate, was perfectly non-committal. Under these
circumstances many of the prominent friends of the
slavery prohibition in the northern states procured the
assembling of a convention at Buffalo, on the 9th of
August, which was numerously attended by delegates
representing all the free states. This body was com
posed of whigs, democrats, and abolitionists, and they
termed themselves, with reference to the subject which
had led to their political union, " free-soilers." At
this convention Mr. Van Buren was again nominated
for the presidency, and Charles F. Adams, of Massa
chusetts, a son of the late John Quincy Adams, was
nominated for vice-president.
Mr. Van Buren neither declined the nomination of
the free-soilers, nor did he signify his acceptance, and
thus approve of all the resolutions adopted by them
in convention. In a political point of view the barn
burner friends of Mr. Van Buren committed a great
mistake in going into convention at Buffalo. If the
object was to build up a northern party, it was both
reprehensible and impossible ; and on the other hand,
if the movement was designed to be but temporary,
and the barnburners looked forward to a reunion with

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 473
the hunkers, it was certainly ill-advised, as subsequent
events have shown. The true position of Mr. Van
Buren's friends was, to support him as an independent
democratic candidate, for the radical faction was no
doubt much the larger and more powerful of the two,
in the spring and summer of 1848 ; but in the city
of New York, and the river counties, thousands of
radicals were driven to the support of the Baltimore
nominations, because of their hatred of a coalition
with the whigs and abolitionists. Mr. Van Buren
received but few votes, comparatively, from any other
party or faction except the barnburners. In the state
of New York he more than divided the old democratic
vote with General Cass, his majority over the Balti
more nominee being about six thousand. About two
hundred and ninety thousand votes were cast for Mr.
Van Buren and Mr. Adams in the Union at large —
mostly 'in New York, Ohio, and Massachusetts — but
they did not receive a single electoral vote.
The election in its progress never disquieted Mr.
Van Buren, and its result occasioned neither disap
pointment nor chagrin. He appears throughout to
have been the passive instrument in the hands of his
old and devoted friends, whose wishes he could not
disregard, and probably felt himself compelled by the
force of circumstances to acquiesce in the course they
saw fit to adopt.
Since the presidential election in 1848, Mr. Van
Buren has continued as before, in dignified retirement

474 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
at Lindenwald ; occasionally venturing forth to visit
his sons in New York or Albany, or the attached
friends whose esteem has ripened into devotion ; but
enjoying far more the rural pursuits and occupations
that enliven the happy quiet of his peaceful and
beautiful home. Here, reclining upon the abundant
harvest of honors which he has gathered, and sur
rounded by ease and contentment, by books, by the
relatives and friends whose society he prizes, by every
thing that wealth or taste can summon to minister to
his felicity, his days glide smoothly and majestically
on, like the full-orbed sun to his setting.
In person, Mr. Van Buren is about the medium
height. His form is erect, and until he had passed
middle life was slender ; but it is now inclined to cor
pulency. His hair was originally of a light sandy
color, but the frosts of advancing age have settled
upon it. Yet, while his locks are whitened, the fire of
his expressive eye remains un'dimmed. His features
are full of animation ; the kindly smile, that has so
often charmed admiring juries and listening senates.
still lingers upon his countenance, and his broad ex
pansive forehead is still the home of high thought and
intelligence. His character and his life are simple. Temperate
and industrious in his habits, he enjoys excellent
bodily health. When at home, his time is pleasantly
varied between reading and writing, overseeing the
labor on his farm or in his garden, and visiting his

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER. 475
nearest neighbors. He is fond of riding, too, and un
less report belies him, an ardent admirer of the gentle
craft which Izaak Walton loved so well. In all the
social relations his duty has been, if that were possible,
even more than fulfilled. His private life is without
spot. As son, as husband, as father, and as friend, his
character furnishes a good example. Kindness and
benevolence are traits which he has often exhibited.
The constancy of his attachments, and his fidelity to
his friends, have become proverbial.
His manners are attractive, calm, polished and gen
tlemanlike. There is a winning charm about them
which it is difficult to resist. His equanimity and his
regard for decorum, also, are qualities which in others
have been rarely excelled.
Like his manners, his oratory is graceful and per
suasive. His voice has a deep and melodious cadence
that falls charmingly upon the ear. Never at a loss
for words or ideas, his elocution is easy and rapid.
He is not passionless, but having entire command of
his passions, he is a complete master of the art of per
suasion. He never attempts any rhetorical flights, to
fall back below mediocrity, but his eloquence is even
and sustained. In conversation he is particularly in
teresting, and his voice and features vary with his
themes — " from grave to gay, from lively to serene."
As a writer, his style is not always pure or correct,
but it is bold and vigorous ; sometimes diffuse, but
generally compact. In his reported speeches the sen-

476 MARTIN VAN BUREN.
tences often appear involved, or to have been loosely
constructed, but his messages and state papers will
compare favorably with those of the distinguished men
who have occupied the same high position.
A mind and judgment express and well balanced,
great prescience, quickness of perception, firmness,
caution, discretion, happy powers of combination and
reflection, are his prominent intellectual traits. He
possesses sensibility, but he is not imaginative ; on the
contrary, a sort of practical spirit seems to pervade
all the operations of his mind.
His character as a politician has been the theme
alike of praise and obloquy, of censure and approba
tion. He has had warm and zealous friends, and
many and bitter enemies ; and each, in turn, have ex
tolled and traduced him. While the one have claimed
for him all the higher attributes of the statesman, the
other have been disposed only to concede that he was
well skilled in
" The wUy shifts of state, — those juggler's tricks —
Which we caU deep designs and politics.''
Like Lord John Russell he has evinced remarkable
tact in leading and managing a party ; but something
more than this he has also shown. None can deny
that he has borne himself bravely in " the battle of
life." His public career is highly honorable to him.
Few politicians have committed fewer mistakes.
Starting from a humble position, with but humble

MENTAL TRAITS. 477
pretensions, he raised himself step by step to the high
est grade of official preferment. Surely, the arts of
the demagogue could not so long have sustained him.
To the high qualities of his mind, he has added a care
ful obseivation of men and things. He has studied
character as diligently as Talleyrand. He has read
and pondered over that book of the statesman — the
human heart. Though without the genius or the
splendid declamation of Pitt, he has manifested the
same practical skill and sagacity. But, more than all,
he has possessed that " mens cequa in arduis," which
is so essential to the success of the political aspirant.

ENOS T. THROOP.
While the whigs of the Revolution were evincing,
perhaps, even more than a commendable zeal, in affix
ing the stigma of Toryism to those who adhered to the
royal cause, and in confiscating their fortunes, the
loyalists in the provinces that remained firm in their
attachment to the crown were not backward in ex
hibiting the same spirit toward their whig neighbors.
Opportunities for the manifestation of their bitter ha
tred of the rebels were not numerous ; but when an
occasion presented, they were pretty sure to bring up
the score by adding what was necessary in the way of
interest. Among those who suffered in this manner, were the
grand-parents of the subject of this memoir. Origin
ally inhabitants of Lebanon, in the then colony of Con
necticut, they removed to Nova Scotia, when their son,
George Bliss Throop, the father of the governor, was
but a mere lad. Their new home was designed to be
their permanent place of abode, but they had scarcely
settled themselves in it, when the tocsin of war sound
ing through the land disturbed their sweet dreams of
peace and tranquillity, and the bale-fires of the Revo-

Wvmmmm

MDiS I1 TiTitL&'DIP.
luf/iilkdicvcviiir d A'av h rk .
i
Lit], rFMidelm III Noubau M

HIS PARENTS. 479
lution, gleaming on their native hills, signalled them
back to the scenes and the friends they had left. Be
ing whigs they were driven out of the country by the
tories, and only escaped from their pursuers by con
cealing themselves and their children in the woods.
After suffering much from fear and fatigue, and under
going many hardships and privations, they at length
reached the United States in safety.
Their son George, who was born in Lebanon, re
ceived a collegiate education ; and after the termina
tion of hostilities, in 1783, being then about twenty-
three years of age, he married Abiah Thompson, the-
daughter and youngest child of Enos Thompson. She
was a native of Dutchess county, in the state of New
York, where she was married. Her father was one
of three brothers who removed from New Haven at
an early period, and settled the tract of wild land near
the east line of Dutchess county, called from the pa
tent " The Nine Partners." Smith Thompson, late one
of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United
States, on the father's side, and the late Jacob Suther
land of the old Supreme Court of New York, on the
mother's side, were the descendants of one of the other
brothers. Mrs. Throop had two brothers, Israel and
Jesse Thompson, both of whom repeatedly represented
their respective counties (Dutchess and Rensselaer)
in the legislature, and both held the office of county
judge. Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Throop re-

480 ENOS T. THROOP.
moved to Johnstown in the county of Montgomery,
where he purchased, at the sale of the confiscated
estates of the Johnson family, the village lot now in
part occupied by Judge Cady of the Supreme Court,
upon which he erected a dwelling-house. Although
he had received a liberal education he had not studied
a profession, and his first employment after his re
moval to Johnstown was in the service of Judge
Duane, at Duanesburgh, whom he assisted in prepar
ing and arranging the contracts, deeds and leases,
given to the tenants on his large estate. On return
ing to Johnstown he opened a school, which occupa
tion he continued to pursue, together with conveyan
cing, in which he was very skilful, for several years.
He soon grew into favor with the people of the town
and vicinity, and having acquired their confidence
by his character and aptitude for business, he re
ceived several small offices, from the profits of which
he was enabled further .to add to his means of liveli
hood. In the midst of his usefulness he met with a serious
accident that completely destroyed his health, and after
a long and painful sickness from which the skill of the
most eminent physicians in the city of Albany could
not restore him, he finally died in the year 1794, leav
ing to his wife and children no other inheritance but
the dwelling and lot on which they resided, all his
other means having been exhausted during his pro
tracted illness.

HIS FAMILY.

481

He was the father of four children, two sons and two
daughters, all of whom survived him. Enos Thomp
son Throop, the subject of this memoir, was the oldest
child ; he was born at Johnstown on the 21st day of
August, 1784, and was named after his maternal grand-
father. His brother, George B. Throop, like himself,
studied law, and was one of the earliest settlers of the
county of Cayuga ; he held several offices of promi
nence and trust ; was clerk of the county, a member
of the state senate for four years, postmaster at Au
burn, clerk of the court of chancery for the seventh
district, and cashier of the Cayuga County Bank ; and
he is now a resident of the city of Detroit. The eldest
sister of Governor Throop, Mehitable, married Thad
deus Martin of Johnstown ; she was early left a
widow, and her children, particularly her son, Enos T.
Throop Martin, a lawyer of highly respectable stand
ing in this state, found in his uncle a friend and
benefactor who supplied the place of the parent he
had lost. The younger sister, Mary Ann, was twice
married ; first to David Akin, a son of the then pro
prietor of Johnson Hall, the old baronial residence of
Sir William Johnson and his son, who afterward re
moved to Throopsville, in the county of Cayuga, where
he died ; her second husband was Samuei Lacey, then
of Monroe county, but now living at Homer in the
state of Michigan.
The mother of Mr. Throop, also, was married a sec
ond time, to George W. Hatch, of Johnstown. By

31

482 ENOS T. THROOP.
this marriage she had two sons and two daughters.
The eldest son, who was named after his father, is one
of the partners in the well-known firm of Rawdon,
Wright and Hatch, bank-note engravers ; the younger,
Israel T. Hatch, is a prominent citizen of Buffalo. One
of the sisters married Zebulon Reeves, of Palmyra.
The other became the wife of Gershom Powers, who
represented the Cayuga district in the 21st Congress;
after his death she married William B. Rochester, long
a distinguished politician in the state of New York,
and the Bucktail candidate for Governor in 1826, in
opposition to De Witt Clinton ; Judge Rochester was
one of the unfortunate passengers on board the ill-fated
steamer Pulaski, and was drowned in attempting to
escape from the conflagration that destroyed her ; his
widow has since married a Mr. Fitch, a merchant at
Buffalo. After the death of her second husband, the mother
of the governor remained a widow for twenty years,
and died of apoplexy, in 1846, in the eighty-fourth year
of her age. She was a woman of estimable character,
of strong good sense and of vigorous mind ; and she
was warmly loved and venerated by her numerous
descendants. By her marriage with Mr. Hatch, the pecuniary
circumstances of Mrs. Throop and her family were not
materially improved ; but a good home, and the pro
tecting care of a husband and father, were thereby se
cured. Her son Enos seems to have been early im-

EDUCATION.

483

pressed with the importance of "getting on" in the
world. Though possessing but few advantages, this
very circumstance, which often discourages, rather
than inspires, both sharpened his zeal and stimulated
his ambition. He inherited from his father industry
and perseverance, and from his mother sterling sense
and determined energy,— qualities that often serve
their possessor better than genius or talent. The same
thoughtful and studious habits, the caution and pru
dence, that characterized his manhood, distinguished
him in youth. Being fond of reading and study, quick
of apprehension, attentive and ambitious, he profited
considerably by the instructions of his father ; and after
the death of the latter, he attended the schools in his
native village.
It was the wish and intention of his father to fit him
for a profession, and it afterward became the darling
ambition of his mother's heart. She had not the
means, however, of giving him a suitable education;
but, in the midst of her regrets at her inability to ac
complish an object so dear, she was kindly favored by
her own good fortune. Among her intimate friends
was the daughter of Silas Talbot, a naval officer in the
Revolutionary war, and the purchaser of Johnson Hall
at the sale of the property under the act of confisca
tion ; but who removed to the city of New York, after
several years' residence at Johnstown, to superintend
the construction of the frigate Constitution, to the
command of which he had been appointed. Miss Tal-

484 ENOS T. 7'IROOP.
bot had married George Metcalfe, a practicing lawyer
at Johnstown, of considerable distinction, who con
tinued to reside there after the removal of her father
to New York. Mr. Metcalfe was an Englishman by
birth, but he had studied law in the United States. He
was a man of fine attainments, having received an ex
cellent classical education in his own country, and du
ring the controversy with reference to the federal
constitution, he engaged with much spirit in the dis
cussion of the question, as an advocate of the adop
tion. By this means he became widely known, and,
under the administration of Governor Jay, was ap
pointed by his federal friends in the council, t% the
office of district attorney for the counties of Montgom
ery, Albany, Saratoga and Schoharie. This appoint
ment enabled him to gratify a desire he had long cher
ished, to establish himself where his talents and ac
quirements would be more highly appreciated, and
where he could c6mmand more patronage ; and in
September, 1798, he removed to the city of Albany.
Through his wife he learned the wishes of Mrs. Hatch
in regard to her son Enos, and that they were warmly
seconded by the lad himself. About the time of his
removal from Johnstown, therefore, he proposed to
take him into his family, in order that he might com
mence the study of the law.
This proposition was gladly accepted by both mother
and son. The latter accompanied the family of Mr.
Metcalfe to Albany, as one of its members, and on the

STUDIES LAW. 485
17th of October, 1798, commenced his clerkship as a
student at law. As he was then just fourteen years
of age, and no time could be allowed him for pursuing
classical studies, his term of study, under the old rules of
the Supreme Court, was seven years. He soon became
familiar with the routine of business in the office of his
friend and benefactor, and repaid his generosity and
kindness, by industry and punctuality, and by fidelity and
devotion to his interests. He relieved his patron from
the most laborious part of his duties, and often accom
panied him on his circuit to render such assistance as
he might require. Not unfrequently, also, when Mr.
Metcalfe was unable to attend court in foreign coun
ties, on account of sickness or the pressure of his
other engagements, his papers were intrusted to his
young pupil and friend, with instructions to attend the
grand jury, to issue processes and prepare indictments
for trial, and with a letter to some counsellor of his ac
quaintance requesting him to attend to the necessary
business in open court. The knowledge and experi
ence thus acquired by young Throop in regard to
criminal prosecutions, served him in great stead, as we
shall see, at a subsequent period of his life.
Mr. Metcalfe was not merely a well-read lawyer;
he possessed more than ordinary ability, was a thor
ough scholar, and had a fine and correct literary taste.
His pupil sympathized with him in his fondness for
study, and a familiarity and intimacy, quite unusual
considering the disparity of years, sprung up between

486 ENOS T. THROOP.
them. Shortly after young Throop commenced his
clerkship, Mr. Metcalfe proposed to instruct him in
the classics. The offer was eagerly embraced ; he be
gan the study of the Latin language, and had the ben
efit of his patron's advice and instruction while he re
mained in his office and family.
The period of Mr. Throop's residence in Albany,
while a student at law, was marked by high political
excitement. It was that of the memorable struggle
between federalism and republicanism, which resulted
in the overthrow of the former in the state and na
tion.* The sessions of the legislature, and of the state
courts, were then held at Albany, and, consequently,
it was the resort of all the distinguished lawyers and
politicians in the state. The position of Mr. Throop
with an eminent lawyer, who held an important office,
afforded him rare opportunities for improvement.
His patron was an ardent and active politician, and
associating with him, as he did, on terms of the most
* Just at the close of the election in 1801, Mr. Throop had occasion
to visit Kinderhook on business, and he here met, for the first time,
with Mr. Van Buren. The latter, also, was sustaining himself while
a student by his own exertions, but he was Mr. Throop's senior by
two years, and already distinguished in the politics of the county
where he resided. The result of the election was not then known,
and they spent a busy day together at the places of public resort in
the town. They never met again tUl they recognized each other at
the bar of the Supreme Court, when their youthful acquaintance was
renewed, and afterward ripened into a friendship that has ever since
remained uninterrupted.

BAR AT THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA. 487
confidential friendship, his own attention was early
awakened to the doctrines, the discipline and move
ments, of political parties ; and the interest thus en
kindled long exerted a powerful influence upon his
life. This was, also, the golden age of the New York
bar, or, rather, it had just fairly dawned in the courts
adorned by the learning and genius of the revolution
ary era. Mr. Throop both saw and heard the intel
lectual giants of that day, and listened, oftentimes with
more of wonder and delight, than with a due appreci
ation of their reasoning, to those brilliant displays of
forensic eloquence by Hamilton and Burr, by Gouv
erneur Morris and Brockholst Livingston, which were
preserved only in the memories of their hearers, but
have been handed down, among the most honored
traditions, tp those who came after them.
In 1800, the republicans regained the ascendency
in the state, and as Mr. Metcalfe was soon after
removed from office, Mr. Throop determined not to
tax his kindness or generosity further; but, in the
spring of 1801 he returned to his native town, and
passed the following year in the office of Daniel Cady,
then commencing his long and prosperous career, and
now, with the laurels of his professional contests, the
rich harvest of half a century, clustering thick around
his brows, ornamenting the Supreme Court of the state
by his high character and talents.
After leaving the office of Mr. Cady, eighteen months

488 ENOS T. THROOP.
were spent by Mr. Throop in studying the classics,
under the supervision of the Rev. Mr. Urquhart, a
graduate of the Edinburgh University, and then prin
cipal of the Academy at Johnstown. During this time
he supported himself by writing and performing other
services in the office of the county clerk of Mont
gomery. He had now established a high character
as an attorney's clerk, and wherever he was known,
his services were deemed worthy of an ample remu
neration. A flattering offer was soon made him, by
Matthias B. Hildreth, of Johnstown, who stood, beside
Mr. Cady, his political and professional rival, at the
head of the Montgomery county bar, and who after
ward held the office of attorney-general of the state,
at two several times, and died while occupying that
honorable position.
The remaining time of Mr. Throop's clerkship was
passed in the office and family of Mr. Hildreth, who,
in addition to his board, made him a sufficient allow
ance for his other expenses. Mr. Hildreth was not
what might be called a profound lawyer ; he was not
a hard student, like Mr. Cady, — but he was a fluent
speaker, ingenious and insinuating in argument, an
accurate practitioner, and a cautious and safe coun
sellor. He was, also, of amiable disposition and win
ning manners, and thoroughly versed in the knowledge
of human nature. He lived with generous hospitality,
and under his roof Mr. Throop formed the acquaint
ance of many of the most distinguished republicans

ADMISSION TO THE BAR. 489
in the state, among whom was Ambrose Spencer, at
that time one of the leaders of the party.
Mr. Throop's clerkship expired in the fall of 1805,
in time to take his examination at the November term
of the Supreme Court ; but Mr. Hildreth made him
so liberal an offer to continue in his office for a few
months, that he consented to defer his application till
the ensuing January term, in 1806, when he was duly
admitted as an attorney in the Supreme Court. A
short time previous to his admission he visited the
county of Cayuga, in pursuance of the recommenda
tion and advice of the father of Mr. Hildreth, who,
with Edward Savage and James Burt, had been
appointed commissioners to fix a site for the county
seat of that county. He formed few acquaintances
during his visit, but determined to locate in the
county; and the court of common pleas being then
in session, he presented his certificates, and was ad
mitted as an attorney of that court. He then returned
to Johnstown, and went to Albany to take his exam
ination for admission in the Supreme Court.
With the loan of two hundred dollars made to him
on his own note by his kind friend and legal preceptor,
Mr. Hildreth, and with no fortune except the profes
sion which he had obtained mainly through his indi
vidual exertions, he again started for Cayuga county,
and arrived there on the first day of March, 1806.
The county seat was still an unsettled question, al
though the commissioners had decided on Auburn,
21*

490 ENOS T. THROOP.
and the elder Mr. Hildreth had advised him to estab
lish himself there. But a powerful opposition was
offered to the selection of Auburn, in the south part
of the county, particularly in Aurora; and it was
impossible for a stranger, as was Mr. Throop, to deter
mine what would be the final decision in the matter.
On his return, therefore, with a view of placing him
self in a situation to act as circumstances might
require, he accepted an invitation from Dr. Barnabas
Smith, who lived at Poplar Ridge, now Smith's
Corners, to board with his family and use his office.
He remained there till the fall ensuing, when, having
formed his opinion in regard to the result of the court
house controversy, he removed to Auburn, which finally
became the county seat, and permanently located him
self there.
He received several offers of partnership, but ac
cepted none till the winter of 1807, when he connect
ed himself in business with Joseph L. Richardson, who
was afterward, for many years, the first judge of the
county. This connection continued till the winter
of 1811, when it was dissolved in consequence of the
appointment of Mr. Throop to the office of county
clerk of the county.
Mr. Throop brought to the bar, not merely native
talent far above mediocrity, but other qualities equally
useful and important. He had formed habits of
methodical study, of industry and application ; he was
cautious and discreet, careful in the formation of his

POLITICAL COURSE. 491
opinions, but generally correct. In the preparation
of causes for trial or argument, he was thorough, and
in addressing a court or jury, clear and concise. As
a speaker he was earnest and sincere rather than
fluent, and interesting rather than eloquent. Had he
remained at the bar, and devoted his whole time and
energies to his profession, there can be no doubt that he
would have taken and maintained a high station among
the ablest lawyers in the state. His success, however,
was fully equal to his expectations, and he had no
cause to repine on account of the paucity of clients,
nor to complain that his merits were not appreciated
as they deserved, or his services properly rewarded.
Having taken up his residence in Auburn, he entered
with spirit into the court-house controversy ; and the
following incident is still related by the older members
of the Cayuga bar as illustrative of his participation
in it, and of the warmth with which it was waged : — In
order to strengthen the position at Auburn, he and his
friends procured the passage of a law directing a fire
proof clerk's office to be built at that place. But a
majority of the board of supervisors of the county
were opposed to the fixation of the county seat which
had been made, and they refused to raise the money
required to build the office. A law was then enacted
imposing a penalty of two hundred and fifty dollars
upon a public officer who refused to vote for raising
any money which he was directed by law to raise.
The board of supervisors again met, and again refused ;

492 ENOS T. THROOP.
whereupon, Mr. Throop and his partner were employ
ed to institute qui tam suits for the penalty, against
six of the supervisors. The causes were brought on
for trial at the circuit in 1809, before Judge William
W. Van Ness. With all his many estimable qualities,
the Judge could not forget that he was a politician,
even when seated on the bench. These were em
bargo' times — party spirit ran high — the county was
strongly republican — an important state election was
approaching — the six supervisors were supposed to
represent the majority of the county — and Mr. Throop
was as decided a republican as the Judge was a
federalist. Arrayed on the side of the defendants, in
opposition to Mr. Throop and his partner, were twelve
counsel, all more or less eminent, among whom were
Elisha Williams, Daniel Cady, Nathaniel W. Howell,
and Walter Wood. When the first cause was called,
a number of technical objections in regard to mere
matters of form in the declaration, were raised by the
defendant's counsel, but overruled by the presiding
judge. At last they fixed upon a formal objection
on which their great reliance was placed, and though
Mr. Throop was permitted to argue the question at
length, it was decided against him. In giving his
decision, the Judge stated, that if the count had been
in a particular form, which he specified, it would have
been sufficient. Mr. Throop had anticipated the de
cision, and as his declaration was quite voluminous, he
had already fixed upon a count which corresponded

HIS POLITICAL POSITION. 493
exactly with what the Judge had said. He promptly
called the attention of the court to it ; the Judge look
ed at it for a moment, threw down the paper angrily,
and directed him to go on with the cause. Mr.
Williams instantly sprung to his feet, declaring that
he could not find such a count. " It is there, sir !" was
the curt reply of the Judge, and the cause went on.
A legal question was afterward raised, upon which the
plaintiffs were nonsuited: but the nonsuit was set
aside at the next term of the Supreme Court, by the
unanimous opinion of the judges, and in the end Mr.
Throop was completely successful.
There can be no doubt that the early predilections
of Mr. Throop were in favor of the federal party, to
which his patron and benefactor, Mr. Metcalfe, be
longed ; but as he approached his majority, he was led,
by that careful conscientiousness which ever charac
terized him, to consider well his position, and he then
embraced those republican notions and principles to
which, as his friends claim, he has ever faithfully
adhered. He had no active participation in politics
till he was admitted to the practice of his profession ;
but after his removal to the county of Cayuga, he
soon acquired a high and wide-spread reputation as
a political leader. He approved the embargo and
non-intercourse policy of Jefferson and Madison, and,
in 1808, advocated the election of the latter to the
presidency. In 1807, he took an efficient part in the
elevation of Daniel D. Tompkins to the gubernatorial

494 ENOS T. THROOP.
chair; he was particularly instrumental at that time
in preventing the return of the federal members who
had long represented the county in the state legislature,
and in securing a majority of between five and six
hundred for the republican state ticket, when the
federalists had claimed the county by at least one
thousand majority.
In 1810, he supported Governor Tompkins when a
candidate for reelection, and in the following winter
he was appointed to the office of county clerk of
Cayuga. He hesitated considerably upon consenting
to become a candidate before the council, although the
leading republicans in the county were unanimous in
his favor; but he ultimately decided to accept the
office, for several reasons. His health was very poor ;
politics had already interfered a great deal with his
professional business ; the practice of the law was not
displeasing to him, but there were circumstances con
nected with it very painful to*his feelings; and he had
at this time concluded to purchase the mill property at
Throopsville, near Auburn, which he did, in 1811, in
company with his brother-in-law, Mr. Akin. Shortly
after the purchase, the name of Throopsville was given
to the place, in compliment to him, at a public meeting
of the inhabitants.
Mr. Throop now occupied a prominent position, not
only in the county where he resided, but also in the
republican party of New York. The acquaintance
he had formed at Johnstown and Albany, with the

HIS RELATIONS WITH THE CLINTONIANS. 495
distinguished men of the state, was highly beneficial
to him. He was a strict party man, active, energetic,
and almost always successful in his political efforts;
and the republican leaders at the capital had great
confidence, which was not misplaced, in his ability and
influence. To his friend, Judge Spencer, he was
indebted for many favors, which he did not forget
even when the political accidents of future years
separated them most widely from each other. Taking
different positions at a subsequent period, upon highly
important questions, both as to men and measures,
their intimacy naturally ceased, but their mutual re
spect never.
Like most of the republicans in the interior, Mr.
Throop was favorably disposed toward the Clintons.
He was, however, sincerely attached to Governor
Tompkins, and happening to be at Albany during the
winter session of 1812, he entered warmly into the
contest with reference to the incorporation of the
Bank of America. He approved of the governor's
course upon this question, and supported and defended
him on all occasions. While at Albany he was invited
to attend the meeting of Mr. Clinton's friends called
for the purpose of consulting upon the propriety of
bringing him forward for the presidency. At this
time De Witt Clinton and Ambrose Spencer were the
acknowledged leaders of the party in the state, and
between the two men, Mr. Throop was partial to the
latter. He was determined, also, irrespective of his

495 ENOS T. THROOP.
friendship for Judge Spencer, to do nothing that was
calculated to prevent the reelection of Mr. Madison ;
and when it was openly avowed, at the meeting of
Mr. Clinton's friends, that the movement was in oppo
sition to Madison, and that they relied for success
mainly upon the federal party, he expressed his un
qualified dissent from the proceedings, and declared
it to be his firm belief that they were acting without
the concurrence of Mr. Clinton. He soon discovered
his mistake ; Mr. Clinton treated him with coldness,
and their intercourse ceased.
The success of the federalists at the previous elec
tion having given them the council of appointment
in 1813, Mr. Throop was among the first removals
from office, and Elijah Miller, a prominent federalist
in the county of Cayuga, was appointed in his place.
Two years afterward, in 1815, the republicans again
secured the council, and Mr. Throop was promptly
restored to the office from which he had been removed.
In the month of July, 1814, he was married to
Evelina Vredenburgh, the youngest daughter of
Colonel William J. Vredenburgh, of Skaneateles. Her
father was of Dutch descent, and a large landholder
on the military tract. He was one of the founders
and earliest settlers of the beautiful town where he
passed the latter part of his life. Another of his
daughters married James Porter, for a long time the
Register of the court of chancery, and a leading poli
tician in the republican ranks. Mrs. Throop died in

ELECTED A MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 497
the city of New York, in 1834, lamented not only by
the husband who mourned her loss, but by all who
remembered the many beautiful traits in her character.
She was the mother of three children, not one of
whom lived beyond the period of infancy.
At the congressional election in the year 1814, Mr.
Throop was elected to the 14th Congress, as a friend
of the war measures of the national administration,
from the double district consisting of the counties of
Cayuga, Seneca, Tioga and Broome, in the place of
Daniel Avery, the then incumbent, who had represent
ed the district in the two previous Congresses. His
colleague was Oliver C. Comstock, of Seneca. They
were both elected by large majorities.
Mr. Throop took his seat in Congress on the 4th
of December, 1815, and by his talents and industry,
and his high character for integrity and independence,
very soon acquired a more than respectable standing
at Washington. His associates and compeers were
the great men of the nation — among them Clay, Cal
houn, Webster, Forsyth, Pinkney, and Lowndes —
but his position beside them was one highly honorable
to him.The session of 1815-16 was not unusually long,
but highly exciting. The war had now ended, but
the public and private credit which had been almost
destroyed, were to be restored. Mr. Throop took
part in the debates on most of the important topics
discussed. He voted for the incorporation of the
Ou

498 ENOS T. THROOP.
national bank, with Clay, Calhoun, and other leading
friends of the administration, as the only means that
appeared to him to be feasible, to relieve the country
from the multiplied embarrassments occasioned by the
suspension of specie payments by the state banks and
the depreciation ofthe currency. '
He also opposed the bill introduced by Mr. Forsyth,
making provision for carrying the commercial treaty
with Great Britain into effect, and in the course of the
debate on this question, submitted the following re
marks :
" I shall vote against the bill, because I think it unnecessary to pass
such a law. The act in question does nothing more than put into the
form of a law the several provisions of the treaty regulating the com
merce between the two countries, which are of themselves the supreme
law of the land. These provisions do not require a construction nor
any aid by law to carry them into execution. If the object was merely
to instruct the revenue officers, I would prefer its being done by the
President or the Secretary of the Treasury, whose duty I conceive it
to be, and whose competency cannot be doubted. I do not know that
the passage of this law, following the provisions of the treaty, will do
any great mischief, but I am opposed to the principles on which it is
attempted to be supported, and fear that it will at Borne future period
form a dangerous precedent.
" The treaty-making power is lodged by the constitution in the
President and Senate, and their act becomes obligatory on the nation,
without the interference of this House, by that section of the constitu
tion which declares that ' this constitution and the laws of the United
States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made,
or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall
be the supreme law of the land.' An argument has been attempted to
be drawn from the fact that the constitution, laws and treaties, are

SPEECH ON THE COMMERCIAL TREATY, 499
classed together in the same sentence, and are all declared to be the
law of the land.
" I do not know that I understand what the conclusion is ; but if it
is as I apprehend it to be — that, being all classed together, and in one
sentence declared to be the supreme law, that then a treaty is of no
greater force than a law ; I conceive that the same argument wUl prove
that the constitution is not paramount to a law, and if that construction
prevails, Congress may by law repeal the constitution. But, grant that
the treaty has no greater efficacy than a law, and can repeal and be
repealed by a law, then the act under consideration is unnecessary, as
the treaty being subsequent to the law creating discriminating duties,
repeals that law ; and when a new tariff of duties is created, it may
be made to conform to the treaty. But, it is said, the treaty is a com
pact ; hence it is no law to be observed by the people, but only a direc
tion to Congress to pass a law. Because it is a compact, it is superior
to the law. An individual may prescribe to himself a rule of conduct
by which he will be governed, but he may depart from that rule when
ever he pleases ; it is a law to himself, and the power which enacts
may repeal* But if he stipulates with another a rule of conduct to be
observed by himself, it is a compact, and he cannot depart from it with-
"out a violation of his pUghted faith, and the rights of that other. This
is the distinction between a treaty and a law ; aud which renders a
treaty paramount to the law. The law prescribes a rule of conduct to
the citizens of the state by which they are to be governed, and may
be repealed at any time ; but a treaty is a compact between two sover
eign states, which cannot be departed from by one without violating
the faith of that state, and the rights of the other.
" An answer to the argument that the treaty is only a direction to
Congress to pass a law, is to be found in the concluding part of the
same section of the constitution, which, after stating that treaties, Ac,
shall be the supreme law of the land, adds, 'and the judges in each
state shall be bound thereby.' Here is a direction, not to Congress, but
to the courts of law, to construe and enforce the treaty, which they
are bound to do without reference to any construction which might be
put upon it by an act of this body. I trust I shaU not be told that this

500 ENOS T. THROOP.
direction is to the judges of the state courts, and not to the judiciary
of the United States, and that a treaty might be enforced in the state
courts, but would require a law to enforce it in the courts of the United
States. For, according to that construction, it might produce this ab
surdity ; that the treaty would operate upon the states individually,
and Congress might refuse to pass a law, whereby it could not be
treated as a law by the United States courts. I cannot sanction the
idea that this House has any control over the treaty-making power,
to ratify or annul their acts, unless it is in cases where the treaty can
not execute itself, but requires for that purpose provision to be made by
law, such as raising money, <fec.
" Some gentlemen seem alarmed, lest the President and Senate, by
an assumption of power, shall at length claim the right of making war,
which they can do by stipulating for war in a treaty. Should the
right of declaring war exist in one branch of the legislature independ
ent of the others, I cannot see but that it may as safely be lodged with
the President and Senate, as with this House. The right here claimed
of supervising the treaty, will lead to that result. War has ceased ;
we are at peace with Great Britain, by treaty ; but if this House in the
plenitude of their wisdom, does not think proper to ratify the treaty,
the war is renewed, and we must resume our arms, — which wiU effec
tually vest this branch of the legislature with the power of making war.
I do not beUeve that it entered into the views of the framers of the
constitution, to vest this House with the power of rejecting or ratifying
a treaty : if it did, they would not have left a power, so important, to
be gathered from inference. They would have made express provision
for it. It would have been easy for them, and they would have de
clared that the power of making treaties should be vested in the Presi
dent of the United States and Congress."
In the remarks of Mr. Throop the principal questions
involved in Mr. Forsyth's bill are succinctly stated.
The majority of the republican members in the House
contended that, inasmuch as the convention or treaty

SUPPORT OF THE TARIFF ACT. 501
stipulated for the equalization of tonnage and duties, so
as to place British vessels on the same footing with
American vessels, and as the original law required the
sanction of both branches of the legislature, it was not
competent for one of them, acting in conjunction with
the executive, to nullify it pro hac vice, by means of a
treat)', any more than it would be proper for them to
repeal it absolutely. On the other hand, Mr. Throop
insisted, as did Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Pinkney, that no
legislative provisions were necessary, because the con
vention contemplated only the suspension of alien dis
abilities, in return for a similar suspension by Great
Britain in favor of American citizens ; that this subject
was one peculiarly within the province of the treaty-
making power ; and that the treaty, being the supreme
law of the land, by its own inherent force and author
ity, suspended the operation ofthe law imposing the dis
abilities. Mr. Forsyth's bill ultimately passed the House ;
the Senate disagreed ; but a law was finally enacted
establishing the principle contended for by the republi
can majority. Mr. Madison, no doubt, concurred in
opinion with the minority, because he issued his proc
lamation declaring the removal of the disabilities sim
ultaneously with the publication of the commercial
treaty as ratified.
During the war the capital, of necessity withdrawn
from commercial pursuits, was invested in manufac
tures; but when peace was declared, the establish
ments thus called, as it were, into being, by the foreign

502 ENOS T. THROOP.
policy of the government, were threatened with ruin
if exposed to competition with the products of foreign
manufacturers. The indebtedness of the country re
quired a large revenue, and the only practicable mode
of raising it seemed to be by means of a tariff law.
Influenced by this consideration, and for the reason,
as well, that he favored the protection and encourage
ment of the domestic interests of the country, Mr.
Throop voted for the act of 1816, and opposed the at
tempt to establish, as a principle of the bill and of the
tariff policy of the country, an ad valorem duty of
twenty per cent, on cotton and woollen goods. While
upon this subject, however, it may be well to add, that
he heartily approved of the reduction of the duties made
by the compromise act, and afterward, by the law of
1846. Mr. Throop also supported the Canadian Volunteer
bill, and the act known as " the Compensation act."
By the latter law, the per diem allowance of members
of Congress was changed to an annual salary of fifteen
hundred dollars. The motives of those who originated
this law were eminently praiseworthy, and its princi
ple as fair and just as any that could be devised. The
average compensation of members was increased by
it only about thirty-eight per cent, above the rates estab
lished nearly thirty years previous, and this was cer
tainly not out of proportion with the increase in the
cost of the necessaries of life.* But the law was un-
* The average amount of pay, including mileage, to each member

THE COMPENSATION LAW. 503
popular with the people, and nearly all those represen
tatives who voted in its favor and were candidates for
reelection, failed of being returned. Such was the for
tune of Mr. Throop. He was borne down by the pop
ular clamor originating with those who were ignorant
of the real character of the law, but most of whom
were, without doubt, sincere and honest in their oppo
sition to what they called high salaries. Being again
a candidate in 1816, at the election in April of that
year, previous to his return home, and before he had
time to set himself right with the electors of the dis
trict by exposing the misrepresentations and miscon
ceptions which had deluded them, he was defeated by
an overwhelming vote.
During the same session of Congress, the question
of a successor to Mr. Madison was also agitated. Mr.
Monroe and Mr. Crawford were the two prominent
candidates, and the contest for the nomination was
ultimately confined to them. Efforts had been made,
however, to bring forward other candidates, particu
larly in the state of New York. De Witt Clinton,
from his too close connection with the federalists in
1812, was no longer the favorite of the republican
party in the state, and its leadership had been mainly
assumed by Judge Spencer. The latter was originally
in favor of General Armstrong, the secretary of war,
annually, for eight years previous, was about thirteen hundred dollars,
and the Compensation act raised it to eighteen hundred. The per diem
allowance, it wiU be remembered, was then only six dollars.

504 ENOS T. THROOP.
and corresponded with a number of his political friends
upon the propriety of electing him to the Senate, with
a view, eventually, of making him president. Among-
them was Mr. Throop, who, notwithstanding his long
and sincere friendship for his correspondent, positively
declined to engage in any such effort. This refusal
led to a coolness between them, and when in the win
ter of 1816, he declined to follow the Judge in his re
union with Mr. Clinton, their intimacy ceased.
The unfortunate capture of Washington compelled
Mr. Armstrong to retire to private life, and Judge
Spencer then supported the pretensions of Mr. Craw
ford. His real preferences were undoubtedly fixed in
that direction at an early day, but he had become jeal
ous of the growing popularity of Governor Tompkins,
who was now generally talked of as a candidate for
the vice-presidency ; and through his instrumentality
the republicans in the New York legislature were in
duced to nominate the governor, at a caucus held in
February, 1816, for the presidential office. This move
ment could only have been devised, for the purpose of
engaging Governor Tompkins in a premature and ill-
advised contest with older men in the republican party
ofthe nation, and thus destroying his popularity. But
the effort, as we have seen,* entirely failed of success.
General Porter, Mr. Van Buren, Mr. Throop, and other
leading republicans, who were sincerely attached to
Governor Tompkins, foresaw what would be the result
* Ante p. 196, et seq.

FRIENDSHIP FOR GOVERNOR TOMPKINS. 505
if his name were pressed ; and when they found that if
the nomination could be effected in the Congressional
caucus, the friends of Mr. Monroe would, as they
threatened to do in any event if their favorite was not
selected, present him as a candidate irrespective of the
decision of the caucus, — or that, if defeated in the cau
cus, his prospects for the future would be seriously,
perhaps fatally injured, — they then confined their
efforts to securing his nomination to the vice-presi
dency, in which they were successful.
Mr. Throop was a warm friend, both politically and
personally, to Governor Tompkins, from the time of
his first election as governor, in 1807, to the close of
his career; and the assertion of Mr. Hammond, that
the governor thought unkindly of him, as one of the
republican members of Congress, for too readily con
senting to give him up,* is unjust to the memory of
the one, and to the character of the other for fidelity
and integrity in his political relations. Mr. Throop
was, from the beginning, in favor of the nomination
of Mr. Monroe, because, in his judgment, the public
opinion of the republican party had indicated him as
the successor of Mr. Madison ; and his long experience
in national affairs, and his patriotic services during the
Revolution and the late war, gave him strong claims
upon the regard and confidence of the people. He
would have supported Tompkins, if his nomination had
been possible, but that being out of the question, he
* Political History, vol. i. p. 411.
22

506 ENOS T. THROOP.
was free to choose between the other candidates.
His preferences were never disguised ; and at a meet
ing of the New York republican delegation in Con
gress, held shortly before the caucus, he expressed
them openly and without reserve. The influence of
Judge Spencer was felt at this meeting, and an effort
was made to commit the members present to the sup
port of Mr. Crawford, under the captivating plea that
the state of New York ought to give an united vote
upon the question. Mr. Hammond attended the meet
ing as one of the republican members, and he declares
that it was broken up " without any expression of
opinion as between Monroe and Crawford," mainly
"by means of the influence of General Porter, John
W. Taylor, and Enos T. Throop."*
It may readily be inferred, from this language, al
though the writer might not have designed to make
such a charge, that undue means were taken by Mr.
Throop and others to prevent an expression of opinion
at the meeting. This was not so. Mr. Throop had
no concealments on the question, and freely expressed
his sentiments. It was notorious that the confidential
frienids of Mr. Monroe had declared that he was before
the people and should not be withdrawn ; and that Mr.
Crawford was made a candidate, against his will and
the wishes of his Georgia friends, principally by New
York politicians. Mr. Throop belonged to the old
Jeffersonian school ; the republican party was a national
* Political History, vol. i. p. 409.

HIS RESIGNATION. 507
one ; and as Mr. Tompkins could not be nominated,
he opposed taking any steps that would give the matter
a state character, as it was contemplated to do by
pledging the members to cast a united vote for Craw
ford, and desired that each should be left at liberty
to act as he thought proper. But five or six of the
members from New York concurred with Mr. Throop
in preferring Mr. Monroe, yet the majority appeared
to be favorably impressed with the objections urged
against expressing any opinion, as a delegation, and
the meeting adjourned, as stated by Mr. Hammond ;
no other means having been taken to produce that
result, than the frank avowal of their opinions by
General Porter, Mr. Taylor, and Mr. Throop. New
York was not pitted against Virginia on the presiden
tial question, and the creation or fostering of state
prejudices was avoided, through the prudent caution
of Mr. Throop and his friends.
On his return from Washington, Mr. Throop found
that the people of his district had pronounced their
disapprobation of his course in voting for the com
pensation act. Conscious, though he was, of the
purity of his motives, and well assured that his con
stituents were mistaken, both as to them,, and as to the
true character of the law, there seemed but one course
left for him to pursue, and that was to resign his seat.
This was promptly done, and a special election was
ordered to be held in the district. Another candidate
was selected to fill the vacancy, and an active and

508 ENOS T. THROOP.
spirited canvass ensued. The " low-salary" party, as
they termed themselves, and who consisted of federal
ists and Clintonians, also had their candidate, and
succeeded in electing him, but by a largely reduced
majority. The efforts of Mr. Throop and his friends
were principally confined to the county of Cayuga,
and they had the satisfaction of reversing the vote at
the previous regular election, and giving a majority of
six hundred to the republican candidate. In the other
counties in the district the nominee of the " low salary"
party received a majority more than sufficient to neu
tralize the vote of Cayuga. This sudden outbreak of
popular feeling, therefore, did not, in the end, weaken
the influence or popularity of Mr. Throop in the county
where he resided, but it served to elevate him in the
estimation of those who could not but admire the inde
pendence of character which he had displayed.
The Clintonians and Bucktails, though existing for
a long time previous as separate factions of the re
publican party, did not finally divide till the winter
of 1819. Mr. Throop, however, was opposed to the
nomination of De Witt Clinton as the republican
candidate for governor in 1817, though he did not
make any effort to defeat his election ; and as " the
low-salary men" in Cayuga county had become ardent
Clintonians, the lines between them, and Mr. Throop
and his friends, were distinctly drawn very soon after
Mr. Clinton's elevation to the chief magistracy of the
state.

REMOVAL FROM OFFICE OF CLERK. 509
In the winter of 1818, Mr. Clinton was seated in
authority, with a council of appointment ready, as he
supposed, to carry out his wishes. It consisted of
Henry Yates and Jabez D. Hammond, Clintonians ;
and Henry Seymour and Peter R. Livingston, Buck-
tails. But Mr. Yates, though he had been a warm
and constant friend to Mr. Clinton, was also a firm
republican ; and he was totally opposed to proscribing
any member of the party, because of his personal
likes or dislikes as respected Mr. Clinton. The com
mission for the county of Cayuga expired this year,
and as most of the persons in office were the political
friends of Mr. Throop, " the low-salary men," or Clin
tonians, held a county convention, and adopted a new
civil list, which they forwarded to Governor Clinton.
This list was laid before the council by the governor,
and he recommended the appointment of the persons
therein named, confidently expecting that Mr. Yates
and Mr. Hammond would promptly support him.
Meanwhile the former had been advised by Mr.
Throop, who happened to be an old friend and ac
quaintance, of the true state of the case, and he saw
that if he sustained the governor, it could only be by
proscribing members of the party in good standing.
Determined not to be a party to such a proceeding,
when the governor presented the new list to the coun
cil, and Mr. Hammond stood prepared to vote for its
adoption, to their surprise he immediately rose in his
place, and nominated a person to the office of sheriff,

510 ENOS T. THROOP.
from a list furnished him by Mr. Throop. • Mr. Sey
mour and Mr. Livingston voted with him, and the
nomination was carried. He then went through with
the whole list, without stopping ; the governor and his
friend, Mr. Hammond, were in a powerless minority,
and they had no further control of the council for the
remainder of the year.
The following year Mr. Clinton had a council com
pletely subservient to his views, and it was intimated
to Mr. Throop that unless he ceased his opposition to
Mr. Clinton, he would be removed from the office of
county clerk, while his friends should be retained, and
his influence would thus be weakened. The intima
tion was disregarded, and his removal soon followed.
In 1820 the Bucktails secured the council, and it was
then proposed to Mr. Throop that he should be re
stored to the clerkship, but he declined accepting the
office again, and it was then conferred on his brother.
After his removal, Mr. Throop confined himself for
several years to the management of his private busi
ness, though still maintaining his position at the head
of the republican party in his county. He supported
Governor Tompkins in 1820, and approved of the
reelection of Mr. Monroe. He was one of the early
friends of the proposition to call a convention to revise
the constitution ; and the various reforms and amend
ments in the fundamental law of the state which were
thus effected, met with his hearty concurrence.
The constitution of 1821 made provision for divid-

APPOINTED CIRCUIT JUDGE. 511
ing the state into eight circuits, for each of which a
circuit judge was to be appointed. A judicial office
had long been the object of Mr. Throop's ambition,
but it was unnecessary for him to make his wishes
known. As soon as the new constitution was adopt
ed, and the legislature had divided the state into cir
cuits, public opinion seemed at once to settle upon
him as a proper person to receive the appointment
for judge of the seventh circuit, which embraced the
county of Cayuga. Governor Yates had known him
from his boyhood, and was his personal friend ; he did
not require, therefore, to be very warmly urged in his
behalf; and in the month of April, 1823, Mr. Throop
was nominated and appointed to the office of circuit
judge. In this new position he fully realized the expecta
tions of his friends. He was prompt in the dispatch
of business, courteous yet dignified in his manners,
careful in deliberation and impartial in his decisions.
Punctual and correct as a lawyer, he was prudent and
conscientious as a judge ; and the integrity that
guided his conduct at the bar kept the ermine free
from spot or stain. His experience in the office of
Mr. Metcalfe proved of great service to him in this
new position. His familiarity with the forms and
proceedings in criminal trials, and with the principles
of criminal law, astonished his old associates, and the
leading counsel in the circuit frequently expressed
their surprise.

&

512 ENOS T. THROOP.
In the month of September, 1826, William Morgan,
a member of the masonic fraternity, was forcibly
abducted from Canandaigua, and taken to Fort Ni
agara, where he was confined for several days, and
then suddenly disappeared. The parties concerned
in this outrage were also masons, and their object
was to prevent the publication of a book divulging
the secrets of the order, then being prepared by Mor
gan. The fate of this individual is still shrouded in
mystery, though there is little reason to doubt that
he was murdered, perhaps by drowning him in Lake
Ontario, without the jurisdiction of the state of
New York, and by masons from Canada ; his original
abductors either directly or indirectly assenting to the
act. But few persons were concerned in the abduc
tion and subsequent disposition of Morgan, and nothing
has ever been discovered or disclosed tending to show
that it was done with the consent or approbation of
any recognized power or authority in the society.
The excitement that followed the disappearance
of Morgan was unparalleled, particularly in western
New York ; and it ultimately extended to other states.
As fact after fact was divulged, in the history of
the abduction, the feelings of indignation which had
been aroused gathered additional intensity. The story
was repeated, not always without the embellishment
of fancy, at the fireside and in the pulpit, in the public
journal and at the hustings. Rumor with her thou
sand tongues invented a thousand tales of horror.

ANTIMASONRY. 513
The oaths and obligations of masonry were made pub
lic, and when it was seen what powerful instruments
of oppression and injustice these might be in the hands
of designing men, the institution was declared to be
a dangerous one. The masons at first attempted to
withstand the tempest of popular fury, and scouted
the idea that the many should be punished for the guilt
of the few. But the current was far too powerful to
be resisted. The members of the order seceded by
scores ; one lodge after another surrendered its char
ter ; and finally, the order dwindled away till it barely
maintained an existence.
This movement originated with the people, though
demagogues may have availed themselves of it, as is
always the case with such excitements, to secure
political power. The masonic order had been a popu
lar one ; and a very large proportion of the leading
men in the state, of both political parties, were mem
bers of the institution. This being the case, most of
the prominent offices were held by them. Its influ
ence, too, was felt, to a greater or less extent, in all
the relations of life, — in the administration of justice,
in politics, in business, and in religion. All these
circumstances tended to heighten the feelings which
had been enkindled, and the opponents of masonry,
who called themselves anti-masons, daily added to
their numbers. Opposition to the masonic institution
was with them a cardinal virtue and principle; they
carried it into the churches, and eventually to the polls.
33

514 ENOS T. THROOP.
At first the antimasons were not a political party.
But they desired to procure the repeal of the act of in
corporation granted to the Grand Chapter of the state
by the legislature, and the passage of a law prohibiting
the administration of extra judicial oaths ; and they
soon found that it was impossible for them to accom
plish these ends without taking part in the elections.
In the early stages of the excitement they had con
tented themselves with opposing the election of a ma
son to any civil office, but this sort of negative action
was attended with only a moderate measure of suc
cess. Their great object — the complete overthrow
and prohibition of the masonic institution — could not
be effected without combination and unity of effort,
When this truth became evident, disregarding their old
political associations and antecedents, they formed a
new party, known as the Antimasonic party, and made
their appearance as such, for the first time, in the year
1828. This party, as organized in western New York,
was composed in great part of Clintonians, with a large
detachment from the Bucktail ranks.
In January, 1827, several persons concerned in the
Morgan outrage were arraigned before Judge Throop,
at the Ontario Oyer and Terminer, on an indictment
charging them with conspiring to kidnap Morgan.
The defendants, with one exception, plead guilty, and
the other was tried and convicted. In sentencing them,
the Judge denounced the conspiracy and outrage in
severe and eloquent terms. " Your conduct," he said,

ANTIMASONRY. 515
" has created, in the people of this section of the coun
try, a strong feeling of virtuous indignation. The
court rejoices to witness it, — to be made certain that
a citizen's person cannot be invaded by lawless vio
lence, without its being felt by every individual in the
community. It is a blessed spirit, and we do hope that
it will not subside ; that it will be accompanied by a
ceaseless vigilance and untiring activity, until every
actor in this profligate conspiracy is hunted from his
hiding-place, and brought before the tribunals of his
country, to receive the punishment merited by his
crime." Judge Throop was not a mason, neither was
he an antimason, but these remarks, appropriate as
they were to the occasion, were entirely satisfactory
to the best friends of the institution, and at the same
time secured him the respect and esteem of its oppo
nents. They showed that he occupied an impartial
position ; being satisfied that a great crime had been
committed, he was disposed to punish the perpetrators,
but not to attack an institution because there were bad
men among its members ; while he was not bigotted
on the one hand, he was not prescriptive on the other.
This moderate and neutral position did not satisfy the
antimasons, as we shall see, when they became a polit
ical party, and, consequently, they were afterward po
litically hostile to him.
While he occupied the station of a judge, Mr.
Throop avoided any active interference in politics,
though all the while known and recognized as a mem-

516 ENOS T. THROOP.
ber of the Bucktail or democratic party. In 1827,
with nearly all his old political friends, he took ground
in favor of the election of General Jackson to the pres
idency. It was not his intention, nor his wish, ever
again to enter the arena of party strife. He had long
cherished a desire to engage in agricultural pursuits,
and when he found that his judicial duties were not in
compatible with a country life, he gladly consummated
it, under circumstances that placed him above want.
In 1826, he changed his residence from Auburn to his
beautiful farm of Willow Brook, on Owasco Lake,
which, though now an inhabitant of another state, he
still regards as his home. Here, in peace and quiet, he
hoped to spend the remainder of his days ; but his ex
pectations were not destined to be fulfilled.
In the summer of 1828 he was solicited by Mr.
Van Buren and other political friends, to become a
candidate for lieutenant-governor on the same ticket
with that gentleman. The proposition made to him
was, in effect, that he should become governor, for
there appeared little doubt of the success of the Jack
son, or democratic party, in the state and nation ; and
it was confidently expected that Mr. Van Buren would
be invited to take a place in the cabinet. Fully recog
nizing his obligations to the party of which he was a
member, and not indifferent to the high honor thus ten
dered him, he reconsidered his determination to with
draw from political life, and consented, though with
reluctance, to become a candidate for the nomination.

BECOMES ACTING GOVERNOR. 517
At the Herkimer Convention, in September, 1828,
Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Throop were accordingly
put in nomination, for the offices of governor and lieu
tenant-governor, and the latter immediately thereafter
resigned the judgeship, in order to render himself eligi
ble. The election resulted in the success of the demo
cratic ticket. Mr. Throop's majority over Francis
Granger, the national republican or Adams candidate,
in the county of Cayuga, was nearly two thousand,
and in the state at large upwards of twenty-eight
thousand. The antimasonic candidate, John Crary,
received nearly thirty-four thousand votes.
On the first of January, 1829, Mr. Throop took the
oath of office, as lieutenant-governor, but he had only
just become familiar with the routine of his duties as
presiding officer of the Senate, when Mr. Van Buren
resigned the office of governor on receiving the ap
pointment of secretary of state. Mr. Throop now be
came the acting governor ; and he took leave of the
Senate on the 12th of March, properly availing him
self of the occasion to deliver an address setting forth
the general principles upon which he should adminis
ter the executive duties devolving upon him. His
position was a peculiar one. For several years he
had been entirely withdrawn from political life ; new
men had appeared on the stage since the adoption of
the constitution of 1821 ; and it was natural that he
should be viewed something in the light of an intruder
by those who had been accustomed to look to others as

518 ENOS T. THROOP.
the dispensers of official patronage. By the death of
Mr. Clinton, this party was disbanded ; and as the
republicans had lost considerable strength by means
of the antimasonic excitement, it was evident that
they could not sustain themselves without accessions
from the Clintonian party. Governor Throop seems
to have had this consideration in view in his address,
and attempted to rally the old esprit du coi-ps of the
republican party by reviving its differences with their
ancient opponents, the federalists of 1798 and 1812.
He also alluded to the excitement on the subject of
masonry, and intimated that, in his opinion, unless
there were some great and important objects to be
secured by the institution, it should be dissolved, be
cause it could not continue to exist except as a source
of " useless irritation."
In regard to the appointing power, also, Mr. Throop's
position was one of great delicacy. Most of the
offices in the state were filled by the friends of Mr.
Clinton, who, with him, had been in favor of General
Jackson. But the Bucktails constituted the principal
strength of the democratic party, and it was impossible
to deny them a fair participation in the results of the
victory which they had aided in achieving. Governor
Throop, however, managed with great tact and ad
dress, and in a manner well calculated to strengthen
the party of which he had now become the nominal
head. When Governor Throop entered upon the discharge

THE LATERAL CANALS. 519
of the gubernatorial duties, the legislature had made
considerable progress upon the Safety-fund law, and
he had the satisfaction of signing and approving it.
One other question, of much importance in its bearings
upon his political fortunes, and those of the democratic
party, was discussed at the regular session of the legis
lature, in 1829.
Before the completion of the Erie and Champlain
Canals, various sectional interests sprung up, having in
view the construction of lateral works of the same
character. The most important of these were known,
in the subsequent legislation of the state, as the Black
River, Genesee Valley and Chenango Canals. The
last was the pioneer project, and the inhabitants re
siding on the route along which it was proposed to be
constructed were warmly enlisted in its favor. For
several years their favorite measure was pressed upon
the legislature, but without success. A majority of
the canal board, including Samuel Young, William L.
Marcy and Azariah C. Flagg, who had for some time
been its most active and influential members, were
opposed to the construction of the Chenango Canal,
because they thought that the public debt ought to be
first extinguished, and a surplus revenue accumulated
sufficient to discharge all the liabilities that it might be
necessary to incur. In the winter of 1829, Mr. Marcy
was transferred to the bench of the Supreme Court,
but his place as comptroller was filled by Silas Wright,
who entertained similar views.

520 ENOS T. THROOP.
At the session of 1829, the Chenango Canal project
was again discussed with much earnestness, and a bill
was introduced authorizing the construction of the
work. It was obvious, from the tone and character
of the debates, that there were two sets of opinions
prevailing among the republican members ; one party
concurring with the majority of the canal board, and
the other believing that if a work promised to benefit
any considerable portion of the state, it ought to be
constructed, even if it became necessary to use the
public credit. The friends of the Chenango Canal
insisted that it would be a source of revenue to the
state; but this was denied by its opponents, who
affirmed that it would never repay the cost of its
construction. Extreme opinions, adverse to the con
struction of the canal, in any event, were held by
some of the opponents of the measure, but most of
them expressed themselves willing to have the work
constructed, at once, if the public debt would not be
increased, and if that were impossible, then that it
should be postponed till the state had sufficient surplus
funds to be expended on works of internal improve
ment. These last were probably the sentiments of
Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Throop, though neither the
former, in his annual message, nor the latter, in his
address to the Senate, committed himself upon the
question. At a subsequent day, Governor Throop
expressed his views at length; and they may properly
be inserted here, though not in strict chronological

VIEWS ON FINANCIAL POLICY. 521
order. In his annual message in 1831, he referred at
length to the then exhausted condition of the general
fund, the subject of internal improvements and the
financial policy of the state, in the following lan
guage :
" No government can be administered without money, and the
means of defraying its expenses must in some shape be furnished by
those for whose benefit it is administered. It therefore becomes
necessary to consider from what sources our exhausted treasury can
be replenished. This involves an inquiry into the means placed at the
disposal of the legislature for that purpose. These' means are taxa
tion, or loans on the credit of the government. If money is borrowed,
the interest must be paid, and eventually the capital. If in addition
to the current annual disbursements, the money to pay the interest on
previous loans must also be borrowed, it is obvious that with com
pound interest there wUl be a rapid accumulation of debt, and the
public creditor wiU ultimately require some further security for his
loans, than the credit of the state. Such measures would result in
impaired public credit ; taxation could not long be delayed ; and it is
to be feared, that when it becomes necessary to levy upon the people
the amount of the current expenses, together with the interest accru
ing upon debts incurred for the expenses of preceding years, swelled
by compound interest, the taxation will be found burdensome and may
become perpetual.
" There is no mystery in financial operations, save what ingenious
m»n have found necessary to throw around them, to conceal their own
measures from the public knowledge. What would be said of a farmer
who should thus manage his private concerns, and trust to borrowing
on the credit of his farm, for the annual expenses of his living, instead
of deriving support from it by his earnings ?
«' I should be wanting in duty, if I should forbear to pursue this
interesting subject stUl further, for I deem it of vital importance. We
are still a young nation, and have experienced nothing but increasing

522 ENOS T. THROOP.
prosperity.; and having now arrived at a point where our treasury
must be permanently supplied, or a hazardous experiment upon our
own credit made, it is our own fault if we do not choose that alterna
tive which we know to be safe, and to which common prudence directly
points. ¦• As we have but Uttle to appeal to, in our own experience, we
should not shut our eyes to the light reflected by the history of other
nations. An able EngUsh historian, in noticing a temporary debt,
created in the reign of Henry the Sixth, makes the following remarks :
' The first instance of a debt contracted upon parUamentary security,
occurs in this reign. The commencement of this practice deserves to
be noted ; a, practice the more likely to become pernicious, the more
a nation advances in opulence and credit. The ruinous effects of it
are now become too apparent, and threaten the very existence of the
nation.' " Shortly before the commencement of the last century, when Wil
Uam the Third came to the throne, and found it necessary, in order to
defend his continental possessions, and to restrain the ambition of
France, to have more money than could be raised by the ordinary
means of revenue, a resort was first had to temporary loans, pledging
the annual income to repay them. As this necessity for money con
tinued from year to year, the debt was left unpaid, and the revenues
were appropriated to pay the interest of it ; and it then occurred to
his ingenious financiers that a national debt was a national blessing.
Thus, within eight years after he ascended the throne, a public debt
had accumulated, equal in amount to one hundred miUions of dollars.
To pay the interest of that debt, and to defray the current expenses
of the government, independently of indirect taxation by means of
customs, direct taxes were imposed upon the people in every possible
shape. Thev were imposed upon their persons, upon the value of
their real and personal property, upon their income, upon their stock
in trade, upon births and burials, upon beer, cider, perry, and all the
productions of industry, commercial, manufacturing and agricultural
These taxes have been continued, and additional ones imposed upon
every new object, created by the trade or industry of the nation, as it

VIEWS ON FINANCIAL POLICY. 523
was developed, until the British empire, with a population of twenty-
two mUlions of persons, is burthened with a debt amounting to about
three thousand five hundred millions of doUars.
"It is an extraordinary fact, and shows the evils which a mal
administration may bring upon a community, that the period of time
which enlarged the constitutional privileges of the English people,
gave birth to legislative measures which drew a new line of distinction
between the people, and divided them into pubUc creditors and labor
ers. All the wealth of the nation has been grasped by the compara
tively few holders of government stock, and the privilege to support
them, by the earnings of their labor, is nearly all that has been left
to the many.
" When we look at our means of raising revenue, it will be per
ceived that a state debt is a mortgage upon the persons, the property
and the industry of our citizens, and the public creditor wiU soon call
for a contribution from those sources. With our present laws, which
secure to every man the enjoyment of the profits of his industry,
talents and ingenuity, we can look without concern or envy upon the
greatest amount of wealth which any individual has accumulated by
industry and economy. He has a right to enjoy it, and it wiU be
soon distributed by his successors. But there is great danger in
creating a mass of wealth, in the hands of individuals, which suffers
no diminution, but accumulates from generation to generation, sus
tained by the industry of the country and guaranteed by the laws.
We have in vain abolished entails, if a more durable species of prop
erty is created, levying contributions, not by rents, but by means of
taxes. " It is a plausible doctrine, which has been urged with some success,
that it is no matter how much money is expended by government,
provided it is employed upon suitable enterprises for improving our
internal condition ; because the money remains among the people, and
gives them employment. This is indeed true.when the money is disbursed
from a full treasury. But when the money expended is borrowed
of individuals, on state security, and interest is to be paid for its use,
to be collected by taxation, upon the annual products of the labor of

524 ENOS T. THROOP.
the people, the money remains among us ; the aggregate wealth of
the country may be increased, but it is unequally divided ; an undue
proportion goes into the hands of the few who monopolize the stock,
while the remainder of the people are impoverished by the operation.
" I have entered into much detail upon this important subject, from
a deep conviction that it is too intimately connected with the pubUc
welfare to be lightly passed over, and that the time has now arrived,
when it becomes a duty of the people to understand and reflect upon
this matter. I have been placed at the head of the government at a
period when it must determine upon the policy to be pursued, in a
new and untried state of things. Hitherto the state has been rich in
lands and public funds, and, aided by taxes which have ceased, it has
been able to meet the payment of temporary loans, the revolutionary
claims, and the annual expenses of administering the government.
This public property is now nearly exhausted, not by the ordinary
expenses, but by contributions to public works, and as the basis of
special funds.
"Internal improvements, by means of canals and railroads, have be
come fixed objects of legislative care, and are among the most inter
esting subjects which wiU claim your attention. Their influence in di
versifying the pursuits of labor, and equalizing the value of its pro
ducts, in adding to individual and aggregate wealth, stimulating enter
prise, and binding society together in ties of amity and interest, is not
only acknowledged in theory, but has been practically demonstrated
by our experience. These considerations will induce you to examine
with industry and Uvely soUcitude, into the means within your control
for their further prosecution. Our country is peculiarly well adapted
to the construction of canals and railroads, and affords in all directions,
from its soU, its forests and its mines, those ponderous productions,
which owe most of their value in market to the cheapness of tran
sportation. Each of these modes of communication has'its pecuUar
merit, and is yet susceptible of much improvement. It remains to be
seen what elevations of surface may bo overcome by stationary power,
as part of the line of a canal, — an improvement deserving more atten-

VIEWS ON FINANCIAL POLICY. 525
hon from those conversant with such subjects, than it seems to have
received. * * * *
" While canals, peculiarly adapted to the transportation of bulky ar
ticles, may be made in suitable situations, railroads, on account of their
fitness for rapid transmission, to operate at seasons when canals are use
less, and perhaps to overcome elevations insurmountable by them, wUl,
no doubt, in future times, be extensively distributed throughout the
state. There are few obstacles in any part of the state, which may not
be overcome by one or the other of these improvements. An enlight
ened popular government cannot faU to discover the advantages of
such works, and is weU fitted to prosecute them judiciously. As the
people contribute the means for their construction, they wiU not fail to
discover the proper period for commencing them, and the extent to
which they should be carried. The successful experiment which has al
ready been made, while it has shed glory upon the state, affords a stim
ulus for the prosecution of simUar enterprises ; and it is not surprising,
that some parts of the state, supposed to be peculiarly adapted by
nature to receive these helps from art, should exhibit an impatience for
their immediate commencement. But any disposition that may be mani
fested to enter prematurely upon the prosecution of these works, wUl
kbe restrained bi the cooler judgment of those parts of the state,
which are caUed upon to contribute to the expense, but which partici
pate indirectly only in their advantages,
" In determining upon the expediency of beginning any new work, it
will be proper to consider its public benefits, its probable returns of
revenue, and the means of the state. If the state possesses funds for
the object, without imposing any burdens upon the people, it will be
sufficient to look at its bearings upon the public prosperity, without
reference to revenue. If the state should not be in that condition,
then it is necessary, preliminarily, to ascertain, with considerable ex
actness, that it wiU contribute, in toUs, sufficient to pay for necessary
repairs and attendance, the interest of the debt to be created on its ac
count, and, within a reasonable time, the principal. If it wUl not do
this, then your duty requires you to determine whether the poople wUl
consent to be taxed to make up the deficiency of its revenue, and if so,

526 ENOS T. THROOP.
to impose such tax, cotemporaneously with the act authorizing ita con
struction. Acting under a due sense of the importance of these pre
cautionary considerations, I do not doubt that your measures wUl
satisfy the reasonable desire of the public to continue the march of in
ternal improvement.
" The Erie Canal passes through the centre of the state, uniting the
tide-waters of the Hudson with Lake Erie, and affords the means of an
easy interchange of commodities between the different parts of the state,
and an opening to our great commercial city, for the trade of the Can
adas and the states bordering upon the upper lakes. By means of
smaller works, completed and in progress, we have connected its ad
vantages, with the navigation of the Ontario, Champlain, Onondaga,
Cayuga, Seneca, and Crooked lakes, and the western branch of the
Susquehannah river. Having thus, since the year 1 8 1 7, opened commu
nications between all our cities, and nearly aU our interior navigable
waters, we cannot take to ourselves the reproach that the march of in
ternal improvement has been slow, or harbor the thought that its fur
ther progress is to be arrested.
" The Erie and Champlain canals were projected with great wisdom,
and at their commencement an appropriation was made for them from
the general fund, which has been sufficient, at all times, to pay the in-^
terest of the monies borrowed. The credit of the state was thereby
so firmly estabUshed, that for aU the later loans, to more than half the
whole amount, capitaUsts were induced to pay a premium upon five
per-cent. stock. Those canals have drawn from the funds of the state,
to the amount only of the duties upon salt, and sales at auction ; and
their successful operation promises, that they will speedily pay their
debt, provided the constitutional protection of their fund is duly re
spected. When that period arrives, the revenues from salt and auction
duties, and tolls of the Erie and Champlain canals, will be under the
exclusive control of the legislature. How far it will then be deemed
public justice or good policy to reduce the amount of the tolls, or to
continue them for the purpose of extending our works of internal im
provement, wiU depend entirely upon the future representatives of the
people."

PASSAGE OF THE CANAL BILL. 527
The friends of the Chenango Canal. would be con
tent with nothing but the immediate construction of
the work, and on the 24th of March, 1829, an act was
finally passed authorizing the canal commissioners to
proceed with the canal, provided, however, that an
adequate supply of water could be obtained without
taking it from the streams that supplied the Erie Canal ;
that the cost should not exceed one million of dollars;
and that the canal should produce to the state, within
the first ten years after its construction, an amount of
tolls equal to the interest on its cost, over and above
the repairs and expenses. Coupled with these condi
tions, the bill harmonized with the views of Governor
Throop, and he cheerfully affixed his signature to the
bill. These conditions were based upon the representa
tions of the friends of the Canal bill, but they were not
entirely satisfactory to them ; and when the canal
commissioners reported, in January, 1830, that the
work would require an outlay of more than one million
of dollars, and that it would not produce an amount of
tolls, in connection with the increased tolls on the Erie
canal, equal to the interest of its cost, and the expense
of repairs and superintendence, or of either of them,
they no longer relied upon their representations, but
insisted that the work was a great public benefit, and
protested against the imposition of any conditions that
should defeat its speedy construction.
Governor Throop had been solicited, when his name

528 ENOS T. THROOP.
was first proposed as a candidate for lieutenant-gov
ernor, by his political friends in Broome and Chenango,
for an expression favorable to the canal project in
which they were so deeply interested. He refused to
comply with their request, and for that reason ran be
hind Mr. Van Buren more than thirteen hundred votes
in those two counties. When he became acting gov
ernor, and during his second term, he was repeatedly
urged to forego his opposition to the proposed canal,
but he firmly resisted all importunities, sometimes un
der circumstances that severely tested his fidelity to
his principles. At every session of the legislature,
while he held the reins of government, the subject was
pressed upon the consideration of members with a per
tinacity and zeal that appeared to deserve success. In
1832, a bill at length passed the Senate, but it was lost
in the Assembly. This, of course, was the last effort
made during his administration.
The first annual message of the acting governor was
delivered to the legislature at the annual session com
mencing in January, 1830. It was an able paper, lucid
in its arrangement, clear in its statements, and credit
able to the writer as a statesman and as a man of busi
ness. His recommendations were highly valuable and
important. They were principally confined to mat
ters of internal police, and among them was one urg
ing upon the legislature, in language that indicated the
sincerity of his philanthropy and the warmth of his
benevolence, the importance of making suitable provi-

THE LUNATIC ASYLUM. 529
sion for the comfort of the insane poor, whose condi
tion at that time, as he well remarked, was calculated
to excite feelings of horror. Other matters of legisla
tion, however, seem to have diverted the attention of
members from this subject, but he pressed it again and
again in his annual messages, and it is owing chiefly
to his urgent recommendations, that the Lunatic
Asylum, which ranks so high among the noble chari
ties of our state, was finally established.
He also recommended a revision of the criminal
code of the state, the many defects in which his expe
rience on the bench had enabled him to discover.
With a view to the prevention of crime, he advised
that the fostering care and patronage of the state
should continue to be extended, if possible, with greater
liberality to the common schools and other seminaries
of learning. In all his subsequent messages this idea
occupied a prominent place, thus showing how near
the cause of education, and the consequent improve
ment in the character and habits of the rising genera
tion, was to his heart.
His review of the financial condition of the state
was clear and concise. It appeared, from the message,
that the general fund had diminished since 1826, from
about two million six hundred thousand dollars, to a little
over one million three hundred thousand dollars. This
fund was originally accumulated during the adminis
tration of George Clinton, from the sale of the public
lands, and it was relied upon, to a greater or less
34

530 ENOS T. THROOP.
extent, to furnish the means to defray the ordinary
expenses of government without resorting to a direct
tax. It had been the policy of all the prominent men
in the bucktail and republican party to keep this fund
intact, and when the war of 1812 occasioned extra
ordinary charges upon the fund, a tax of two mills
upon every dollar of the valuation of the taxable
property of the state, was imposed by a law passed in
1814. As the auction and salt duties were set apart
and pledged for the payment of the canal debt, this
tax was continued after the construction of the Erie
and Champlain canals was commenced, but it was
reduced in 1818 to one mill. In 1824 a further re
duction was made of half a mill, and in 1827 the tax
was entirely removed, against the remonstrances,
however, of Comptroller Marcy, and other leading
members of the canal board. Governor Throop re
commended, therefore, that a direct tax should be
imposed for the restoration and preservation of the
capital of the general fund, or, in default of that, that
some other means to that end should be devised.
He recommended no additional improvements by
roads or canals ; but in connection with the subject
of the extension of the public works, he referred to
the contemplated distribution of the surplus revenue
among the states, which General Jackson had re
commended, and against which he thought there was
no valid objection, unless it might be of a constitu
tional character, that could be removed by amend-

FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. 531
ment ; and from this source, in his opinion, a consid
erable augmentation of the funds of the state, applica
ble to objects of internal improvement, might be
reasonably anticipated.
It had long been a matter of reproach to the legis
lation of New York, that it was influenced by out
of door interests, by selfish and designing men, who
hovered like cormorants about the capitol, bargaining
for grants and charters, and monopolies and special
favors of every kind and character. Governor Throop
had nothing in his nature that sympathized with in
triguers. He had a great, almost an instinctive dread
of the old lobby corps ; he touched them pretty sharply
at the close of his first message, and it would seem
that he never lost sight of them, while he remained
in office, except as they kept out of his way.
Antimasonry became an important element in the
politics of New York. Notwithstanding the efforts
made by the antimasons and by the authorities of the
state, to penetrate the mystery, the actual murderers
of William Morgan were never discovered. The laws
of the state, previously in force, had provided no
adequate punishment for the offence of kidnapping a
white person, and consequently those who were con
cerned in the abduction, and convicted of the con
spiracy charged against them, were but slightly pun
ished. This did not satisfy the antimasons. The
excitement was intense, and it required something on
which to spend its energies. Almost all the lodges

532 ENOS T. TFUtOOP.
in the state surrendered their charters, but the anti
masons were not yet content. They desired to blot
out the name of masonry from under heaven, and to
avenge the murdered Morgan. At first they indig
nantly disclaimed the idea of seeking to secure polit
ical power, but as they could only effect the com
plete overthrow of the masonic institution, as they
thought, by means of legislation, they were ultimately
forced, from a sort of necessity, to enter the arena of
party strife. Every year witnessed them growing
stronger and stronger. The national republicans, as
the political friends of Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay were
called, kept aloof from them for several years, but
they were finally swallowed up, and the new organ
ization, formed by the union of their forces in 1832,
became the whig party of the state.
The Chenango Canal interest early took the field,
to prevent the nomination of Mr. Throop for the office
of governor in 1830. Their favorite was Erastus
Root, who long occupied a prominent place in the
politics of the state. The Herkimer convention
assembled on the 8th of September, and Mr. Throop
received ninety-three votes on the first ballot to thirty
given for Mr. Root. The delegates from the Che
nango Canal seemed at first inclined to continue their
opposition to Mr. Throop after the nomination had
been made, but they finally assented to the customary
resolution declaring it unanimous. Edward P. Liv-

A CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR. 533
ingston, of Columbia county, was nominated on the
democratic ticket for lieutenant-governor.
Francis Granger, of Ontario county, and Samuel
Stevens, of New York, were put in nomination by the
antimasons, for governor and lieutenant-governor.
They were also supported by the great majority of the
national republicans. During the winter previous, a
new party, whose members called themselves " work
ingmen," had been formed. It originated with the
master builders in the city of New York, who desired
to have a law passed, such as was subsequently en
acted, giving them a lien for work and materials per
formed or furnished in the construction of buildings ;
but it was eventually composed of free thinkers on
political and religious subjects, belonging to all classes
and occupations. General Root was nominated for
governor, at a convention of the workingmen held in
the month of April, but after the Herkimer nomina
tions had been made, he declined being any longer
considered a candidate. A small portion of the work
ingmen, who were probably influenced by the adhering
masons in the national republican party, then nomi
nated Ezekiel Williams, of Cayuga county, in the
place of General Root.
Mr. Granger was the favorite of the national re
publicans, and the champion, too, of antimasonry, the
Chenango Canal, and other local projects of internal
improvement. Consequently he received a strong
vote in the sixth senatorial district, and in the western

534 ENOS T. THROOP.
part of the state, where the coalition between the
national republicans and antimasons was nearly com
plete at this election. During the summer Governor
Throop had visited the Chenango valley, upon the
invitation of his political friends residing in that sec
tion, and was again urgently entreated to pledge him
self favorably to the proposed canal. It was natural
that he should be quite desirous of securing his elec
tion, because it would seem to be an endorsement of
his course as acting governor, but he again refused,
and the consequences of his impracticability on this
question, so honorable as it was to his character for
consistency and integrity, were witnessed in the result
of the election. There were upwards of two hundred
and fifty thousand votes cast for governor. In the
western part of the state, and in the Chenango valley,
the canvass was unusually spirited. In these sec
tions large majorities were given for Mr. Granger, his
competitor falling behind his ticket in Broome and
Chenango more than fifteen hundred votes. But in
the eastern counties, many of the national republicans
who were masons, did not vote at all for governor,
and a few of them supported the democratic candi
date ; yet Mr. Hammond is clearly in the wrong, in
supposing that the masons in the river counties gave
Mr. Throop the election.* That this inference was
hastily drawn, a few facts will show. Mr. Throop
was elected by a majority of 8,594 over Mr. Granger,
* Political History, vol. ii. p. 336.

ABOLITION OF IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT. 535
while the average democratic majority on the sena
torial ticket was only 5,918, and on the congressional
ticket 5,575. His majority, doubtless, was increased
by the votes of some of the masons in the national
republican ranks, but had they supported Mr. Granger
the result would not have been different.
Mr. Throop took the constitutional oath of office as
governor ofthe state, on the 1st day of January, 1831,
and in his annual message to the legislature, which
soon after assembled, he repeated the same sentiments
that he had previously advanced, in relation to the gen
eral fund, the prosecution of the public works, and the
distribution of the surplus revenue. His views on
these subjects were expressed at great length, and
with decided ability, as the extracts from the message,
heretofore given, will abundantly testify. Among his
recommendations on this occasion, was the abolition
of imprisonment for debt, — an important reform in
the civil code, as well as an act of justice, which the
legislature, to his and their honor, wisely adopted at
this session.
Surrounded by the able counsellors and advisers
who filled the state offices, and sustained by major
ities in both branches of the legislature, the second
term, as it may be called, of Governor Throop passed
away, uncheckered by any incidents of particular im
portance. The friends of the lateral canals, and of
local projects of expenditure, found that he could not
be moved from his position, and special legislation

536 ENOS T. THROOP.
received no favor at his hands. His message at the
commencement ofthe legislative session, in the winter
of 1832, repeated the views of former years in regard
to the financial policy of the state. " Whatever,"
said he, " may be thought of the fitness of borrowing
money on the credit of the government, for its de
fence, or to prosecute great enterprises for the durable
benefit of the country, no person can question the in
justice of transmitting to those who come after us the
burden of a heavy debt. No public debt should be
created, but with ample provisions for its liquidation
within a reasonable time. It has never yet been de
termined by the representatives of a free people, what
extent of moral obligation rests upon them to provide
for the discharge of a debt forwarded on for payment,
by their predecessors in power."
The idea advanced in this extract, or one very
similar, suggested itself to Mr. Jefferson, who doubted
very much the obligation of one generation to pay the
debts of its predecessor, especially when they had been
unwisely incurred; and the French have a maxim,
also, which admonishes the statesman, to "legislate
for posterity." But Governor Throop was the first
public officer in this country to give the sentiment an
official endorsement ; and as expressed by him, it was
warmly approved by the leading newspapers of the
republican party, in Washington and other sections
of the union, as well as in the state of New York.
It was, indeed, one of the dearest principles of his

DECLINES A RE-NOMINATION. 537
political creed, and it influenced him in all his public
conduct, and in every expression of his views upon the
subject of borrowing money. And in connection with
this question, it may be justly said of him, that he
never lost sight of the danger to which the state was
exposed from the " alliance," as he termed it in the
same message, "of private interest with legislation."
When Governor Throop first consented to become
a candidate for the office of lieutenant-governor, he
determined to retire when it became evident that his
further continuance in office would produce discord.
Recognizing fully his obligations to his party, he never
felt that this could be considered a questionable sacrifice
of personal feelings. The wrangling and contention,
the jarring and discord of political controversies, did
not harmonize at all with his nature. The strife of
politicians for the ascendency seemed to him like the
struggling of persons in a crowd; some were rudely
pushed aside, others trampled under foot, and the few
who were successful did not escape without injury.
In such scenes he had no desire to participate, and a
life of quiet and retirement was alone congenial to his
spirit. In the winter of 1832, it was evident that the time
had arrived for carrying his resolution into effect.
The opposition to his nomination in 1830, and the
tone of feeling manifested in the political circles of
the capital, admonished him that the interests of his
party would be best subserved by his giving place to
23*

538 ENOS T. THROOP.
some other candidate for popular favor. Beside the
Chenango Canal interest, he had incurred the hostility
of General Root, by refusing to nominate him for the
office of bank commissioner in 1829, and as the ques
tion of the recharter of the United States Bank, to which
the latter was friendly, was now agitated, it was prob
able that he would lead off from the party a great
number who were dissatisfied merely with the policy
of the state government. He was also the object of
the dislike of the late Samuel Young, and his friends,
John Cramer and Melancton Wheeler, all of whom
opposed his nomination in 1830. Colonel Young was
an honest politician, and a man of rare integrity ; but
his views were quite ultra upon almost all questions, and
his prejudices were unusually strong. His opinions
upon financial questions, and in regard to special legis
lation, coincided very nearly with those of Governor
Throop ; but he was rather too fond of having his
own way in everything, and being susceptible of
flattery, was made the champion and leader of artful
men who had selfish and private interests to sub
serve. Early in the winter session of 1832, Governor
Throop signified his intention not to be a candidate
for reelection, and his determination was announced
in the Albany Argus. All the democratic newspapers
in the state, with a single exception, — the New York
Courier and Enquirer, which had previously attacked
him, and soon after went over to the opposition, —

THE ASIATIC CHOLERA. 539
expressed their deep regret at his decision. In some
cases, probably, this was feigned, but with a majority
it was real ; and there must have been very few who
appreciated, that did not respect, his motives.
During the summer of 1832 the state was visited by
that awful scourge, the Asiatic Cholera. An extra
session of the legislature had been called to make a new
congressional apportionment, and laws were then passed
to prevent the spread of the pestilence. The session
continued only for a few days, in consequence of an
announcement that the cholera had made its appearance
in Albany. During the summer months, the governor
left the city with his family, for the purpose of making
their customary visit at his house in Oswego. While
absent, the disease broke out with great violence in the
eastern part of the state, and he hastened his return to
the capital, in order to take such measures as the emer
gency required. He remained there, in the midst of
the disease, giving advice, and extending his aid and as
sistance, till the danger had passed. In the prison at
Sing Sing the disease raged with unwonted violence,
but this did not deter him from visiting it, in order to
see how the ravages ofthe pestilence might be stayed.
With the last day of December, 1832, the administra
tion of Governor Throop finally terminated. Its char
acter may be inferred from the facts which have been
detailed. Considering that he was obliged to stem the
tide of antimasonry at its commencement, and how
many difficulties and embarrassments he encountered,

540 ENOS. T. THROOP.
it may with justice be said, that it was alike honor
able to him and the state. He discharged all the
duties of the office with ability. He left the state
and its finances prosperous, and his party firmly in the
ascendant. While filling the office of governor, he was not in
different to national politics, but supported the admin
istration of General Jackson, in the contest with the
United States Bank, and in its measures and policy
in other particulars, with all his ability and influence.
Had he consulted his own inclinations, he would
now gladly have retired to the repose of private life,
but his pecuniary circumstances were not such as to
enable him to live upon the honors of the position he
had occupied. He accepted, therefore, the appoint
ment of naval officer at the port of New York, confer
red upon him by President Jackson, probably at the
instance of Mr. Van Buren, in the winter of 1833, to
fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of John Fer
guson. This office was a highly honorable one, and
had been previously held by Colonel Benjamin Walker,
a meritorious officer in the war of the Revolution, and
by Samuel Osgood, postmaster-general under Wash
ington. In 1834, Mr. Throop lost his wife, as has been stated,
and this circumstance induced him to remain longer in
public life than he had before intended. He continued
to hold the appointment of naval officer till 1838, when
he was appointed by Mr. Van Buren charge d'affaires

AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS. 541
to the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He remained
abroad, faithfully and creditably performing the duties
of his mission, till the election of General Harrison to
the presidency, when he returned home and took a
final leave of public cares and anxieties. Amid the
peaceful shades of Willow Brook, and in the active
pursuits of an agricultural life, he at length found that
relaxation and enjoyment which seemed best adapted
te secure the happiness and contentment of his declin
ing years.
Having still left a considerable stock of unexpended
energy, and being passionately fond of a country life,
and of conducting improvements in the wilderness, he
has for several years past been actively engaged in im
proving a large farm which he had purchased, lying
four miles below Kalamazoo, upon the banks of the
Kalamazoo river in the state of Michigan. When he
first commenced his improvements, an almost unbroken
forest lay before him, but he has now more than two
hundred acres of land under cultivation; his farm,
which he calls Spring Brook, from a pretty little stream
that intersects it, is well stocked ; and in every part
bears witness, in its useful as well as its ornamental
features, to the taste and industry of its proprietor.
It was not his intention to change his residence from
New York, though he had disposed of his property oh
the Owasco Lake, to his nephew, by improving his
farm in Michigan. It has amounted to that however,
for the present ; yet he still expects, and his many

542 ENOS T. THROOP.
friends trust that the expectation may be realized, to
end his days, where so many happy years have been
spent, at his old home of Willow Brook.
Such is the retirement of one of the governors of
New York. Starting in life without adventitious aid,
self-reliant, enterprising and persevering, he achieved
for himself an honorable fortune. Force of character
and energy of purpose enabled him to triumph over
every obstacle that impeded his pathway to distinc
tion. Integrity without spot or guile, was the polar
star that guided his footsteps. He has filled, in every
instance with credit, several of the most important
offices in the state and under the general government,
and now, as he approaches the close of his well- spent
life, he presents an example to the young men of New
York worthy of imitation and full of encouragement.
Had it not been for the ungenerous and unjust as
persions of Mr. Hammond, it might be unnecessary to
refer more particularly to the character and abilities of
Governor Throop. It is very probable that the former
may have been actuated by the best of motives, in
preparing his Political History, but the friends of Gov
ernor Throop have good reason to complain of the in
justice done him, which has been relieved, but not en
tirely removed, in the revised edition. Whether this
injustice was intentional or otherwise, Mr. Hammond
was not the most proper person in the state to write
Mr. Throop's history ; yet, in setting the latter right
before the public, it is not designed to arraign the for-

HIS CHARACTER. 543
mer. They entered Congress together in 1815, and
at the outset took different sides upon questions of pub
lic policy. The one was a warm personal adherent
of De Witt Clinton, and the other a political opponent.
During the administration of Governor Throop, Mr.
Hammond resided in Albany ; he was one of the most
active members of the opposition party, and in 1830
was their candidate for senator in the third senatorial
district. Subsequently, they never came in contact,
and all the recollections of Mr. Hammond may natu
rally have been associated with his early prejudices.
The charge made by Mr. Hammond that Governor
Throop was blindly devoted to his party,* is suffi
ciently refuted by his opposition to the nomination and
election of De Witt Clinton, as a candidate for the pres
idency, in 1812, and by his entire course as governor
of the state. So, too, with the assertion that he was
not at all popular with the people of the statef — it
may be dismissed in a word. The very best evidence
of the popularity of Governor Throop is afforded by his
election in 1830, in spite of untoward circumstances,
and the opposition of leading members of the party,
by a larger majority than that given to the other can
didates on the democratic ticket.
It seems to have been the chief object of Mr. Ham
mond to find fault with the style of Governor Throop
as a writer. His criticisms, of course, are mere mat-
* Political History, vol. u. p. 318.
f Ibid. pp. 335, 396, 416, et aL

544 ENOS T. THROOP.
ters of judgment and taste ; but it may be said of the
literary efforts of the governor, that they will compare
most favorably with the clumsy and ill-constructed
sentences of his reviewer. A still graver charge, how
ever, has been made by Mr. Hammond, which should
not be lightly passed over. He repeatedly intimates
in his history, that Governor Throop was not the
author of his own messages.* This intimation is not
only ungenerous, but it is utterly without foundation.
" No executive," says one whose statements cannot be
questioned, in a letter to the author, " has received less
aid in the composition or suggestions of his messages,
or in the discharge of the duties and acts of his admin
istration, than Governor Throop. Endowed with a
clear and well-balanced mind, with fair attainments as
a scholar and writer, a right and reflective, though not
in the extreme sense of the word, a vigorous thinker,
he gave to every question which demanded his consid
eration, or called for action on his part, comprehen
sive and full examination, and was literally the author
of his own state papers."
The style of Governor Throop is not always strictly
accurate, but it is generally clear, direct, and perspicu
ous. His messages received high commendation from
the most prominent papers of both political parties in
the state and nation, and they were characterized by
leading English journals as " able documents."
He is not a man of showy parts, nor can he lay
* Political History, vol ii. pp. 321, 345, 406.

APPEARANCE AND HABITS. 545
claim to the possession of brilliant genius. His talents
are of a practical character. To a well-balanced mind
and sound judgment, he unites those somewhat old-fash
ioned, but sterling qualities, of moderation, prudence,
firmness, and independence. The honest integrity of
his character, in public and private life, is its chief
ornament. It may be that he has accustomed himself to look
too much upon the dark side of human nature, and,
adopting the philosophy of Helvetius, is disposed to re
fer every action to self-interest; but there is a deep
well-spring of kindness and benevolence in his heart.
His manners appear somewhat harsh, especially on a
first acquaintance, and he is not well calculated to win
upon a stranger ; yet these unprepossessing features in
his character are underlayed with generous impulses
and emotions.
In person he is tall, slender, and erect ; his eyes are
light ; and his hair, once dark, is now frosted by the
touch of time. The expression of his countenance is
marked, and indicative of the perseverance, energy,
and decision, that have ever characterized him. His
habits are simple and temperate ; and as he still pos
sesses great activity of person, and enjoys remarkable
health, it is not improbable that his life may be pro
longed for many years beyond the ordinary allotment
of mortality. 35

WILLIAM L. MARCY.
All the governors of the state, prior to the subject
of this sketch, were, as we have seen, New Yorkers
by birth ; but Governor Marcy was not " to the manor
born." Descended from a Puritan stock, — a native,
too, of New England, — had it not been for the soften
ing down of the asperities, and the removal of the pre
judices of olden time, we might well have wondered
to see him elevated to the chief magistracy of a people
who still revere the memories of Minuit, and Kieft,
and Stuyvesant. But those stern old Puritans, those
men of iron hearts and iron wills, have left their im
press all over this western continent; and there is
scarcely a state in the American Confederacy, from
the venerable commonwealth who first gave them a
shelter and a home — bleak it may have been, and in
hospitable, yet still a home — to the young bride of the
Pacific, now pouring her golden dowry into our coffers,
where their thrift, their activity and enterprise, their
regard for religion, and their love of order and law,
are not felt at this day, in its civil and social system,
and in the character and habits of its citizens. Those
wise legislators, like the Jewish leader and lawgiver,

'W2F . X . M AM € T
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drth'd- Mtrhelu, jji Sa.i.sim ,)•

HIS ANCESTORS. 547
" struck the rock in the wilderness, so that the waters
of liberty gushed forth in copious and perennial foun
tains," which have refreshed and fertilized the soil, till
it has yielded a rich harvest of free institutions.
In the year 1729, a company of persons, mostly
residents of Medfield and the adjoining towns, in the
colony of Massachusetts, who were either themselves
destitute of homes, and not able to purchase them in
the older towns, or who desired to settle their children
in life, petitioned the General Court for a grant of a
tract of land in Worcester county, lying between Ox
ford, Brookfield, Brimfield, and the Province line, then
called Dumer, which they designed to form into a new
township. Poverty alone, it would seem, induced them
to select this tract, since the' land was so poor, that the
Council for a long time refused to grant their request,
from no other motive except that of kindness. But
the petitioners, in reply to this objection, declared,
that, although there was much poor land there, there
was also considerable good land, and, in their humble
opinion, a sufficiency to enable them, " by the blessing
of God, in concurrence with diligence and industry, to
support the ordinary charges of a township."*
The grant was finally made, in September, 1729, and
the petitioners, or proprietors, with others who joined
them, immediately entered on the work of settlement.
The name of New Medfield was substituted for that of
Dumer, and the dark forest soon fell beneath the axes
* Clark's Historical Sketch of Sturbridge, p. 4.

548 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
of these sturdy pioneers. Trials and difficulties, hard
ships and privations, were encountered without a mur
mur ; industry and perseverance speedily changed the
face of the wilderness ; and the abodes of a happy and
contented people sprung up where the wild fox had his
haunt, and the panther made his lair. Such was the
progress of the new settlement, that at the expiration
of seven years it contained' fifty families, and in 1738,
it was incorporated as a town, under the name of Stur
bridge. Year after year passed away ; one generation fol
lowed another to the tomb ; but time in its progress
annually marked new changes and new improvements ;
and now, after the lapse of a century, there are few
traces of that grim poverty that frowned upon the
early settlers of Sturbridge. The picturesque shores
of the Quinnebaug are lined with mills and factories ;
the habitations of plenty and contentment smile upon
the hillside and in the valley ; turnpikes and rail
roads have taken the place of the forest paths of the
backwoodsman ; and where the solitude of the desert
once reigned undisturbed by the voice or the step of
the white man, the flaming car hurries along its living
freight, while, beside it, the pulsations of the magnetic
telegraph remind the classic scholar of the winged
words of the Grecian poet.
Among the first settlers of Sturbridge, though not
one of the original petitioners for the grant, was Moses
Marcy. He was of English descent, and was born in

HIS MARRIAGE. 549
Woodstock, Connecticut, where he married, in 1723,
a Miss Prudence Morris. His position at this time,
though honorable, was so humble, that her parents
were much opposed to the match ; but he wooed and
won her, in spite of all obstacles ; and, in 1732, they
removed to New Medfield, afterward Sturbridge, with
a family of five children, subsequently increased to
eleven. He appears to have been as enterprising in
business as in love ; and in the act of incorporation
of Sturbridge, he is styled " one of the principal inhab
itants." He built the first grist mill in the town,*
became a colonel of militia, and held a number of
important town offices ; so that instead of being merely
"one of the principal inhabitants," he was, says Mr.
Clark, "in the opinion of his fellow-townsmen, the
principal one. He was the first citizen who received
the appointment of justice of the peace, and was the
first representative which the town sent to the Gen
eral Court. He held the office of moderator in seventy
town-meetings, having been called to the chair at every
annual meeting, and at most of the intervening ones,
for twenty-four, successive years. He was on the board
* Before Marcy's MiUs were built, the people of Sturbridge probably
had their milling done at Brimfield, Brookfield, Oxford, or in Connecti
cut. " Perhaps, however," says Mr. Clark, (Historical Sketch, p. 1,)
" they had no occasion to go" to miU ; " for it is reported by some of
the oldest of their descendants now living, that their principal diet at
first was boiled beans. These they usually prepared on the evening
of one day in sufficient quantities for the breakfast and dinner of the
next."

550 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
of selectmen thirty-one years, town clerk eighteen,
and town treasurer eight, — not unfrequently filling all
these offices at once. During the old French war, he
repeatedly fitted out soldiers for the army on his own
responsibility, and from his own private resources, for
which he was afterward remunerated by the town.
He died, October 9, 1779, at the age of seventy-two,
leaving an honorable name, a large estate, and a
numerous posterity."*
The early inhabitants of Sturbridge were plain,
practical ment^staunch whigs, and true democrats.
Although they instructed their representative, (Moses
Marcy,) in 1765, to use his utmost endeavors, "con
sistent with loyalty," to procure the repeal of the stamp
act, they also instructed their delegate to the Provincial
Congress, held at Watertown, in 1775, that they de
sired to have an independent government established
at once, in case the petition, or address, to the king,
should be rejected. After the declaration of indepen
dence was promulgated, they assembled in town-meet
ing, and solemnly " engaged to support it with their lives
and fortunes." During the Revolution, almost every
other business seems to have been entirely laid aside in
* Clark's Sketch, p. 8, (note.)
t With all their plainness and simplicity, they very weU understood
what were the rights of freemen ; and when the question of the forma
tion of a state constitution was agitated, and it was proposed to autho
rize the representatives to frame such an one as they judged best, they
objected to having any set of men ratify a constitution for them, before
they hiew what it was.

BIRTH AND EDUCATION. 551
the town, and after the war was ended, " the citizens had
the air of soldiers, and seemed to delight in transacting
their civil affairs, as far as possible, in a soldier-like"
way."* Colonel Marcy was too far advanced in life to take
part in the active scenes of the revolutionary struggle,
but his counsel and advice were never withheld, and
his sons and grandsons represented him well and
bravely, on the battle fields of liberty.
Jedediah, one of the grandsons of Colonel* Moses
Marcy, was the father of the governor of New York.
He married Ruth Learned, a descendant of one of
the first proprietors of Sturbridge, and, like his own
father and grandfather, was a farmer by occupation.
He was a respectable citizen, and was highly esteemed
by his fellow-townsmen. He commanded a militia
company shortly after the close of the Revolution,
held several town offices, and was prominent in every
good and useful work designed to advance the spiritual
or temporal interests of those around him-
William L. Marcy, the son of Jedediah Marcy
and Ruth Learned, was born in Sturbridge, — in that
portion which is now Southbridge, — in Worcester
county, Massachusetts, on the 12th day of December,
1786, His father was in comfortable, but not affluent
circumstances ; yet he was able to send his son forth
into the world with all the advantages of a liberal
education, and these, to one who knew how to wield
* Clark's Sketch, pp. 22, 23.

552 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
the power of knowledge aright, were fortune enough.
In his boyhood William exhibited indications of the
possession of more than ordinary talent and capacity,
and after going through with the studies taught in the
common schools of his native town, he was sent to
the Leicester Academy.
This, it will be remembered, was the period of the
bitter struggle between the federalists and republicans,
— when passions and prejudices were aroused, that
only spent their force with the lives of those who
cherished them, — when society in all its aspects, in
its business, its charities, its duties and its affections,
felt the blighting effects of those partisan feelings
enkindled in political conflicts, — and when denun
ciations and anathemas were hurled, without stint
or favor, from the pulpits of New England, against
the name and character of Thomas Jefferson. The
preceptor of the academy at Leicester, Mr. Adams,
notwithstanding his many good qualities, was what
may be called a bigoted federalist — honest and well-
meaning, no doubt, but nevertheless bigoted. In the
institution of which he was the preceptor, a juvenile
literary and social society had been formed, which
took its tone and bias from his party prejudices.
Young Marcy was a good and apt scholar, but he
belonged to a republican family, and, for a lad, was
prominent in the advocacy of the principles which
he had early imbibed. In consequence of his opinions
upon political questions, he was excluded from the

STUDIES LAW. 553
society before mentioned; but this act of injustice
only confirmed his youthful predilections, and he de
fended his views and sentiments with greater zeal and
earnestness. Thus presenting, in his own life, an
example of proscription, it will not seem strange that
he should have repelled the charge, as he afterward
did in the Senate of the United States, that his polit
ical friends were the first to introduce it in the party
contests of the country.
Having completed his academic course, he entered
Brown University, at Providence, in the. state of
Rhode Island. His college career was marked by
no incidents of peculiar interest. It was, indeed, an
important epoch in his life, as it always is with every
young man whose intellectual character is formed by
the moulding hand of Alma Mater. He was a care
ful and diligent scholar, and attentive to every exer
cise of the University. Correct in all his studies, in
the classics he particularly excelled. While in col
lege, also, he devoted much of his time to miscel
laneous reading, and to the cultivation of his naturally
fine and appreciable literary taste ; and here he learn
ed to form those well-turned periods, for which the
productions of his pen are distinguished.
In 1808 he graduated with high honor, and shortly
thereafter took up his residence in the city of Troy,
in the state of New York, where he studied law and
commenced its practice. During his clerkship he took
a part, not altogether unimportant, in the political
24

554 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
discussions that grew out of the foreign policy of
Jefferson and Madison. Approving heartily of the
principles and measures which they advocated and
recommended, he defended their administrations with
a zeal and ability that attracted the notice of the
public. He was not long either in rising to distinc
tion in his profession, and friends and clients rapidly
gathered round him. " He came here," says a Troy
newspaper, "from Massachusetts, with nothing to aid
him but his talents and integrity. They were of the
brightest character, and soon introduced him upon the
theatre of public life. In every station he performed
the duties assigned him to the public approbation.
His private character was a model worthy of general
imitation. Charitable and obliging, he soon won the
esteem of all who knew him. He was successful in
his business, and none who were needy and deserving
ever asked his aid in vain."
He had just entered upon the active duties of his
profession, when war was declared against Great
Britain. Possessing the disposition to serve his coun
try, however humble might be the station assigned
him, he tendered his services to Governor Tompkins,
together with the other members of a light infantry
company belonging to the city of Troy, in which he
held the rank of a lieutenant. This company was
among the first dispatched to the northern frontier,
and was stationed at French Mills, now Fort Cov
ington.

SERVICES IN THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 555
On the night of the 22d of October, 1812, Lieutenant
Marcy accompanied a detachment under the com
mand of Major Young, whose object it was to capture
a company of Canadian militia posted at St. Regis.
The attack was successful, and the whole force of the
enemy were taken prisoners. The latter occupied a
house built of heavy square timber, but though they
were advantageously situated for defence, made only
a feeble resistance. Lieutenant Marcy approached
the house with a file of men, broke open the door
himself at the hazard of his life, and after the garrison
surrendered, took from each man his arms. These
were the first prisoners taken on land during the war.*
Among the spoils of the expedition was the flag of
the British company, which was, also, the first standard
taken on land. This flag was afterward presented
to Governor Tompkins, and is still preserved among
the honored trophies ofthe war of 1812.
Immediately after this affair, Lieutenant Marcy,
with his company, joined the main army under Gen
eral Dearborn, which moved from Plattsburg toward
Canada, and finally took post at Champlain. He was
with Colonel Pike and his regiment in the unfortunate
night expedition, in the month of November, against
the British encampment on Le Colle river. When
New York was threatened by the enemy, in the fall
* General Cass had captured some prisoners in Michigan, previous
to this affair, but they were recaptured, which was not the case with
those taken by Lieutenant Marcy.

556 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
of 1814, Lieutenant Marcy volunteered with his com
pany for another tour of duty, and was stationed in
that city till the close of the campaign.
As he was friendly to the administration of Presi
dent Madison, so, also, he was among the most active
supporters of Governor Tompkins ; and during the
war he first brought himself into general notice, by a
series of articles which he wrote, and published in the
Albany Argus, over the signature of "Vindex," in
justification of the war, and in defence of the measures
of Governor Tompkins. These articles were char
acterized by great research, by unusual force of argu
ment and logical power, and were attributed to several
of the ablest writers in the republican party in the
state, and, among others, to General Armstrong, the
secretary of war. The ability as a writer which he
had thus manifested, led to his appointment as recorder
of the city of Troy, which office he held for several
years, and in connection with the emoluments of his
profession, enabled him to support the family now
growing up around him.
He had qarly formed an acquaintance, which speed
ily ripened into intimacy, with Mr. Van Buren, and
like him reluctantly voted for De Witt Clinton, as the
regular candidate of the republican party for the office
of governor, at the April election in 1817. He was
among the first, too, to express his dissatisfaction with
the administration of Governor Clinton ; and, on ac
count of the freedom with which he made known his

RECORDER OF TROY.

557

sentiments and his friendship for Mr. Van Buren, he
was threatened with removal from the office of re
corder, in the winter of 1818.
About this time an article written by Mr. Marcy
appeared in the Albany Argus, which was designed to
show that the republicans generally would not, and ought
not, to acquiesce in the policy of Governor Clinton and
Judge Spencer, and especially because of their too in
timate connection with leading federalists. This arti
cle arrested the attention of Judge Spencer, who pro
nounced it very mischievous. The name of the author
was made known to him, and an opportunity was then
sousht to remove the former from office. The Clinto-
nian members from Rensselaer having made strenuous
efforts to procure the removal in the winter of 1818, at
the spring election, when they were again candidates,
Governor Marcy and his friends did not give them a cor
dial support. But he did not support an opposition tick
et at that time, as stated by Mr. Hammond.* In 1819,
the Bucktails nominated a separate ticket, but they
considered it just as regular as the Clintonian ticket.
In consequence of his strictures upon Governor
Clinton and his policy, and his opposition to the
reelection of the Clintonian members, Mr. Marcy
was removed from the recordership, in June, 1818,
and a Clintonian appointed in his place. He was
thus left to depend upon the practice of his pro
fession for a livelihood. But he had now imbibed
* PoUtical History, vol. i, p. 467.

558 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
a fondness for politics, of which he could not divest
himself, and for this reason, as well as because of his
sincere conviction, that the welfare of the state and
nation materially depended upon the success of the
party to which he belonged, he continued to take as
deep an interest as ever in the political contests of the
day. He was one of the most efficient supporters of
Mr. Van Buren in his efforts to reorganize the repub
lican party by the exclusion of the Clintonians, in
1819-20, and was at this time placed by common con
sent among its leading members. Though no longer
in office, his talents were often put in requisition by
his political friends. In the spring of 1819 he drew up
the address of the Bucktail members of the legislature,
justifying and explaining their course in refusing to co
operate with the Clintonians, and in the following au
tumn he aided Mr. Van Buren in preparing the pamph
let entitled "Considerations in favor of the appoint
ment of Rufus King to the Senate of the United
States." At the April election, in 1820, he supported Gov
ernor Tompkins, in opposition to Mr. Clinton. His
candidate was defeated, but the Bucktails, or republi
cans, as they may justly be called, elected a majority
of the members of assembly. At the extra session of
the legislature, in November, 1820, a new council of
appointment was chosen, composed entirely of repub
licans, by whom, in the month of January, 1821, Mr.
Marcy was appointed to the office of Adjutant General.

APPOINTED COMPTROLLER. 559
In this position, of course, he had no opportunity to
distinguish himself. The duties which devolved upon
him, were wholly of a ministerial character, but they
were performed with promptitude and dispatch, and he
introduced many important reforms calculated to in
crease the usefulness of the department confided to his
charge. In the efforts to procure the passage of a bill author
izing a convention to be held to revise the constitu
tion, he was both prominent and active ; and when the
constitution of 1821 had been ratified by the people,
and John Savage, the comptroller of the state, had
been appointed Chief Justice of the new Supreme
Court, he was chosen by the legislature, in February,
1823, to fill the vacant office. In the caucus of the
republican members his nomination was warmly op
posed by Samuel Young, John Cramer, and others, who
had brought forward James Tallmadge, then a leading
republican in Dutchess county, and formerly a mem
ber of Congress, as a rival candidate ; but the influence
of Governor Yates, and the well-known preferences of
Mr. Van Buren, superadded to the admitted fitness of
Mr. Marcy for the station, bore down all opposition,
and he was nominated by a large majority.
While he filled the office of adjutant-general, he
found its duties not incompatible with his residence in
Troy or with the practice of his profession ; but on his
election to the comptrollership, he removed to Albany,
where he has ever since continued to reside, except for

560 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
the four years during which he held a cabinet appoint
ment under President Polk.
The office of comptroller, always an important one,
had now become particularly so, in consequence of the
large expenditures on the Erie and Champlain Canals,
and the increase of the state debt. The business ca
pacity of Mr. Marcy was put to the test, but so faith
fully and skilfully were his complicated duties dis
charged, that no opposition was offered to his reelec
tion, in the winter of 1826. He found the finances of
the state in a prosperous condition, and it was through
no fault of his, if they were less so when he surren
dered the office to other hands. He introduced and
perfected the present admirable system of collecting
tolls and making disbursements, and he first exacted
interest on the moneys of the state deposited with
banks. He disapproved of the entire abolition of the
mill tax in 1827, and repeatedly called the attention of
the legislature, in his able and luminous reports, to the
necessity of making some similar provision for the
preservation of the General Fund. He also opposed
the construction of the lateral canals, while he was the
principal financial officer of the state, because it was
not proposed, simultaneously with their commence
ment, to provide the means for the ultimate payment
of the debt to be contracted.
As comptroller, also, Mr. Marcy was a member of
the far-famed " Albany Regency," which, though it
may not have been justly obnoxious to many of the

ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT. 561
censures of the opposition, for many years controlled
or regulated the action of the republican party in New
York. With Mr. Van Buren, and a large majority of
his political friends in this state, he advocated the elec
tion of Mr. Crawford to the presidency in 1824. In
1826, he supported Judge Rochester in opposition to
Governor Clinton, and he powerfully contributed to
the political revolution in 1828, that elevated General
Jackson to the presidential chair, and placed Mr. Van
Buren at the head of affairs in New York.
On the 15th day of January, 1829, Mr. Marcy was
appointed one of the Associate Justices of the Su
preme Court of the state, to fill the vacancy occasioned
by the resignation of Judge Woodworth. To this new
position, beside his acknowledged talents, he carried a
sound and clear judgment, correct legal learning, im
partiality, and integrity of purpose. In his hands the
judicial reputation of the state did not suffer, but he de
meaned himself in his high office with credit to her
and to himself. While he had a seat upon the bench,
he presided at the special circuit held at Lockport, in
1830, for the trial of the abductors of William Morgan.
His course during these important and exciting trials ;
his urbanity, his firmness, and his impartial decisions,
were highly commended by men of all parties.
The selection of Mr. Marcy as a judge of the Su
preme Court gave great satisfaction to his friends, and
to the members of the bar ; and consequently, his
early resignation of the office occasioned many feel-
36

562 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
ings of disappointment among those who were not ac
quainted with the moving causes. He had long been
the confidential friend of Mr. Van Buren, and the latter
had determined, in the winter of 1830-31, to resign the
office of secretary of state soon after the close of the
session of Congress. The mutual friends of Mr.
Marcy and himself, in the state of New York, were
then anxiously looking forward to his advancement to
the highest office in the nation ; and it became im
portant, therefore, that, when he left Washington, his
interests should be represented there by a reliable
friend, one, too, possessing great ability and shrewd
ness. The term of office of Nathan Sanford as a
Senator in Congress, was about to expire, on the 4th
of March, 1831. Judge Marcy was accordingly fixed
on as his successor, by the active managers in the re
publican party, and he was duly nominated, at a legis
lative caucus held on the evening ofthe 31st of Janu
ary. He received seventy-seven votes, on the first
and only ballot, and there were fifteen given for Erastus
Root. It was with great reluctance, that he came to the
determination, that duty to his friend and his party
required him to sacrifice a position, more desirable in
a pecuniary point of view, and far more pleasing to
him, than that to which it was now proposed to transfer
him. He resigned the judgeship on the evening of the
31st, immediately after the result of the caucus was
communicated to him, and on the following day was

DEFENCE OF MR. VAN BUREN. 563
elected a senator for six years from the fourth day of
March ensuing. He took his seat in the Senate at the
commencement of the next session, in December, 1831.
His reputation for ability had preceded him to Wash
ington, and he was complimented by being appointed
to the important positions of chairman of the commit
tee on the judiciary, and of a member of the commit
tee on finance.
Almost the first act of his senatorial career was the
defence of his friend Mr. Van Buren, who had been
appointed, during the recess, to the English mission.
As there were older senators who were more familiar
with the negotiations in regard to the colonial trade,
he had determined not to take part in the discussion ;
but when the politics of New York were attacked by
Mr. Clay, and Mr. Van Buren and his friends were
charged with being the first to introduce party pro
scription in the national politics, he could not remain
silent. He spoke twice during the debate, and the fol
lowing are extracts from his remarks : —
"The occasion which renders it proper, that I should say some
thing, has arisen in consequence of what has faUen from the honorable
senator from Kentucky (Mr. Clay.) His attack was not confined to the
nominee (Mr. Van Buren ;) it reaches the state which I represent in this
body. One of the grounds of opposition to the minister to London,
taken by the senator from Kentucky, is the pernicious system of party
poUtics adopted by the present administration, by which the honors and
offices are put up to be scrambled for by partisans, &c, — a system
which the minister to London, as the senator from Kentucky alleges,
has brought here from the state in which he formerly Uved, and had

564 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
for so long a time acted a conspicuous part in its poUtical transactions.
I know, sir, that it is the habit of some gentlemen to speak with cen
sure or reproach of the politics of New York. Like other states, we
have contests, and, as a necessary consequence, triumphs and defeats.
The state is large, with great and diversified interests ; in some parts
of it, commerce is the object of general pursuit ; in others, manufac
tures and agriculture are the chief concerns of its citizens. We have
men of enterprise and talents, who aspire to public distinction. It is
natural to expect from these circumstances, and others that might be
aUuded to, that her poUtics should excite more interest at home, and
attract more attention abroad, than those of many other states in the
Confederacy. " It may be, sir, that the politicians of New Tork are not so fas
tidious as some gentlemen are, as to disclosing the principles on which
they act. They boldly preach what they practice. When they are
contending for victory, they avow their intention of enjoying the fruits
of it. If they are defeated, they expect to retire from office ; if they
are successful, they claim, as a matter of right, the advantages of
success. They see nothing wrong in the rule, that to the victor
belongs the spoUs of the enemy.
" But if there be anything wrong in the policy which the senator
from Kentucky has so strongly reprobated, he should know that this
poUcy is not confined to the minister to London and his friends in
New York, but is practiced by his (Mr. Clay's) own political friends in
that state : he should know, that if to one man, more than any other
now living, the existence of that policy is to be ascribed, it is to one*
of the senator's own political friends. The practice of making exten
sive changes in the offices, on the change of parties in that state, was
begun, I believe, before the nominee was upon the political stage ;
certainly wliile he was quite a young man, and before he had acquired
great consideration in political affairs. I must be permitted, sir, to
say, that of aU the party-men with whom I have acted, or been par
ticularly acquainted, (and the number of such is not smaU,) I know of
* Ambrose Spencer.

REMOVALS FROM OFFICE. 565
no one who has acted with, or advised to, more moderation than the
person whose nomination we are now considering.
" When the senator from Kentucky condemns the present adminis
tration for making removals from office, and then ascribes the act to
the pernicious system' of poUtics imported from New York, I fear he
does not sufficiently consider the peculiar circumstances under which
the present administration came into power. General Jackson did not
come in under the same circumstances that Mr. Adams did, or Mr.
Monroe, or Mr. Madison. His accession was like that of Mr. Jefferson.
He came in, sir, upon a political revolution. The contest was without
a parallel. Much political bitterness was engendered. Criminations
and recriminations were made. Slanders of a most extraordinary char
acter flooded the land. When the present chief magistrate took upon
himself the administration of the government, he found almost aU the
offices, from the highest to the lowest, fiUed by political enemies. * * *
"I have very good reasons for believing tliat it is the gentleman's
rule of conduct, to take care of his friends when he is in power.
It requires not the foresight of a prophet, to predict, that if he shaU
come into power, he wUl take care of his friends, and if he does, I
can assure him, I shaU not complain; nor shaU I be in the least
surprised if he imitates the example which he now so emphatically
denounces. * * *
" I must again allude to the grounds of the removal of some
subordinate officers by the present administration, in order that it
may be understood upon what principle the act is vindicated, and to
repel the charge of wanton proscription. The necessities of the late
administration were such that it compelled these officers to become
partisans in the struggle. Many of them mingled in the hottest of the
fight ; they were paragraph writers for the newspapers, and the dis
tributors of political handbills; and thereby exposed themselves to the
vicissitude to which those are always exposed for whom the political
contests in free governments are waged. If among this class of
officers there was more mortality attendant upon the late conflict, it
was because there was more disease.
" The senate-: from Kentucky has denounced removals from office

566 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
as a violation of the freedom of opinion, and the liberty of speech and
action. He advocates a course of conduct toward political opponents,
characterized by great moderation and forbearance, and what is much
more, he professes to have conformed his actions to his precepts. We
aU of us,' I believe, admire these liberal sentiments, and feel disposed,
in our abstract speculations, to adopt them as the rule of our conduct.
The theory is, indeed, beautiful ; but, sir, do we put them in practice
when brought to the experiment ? I would ask the honorable senator,
if he has, himself, practiced them ? I will not say he has not, because
he assures us he has ; but I will say, that some part of his public con
duct has exposed him to a strong suspicion of having departed from
the path which he now points out as the true one, and of having wan
dered into that which he now thinks it is so censurable for others to
have pursued.
" It wiU be recollected, sir, that there is considerable patronage
attached to the department of State. To it appertains the selection of
ihe newspapers in which the laws of the United States are pubUshed.
I well remember that while that honorable senator was at the head
of that department, and when the fortunes of the late' administration
began to wane, the patronage of publishing the laws was withdrawn
from certain public journals which had long enjoyed it. What was
the cause of this change — this removal from office, I believe I may
caU it ? It was not a violent and vindictive opposition to the existing
administration. Some of these journals had scarcely spoken in whis
pers against it. No, sir, it was for lukewarmness — for neutrality. A
want of zeal in the cause of the administration was alleged to be the
offence; proscription was the punishment. Where was then that
sacred regard for the freedom of opinion and the liberty of speech
and action which we now hear so highly extolled ! Was not this an
attempt to control public opinion through the medium of the presB,
and to bring that press into a subserviency to the views of the men in
power !"
The views expressed by Mr. Marcy on the subject
of removals from office show the eminently practical

APPORTIONMENT BILL. 567
character of his mind. He did not regard men as an
gels, but looked upon them as possessing all the attri
butes of mortality, — its selfishness, its passions, and its
prejudices. The theory of those who are opposed to
party proscription, as it is termed, is but a theory ;
and it cannot well be anything more, until the world
becomes a great deal wiser and better than it . is.
Washington himself, the pure and high-minded, did
not hesitate to remove the enemies of his administra
tion ; and no politician ever persisted in continuing
his opponents in office, without blighting his pros
pects forever.
On the 8th of March, 1832, Mr. Marcy spoke on
the apportionment bill. He had been a member of
the select committee, who reported on the bill, which
originated in the House, and therefore felt it incum
bent upon him to explain and vindicate his oppo
sition to it. He thought it unequal, and liable to the
same objections that called forth the veto of Presi
dent Washington in 1792, because it allotted members
to fractions. His speech was not lengthy, but a clear
and masterly effort, and mainly in reply to Daniel
Webster on the constitutional principle.
The tariff question was agitated during the period of
his service in the Senate. Various propositions were
brought forward and discussed ; a majority, perhaps,
of the members of both Houses being sincerely desir
ous of adopting some compromise plan that would sat
isfy, or that ought to satisfy the manufacturing inter-

568 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
ests, and at the same time quiet the agitation in the
staple states. This was Mr. Marcy 's position. He
was in favor of removing the duties on the non-pro
tected articles, but opposed to any project that re
quired protection to be absolutely given up. On the
17th of March, he voted for a resolution introduced by
Mr. Clay, declaring that the duties on non-protected
articles ought to be abolished, but proposed to amend
it, by adding the following clause : — " And that the
duties on articles imported into the United States,
similar to such as are made or produced therein, ought
to be so graduated as not to exclude such foreign ar
ticles from coming into competition in our markets
with those made and produced in the United States ;
but to establish the competition on such terms, as shall
give a reasonable encouragement and protection to the
manufactures and products of the United States." He
desired to have the whole tariff question opened, fairly
and fully discussed, and finally settled, on an equitable,
just, and firm basis. He wished to continue protec
tion to such branches of industry as were entitled to
and needed it, but not by so doing to oppress any in
terest or any section of the country. As the result of
the debates in Congress at this session, the law of 1832
was enacted. Mr. Marcy did not approve of all the
details of this bill, but voted for it as an improvement
on the old system, which, he was satisfied, ought not
to be longer continued in force.
Since then, his views upon this great question have

COURSE ON THE TARIFF. 569
kept pace with the tendency of the opinions of the
democratic party toward a strict revenue tariff. To
the law of 1842 he was unequivocally opposed. It
would not be just to him, however, to say that he ap
proved of every feature and clause of the act of 1846,
for that statesman or politician who did so could
scarcely be found in the country. In a nation where
there are so many conflicting industrial interests,
measures of that kind must ever have a compromise
character. But the general principles of the law of
1846 conformed so nearly to his views that he rejoiced
most heartily at its passage.
He coincided fully with General Jackson upon the
subject of the United States Bank, voted against its
recharter, and approved of the veto. He has sub
sequently expressed his views on this question, at dif
ferent times, and always against the expediency, the
necessity, and the constitutionality of a national bank.
Approving of the principles of the Maysville veto,
he voted against the bill providing for the improve
ment of harbors and rivers which was passed at this
session, but failed to receive the approbation of Presi
dent Jackson, because it contained a number of objec
tionable objects of expenditure. Among the other im
provements specified in the bill, was the removal of
the obstructions in the Hudson river below Albany;
and the interests and inclinations of Mr. Marcy would
have led him to vote in its favor, but, though he ap
proved of this feature, he would not, to gratify either

570 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
his own personal feelings, or the wishes of his constit
uents on one subject, lend his votes or sanction to " a
precedent dangerous to the state."
At this session, also, Mr. Marcy voted against Mr.
Clay's bill providing for the distribution of the proceeds
of the public lands among the states. To this measure
he has ever been opposed, and has favored the antago
nist proposition of the cession of the lands, in connec
tion with the preemption policy.
In consequence of the prevalence of the Asiatic
cholera on the seaboard, Mr. Marcy, with most of the
members of Congress from the northern states, re
turned home at the close of the session, in the month
of July, by way of Harrisburg. In compliment to his
high character, a public dinner was tendered to him
by the republicans of that city, but his stay there be
ing very brief he felt compelled to decline the invi
tation. Early in the previous winter, Governor Throop had
announced his determination not to become a candi
date for reelection, and almost simultaneously with the
announcement, Judge Marcy was proposed as his suc
cessor by the New York Courier and Enquirer, which
paper, however, did not aid in his election, but soon
after changed its ground and opposed the democratic
party in the state and nation. As if moved by a spon
taneous impulse, the republican papers in the state,
with very few exceptions, responded favorably to the
suggestion ; and long before the nominations were reg-

NOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR. 571
ularly made, it was generally understood who the can
didates were to be. During the winter powerful efforts
had been made to bring forward General Root, but he
had shown so many symptoms of disaffection, that but
little strength was secured for him, and he shortly after
ward abandoned his old political associates, and at
tached himself to the opposition party.
The antimasons were early in the field, having nom
inated Francis Granger for governor and Samuel
Stevens for lieutenant-governor — the same ticket they
had supported in*1830 — at a state convention held in
the month of June. The Herkimer convention met
in September, and on the first ballot for governor,
Mr. Marcy received one hundred and thirteen of the
one hundred and nineteen votes cast. The friends
of the Chenango Canal formed a powerful party in the
convention, and as the election promised to be warmly
contested, both upon the state and electoral tickets,
John Tracy, of Chenango county, a friend of the pro
posed canal, and a prominent republican in that sec
tion of the state, was selected without difficulty as the
candidate for lieutenant-governor.
At this election the coalition between the national
republicans and antimasons in the state of New York
was complete. The former nominated at their con
vention and supported the antimasonic state ticket,
and also the electoral ticket which the antimasons had
adopted ; the latter, however, contained a fair propor
tion of national republicans, and it was tacitly under-

572 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
stood that the candidates, if successful, would give the
vote of the state to Henry Clay, or to William Wirt,
the nominees respectively of the national republican
and antimasonic parties, if the election, of either could
thus be secured.
The canvass was warm, particularly on account of
the bank question and other national issues, but the
democratic state and electoral tickets were successful.
Mr. Granger ran ahead of the coalition electors, in the
Chenango valley and western districts, but as Judge
Marcy was not a mason, nor committed against the
Chenango Canal, he was well sustained by his party
friends. His majority over Mr. Granger fell a little
short of ten thousand in an unusually heavy poll.
Parties in the Senate being almost equally divided,
Mr. Marcy resumed his seat at the commencement of
the next session of Congress, but resigned it in time to
enter upon his duties as governor of the state, on the
1st day of January, 1833. His first message was
looked for with some interest. As a literary produc
tion, it called forth commendation from every quarter,
as, indeed, was anticipated by those who knew what a
practiced pen he wielded. The financial policy of the
state was, as it had been for several years, the great
subject of interest, and it had a deserved prominence
in the message. The annexed extracts will show the
chart he laid down for his guidance, when he first took
hold of the helm, which Governor Throop resigned to
his hands : —

FIRST MESSAGE. 573
" The General Fund is almost exhausted, by the Uberal contributions
it has yielded to aU the other funds, by the payment of the state debts,
and by furnishing, unaided for the last five years, aU the means for the
ordinary and extraordinary expenses of the government. The revenue
from this fund has at no time been sufficient, without the avaUs of a
general tax, to satisfy the demands upon the treasury. In order to
meet these demands, and to relieve our fiscal affairs from embarrass
ments, it became necessary, in eighteen hundred and fourteen, to impose
a tax of two mills on each dollar of the valuation of real and personal
property in the state. This tax was continued untU eighteen hun
dred and eighteen; then it was reduced to one mUl ; in eighteen
hundred and twenty-four to half a mill, and in eighteen hundred and
twenty-seven it was wholly discontinued. When the legislature
refused to continue the tax, it was well understood that the General
Fund could not long sustain the burden cast upon it ; that its capital
would be rapidly reduced, and soon exhausted. Though this event
has not approached so rapidly as was anticipated, it is now at hand,
and this session should not, in my judgment, be permitted to pass
away Without providing the means, by the adoption of some settled
plan, to satisfy the demands tliat must inevitably be made upon the
treasury. The annual expenses of the government, in future years,
will not fall far below three hundred thousand dollars, and aU the
available means for the current year, other than a resort to the remain
ing capital of the General Fund, wiU be less than one hundred thousand
dollars. "According to the statement ofthe Comptroller, the capital of this
fund is now only five hundred and seventy-eight thousand three hundred
and ten dollars ; and if from this amount be deducted the debt due for
the stock issued to John Jacob Astor, now payable at the pleasure of the
state, this capital may be regarded as almost entirely expended, At
the period when the state tax was discontinued, I had the charge of the
financial department of the government. Disapproving of the policy
of impairing the General Fund, I recommended the continuance of the
tax; and in subsequent years I deemed it my duty to urge a return
to it. It would be useless to attempt now to determine whether the

574 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
policy thus recommended, and I believe every year since urged upon
the legislature by the head of that department, and for the three last
years by the Executive, was preferable to the course which has been
pursued. We are now brought to a condition in which the expedient
heretofore used for meeting the demands on the treasury, can be no
longer resorted to, and a new system of revenue must be devised.
" A movement has been made for the purpose of releasing the
auction and salt duties from the constitutional pledge by which they are
secured to the canal fund. If this measure should bo consummated,
and the avaUs of these duties restored to the General Fund, and the
amount of the income from these sources should not be materially
affected by the anticipated change in the salt duty, or the possible
legislation of Congress in relation to auction sales, — the revenue would
in this manner receive an augmentation which will render it nearly, or
quite equal to the demands upon it. But it will be perceived, that this
proposed measure is beset with contingencies which cannot be effec
tually controUed by your legislation. The people may not approve of
the proposition to release the pledge ; and if they should, it may not
be deemed wise to draw, after the canal debt is paid, a large revenue
from these sources, or to devote what may be thence drawn to the sup
port of the government.
" The canals are rapidly accumulating the means for the extinguish
ment of the debt for which their income is hypothecated. When this
object is accomplished, the toUs may, with fair claims of justice, be
resorted to, for the means of replenishing the treasury, to an amount
at least equal to the sum abstracted, for the benefit of the canals,
from the General Fund. On whatever principle this account shall be
stated, the sum that wiU be found due, wiU probably be sufficient,
not only to reimburse any loans which may be made for defraying
the expenses of the government, but to afford a temporary aid to such
works of internal improvement as the state may think it wise and
prudent to undertake.
"The money diverted from the General Fund to the use of the
canals, belongs equally to the citizens in aU parts of the state ; but
the object to which it was appropriated, though eminently beneficial,

FINANCIAL POLICY OF THE STATE. 575
was not so to all in an equal degree. The inhabitants, in districts of
the state remote from the canals, do not derive as much advantage
from them, as those in their immediate vicinity ; they will thoroforo
naturally prefer to have the treasury replenished by a repayment of
the contributions made to the canals, rather than by resorting to a
general tax. The justice of a claim upon the revenue of the canals to
some extent, in favor of the General Fund, will probably not be denied ;
but the amount which shaU be repaid, and the objects to which it
shall be appropriated, will doubtless give rise to much diversity of
opinion. If we were prepared to settle these questions, we have not
the power to do so ; they must be left for our successors. ShaU we
then anticipate their decision, and accumulate a debt for the ordinary
expenses of the government, trusting to the future appropriations of
the income of the canals, for its repayment ? Without a confident
reliance on this, or some other certain and specific resource for its
redemption, there are, in my mind, strong objections to the creation
of such a debt. A national debt has been regarded by the true*
friends of a republican government as a national evil. When the
public funds are not drawn immediately from the people, a proper
sense of dependence on the part of those who have the appropriation
of them is lost; and a salutary check to improvident and profuse
expenditure is removed. When the motive for the constituent to
scrutinize the conduct of the representative is enfeebled, the latter
ceases to feel and act under the consciousness of a due accountability.
If the force of this relationship in a government Uke ours be weakened,
the action of the whole political system is deranged ; economy is no
longer regarded as a political virtue ; public spirit loses its true aim ;
and its energies are directed to personal and ignoble ends. A large
funded debt has a tendency to create artificial distinctions among the
people — to divide society into the rich and the poor, and to bring
about a state of things, in which labor is made tributary to wealth,
and power purchased by influence. At this time, when the general
government is presenting for the admiration of the world the unpre
cedented fact, of the total extinguishment of a large national debt, it
would iU become this state, eminently distinguished for her wealth, her

576 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
resources, and the enterprising spirit of her citizens, to counteract in any
degree, this impressive political lesson, by the commencement of a debt
for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the government.
" A national debt may be the result of inevitable necessity. The
efforts which nations are sometimes required to make, to recover their
civil Uberty, or to defend their rights, may involve an expenditure
beyond their present ability to pay. A debt thus contracted confers
no reproach, and its payment may be deferred untU the people that
incurred it, have replenished their resources, and become able to sus
tain the burden of discharging it, without withering their prosperity.
Such was the origin of our national debt, and such has been our
course in regard to its payment. The debt contracted by this state on
account of the canals, is justified on a different principle. The object
for which it was incurred, was specific, and ample means for its
speedy redemption were provided in the very act which authorized it.
It could in no event have been forwarded on to a future age, as an
* incumbrance upon it, to be paid by a general tax, without a violation
of the most solemn pledges.
" Whether a resort to a general tax, moderate in amount, in order
to provide the means to meet exigencies of the government, shaU be
forborne, and a reUance be placed on the chance of deriving sufficient
aid for that purpose from the duties on salt and auction sales ; or a
debt shaU be contracted, with a view to its redemption, from the
canal revenue, after it is relieved from its present hypothecation ; are
questions which may with propriety be left to the immediate repre
sentatives of the people. If upon due deliberation, you should
determine to levy a tax, and leave the other revenues unanticipated
and unimpaired, to be managed and disposed of by your successors,
as the best mterests of the state shall indicate, when the existing
incumbrance is removed, I feel the fullest confidence that the people
will cheerfully acquiesce in the decision.
" There is no subject connected with our local affairs that we
can contemplate with so much satisfaction as our works of internal
improvement. The advantages resulting from them are felt in all
parts of the state, and in the diversified occupations of our citizens.

FINANCIAL POLICY OF THE STATE. 577
Everywhere their beneficial effects are visible, bearing testimony to
the wisdom which conceived the system, and to the enterprise which
put it into practical operation. The peculiar formation, indicated
at an early period to some of our enlightened and sagacious citizens,
the practicability, as weU as the usefulness, of connecting the great
northern and western lakes with the Atlantic ocean by means of artificial
water communications. The enterprise of the present age has most
successfully carried into effect the grand conceptions of, the past.
The Spirit which prompted us to enter upon this system was not,
however, wUd and reckless; while it anxiously sought the end, it
carefully estimated and wisely provided the means for its attainment-
Though much has been done to improve the condition of our state,
much yet remains to be done. While we allow the success which has
attended our efforts at home, to impel us forward in the career of
improvement, we should not be regardless of the less fortunate effects
which have resulted from simUar enterprises abroad. On the one
hand, it would be unworthy of the character of the state to pause in
this career : on the other, it would be more unwise to rush forward in
it, accumulating burdens upon the people without securing proportion
ate advantages.
" From all internal improvements, there necessarily result local
benefits, and it is natural that those parts of the state which have not
participated in them should indulge an impatient desire to do so.
Wise legislation should endeavor to gratify this desire as far as
practicable, when it can be done with due regard to the public interest.
Local interests concurring with, or pretending to, the general good,
will devise and press upon your consideration particular plans for
improvement, both by canals and roads ; and if you should deter
mine that it was expedient to do more at present than to com
plete those already begun, the difficult and responsible duty of
selection will devolve on you. Though revenue is not the sole
consideration that should influence your decision, it ought to have
great weight with you, for it will be a test of the public usefulness
of the work. In my judgment, the first object of inquiry should be, to
ascertain, as accurately as possible, the amount of expenditure a
37

578 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
proposed work wUl involve ; and next, the amount of revenue that
may be derived from it. If the revenue promises to be sufficient to
keep it in repair when finished, to defray the expenses of superin
tendence and the collection of tolls, and to meet the claims for interest
on the capital expended, sound poUcy requires that it should be con
structed. Even if a less favorable result should be anticipated for a
few years, the question of authorizing the construction of a public work
may yet be very properly entertained. An improvement, opening an
easy and cheap communication into the interior of any part of the state,
would Boon develop new resources in that section, increase the quantity
of its productions, and expand its trade. If it should require the lapse
of a few years to produce these effects, and to increase the revenue to
an amount sufficient for the purposes before specified, this would con
stitute no conclusive objection to the undertaking. Should the proposed
work be connected with those now in operation, the effect that it might
have on the productiveness of them, should also be regarded, and, to a
reasonable extent, influence your decision. Improvements that wUl
insure these results at the time of their completion, or shortly there
after, should inspire no dread that a general burden will be cast upon
the state, to discharge the debt created for their construction ; because
the gradual growth of the adjacent country, and consequently the ex
tension of trade, will increase the revenue, until there wUl ultimately
be a surplus to be applied in redemption of the debt contracted on
their account."
It was remarked by an able English writer, who
visited this country many years ago, that ours is " en
tirely a government of opinion," and whatever " the
[American] people wish is done."* In a democratic
community, says De Tocqueville.f " opinion is more
than ever mistress of the world :" yet, however true
* Excursion through the United States and Canada, p. 70.
| Democracy in America, Part II., book L, chap. 2.

LIMITED INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC OPINION. 579
this may be in the general, public opinion, in its prac
tical expression, is not always " the absolute power of
a majority," as the French philosopher and statesman
supposes, unless, indeed, the experience of 1848 may
have impressed him to the contrary ; but it is often
times the sentiment of a mere minority, either forced
upon the acceptance of those who hold the balance of
power by political considerations, or tolerated by them
for special reasons which may be but slightly connected
with the subject matter itself. Where an opinion be
comes absolutely that of a majority, and is cherished
in earnestness and sincerity by all the components of
the majority, it undoubtedly exercises a controlling
influence ; and the governmental action which it in
vokes, and never fails to secure in the end, may be said
to be the result of public opinion. In this sense, and
in such a case, what the American people wish, is done.
But the opposite is also frequently true, and what the
American people do not wish is done ; and when done,
they do not attempt to undo it. Circumstances shape
the fortunes of states as of individuals ; and political
accidents, and apparently inconsequent facts, sometimes
lead to important results. In the politics, and in the
legislation of democratic governments, minorities often
carry their ends, by obtaining the aid of those who are
indifferent or neutral in respect of those ends ; or, where
two great parties exist, by forming a third party, and
threatening to unite, or actually uniting, with one or
the other of the principal organizations.

ggQ WILLIAM L. MARCY.
The state of New York furnishes many illustrations
of this fact, in her history. It is very doubtful whether
a majority of the people originally approved of the con
struction of the Erie and Champlain canals, but the
interest arrayed in their favor was a powerful one, and
by combining with a political party, and by tempo
rary accessions from other quarters, it secured sufficient
strength to command success before the legislature;
yet public opinion never underwent any material change,
till the utility and practicability of those works had
been actually demonstrated by their completion and
employment in the purposes of navigation. Antima
sonry was, in the first place, confined to a comparative
few ; but it fairly forced itself upon a large and influen
tial party, which, had the masons stood firmly by the
institution that was the object of its assaults, would
have gained the ascendency in the state ; and still, a
majority of the people would not have been antimasons.
So, too, of abolitionism : at the beginning, it was treated
with contempt by men of all parties, but it soon became
an important element in the politics of New York, and
controlled them in fact, long before a majority of the
electors, if that be the case even now, had manifested
a disposition to embrace its principles.. The lateral
canal interest, by which the Chenango canal project
was put forward as a pioneer measure, possessed but
little power at first ; but it was earnest, importunate,
and determined ; defeat only made it stronger ; and
disappointment but stimulated it to greater exertions.

THE CHENANGO CANAL. 581
In the end, it made captive of both parties, and triumph
ed over all opposition ; and yet at no time was it sus
tained by the favorable wishes of a majority of the
people. The minority, taking advantage of party di
visions and interests, tyrannized over the majority.
Governor Marcy was not committed, either one way
or the other, upon the subject of the Chenango canal,
at the time of his election ; and in his first annual mes
sage, after stating that there were conflicting opinions
in regard to the cost of the proposed work, and the
probable amount of revenue it would yield, upon which
the legislature should decide, he merely commended it
to their favorable notice, with the expression of the
hope that its merits might be found such as to induce
them to authorize its construction. His views upon
the subject of the finances of the state, differed but
slightly from those of his predecessor, but he occupied
a more impartial position, for the reason that he lived
in a section where the local interests opposed to, or in
favor of the canal, exerted no direct influence. Along
the whole line of the Erie canal, and particularly in
Western New York, there was a strong feeling against
the Chenango canal, because it was thought that if the
work should be constructed, it would not be a profitable
concern, but would become a charge upon the state
treasury, and thus either require the imposition of a
direct tax, or prevent any reduction of the tolls on the
Erie and Champlain canals.
But while Governor Marcy was opposed to the crea-

582 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
tion of a state debt for objects of internal improvement,
relying for its repayment entirely upon prospective
revenues, he did not occupy the extreme ground held
by Colonel Young and a majority of the canal commis
sioners, that no work ought to be commenced that would
not be immediately profitable. His position was a
moderate one ; he was not illiberal on the one hand,
nor friendly to lavish expenditures on the other. He
had none of the overstrained parsimony of Warburton
of whom Moore has said,
" He would most willingly cut down
The holiest groves on Pindus' mount,
To turn the timber to account ;"
nor was he in the least inclined to followed the prodigal
example of Pitt, which almost wrecked the financial
hopes of England beyond the prospect of recovery.
He stood between extremes. He was not opposed to
everything like change or improvement, nor blinded
by the fanciful and deceitful visions of future prosperity
which lured only to ruin and disgrace ; but in favor of
that sound and healthy progress which alone conduces
to the permanent welfare and happiness of a people or
a state. As the salt and auction duties had been originally
pledged and set apart for the payment of the canal
debt, and a direct tax levied to make up the deficiency
in the General Fund, — and as the people of the whole
state had thus contributed to the construction of the Erie

THE CHENANGO CANAL AUTHORIZED. 583
and Champlain canals, he thought it only just and right
that other sections should be similarly aided, in the de
velopment of their resources, out of the fund derived
from the canal revenues, so far as it could be done
without adding to the debt of the state, or impairing
its credit.
Another feature in the character and course of Gov
ernor Marcy may be mentioned here. He was not a
timid man, nor afraid of incurring responsibility ; but
being a shrewd observer, and possessing an almost in
tuitive knowledge of men, he knew that it was wiser,
and generally safer, to persuade rather than to compel,
and he allowed the legislature of the state a wide lati
tude in deciding upon all questions affecting the in
terests of their constituents, so long as the provisions
ofthe constitution were not disregarded.
At the winter session of the legislature in 1833, the
friends of the Chenango canal were prompt to urge
their favorite project. It had, doubtless, been tacitly
understood, during the preceding canvass, that the
application would be favorably regarded by the demo
cratic members of the legislature; for it was pretty
evident that a further denial of the application would
hazard the ascendency of the party ; and, conceding
the merits of the proposed measure, the time, and the
condition of the state finances, were not unfavorable to
the commencement of the work. A bill authorizing
the immediate construction of the canal, passed both
houses at this session, and was approved by the gover-

584 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
nor. Heretofore, this project had received the support
of the leading antimasons in western New York, but
most ofthe members, of both parties, from that section of
the state, opposed the law as finally enacted, because it
contained a provision, inserted to meet the views of
Governor Marcy, that if the appropriation based upon
the estimates should not be sufficient, the deficiency
should be made up out of the canal fund. This provi
sion, it was apprehended, might interfere with the re
duction of tolls on the Erie canal, and hence the votes
of the western members.
Throughout the whole period of Governor Marcy's
administration, with the exception of a portion of the
last term, the legislature was beset by applicants for
bank charters. The United States Bank veto of Presi
dent Jackson in 1832, created an anticipated necessity
for the further increase of banking capital under the
state laws ; and the inordinate profits of the state banks,
in consequence ofthe removal ofthe deposits in 1833,
during the era of speculation that ensued, heightened
the mania for charters to such an extent, that it threat
ened to bear down everything before it. The influence
of the governor, willing as he was to leave matters of
this kind entirely in the hands of the legislature, was
exerted against any undue augmentation of this pow
erful interest, and he favored only such an addition to
the banking capital of the state as was rendered neces
sary by the increase of business. He could not pre
vent the corruptions and mal-practices, always incident

BANK CHARTERS.

585

to legislation, affecting moneyed or stock interests, yet
his influence was salutary. In 1833, but eight charters
were granted; in 1834, of one hundred and five appli
cations, only seven were favorably regarded ; in 1835,
not a single charter was granted ; and during the re
mainder of his administration, but two or three banks
were incorporated.
In his annual message in 1834, the governor advised
extreme caution in granting bank charters, and sug
gested the propriety of making some provision whereby
the stock of newly chartered banks should go into the
hands of the permanent holders worth only its par value.
He also recommended the reduction of the rate of in
terest on bank loans to six per cent. These two meas
ures, he thought, would have the tendency to diminish
the number of applications. The first was not found
to be practicable, but the rate of interest was afterward
reduced in accordance with his recommendation. With
respect to the lateral canals, he avowed himself in favor
of constructing works subordinate to the Erie canal,
when the finances of the state would permit; but he
enjoined it upon the legislature to remember the cau
tious policy of former years, and not by imprudent
haste, to put in hazard the whole system of internal
improvements. In the autumn of 1833, the public deposits were re
moved from the Bank of the United States, and that
institution immediately commenced a rapid curtailment
of its discounts, and pressed the collection of debts due
25*

586 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
it, with unexampled harshness and severity. The money
market at once became affected, and business men, either
directly or indirectly dependent upon the bank, were
much embarrassed. In the city of New York, the
pressure was for a time quite severe, but the state banks
were desirous of assisting their customers as far as
possible in this emergency. It was feared, however,
that if they should extend their accommodations and
increase their circulation, they would incur the hostility
of the United States Bank, and be obliged to suspend
specie payments. To protect the people of the state,
and its commercial, agricultural, and industrial interests,
against so great a calamity, Governor Marcy recom
mended, in a special message to the legislature, on the
24th of March, 1834, a loan of the credit of the state
to the banks, in the form of state stock, to the amount
of four or five millions of dollars. This recommenda
tion was approved by the legislature, and a law was
passed in conformity therewith. This law, termed by
the political opponents ofthe governor, " Marcy's Mort
gage," was never carried into effect, as the banks proved
able to sustain themselves without the assistance of the
state; but throughout the summer and fall of 1834, it
was a prominent theme for animadversion in the op
position papers.
Antimasonry ceased to exist, as a political organiza
tion, soon after the coalition in 1832, by reason of the
virtual disbanding ofthe masonic fraternity. The ori
ginal founders of that party claimed to be totally op-

FORMATION OF THE WHIG PARTY. 587
posed to all secret societies, but this principle they were
unable to sustain. Associations of the same character
existed during the whole period of the antimasonic ex
citement, within the state of New York, and they never
suspended their, operations. The object of attack, in
effect, was merely the masonic institution; and the prac
tical result was to put it, as it were, temporarily in
abeyance. The institution was not destroyed, but re
formed somewhat, and then revived. If its power may
be measured by numbers, it now wields a still greater
influence than ever ; and the very weak hold which
the principle of opposition to secret societies took upon
the public mind, is evinced by the fact, that many promi
nent antimasons in western New York, in the old " in
fected district," are at this time members ofthe masonic
society, and a still greater number belong to other as
sociations framed after that as a model, and liable to
the same objections, whether justly or unjustly is not
material to the present writing, once urged against
masonry. Opposition to the veto of the United States Bank
and the removal of the deposits, furnished a sort of
common ground or principle on which the various po
litical elements and organizations hostile to General
Jackson and his friends, could unite. In the winter of
1834, the coalition of the national republicans and an
timasons in the state of New York, was made complete,
by the adoption of a common name. They now as
sumed the appellation of Whigs, which was shortly

588 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
afterward adopted by the entire opposition to the demo
cratic party of the Union, with the exception of a small
faction of the State Rights' party headed by John C.
Calhoun. From the time of the removal of the deposits till the
fall elections in 1834, the financial measures ofthe gene
ral administration were the principal topics of discus
sion, and state questions were forced to give place to
them. A last powerful effort was made by the United
States Bank to produce a reaction of popular feeling,
favorable to that institution, and the canvass for the
gubernatorial election opened early in New York, and
was. conducted with much spirit. The administration
of Governor Marcy had been so entirely satisfactory
to his party, that he was unanimously nominated for
reelection, at the Herkimer convention, held on the
10th of September, 1834. Lieutenant-governor Tracy
was also renominated with like unanimity. The whig
candidates were William H. Seward, of Cayuga county,
formerly a leading antimason, and Silas M. Stilwell, of
the city of New York.
Although the removal of the deposits, and the na
tional bank question, were topics of so great prominence
in the political discussions of this year, the loan law
recommended by Governor Marcy was not overlooked,
and an attempt was made to render him unpopular with
the people in consequence of it. The connection of
the general administration with the state banks, and
the alleged favoritism shown to the safety fund institu-

REELECTION.

589

tions by the state authorities, were likewise subjects of
partisan controversy. The safety fund system was
vehemently attacked in the whig papers ; it was called
a politico-commercial scheme, and the banks chartered
under it were said to be entirely under the control of
the Albany Regency. This assertion, probably, was
not well founded, for it is certain that a large majority
of the state banks in New York were owned or con
trolled by active members of the whig party.
The democratic state ticket succeeded by a much
larger majority than in 1832. Over three hundred and
fifty thousand votes were cast for governor ; and the
majority of Governor Marcy over his opponent was
nearly thirteen thousand.
In his next message to the legislature, at the com
mencement of his second term, Governor Marcy re
peated his former views upon the state finances, and
advised a continuance of the cautious policy which had
been pursued. Apprehending a diversion of the western
trade in favor of Pennsylvania, in consequence of the
facilities afforded by her extensive system of internal
improvements, the friends of the Erie canal had for
some time urged its enlargement, in order that its ca
pacity might keep pace with the increase of business.
The governor invoked the attention of the legislature
to this subject, justly regarding it as one of paramount
importance, becausethe Erie canal was the back-bone,
so to speak, of the canal system of the state. He ex
pressed himself in favor of the enlargement, to be car-

590 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
ried on as rapidly as the surplus revenues arising from
tolls would permit. In accordance with his advice, the
legislature, during this session, authorized the surplus
revenue to be applied to the enlargement and improve
ment of the Erie canal, and the construction of double
locks, as soon and as fast as the public interest, in the
opinion ofthe canal board, required such improvements
to be made. Applications in behalf of the Black River
and Genesee Valley canals were made at this session,
but did not receive a favorable consideration : at the
next session, however, in the winter of 1836, those works
were authorized to be constructed.
One of the consequences of the increase of the bank
ing capital of the state was, that coin was almost driven
out of circulation. A general desire was expressed to
have the legislature provide a remedy for this evil, and
the whig state convention in 1834 adopted a resolution
in favor of the suppression by law of bank notes of the
smaller denominations. The democratic party were
equally favorable to the measure, and it was recom
mended by Governor Marcy in his annual message in
1835. A law was accordingly passed, providing for
the gradual suppression of bank notes under five dollars..
This was not a party question, as it afterward became,
and the vote in favor of the bill was nearly unanimous.
In the same message Governor Marcy advised the
legislature to refuse to grant any more bank charters,
at least for the present ; and his advice was heeded.
The number of new banks chartered within a few years,

ABOLITIONISM. 591
though bearing but a small proportion to the applica
tions, had already alarmed many citizens, and in the
summer of 1835 a new party was formed, in the city
of New York and in some other counties, whose creed
was, opposition to bank charters and to legislative
monopolies and special privileges of all sorts, but par
ticularly those connected with the moneyed interest.
This party was called the Equal Rights, or Loco Foco
party. It was at first principally composed of demo
crats, but while it remained a mere faction, the whigs
frequently cooperated with it at the elections. In 1836,
it brought forward a separate state ticket, but in the
following year it united with the democratic party, and
eventually became the nucleus of the radical faction.
The year 1834-5 was also distinguished by the rise
of the abolition, or anti-slavery party. Governor Marcy
was among the foremost in opposing the anti-slavery
agitation, and he has ever since opposed any movement
calculated to create or foster sectional prejudices or ill
feelings. On the 4th of September, 1835, he presided
at a public meeting ofthe citizens of Albany, attended
by the most venerable and distinguished men of both
the great parties, at which resolutions were adopted,
declaring that the movements of the abolitionists were
incendiary and threatened to disturb the peace of the
country, and that they ought to be frowned upon and
discountenanced by all sincere friends of the Union,
Such have ever been the sentiments of Governor Marcy.
He has been neither an ultraist nor an alarmist. Upon

592 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
the abstract question of slavery, his opinions may not
have differed essentially from those of the abolitionists ;
but he has uniformly adhered with fidelity to the old
republican doctrine of non-interference with the civil
and social institutions of other states.
During the second term of Governor Marcy, the
speculating mania produced by the use of the public
moneys as the basis of bank discounts, reached its cul
minating point. He foresaw the evils likely to result
from this disturbing element in business, and in his
annual message in January, 1836, he referred to the
" unregulated spirit of speculation" in stocks and real
estate which pervaded the community, and cautioned
the legislature against affording it any encouragement.
He apprised that body that the general fund was ex
hausted ; that the Chenango canal would cost double
the original estimates ; and that the Erie canal enlarge
ment would involve an expenditure of twelve millions
of dollars. He remarked, therefore, that he felt bound
to protest against any departure from the policy he had
always recommended^ that of confining appropriations
for new works to the surplus revenue arising from tolls,
and against pledging the credit of the state for further
improvements, at least until ample means had been
provided for the prompt payment of interest, so that
the stocks of the state would not suffer depreciation.
Both parties, however, seemed to have caught the
prevailing infection, and during this session laws were
passed, by large majorities, directing the preliminary

ELECTED FOR A THIRD TERM. 593
steps to be taken toward the construction of the Black
River and Genesee Valley canals. It may have been
an error on the part of Governor Marcy that he did not
oppose with greater determination and decision these
incipient movements that led to the creation of a large
additional debt ; but it must be remembered that the
entire whig party were at that time strenuously urging
a more enlarged system of improvements, and their
opponents were charged with being hostile to the public
works, and with cherishing narrow and illiberal views.
If, then, Governor Marcy had vetoed any of these meas
ures, it is more than probable that public opinion, car
ried away with the prevailing excitement, would have
swept him and his party from power, at the next elec
tion, and promptly followed up its success by plunging
the state headlong into debt.
Governor Marcy and Lieutenant-governor Tracy
were unanimously renominated at the democratic state
convention in 1836. An unexampled degree of pros
perity, deceitful though it was, everywhere prevailed,
and notwithstanding a president was to be chosen this
year, the elections were not conducted with much
warmth. Jesse Buel and Gamaliel H. Barstow were
the whig candidates for governor and lieutenant-gov
ernor, but no very powerful efforts were made to secure
their election. Messrs. Marcy and Tracy were again
the successful candidates, and obtained almost thirty
thousand majority over their opponents. The Equal
38

594 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
Rights candidate for governor received less than four
thousand votes.
The third term of Governor Marcy was pregnant
with important events, affecting him not so much, per
sonally, as they did his friend Mr. Van Buren, then the
leader of the democratic party in the nation. In his
annual messages in 1837 and 1838, the former advised
the same cautious policy in regard to works of internal
improvement which he had before recommended. At
the session of 1837 no further appropriations were
made; but in 1838 the governor recommended an ad
ditional appropriation for the enlargement of the Erie
canal as being necessary to carry on the work before
authorized. Year after year the dissatisfaction with the banking
interest, growing entirely out of misconduct, perhaps
incident to the system, but confined to a few isolated
cases, had gone on steadily increasing, until, in 1837, it
was evident that no more charters would be granted
under the old system. The governor then recommen
ded the modification of the restraining law, and the
legislature adopted his suggestion. In 1838, he avowed
himself in favor of a general banking law, such as would
obviate the objections to the monopoly features of the
existing system, to be passed by a two third vote. The
act of that year, which, as amended, is now in force,
received his approbation and signature.
When the Independent Treasury project was first
presented in the summer of 1837, Governor Marcy was

HIS DEFEAT. 595
of the opinion that it was prematurely urged, though
satisfied that it would be for the permanent advantage
of the government, the people, and the banks, not to
renew the connection which had existed, and which
had been severed by the suspension of specie pay
ments. He expressed his concurrence, however, in
the sentiments and recommendations of Mr. Van Buren,
in his annual message to the legislature in 1838 ; he
approved of the independent treasury law as originally
enacted in 1840 ; was opposed to its repeal ; and, as a
member of Mr. Polk's cabinet, was highly gratified with
its reenactment.
During the civil war in Canada, in 1837-8, Governor
Marcy, like Mr. Van Buren, firmly and promptly op
posed every attempt to interrupt the peaceful relations
of the country by any infraction of treaty obligations,
but at the same time adopted, with characteristic energy
and determination, such precautionary measures as
were deemed necessary to protect the state against
invasion. Mr. Marcy and Mr. Tracy were nominated for a
fourth term in the fall of 1838, but they were borne
down by the current that prevented the reelection of
Mr. Van Buren. The election turned principally upon
national questions ; most of the conservatives in the
democratic party who were opposed to the independent
treasury refused to support Governor Marcy ; and while
the state bank interest became in a great measure hos
tile to him, many of the ultra equal rights men on the

596 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
other hand opposed him. The citizens of New York
who had sympathized with and aided the Canadian
patriots, were also unfriendly to him, as the head of the
state authorities who had opposed their movements.
The whigs as a party had committed themselves in favor
of the small bill law, but after the suspension of specie
payments, they were equally decided in advocating its
repeal. The democratic party hesitated to restore the
power to issue small bills, and, as great difficulty was
experienced in changing money of small amounts, this
question operated to prejudice their ticket with the
people. A very heavy vote was cast by both parties, and the
whigs carried everything before them. Their candi
dates for governor and lieutenant-governor, William H.
Seward and Luther Bradish, were elected by more
than ten thousand majority.
The term of office of Governor Marcy expired on
the last day of December, 1838. His defeat and re
tirement from office could not, of course, materially
affect one so experienced in political warfare. The
motto ofthe politician is, practically, always — "Hodie
tibi, eras mihi !"• — " To-day is yours, but to-morrow
may be mine !" — for reverses and disappointments
rarely fail to be mingled with his triumphs. If the
people had no further need of his services, Governor
Marcy was the last man to complain of ingratitude, or
to charge them with inability to appreciate his merits.
Within a few months after his defeat in the guber-

COMMISSIONER ON MEXICAN CLAIMS. 597
natorial contest, he was appointed by President Van
Buren one of the commissioners to decide upon the
claims against the Mexican government, under the
convention of April, 1839. He held this office till the
powers of the commission expired, in February, 1842,
when he again retired to private life. His duties as
commissioner had required his presence at Washing
ton for the greater part of the time, but he still regarded
the city of Albany as his residence, as he has ever since
done. He supported Mr. Van Buren for reelection in 1840,
and the democratic state ticket headed by William C.
Bouck. In 1842, he contributed to elevate the latter
to the place which he had himself once occupied, and
during his entire administration, was his friend and
adviser. Thdugh all the while decided in his political
position and course, he did not actively engage in the
politics of the state. When the democratic party of
New York manifested symptoms of dividing upon state
issues, he endeavored to prevent such a result, but his
efforts to produce harmony, though temporarily suc
cessful, proved in the end to be unavailing. During
the administration of Governor Bouck, the lines began
to be drawn between the two factions of the party;
the one adopting the extreme views of Colonel Young,
in opposition to internal improvements unless imme
diately profitable, or yielding sufficient revenue to pay
for the cost of construction and all other expenses ;
and the other favoring a liberal system of expenditure.

598 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
The first were the radicals, afterward called barnburn
ers, and the others the conservatives, or hunkers.
Strictly speaking, Governor Marcy, as has been
intimated, occupied a position between the two ex
tremes, and therefore desired to keep the party together.
The radicals, as is always the case with reformers, were
somewhat intolerant and illiberal, and were probably
rendered more so than they would otherwise have been,
for the reason that many of the conservatives were
equally violent in their opinions, and harsh in their
policy. Men of moderate views were naturally thrown
into the ranks of the conservatives. This was the case
with Governor Marcy. In September, 1843, he attend
ed the democratic state convention held at Syracuse
to select delegates to the national convention, at which
a president and vice-president were to be nominated,
as one of the delegates from the county of Albany. He
was chosen to preside over the convention ; the con
servatives, and those who were as yet undecided as
between the two factions, voting for him, and the radi
cals for Samuel Young. His first choice for the presi
dency was Mr. Van Buren, and so far as his influence
could contribute to the nomination of that gentleman,
it was cheerfully exerted. He was, however, one of
the early friends of the annexation of Texas ; and when
the Baltimore Convention decided to present the name
of Mr. Polk, he cordially acquiesced in the result of
their deliberations, and gave his support to the demo
cratic nominees. At the same election, he aided, by

APPOINTED SECRETARX OF WAR. 599
his vote and influence, in the elevation of Silas Wright
to the office of governor ; and though not then a resi
dent of the state, he was in favor of his reelection,
in 1846.
When it was ascertained that Mr. Polk had been
elected to the presidential chair, the friends of Governor
Marcy felt anxious that he should be placed in a posi
tion suited to his character and talents. Several weeks
previous to the inauguration, in pursuance of the re
quest of a majority of the democratic members of the
New York legislature, and of the democratic represen
tation from this state in Congress, the president elect
tendered him the place of Secretary of War, which he
promptly accepted. The Senate unanimously con
firmed the nomination, and he entered upon the duties
of the office soon after the inauguration of the new
president. A cabinet appointment is not often a position calcu
lated materially to add to the reputation of the individ
ual who holds it, even where the highest talents, and
the very best qualifications for the office, are evinced.
As the responsibility is divided among the members of
the cabinet, or assumed by the president, so the honors
are either shared among a number, or monopolized by
the head of the administration. In ordinary times,
Governor Marcy, whatever had been the ability dis
played in the performance of his duties, might not have
attracted any unusual degree of attention to his man
agement of the affairs of the department intrusted to

600 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
his charge. But the war with Mexico rendered his
position one of more than ordinary importance. His
spirit and genius, his practical talents, his sagacity and
foresight, and the natural adaptation of his mind to the
duties of an executive office, were of great value to Mr.
Polk's administration. During the progress of the war,
as victory after victory perched on our banners, the
remark was often made, that if Madison had been so
fortunate as to secure such an adviser at the commence
ment of the second war with Great Britain, the disas
ters of 1812 and 1813 would never have been witnessed.
Indeed, the country is as much indebted to his ability
as the head of the war department, as to the military
skill of the commanders in the field, for the brilliant re
sults of the contest with Mexico. In preparing and
adopting the plans of the campaigns, in suggesting and
directing movements and operations, in the selection
of officers, in dispatching men and materiel to the differ
ent columns operating in the enemy's country, and in
taking advantage of the tardy legislation or action of
Congress, he demonstrated peculiar fitness for the sta
tion he filled, as well as comprehensiveness of mind, and
force and energy of character. He was, in truth, as
respected the conduct of the war in the American cabi
net, its master-spirit ; and the dispatches and instruc
tions that emanated from his pen, bear witness to the
deep interest which he took in its prosecution, and to
the able and faithful manner in which he discharged
his official functions.

DIFFICULTY WITH OFFICERS. 601
In his intercourse with the officers of the army, he
was frank, urbane, and courteous, yet never improperly
surrendering his dignity. It was his fortune, — by no
means an unusual occurrence, where generals at the
head of armies are subordinate to executive authorities
at home, — to be involved in controversies with the
principal commanders, Generals Scott and Taylor, who
conducted the operations against Mexico. Both those
officers were political opponents of the administration,
and both cherished ambitious aspirations, or if not that,
were influenced more or less by confidential friends
not entirely free from partisan feelings and prejudices.
Governor Marcy at no time called in question their
bravery and ability, but in all his reports, bore the high
est testimony to their skilful and gallant conduct. Both
officers, however, seem to have become impressed with
the idea, that the administration desired to sacrifice
them, in order to destroy their popularity, — overlooking
the conclusive facts, showing the injustice of their sus
picions, that the administration had voluntarily placed
them in positions where laurels were to be gained, and,
in the case of General Taylor, overlooked officers of
superior rank ; and that no misfortune could possibly
have resulted to them, that would not have injured the
administration in a tenfold degree.
Governor Marcy defended himself against the charges
preferred by those officers, in their official communi
cations, with great ability, and, as leading presses in
the interest of both parties admitted, with entire suc-
26

602 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
cess. His replies were masterly documents, and so
clear and conclusive, that no serious attempt was ever
made by those officers or their friends to refute his
statements and positions. His last letter to General
Scott, dated on the 21st of April, 1848, was particularly
able, and, as the following extract will show, pointed in
its rebuke : —
" By extending my comments upon your letter," said
the Secretary in his reply, " I might multiply proofs to
show that your accusations against the head of the war
department are unjust ; that your complaints are un
founded; that the designs imputed by you to the gov
ernment to embarrass your operations, impair your
rightful authority as commander, and to offer outrage
and insult to your feelings, are all the mere creations
of a distempered fancy ; but to do more than I have
done, would, in my judgment, be a work of superero
gation. " In conclusion, I may be permitted to say that, as
one of the president's advisers, I had a full share in
the responsibility of the act which assigned you to the
command of our armies in Mexico. I felt interested
even more than naturally appertained to my official
position, that success and glory should signalize your
operations. It was my duty to bring to your aid the
efficient cooperation of the war department. I never
had a feeling that did not harmonize with a full and
fair discharge of this duty. I know it has been faith
fully performed. There are some men for whom

HIS INFLUENCE IN THE CABINET. 603
enough cannot be done to make them grateful, or even
just, unless acts of subserviency and personal devoted-
ness are superadded. From you I expected bare justice,
but have been disappointed. I have found you my
accuser. In my vindication I have endeavored to
maintain a defensive line, and if I have gone beyond it
at any time, it has been done to repel unprovoked ag
gression. To your fame I have endeavored to be just.
I have been gratified with the many occasions I have
had to bear public testimony to your abilities and sig
nal services as a military commander in the field. It
has been, and under any change in our personal rela
tions, it will continue to be, my purpose to be liberal
in my appreciation of your distinguished military mer
its. In respect to your errors and your faults, though
I could not be blind, I regret that you have not permit
ted me to be silent."*
Confidential relations were naturally established be
tween President Polk and Governor Marcy, during the
war with Mexico ; and the latter exerted no small
degree of influence in the councils of the administra
tion affecting other questions and interests. He had a
full share in the settlement of the Oregon boundary ;
he approved of the tariff of 1846, concurred in the
general principles and views of Mr. Polk with regard
to internal improvements by the general government,
and advised a strict adherence to the old democratic
* Executive Document, No. 60 — House of Representatives, 1st ses
sion, 80th Congress — p. 1227.

604 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
doctrine of non-interference with the slavery question
in the states.
With the conservatives in New York, he supported
General Cass for the presidency in 1848 ; yet, judging
from his past course, and his political relations in for
mer years, he could not have been otherwise than grati
fied at the reunion of the two factions formerly com
posing the democratic party of the state, in the summer
and fall of 1850.
Upon the expiration of Mr. Polk's term, his cabinet
resigned, and Mr. Marcy resumed his former residence
at Albany, in the character of a private citizen. He is
still in the enjoyment of sound health, and in the full
vigor of his intellect. He has done the state some ser
vice; but whether she will again summon him to her
councils, is among the as yet undeveloped events which
the future can alone reveal. If such be his fortune,
however, he will, no doubt, do honor to himself and to
his adopted state ; and there will be many friends to
rejoice most sincerely in his success.
Governor Marcy has been twice married. His first
wife was a Miss Newell, a descendant of one of the
early settlers of Sturbridge ; his second wife was a
daughter of the late Benjamin Knower, formerly treas
urer of the state, and for a long time one of the most
active and influential politicians belonging to the demo
cratic party in the city of Albany.
As a private citizen, Governor Marcy has always
been held in high esteem, for his good example in the

CHARACTER AND ABILITIES. 605
fulfilment of social duties and obligations, for his public
spirit, and for his generous liberality. The Albany
Academy, and the Albany Female Seminary, have been
much indebted to him, for assistance as a patron, or
counsel and advice as a trustee.
In person he is rather above the ordinary height ;
his frame is stout and muscular, but not gross. His
forehead is bold and full ; his eyebrows heavy ; his
eyes deep-set and expressive ; and his mouth and chin
firmly moulded. His appearance altogether, is calcu
lated to impress a stranger favorably, both in respect
to his talents and his character. His manners are
affable and courteous ; free from pretence, yet dignified.
He possesses equanimity in a high degree, and a bon
homie as rare as it is captivating. His acquaintance
is really an enjoyment, and society is indebted to just
such men for its charms and attractions.
He is considered to be a strict party man, but frank
and honorable in his political course. Just before the
expiration of his last term as governor, and after his
defeat, he was solicited to call a special session of the
Senate, that the officers whose terms were about to
expire might resign, and be reappointed ; but he re
fused, to his honor, to comply with the request. He
has the reputation of being a shrewd political tactician,
and, probably, has never been surpassed in this respect,
by any of the politicians of New York, except, it may
be, Mr. Van Buren. Like him, while in public life, it
seems to have ever been his policy to prevent the get-

606 WILLIAM L. MARCY.
ting up of state issues to interfere with the success of
the democratic party of the nation. He is something
of an optimist in politics, regarding everything as for
the best, never disturbed by reverses, nor unduly elated
by good fortune. He is well fitted, too, to rough it, —
a desirable trait in a politician, for he has his dark days
as well as his holidays, and he finds the roses strewn in
his path often intermingled with thorns.
He is not a graceful speaker, though always interest
ing; nor fluent, except when fully prepared for the
occasion. But as a writer, he ranks deservedly high.
His style is strong, pure and perspicuous, and flowing
with true Addisonian ease and elegance. His state
papers are admirable compositions of their kind, and,
like those of Clarendon and Bolingbroke, will be re
membered for their intrinsic worth long after the sub
jects to which they relate have lost their importance.
His judgment of men and character rarely deceives
him. He is a careful observer, cautious, prudent, and
sagacious. His mind is practical; ne quid nimis—
there is nothing too much ; it is well-balanced, in noth
ing extraordinary, but in all respects above mediocrity,
— not perfect, but complete.

Terdh Gmemcr ofddcwhrk.
-LijfyJ'MiAdiri IHNassanS!

WILLIAM II. SEWARD.
An able writer, in a work recently published,* com
pares Daniel Webster, when resting after one of his
thrilling bursts of eloquence, to Hercules leaning on his
club. The name of the distinguished orator and poli
tician at the head of this memoir, suggests a different
picture, — that of the young Antinous, supporting him
self gracefully upon the slender spear with which he
has followed the chase. Webster wields the mighty
battle-axe of Richard, — Seward, the light scimitar of
Saladin. The one is a man of iron ; the other, a man
of soul. "Sympathy with his race, both with the mass
and the individual, with the virtuous and for the de
graded, with the happy and the unhappy, with the white
man and the black ; sympathy intense, unresting and
universal, is the secret of Seward's character."!.
The Seward family came originally from Wales, and
settled at a very early period in the province of New
Jersey. John Seward, the grandfather of the governor,
was a prominent citizen, and a leading whig, at the
opening of the great drama of the Revolution, and com-
* Magoun's Living Orators, p. 67.
•f Mrs. Maury's Statesmen of America, p. 31.

608 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
manded a regiment of militia, in the colonial service,
throughout the war. His son, Samuel S. Seward, the
father of Governor Seward, was educated as a physi
cian, and married Mary Jennings, the daughter of Isaac
Jennings, who was of Irish extraction, — a circumstance
that may have contributed, in no small degree, to ex
cite in the bosom of his descendant that sincere and
devoted attachment to the home of his maternal an
cestors, to "the green valleys of Ireland," to the great
cause of Irish Emancipation, and to the men who have
advocated and upheld it, or died in its defence, for which
he has been long distinguished.
Just before the close of the eighteenth century, Dr.
Seward removed with his family to Florida, in the
town of Warwick, Orange county, New York. Having
established himself there in practice, his business soon
became lucrative, and his reputation widely extended.
A goodly share of this world's wealth and honors fell
to his lot. He was conspicuous for his public spirit
and enterprise, for his kindness and liberality. He dis
pensed his charities with an open hand, and was a friend
to religion, to improvement, to progress. He was a
good scholar, passionately fond of reading and study,
and a beneficent patron of institutions of learning. He
was the founder ofthe Institute at Florida which bears
his name, and to the close of his life was deeply interest
ed in its prosperity. He held various offices of honor and
trust, and was for several years the first judge of Orange
county. Though eccentric in some of his notions, he

BIRTH AND EDUCATION. 609
was a good citizen, and, whether in a public or private
capacity, was honored and esteemed by his neighbors
and friends. He lived to a good old age, and went
down to his grave, in 1849, "like a sheaf of corn fully
ripe." William H. Seward was born at the residence of
his father, in Florida, on the 16th day of May, 1801.
His boyhood passed away unenlivened by incidents
of peculiar interest. A natural aptitude for learning,
quickness of observation, and vivacity of temperament
bordering upon enthusiasm, were the marked traits in
his character. The scenes and associations clustering
thick around his home in the Highlands —
" Those mountains, that Uke giants stand,
To sentinel enchanted land" —
imparted force, energy, and decision, to his mind ; and
the ancestral legends to which he listened, filled his
bosom with high thoughts and hopes of patriotic emu
lation. He inherited his father's love of letters and
philosophy, and imitating his example, resorted to the
well-springs of science for information, and from the
fountains of poesy, drank sweet inspiration. Superior
talents were early developed, and Genius threw over
him her robe, which, like the mantle of the prophet,
gifted him with her spirit and power.
Possessing rare advantages, he appears to have im
proved them well and wisely. He received the usual
academical education, in his native village, and at
39

610 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
Goshen, in the same county. Having fitted himself for
an advanced standing in Union College, he entered
that institution, in the fall of 1816, as a member of the
Sophomore class.
He was at this time but a mere lad, yet he had formed
habits of careful application. He was not so much a
laborious, as he was an attentive student. He studied
much, and read much. In the natural sciences he was
well versed, but he made himself particularly familiar
with the ancient and modern classics. Through the
wide field of English literature he wandered in search
of the true and the beautiful, and, culling the sweetest
and the brightest flowers, garnered them safely for
future years.
But something more is essential to the student, than
the mere knowledge derived from books. The educa
tion of the mind, said Quintilian, is as necessary to its
improvement, as is the cultivation of the ground to
insure fertility.* The mind is properly educated and
disciplined, only by means of thought. While this is
wanting, it is like the block of marble, gross and sense
less, waiting for the art and the genius of the sculptor
to bring out the beauty and grace of the hidden Apollo.
Without this, it is but a cold and inanimate rock, but
with it, endowed with life, vigor, and activity, and, like
the fabled statue in the East, uttering the glad Salamat
of welcome, as it catches the inspiration that quickens
* TJt si animum dicas excolendum, simUitudine utaris terree, qute
neglectasentes atque dumos, exculta fructus creat.— Instit. Ub. v., cap. xi.

STANDING AND CHARACTER AS A STUDENT. 611
and informs it. True eloquence was never yet the
handiwork of man, —
" For all a rhetorician's rules,
Teach nothing but to name his tools."
So of intellectual power, it is no mere device of human
invention. Books are, indeed, useful in their way and
place ; yet they but serve to introduce the scholar to
the great storehouse of Science. He must there choose
for himself, and Thought is the good angel that will
guide him aright.
Young Seward thought and read with his pen in
hand, lest Memory should drop a single one of the
jewels he had gathered on his literary pilgrimage. He
maintained a high standing among the first members
of his class, and, while he gained the esteem of his asso
ciates, secured the approbation of his instructors. In
January, 1819, being then in the last year of his colle
giate course, he withdrew from college for a year, both to
recruit his health, and because his friends did not deem
it advisable for him to graduate so young. Six months
of his absence from the classic shades of his Alma
Mater, were spent in the southern states ; and the ob
servations which he then made, may, not improbably,
have given character to the sentiments of his manhood
with reference to slavery, and, what he has expressively
termed, " the indefensible law of Physical Force."*
* Argument before the Supreme Court, in the case of Van Zandt
ads. Jones.

612 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
Returning from the south, Mr. Seward spent six
months in the study of the law at home. He then re
entered college, as a member of the class next his own,
now in the senior year, and finally graduated at the
annual commencement in 1820. Among his classmates
during the last year of his course, and with whom he
shared the highest honors of the institution, were Wil
liam Kent, formerly circuit judge, Dr. Laurens P.
Hickock, one of the professors in the Auburn Theolo
gical Seminary, Professor Tayler Lewis of the New
York University, and Archibald L. Linn, a distinguished
member of the bar at Schenectady, and a representa
tive in the 27th Congress.
The attractions and the duties of an active profes
sional and political career, have not rendered Mr. Sew
ard unmindful of his obligations to the institution at
which he received his education. In the welfare and
prosperity of Union College he has ever interested him
self, and has always felt rejoiced when circumstances
have permitted him to appear "on the old familiar cam
pus on commencement day." Nor, on the other hand,
has he been forgotten by the beloved mother whose
offspring are scattered all over the world, and yet are
not so numerous as to o'ertax her love. His memory
is still treasured in her halls, and the promise of his
youth is remembered in connection with the fame which
he has achieved. He has, also, brought the laurels
he had won, and laid them at her feet, while he ad
dressed words of counsel to those who filled the places

ADDRESS BEFORE THE PHI BETA KAPPA. 613
of himself and his associates, and, like them, were fit
ting for the world's high arena.
At the annual commencement in 1844, he delivered
the address before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Union
College, of which he was a member.* His theme was
" The Elements of Empire in America." It was well
chosen, and the address is marked by a chastened tone,
and an elevation of sentiment, not of rare occurrence,
nor yet always to be found, in his popular addresses.
The following passages, taken from the conclusion, are
among the most truly eloquent, though, perhaps, not
the most striking specimens of his style :
" We engage the obedience of the citizen, by intrusting him with a
constituent and equal part of that suffrage which keeps the entire ma
chine of government in operation. The baUot is put into his hand as a
weapon with which lie may peacefully guard against oppression, and
redress it We expect him, therefore, to acquiesce in the will of the
majority, and we know that at least he will be overborne by it This
is, I think, a true exposition of the principles of universal suffrage.
Our Declaration of Independence rejects altogether the theory that the
Right of Suffrage is a trust to be conferred on some, and withheld from
others, but asserts an absolute equaUty of natural and political right.
The ancient Egyptians had less veneration for kings than is exhibited
by the modern Europeans. The people of the Nile brought their sove
reigns to solemn trial after death ; but the kings of Europe pass no
poUtical ordeal in life, or after death. We bring aU our functionaries
to periodical account, and the continuance of their power depends on
their winning the popular verdict. If we gain no more by our system,
we secure at least this, the maintenance of Law and Order by popular
* The address was repeated, the same year, before the Literary
Society of Amherst College.

614 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
submission without force. "What Great Britain has expended to sup
port armies and navies in the last century would have been sufficient
to purchase her Eastern dominions. True, turbulence has sometimes
happened in populous cities, and more rarely even in agricultural dis
tricts. But what precious freedom has been enjoyed with these occa
sional disorders ! The mere impressment of seamen and soldiers
necessarily tolerated by every military people, annually produces
more misery and wretchedness than have flowed from all the com
motions and disorders which have happened in this republic. And
what country has been so much exempted from turbulence ? To argue
the weakness of laws because human passions sometimes revolt against
then- restraints would be to plead for absolute despotism. Besides, is
no time to be allowed us to perfect laws, and improve morals, in har
mony with institutions so new and pecuUar ?
'.' But popular suffrage is not without other advantages. It secures
generally an administration as wise and as beneficent at least, as any
other people enjoys. Popular elections certainly and periodically re
curring, are more effective in their influence upon magistrates than
even the terrors of the scaffold would be. Look through the catalogue
of Executive magistrates who have presided over the republic, and
answer whether a succession of wiser and better men have ever swayed
empire in ancient or modern times ! "We have combined a system of
universal public instruction with universal suffrage. It seems to us
that it would have been fortunate if the schoolmaster could always
have preceded the democratic constitution. But that could not be.
God hath not so willed, but hath willed generally the reverse. It
must suffice, therefore, if knowledge can be made to follow suffrage
fast enough to guaranty Uberty and public order.
" Volumes, profound volumes, have been written by philosophic
men, to prove the despotism of the popidar majority — the despotism
of the American majority. True, it is absolute. There must be power
somewhere and somehow to compel obedience. But did ever the
American majority issue lettres de cachet as did Louis XIV ? Did it
ever convict and immure citizens for conspiracy to obtain amendments
of the constitution by right of petition and the elective franchise, as has

ADDRESS BEFORE THE PHI BETA KAPrA. 615
been done in Great Britain within the present year ? The despotism
of the majority ! Why, the despot at least is changed often enough,
and with it the oppression. The majority of yesterday is the minor
ity of to-day. Yet, strange to say, this objection to our system is urged
at the same time and in the same breath with raiUery against the sup
posed inconsistency of popular opinion, rendering all the poUcy of gov
ernment capricious and vaciUating.
" These great principles of popular government, or, in other words,
of Popular Freedom, tend to save the State from civil commotion, and
to develop its energies, and ought to be ranked among the forces which
constitute our national strength.
" While we admit the general justice of European opinions of our
attainments in Science and Literature, we must be allowed to insist
that higher excellence wUl be reached, although the pretension is fre
quently derided. Certainly, American mind has made some progress
since the long dispute concerning its capacity began No critic now
asks, ' Who sees an American book ?' On the contrary, even in Europe
he would probably be thought not a very enlightened statesman who
had never studied an American Constitution, or read an American
state paper ; nor he a perfect scholar who had never read an American
book ; nor he a complete mechanic who was ignorant of all American
inventions. I do not parade names. But it seems to me that there
are speeches, histories, poems, and sermons, at least, which are not un
worthy to be ranked with English classics. Moreover, if I do not err,
the American press is beginning to be American, and is forming a
mind and a character not altogether imitative of European standards,
nor inferior to them. It must be so. Mind here is equal to mind else
where. Advantages of education are, or are certain to become, more
universal. Do you not see that instead of leaving public instruction to
the care of government, as has been done so unfortunately elsewhere,
and engaging, at most, only one religious sect in its behalf, that here
the people take the precious cause into their own care, and Presbyte
rian, and Episcopalian, and Baptist, and Methodist, and Trinitarian, and
Unitarian, and Protestant, and Catholic, and Jew, and GentUe sects
emulate each other in educating the people ? Society here i3 as certain

616 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
to want intellectual aliment as elsewhere, as it consumes more already
than is consumed elsewhere. If it be asked, why are we still inferior ?
The answer is obvious. Every community produces first what it most
needs. Physical labor and effort in the organization of society have
hitherto been most needed. Few deny that the Americans are becom
ing a commercial people. But it would be as pertinent to inquire
why London excels New York in trade, as it is to inquire why that
city is inferior to London in the cultivation of Science and the Arts.
" Religion is an indispensable agent in every society. But every
religion except Christianity has been a fraud, practiced by the state on
the consciences of the people, to induce blind obedience to civil author
ity, and often as blind hatred against other communities, and even mu
tual hatred between members of the same community, except in the
United States. Christianity, although incidentally promoting good
morals, has been generally made subservient to the same State policy.
How has it been for the last two hundred years even in Britain ?
Among us, and for the first time since the reign of Constantine, Chris
tianity has withdrawn from alliance with the civU power, and devoted
herself exclusively and assiduously to her great office of teaching mo
rality, virtue, and charity, and the hopes of immortality. Society is
already exhibiting the fruits of these instructions ; and here is to be
illustrated, at least, that unity of the Christian church which has been
an article in the creed of every sect, but apparently has been under
stood by none, an agreement of faith in the Redeemer of men — uniting
all the believers in a common hope of salvation, and yet permitting all
that diverseness of opinion and associations and forms of worship, that
the exercise of individual judgment upon even the oracles of divine
truth must ever produce. ' Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is
a reproach to any people.' A religion, then, thus pure, charitable, and
efficient, must have the first place among the elements of empire.
" The chief grace of nations and of men is moderation. It was this
that elevated Washington above comparison with Alexander, with
Csesar, with Cromwell, with all men. It was moderation that made
the reigns of Augustus and Hadrian golden ages of the Roman Empire,
and that of Alfred the most beneficent in the history of Britain. What

ADDRESS BEFORE THE PHI BETA KAPPA. 617
shall impart moderation to individual and national character if it
spring not from the elements of empire we have indicated ? Soon the
industrial spirit which now appears so mercenary wiU have diffused
oomforts and luxuries throughout society, and wiU be directed into
channels of beneficence. Be it remembered, that though the passion of
Avarice has its votaries in every society, masses are never mercenary,
nor is avarice even general, except when want is prevalent. Abstract
ly, man is not avaricious. Want, or the dread of it, generates cupidity.
Soon the schools we have founded, and the libraries we are establishing,
wUl produce an elevation of motives. Conscious dignity may well be
long to the American ; for the American citizen ' is he to whom the
highest has descended, and the lowest hath mounted up, who is the
equal and kindly brother of all.' Equanimity ought to distinguish a
people, who fear no danger from without, and dread no sedition. Mo
rality, and virtue, and benevolence, must prevail where Religion is
left free to her native and proper ministrations, else its preaching is
vain, and our hope is also vain. If I be not deceived, I can discover
all these influences already meliorating, elevating, and dignifying the
character of the American people.
" We have thus examined the condition of the people, with whom
as Patriots, it is our duty to labor. We cannot predict how soon, or
how great, or even of what nature, wiU be the harvest ; for who hath
tabled the long seasons through which nations pass ? And who can
predict their crimes, and the just judgments of God ? Nevertheless we
may humbly hope that the further development of these ' powers and
forces' of ' our estate,' with ' God's blessing upon our posterity,' may
tend at least to correct the sentiments of mankind concerning what
constitutes true National Greatness, the just end of Human Society ;
and that our example may in some measure lead to ' bring force under
thought, animal courage under the spiritual,' Freedom above Ambi
tion, and Humanity above Power.
" Gentlemen : These speculations may seem to you to be imbued
with the spirit of optimism. But optimism is essential to philanthropy.
You will be careful how you test political speculations more than Di
vine prophecies by evidences of their speedy fulfilment. If you can-

618 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
not discover the growth of the most vigorous plant but by noting its
height at intervals, think not that a hasty survey wUl ascertain the
progress of Human Society.
" The object of this discourse is not to minister to national pride, al
ready perhaps too much inflated ; but on an occasion when so many
of those who have summoned me here are entering on the busy stage
of life, it seems not unwise to direct their thoughts for an hour to the
destinies of their country, and to show them that ' far superior to the
mere objects of a grovelling ambition, and above all party and person
al considerations,' there are interests worthy of constant and undying
devotion. Scarcely do we assume our responsibilities as citizens, be
fore we perceive that Society is agitated by two contending elements,
which never combine — the spirit of Progress and the spirit of Conserv
atism. If we yield unresistingly to Progress, we hurry forward, reck
less of the suggestions of Fear and of the counsels of Experience ; and
madly plunge our countiy into Anarchy, from whence there is no
return but through the long, dark domain of despotism. If we sur
render ourselves to Conservatism, we fear to advance, though urged
forward by Humanity, and assured by Reason, that the way has all
been carefully explored. We hold our country back from her onward
course until she is crushed under institutions silently dilapidated by
the ever-flowing current of Time. The impulsive spirit wins the
young, the bold, and the generous. The retarding one, the timid,
the experienced, and the sagacious. They magnify the danger of ad
vance, while they do not conceive the impossibility of rest. To ' still
the noise of the waves and the tumults of the people,' is an attribute
of Almighty Power. Long opposition to popular impulses, which are
irresistible, and fruitless efforts to enforce regularity of which human
action is incapable, weary the impatient but well-meaning Conserva
tive, and he retires in the midst of his country's improvement and
prosperity, to complain of declining virtue and to forebode impending
calamities. Let us remember that both agencies, antagonistical as
'.hey seem, are one; and that they constitute the element of Social Im
provement, regulated in its action by the universal law of reciprocating
compensation. What seems the spirit of Progress, is the everlasting

STUDIES LAW. 619
inherent force of society, and the other is its rest, which is reaction ;
' as even spiritual music is only obtained from discords set in unison;
but for Evil there would be no Good ; and Victory is possible only by
Battle.'* "Thus believing, let us not indulge .the discouraging thought, how
ever Reverential, that our fathers were wiser or even better than we can
be ; or that other disheartening fear, that our children, or their chU
dren, will degenerate. Let us rather trust and hope in the Future.
within whose veil Providence directs that every anchor shall be cast.
Let us be assured that although the foundations of Empire are laid in
our country, we may in some small degree at least shape the great
superstructure ; and that although the career of civilization is well be
gun, yet it Bhall end only with Time, and that even our feeble hands
may somewhat regulate its velocity and guide its course.
" If such belief were less philosophical, I still would cliug to it ; for
man with powers fur beneficence, but without occasion for their exer
cise, would of all beings be most miserable. Let others choose a differ
ent course : as for me, if I must err, let me not droop in the gloomy
shades of Despondency, but rather ' let me lose my way in the sunlit
illusions of Affection, of Patriotism, and of Philanthropy.' "
After leaving college, Mr. Seward pursued the study
of the law, in the city of New York, with John An-
thon, well and widely known as one of the ablest and
most sagacious counsellors in the chief commercial
city of the state and union ; and completed his term
of clerkship with John Duer and Ogden Hoffman, who
were then practicing the law at Goshen. Both those
gentlemen have since risen to distinction : the former
has been for many years one of the leading and most
talented members of the New York bar, and now
adorns the bench of the Superior Court, with his
* Carlyle.

620 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
learning, his virtues, and his integrity ; the latter has
distinguished himself as a member of Congress, has
been District Attorney of the southern district of New
York, and has gained the highest honors of his profes
sion as the reward of his skill and eloquence as an
advocate. For about six months previous to the expiration of
his clerkship, Mr. Seward was associated in practice
with his preceptor, Mr. Hoffman. He was duly ad
mitted to the bar, at the October Term of the Supreme
Court, in 1822, and shortly after made preparations to
locate permanently in western New York. Having
visited Auburn, then a small but thriving village, he
was pleased with the situation and prospects of the
town, and concluded to establish himself there. This
has continued to be his place of residence, except for
brief periods, up to the present time.
He commenced the practice of the law in Auburn,
on the 1st day of January, 1823, without the assistance
of influential friends, and with no patronage except the
declining business of Elijah Miller, for some years pre
vious a leading politician, and a prominent member of
the bar in the county, who was then withdrawing from
his profession, and whose daughter Mr. Seward after
ward married. The dependence of the latter was upon
himself, — upon his native energy of character, upon the
rich intellectual endowments with which nature had
gifted him, and upon a mind well instructed and a
judgment well disciplined. With such advantages

PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS. 621
and supports on which to rely, and thus fitted for the
championship of the bar, he entered upon his profes
sional career.
The profession of the law is an honorable one. Its
study is calculated to strengthen and expand the mind ;
and its practice, if pursued in the love of justice and
of truth, will elevate the heart and fill it with noble
aspirations. Its themes are as inspiriting as those pre
sented to the competitors in the Odeum during the fes
tival of the Panathenaea ; and if, as a profound philoso
pher has intimated, the highest powers of oratory are
called forth only in the defence of the right,* the advo
cate has the best of motives to arouse and stimulate
his eloquence. Its honors and its triumphs are suffi
cient to satisfy any man's ambition ; and its rewards,
when fairly earned, like the civic crown of Augustus,
are the perpetual memorials of good and worthy deeds.
Its temptations, indeed, are as seductive as the prizes
which it offers are brilliant ; " the shining fruit," as the
apples from the garden of the Hesperides, often allure
the unwary ; but he whom virtue has panoplied, is
proof against enticement, and, pressing boldly forward,
is almost sure to win the bright coronal of fame.
Mr. Seward rose rapidly to eminence at the bar.
At an age when most lawyers are dreaming of future
success, he was reposing on his laurels. His competi
tors were men of high character and talents, but he
soon equalled or outstripped them all. Ambitious to
* Bacon, De Aug. Sci., Ub. vi., cap. iii.

622 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
excel, persevering and industrious, he proved a formi
dable antagonist when opposed to those who were far
more experienced than himself. He was well grounded
in the great fundamental principles of legal science,
and ample preparation, both in thought and study, was
given by him to every cause, before trial or argument.
With fidelity to the interests of his clients, he united
that honorable bearing which is so bright an ornament
in the professional character. His rivalry was earnest,
but high-minded ; striving zealously for superiority, but
remembering that success, if sullied by dishonor, is
worse than defeat.
In argumentative, pathetic, or declamatory eloquence,
he was excelled by few of his contemporaries. In the
trial of causes he was not unusually skilful ; but in
swaying the minds and judgments of a jury, he had
great success. His appeals in behalf of the wronged
and oppressed, in defence of injured innocence, and in
vindication of those who had been unjustly assailed,
were eloquent and impassioned, and powerfully affected
the sympathies and sensibilities of his hearers.
Until within a comparatively recent period, no par
ticular attention has been paid, either in England or
America, to the preservation of the best specimens of
legislative and forensic eloquence. Mr. Pitt once said,
that a speech of Bolingbroke was a greater desideratum
than any of the lost treasures of ancient literature ;
and we of a later age, might almost say the same of
the gifted premier of England and his gifted sire, — for

FORENSIC ELOftUENCE. 623
their fame rests rather upon tradition than upon the
fragments of speeches which have been handed down
to us. We have most of the brilliant efforts of Curran
and Erskine, but scarce anything of their distinguished
rivals and compeers, of Buller or Eldon, of Ellenborough
or Clare. History tells us of the effect produced by
the eloquence of Otis, Adams, and Lee, but presents no
examples that we may judge of its character. Parsons
and Dexter, Hamilton, Burr, and Livingston, Harper
and Pinkney, were long the ornaments of the Amer
ican bar, yet their oratory is but little more than a
memory. The arguments and speeches of Mr. Seward at the
bar, which have been preserved, are not numerous, and
most of them are of recent date. One of his best ef
forts was made in the case of The People against Free
man, on behalf of the defendant, who was tried for
murder at the Cayuga circuit, in July, 1846. The
offence was apparently of a most aggravated charac
ter ; the prisoner, who was a colored man, and had
been a convict in the state prison, had slain nearly a
whole family, — a Mr. Van Nest, his wife (who was
enceinte), their young child, and the mother of Mrs. Van
Nest ; and, under such circumstances, it was, perhaps,
but natural that popular prejudice should be exceed
ingly strong against the accused. It was thought by
some that the prisoner was insane, and Mr. Seward
became convinced, in his own mind, that this was
really the case. He therefore volunteered to defend

624 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
him. The preliminary issue, as to the sanity of the
prisoner, was first tried ; and the jury decided that he
was sane enough to be tried, although they could not
conscientiously say he was of sound mind. He was
then tried on the indictment for murder, and the de
fence of insanity was again set up, but it proved inef
fectual. The prisoner was convicted, in spite of the
eloquent efforts of his counsel, yet in a few weeks he
died, while still in confinement, a confirmed and un
doubted lunatic. The following are extracts from the
address of Mr. Seward to the jury, in summing up the
evidence on the main trial :
" For WiUiam Freeman, as a murderer, I have no commission to
speak. If he had sUver and gold accumulated with the frugality of
Crcesus, and should pour it all at my feet, I would not stand an hour
between him and the Avenger. But for the innocent, it is my right,
my duty to speak. If this sea of blood was innocently shed, then it is
my duty to stand beside him until his steps lose their hold upon the
scaffold. * * *
" I plead not for a murderer. I have no inducement, no motive to
do so. I have addressed my fellow-citizens in many various relations,
when rewards of wealth and fame awaited me. I have been cheered
on other occasions, by manifestations of popular approbation and sym
pathy ; and where there was no such encouragement, I had at least
the gratitude of him whose cause I defended. But I speak now in the
hearing of a People who have prejudged the prisoner, and condemned
me for pleading in his behalf. He is a convict, a pauper, a negro, with
out intellect, sense, or emotion. My child, with an affectionate smile,
disarms my care-worn face of its frown whenever I cross my threshold.
The beggar in the street obliges me to give, because he says ' God
bless you,' as I pass. My dog caresses me with fondness if I wiU but
smile on him. My horse recognizes me when I fill his manger. But

DEFENCE OF FREEMAN. 625
what reward, what gratitude, what sympathy and affection can I ex
pect here ? There the prisoner sits. Look at him. Look at the as
semblage around you. Listen to their ill-suppressed censures and
their excited fears, and teU me where among my neighbors or my fel
low-men, where even in his heart, I can expect to find the sentiment,
the thought, not to say of reward or of acknowledgment, but even of
recognition. I sat here for two weeks during the preliminary trial.
I stood here between the prisoner and the jury nine horns, and pleaded
for the wretch that he was insane, and did not even know he was on
trial : and when all was done, the jury thought, at least eleven of them
thought, that I had been deceiving them, or was self-deceived. They
read signs of intelligence in his idiotic smile, and of cunning and malice
in his stolid insensibility. They rendered a verdict that he was sane
enough to be tried— a contemptible compromise verdict in a capital
case ; and then they looked on, with what emotions God and they
only know, upon his arraignment. The district attorney, speaking in
his adder ear, bade him rise, and reading to him one indictment, asked
him whether he wanted a trial ; and the poor fool answered, No.»-
Have you Counsel T No.— And they went through the same mockery,
the prisoner giving the same answers, until a third indictment was
thundered in his ears ; and he stood before the court, silent, motionless,
and bewildered. Gentlemen, you may think of this evidence what you
please, bring in what verdict you can; but I asseverate before Heaven
and you, that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the prisoner at
the bar does not at this moment know why it is that my shadow falls
on you instead of his own.
" I speak with all sincerity and earnestness ; not because I expect
my opinion to have weight, but I would disarm the injurious impression
that I am speaking, merely as a lawyer speaks for his client. I am
not the prisoner's lawyer. I am, indeed, a volunteer in his behalf ; but
Society and Mankind have the deepest interests at stake. I am the
lawyer for Society, for Mankind, shocked beyond .the power of expres
sion, at'the scene I have witnessed here of trying a Maniac as a Male
factor. * * *
" The learned gentlemen who conduct this prosecution have attempted
40

626 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
to show that the prisoner attended the trial of Henry Wyatt, whom I
defended against an indictment for murder, in this Court, in February
last ; that he listened to me on that occasion in regard to the impunity
of crime, and that he went out a ripe and complete scholar. So far as
these reflections affect me alone, they are unworthy of an answer. I
pleaded for Wyatt then, as it was my right and my duty to do. Let
the counsel for the people prove the words I spoke, before they charge
me with Freeman's crimes. I am not unwilling those words should be
recaUed. I am not unwiUing that any words I ever spoke in any re
sponsible relation should be remembered. Since they wiU not recall
those words, I will do so for them. They were words Uke those I
speak now, demanding cautious and impartial justice ; words appealing
to the reason, to the consciences, to the humanity of my fellow-men ;
words calculated to make mankind know and love each other better,
and adopt the benign principles of Christianity, instead of the long-
cherished maxims of retaliation and revenge. Regardless as I have
been of the unkind construction of my words and actions by my co
temporaries, I can say in all humiUty of spirit, that they are freely left
to the ultimate, impartial consideration of mankind. You have now
the fate of this lunatic in your hands. To him as to me, so far as we
can judge, it is comparatively indifferent what shall be the issue. For
aught that we can judge, the prisoner is unconscious of danger, and
would be insensible to suffering, let it come when it might. A verdict
can only hasten or retard, by a few months or years, the time when
his bruised, diseased, wandering and benighted spirit, shall return to
Him who sent it forth on its sad and dreary pilgrimage.
" The circumstances under which this trial closes are pecuUar. I
have seen capital cases where the parents, brothers, sisters, friends of
the accused, surrounded him, eagerly hanging upon the Ups of his ad
vocate, and watching, in the countenances of the court and jury, every
smile and frown which might seem to indicate his fate. But there is
no such scene here. The prisoner, though in the greenness of youth,
is withered, decayed, senseless, almost lifeless. He has no father here.
The descendant of slaves, that father died a victim to the vices of a
superior race. There is no mother here, for her child is stained and

ADDRESS TO THE JURY. 627
poUuted with the blood of mothers and of a Bleeping infant ; and he
' looks and laughs 60 that she cannot bear to look upon him.' There is
no brother, nor sister, nor friend here. Popular rage against the ac
cused has driven them hence, and scattered his kindred and people.
On the other side I notice the aged and venerable parents of Van Nest
and his surviving children, and all around are mourning and sympa
thizing friends. I know not at whose instance they have come. I dare
not say they ought not to be here. But I must say to you that we live
in a Christian and not in a savage state, and that the affliction which has
fallen upon these mourners and upon us, was sent to teach them and us,
mercy, and not retaliation; that although we may send this maniac
to the scaffold, it will not recaU to life the manly form of Van Nest,
nor reanimate the exhausted frame of that aged matron, nor restore to
life, and grace, and beauty, the murdered mother, nor call back the
infant boy from the arms of his Savior. Such a verdict can do no good
to the living, and carry no joy to the dead. If your judgment shall be
swayed at all by sympathies so wrong, although so natural, you wiU
find the saddest hour of your Ufe to be that in which you will look
down upon the grave of your victim, and ' mourn with compunctious
sorrow,' that you should have done so great mjustice to the ' poor hand
ful of earth that wiU lie mouldering before you.'
" I have been long and tedious. I remember that it is the harvest
moon, and that every hour is precious while you are detained from
your yellow fields. But if you shall have bestowed patient attention
throughout this deeply interesting investigation, and shall in the end
have discharged your duties in the fear of God and in the love of truth,
justly and independently, you will have laid up a store of blessed
recoUections for all your future days, imperishable and inexhaustible."
Mr. Seward has been more or less actively engaged
in his professional pursuits, except while he was governor
of the state, ever since he first commenced practice.
During his residence at the seat of government, and
in the intervals of relaxation from his executive duties,

628 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
he went back to the fountains of legal lore, and re
freshed and reinvigorated his mind. Opportunities for
study and reflection were afforded him, of which he
carefully availed himself. In general literature he be
came still more of a proficient, and he added a great
deal to his stock of professional learning. When,
therefore, he returned to the bar, in 1842, he brought
with him, not additional experience, but improved
mental powers and capacity, that have sustained him,
creditably and honorably, on occasions such as he had
never before enjoyed for the display of his talents.
He now stands, confessedly, in the front rank of the
members of the New York bar ; and in the courts of
the United States he has met the ablest lawyers in the
Union. His learning and accomplishments have ap
peared in contrast, not unfavorably to him, in the Su
preme Court at Washington, with those of Webster
and Clay, of Jones and Sergeant and Crittenden. In
his contests with such antagonists his intellectual ener
gies have been severely taxed, but each new trial
seems to have developed increased strength and power.
Of late years his time and attention have been taken
up, in a considerable degree, by a number of important
causes in the district and circuit courts, and in the
Supreme Court of the United States, growing out of
alleged infringements of patents for inventions. These
he has managed with great ability, and generally with
good success. At the Cayuga circuit, in February,
1846, he defended Henry Wyatt, who was charged

POLITICAL COURSE. 629
with the murder of a fellow-convict in the state prison
at Auburn ; and in 1847, he argued the case of Jones
against Van Zandt, before the Supreme Court of the
United States, suit having been brought against his
client, the defendant, to recover the penalty, under the
act of 1793, for harboring and concealing a fugitive
slave. While Mr. Seward was a student at law, his political
sympathies were with the republican party, and, as be
tween the two factions, he was probably more friendly
to the bucktails than to their opponents. The doc
trines of which Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe had
been the representatives, and which the Clintons,
Tompkins, and Van Buren, had defended in the state
of New York, were those which he was led, by his
early associations, to espouse. Admiration of the per
sonal character of DeWitt Clinton he always cherished,
and after his removal to western New York, when he
saw the practical results of the canal policy which the
former had advocated, he was induced to adopt the
views of that eminent citizen in regard to internal im
provements, and they have ever since influenced his
political course and conduct. With reference to the
electoral law question in 1824, he also coincided with
Mr. Clinton, and in that year he separated from the
republican party of the state, then under the guidance
of Mr. Van Buren, and became one of the most ardent
supporters of his distinguished rival.
Opposition to the extension of slavery in the United

630 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
States beyond its original limits, and to the increase or
strengthening of the slave power, have ever been car
dinal doctrines in the political creed of Mr. Seward.
His opinions on this subject were formed during the
protracted controversy and agitation upon the admis
sion of Missouri into the Union, and subsequent events,
instead of modifying, have tended to confirm them.
He then thought that the republicans of New York had
manifested too much subserviency to what he con
sidered Southern dictation, and, rejecting the idea that
the republican party of the North was the natural
ally of the South, he was not disposed to make further
concessions. What had been already conceded, he
was willing should remain undisturbed ; but to yield
more, he thought was both unwise and unnecessary.
For nearly a quarter of a century following the ad
ministration of the elder Adams, the executive power
of the Union had been in the hands of persons residing
in the slave-holding states, — republicans, indeed, of the
straitest sect, but inclined, by education and associa
tion, to favor the section of the confederacy^ which
they had always resided, and its peculiar institutions.
When, therefore, the time came for choosing a suc
cessor to Mr. Monroe, among the number of those who
desired that a change should be made in this respect,
w*as Mr. Seward. There were several candidates for
the presidency brought forward by their respective
friends in different sections, all of whom claimed to be
republicans. The views and measures which John

SUPPORT OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 631
Quincy Adams was understood to have advocated in
the cabinet of Mr. Monroe, particularly as they favored
a more liberal construction of the federal constitution
than was generally tolerated in the old republican party,
received the hearty approbation of Mr. Seward : this
concurrence in sentiment was followed by admiration
for the man, and when the chances and changes of po
litical life threw them together, a warm attachment was
formed, which did not terminate with the mortal ex
istence of his friend, but still clings, undiminished in
force and intensity, to his memory.
During the entire period that Mr. Adams served in
the popular branch of the national legislature, subse
quent to his retirement from the presidential chair,
Mr. Seward regarded his course with mingled senti
ments of love, admiration, and reverence. His bold
ness in opposing the extension of slavery, and in de
fending the right of petition and the freedom of speech,
and the tenacity with which he adhered to his prin
ciples, established a common bond of sympathy that
was never broken. Though they may have differed
upon minor points of detail or expediency, — where
great .and important interests were at stake, affecting
the relations of the non-slaveholding states, or concern
ing the rights and liberties of the citizen, whether bond
or free, their aims and their sympathies pointed in the
same direction.
In the summer of 1843, Mr. Adams visited Lebanon
Springs, Saratoga, and Niagara Falls, by the Cham-

632 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
plain and Canada route ; and on his return to Massa
chusetts, he travelled through the state of New York,
by railroad, from Buffalo to Albany. At all the prin
cipal towns and cities through which he passed, he was
welcomed with high honors, and his journey became a
continued ovation. Mr. Seward was selected by the
citizens of Auburn, without distinction of party, to ad
dress the venerable sage and statesman on their behalf,
— a duty which he discharged with his accustomed
ability and eloquence.
A few years later, and all that was mortal of the
younger Adams was laid beside his father in the burial-
ground at Quincy. One of the first to do honor to the
dead, and to lay his tribute of respect upon the grave
of one whom all delighted to honor, was his political
and personal friend, Mr. Seward. Shortly after the
decease of Mr. Adams, in 1848, upon the invitation of
the legislature of New York, the former pronounced an
admirable eulogy before that body.* This is one of
the happiest efforts of his genius, and, perhaps, may
with justice be characterized as the best specimen of
his style, so far as concerns his popular addresses. It
is a labored effort, highly ornate, and, in some<pf its
passages, may be called florid. Yet the author has en
tirely avoided that turgidity of manner and style to
* Mr. Seward also commenced the preparation of a popular memoir
of Mr. Adams, but, on account of the pressure of his other engage
ments, he was unable to finish it. It was afterwards completed by a
friend, and in that shape was published at Auburn.

EULOGY ON THE DEATH OF ADAMS. 633
which men of his enthusiastic temperament and acute
sensibilities are inclined to be partial, and from which
the productions of his pen cannot be said to be wholly
exempt. The whole eulogy is beautiful, impressive, and elo
quent, but the crowning gem is the conclusion, in
which he contrasts the career and death of Adams with
the fate of Napoleon. The former, he said, devoted
himself to the service of mankind, from motives of
beneficence, and at every period of his varied and dis
tinguished career was content--*whether president,
minister, representative, or citizen. He then continued :
" Stricken in the midst of this service, in the very act of rising to
debate, he feU into the arms of conscript fathers of the Republic. A
long lethargy supervened and oppressed his senses. Nature ralUed
the wasting powers, on the verge of the grave, for a very brief period.
But it was long enough for him. The rekindled eye showed that the
re-collected mind was clear, calm, and vigorous. His weeping family,
and his sorrowing compeers were there. He surveyed the scene and
knew at once its fatal import. He had left no duty unperformed ; he
had no wish unsatisfied ; no ambition unattained ; no regret, no sorrow,
no fear, no remorse. He could not shake off the dews of death that
gathered on his brow. He could not pierce the thick shades that rose
up before him. But he knew that eternity lay close by the shores of
time. He knew that his Redeemer Uved. Eloquence, even in that
hour, inspired him with his ancient sublimity of utterance. ' This,'
said the dying man, ' This is the last of Earth ;' — he paused for z
moment, and then added, — ' I am Content !' — Angels might well draw
aside the curtains of the skies to look down on such a scene, — a scene
that approximated even to that scene of unapproachable subUmity, not
to be recalled without reverence, when, in mortal agony, One Wh*
spake as never man spake, said — ' It is finisheo I'

634 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
" Only two years after the birth of John Quincy Adams, there ap
peared on an island in the Mediterranean Sea, a human spirit newly
born, endowed with equal genius, without the regulating qualities of
justice and benevolence which Adams possessed in an eminent degree.
A like career opened to both — born Uke Adams, a subject of a king —
the child of more genial skies, like him, became in early life a patriot
and a citizen of a new and great Republic. Like Adams he lent his
service to the State in precocious youth, and in its hour of need, and
won its confidence. But unlike Adams he could not wait the dull de
lays of slow and laborious, but sure advancement. He sought power
by the hasty road that leads through fields of carnage, and he became,
like Adams, a supreme magistrate, a Consul. But there were other
Consuls. He was not content. He thrust them aside, and was Consul
alone. Consular power was too short. He fought new battles, and
was Consul for life. But power, confessedly derived from the people,
must be exercised in obedience to their will, and must be resigned to
them again, at least in death. He was not content. He desolated
Europe afresh, subverted the Republic, imprisoned the patriarch who
presided over Rome's comprehensive See, and obliged him to pour on
his head the sacred oil that made the persons of kings divine, and
their right to reign indefeasible. He was an Emperor. But he saw
around him a mother, brothers, and sisters, not ennobled ; whose hum
ble state reminded him, and the world, that he was born a plebeian •
and he had no heir to wait impatient for the Imperial Crown. He
scourged the earth again, and again fortune smiled on him even in his
wild extravagance. He bestowed kingdoms and principaUties on his
kindred— put away the devoted wife of his youthful days, and another,
a daughter of Hapsburgh's imperial house, joyfully accepted his proud
alliance. Offspring gladdened his anxious sight ; a diadem was placed
on its infant brow, and it received the homage of princes, even in its
cradle. Now he was indeed a monarch— a legitimate monarch— a
monarch by divine appointment— the first of an endless succession of
monarchs. But there were other monarchs who held sway in the
earth. He was not content. He would reign with his kindred alone.
He gathered new and greater armies— from his own land— from subju-

EULOGY ON THE DEATH OE ADAMS. 635
gated lands. He caUed forth the young and brave — one from every
household — from the Pyrenees to Zuyder Zee — from Jura to the ocean.
He marshalled them into long and majestic columns, and went forth to
seize that universal dominion, which seemed almost within his grasp.
But ambition had tempted fortune too far. The nations of the earth
resisted, repelled, pursued, surrounded him. The pageant was ended.
Tlie crown fell from his presumptuous head. The wife who had wed
ded him in his pride, forsook him when the hour of fear came upon
him. His child was ravished from his sight. His kinsmen were de
graded to their first estate, and he was no longer Emperor, nor Consul,
nor General, nor even a citizen, but an exile and a prisoner, on a lonely
island in the midst of the wild Atlantic. Discontent attended him
there. The wayward man fretted out a few long years of his yet un
broken manhood, looking off at the earliest dawn and in evening's latest
twilight, towards that distant world that had only just eluded his
grasp. His heart corroded. Death came, not unlocked for, though it
came even then unwelcome. He was stretched on his bed within the
fort which constituted his prison. A few fast and faithful friends stood
around, with the guards who rejoiced that the hour of relief from long
and wearisome watching was at hand. As his strength wasted away,
delirium stirred up the brain from its long and inglorious inactivity. The
pageant of ambition returned. He was again a Lieutenant, a General,
a Consul, an Emperor of France. He filled again the throne of Char
lemagne. His kindred pressed around him again, reinvested with the
pompous pageantry of royalty. The daughter of the long line of kings
again stood proudly by his side, and the sunny face of his child shone
out from beneath the diadem that encircled its flowing locks. The
marshals of the Empire awaited his command. The legions of the Old
Guard were in the field, their scarred faces rejuvenated, and their
ranks, thinned in many battles, replenished. Russia, Prussia, Austria,
Denmark, and England, gathered their mighty hosts to give him bat
tle. Once more he mounted his impatient charger, and rushed forth to
conquest. He waved his sword aloft, and cried " Tete d'Aejjee !"
The feverish vision broke — the mockery was ended. The silver cord

636 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
was loosed, and the warrior feU back upon his bed a Ufeless corpse.
This was the last of earth. The Coksioan waji not Content.
" Statesmen and Citizens ! the contrast suggests its own impressive
moral." Mr. Seward supported Mr. Adams in the presidential
contest of 1824, and approved of all the prominent
measures of his administration. The policy which
Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay advocated at Washington,
found in him an able and zealous defender. He con
sidered the Panama Mission one of sympathy and en
couragement to the South American states who had
thrown off the yoke of their foreign rulers, and as such
deserving the hearty approval of every sincere friend
of liberty. He regarded the American system with
favor ; and he became the warm advocate of a protec
tive tariff, and of a liberal system of internal improve
ments to be conducted and carried on by the general
government. Among the Adams' men and Clintonians in the
county of Cayuga, Mr. Seward was conspicuous, with
in a short time after he took up his residence at Auburn.
Ardent in his attachments, talented, energetic, perse
vering and enthusiastic, he was a desirable accession
to any party ; and in respect of position and influence,
he soon stood in the foremost rank of his political
friends and associates. They were in the minority,
however, in the county, whose politics received their
tone in a great degree from Mr. Throop ; and had he
desired official honors and distinctions, it would have

NOMINATED FOR SURROGATE. 637
been impossible to secure them except they were at
the disposal of the state government.
At the request of his friends, he consented to become
an applicant for the office of Surrogate, in the fall of
1827 ; and during the extra session of the legislature-
he was nominated for that office by Governor Clinton.
It was well understood, at this time, by the leading
politicians in the state, that Mr. Clinton was decided
in his opposition to Mr. Adams, and that he had deter
mined to support General Jackson at the ensuing presi
dential election. Most of the nominations which he
made were more or less influenced by this considera
tion ; yet he was by no means disposed to forget the
friends who had stood by him so long and so faithfully
in the crisis of his fortunes, even though they disagreed
with him upon national questions.* Still, it does not
appear that many regrets were ever expressed by him,
or those whom he admitted to his confidence, because
his nominations were so frequently rejected by the
Bucktail majority in the Senate.
In 1827, a very large proportion of the members of
the Senate were Bucktails, and most of them, too, were
Jackson men, and thoroughly devoted to Mr. Van Bu
ren. The appointment of Mr. Seward, whose par
tiality for Mr. Adams was never concealed, was op-
* In the eastern part of the state there were many Clintonian Jack-
Bon men, but there were very few in western New York ; and, in his
nominations for that section of the state, Mr. Clinton was generally
obUged to select Adams men.

638 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
posed by the friends of Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Throop
in Cayuga county, and, consequently, the Senate re
fused to concur in the nomination. Governor Clinton
made a second nomination, but this shared the same
fate, and after his death, the acting governor, Mr. Pit
cher, who was a Jackson man, conferred the office on
John Porter, then and subsequently a prominent demo
crat in the county.
The canvass for the presidency, in 1828, commenced
early in New York. The electors were, for the first
time, to be chosen by the popular suffrage, and, there
fore, a far deeper interest in the issue of the contest
was manifested by the voters in the state. Among the
young men belonging to both political parties, this
feeling exhibited itself in a manner previously unknown.
They held separate county and state conventions, and
although they did not assume to make nominations,
they indorsed those of their seniors, and adopted plans
of action calculated to secure unity of effort, to arouse
the energies of their respective parties, and to bring
out their whole strength at the polls. The state con
vention of the young men attached to the national re
publican party was the first of the kind ever held in
the state. It was a numerous assemblage, consisting
of over four hundred delegates, and it remained several
days in session.
Mr. Seward was a delegate from the county of
Cayuga, and was chosen president of the convention.
It was the object of himself and his associates to aid

YOUNG MEN'S STATE CONVENTION. 639
in the reelection of Mr. Adams, and to sustain Mr.
Clay, whose political fortunes were then identified with
those ofthe chief magistrate. They were unsuccessful,
however ; the administration party was defeated, and
Mr. Adams gave place to General Jackson. But the
convention was not entirely futile or ineffectual. It
called out from the quiet pursuits of agriculture, from
the avocations of a professional or mercantile life, a
large number of intelligent, energetic, and efficient
young men ; it brought them into action ; it made
them more intimately acquainted with each other, and
quickened and aroused feelings of honorable emulation.
They had youth, enthusiasm, and ambition. One fail
ure did not dishearten them, but they continued to
persevere till success crowned their exertions. Their
influence was soon felt in the politics of the state and
nation ; under their auspices, and in great part through
their instrumentality, the whig party of the union was
formed ; and at the expiration of a single decade, the
youthful delegate who presided in this convention of
young men, became the governor of New York.
It would scarcely be proper to say that Mr. Seward
was an original antimason ; that is, he was not one of
those who first attempted to make this a test question
at the polls. Yet, as a member of the community, he
felt outraged at the abduction and probable murder of
Morgan, and he heartily sympathized with the antima
sons in their efforts to put down an institution which
he believed to be objectionable in its character and

640 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
dangerous in its tendency. His motives, it is claimed
by his friends, were pure and patriotic, and his opinions
were honestly entertained.
He made no concealment of his views with reference
to the Morgan conspiracy and the masonic institution,
and it was well known in 1828 that he was an anti-
mason in sentiment, though he continued to act with
the Adams party proper. The antimasons in the
county of Cayuga supported a separate ticket at the
fall election in that year, and Mr. Seward was nomi
nated, in the first place, as their candidate for Congress.
The nomination was entirely unsolicited on his part,
and as he felt bound to support the candidates brought
forward by his old political friends, he promptly de
clined it. He voted for the national republican ticket, •
being influenced in his course by general political con
siderations ; but, at the same time, he felt well assured
that the candidates whom he supported coincided with
him, in opinion, in regard to antimasonry.
After the defeat of Mr. Adams in 1828, the national
republican party in the western counties of New York
was virtually disbanded. Mr. Van Buren and his
friends were now in power, and though they did not
attempt to shield the abductors of Morgan from pun
ishment, they refused to take ground as party men
against the masonic institution. The national repub
licans, therefore, in western New York, who thought
with Mr. Seward, naturally united with the antimasons.
From this period we may date Mr. Seward's con-

ANTIMASONRY. 641
nection with the antimasonic party as a political or
ganization. This party, at the beginning, was a pow
erful one, in numbers as well as in influence, in the
section of the state where it may be said to have
originated ; and it presented in its leaders a strong
array of names, then conspicuous in talents and posi
tion, and who afterward became distinguished in the
politics of the country. Among them was Mr. Sew
ard, and for his associates and coadjutors, he had such
men as Millard Fillmore, who now fills the office of
President of the United States, Francis Granger, Wil
liam H. Maynard, Frederick Whittlesey, Bates Cooke,
and Thurlow Weed.
Liberal accessions from both the two great parties
swelled the antimasonic party to very respectable pro
portions. From the fact that the democrats were in
power, and refused to adopt the measures which the
former proposed for the complete overthrow of the
masonic society, they were naturally led to sympathize
with the Adams and Clay men, or the national repub
licans. Toward Mr. Adams, indeed, the antimasons
were quite partial, but much less so toward Mr. Clay,
because he was a mason. For several years, the op
position party in western New York, and in one or
two of the eastern counties, was the antimasonic party;
and in the other sections of the state the national re
publicans composed the opposition to the democratic
national and state administrations. In some counties
they occasionally acted in concert upon the local
41

642 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
tickets, and in 1830 they supported the same candidates
for governor and lieutenant-governor. Mr. Seward
favored the union of the national republicans and anti
masons at an early day, though this was never effected
till 1832, when most of the national republicans who
were adhering masons, or still attached in feeling to
the institution, separated from their former friends and
joined the Jackson party.
At the annual election in 1829, the national repub
licans and antimasons in western New York supported
different candidates in many instances, and, conse
quently, were defeated where they would otherwise
have been successful ; but in 1830, they profited by
the experience of the past, and united both upon the
state ticket, and, generally, upon the local tickets.
Mr. Seward was a delegate to the antimasonic state
nominating convention of that year, from the county
of Cayuga. He also received the nomination of his
party for state Senator from the seventh district, com
prising the counties of Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca,
Ontario, Wayne, and Yates. This honor was confer
red upon him without solicitation on his part, and, in
deed, without his knowledge, as he was absent from
home at the time of the assembling of the senatorial
convention. The administration party presented a popular candi
date, in the person of David McNeil of Ontario county ;
and it was evident that the success of Mr. Seward
would depend wholly upon the union of the antima-

ELECTED TO THE STATE SENATE. 643
sons and national republicans in his support. In
1828, the district had given a majority of fifteen hun
dred for the Adams candidate, who received the votes
of the antimasons; but in 1829, there were three
tickets, and the democrats elected their Senator by
three thousand majority over the highest of his oppo
nents. In 1830, however, the national republicans in
the district were almost entirely merged in the antima
sonic party, and Mr. Seward received the united vote
of the opposition. This secured his election, by a ma
jority of two thousand over the democratic candidate.
Though Mr. Seward had received the support of the
Adams and Clay men in his district, he was none the
less an antimason. So far from this, he was, perhaps,
too enthusiastic in the avowal of his opinions : it is in
the nature of youth to be frank and ingenuous, and,
oftentimes, to exhibit more of ardor and impulsiveness
than the occasion properly demands. He was a dele
gate to the state antimasonic convention held at Albany
in February, 1831, and was prominent in the discus
sions which formed no inconsiderable part of its pro
ceedings ; on this occasion he stated that, in his
opinion, a mason was one and the same thing with an
adhering mason, and that he was ready to pledge him
self not to vote for an adhering mason. Such, no
doubt, were the real sentiments of his heart, cherished
in all sincerity, and his character as a politician affords
the assurance that he would not have forgotten them
at the polls.

644 WILLIAM II. SEWARD.
While still in his thirtieth year, he took his seat in
the New York Senate, at the commencement of the
annual session of the legislature, in January, 1831.
He found the administration party in a large majority
in both houses, and in the Senate there were but very
few of his own political faith. In point of talent, also,
that body was highly respectable. Among its promi
nent members were Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, William
H. Maynard, John W. Edmonds, Albert H. Tracy,
Levi Beardsley, and Henry A. Foster : they were ac
tive and influential politicians, and highly distinguished
themselves while in the Senate. Notwithstanding his
youth and inexperience, Mr. Seward possessed abilities
that were well adapted to a legislative career, and his
knowledge of men and things had been materially im
proved by a tour in Europe, where he had compared
the conservatism of the Old world, its matured states
manship and its time-worn institutions, with the ex
panding energies, the new-formed systems, and the
progressive-ism of the New. With his brilliant quali
ties, with a political tact and shrewdness beyond his
years, with eloquence, enthusiasm, and ambition, he
could scarcely fail of securing for himself an honorable
position even among those of high talents and char
acter. His situation, perhaps, was peculiarly favorable for
the display of his powers, and for acquiring popularity.
To be in the front rank of a small minority may not
always be an indication of talent ; but this was an ex-

COURSE IN THE LEGISLATURE. 645
citing period in politics, the administration party was
represented in the state Senate by its most talented men,
and had not Mr. Seward possessed first-rate abilities,
he would have been unable to maintain himself and
the interests of his party, in the manner he did, against
such odds. With Mr. Maynard and Mr. Tracy, he
bore the whole brunt of attack. They led the little
opposition phalanx in the legislature, not, indeed, to
victory ; but they kept its inharmonious elements to
gether till they were thoroughly interfused, and a new
party was formed from their combination.
A reference to the legislative history of the state,
during the four years of Mr. Seward's service in the
Senate, will show that he took an active and promi
nent part in all the debates, and that his course was
guided by the same general views and principles with
reference to questions of public policy, which have
since governed his action as a politician. He sup
ported the laws abolishing imprisonment for debt,
ameliorating prison discipline, and establishing a sepa
rate penitentiary for female convicts. He also favored
the extension of the internal improvement system of
the state, and the enlargement of the foundations for
educational and charitable purposes.
He was originally friendly to the construction of the
Chenango canal, and supported the bill which passed
the Senate in March, 1832. He voted, however,
against the act of 1833, under which this work was
finally commenced, as did most of the members of the

646 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
legislature from western New York, because a new
feature had been added to it, to render it acceptable to
Governor Marcy, providing that if the sum appropriated
should not be sufficient to complete the canal, the defi
ciency should be made up out of the canal fund. This,
as Mr. Seward and those who voted with him thought,
was making the Erie and Champlain canals pay for
the proposed work, and, therefore, unjust to the people
living upon those great thoroughfares, who were then, in
anticipation of the payment of the original canal debt,
looking for a considerable reduction in the tolls.
Mr. Seward was one of the earliest friends of the
New York and Erie railroad ; yet he opposed the bill
authorizing a survey of the route by the state, not from
any want of friendship for the project, but for the
reason that it was a private enterprise, and he thought
it should be sustained and conducted by private means.
In 1833, it was proposed to amend the state consti
tution so as to authorize the salt and auction duties to
be transferred from the canal fund to the general fund.
This diversion of the important revenues set apart for
the payment of the Erie and Champlain canal debt,
Mr. Seward earnestly opposed, yet he voted for a re
duction of the duties.
While in the Senate, he advocated the principle of
making the stockholders in commercial companies per
sonally liable for company debts, but did not favor its
extension to other stock associations He opposed the
increase ofthe salaries ofthe higher judicial officers in

JNITED STATES BANK ttUESTION. 647
the state, and through his instrumentality important
modifications were made in the law respecting the ju
risdiction of surrogates. To the safety fund law he
was never friendly, and he voted for but few bank
charters. He also opposed the loan law recommended
by Governor Marcy, in 1834, and voted against it.
National questions of high importance were promi
nent topics of discussion, during the whole time he was
a member of the Senate. Like most of the original
Adams men who became antimasons, he approved of
the course and policy of the opposition members of
Congress. He believed a national bank to be both
constitutional and necessary, and advocated the re
charter in 1832. Upon the resolutions of instruction
which passed the legislature at that session, he made
an able speech in favor of the bank. At the session of
1834, he again defended that institution, and condemned
the removal of the deposits. One of his best speeches
was delivered on this question. It occupied parts of
two days, the 16th and 17th of January, and was de
cidedly the ablest, as it was the leading speech made
on that side during the session.
When the nullification question came up, he cor
dially supported the measures of General Jackson. On
the 16th of February, 1833, he spoke with great ability
in defence of a series of resolutions introduced by him
self, as a substitute for others less explicit, declaring
that Congress ought to be governed by a strict con
struction of the powers intrusted to the general gov-

648 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
ernment ; and that the president, in his proclamation,
had advanced the true principles, on which alone the
constitution of the country could be maintained and
defended. His resolutions were not substituted, and
he then voted for those previously offered, which ap
proved, generally, of the doctrines of the proclamation,
and advised a reasonable and equitable modification of
the tariff.
In the spring of 1832, Mr. Seward was supported
by his political friends, as their most popular man, for
supervisor of Auburn, but he was overborne by the
strong administration majority in the town, though his
competitor, a brother of Governor Throop, was elected
by less than the average vote of the democratic ticket.
A few years afterward, the administration party lost
their influence in the town, in great part through the
exertions of Mr. Seward, and a large majority of the
voters have ever since identified themselves with his
fortune and fame.
As a member of the Court of Errors he was not less
conspicuous than in his character as a legislator. He
took an important and responsible part in the delib
erations ofthe court, and his opinions reflect the high
est credit upon his learning and ability as a lawyer.
By the death of Mr. Maynard in 1832,— an event
which may be said to have happened opportunely as
respected the political fortunes of Mr. Seward, — the
latter became the champion and leader of the antima
sonic, or opposition party, in the legislature. Mr. Tracy

COURSE IN REGARD TO MR. CLAY. 649
was still in the Senate, but he leaned over to the ad
ministration on several important measures, and his
influence was naturally more limited than his unques
tioned talents might otherwise have secured. The
principal burden of defending the views and proceed
ings of his party friends, and of combatting the policy
of the administration, devolved upon Mr. Seward.
His task seemed as difficult, and sometimes as hopeless,
too, as that of Sisyphus, but he acquitted himself well
and manfully, and persevered in laying broad and deep
that platform of opposition upon which the whig party
afterward achieved its triumphs.
In 1832, Mr. Seward supported the coalition electoral
ticket, but his preferences were well understood to be
favorable to the election of Mr. Wirt, the antimasonic
candidate, instead of Mr. Clay, though he would,
doubtless, have rejoiced at the success of the latter
over General Jackson. It is very questionable, indeed,
whether Mr. Clay was ever his first choice for the
presidency, though he has supported him in good faith
as the candidate of his party. In his speech on the
removal of the deposits, in 1834, he said that Mr. Clay
could never be his choice for president, much as he
admired his talents and accomplishments. This re
mark was made, with more especial reference to the
fact that that eminent statesman had been a mason,
hio-h in rank, and had never seceded from the order,
though for many years not an active member ; but it
has never been recalled, and the course of Mr. Seward
28

650 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
would indicate that he has ever since entertained the
same sentiments.
When the members of the masonic fraternity sur
rendered their charters, they gave up the contest
against the antimasons, and there was nothing left for
the latter to strive for. They found, too, that the prin
ciple of opposition to secret societies, which constituted
the cardinal doctrine of their creed, could not be sus
tained. Antimasonry had accomplished its work in
counteracting the dangerous tendencies of the masonic
society, and its mission was now fulfilled.
A large number of masons and their friends had
joined the democratic party, during the excitement on
this question, but their political sympathies and affini
ties were with Mr. Clay and the national republicans
of the Union, and as the financial policy of General
Jackson began to be developed, they commenced re
turning to their first love. The veto of the bank and
the removal of the deposits, furnished reasons and oc
casions for rejoining their old political friends, but this
they were unwilling to do under the banner of political
antimasonry. Most ofthe leaders ofthe antimasonic organization,
like Mr. Seward, were originally Adams' men, and it
was easy for them to come to an understanding with
the prominent national republicans in the state. A
considerable proportion of the rank and file of the anti
masonic party had been Bucktails, but the violence
and animosity that characterized the struggles through

FORMATION OF THE WHIG PARTY. 651
which they had passed, had bound them more closely
together ; they had shared in danger and defeat ; and
associations and attachments had been formed which
proved stronger than the political prejudices that time
had now softened down or removed. Their organiza
tion was perfect ; they moved and acted together as
one man ; and they cheerfully followed their leaders
when the union was effected with the national repub
licans. The coalition of 1832, however, was not
entire nor complete, but it paved the way for a more
perfect union in the winter of 1834. The two parties
were then combined ; and in order to satisfy both, their
former designations were dropped, and the new party
assumed the name of " whigs."
In the formation of the whig party, Mr. Seward was
one of the chief instruments, and by general consent a
high place was accorded to him in the front rank of
those who guided its movements and controlled its
destinies. When the time came for presenting candi
dates for the gubernatorial election in 1834, some di
versity of opinion was evinced in the whig ranks.
Francis Granger and John C. Spencer had hitherto
been regarded as the leaders of the opposition party in
the state, but the successive defeats of the former, it
was feared, would dampen the ardor of his political
friends if his name should be again presented, and the
impracticability of Mr. Spencer's temperament con
stituted, as many thought, an insuperable objection to
his selection as the candidate for governor. A very

6£2 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
general desire, therefore, was expressed in favor of the
adoption of a new candidate, and as the ability dis
played by Mr. Seward at the legislative session of 1834
had attracted the general attention of his party, their
preferences seemed finally to settle upon him. He was
accordingly nominated at the whig state convention,
and Silas M. Stilwell, of New York city, was selected
for the second office.
Mr. Seward was still a very young man, being of
the same age with Governor Tompkins when first
elected to the chief magistracy of the state, and he had
the warm and zealous sympathies of the young men of
his party. His popularity was great, and in view of
the dissatisfaction which prevailed on account of the
removal of the deposits, and the temporary pressure in
the money market, there were reasonable grounds for
anticipating his success. But the interest of the state
banks was now arrayed on the side of the administra
tion, and their influence contributed a great deal to
the defeat of the whigs. The vote of Mr. Seward was
above the average of his ticket, but his opponent, Gov
ernor Marcy, was reelected by nearly thirteen thou
sand majority.
At the close of his senatorial term, Mr. Seward de
voted himself with still greater assiduity to the practice
of his profession, and with a measure of success pro
portioned to his industry and abilities. He subsequently
accepted an appointment as agent of the Holland Land
Company, and took charge of their office at Westfield.

ELECTED GOVERNOR. 653
Difficulties having arisen between the Company and
the occupants of the lands, he afterward purchased, in
connection with other gentlemen, the outstanding
claims in Chautauque county, and in this manner, and
through his exertions, they were satisfactorily adjusted.
Mr. Van Buren and his friends maintained their as
cendency in the state till the fall of 1837, when the
whigs for the first time secured a majority in the legis
lature. Mr. Seward had not been disheartened by one
defeat, yet he had remained aloof from politics in the
meantime, and had devoted himself to private pursuits.
But with the accession of his party to power, it was
but natural that his friends should look to him to aid
them in preserving the advantage they had gained, and
he soon became a prominent candidate for the guber
natorial nomination. Many of the older leaders of the
whig party, particularly those who had been national
republicans, desired that Mr. Granger, or some other
person more friendly to Mr. Clay than Mr. Seward was
supposed to be, should be nominated. But the young
men were enthusiastic in their preferences of Mr. Sew
ard, and their wishes proved irresistible. The whig
state convention was held at Utica, on the 12th of
September, 1838, and he was nominated as their can
didate, by a large majority over Luther Bradish, then
of Franklin county, who was afterward put in nomina
tion, on the same ticket with him, for the office of
lieutenant-governor. The gubernatorial election in 1838 was a life and

654 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
death struggle with the democratic party. The whole
immense patronage ofthe state depended on the issue,
and there was great reason for the interest manifested
by the democratic leaders in the result of the contest.
To the whigs, also, the near prospect of victory was a
powerful inducement to exertion ; they were well or
ganized, and they omitted nothing that could insure
success. Other causes, besides the political questions
involved, may have contributed to swell the whig vote,
but with the accession of the conservatives who had
disapproved of Mr. Van Buren's project of an inde
pendent treasury, they became too powerful to be de
feated. On behalf of Mr. Seward, too, the abolitionists
exerted no inconsiderable degree of influence. He had
from the first sympathized with their efforts, and cor
dially approved of the object they had in view, though
he did not believe their course and policy, and their
separate organization, were well calculated to secure
it. He has always been of the opinion that the whig
party was more favorable to the abolition of slavery,
and more likely to promote it, than its opponents, and
he has labored to give it a direction likely to accom
plish that end. Hence, whenever he has been a can
didate for the suffrages of the people, a large proportion
of the abolition voters have given him their support.
More than three hundred and seventy-five thousand
votes were cast for governor at the annual election in
1838. Governor Marcy was now a candidate for a
fourth term, but he failed of a reelection, and Mr. Sew-

FIRST MESSAGE. 655
ard was chosen to succeed him by a majority of ten
thousand four hundred. In the old antimasonic coun
ties, in particular, the vote of the latter was very heavy.
" Ability of the highest kind," says an eminent Tory
writer, " has been rarely, if ever, called to the direction
of affairs in America, since the Democratic regime has
been fully established by the general triumph of the
popular over the Conservative party."* Not only does
the character of the individuals who have filled the
executive chair of the Union contradict this assertion,
but the " direction of affairs" in the state governments
has been repeatedly intrusted to men of great ability.
This has been so often the case in New York, that
instances of the opposite kind are but exceptions to a
general rule. On the occasion of which we are speak
ing, we have a striking confirmation of this fact. Both
Governor Marcy and his opponent were men of the
highest grade of intellect ; and the former now surren
dered an office which he had held for six years, to one
who continued to fill it for two successive terms.
Mr. Seward entered upon the discharge of his execu
tive duties under somewhat unfavorable circumstances.
The whigs had the control of but two branches of the
government — the democrats still retaining their ma
jority in the Senate — but the former were, of course,
held responsible, in the public estimation, for all acts,
whether of omission or commission. Governor Sew
ard was himself the object of jealous feelings on the
* Alison's History of Europe, Cap. lxxvi.

656 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
part of many of the old national republicans ; for while
they were true conservatives, he was in favor of pro
gressive measures, and of infusing a greater amount of
democracy into the councils, the course and policy of
his party. Applicants for office, too, were numerous,
and not a few were ready to find fault with his bestow-
ment of the official patronage. Yet, notwithstanding
his inexperience, he exhibited great aptitude for the
station he filled, and _ a blended firmness and dignity
highly appropriate to the position. —
" I saw young Harry, — with his beaver on,
His cuisses on his thighs, gallantly arm'd, —
Rise from the ground like feather'd Mercury,
And vaulted with such ease into his seat,
As if an angel dropp'd down from the clouds,
To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus,
And witch the world with noble horsemanship."
In regard to matters of state policy, Governor Sew
ard appears to have adopted the younger Clinton as
his model, and to have followed very nearly in the
footsteps of that distinguished statesman. His first
message, delivered at the opening of the legislative
session in 1839, was well written ; it was clear and
perspicuous in its statements, and finished and elegant
in its style. He recommended the creation of a board
of public works, to consist of one member from each
Senate district. He also suggested various improve
ments and changes in the judiciary system of the state)
and during his administration the first impetus was

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 657
given to the cause of legal reform, which ultimately
secured the adoption of the present code. The chari
table institutions, and the educational system of the
state, were earnestly commended to the notice of the
Legislature, and in all his subsequent messages these
subjects occupied a prominent place. He also recom
mended that a monument should be erected in the city
of Albany, in commemoration of the public services
of De Witt Clinton, underneath which the ashes of that
statesman should be deposited ; but there were too
many Bucktails in the legislature, even among the po
litical friends of the governor, to permit of a favorable
consideration being given to the suggestion.
It had been the policy of the democratic leaders, in
the management of the financial affairs of the state, and
in conducting her works of internal improvement sub
sequent to the construction of the Erie and Champlain
canals, to confine the annual expenditures to the sur
plus revenues ; and this same policy was proposed to
be continued, when it was determined to enlarge the
Erie Canal. Influenced to a considerable extent by
the efforts making in Maryland and Pennsylvania, by
their splendid systems of railroads and canals, to secure
the western trade, and to divert it from New York,
the whig party adopted a different policy ; and when
they had effected a revolution in the politics of the
state, they advocated the more speedy completion of
the public works, assuming the ground that it would be
both wise and judicious to pledge the credit of the state
42

658 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
for that purpose, but that the additional debt to be
created should not exceed an amount, the interest on
which, after providing for its ultimate discharge, could
be paid out of the surplus revenues derived from the
canal. This policy was supported with great earnest
ness by the whig majority in the assembly, in 1838 ; it
also received the sanction of a number of the demo
cratic Senators, sufficient, with the whigs, to constitute
a majority in the Senate ; and a law was passed au
thorizing a loan of four millions of dollars for the en
largement of the Erie Canal, which was approved by
Governor Marcy.
Besides the Enlargement, there were two important
lateral canals now in progress of construction, the
Genesee Valley and the Black River Canals. To com
plete all these works, it was thought would require an
outlay of from twelve to fifteen millions of dollars.
Governor Seward heartily approved of the change
in the financial policy made in 1838, and in his first
annual message before referred to, he advised the
speedy enlargement ofthe Erie Canal, and recommend
ed various other improvements by roads and canals,
among which were three principal lines of railroad
through the state, from east to west. In his opinion,
the ability of the state to sustain the burden of a public
debt could scarcely be over-estimated, in view of the
new and abundant resources daily being developed.
" History," says his message, " furnishes no parallel to
the financial achievements of this state. It surrendered

FINANCIAL T0LICY. 659
its share in the national domain, and relinquished for
the general welfare all the revenues of its foreign com
merce, equal generally to two-thirds of the entire ex
penditure of the federal government. It has, neverthe
less, sustained the expenses of its own administration,
founded and endowed a broad system of education,
charitable institutions for every class of the unfortu
nate, and a penitentiary establishment which is adopted
as a model by civilized nations. It has increased four
fold the wealth of its citizens, and relieved them from
direct taxation ; and in addition to all this has carried
forward a stupendous enterprise of improvement, all
the while diminishing its debts, magnifying its credit,
and augmenting its resources."
Under the auspices of Governor Seward and the
party in power, the work on the Erie Canal enlarge
ment and the Black River and Genesee Valley Canals,
went on with far greater rapidity than before, and
liberal loans were made to railroad companies to assist
them in the enterprises they had undertaken. The
experience of a single year convinced the governor
that the impulse given to the internal improvement
system was altogether too hearty, and required some
wholesome check. In his annual message, therefore,
in 1840, he urgently advised retrenchment in the state
expenditures, and greater caution in the augmentation
of the public debt. He still had great confidence, how
ever, in the financial ability of the state, and continued
firmly of the belief, that the immediate completion of

660 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
the works was demanded by a regard for her interest
and welfare. His opinions underwent no change,
when the democratic party regained the ascendency,
and the work on the canals was suspended by the law
of 1842, at which time the canal debt of the state had
been increased fourteen millions of dollars, over and
above the loan of four millions authorized in 1838.
It was claimed by the political opponents of Governor
Seward, that the canal policy pursued by himself and
his friends was eminently disastrous, and as appear
ances certainly favored the ground which the former
assumed, they were enabled to use the "arguments thus
afforded most effectively at the polls. But, on the
other hand, it was insisted by the whigs, that " the
speedy impulse" policy, as it was termed by the demo
crats, had not had a fair trial, and that, if left to work
out its own redemption, like the spear of Achilles it
would have cured the wounds it had inflicted. Under
this policy the debt was increased to an amount ex
ceeding the original estimates, and the works were not
more than half finished. This was, apparently, a
strong argument against it, but the whigs replied, that
the actual cost of the works, it was ascertained, would
be more than double the estimates. This was true.
The estimates were shown to be erroneous in the first
instance, and a considerable advance in the prices of
labor and materials, together with the attempt to secure
greater perfectness and completeness in the work, and,
to some extent, perhaps, the inexperience of the whig

INCREASE OF THE STATE DEBT. . 661
canal commissioners, increased the cost of almost every
item of expense far beyond what was anticipated.
Great difficulty was experienced by the whig state
administration, in 1840 and 1841, in raising money,
and the public stocks depreciated considerably in their
market value. Here, argued the democrats, their op
ponents were again vulnerable, for provision should
have been made, at the outset, for the payment of all
debts to be incurred ; and had this been done, New
York stock would have remained at or near par, and
money could have been obtained otherwise than at
rates which would have been ruinous to the credit of
the state if her resources had not been so ample. To
this it was said, that the market was glutted with the
stocks of other states, and a depreciation was the natu
ral result in which they all shared.
Which policy, whether that of the whigs or that of
the democrats, was the best for the state, is still a
disputed question among our politicians. The lat
ter may have the advantage in pointing to actual
experience, to the disasters and misfortunes of 1840
and 1841 ; but the whigs still insist, that their policy
was never fairly tried, and they now point to the vast
increase of the canal revenues, as an evidence of the
ability of the state to sustain a larger public debt than
they had ever contemplated.
During the first year of Governor Seward's admin
istration, the public peace and tranquillity were dis
turbed by serious difficulties on the manor of Rennse-

662 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
laerwyck, growing out ofthe refusal of the tenants to
pay the arrearages of rent which had been suffered to
remain uncollected by the late patroon, Stephen Van
Rensselaer, but which were now demanded by his
heirs. The tenants armed and disguised themselves
as Indians, and offered such resistance to the civil offi
cers, that the latter were obliged to call to their aid the
military power. Disturbances of this kind had not
been unknown in the history of the state, though of
rare occurrence. Governor Seward manifested a dis
position to uphold the supremacy of the law, yet, at
the same time, he felt that the tenants had cause for
complaint, and that these semi-feudal land tenures
were totally inconsistent with the spirit and genius of
our institutions. As the tenants, by the laws of the
state, could not dispute the titles oftheir landlords, and
were therefore remediless, if they thought themselves
wronged and the state refused to interfere on their be
half, except by making resistance to the execution of
those laws, he was of the opinion that the difficulty
ought to be regarded as a political one ; and that, while
the laws should be upheld, greater leniency ought to
be exhibited toward the refractory tenants than toward
other offenders. These reasons influenced him in all
his action with reference to the anti-renters while he
was governor of the state. In pursuance of his recom
mendation, commissioners were appointed in 1840 to
mediate a settlement between the landlords and their
tenants, but the terms which they presented were not

CONTROVERSY WITH VIRGINIA. 663
satisfactory to the parties, and the effort at mediation
proved abortive. Meanwhile the excitement had died
away, though it revived again, with greater intensity,
under a subsequent administration.
It was the fortune of Governor Seward, also, to be
come involved in a controversy with the executive
authorities of Virginia touching the extradition of fugi
tives from justice. In July, 1839, a requisition was
made upon him by the Governor of Virginia for the
delivery of three persons charged with having feloni
ously stolen a negro slave in that state.* With this
requisition he declined to comply, " upon the grounds,"
as stated in his annual message in 1840, " that the right
to demand, and the reciprocal obligation to surrender
fugitives from justice, between sovereign and indepen
dent nations, as defined by the law of nations, include
only those cases in which the acts constituting the of
fence charged are recognized as crimes by the univer
sal laws of all civilized countries ; that the object of
the provision contained in the constitution ofthe United
States, authorizing the demand and surrender of fugi
tives charged with treason, felony or other crimes, was
to recognize and establish this principle of the law of
nations in the mutual relations of the states as inde
pendent, equal, and sovereign communities ; that the
acts charged upon the persons demanded were not
* The proofs and papers, upon which this requisition was founded,
were defective ; but the technical objection was of smaU importance
beside the constitutional question.

664 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
recognized as criminal by the laws of this state, or by
the universal laws of all civilized countries ; and that,
consequently, the case did not fall within the provision
ofthe Constitution ofthe United States."
This controversy was protracted for two or three
years, in the course of which a number of communi
cations passed between the executives of the two
states. Governor Seward defended his position, at all
times, with a variety and force of argument, and an
aptness of illustration, that produced respect for his
talents, if not a conviction favorable to the soundness
and correctness of his conclusions. The authorities of
Virginia claimed, on the other hand, that a person who
had committed an act in any state, which, by the laws
of that state, was felony, and had fled to another state,
ought, by the Constitution of the United States, to be
surrendered on proper demand being made by the for
mer state, whether or not the same act was punishable
as a crime in the state to which the person had fled.
The important question involved in the controversy
was also discussed in the New York legislature, in
1841 ; the democratic members generally inclining to
support Virginia in her position. In 1842, the subject
was again brought forward, and a joint resolution was
then adopted, for which all the democrats voted, with
very few exceptions, declaring that stealing a slave,
contrary to the laws of Virginia, was a crime within
the meaning of the Constitution of the United States
Governor Seward, however, declined being the agent

NEW YORK SCHOOL QUESTION. 665
of the Legislature in transmitting the resolution to the
authorities of Virginia.
The Legislature of 1840 was whig in both its
branches, and the whole power and patronage of the
state were now vested in the whig administration.
Besides advising and suggesting various reforms in the
judiciary system of the state, and retrenchment in the
expenditures, as before mentioned, in the annual mes
sage of that year, the governor urgently recommended
that the common school law should be so amended as
to permit adopted citizens to have their children edu
cated by teachers speaking their own language and
professing the same faith with them, and to share, in an
equal proportion, in the public moneys appropriated by
the state for school purposes. This recommendation
had particular reference to the children of Roman
Catholics in the city of New York, who were excluded
from the public schools, because their parents and
guardians were unwilling to send them where religious
doctrines were taught, or inculcated, inconsistent with,
or opposed to those which they entertained.
Immediately on the appearance of the governor's
message, his views upon the school question were at
tacked with great vehemence by the clergy, and by
many of the most influential laymen, belonging to the
evangelical denominations in the city of New York ;
and they were defended with . equal earnestness by
those who were interested in procuring the amend
ments to the school-law as proposed. The feelings to

666 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
which the controversy gave rise finally extended to
the country in some measure, though there was far
less interest manifested there than in the city and its
immediate vicinity. A number of leading whigs, both
in the city and elsewhere, assumed a position of de
cided hostility to the governor upon this subject, and
it was one of the causes which led to subsequent divi
sions in the party.
The plain and simple question at the bottom of the
whole controversy was, whether a portion of the citi
zens of the state who contributed to the support of
schools, by the payment of taxes, and whose children
were numbered in the allotment of the public moneys,
should be deprived of all participation in the common
fund. They had conscientious scruples against send
ing their children to schools in which a different version
of the Bible from their own was used and read ; and,
in view of the paramount importance of educating all
the rising generation, Governor Seward and those
who concurred with him thought it would be a wise
policy to permit them to establish separate schools if
they thought proper, and give them a fair share of the
public money.
A suggestion of this character, in a country where
all creeds and all religions are tolerated, ought, cer
tainly^ not to have been regarded as a strange one.
American Christians, no matter what may be their "
particular shades of belief, whether Papists or Church- •
men, Baptists or Presbyterians, Methodists or Quakers,

NEW YORK SCHOOL QUESTION. 667
all possess equal rights and should be permitted to en
joy equal privileges. But there is no bigotry like the
bigotry of Sectarianism, and religious controversies
and persecutions are the most bitter of all. Prejudice
against Romanism is as deep-rooted here, as it was in
the mother country during the times of " Bluff King
Harry ;" and our people are too prone, perhaps, to
forget, that if Rome had her Borgias and her Leos,
she had also her Pauls and her Gregories, her Xavier
and her Pius, — and that the cruelty of the Inquisition
differed only in degree from that of the Bloody Rump,
while the horrors of St. Bartholomew were paralleled
by the atrocities at Munster and Drogheda.
On the part of those whp took issue with Governor
Seward on the School question, it was said that he de
signed to exclude the Bible from the schools altogether.
To their excited imaginations, the proposed amend
ment of the law was a sort of Titus Oates' plot, and
the supremacy of the Pope was the great object had
in view. For two years public opinion, thus control
led by unfounded fears and suspicions, operated so far
upon the legislature as to prevent the adoption of the
amendments recommended by the Governor. But, in
his annua] messages in 1841 and 1842, he again refer
red to the subject in most eloquent terms, and warmly
urged the legislature to adopt his suggestions. In the
latter year the law was finally amended, in pursuance
of his recommendations, and he had the satisfaction

668 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
of signing and approving the bill which passed the
legislature. During the presidential canvass of 1839-40, he was
an interested, though not an active spectator. He at
first favored the nomination of General Scott as the
whig candidate, in preference to Mr. Clay, but was
highly gratified at the selection of General Harrison,
and rejoiced most sincerely in his success.
Notwithstanding the jealousy, and at times the hos
tility, of some of the old national republicans who
thought Governor Seward was too radical in his no
tions, and leaned too much toward the abolitionists
and the anti-renters, as the refractory tenants on the
manorial lands were called, he had the warm support
of the great majority of his party, particularly in the
strong whig counties at the west. It was but natural
that he should desire to have his administration ap
proved by the people, in which light a reelection might
be considered, and the whig journals friendly to him
advised that he should be nominated for a second term.
No opposition was made to his nomination in the
whig state convention, and Lieutenant-Governor
Bradish was again associated with him on the whig
ticket. The opposing candidates were William C.
Bouck and Daniel S. Dickinson. Both those gentlemen
were warm friends of the internal improvement sys
tem, and both possessed a large share of popularity.
The excitement, the enthusiasm, that marked the
great contest of 1840, will not soon be forgotten. In

RE-ELECTION. 669
the state of New York the election was conducted
with a spirit and animation never before witnessed.
Here, as in almost every state in the Union, the whigs
achieved a signal triumph over their adversaries. The
popular vote of the state was largely increased, — up
ward of four hundred and forty thousand votes being
cast for governor. Governor Seward fell somewhat
behind his ticket, on account of the opposition of the
persons already alluded to, but he was reelected by a
majority of over five thousand.
Some of the most prominent incidents in the second
term of his administration have been already antici
pated. The improvement of the common school sys
tem, the completion of the public works, and the aboli
tion of capital punishments, were among the principal
recommendations contained in his annual messages in
1841 and 1842. In 1841, he refused to interfere in
preventing the trial of Alexander McLeod by the state
courts, for an alleged participation in the affair of the
Caroline in 1839, although the seizure and burning of
the vessel, and, of consequence, the killing of the per
sons found on board, were avowed by the government
of Great Britain to be acts for which she was alone
responsible, the persons concerned in the affair having
acted under the orders of her officers, whom they were
bound to obey.
The death of General Harrison, and the failure of
Mr. Tyler to meet the expectations of the whig party,
filled the cup of their misfortunes in this state to over-

670 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
flowing. Considering the large vote in 1840, their
majority was comparatively small, and as the annual
election in 1841 came on while they were disheartened
and divided, it occasioned but little surprise when they
were defeated, and the democrats restored to their as
cendency in both branches of the legislature.
Governor Seward's last annual message, at the com
mencement of the regular session in 1842, was one of
the best papers that ever came from his pen. The
credit of the state had become impaired, as he frankly
admitted — six per cent, stocks having fallen twenty per
cent, below par — but he attributed this depression to
the failure of other states to meet their obligations, and
thought it would be but temporary in its duration.
The increasing business on the canals, however, af
forded some gleams of sunshine, and he believed it to
be the better policy to hasten the public works to com
pletion, as fast as possible without increasing the pub
lic debt above an amount, the interest on which could
be paid out of the current surplus revenues. It was at
this time believed, that the proceeds of the sales of the
public lands would be distributed among the states, and
he therefore advised that the moneys received from
this source should be pledged as a sinking fund for the
payment of the principal of the public debt.
Different counsels, however, prevailed with the
democratic majority in the legislature, and the action
of all parties was influenced, to a great degree, by the
banking and moneyed interests of the state, who were

RESUMES THE PRACTICE OF LAW. 671
directly concerned in raising the price of the public
stocks, large amounts of which were in their hands.
The law of 1842, which provided for the suspension of
the public works, for the imposition of a direct tax, and
for pledging a part of the canal revenues as a sinking
fund for the extinguishment of the state debt, was ac
cordingly passed, and in deference to the Legislature,
though by no means approving of the measure, Gover
nor Seward gave it his official approbation.
The election of 1841 was significant of disasters, and
Governor Seward declined becoming a candidate for
a third term. After the expiration of his period of
service, he resumed his residence in Auburn, and the
practice of his profession, which soon became both ex
tensive and lucrative. Though no longer a candidate
for the suffrages of the people, he could not so easily
divest himself of his character as a politician. He
heartily approved of the great measures of policy ad
vocated and supported by the whig members of the
27th Congress. He approved of the tariff of 1842, and
was opposed to the annexation of Texas and the war
with Mexico. Upon the Oregon question he coincided
with those whigs who voted for giving notice of the
termination of the joint occupancy to Great Britain.
In the cause of Irish Emancipation he was deeply
interested, and he was no indifferent observer of the
popular revolutions which took place in Europe in
1848. His sympathies were with the oppressed and
the persecuted, and his heart throbbed high with satis-

672 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
faction at every concession yielded by the advocates
of monarchy, and every advantage gained by the friends
of civil freedom.
He was not entirely satisfied with the position of
Mr. Clay on the Texas question in 1844, but he gave
him his cordial support, and, by the exertion of his
personal influence, and by numerous speeches and ad
dresses from the stump, rendered important services to
his party, though unable to prevent their defeat.
Governor Seward was friendly to the project of '
calling a state convention to revise the constitution in
1846, and was well satisfied with the reforms thus se
cured, though he did not approve of all the financial
provisions, and favored the extension of the right of
suffrage to the colored population.
In 1848, he was one of the most active and influen
tial supporters of General Taylor, though that lamented
soldier was not originally his first choice for the presi
dency ; but he was understood to be favorable to the
nomination of Judge McLean, of the Supreme Court
of the United States.
Meanwhile the democratic party in New York had
divided into two factions, and the whigs seemed in
clined to follow their example, though no division had
actually taken place. The old national republicans,
strengthened considerably by accessions from the anti
masons, were what might be called conservative
whigs, and Governor Seward and his friends were
radical, or democratic whigs. The latter were much

ELECTED TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 673
tne stronger of the two, and being attached to Gover
nor Seward they were anxious to place him in a
prominent position. Upon the legislature of 1849
devolved the duty of choosing a successor to John A.
Dix, then one of the senators in Congress. The
whigs were largely in the majority, and two thirds of
the members belonging to that party were partial to
Governor Seward. His name was proposed at the
whig caucus to fill the vacancy in the Senate of the
United States ; he received the nomination by a vote
of eighty-eight to forty-three for various other per
sons ; and on the 6th of February he was duly elected
to the office by the Legislature.
He took his seat in the Senate on the 5th of March,
1849, at the extra session called to consider the nomi
nations of President Taylor. It being well known
that his views upon the question of slavery, then
widely agitated, did not exactly coincide with those of
many of the southern whigs, and that he was in favor
of the principles of the Wilmot Proviso, he declined
being appointed on any committee, lest it might some
times be assumed that he acted authoritatively on be
half of the administration. His influence with it was
undoubtedly great, but he had no desire to embarrass it.
Preceded by a high reputation, Mr. Seward at once
took a prominent position in the Senate. Since he
has been a member of that body, he has spoken ably
on several important questions, among which were
our relations with Austria, the admission of California,
43

674 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
the slavery question and Mr. Clay's compromise
measures, the admission of New Mexico, the giving
of the public lands to actual settlers who were land
less, and the claims for French spoliations prior to
1800. His ablest effort was made on the 11th of
March, 1850.
To say of a speech, that it is able and eloquent,
is, indeed, but a hackneyed phrase, often employed to
express a mere conventional compliment, but not
unfrequently applied with justice and propriety. The
speech of Mr. Seward on the admission of California,
and the Slavery Question so intimately connected
with it, was characterized by real ability, great force
of expression, earnestness and eloquence : —
" Four years ago," said he, " California, a Mexican Province, scarcely
inhabited and quite unexplored, was unknown even to our usually im
moderate desires, except by a harbor, capacious and tranquil, which
only statesmen then foresaw would be useful in the oriental commerce
of a far distant, if not merely chimerical, future.
" A year ago, California was a mere military dependency of our own,
and we were celebrating with unanimity and enthusiasm its acquisition,
with its newly-discovered, but yet untold and untouched mineral
wealth, as the most auspicious of many and unparaUeled achievements.
" To-day, California is a State, more populous than the least, and
richer than several of the greatest of our thirty States. This same
California, thus rich and populous, is here asking admission into the
Union, and finds us debating the dissolution of the Union itself.
" No wonder if we are perplexed with ever-changing embarrassments I
No wonder if we are appaUed by ever -increasing responsibilities 1 No
wonder if we are bewildered by the ever-augmenting magnitude and
rapidity of national vicissitudes !

ADMISSION OF CALIFORNIA. 675
" Shall California be received ? For myself, upon my individual
judgment and conscience, I answer, Yes. For myself, as an instructed
representative of one of the States, of that one even of the States
which is soonest and longest to be pressed in commercial and political
rivalry by the new Commonwealth, I answer, Yes. Let California
come in. Every new State, whether she come from the East or from
the West, every new State, coming from whatever part of the conti
nent she may, is always welcome. But California, that comes from the
clime where the west dies away into the rising east ; California, which
bounds at once the empire and the continent; California, the youthful
queen of the Pacific, in her robes of freedom, gorgeously inlaid with
gold — is doubly welcome."
After answering the objections urged by those sena
tors who opposed the separate and unconditional
admission of California, — that she presented herself
unceremoniously, without the preliminary consent of
Congress — that she had assigned her own boundaries
— that her territory was too large — that no census had
been taken, and that no laws prescribing the qualifica
tions of suffrage existed before her convention was
held — and that she had formed a state government
and applied for admission, under executive influence,
 Mr. Seward urged with much force that the case
was one demanding prompt action ; that if the appli
cation should be rejected, California would become
indignant, and not improbably set up for herself as an
independent state, and, perhaps, induce Oregon to go
with her ; and that, in consequence of the intervening
wastes and deserts, and the numerous objections and
obstacles to the employment of coercive means by the

676 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
federal government, it would be impossible or imprac
ticable to compel her to remain in the Union against
her will.
In regard to the collateral questions — the compro
mises as they were called — connected with the admis
sion of California, not by the applicants themselves,
but by the southern senators, or nearly all of them,
and their friends, Mr. Seward avowed his opposition
to them in every form and shape. He declared that
the very name of compromise was hateful to him, and
that it was never used in a good cause. Freedom, he
thought, was too sacred a heritage to be bartered
away, — to be either sacrificed or compromised.
" But it is insisted," he remarked, " that the admission of CaUfornia
shall be attended by a compromise of questions which have arisen out
Of SLAVERY !
" I AM OPPOSED TO ANT SUCH COMPROMISE, IN ANY AND ALL THE FORMS
in which it has been Proposed. Because, while admitting the purity
and the patriotism of all from whom it is my misfortune to differ, I
think aU legislative compromises radically wrong and essentially vicious.
They involve the surrender of the exercise of judgment and conscience
on distinct and separate questions, at distinct and separate times, with
the indispensable advantages it affords for ascertaining truth. They
involve a relinquishment of the right to reconsider in future the deci
sions of the present, on questions prematurely anticipated. And they
are a usurpation as to future questions of the province of future
legislators. " Sir, it seems to me, as if slavery had laid its paralyzing hand upon
myself, and the blood were coursing less freely than its wont through
my veins, when I endeavor to suppose that such a compromise has
been effected, and my utterance forever is arrested upon all the great

COMPROMISES OF MR. CLAY. 677
questions, social, moral, and political, arising out of a subject so im
portant, and as yet so incomprehensible. What am I to receive in this
compromise ? Freedom in California. It is well ; it is a noble acqui
sition ; it is worth a sacrifice. But what am I to give as an equiva
lent ? A recognition of the claim to perpetuate slavery in the District
of Columbia ; forbearance towards more stringent laws concerning the
arrest of persons suspected of being slaves found in the free States ;
forbearance from the Proviso of freedom in the charters of new Terri
tories. None of the plans of compromise offered demand less than two,
and most of them insist on aU of these conditions. The equivalent then
is, some portion of liberty, some portion of human rights in one region
for liberty in another region. But California brings gold and commerce
as well as freedom. I am, then, to surrender some portion of human
freedom in the District of Columbia, and in East CaUfornia and New
Mexico, for the mixed consideration of liberty, gold, and power, on the
Pacific coast. >'
"This view of legislative compromises is not new. It has widely
. prevaded, and many of the State Constitutions interdict the introduc
tion of more than one subject into one bill submitted for legislative
action. " It was of such compromises that Burke said, in one of the loftiest
bursts of even his majestic parliamentary eloquence :
" ' Far, far from the Commons of Great Britain be all manner of real
vice ; but ten thousand times farther from them, as far as from pole to
pole, be the whole tribe of spurious, affected, counterfeit, and hypocrit
ical vu-tues ! These are the things which are ten thousand times more
at war with real virtue ; these are the things which are ten thousand
times more at war with real duty, than any vice known by its name
and distinguished by its proper character.
" ' Far, far from us be that false and affected candor that is eternally
in treaty with crime — that half virtue, which, like the ambiguous ani
mal that flies about in the twUight of a compromise between day and
night, is, to a just man's eye, an odious and disgusting thing. There is
no middle point, my Lords, in which the Commons of Great Britain
can meet tyranny and oppression.'

678 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
" But, sir, if I could overcome my repugnance to compromises in
general, I should object to this one on the ground ofthe inequality and
incongruity of the interests to be compromised. Why, sir, according
to the views I have submitted, California ought to come in, and must
come in, whether slavery stands or falls in the District of Columbia ;
whether slavery stands or falls in New Mexico and Eastern CaUfornia ;
and even 'whether slavery stands or faUs in the slave States. Califor
nia ought to come in, being a free State ; and, under the circumstances
of her conquest, her compact, her abandonment, her justifiable and
necessary establishment of a Constitution, and the inevitable dismem
berment of the empire consequent upon her rejection, I should have voted
for her admission even if she had come as a slave State. California
ought to come in, and must come in at all events. It is, then, an inde
pendent, a paramount question. What, then, are these questions aris
ing out of slavery, thus interposed, but collateral questions ? They
are unnecessary and incongruous, and therefore false issues, not intro
duced designedly, indeed, to defeat that great policy, yet unavoidably
tending to that end."
Mr. Seward then took up the compromise measures,
seriatim, and explained and vindicated the reasons
which induced him to oppose them. Against the propo
sition to alter the law concerning fugitives from ser
vice, which, when it took the form of a positive
enactment, was known as " the fugitive slave law,"
he directed a great part of his argument, and pro
nounced the measure arbitrary, unjust, oppressive, and
utterly inconsistent with the spirit and genius of our
free institutions. In the course of his remarks, also,
he avowed himself in favor of the abolition of slavery
in the District of Columbia, intimating, however, his
willingness to compensate the owners of the slaves.

THE SLAVERY ClUESTION. 679
He closed this part of his speech in the following
terms :
" There is another aspect of the principle of compromise which de
serves consideration. It assumes that slavery, if not the only institu
tion in a slave State, is at least a ruling institution, and that this
characteristic is recognized by the Constitution. But slavery is only
one of many institutions there. Freedom is equally an institution there.
Slavery is only a temporary, accidental, partial, and incongruous one.
Freedom, on the contrary, is a perpetual, organic, universal one, in har
mony with the Constitution of the United States. The slaveholder
himself stands under the protection of the latter in common with all
the free citizens of the State. But it is, moreover, an indispensable
institution. You may separate slavery from South Carolina, and the
State will still remain ; but if you subvert freedom there, the State
wUl cease to exist. But the principle of this compromise gives com
plete ascendency in the slave State, and in the Constitution of the
United States, to the subordinate, accidental, and incongruous institu
tion over its paramount antagonist. To reduce this claim for slavery
to an absurdity, it is only necessary to add that there are only two
States in which slaves are a majority, and not one in which the slave
holders are not a very disproportionate minority.
"But there is yet another aspect in which this principle must be
examined. It regards the domain only as a possession, to be enjoyed
either in common or by partition by the citizens of the old States. It
is true, indeed, that the national domain is ours. It is true it was ac
quired by the valor and with the wealth of the whole nation. But we
hold, nevertheless, no arbitrary power over it. We hold no arbitrary
authority over anything, whether acquired lawfully or seized by usur
pation. The Constitution regulates our stewardship ; the Constitution
devotes the domain to union, to justice, to defence, to welfare, and to
liberty. " But there is a higher law than the Constitution, which regulates
our authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same noble pur
poses. Tlie territory is a part, no inconsiderable part, of the common

680 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
heritage of mankind, bestowed upon them by the Creator of the Uni
verse. We are his stewards, and must so discharge our trust as to
secure in the highest attainable degree their happiness."
He then examined the question, as to the power of
Congress to legislate upon the subject of slavery in
the territories, insisting, to the fullest extent, upon the
existence of the power, and that it ought to be exert
ed. In regard to the threats of disunion which had
been repeatedly heard in the capitol, he declared that
he had no fears of the dissolution of the confederacy
upon such grounds, and for such a cause.
" I have heard somewhat here," he said, " and almost for the first
time in my Ufe, of divided allegiance — of aUegiance to the South and
to the Union — of allegiance to States severally and to the Union. Sir,
if sympathies with State emulation and pride of achievement could be
allowed to raise up another sovereign to divide the allegiance of a
citizen of the United States, I might recognize the claims of the State
to which, by birth and gratitude, I belong — to the State of HamUton
and Jay, of Schuyler, of the Clintons, and of Fulton — the State which,
with less than two hundred miles of natural navigation connected with
the ocean, has, by her own enterprise, secured to herself the commerce
of the continent, and is steadUy advancing to the command of the- com
merce of the world. But for all this I know only one country and one
sovereign — the United States of America and the American People.
And such as my aUegiance is, is the loyalty of every other citizen of
the United States. As I speak, he will speak when his time arrives.
He knowB no other country, and no other sovereign. He has life,
liberty, property, and precious affections, and hopes for himself and for
his posterity, treasured up in the ark of the Union. He knows as
well and feels as strongly as I do that this Government is his own
Government ; that he is a part of it ; that it was established for him,
and that it is maintained by him ; that it is the only truly wise, just,

THE SLAVERY ClUESTION. 681
free, and equal Government that has ever existed ; that no other Gov
ernment could be so wise, just, free, and equal ; and that it is safer
and more beneficent than any which time or change could bring into
its place.
" You may tell me, sir, that although this may be true, yet the trial
of faction has not yet been made. Sir, if the trial of faction has not
been made, it has not been because faction has not always existed,
and has not always menaced a trial, but because faction could find no
fulcrum on which to place the lever to subvert the Union, as it can
find no fulcrum now ; and in this is my confidence. I would not rashly
provoke the trial ; but I will not suffer a fear, which I have not, to
make me compromise one sentiment, one principle of truth or justice,
to avert a danger that all experience teaches me is purely chimerical.
Let, then, those who distrust the Union make compromises to save it.
I shall not impeach their wisdom, as I certainly cannot their patriotism ;
but indulging no such apprehensions myself, I shall vote for the admis
sion of California directly, without conditions, without qualifications,
and without compromise.
" For the vindication of that vote I look not to the verdict of the
passing hour, disturbed as the public mind now is by conflicting inter
ests and passions, but to that period, happily not far distant, when the
vast regions over which we are now legislating shaU have received
their destined inhabitants.
" WhUe looking forward to that day, its countless generations seem
to me to be rising up and passing in dim and shadowy review before
us ; and a voice comes forth from their serried ranks, saying, ' Waste
your treasures and your armies, if you will ; raze your fortifica
tions to the ground ; sink your navies into the sea ; transmit to us even
a dishonored name, if you must ; but the soil you hold in trust for us
— give it to us free. You found it free, and conquered it to extend a
better and surer freedom over it. Whatever choice you have made
for yourselves, let us have no partial freedom; let us all be free: let
the reversion of your' broad domain descend to us unincumbered, and free
from the calamities and the sorrows of human bondage."
29*

682 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
One of the sentiments advanced in the speech of
Governor Seward on this great question, has been the
subject of so many remarks on the part of the news
paper press, that it may be well to refer to it again.
After stating, that, by the federal constitution, the
domain was devoted to liberty,— thus indicating his
belief that slavery could have no constitutional exist
ence in California, in the "absence of any positive
enactment to support it,— he added, that there was "a
higher law than the constitution which regulates our
authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same
noble purposes." This remark has been tortured to
mean, that, in the estimation of the speaker, there was
a higher law than the constitution, which he felt
bound to obey in preference to the latter; and that it
was proper to resist the execution of all laws, even if
constitutionally enacted, which, according to mere
individual opinion, were inconsistent with that higher
law. Take away the context, the qualifying circumstances
of this remark, and such a construction might not be
unjust, but with them, it is clear that Governor Sew
ard intended to convey no such idea. The sentiment
which he advanced was this, and only this,— that upon
the point to which he was alluding, the constitution
and the higher law of God were in perfect harmony,
that they were concurrent, and that each devoted the
domain "to the same noble purposes."
No doubt, he regards with very little favor the ex-

THE FRENCH SPOLIATION BILL. 683
pediency doctrines of that school of political philoso
phers, who, like Paley, advocate a blind submission to
civil authority. With Sir William Blackstone, with
Burke and Brougham, he holds that the law of nature,
" dictated by God himself," is superior in obligation to
all our conventions and compacts, to all human codes
and enactments. Yet no one reverences the consti
tution more highly than himself. That is the higher
law of the good citizen, and if abuses are practiced
under it, the remedies which it provides must first be
exhausted, before disobedience becomes a virtue.
Overt treason and moral treason are one and the
same thing in principle. There is no distinction be
tween active resistance and passive disobedience, that
could satisfy the most Jesuitical conscience. Obe
dience to the law is the correlative of protection
under the law ; and he who invokes the protecting
care of his government, should obey her mandates.
If she deliberately tolerates wrong and injustice, let
him no longer be one of the governed.
In respect of argumentative power and ability, the
speech of Mr. Seward on the French Spoliation bill,
delivered on the 21st of January, 1851, will probably
take precedence of most of his previous efforts. The
subject was trite, and one would think it had been
quite exhausted. But he seems to have invested it
with fresh attractions, and to have brought forward
many new facts and arguments, besides presenting

684 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
those that were familiar, in a light different from that
in which they have heretofore been made to appear.
Since he has been in the Senate, he has also pro
posed the abolition of slavery in the District of Colum
bia, upon the condition, however, that just and ample
compensation should be made to the owners of the
slaves. Several years ago the following picture of Mr.
Seward was drawn by Mrs. Maury, — a friendly hand,
indeed ; but who is more competent than a woman to
describe the personal appearance of one of the oppo
site sex ? " The address and manners of Governor
Seward are very agreeable, though his voice is gut
tural and uncultivated, which possibly arises from an
absence of all pleasure in music ; confessedly, he can
not distinguish a chant from a jig. His appearance is
very youthful for forty-four [this was written in
1845] ; he is of fair complexion, and possesses one
peculiarity of feature, which is to me of singular in
terest. In speaking or smiling, the upper lip has a
slight nervous and tremulous motion, independent of
its action in articulation. This peculiarity I have
seen but twice before ; it is, of course, involuntary, is
observed only in men, and is always accompanied by
the most acute sensibilities."*
In 1824 Mr. Seward married Frances Adeline, the
daughter of Elijah Miller, an old resident of Auburn,
in whose office he first commenced practice at that
* Statesmen of America, p. 32.

MENTAL ABILITIES. 685
place, and who, in former years, was a prominent
member of the bar and an influential politician in
Cayuga county. He is the father of three sons, one
of whom is now an officer in the army, and two
daughters, of one of whom he was early bereaved.
Of an ardent and enthusiastic temperament, of large
sympathies, of a hopeful disposition, and possessing a
liberal share of generosity and benevolence, he is es
teemed by his friends for the warmth and sincerity of
his attachments. In regard to his private relations, he
enjoys an enviable reputation ; and those who know
him, in the county of his residence, of both political
parties, will bear cheerful testimony to the purity of
his life and the integrity of his character.
Nature has not been chary of her favors in the
endowment of his intellect. She has given him both
genius and talent, in a happy combination. He has
quickness of apprehension, a ready wit, and a playful
fancy. He has something of the " fine frenzy" of the
poet, is imaginative and impressionable. His concep
tions are vivid, and his will strong and decided. He
has more boldness, however, than force, — greater de
termination than energy. He is probably better fitted
to deal with generalities than details, yet he has nice
discriminating faculties ; and he is a close and able
reasoner, though possessing more rhetorical than ra-
tiocinative power.
Habits of intense ' application, of careful reflection,
are characteristic of him ; and his speeches, argu-

686 WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
ments, and state papers indicate thoroughness and
completeness of preparation. While engaged in the
most active pursuits, he has devoted no inconsiderable
portion of his time to reading and study. It was the
opinion of Antony, that the reputation of an advocate
was too brittle to indulge a love for philosophy ;* but
not even the claims of an exacting profession have
prevented the gratification of his keen relish for litera
ture. A lover of science, his mind is thoroughly im
bued with the learning of the day. Such is the extent
and variety of his information, that he is sometimes
regarded as superficial ; but his superficiality, which
may be considered but another name for great general
knowledge, is not of that kind, which, though beautiful
as a poet's dream, is equally airy and unsubstantial,
but rather that which, like the rich carving of the
sculptor, adds strength and beauty to the column it
adorns. His rapid idealization, his oriental affluence, though
not vagueness, of expression, and the Ciceronian flow
of his language, proceeding not "from the heat of
youth, or the vapors of wine," but from the exceeding
fertility of his imagination, combine to render him an
interesting speaker. Yet his enunciation is neither
clear nor distinct, and the tones of his voice often
grate harshly upon the ear. He is not devoid of
grace, however ; he is calm and dignified, but earnest.
Besides the speeches and addresses to which refer-
* Cicero, De Oratore, Ub. u.

STYLE AS A SPEAKER AND WRITER. 687
ence has been made, he is the author of an " Address,
delivered at the commencement of the Auburn and
Owasco Canal," in October, 1835 ; of a " Discourse on
Education," delivered at Westfield, in July, 1837 ; and
of an " Oration on the Death of Daniel O'Connel," de
livered in the city of New York, on the 22d of Sep
tember, 1847. These have all been published, and are
decidedly creditable productions.
His style is elegant, rather than neat ; elaborate,
rather than finished. It possesses a sparkling vivacity,
but is somewhat deficient in energetic brevity. It is
not always easy, for there is more labor than art ; but
if the wine has an agreeable bouquet, the connoisseur
delights to have it linger. Like young D'lsraeli,
whose political position in some respects resembles his
own, he has occasionally a tendency to verbose decla
mation, a natural predilection, perhaps, for Milesian
floridness and hyperbole, and, like Napoleon, a love
for gorgeous paradoxes. But, in general, his words
are well chosen, and are frequently more eloquent
than the ideas. His sentences are constructed with
taste ; they have often the brilliancy of Mirabeau, and
the glowing fervor of Fox.
As a politician, he has evinced shrewdness, energy,
and decision. He is tolerably familiar with the main
springs of human action, is cautious and prudent, and
possesses tact as well as talent. It might be presumed,
from the character of his mind, that he would always
be found in advance of his party upon questions of

688 WILLIAM II. SEWARD.
reform. He is a democrat in his nature, and a friend
to progress, for the sake of progress.
If we may judge from present appearances, his
prospects for the future are fair and promising. He
has hosts of warm and devoted friends in his native
state, who will gladly put their shoulders to the car
that bears him onward to fame. If he remembers the
legend — "Be bold, and bold, and everywhere be bold,
but not too bold" — it is not improbable, that his and
their aspirations may be gratified. There is a good
ambition, and a bad one, " which o'erleaps itself."
Who would not rather be the conscientious Falkland,
than the unprincipled Danton ? who would not prefer
the bright coronal of fame that encircles, like a halo,
the memory of Heinrich Stilling or John Quincy
Adams, to the false glory of Talleyrand or Metter-
nich ?

'W . C . jB 0 ¥ £ IK,
/vV////5 O'enmcni'Jrn Yd
I'l/i'l'.tt.Mn llijy^y

WILLIAM C. BOUCK.
To this individual must be accorded the high honor
of being the first, and the only farmer governor of
New York. All the other eminent men who have
filled that distinguished station were educated to the
law, — a profession, which, in our country, is nearly
allied to politics, — and by their habits and associations
were peculiarly fitted for discharging the duties apper
taining to an executive office. Familiarity with the
general principles of legal science, and experience in
detecting the motives, and controlling the passions and
prejudices of men, rendered it a comparatively easy
task for them to execute and enforce the laws ; but he
had only his native good sense, united, however, to a
pretty accurate knowledge of human nature, upon
which to rely. It speaks volumes in favor of the
democratic equality of our institutions, and of his
character and capacity, that he has occupied so many
honorable positions, and sustained himself in them
with so much credit. His career furnishes an in
structive example, and his success affords encourage
ment, to those even less favored than he by the acces
sories of family and education.
44

'690 WILLIAM C. BOUCK.
One of the wisest acts of the administration of
Robert Hunter, the English governor of the colony of
New York from 1710 to 1719, was that of inducing
the German Lutherans, who had escaped from the
religious persecution in the Palatinate, to emigrate to
America. Under the sanction and patronage of his
royal mistress, Anne, Queen of England, about three
thousand families of the Palatines followed him to this
country when he came to assume the reins of gov
ernment. Much the larger portion of this body of immigrants
settled in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Another
portion ascended the Hudson river, and founded the
settlement at East Camp, in Columbia county. A still
smaller division, consisting of forty or fifty families,
crossed over the Helderbergs, in 1713, and established
themselves in dorfs, or villages, in the charming valley
of the Schoharie kill. By persons originally belong
ing to this colony, the rich alluvial flats along the Mo
hawk river were afterward settled.
The pioneers of the Schoharie district found the
remnants of several Indian tribes scattered through the
valley, upon the lands assigned to them by the English
sovereign, who claimed to be the owners of the soil,
and whose titles they were subsequently obliged to ex
tinguish. They brought with them to their new home
in the western wilderness, — not a large share of intel
ligence, for oppression had kept them in ignorance, —
but wealth, industry, frugality, enterprise, a love of

THE GERMAN PALATINES. 691
civil and religious liberty, and a sternness, almost a
harshness, of character, which had passed the ordeal
of a severe persecution.
When they first looked down upon the valley of the
Schoharie, from the summit of the Helderbergs, they
were enchanted with the beauty ofthe scenery beneath
them, and fancied the location they had chosen, to be
a terrestrial paradise. They entered zealously upon
the work of improvement, and so rapid was their pro
gress, that in a comparatively brief period, the entire
face of the country, in the vicinity of their settlements,
was changed. " Wide the wood recedes,
And towns shoot up and fertile realms are tilled ;
The land is full of harvests and green meads,"
The virgin forests disappeared with the wigwams of
the red men, and their places were supplied by sub
stantial barns and dwellings, by overflowing granaries,
and broad fields yielding an abundant recompense for
the toil of the husbandman. During the Revolution,
the store-houses of the patriot army were often filled
with the produce of the Schoharie district ; and it was
estimated by Washington, that in the expedition of
the Tories and Indians into the valley, in 1780, at least
eighty thousand bushels of grain were destroyed, which
would otherwise have been lodged in his magazines.*
Among the first German immigrants that settled in
* Letter to the President of Congress, November 1, 1780.

692 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
the valley of the Schoharie, was the great-grandfather
of the subject of this sketch. His son, William Bauch,
or Bouck, was the first male child born in the valley,
of white parents. In the year 1755, William Bouck,
in connection with Jacob Frederic Lawyer and Nich
olas York, patented from George II. about three
thousand acres of land lying on both sides ofthe Scho
harie river, or creek, and now embraced in the present
towns of Fulton and Middleburgh. The share of Mr.
Bouck in this tract was inherited by his three sons,
Christian, John, and William, and at the present time
it forms a part of the farm owned and occupied by his
grandson, Governor Bouck.
William Bouck, the elder, did not escape the horrors,
or the hardships of that protracted border warfare, in
the course of which the fairest portions of Tryon
county were so often made desolate. Again and again,
the " Christians and Savages," under the leadership
of Brant and Johnson, broke into the Schoharie valley ;
butchered its inhabitants, or left them houseless wan
derers; levelled their granaries in the dust, and swept
over their fields as with the besom of destruction.
The buildings of Mr. Bouck, then an opulent farmer,
were destroyed by a party of Indians ; and he, with
several members of his family, were made prisoners,
but were afterward rescued in Delaware county.
His son, Christian Bouck, who was the father of the
governor, entered the colonial service, and throughout
his life exhibited the sturdy independence and patriot-

BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE. 693
ism, the industry and perseverance, which he had in
herited from his German ancestors. One of his most
intimate friends and associates was Timothy Murphy,
the brave partisan and skilful rifleman of Schoharie,
whose famous exploits are still preserved in history and
tradition. The friendship of Murphy for the father,
descended to the son ; and it is said that the latter
owed his first election to the assembly, to the influence
and zeal of his father's friend.
The maiden name of the mother of Governor Bouck,
was Margaret Borst. She was descended from a Ger
man family, among the first settlers of the Schoharie
district. She died at the early age of forty-four. Her
husband survived till 1836, when he, too, was gathered
to his fathers, in his eighty-third year, leaving behind
him a name and character held in high respect by his
neighbors and acquaintances.
William C. Bouck was born on the farm where he
now resides, formerly occupied by bis father and grand
father, in the present town of Fulton, Schoharie coun
ty, on the 7th day of January, 1786. He was educated
a farmer, and has been more or less actively engaged
in agricultural pursuits during his whole life. All the
time and attention which could be spared from his
public duties, have been devoted to the management
of his farm. " Until I was twenty-two years of age,"
says he, in a letter to a friend, not intended for publi
cation, " no common laborer on my father's farm did
more work than myself, either in clearing land, or in

694 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
the harvest field. Often have I gone to the plough be
fore daylight, and from it after dark."
His father possessed abundant means, and designed
to give him a liberal education ; but his activity, enter
prise, and industry, seemed to be needed upon the farm,
and there was always something to be done that de
manded his supe/rvision. So, for one cause or another,
the execution of his father's intentions was postponed,
from time to time, till he had reached man's estate,
and his presence was then required at home more than
ever. His literary acquirements, therefore, did not
extend beyond a common school education, obtained,
for the most part, in accordance with the usual custom
of that day, during the winter months, when there was
a respite from labor upon the farm.
But he possessed an inquisitive mind, which, as if
by instinct, like the bee gathering honey from every
flower, made constant additions to its stores of infor
mation, by reading and observation. He remembered,
also, the ancestral proverb : — " Was man in der ju-
gend wiinscht, hat man in alter die fiille." This it
was that inspired his efforts, and led him to encourage
the ambition to gain for himself an honorable name in
the world. His good judgment, his general intelli
gence, his acuteness, and his shrewdness of observa
tion, were early noticed by his friends and acquaint
ances. " Many a word spoken in jest," says the
historian of Schoharie county, " becomes prophetic.
About the year 1820, an honest farmer living on Fox

EARLY POLITICAL PREFERENCES. 695
creek held a conversation with a friend of ours, in
which Mr. Bouck was mentioned. Of the latter gen
tleman, the former thus remarked : ' Depend upon it,
that man will yet be governor of this state ; for, in
stead of going round a hill, as other men do, to see
what is on the opposite side, he looks right through it.'
This casual remark was made at a time when his Ex
cellency's intimate friends did not anticipate for him a
seat in the gubernatorial chair of the state."*
Before he became a voter, he was deeply engaged in
politics. He was an ardent and zealous adherent of
Jefferson and Madison, and through life has been an
undeviating republican and democrat. On all occa
sions, he has supported the party to which he belonged,
its men and its measures, with zeal and efficiency ;
and it is probable that Schoharie county is more in
debted to him for the steady uniformity of her political
character, during the last forty years, than to any other
individual. Being extensively connected, and widely and favor
ably known, he was brought into public life at an early
age. In the spring of 1807, being then twenty -one
years of age, he was chosen clerk of his native town,
and for the two following years was elected its super
visor. In 1811, he was nominated by the republican
convention in his county for the office of sheriff, then
filled by the appointment of the Governor and Coun-
* Simms History of Schoharie County and Border Wars of New
York, p. 627, (note.)

696 WILLIAM C. BOUCK.

cil, but he declined accepting it. The next year, he
was a delegate to the senatorial convention for the
Western District, held at Onondaga, and took an
active and influential part in its proceedings. In the
same year, (1812) he concluded to accept the office of
sheriff, in compliance with the wishes of his friends,
and was duly appointed by Governor Tompkins and
the republican Council. From this office he was re
moved by the federalists, when they obtained the
power in the Council of appointment, in 1813, the first
year of the war. Mr. Bouck had now become a lead
ing politician in Schoharie ; he was a firm and fast
friend of Governor Tompkins, and a warm supporter
of the war measures of the national and state adminis
trations. His removal from office did not weaken or
impair his influence, but rather added to it ; for the in
habitants of the county were much attached to him, —
they were almost like one family, and adhered to each
other with something of a clannish spirit, in the better
and original sense of that term.
Once fairly started upon the high-road of political
preferment, his prospects brightened at every step, and
success became more easy of achievement. His saga
cious foresight, his prudence and discretion, served him
in great stead ; and his reputation for influence soon
extended beyond the limits of his own county. Im
mediately after his removal from the office of sheriff,
in the spring of 1813, he was elected a member of
assembly by the republicans of Schoharie. He was

CHOSEN STATE SENATOR. 697
twice reelected to the same position, in 1814 and 1815,
and returned a fourth time, in 1817. In 1819 he was
appointed colonel of the 18th regiment of infantry,
" the duties of which office," says Mr. Simms, " he
discharged with becoming dignity and skill."* At
the April election in 1820, he was chosen one of the
senators from the then Middle district of the state. He
remained in the Senate till his term was ended, and
his services dispensed with, under the new Consti
tution. Very soon after he entered public life, he formed the
acquaintance of Martin Van Buren, and became his
intimate political friend. They together supported
Governor Tompkins to the close of his career. Mr.
Bouck also opposed the administration of Mr. Clinton,
and contributed most efficiently to the organization of
the Bucktail party. He opposed, too, the administra
tion of the younger Adams, aided in the elevation of
General Jackson to the chief magistracy of the nation,
and adhered to the fortunes of Mr. Van Buren till the
end of his presidential term.
In the legislature Mr. Bouck was not distinguished
as a debater. He was rarely seen upon the floor. But
in the committee room, and in the private consulta
tions of members, his practical good sense, his native
talent, his judgment and discernment, were highly
prized, and oftentimes were of great service to his con
stituents. To his party, his shrewdness and tact, his
* History of Schoharie, etc., p. 627.
30

698 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
prudence, and his address in the management of men,
were invaluable.
It would, perhaps, be improper to class him among
the original friends of the canal policy. He had not
over much confidence in the soundness of Mr. Clinton's
views on the subject of internal improvements ; he be
lieved him to be both enthusiastic and visionary ; yet,
although a warm political opponent, he was one of the
first among those who were inclined to doubt, to look
favorably upon the recommendations of that eminent
statesman, and to appreciate the immense advantages
that would be derived from the construction of the
Erie and Champlain canals; and when it was pro
posed to pledge some of the most important revenues
of the state, to secure, beyond question, the ultimate
payment of the debt to be contracted, he gave the
measure his cordial and hearty support.
By an act of the Legislature, passed in 1821, pro
vision was made for the appointment of an additional
canal commissioner. The character of Mr. Bouck for
sagacity and ability, as a business man, now stood so
hiah, that he was recommended for the new office,
though not an applicant for it, by the people of the in
terior counties of the state, who thought they were
entitled to a commissioner, without distinction of party.
He was a rigid party man, however, and sought no
appointment except through the instrumentality of his
political friends. He received the unanimous nomina
tion of the republican legislative caucus, after several

APPOINTED CANAL COMMISSIONER. 699
efforts had been made to unite upon one of the more
prominent candidates ; and was afterward chosen to fill
the office by the two branches of the Legislature, with
out a dissenting vote except that of one senator, Judge
Rosecrantz, of Herkimer county, who did not object to
Mr. Bouck personally, but he considered the appoint
ment of an additional commissioner unnecessary.*
It was with unfeigned reluctance that Mr. Bouck ac
cepted this office. The position was an honorable, but
an arduous one,-— full of responsibility, and environed
with cares, perplexities, and embarrassments. It was
anticipated that he would be assigned to the western
section of the Erie Canal, the most difficult portions
of which were yet to be constructed. He was not
disposed, however, to put his hand to the plough and
look back. The appointment was accepted ; the ne
cessary bonds were given ; and shortly after the ad
journment of the Legislature, he entered upon the per
formance of his official duties. He was assigned by
his colleagues to the western section, as the successor
of the late Myron Holley, and superintended the con
struction of the canal, from Brockport to its termina
tion at Lake Erie, including the passage of the Moun
tain Ridge at Lockport, the most difficult part of the
whole line.
* Mr. Hammond says that Judge Rosecrantz declared he would
" never vote for a bucktail!' (Political History, vol. i., p. 564 ;) but the
above is the reason assigned for his vote, at the time, to the friends of
Mr. Bouck.

700 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
" Who, at the west, who had cognizance of those
times and their local events, does not remember how
faithful and indefatigable he was in the discharge of
his duties ? — or, almost imagine that they can see him
now, as they saw him in those primitive canal times,
traversing the forest on horseback and on foot, from
the log shanties of one contractor to those of another ;
sleeping and eating where emergency made it neces
sary, in quarters no matter how rude or humble ; or in
his room at the old ' Cottage' in Lockport, coolly and
good-naturedly resisting the fierce importunities of the
dissatisfied contractor ; yielding to exigencies here and
there, when public interest demanded it, or strenuous
and unyielding when it did not ; pressing on the diffi
cult work upon the Mountain Ridge, amid great diffi
culties and embarrassments ; persevering to the end,
until he had seen the last barrier removed that pre
vented the flow of the waters of Lake Erie through
their long artificial channel."*
For much the greater part of the distance west of
Rochester, the line of the Erie Canal, when first located,
passed through a dense forest, that Mr. Bouck was
obliged constantly to traverse, on horseback, in the dis
charge of his duties ; often carrying with him large
sums of money, which rendered his position by no
means a desirable one. His monthly payments to con
tractors, during the season of active operations, aver
aged about one hundred thousand dollars, and were
* History of the HoUand Purchase, p. 681.

DUTIES AS COMMISSIONER. 701
made in the notes of the Albany banks, instead of
drafts, or country funds ; the commissioners of the
canal fund having made an arrangement with them, by
which they obtained the necessary advances of money,
on more favorable terms than they could have done
elsewhere, upon the condition that their notes should
be paid out by the canal commissioners on the line.
This mode of disbursement, though beneficial to the
state in a pecuniary point of view, imposed an addi
tional burden of labor and responsibility upon the
commissioners on the Western Section.
The work on this section was pressed to completion
as rapidly as was possible, with the means placed at
the disposal of Mr. Bouck ; but with all his energy and
perseverance, it was not till the fall of 1825, that the
barrier at the Mountain Ridge was finally overcome.
This was the last obstacle, in the way of an uninter
rupted communication between the Hudson and Lake
Erie, to be removed ; and to it a very large share of
his time and attention had been given. At length, on
the 29th of September, he was able to announce to the
president of the canal board, that the unfinished parts
of the canal would be in readiness to admit the passage
of boats on the 26th of October following. The work
at the Ridge was completed on the evening ofthe 24th
of October, when the guard gates were raised, and the
filling of the level commenced. On the 25th, the en
tire canal from Albany to Buffalo was navigable ; and
on the following day, the packet-boat " William C.

702 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
Bouck," selected in compliment to the commissioner as
the first boat to pass the locks at Lockport, ascended
to the Lake Erie level, in company with a number of
other boats, to meet the boats from Buffalo on board
which were Governor Clinton and his suite.
Besides superintending the construction of the
Western Section of the Erie Canal, Mr. Bouck was
also selected by his associates to take charge of the
work on the Cayuga and Seneca, the Crooked Lake,
the Chemung, and the Chenango Canals. All these
canals were constructed under his superintendence
and supervision, in addition to the performance of
other important duties, and in a manner that reflected
the highest credit on his business tact and capacity.
His admirable fitness for the duty of overseeing the
construction of public works, and his address in the
management of contractors and laborers, were so well
known and appreciated, that in the summer of 1833,
the office of commissioner of the Utica and Schenec
tady railroad company was tendered to him, in order
to secure his services in superintending the building
of that road ; but he preferred to remain in his old
position, and therefore declined it.
As early as 1833, he became convinced of the
insufficiency of the Erie Canal to do the business
of the great and growing west ; and that, unless
measures were taken to' enlarge its capacity, the con
stantly increasing trade of that section of the country
would be obliged to seek some other avenue and out-

CANALS CONSTRUCTED BY HIM. 703
let. This conviction daily grew stronger, and it is
understood that the first suggestions in regard to en
larging the canal emanated from him, and the chief
engineer in his employ. Whether this be correct or
not, it is quite certain that he has ever been the con
stant and unwavering advocate of the Erie Canal en
largement. For nineteen years he was continued in the office
of canal commissioner, having, during that long
period, faithfully expended and accounted for upward
of eight millions of dollars, and rendered extensive
and important services to the state in the construction
of her public works. By his persevering industry,
and his devotion to the public interests, he obtained
the confidence of the people in an eminent degree,
and retained it to the last. When the whigs had
secured a majority in both branches of the legislature,
in 1840, it was proposed to remove him ; but at the
first caucus of the whig members, it is said, there were
only eleven votes in favor of the proposition. A
large number of his opponents desired to have him
continued in office, on account of his great experi
ence ; but political considerations decided the question,
and his removal took place at the session of the Legis
lature in that year.
While he had held the office, he had become exten
sively known to the citizens of all parts of the state.
" The old white horse," as he was called, in allusion to
a favorite animal which he had rode for many years,

704 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
was as familiar on the line of the canals, as was " old
whitey" in the camp of General Taylor. Wherever
he was known, too, he was respected ; and his remo
val was regretted, even by those who justified it upon
party grounds. Public sentiment was so strongly
manifested in his favor, and the sympathies of his
party were so warmly aroused on account of his
removal, that he was regarded as the prominent candi
date for the gubernatorial nomination, long before the
assembling of the democratic state convention in the
fall of 1840.
Other gentlemen were voted for in the convention ;
but Mr. Bouck received a majority on the first, or
informal ballot, and was then unanimously nominated
as the democratic candidate for governor. Daniel S.
Dickinson, of Broome county, was at the same time
selected as the candidate for lieutenant-governor.
The election of 1840, it will be remembered, was con
ducted with unusual warmth and spirit. Mr. Bouck
was highly popular with the friends of the canals, and
not particularly obnoxious to the conservative op
ponents of Mr. Van Buren. Consequently, his vote
was a large one, — exceeding that of the Van Buren
electoral ticket, by upward of four thousand. His op
ponent, Governor Seward, who was then a candidate
for re-election, also fell behind the whig electoral
ticket about the same number of votes ; but he suc
ceeded over Mr. Bouck, by a little over five thousand

CONSERVATIVES AND RADICALS. 705
majority, in a poll of four hundred and forty thousand
votes. The ancient difficulties and divisions in the demo
cratic party growing out of the internal improvement
system and the construction of the lateral canals, still
continued to interfere with and to prevent its harmoni
ous action. There were, in truth, two factions, the
differences between which had been constantly grow
ing wider since the administration of Governor
Throop. The one, afterward known as conservative
democrats or hunkers, were in favor of prosecuting
the public works to completion, and of commencing
others that promised eventually to be profitable, but
not of increasing the debt of the state to a large
amount. The other faction, subsequently called radi
cals or barnburners, were opposed to the construction
of any work that would not pay for itself, and to any
increase of the state debt ; and they thought that the
canals should be charged with all the revenues, such
as the salt and auction duties, originally set apart for
their construction, and that this debt to the general
fund, in which light they regarded it, ought to be paid
before any other new liabilities for purposes of im
provement were incurred. The conservative demo
crats, on the other hand, insisted, that these revenues
had been very largely augmented by the construction
of the canals, and that it would be unjust to charge
them with moneys which they had thus indirectly
earned for the state. Minor questions, and personal
45

706 WILLIAM C. BOUCK.
considerations, no doubt, had their influence in pro
moting the division between the two factions ; but the
main causes of difference, as respected measures, had
reference to the canal and financial policy of the
state. At the head of the conservatives were Mr. Bouck,
Mr. Croswell, the editor of the Albany Argus, Samuel
Beardsley, Daniel S. Dickinson, Henry A. Foster, and
Horatio Seymour. The radicals followed the lead of
Samuel Young, Azariah C. Flagg, George P. Barker,
and Michael Hoffman. Mr. Van Buren, ex-Governor
Marcy, and Silas Wright, had not been much identified
with state politics for a number of years ; but Gover
nor Marcy was understood to sympathize with the
conservatives in preference to the ultra policy of the
radicals, and Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Wright were
inclined to favor the latter.
There were, of course, various shades of opinion
among the members of the two factions ; and many
leading politicians were not disposed to take sides at
all ; yet the division in opinion, marked as has been
stated, really existed, though not made so apparent at
this time as after the lapse of a few years.
While the whigs were in power, the canal debt was
largely increased. The democrats took advantage of
this ; and the radicals being more earnest than the
other faction in condemning the policy of the oppo
sition, when their party regained the ascendency, they
conti oiled its movements for a time. The democratic

THE STATE FINANCES. 707
state officers and canal commissioners elected in 1842
were mostly radicals, and that faction was considera
bly the stronger in the Legislature. For several
years, the radicals had advocated the amendment of
the constitution so as to require every law increasing
the state debt, except for purposes of defence against
invasion and in case of war, to be submitted to the
electors for their approbation, to be indicated by their
votes, before it should take effect. Resolutions of
that purport were proposed in 1841 and 1842, but
defeated by the whigs and ultra conservatives in the
Legislature. At the session of 1842, the subject of the state
finances was discussed at length, and a law was en
acted suspending the completion of the public works,
imposing a direct tax, and pledging a portion of the
canal revenues as a sinking fund for the payment of
the existing debt. This law was a radical measure ;
it having originated with the Comptroller, Azariah C.
Flagg. The act was entitled " an act to provide for
paying the debt and preserving the credit of the
state," but is commonly known as "the stop and tax
law of 1842."
It Was with very great reluctance that many of the
leading conservative democrats gave their consent to
the passage of this law, and they made every effort to
procure such amendments as would enable the canal
commissioners gradually to complete the unfinished
works, where they were far advanced, without any

708 WILLIAM C. BOUCK.
suspension as to them. Governor Bouck himself was
not friendly to the suspension, but was in favor of
sending an agent to Holland to negotiate a loan. This
was his individual opinion as to the proper course to
be pursued, but he soon found that a large majority,
even of the conservative democrats, were disposed to
support the " stop and tax" policy cordially and in
good faith, whereupon he ceased his opposition to the
bill. Ever since his defeat in 1840, Governor Bouck had
been the prominent candidate for the next gubernato
rial nomination. In the winter and spring of 1842,
however, a number of the prominent radicals took
pretty strong ground against him, yet they were un
able to secure a majority of the delegates to the dem
ocratic state convention who were opposed to his
nomination. The convention assembled at Syracuse
on the 7th of October, 1842. At a private and in
formal meeting of the delegates, it was ascertained
that Mr. Bouck was the first choice of a large majority,
and he was accordingly nominated, unanimously, in
the convention, with Mr. Dickinson as the candidate
for lieutenant-governor. Resolutions were also adopt
ed, pledging the party, and, of course, its candidates,
to the financial policy of 1842. This seemed to sat
isfy the radicals, and they united with apparent hearti
ness in the support of the nominations.
The opponents of Mr. Bouck and Mr. Dickinson
were Luther Bradish and Gabriel Furman. Both

EMBARRASSMENTS OF HIS ADMINISTRATION. 709
were gentlemen of high standing in the whig party
and they were sustained with a good degree of en
thusiasm. But the tide had turned ; the internal im
provement and financial policy of the whigs was not
popular with the people ; and the ascendency of the
democratic party in the state was completed by the
election of their candidates for governor and lieuten
ant-governor, by about twenty-two thousand majority.
On the 1st day of January, 1843, Mr. Bouck took
the oath of office as governor of the state. Notwith
standing the united efforts of the democratic party
had placed him in the gubernatorial chair, it was evi
dent that a collision would soon take place between
the two factions, and the ultra leaders, on both sides,
were not at all backward in expressing their desire to
have it take place. At the democratic legislative
caucus in 1842, called for the selection of state officers,
the nomination of Samuel Beardsley, a prominent con
servative democrat, to the office of attorney-general,
which he had held when his party lost the political
control of the state, was opposed and defeated by the
radical friends of Mr. Young and Mr Flagg.* This
was an indication of the spirit existing on one side ;
and on the other, there was a similar feeling exhibited,
to take care of their friends and to put down their op
ponents, whenever they had the power to do so.
* The radicals justified their opposition to Mr. Beardsley, upon the
ground that his friends had endeavored to prevent the reelection of
Silas Wright as a Senator in Congress, in the winter of 1837.

710 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
Sometime previous to the assembling of the Legisla
ture in January, 184.3, various suggestions were thrown
out in the democratic journals belonging to the radical
interest, as to who should, and who should not, be the
advisers of Governor Bouck. His position, therefore,
was one of great delicacy : at the very threshold of
his administration, he encountered difficulties and em
barrassments of the gravest character ; and their dis
turbing influence was felt from its beginning to its
close. Like most men in his situation, he seems to
have been impressed with the idea that he could con
ciliate and harmonize the conflicting elements, and at
the same time make the support of his administration
the test of party fidelity. This was his mistake, — the
great defect in his policy. If he had discountenanced
the idea of any divisions in the party, or the existence
of any unfriendly feelings towards himself or his ad
ministration, it is very doubtful whether efforts at con
ciliation, under such circumstances, would have suc
ceeded. But as the support of his administration and
its measures was exacted, he should have made no
compromise with those democrats who opposed it, but
entirely excluded them from his selections for official
appointments. Being the first democratic executive, after a whig
administration of four years, he was called upon to
exercise the appointing power to a greater extent than
any one of his predecessors, with the exception of
Governor Yates. It was impossible for him to avoid

THE STATE OFFICERS. 711
incurring the hostility of those who were disappointed,
though it appears to have been his desire to give gen
eral satisfaction. Yet, instead of strengthening him
self by his appointments, he was almost always gov
erned by the recommendations of county conventions,
or by the wishes of the democratic members of the
legislature from the respective counties. Where he
was left free to act in accordance with his own prefer
ences, he usually made his selections, especially for
important offices, from among the conservative demo
crats. Toward the latter part of his administration,
he pursued this course more generally than he had
before done ; but it was then too late to bring the
whole appointing power to bear in his favor.
His course in regard to appointments, taking the
entire period of his administration together, may be
said to have been as conciliatory and impartial as
could well have been expected, although he evinced
but little tact in strengthening himself. The radical
state officers, on the other hand, pursued a different
policy. They had the control of the canal board,
though with much less patronage ; yet they made all
their appointments from their own particular friends,
and ultimately carried a large portion, perhaps a ma
jority, of the democratic party with them, in opposition
to the administration of Governor Bouck.
A quasi feeling of hostility to the governor was
manifested on the part of the state officers, at the very
outset of his administration. Ever since the adoption

712 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
of the constitution of 1821, it had been the invariable
custom of the democratic governors to draft their
messages, and then to submit them to more or less of
the state officers, or to their immediate confidential
friends and advisers. This was always done at the
residence of the governor, or at the executive chamber.
On these occasions the messages were read over care
fully, and freely criticized ; new suggestions were
offered, and corrections and alterations were often
made. Governor Bouck did not depart from this
practice. He wrote out his first message himself;
and, after submitting it to a few confidential friends,
as his predecessors had frequently done, he invited the
state officers to the usual reading and discussion of the
message. They declined meeting the governor at
his residence, or at the Executive Chamber, but re
quired him to meet them at the state hall. He com
plied with their wishes ; the message was read over in
their presence, but no alterations were made or sug
gested by either of them. Some of the radical presses
afterward criticized it with some severity. For this
reason probably, the second message, delivered to the
legislature in January, 1844, was not submitted to a
similar ordeal. The breach between the governor
and the state officers had then become marked and de
cided, and neither party seemed desirous of consulting
with or advising the other.
Immediately after the organization of the Legislature
in 1843, a warm contest sprung up with reference to

ELECTION OF STATE PRINTER. 713
the election of a state printer in the place of Thurlow
Weed, the editor of the Albany Evening Journal, and
the incumbent of the office during the administration
of Governor Seward. The radicals were exceedingly
anxious to prevent the election of Mr. Croswell, ofthe
Albany Argus, but they entirely failed in their efforts
to defeat him. He was again chosen to the office he
had formerly held, and his opponents then rallied
around the Albany Evening Atlas, a paper recently
established at the capital, and for several years after
ward edited and published by James M. French and
William Cassidy. A bitter editorial warfare was now
carried on between the Argus and Atlas ; the demo
cratic papers throughout the state, with here and there
an exception that endeavored to remain neutral, ranged
themselves on one side or the other ; and the line of
division between the two factions daily grew broader,
while the whigs did all in their power to widen the
breach. From this time forward there was an entire want of
harmony among the democratic members of the Legis
lature. The radicals united with the whigs to defeat
the nominations of Governor Bouck where they were
objectionable to them ; and at the close of the legisla
tive session in the spring of 1844, a number of the
more ultra radicals refused to sign the customary pro
ceedings of the party caucus, because resolutions had
been adopted approving of the course of the governor
and lieutenant-governor.

714 WILLIAM C. BOUCK.
Upon national politics, and in regard to many ques
tions of state policy, the two factions were pretty well
agreed. In respect of all great measures, too, the ad
ministration of Governor Bouck was essentially demo
cratic. In former years, the subject of the state
finances and the canal policy had occasioned consider
able difficulty and disagreement in the democratic
party, but this was nearly put to rest by the law of
1842. Governor Bouck himself, whatever may have
been his private opinions, does not appear, at any
time, to have exerted the influence of his office to
produce a change in the policy established by that
law. In his annual message in 1843, he recommended
the subject of internal improvements by roads and
canals to the Legislature, but expressed his approbation
of the law of 1842, and cautioned them against in
creasing the state debt unwisely, or authorizing ex
travagant expenditures or ill-advised undertakings.
In the message of 1844, he avowed similar sentiments ;
and, while declaring himself friendly to objects of in
ternal improvement, he laid down this principle, — that
"a debt, for the purposes of internal improvement,
should not be extended beyond the ability of those
improvements to meet the interest, and ultimately re
deem the principal."
Some of the conservative friends of the governor,
however, were in favor of modifying the law of 1842,
so as to permit the early completion of the unfinished

FINANCIAL POLICY. 715
works, and made repeated efforts to accomplish that
object in 1843 and 1844.* But they were not sus
tained by a majority even of those who belonged to the
same faction with themselves, and, of course, failed in
every attempt. This did not satisfy the radicals; and
they were desirous of putting the matter entirely be
yond the control of the Legislature. For this purpose,
their proposition to amend the constitution was again
brought forward in 1843, but was defeated by the votes
of the whigs and conservative democrats, The prin
ciple of this amendment proved to be popular with the
tax-payers of the state, and at most of the democratic
county and senatorial conventions, in the fall of 1843,
it was warmly approved. In deference to this expres
sion of his party, Governor Bouck recommended, in
his annual message in 1844, that some constitutional
checks should be adopted against the creation of a
debt; that the Legislature should be deprived of the
power to make loans to corporations ; and that every
appropriation of the public money should require a
vote of two thirds of the members of the legislature.
In the mean time a number of the leading radicals
* An act, drawn up by Mr. Seymour, one of Mr. Bouck's confiden
tial friends, passed the Legislature in 1844, appropriating a part ofthe
surplus revenue, after complying with the provisions of the law of
1 842, to the completion of the unfinished works. The radicals opposed
this measure, and insisted tbat it was contrary to the spirit of the law
of 1842, though they did not claim that it was a violation of the letter,
to make any such appropriations until the existing debt should be
paid.

716 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
had taken ground in favor of a convention to revise
the constitution, and a large portion of the whigs ap
peared to be friendly to the suggestion. This project
was agitated in the Legislature of 1844, but as nearly
all the conservative democrats now ceased their oppo
sition to the amendment of the constitution which the
radicals had urged, no definite action was had upon it.
The resolutions of amendment, defeated in 1843, were
once more taken up, and being sustained by almost the
united vote of the democratic party in the Legislature,
were adopted by a large majority. This did not ter
minate the dispute between the two factions ; because
the resolutions were to be referred to the succeeding
Legislature, according to the provisions ofthe constitu
tion of 1821, and then submitted to the electors of the
state. During the two years of Governor Bouck's adminis
tration, the democrats had the control of both branches
of the Legislature, but the contests between the two
factions interfered very much with the proper business
of legislation.
Among the recommendations of the governor, not
before mentioned, were the amendment of the consti
tution so as to increase the efficiency of the judiciary
of the state, the modification and alteration of the
safety-fund law so as to secure more perfect protection
against losses by the failure of the banks, and the im
provement of the militia system. He also advised the
passage of a law directing the locks on the canals to

OPPOSITION TO HIS RENOM1NATION. 717
be closed on the Sabbath, provided it was thought by
the Legislature that such a law could be enforced.
After the adjournment of the Legislature in the
spring of 1844, the opposition to Governor Bouck be
came more decided than ever.* The course of the
radical members in refusing to approve of the measures
and policy of his administration was commended by all
the presses in that interest, and as warmly condemned
by those belonging to the opposite faction.
It was now very evident that his renomination would
be opposed with considerable earnestness. Indeed, some
of the radical papers had, during the previous winter,
openly advocated the selection of another candidate.
Among others, whose names were presented to suc
ceed him in the gubernatorial office, was the late Silas
Wright, then a senator in Congress. Mr.' Wright had
taken no part in the divisions and contests of the two
factions in the democratic party of the state, and
Governor Bouck was very willing to decline a renom
ination in his favor. Accordingly, in the month of
April, 1844, a friend of Mr. Bouck addressed a letter to
Mr. Wright, informing him that the former would cheer
fully yield if he would accept a nomination. In reply,
Mr. Wright said, that under no circumstances, which
he could anticipate, would he consent to become a
candidate. To this determination Mr. Wright ad
hered, although he did not go so far as absolutely to
forbid the use of his name. Still, it is quite evident
* This opposition was probably more violent than it would otherwise have been,
for tho reason that the Baltimore Convention did not nominate Mr. Van Buren for
president.

718 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
he had no desire to leave the Senate, or to mix himself
up with the party feuds in New York.
Notwithstanding Mr. Wright's feelings and wishes
were made known through the democratic papers, the
radicals persisted in urging his name. They were soon
joined by all the moderate men in the party, who an
ticipated defeat if he were not the candidate, and he
was finally nominated over Governor Bouck by the
democratic state convention.
Governor Bouck and his friends, however, cheerfully
supported Mr. Wright at the polls. The latter did not,
it is true, receive the usual democratic majority in
Schoharie county, and especially in Fulton, the resi
dence of Governor Bouck, but this was entirely owing
to the anti-rent question.
Shortly before the close of the administration of
Governor Bouck, the public peace was again disturbed
by a renewal of the outrages on the manorial lands.
Bands of the tenants, or anti-renters, had armed and
disguised themselves as Indians, and in the month of
December, 1844, the official papers of the sheriff of
Columbia county were forcibly taken from him and
burned ; and at one of the meetings of the anti-renters
held in the same county, at which arms Were liberally
displayed, a young man was shot dead. Similar dis
turbances occurred about the same time in the county
of Rensselaer. Governor Bouck immediately held a
consultation with the state officers, and with Mr.
Wright, the governor elect, in which it was deter-

APPOINTED ASSISTANT TREASURER. 719
mined to order out an armed force to assist the author
ities of Columbia county in maintaining order and
enforcing the laws. This was promptly done ; and
the offenders were afterward arrested, tried and pun
ished, and tranquillity restored.
Governor Bouck, with most of the prominent mem
bers of the democratic party, including Mr. Van Bu
ren, Mr. Marcy, and Mr. Wright, was originally op
posed to the project of calling a convention to revise
the constitution in 1846, and in his annual message in
1844, he made a distinct avowal of his sentiments upon
the question. The county of Schoharie, however, gave
a large majority in favor of a convention, but this was
mainly owing to the heavy vote of the anti-renters.
Yet Governor Bouck was still so popular among his old
friends and neighbors, that he was chosen one of the
delegates to the convention. He took part in its de
liberations, and was chairman of the committee on the
elective franchise.
During the sitting ofthe Convention, in June, 1846,
he was appointed by President Polk to the office of
Assistant Treasurer in the city of New York. This
appointment was conferred without solicitation on hia
part, and was reluctantly accepted. It, of course, in
terfered to some extent with his duties as a member of
the Constitutional Convention, and he was unable to
be present during all the discussions. In the financial
provisions, so far as they affected the canal policy of
the state, incorporated into the constitution, he took a

720 WILLIAM C BOUCK.
deep interest, and endeavored, though in vain, to se
cure to the Legislature a larger discretion in regard to
completing the unfinished works than was finally con
ceded. He discharged the duties of the office of Assistant
Treasurer, rendered particularly delicate and onerous
during the progress ofthe Mexican war, with great in
tegrity, and to the entire satisfaction of the government
and the public, till he was removed by President Tay
lor, in the month of May, 1849. His successor assumed
the office on the 1st of July, when he returned to his
island-farm in the beautiful valley of the Schoharie kill,
where he is now enjoying a dignified retirement, sur
rounded by his old friends, and in the possession of
good health and spirits.
In 1807, he married Catharine, the only daughter
of Jacob Lawyer, who was the son of Jacob Frederic
Lawyer, the co-patentee of his grandfather before men
tioned. By her he has had eleven children, of whom
eight are now living.
He has ever been regular and frugal in his habits,
and, with the aid of a good constitution, has passed
through life in the enjoyment of robust health. He is
emphatically a self-made man, and his education has
been almost wholly the result of experience. To his
native strength of character, and native talent, he is
mainly indebted for the official honors that he has re
ceived. These have certainly not been unwisely be
stowed upon him. Throughout the long period which

CHARACTER. 721
he has passed in public life, he has maintained a high
character for prudence and discretion, for honesty of
purpose, for practical ability, and for unsullied integ
rity. These are, indeed, strong claims to the esteem
and approbation of his fellow citizens
46

SILAS WRIGHT.
" Nothing," says Thomas de Quincey, " makes such
dreary and monotonous reading, as the old hackneyed
roll-call, chronologically arrayed, of inevitable facts in
a man's life. One is so certain of the man's having
been born, and also of his having died, that it is dismal
fo lie under the necessity of reading it."
Notwithstanding this dictum of one whose opinions
are entitled to the utmost respect, it is exceedingly
doubtful, whether the admirers of the " English Opium-
Eater," whose name is legion, have been more delighted
with the sparkling wit, the kindly sentiment, and the
genial good-nature, than with the little, almost trivial
incidents, recorded in his " Sketch from Childhood."
Greatness, like distance, always lends " enchantment
to the view." The humblest shrub or flower that
sheds its fragrance or unfolds its beauties, beneath the
shadow of the towering Cordillera, derives an additional
charm and interest from its position ; and so, the most
trifling events and objects, in the history of a great
man, or connected with his fame and character, are
invested with more than ordinary attractions.
The " inevitable facts" in the life of the subject of

SIILA3 ¦f/YCl^'li^.
'I'yulllli Gcnmii/d'Ain ).,-¦}

!'H"r.l],rl„li. 1,'j.la,,

HIS ANCESTORS. 723
this sketch are these : His ancestors were among the
early emigrants from " father-land," who sought an
asylum and a home on the bleak and inhospitable shores
of New England. Samuel Wright, the first of the
family of whom we have an authentic account, was
one of the first settlers of Springfield and Northampton,
in the colony of Massachusetts, and died at the latter
place, in 1665. His son, Samuel Wright, junior, was
killed by the Indians, at Northfield, near the New
Hampshire line, in 1675. Joseph Wright, the son of
the latter, died at Northampton, in 1697, leaving a son
by the name of Samuel, who died about the year 1740.
Samuel Wright, the third of the name, also left a son,
bearing the same name with himself, who removed to
the north part of Hadley township, now Amherst, and
whose son, Silas, was the father ofthe future governor
of New York. Silas Wright, the elder, was appren
ticed at an early age, and never went to school a day
in his life. His trade was that of a tanner, currier and
shoemaker, all these occupations being usually united
in one and the same person, in those primitive days.
When he had served out his time, so little attention
had been paid to his education, that he could neither
read nor write ; but his deficiencies in this respect were
supplied by the kindness of his fellow-journeymen, who
showed him how to keep accounts and to transact or
dinary business. An inquisitive and observing mind,
and an excellent judgment, completed his stock of qual
ifications, when he commenced business for himself.

724 SILAS WRIGHT.
His wife was also a native of Hampshire county,
and had received a good education, by which he is
said to have profited after their marriage. Certain it
is, she aided him materially in the management of his
affairs. Both were industrious and enterprising, and
prosperity smiled good-naturedly upon them. They
were the parents of nine children, — five sons and four
daughters, two of whom died in infancy.
Silas Wright, their son, who is the subject of this
memoir, was born in the town of Amherst, Massachu
setts, on the 24th day of May, 1795. In the year fol
lowing that of his birth, his father gave up his trade,
and removed to the town of Weybridge, Addison
county, Vermont, where he purchased a farm and de
voted himself to agricultural pursuits. This continued
to be his occupation up to the time of his decease,
which took place in 1843. All of his sons, with the
exception of Silas, likewise became farmers ; and his
sons-in-law, too, followed the same honorable occu
pation. Young Silas Wright was reared and educated as a
farmer's son among the green hills of his adopted
state. According to the family traditions, his rare
natural endowments, his prudence, discernment, and
good judgment, early attracted notice, and his father
regarded him as his hope and pride. Until he had
passed his fourteenth year, he worked on the farm in
summer, after he became old enough to endure the
fatigue and labor, and attended the district school

education. 725
during the winter months, in accordance with the cus
tom of the times.
His father, however, had determined to give him a
liberal education as his share of his fortune, and the
ambition of the lad had long pointed in that direction.
Accordingly, he entered the academy at Middlebury,
when he was fourteen years of age, in order to fit
himself for a collegiate course. Having completed
his preparatory studies he was admitted a member of
the freshman class in Middlebury college, and remained
in that institution till he graduated, in the summer of
1815. In the academy and in college he maintained a
high character for talents and for his studious habits.
Acuteness of intellect, rare powers of mental applica
tion, force and energy of character, a retentive memo
ry, and a judgment that rarely failed him, — all accom
panied with a robustness of health, strengthened by toil
and the fresh pure air of his country home, and pre
served by the strict frugality of his manner of life,—
were treasures which the young student possessed, and
which he knew how to appreciate.
Self-reliance was early taught him, and it became
one of the brightest traits in his character. His
father's means were limited, and as soon as he could
lighten the burden of his expenses, he was prompt to
assist himself. During the last three years of his col
legiate course, he taught a district school in the winter,
and in that way both contributed to his support and
improved his natural and acquired talents, by impart-

726 SILAS WRIGHT.
ing to them the polish of observation and experi
ence. The period which he spent in college was one of
unusual excitement. It was that of the second war
with Great Britain ; and party feelings and prejudices
were nowhere more strong and decided than in the
New England states. His father was a decided re
publican, and had been several times elected by his
party, a member of the Vermont Legislature. He
was something of a politician, therefore, and having
espoused the political doctrines of Jefferson and Madi
son, was an ardent supporter of their administrations,
and of their foreign and domestic policy. He ap
proved most heartily of the war of 1812, and, with
his oldest son, took part, as a volunteer in the battle
of Plattsburgh,
His son, Silas, was one of four republicans in a
class of thirty ; for the fires of party politics burned
as brightly in the collegiate hall, as in the state-house
or at the hustings. It required, indeed, no small
amount of courage, to face the torrent of abuse
poured upon Madison and the republican party in the
New England states. The federalists had a large
share of the talent of the country, and if anathemas
and denunciations could have availed them aught,
their opponents would have been prostrated beyond
the hope of recovery. They mistook, however, the
genius and spirit of the American people, and their
very strength proved their weakness in the end.

STUDIES LAW. 727
Their denunciations, like chickens, " came home to
roost." Young Wright was prominent, nay foremost, in the
political discussions which were held in the halls of
his Alma Mater, and here, perhaps, were laid the
foundations of that firm and ardent attachment to the
principles and doctrines of the republican, or demo
cratic party, which he evinced through his whole life.
As has been intimated, he graduated at the annual
commencement in 1815. He had already determined
to embrace the legal profession, and in the month of
October following, he entered the office of Henry G
Martindale, at Sandy Hill, Washington county, in the
state of New York. Mr. Martindale was a lawyer
of considerable eminence, and afterward became a
distinguished politician. He had formerly been a fed
eralist, but he supported the administration of Mr.
Monroe, and was a warm friend and supporter of the
younger Adams.*
Mr. Wright remained in the office of Mr. Martin
dale about eighteen months, and then continued, and
completed his studies with Roger Skinner, at that time
the attorney of the United States for the northern dis
trict of New York, and afterward District Judge. Mr.
Skinner kept an office at Sandy Hill, but in 1817 he
was elected a member of the state Senate, and subse
quently spent a greater portion of his time at Albany.
* He was a representative in Congress, from 1823 to 1831, and again
from 1833 to 1835.

728 SILAS WRIGHT.
During his absence, the care of his business devolved
in a great degree upon Mr. Wright, and he often spoke
in high terms of his indebtedness to the fidelity, indus
try, and attention of his pupil. The latter drew up a
large share of the papers in the office, to which he was
pretty closely confined, though he occasionally visited
Albany and other places upon the business of Mr.
Skinner, and for several months taught a school at
Fort Miller.
Mr. Skinner was a good lawyer, and njfeintained a
fair standing at the bar of the state. He possessed
more than an average share of talents, yet he seemed
to derive greater pleasure from their employment in
the party contests of the day than in the legitimate
walks of his profession. He was a politician con
amore ; and it is more than probable, that Mr. Wright,
in his companionship with such a man, acquired that
fondness, not to say that zest, for politics, which gave
tone and color to his after life.
While he was reading law, Mr. Wright was often
employed in causes in justices' courts, in the manage
ment of which he displayed an ability that gave
promise of future excellence in his profession. He
was finally admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court
of New York, as an attorney, at the January term in
1819. His health had now become considerably im
paired by his constant and unremitting attention to Ins
studies, and confinement to the office and desk ; for
which reason, in accordance with the advice of his

LOCATES AT CANTOR. 729
friends, he determined to spend a portion ofthe follow
ing spring and summer in travelling on horseback,
both for the purpose of regaining his strength, and of
discovering some favorable location at which he might
establish himself permanently in the practice of his
profession. Western New York was then rapidly springing into
consequence ; it was the great attraction, the land of
promise, to the youthful adventurers from the older
settlements at the east; and in this direction Mr
Wright turned his course. He followed the main cen
tral route leading to the western counties, occasionally
diverging from it to visit some place of which he had
heard flattering accounts, and on his return travelled
through the northern portion of the state. There were
several towns which he had seen on his journey, that
promised well on the score of eligibility, but none
exactly suited his fancy, till he reached Canton, in the
county of St. Lawrence.
Settlements had been made in this county, at Og
densburgh and Canton, more than twenty years previ
ous ; but it was still new, and its rolling hills, its broad
plains and valleys, were yet hidden, beneath the prime
val forests. The practiced eye of the farmer's son saw
at a glance the advantages which it offered to the
agriculturist, and which assured him that it would soon
take a high rank among the neighboring counties.
His own natural inclinations, and the recollections and
associations lingering in his memory, predisposed him
31*

730 SILAS WRIGHT.
to take up his residence among a farming population.
Thouo-h bred to the law, he was more than half a
farmer. At Canton he found an old friend of his father,
whose name was Medad Moody, and who had for
merly lived in Weybridge. Mr. Moody urged him
with much earnestness to establish himself in the place
where he resided, and offered to build him a law office,
which he afterward did. Ogdensburgh was then the
county seat ; but Canton was the geographical, centre
of the county, and it was then predicted that when the
public buildings came to be rebuilt, they would be
located there. Mr. Wright was impressed with the
justice of these anticipations, and they were subse
quently realized. He concluded, therefore, to comply
with the request and solicitations of Mr. Moody. After
coming to this determination, he went on his way to
his father's residence in Vermont, but returned again,
and, in the month of October, 1819, opened an office
at Canton, which continued to be his home ever after,
except during the temporary absences occasioned by
his official employments.
"Good counsellors," says Shakspeare, "lack no
clients."* This was true of Mr. Wright. Consider
ing his location, his success in his profession was as
rapid and as great as could reasonably have been an
ticipated. Canton was then but a small country vil
lage, situated in the midst of a rural population, and the
* Measure for Measure.

PROFESSIONAL CHARACTER. 731
business which it afforded to a lawyer was limited in
amount, and yielded but very moderate pecuniary re
turns. He possessed a superior mind, however, and it
was not long in exhibiting its fruits. His talents, his
unassuming deportment, his punctilious observance of
the proprieties of life, the ease of his manners, and the
suavity of his disposition, made every one his personal
friend. He was accessible to all, whether rich or poor.
He never charged anything for advice, but his counsel
was given without fee or reward ; it was not prompted
by motives of self-interest, but always looked to the
good of his client.
It was impossible for such a man to fail of success ;
but he did not rise rapidly to distinction. He made no
sudden attempts to reach the goal on which his young
ambition had fixed its hopes. His progress was steady
but assured. The growth of his fame was like that of
the oak : — " First seedling hid in grass,
Then twig, then sapling, and as century rolls,
Slow after century, a giant bulk,
Of girth enormous."
The temples erected by Marcellus, to Virtue and
Honor, it is said, were built in such a manner, that, in
order to enter the temple of Honor, it was necessary
first to pass through that of Virtue. Like the Roman,
then, Silas Wright made his offerings at the shrine of
Virtue before he deposited his laurels in the fane of

732 SILAS WRIGHT.
Honor. Few members of his profession, very few,
have enjoyed a better or higher reputation. After he
became known, his clients, friends, and acquaintances,
were accustomed to repose the most perfect and entire
confidence in his capacity and integrity. " He was
the first lawyer I ever saw," said a shrewd and observ
ing farmer of St. Lawrence county, " whose law was
all common sense ; and he always gave plain, sensible
reasons, for his opinions on any subject."
Had Mr. Wright remained at the bar, and devoted
his whole time, and all the energies of his mind, to his
professional pursuits, he would have risen to an emi
nence rarely attained ; for within two years after he
commenced practice at Canton, it was generally con
ceded that he had no superior in the county. He pos
sessed many of the traits and faculties which go to make
up the character of the first-rate lawyer. He was not a
natural orator ; that is, his voice and manner of delivery
were not of themselves attractive. But he had affluence
of diction, and a winning way that captivated and de
lighted the juror. He possessed great general knowl
edge, and understood how to avail himself of it. His
mind was vigorous and impressible : it had a breadth,
compass, and strength, that enabled him to grasp the
features of a cause with a giant's power. By his kind
ness and urbanity he drew everything from a witness
that he needed, and falsehood and prevarication were
confounded in the presence of his sagacity and dis
crimination. He was dexterous in sifting and win-

POPULAR MANNERS. 733
nowing testimony ; and the most dark and intricate
web grew clear as noon-day beneath the rays of his
luminous mind. In argument he was strong, lucid,
logical. He had, too, a spirit worthy of the immortal
Areopagus, that lifted him above the sordid and de
basing passions that often hide themselves under the
robes of the advocate. His equanimity was remark
able — his judgment a faithful Palinurus, that never left
the helm.
From the time when he first became a resident of
Canton, till the close of his life, he enjoyed a personal
consideration and popularity, among his neighbors and
fellow-citizens, almost without parallel. He was in
debted for this, not more to the affability of his dispo
sition, than to the simplicity and practicability of his
life. He possessed popular manners — not the arts and
tricks of the demagogue, — but those natural traits
which establish feelings of sympathy between the pos
sessor and those brought within the sphere of his in
fluence. There was no affectation about him. He
was the friend and companion of all. His habits, his
style of dress, and manner of living, were like those
around him. He hunted and fished with the young
men on terms of equality, and interested himself in the
welfare of their elders, not from curiosity, but from
motives of kindness.
In the performance of social duties and obligations,
he was exemplary. He often went a distance of
several miles on foot, to visit a sick friend, or to attend

734 SILAS WRIGHT.
a funeral ; and took his turn with his neighbors, in
watching by the bedside of the dying. When the
minister was absent, he read the sermon at " the dea
con meetings," as they were called. He frequently
officiated as pathmaster in his district, and always did
a full day's work. In every public enterprise he was
foremost. When Canton became the county-seat, it
was said by the inhabitants of the rival towns, that
there were no suitable materials to be had in that vi
cinity, for the construction of the public buildings.
Mr. Wright and his fellow-townsmen soon demon
strated the contrary. He led them to the quarry, with
a shovel, pickaxe and crowbar in his hands, and
worked day after day beside them, refusing absolutely
to receive any pay for his services.
He was public-spirited, charitable, and generous.
He took a deep interest in the common schools, the
seminaries of learning, and the benevolent institutions,
of the town and county. Though he was never a rich
man, from a small tract of land which he had purchased,
he gave several acres to the Presbyterian Society of
Canton, on which they erected a church edifice, and
devoted another portion to the purposes of a public
square. — Such was the character of Silas Wright as a
citizen and neighbor ; and shall we wonder that the
people of St. Lawrence county respected and esteem
ed him, — that the old blessed him, that the young re
garded him with love, that the very children inquired

APPOINTED SURROGATE. 735
after him, when he was absent at Washington, with
reverence and affection ?
In common with a very large share of the republi
cans of Vermont, Mr. Wright's family and himself
were inclined to be partial toward John Quincy Ad
ams, both because of his eminent talents, and of his
support of the war policy and measures of Madison's
administration. But the intimacy of the former with
Mr. Skinner changed the direction of his early predi
lections. He became an ardent and decided Anti-
Clintonian or Bucktail, and a warm admirer of Mr.
Van Buren ; and with the majority of his party friends,
he afterward favored the election of Mr. Crawford to
the presidency.
The Clintonians were decidedly the stronger party
in St. Lawrence county, in 1820 and 1821, but Mr.
Wright made no secret of his political opinions and
preferences. Irrespective of politics, the citizens of
Canton and of the county generally, were much at
tached to him, and when the Bucktails obtained the
control of the appointing power, he was strongly
recommended for the office of Surrogate. His friend,
Mr. Skinner, was the leading and most influential
member of the council of appointment, and his success,
therefore, was scarcely a matter of doubt.* He was
» Mr. Hammond is famous for discovering out-of-the-way causes for
the most trifling events. He attributes Mr. Wright's appointment as
Surrogate, to his great merit and " the general request of the commu
nity in which he resided," assuming, meanwhile, that he was appointed

736 SILAS WRIGHT.
appointed to the office on the 24th of February, 1821,
and shortly thereafter received the additional appoint
ments of justice of the peace and commissioner of
deeds. In the spring of the same year, he was chosen town
clerk and inspector of common schools, which offices
he held for three years in succession. He was subse
quently appointed postmaster at Canton, and continued
to hold the office till he resigned it, when he first went
to Washington as a member of Congress, in the fall
of 1827.
It is true that it does not often fall to the lot of a
single individual to be so highly honored in the distri
bution of official favors ; but it is also true, that Mr.
Wright never held an office which his fellow-citizens,
of all parties, were not glad to see conferred upon him.
The duties of each and all of them were performed
punctually and faithfully, with rare ability and im
partiality. As a justice of the peace he discouraged
litigation ; his court was emphatically one of " concilia-
by the Clintonian council in 1820. (Political History, voL iii. p. 23.)
Mr. Hammond's friend, Governor Clinton, was not so exceedingly short
sighted as to appoint the protegee of Roger Skinner to the important
office of Surrogate of St. Lawrence county. The explanation of the
matter is very simple. At the extra session of the Legislature, in
November, 1820, » new council of appointment was chosen, entirely
composed of Bucktails, and opponents of Mr. Clintoa Of this council
Mr. Skinner was a member ; hence it was called " Skinner's council.''
It was not called together till January, 1821, and in February follow
ing, Mr. Wright received the appointment mentioned in the text

ELECTED TO THE STATE SENATE. 737
tion ;" and he spent more time in reconciling differ
ences and disagreements, than in performing his official
duties. Besides the civil offices which he held, Mr. Wright
filled several important positions in the militia. In
1822, he raised and organized an independent rifle
company, of which he became the captain. In 1825,
a rifle regiment was organized, in which he received
the commission if major. He subsequently rose to
the command of the regiment, and in 1827 was promo
ted to the rank of brigadier-general. Yet very few be
yond the immediate circle of his acquaintances, ever
knew that he had filled these offices. His military
titles were rarely applied to him : indeed, the only title
which seemed really suited to the Catonian simplicity
and integrity of the man., was that of " Senator
Wright." The opposition of the Clintonians to a convention
to revise the constitution in 1821, effectually prostrated
them for a time as a political party ; and after the
general sweep made by the Bucktails of all the offices,
at the annual election in 1822, and under the admin
istration of Governor Yates, a disposition was mani
fested in some counties, on the part of the republican
Clintonians and Bucktails, to come together again.
This was the case in St. Lawrence county. At a
meeting of the Bucktail or republican members of
the Legislature from the counties in the fourth Senate
district, held in the spring of 1823, it was decided that
47

/3*) SILAS WRIGHT.
' the candidate for senator, to be supported by their
party at the fall election, should be taken from St.
Lawrence. In accordance with this decision, a repub
lican convention was held in that county to designate
the candidate. The convention was attended by re
publican Clintonians and Bucktails, and they unani
mously made choice of Mr. Wright as the candidate
for senator. This selection was made without any
interference whatever on his part. He was well
known to be decided in his political sentiments ; he
had approved of the convention and of the new con
stitution ; yet he was not a partisan, and had not been
very active in the party contests of the county. It
was thought, therefore, that he would poll a larger
vote than any of the older and more prominent poli
ticians. At the last contested election, in 1821, the Clin
tonian ticket had received a large majority in the
fourth district, and the same party which were then
successful had now put in nomination Allen R. Moore,
of Washington county, as their candidate for senator,
in the confident hope that they would be able to elect
him. The chances in Mr. Wright's favor were originally
but few, and his success was further placed in jeopardy
on account of the agitation ofthe electoral question. In
the summer of 1823 some ofthe opponents of Mr. Craw
ford, principally the friends of Mr. Adams, concocted
a plan by which they hoped to defeat the election of

V
ELECTORAL ClUESTION. 739
the former gentleman. There were several republican
candidates, it will be borne in mind, but he was much
stronger than either of them separately. They com
bined their strength, therefore, against him, and refused
to go into caucus. It was feared that the address and
management of Mr. Van Buren and his other friends
in New York would give him the whole electoral vote
of that state, which would go far toward securing his
election, or at least effectually prevent that of Mr.
Adams ; but in order to prevent this result, it was pro
posed to procure the passage of a law taking from the
New York Legislature the power to choose presiden
tial electors, and giving it directly to the people. The
Clintonians, indeed all the factions opposed to Mr.
Crawford and Mr. Van Buren, fell in with this sug
gestion. It was a mere trick, an electioneering device ; and
was originated for the sole purpose of defeating Mr.
Crawford, by forcing the election into the House of
Representatives, and thus depriving the people, even
more than before, of having any voice in the matter.
The members of the House were already chosen : they
had been polled ; and though Mr. Crawford was the
preference of a plurality, the majority were determined
that he should not be president. ,
The people did not so understand this question.
The project was popular, and the prevailing sentiment
among the voters was decidedly in favor of the pro
posed change in the law. At the annual election in

«
740 SILAS WRIGHT.
1823, a great number of the candidates for the Legisla
ture, on both sides, were pledged to support a bill giv
ing to the people the right to choose the electors.
From Mr. Wright no pledge was exacted, but he ex
pressed himself frankly and unreservedly, in the ab
stract, in favor of surrendering to the people the power
of choosing the presidential electors.
His extraordinary personal popularity saved him
from defeat, and the anticipations of his friends were
fully realized. Out of St. Lawrence, his opponent re
ceived a respectable majority, but in that county only
twenty votes were given for him out of more than
fourteen hundred. Mr. Wright received every vote in
the town of Canton except his own, and his majority
in the county was about fourteen hundred, which more
than balanced the majority of Mr. Moore in the other
counties in the district.
Mr. Wright took his seat in the Senate at the com
mencement of the legislative session of 1824, being
then in the twenty-ninth year of his age. The elec
toral question was now the great and absorbing topic.
The bearings of the plot to defeat Mr. Crawford were
fully revealed. During the previous summer the oppo
nents of Mr. Crawford had said that, if he was found
to be the choice of a majority of the republicans, they
would forego their opposition. But when the Legis
lature assembled, they proposed to pass a law author
izing the people to choose the electors by a plurality
of votes. At the same time, it appeared that the

ELECTORAL ClUESTION. 741
friends of the candidates opposed to Mr. Crawford,
who were so anxious to change the mode of choosing
electors in New York, had made no attempt to do so
in other states where they could control the entire
vote. Many of the Crawford men, like Mr. Wright, were
really and sincerely in favor of the change which had
been suggested, as an abstract question ; but they
thought it exceedingly unwise for New York to throw
away her influence and strength in the decision of the
presidential question, unless there was a general change
made throughout the Union.
A bill finally passed the New York Assembly, pro
viding for the choice of electors by the people, yet re
quiring a majority of votes. This bill was framed to
meet the views of the Crawford men, but it was lost
in the Senate. Mr. Wright was conspicuous in the
discussions, and gained a high reputation for his skill
and ability in debate. He was in favor of choosing
the electors by general ticket and by a majority of
votes, except that the state electors should be chosen
by the Legislature, who should have the power, also,
to fill all vacancies in the electoral college. His plan
was presented to the Senate, but it received only three
votes. Mr. Hammond terms it a " preposterous and
ridiculous scheme," and charges Mr. Wright with
" manoeuvring ;"* but it must be recollected that the
Senate were discussing an innovation upon what had
* Political History of Mew York, vol. ii. p. 153.

742 SILAS WRIGHT.
been tne established policy of the state for years, and
there were a great number of plans and propositions
presented. It was then all a new question ; though
we can now, with the light of experience, discover the
defects of Mr. Wright's scheme. But he did not often
render himself ridiculous, and it would be difficult, even
at the present day, to point out its preposterous fea
tures. Separate propositions — to choose the electors by
congressional districts, and by a general ticket and a
plurality of votes — were voted down in the Senate as
decidedly as the plan of Mr. Wright to choose by gen
eral ticket and by a majority of votes. A majority of
the Legislature were undoubtedly opposed to the pass
age of any law, unless it was such an one as would be
likely to favor the success of their particular candidates
for the presidency. This was probably the feeling of
Mr. Wright. He saw that the whole project was an
electioneering scheme ; and 'with most of the other
friends of Mr. Crawford, he would have voted for a
law providing for the choice of electors by general
ticket and by a majority of votes, but for no other.
When it became evident that the Senate would not
agree to pass the bill from the assembly, or any similar
one, he voted for a motion made by Edward P. Liv
ingston to postpone the whole question beyond the
time for choosing electors by the Legislature. This
motion was carried by the votes of seventeen senators,
who were afterward famous in the political history of

REMOVAL OF DE WITT CLINTON. 743
the state, as " the seventeen senators," and in the tra
ditions of the old Crawford republican party, as " the
immortal seventeen!"
As one of the seventeen senators, Mr. Wright re
ceived his full share of censure ; but he, and many of
his associates in that vote, were subsequently, on re
peated occasions, candidates for the suffrages of the
people, and were sustained and elected to the offices
for which they were put in nomination, by the most
flattering votes. Dispassionately considered, his and
their course does not appear to be deserving of con
demnation ; but if they were in error, it was only in
taking the proposition to change the law, into consid
eration at all, except prospectively, and in anticipation
of the election in 1828. Had this been done, the plot
would have been defeated, and some fair and feasible
plan might have been devised that would have re
ceived the sanction of all parties.
Mr. Wright was a party to that political blunder, —
the removal of De Witt Clinton from the office of
canal commissioner. It was an ill-considered move
ment, — though not particularly unjust as respected
Mr. Clinton, — for it contributed to the defeat of the
Bucktail party, and restored to him the affections of
the people which he might otherwise never have re
gained. At the extra session called by Governor Yates, in
September, 1824, Mr. Wright voted in favor of a res
olution declaring, in general terms, that the people

744 SILAS WRIGHT.
ought to have the privilege of choosing the presiden
tial electors ; but he also opposed any action upon the
subject at that time. At the extra session held for the
purpose of choosing electors, in the month of Novem
ber following, he voted for the Crawford electors, and
also for the law making provision for taking the sense
of the people in regard to the mode in which they
should thereafter be chosen. The people decided in
favor of a choice by districts, and a law was passed in
1826, in accordance with that decision.
In the republican legislative caucus of 1824, held
for the purpose of nominating candidates for governor
and lieutenant-governor, Mr. Wright favored the re-
nomination of Governor Yates ; yet he supported
Colonel Young as the nominee of his party. It was
then, and ever, one of the doctrines of his creed, at
all times to sustain the regular nominations and
measures of the political organization to which he be
longed, whenever, by so doing, he was not required to
surrender any cherished principle. Though possess
ing the kindest and most generous sympathies, he was
wrapped up in his party, and counted himself as
nothing in comparison with its welfare and success.
In this respect he resembled Mr. Van Buren, and very
likely his political character may have derived, from
the example of the latter, its tone and general features.
They became intimately acquainted soon after Mr.
Wright entered the New York senate, and a friendship

DEFEAT OF JUDGE SPENCER. 745
sprung up between them, which soon ripened into a
feeling akin to brotherly affection and love.
That this devotion to his party, unselfish and disin
terested though it was, sometimes overruled the con
victions of Mr. Wright's better judgment, is doubtless
true. We have an evidence of this in the proceed
ings of the Legislature in 1825. Ambrose Spencer
was then the Clintonian candidate for United States
senator in the place of Rufus King, and was duly
nominated for the office in the Assembly. In the Sen
ate, the Bucktails, with the friends of James Tall
madge, the lieutenant-governor, were in a large major
ity, and by voting for a number of different candidates
prevented any nomination being made in that body.
If the Senate had nominated a Bucktail, as they could
have done, and the two houses had met together in
joint ballot, the Clintonian majority in the Assembly
would have overbalanced that of the opposition in the
Senate. The result was, therefore, that no election
was made at this session, but the next winter a promi
nent Bucktail was chosen.
Judge Spencer was, unquestionably, not the choice
of any considerable portion of the people, but the
quasi violation of the law could hardly be justified on
that ground. This dangerous precedent, which Mr.
Wright aided to establish, is said to have originated
with Lieutenant-Governor Tallmadge; and it after
ward returned to plague the inventor, by preventing
the re-election of his relative, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge,
32

746 SILAS WRIGHT.
on a similar occasion. It was a bad example, which
has been too often imitated by both political parties in
this and other states.
At the session of 1826, Mr. Wright voted for the
resolution amending the constitution so as to extend
the right of suffrage, but against the amendment giving
to the people the power of electing justices of the
peace. His vote upon the latter question was dictated
by principle, and his individual opinions were probably
always adverse to the choosing of judicial officers by
popular election. Had he lived to witness the opera
tion of the system established under the constitution
of 1846, his views on this subject, perhaps, would
have been changed.
His character and standing in the Senate were high.
He was an able and skilful debater ; clear in his state
ments ; happy in his illustrations; and strong and
forcible in argument. He always prepared himself
with great industry, and when he took up a question
his examination was thorough. In the management
of political questions he exhibited unusual tact, but
much less in the management of men, though he was
an accurate judge of human nature. He was punc
tual in his attendance and in the performance of everv
duty, and did his full share of the labor in the commit
tee room. This was also true of him, it may be added,
whenever he was a member of a legislative body.
So highly gratified were his political friends, with
the ability he evinced in the Senate, that they now

CHOSEN MEMBER OP CONGRESS. 747
proposed to transfer him to a different sphere, afford
ing a wider and better field for the display of his
talents. The first step, in politics as in war, is every
thing. This had been taken, in the case of Mr.
Wright; and opportunities for distinction multiplied
upon him with a rapidity beyond his most sanguine
expectations. In the fall of 1826, he was nominated as one of the
bucktail, or republican candidates, for representative
in the 20th Congress, from the double district com
prising the counties of Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, and
St. Lawrence. The canvass was marked by a spirit
and activity without precedent. It was the first occa
sion on which one of " the seventeen senators" had been
presented as a candidate for an elective office, and there
were many strong prejudices to overcome. But his
popularity and the general appreciation of his worth
and integrity, were sufficient to counteract every
effort made to defeat him. Both he and his associate
on the republican ticket, Rudolph Bunner of Oswego
county, were elected over the Clintonian candidates,
by upward of five hundred majority.
At this election, Mr. Wright supported Judge Ro
chester as the bucktail candidate for governor, though,
with Mr. Van Buren, he did not approve of that gen
tleman's preferences for Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, and
had already determined to unite in the contemplated
movement looking to the elevation of General Jackson
to the presidency.

748 SILAS WRIGHT.
He took his seat once more in the state Senate, but
resigned it shortly before the 4th day of March, 1827,
when his term of office as a member of Congress com
menced. At this session, he made an able report as
chairman of the committee on canals, on the subject
ofthe canal and financial policy of the state. A petition
had been presented, praying for the construction of a
canal, from the Erie Canal, by way of Tonawanda
creek, to the Alleghany river at Olean, subsequently
known as the Genesee Valley Canal. Mr. Wright was
at that time opposed to the construction of the lateral
canals, and his report entered into an elaborate exam
ination of the question involved in the various propo
sitions then before the Legislature.
Upon matters of finance he was always " at home."
Though he had never resided in the atmosphere of
commerce, and had no experience in mercantile or .ex
tensive moneyed operations, his mind appeared to be
naturally adapted for investigating, discussing, and de
ciding upon questions of that character. He took the
ground in his report, that the state ought not to increase
its debt, for purposes of internal improvement, until
the money already borrowed had been paid; and that
no new work ought to be commenced unless it was
quite certain that the net income arising from it would
"reimburse the treasury for the expense of making it."
This position was sustained and fortified by powerful
arguments, and the democratic party have, in the main,
ever since occupied it. Individual members of the

OPPOSITION TO BANKS. 749
party, residing on or hear the lateral canals, and con
stituting in the aggregate a respectable minority, have
opposed the doctrines of Mr. Wright's report, and he
sometimes felt the effects of that opposition when a
candidate for office ; yet the great body of the demo
crats have generally agreed upon the leading financial
principles which he advocated, even when they differed
in regard to their application. No doubt he took
rather a sombre view of the prospects of the state
for the future, but he was thoroughly in earnest ; nor
did he — and who did ? — anticipate the splendid results
of our canal policy, and the almost incredible growth
of the great West, which has been the main element in
increasing the revenues of the state so far above the
calculations of former years.
While in the Senate, Mr. Wright was conspicuous
in his opposition to the incorporation of banks, and the
combinations formed to procure charters. Those then
in existence were, in many cases, institutions of the
most irresponsible character, and he had no desire to
add to their number. He was never favorably dis
posed towards monopolies or special legislation of any
kind, though friendly to a sound and judicious system
of banking. He approved of the safety-fund plan ;
but when time disclosed its defects, he was glad to see
banking, like all other kinds of business, made free,
under the general law of the state. He was some
times represented as being totally opposed to paper
money, but this was not so. He was not in favor of a

750 SILAS WRIGHT.
national bank, and he thought hard money was the
only constitutional currency ; yet he was also of the
opinion, that a currency of paper, reposing upon an
actual specie basis, and at all times redeemable in gold
and silver, was both convenient and necessary in the
transaction of business.
In December, 1827, Mr. Wright took his place in
the House of Representatives. At the opening of this
session, the " allied powers" of the republican party,
consisting of the friends of Jackson, Crawford, and
Calhoun, united in the choice of a speaker, and con
tinued to act together in the effort to overthrow the
administration of Mr. Adams. Preceded by a high
reputation, Mr. Wright was warmly welcomed at the
capital of the nation, and was regarded as an impor
tant accession to the intellectual strength and charac
ter of the opposition. He was honored with the
second place in the Committee on Manufactures,
which proved to be in reality the first, because a ma
jority of the members were republicans, and the chair
man, Mr. Mallary of Vermont, who had been reap
pointed out of courtesy, was an administration man.
The great question to be considered at this session,
was the tariff. At the north, a strong feeling existed
in favor of high protective duties, and both parties
were anxious to take advantage of that feeling to pro
mote the success of their candidates at the approaching
presidential election. There were, various interests
seeking and demanding a revision of the tariff. Prom-

THE TARIFF OF 1828. 751
inent among them were the iron- workers of Pennsyl
vania, the manufacturers of the East, and the wool and
hemp growers of the northern, middle, and western
states. Each was jealous of the other, and to satisfy
all, seemed a hopeless task. The manufacturers and
agriculturists complained, that the tariff of 1824 was
partial to the iron interest ; and the producers of wool
and hemp insisted, that that act, and the " woollens'
bill" of 1826-7, favored the manufacturers at their ex
pense. A convention of the friends of a protective tariff had
been held at Harrisburg, in July, 1827, at which a tariff
'of duties had been agreed upon that was satisfactory to
the manufacturers, but not at all acceptable to the ag
ricultural friends of protection. This was, in effect,
the administration plan, and it was laid before the
committee on manufactures. To secure the agricul
tural interest, and at the same time retain the good
wishes of the iron-workers in Pennsylvania, was now
the great aim of the republicans in Congress, and it
was easily accomplished. Mr. Wright was a warm
friend to the agricultural interest, both from education
and association ; and through his instrumentality, and
upon his motion, the committee were authorized to ex
amine persons under oath in regard to the profits of
the manufacturers. The examination was had ; and
upon the facts thus elicited, he drew up what is known,
though somewhat modified before its passage, as the
tariff law of 1828.

752 SILAS WRiGHT.
Mr: Wright's bill differed widely from the Harris
burg project, and was strenuously opposed by the
manufacturing interest, who declared that it was de
signed for the benefit of the wool and hemp growers,
but would operate to their injury. The bill was finally
amended so as to render it more agreeable to the
manufacturers, and it then became a law ; Mr. Wright
voting for, and supporting it in several able speeches.
His ablest effort was made on the 6th and 10th of
March, and commanded great attention. It at once
placed him in a favorable position, and a leading paper
at Washington remarked of him, that if he remained in
Congress, he was destined " to become the pride of
New York herself."
For his advocacy of this measure, he was compli-
monted by the citizens of Middlebury, Vermont, with
a public dinner, in the fall of 1828 ; but when expe
rience had demonstrated the numerous improper fea
tures of the law, he was prompt to concede that he had
been in the wrong. As he afterward admitted, the du
ties imposed by the act of 1828 were exorbitant. It
was a law that ought never to have been passed. He
always regretted his vote in its favor, and pronounced
it " a great error."*
At this session, also, Mr. Wright supported the bill
for the relief of the revolutionary officers and soldiers,
which became a law on the 10th of May, and the in
ternal improvement bill.
* Remarks in the U. S. Senate, August 27, 1842.

RE-ELECTED MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 753
The year 1828 was made memorable by the election
of Andrew Jackson to the office of president, and of
Martin Van Buren to that of governor of New York.
Both received the cordial, hearty, and influential sup
port of Mr. Wright. He was himself a candidate for
reelection, and was once more chosen to the station he
had so creditably filled. His majority was very small ;
and one of the Adams' candidates in his district was
elected. In consequence of a technical error in the
returns, and because the word " junior" was omitted on
some of the tickets intended for him, the certificate
was given to his opponent. But he presented his pe
tition claiming the seat, at the first session of the 21st
Congress, though then occupying the position of comp
troller of the state, and it was unanimously awarded to
him, whereupon he immediately resigned it.
At the second session of the 20th Congress, he voted
against a resolution instructing the committee of ways
and means to bring in a bill repealing the tariff act of
1828, and in favor of resolutions directing an inquiry
into the condition of the slave trade in the District of
Columbia, and the expediency and propriety of abol
ishing slavery in the district. These last resolutions
were merely of inquiry, and by voting for them, he did
not commit himself upon the main questions involved.
He was undoubtedly in favor of abolishing the slave
trade in the district ; but in regard to slavery itself,
though with Mr. Van Buren always maintaining the
power of Congress to abolish it, he was of the opinion
48

754 SILAS WRIGHT.
that it would be both unwise and inexpedient to exercise
that power against the wishes of the slaveholding states.
While engaged in the faithful performance of his
duties on the floor of Congress, he was chosen by the
republicans of the New York Legislature, on the 27th
of January, 1829, to fill the office of comptroller, made
vacant by the elevation of Mr. Marcy to the bench of
the Supreme Court. He was nominated in the legis
lative caucus on the first ballot, by a respectable ma
jority over several competitors. - The office was one
which he had not solicited, but was a deserved compli
ment to the distinguished ability with which he had
discussed questions of finance in the state Senate, and
in the House of Representatives.
Immediately after receiving notice of this appoint
ment, he obtained leave of absence for the remainder
of the session, and repaired to his new post at Albany.
How well, how faithfully, and with what patience, in
dustry, and promptitude, he discharged the important
duties of the comptrollership, — with what skill and
fidelity he managed the financial affairs of this great
state, during the period he remained in office, her
records will abundantly testify. He was courteous
and obliging to all who had intercourse with him, in
his capacity as the head of the department intrusted
to his charge ; yet punctual, exact, and methodical, in
the transaction of business ; and exercising a jealous,
but faithful and impartial scrutiny, in watching over
and protecting the interests of the state.

CHARACTER AS A FINANCIAL OFFICER. 755
As a member of the canal board, he adhered with
fidelity, but in no spirit of self-opinionism— for it was
with him a question of principle — to the views he had
before advanced in the Senate, in favor of the prompt
extinguishment of the public debt, and in opposi
tion to the construction of lateral canals and other
new works of internal improvement, unless they were
certain to yield sufficient revenue to pay the cost of
construction, or, at least, until the surplus revenues
arising from the works already in operation should be
available for those objects.
In 1832, he directed the attention ofthe Legislature
to the large deficiency in the general fund, and advised
that it should be replenished by the imposition of a
direct tax. The same ideas and opinions that he ad
vanced on this occasion afterward dictated the passage
of the act of 1842, which he highly approved. The
Legislature of 1832, however, did not concur with
him in sentiment, but the general fund was relieved
by means of temporary loans. The evil day was post
poned, instead of providing a remedy.
So high was the public confidence in his capacity
and integrity, that he was reelected comptroller, in
February, 1832. Some opposition was manifested to
his nomination in the legislative caucus by the friends
of the lateral canals, but it did not avail anything, ex
cept to keep up a division in the party which ulti
mately widened into an actual breach. But he held
the office only for a year, under this second election,

756 SILAS WRIGHT.
in consequence of his being transferred to the Senate
of the United States, which was at once the object of
his ambition, and the great field of his fame.
While filling the office of comptroller, he was by no
means inactive as a politician. Decided in his senti
ments, sincerely attached to the doctrines of the re
publican party, and thoroughly devoted to its interests,
he did not hesitate to give utterance to his views when
called upon to express them. He was a member of
the democratic state conventions, in 1830 and 1832,
at which Mr. Throop and Mr. Marcy were, respect
ively, nominated for the office of governor ; and also
of the national convention in the latter year, at which
General Jackson and Mr. Van Buren were nominated
for president and vice-president. But, though a con
spicuous actor in all the great movements of his party,
he busied himself not at all with the petty differences
and divisions growing out of the contests for minor
offices. For this reason, and because his ability and
fitness for the office were quite generally conceded,
his nomination for senator in the party caucus was
made on the first ballot, and by a unanimous vote.
To say that he did not desire the senatorial office
would be untrue. It was a position which any man
might be ambitious to secure. But he used no undue
means to reach it, no persuasions or solicitations. He
may not have concealed his wishes, but his friends, not
himself, were the active instruments in procuring their
gratification.

ELECTED UNITED STATES SENATOR. 757
He was chosen by the Legislature, to fill the unex
pired term of Governor Marcy, on the 4th day of
January, 1833, and took his seat in the Senate on the
14th instant. In respect to talent he had stood so
high, that there were those who distrusted his abilities,
— who feared that he would be unable to maintain his
former reputation in that noble assembly to which he
was about to be admitted. " They did not stop to
consider how often it is, that ' honor pauseth in the
meanest habit ;' they did not appreciate, at its proper
value, the strong and powerful genius concealed be
neath his plain and unassuming manner ; and they
trembled for the senator, still young in years, as he
crossed the threshold of the chamber where the sages
and statesmen of the past had so often assembled in
council, and enrolled his name as a member of the
ablest body in the nation — perhaps in the world. But
those who knew him intimately and well, had no fears
or apprehensions. They had caught some glimpses
of the sterling metal in his composition, and they were
willing that it should be submitted to the ordeal, satis
fied in their own minds that, like the gold of the re
finer, it could but come the purer from the trial. They
were anxious, very anxious ; but they doubted not.
Remembering that " Peace hath her victories,
Kb less renowned than war,'-
they were content to see him enter the arena, in the

758 SILAS WRIGHT.
full confidence that he would gather new laurels to
adorn his brows, and confer new honor upon those who
had promised so much in his behalf.
" It was, indeed, a critical time in his history. There
were hosts of friends to cheer and encourage him; he
was the representative of one of the laigest and most
important members of the confederacy ; it was con
ceded that he possessed talents of a high order ; but
his character as a statesman was yet to be formed.
Everything was expected from him, and those expec
tations must not be disappointed. There was a great
deal in the past to incite him to renewed exertion, and,
like Alexander on the shores of the Hellespont, before
him lay " Hope, and the world !" Had he faltered then
— had he hesitated but for one moment — who can say
what his destiny might have been ? The country was
agitated from one extremity to the other. The best
talent in the land was collected in the Senate.
" Opposed to the administration he would be called
upon to sustain at the head of his compeers, stood the
gallant and chivalrous Clay — captivating the heart,
and enchaining the imagination, by the magic bursts
of his thrilling eloquence ; Calhoun, the fearless cham
pion of the sovereignty of the states, with his chaste
diction, and analytical mind — every sentence that he
uttered a whole chapter of argument, and every word
a political text ; Webster, calm, profound, and argu
mentative — powerful in stature, and gigantic in mind ;
the smooth and plausible Clayton ; and Preston, fervid

HIS COURSE AND CHARACTER. 759
and impassioned as the rays of the southern sun which
had warmed his genius into life. On the opposite side,
there was Benton, industrious, determined, and un
yielding — with his pockets overflowing with statistics,
and his head full of historical lore ; Forsyth, easy and
graceful in his address, but an able and experienced
debater; Rives, the eloquent and talented senator
from the Old Dominion, seeking to give vent to the
inspiration he had caught in the groves of Monticello ;
White, with his metaphysical and sententious apo
thegms ; and the shrewd and cautious Grundy, familiar
with parliamentary tactics, watching for the weak
points in his adversary's argument, and never caring to
conceal his gratification when he saw the fabric
reared with so much labor, toppling down in the dust.
"Such were the statesmen among whom Mr.
Wright had taken a place, and against and with whom
he was obliged to compete for the brilliant honors he
acquired in his senatorial career. At the outset, the
course was marked out which he subsequently pur
sued. Courteous and affable — dignified and respectful
— he never suffered himself in the midst of the
stormiest debate, to forget the character he had
assumed. Cool, thoughtful, and deliberative, every
word was weighed before he gave it utterance, and
not one of his opponents ever obtained an advantage
that he voluntarily surrendered. There we're none of
those impulsive features in his character, which would
have induced him to dash heedlessly forward, in the

760 SILAS WRIGHT.
hope of outstripping every competitor at the start ;
and, if he failed, to console himself with the reflection
that he had dared something beyond the power of hu
man skill to accomplish.* His advances were slow
and steady, but sure. He did not thrust himself for
ward. He did not assume too much. Not even
when the bold and independent Jackson was willing
to lean upon him for support, and he became known
as the confidential friend of Mr. Van Buren, was there
anything like assumption, or dictatorial harshness, in
his tone or manner. The efforts of his discriminating
and logical mind were directed to the enforcement of
the positions he laid down, and the principles he advo
cated, for the sake of the argument ; for the sake of
what he believed to be just and right ; and not to
compel those who listened, to adopt the conclusions at
which he had arrived. If successful, he never ad
vanced too hastily, but was content to wait until he
had secured what was gained. He did not peril ev
erything by attempting to grasp more than could be
reached. And when he was defeated, when dark and
portentous clouds hung around the political horizon,
and the omens for the future were fearful and threat
ening, he did not lose his confidence in the ultimate
triumph of the truths he labored to establish ; but he
calmly seated himself down, prepared patiently to bide
his time, ' with his feet to the foe,' and his breast bared
* " Magnis tamen excidit ausis,'' was the consolation of the unfor
tunate Phaeton.

HIS MARRIAGE. 761
for the shock, ready alike to resist an attack, or to ad
vance and secure the victory."*
The second session of the 22d Congress was an im
portant one. Nullification threatened to overthrow
the fair fabric of American freedom, and the friends
of the constitution were rallying to its defence and
protection. Mr. Wright heartily approved the doc
trines of the Proclamation, and voted for the Force
Bill. But while he sustained the administration in the
measures it was thought proper to adopt in order to
secure the due observance of the law, he believed that
there was just cause for the complaints, on the part of
the planting states, of the partial and unequal opera
tion of the tariff laws. He gave his vote, therefore,
for the compromise act, though there were several
features in it which he did not approve. He was op
posed to the principle of home valuation, to the reduc
tion of the duty on coarse wool when the article
manufactured from it was so highly protected, to the
abolition of all specific and discriminating duties and
the substitution of the ad valorem principle, and to the
restraint imposed upon the action of future Con
gresses. But he was convinced that something must
be done, or the Union would not exist till another ses
sion, and he accordingly voted for the law notwith
standing these objections.
In September, 1833, he was married to Clarissa
Moody, the daughter of his old friend, Mr. Moody,
* Life of Silas Wright, p. 81, et seq.

762 SILAS WRIGHT.
who first welcomed him to Canton, and in whose
house and family he had lived during the whole period
of his residence there. Mutual affection, unity of
sentiment, and harmony of views and interests, con
spired to render this union a fortunate one. Though
not blessed with children, it was fruitful in happiness
and love.
At the ensuing session of Congress, Mr. Wright
was appointed a member of the committees on Agri
culture and on Commerce. The great topic of dis
cussion was the removal of the deposits from the bank
of the United States, and he highly distinguished him
self in the defence of that measure, and in his oppo
sition to Mr. Clay's resolutions censuring President
Jackson for making the removal. On the 30th of
January, 1834, he presented the resolutions of the
New York legislature approving of the course of the
president, and availed himself of the occasion to ex
press his views at considerable length, and with great
ability. He disclaimed to be the organ of the admin
istration, but he was known to possess the entire con
fidence of both the president and vice-president, and
to be the friend and adviser of each, and every one
felt that he uttered their sentiments. He justified the
removal of the deposits, to the fullest extent, and in
reply to an inquiry of Mr. Webster, as to what the
administration proposed to do, in order to remedy the
embarrassment in the money market, he expressed
himself decidedly opposed to a national bank. This

SPEECH ON THE NEW YORK RESOLUTIONS. 763
speech is a favorable specimen of his senatorial elo
quence, as the following extracts will show :
" But, Mr. President, while I highly approve of the open and manly
ground taken by the senator from Massachusetts, I differ with him toto
ccelo as to the remedy he proposes. There is no inducement which can
prevail on me to vote for the recharter of the Bank of the United
States. I would oppose this bank upon the ground of its flagrant vio
lations of the high trusts confided to it ; but my objections are of a
deeper and graver character. I go agaiust this bank, and against any
and every bank to be incorporated by Congress, whether to be located
at Philadelphia, or New York, or anywhere else within the twenty-four
independent states which compose this confederacy, upon the broad
ground which admits not of compromise, that Congress has not the
power, by the constitution, to incorporate such a bank.
" I may be over-sanguine, Mr. President, but I do most firmly believe
that, in addition to the invaluable services already rendered to his
country by the President of the United States, he is, under Providence,
destined still to render her a greater than all, by being mainly instru
mental in restoring the constitution of the country to what it was
intended to be by those who formed it, and to what it was understood
to be by the people who adopted it ; in relieving that sacred instrument
from those constructive and implied additions, under which Congress
have claimed the right to place beyond the reach of the people, and
without responsibility, a moneyed power, not merely dangerous to pub
lic Uberty, but of » character so formidable as to set itself in open
array against, and to attempt to overrule the Government of the
country. I believe the high destiny is yet in store for that venerable
man, of disproving the exalted compliment long since paid him by the
great apostle of republicanism, ' that he had already filled the measure
of his country's glory,' and that he is yet to accomplish, what neither
Thomas Jefferson nor his illustrious successors could accomplish, by add
ing to the proof which he has so largely contributed to afford, that his
country is invincible by arms, the consolatory fact that there is, at least,
one spot upon earth where written constitutions are rigidly regarded.

764 SILAS WRIGHT.
I know, sir, that this work, which the President has undertaken, and
upon the success of which he has, with his usual moral courage, staked
the hard-earned fruits of a glorious life, is full of difficulty. I know
well that it will put the fortitude and patriotism of his countrymen to
the severest test ; but I am happy also to know that he has, in this in
stance, as heretofore, put himself upon the fortitude and patriotism of
a people who have never yet failed him, or any man who was himself
faithful to his country in the hour of peril." * * *
" I have thus responded, and I hope the senator from Massachusetts
will allow, fully, to so much of his appeal. I will go on, sir, and cover
the whole ground. He has asked, if you will neither recharter the
present bank nor establish a new one, what will you do 3 As an indi
vidual, sir, and speaking for myself only, I say I will sustain the
executive branch of the Government, by all the legal means in my
power, in the effort now making to substitute the state banks instead
of the Bank of the United State's, as the fiscal agent of the Government.
I believe they are fully competent to the object. I am wholly unmoved
by the alarms which have been sounded, either as to their insecurity,
or influence, or any other danger to be apprehended fuom their em
ployment. I hold the steps so far taken in furtherance of this object,
well warranted by the constitution and laws of the land, and I believe
that the honor and best interests of the country, imperiously require
that they should be fully sustained by the people, and by their repre
sentatives here."
The opinions of Mr. Wright upon the subject of the
employment of the state banks as depositories of the
public money were not, however, so firmly fixed that
they could not be changed ; and subsequently, in the
same speech, he more than intimated a desire to get
rid of the banks altogether, as agents of the govern
ment. " But, Mr. President," he said, "while I am prepared to give to this
effort of the Government, to make the state banks our fiscal agent for

DEFENCE OF GENERAL JACKSON. 765
the safekeeping and convenient disbursement of the public moneys, a
full support and a fair experiment, any effort, come from what quarter
it may, to return to a hard-money currency, so far as that can be done
by the operations of the federal government, and consistently with the
substantial interests of the country, shall receive from me a cordial and
sincere support ; and no one would more heartily rejoice than myself,
to meet with propositions which would render such an effort in any
degree practicable."
On the 20th of March, he made another speech,
upon the motion of Mr. Webster for leave to introduce
a bill rechartering the United States Bank for a limited
period, in which he again avowed his opposition to
such an institution, upon constitutional as well as other
grounds. He was highly complimented by Mr. Web
ster for the ability he displayed on this occasion ; and
thereafter, the task of answering his arguments on any
question, devolved upon the Clays and Websters, the
master minds of the opposition in the Senate.
He also ' took part in the debate on Mr. Clay's
resolutions of censure, and delivered an able speech
on the 26th of March, in which he denied the power
of the Senate to condemn the president unheard, and
in the manner proposed by the resolutions. The speech
was mainly occupied with an elaborate argument on
this point ; but the peroration contained a spirited de
fence of General Jackson, and was as eloquent and
impressive, as the preceding portion of the speech had
been argumentative. It was as follows :
" But we are still called upon to vote for this resolution ; and who,
Mr. President, is it upon whom the sentence of the Senate is thus to be

766 SILAS WRIGHT.
passed without a trial? The officer, sir, is none other than the chief
executive officer of the Government— the President of the United
States ; he whom the people elected to that high station, by their free
suffrages, against the popularity and power of a competitor holding the
office, and wielding its patronage— a patronage now represented to be
so immense and irresistible and dangerous ; — and wielding it too with
the aid of skilful and experienced advisers. It is no other than that
President, who after four years of official trial before the people, was
re-elected against another competitor, selected from among the dis
tinguished of his countrymen, for his superior hold upon the popular
feeling of the country, and re-elected, too, by a vote more decisive than
any which had ever before marked the result of a long and severe
political contest. Such, Mr. President, is the officer— I had like to have
said,— upon his trial. No, sir, it is not so — who is not to be allowed a
trial ; but who is about to receive the condemnatory sentence of the
Senate unheard.
" Who, sir, is the man, the citizen of our republic, upon whom we
are about to pronounce our high censures ? Is it Andrew Jackson ?
Is it that Andrew Jackson, who, in his boyhood, was found in the
blood-stained fields of the Revolution ? Who came out from that
struggle the last living member of his family ! Who, when the Bound
to arms again called our citizens'around the flag of our country, posted
himself upon the defenceless frontiers of the South and West, and
bared his own bosom to the tomahawks and seal ping-knives, sharpened
for the blood of unprotected women and children ! Who turned back
from the city of the West, the confident advance of a ruthless, and until
then, unsubdued enemy, and closed the second war against American
liberty in a blaze of glory, which time will not extinguish ? Who,
when peace was restored to his beloved country, turned his spear into a
pruning hook, and retired to his Hermitage, until the spontaneous voice
of his fellow-citizens called him forth to receive their highest honors,
and to become the guardian of their most sacred trust ? Is this the
man who is to be condemned without a trial ? Who is not entitled to
the privilege allowed him by the constitution of his country ? Sir, this
surely should not be so. For the very act which saved a city from

SPEECH ON CLAY S RESOLUTIONS. 767
pillage and destruction, and the soil of his country from the tread of
an invading enemy, this individual was accused of a violation of the
constitution and laws of his country. For the very act which entitled
him to the proud appellation of " the greatest captain of the age," he
was convicted and condemned as a criminal. But, Mr. President, he
was not then denied a trial. Then he was permitted to face his ac
cusers, to hear the charges preferred against him, to offer his defence,
and to be present at his sentence. In gratitude for these privileges of
a freeman, he stayed back with his own arm the advancing wave of
popular indignation, while he bowed his whitened locks to the sen
tence of the law, and paid the penalty imposed upon him for having
saved and honored his country.
" Grant to him, I beseech you, Mr. President ; I beseech the Senate,
grant to that old man the privilege of a trial now. Condemn him not
unheard, and without the pretence of a constitutional accusation. His
rivalships are ended. He asks no more of worldly honors. ' He has
done the state some service.' Age has crept upon him now, and he
approaches the grave. Let him enjoy, during the short remainder of
his stay upon earth, the right secured to him by the constitution he has
so often and so gallantly defended, and, if indeed, he be criminal, let
his conviction precede his sentence."
Mr. Wright made another speech on the 31st of
March, upon the presentation of memorials from the
city of Albany praying for the recharter of the bank,
showing that that was not the prevailing sentiment
among the people of his state ; and on the 6th of May,
he made one of his happiest efforts in defence of the
Protest. But it would swell this work far beyond its original
design, to present a detailed account of Mr. Wright's
services in the Senate. He invariably spoke on all
questions of great importance, always with ability, and

768 SILAS WRIGHT.
was never listened to otherwise than with pleasure.
His great talents, his manly candor, his unfailing court
esy, his fearless intrepidity, and his unbending integ
rity, gained him high commendation, and when his
friend, Senator Benton, called him " the Cato of the
Senate," no one denied that the honor was worthily
bestowed. He supported all the great measures of General
Jackson's administration ; and defended his course
during the difficulty with France, and the financial
policy in pursuance of which the specie circular was
issued. He opposed the distribution of the proceeds
of the public lands, and the act dividing the surplus
revenue among the states.
At the session of 1834-5, he was the administration
candidate for chairman of the committee on finance,
in opposition to Mr. Webster, and was appointed to
the second place on the committee. He was also a
member of the committee on commerce. When the
democrats obtained the ascendency in the Senate, he
was placed at the head of the finance committee,
where he remained so long as his political friends had
the control of that body. He was, also, during several
sessions, a member of the committee on claims, the
duties of which were exceedingly arduous, but he
never shrunk from the burden imposed upon him.
In May, 1835, he attended the democratic national
convention, at which Mr. Van Buren was nominated
for the presidency, as one of the delegates from the

THE INDEPENDENT TREASURY. 769
state of New York ; and when that gentleman suc
ceeded the venerable Jackson in the presidential chair
— a circumstance that afforded him unalloyed gratifi- ,
cation — he gave to his administration, not merely a
cordial, but a most effective support. Mr. Van Buren
reposed the fullest confidence in his ability and, saga
city, in the disinterestedness of his advice, and in the
sincerity of his attachment ; and he never suggested
an important measure, or took an important step, with
out consulting with him.
When the banks had suspended specie payments, in
the spring of 1837, and thus dissolved their connection
with the government, Mr. Wright advised Mr. Van
Buren to recommend the Independent Treasury plan.
The time had now arrived, as he thought, which he
had anticipated in his speech on the New York Reso
lutions, in 1834, and a favorable opportunity was pre
sented for the government to return to a hard-money
currency, by simply ceasing to employ the banks as its
fiscal agents, or rather continuing the separation then
existing, and refusing to receive anything except what
the constitution recognized as money, in payment of
the public dues.
During the summer previous to the extra session of
1837, he prepared two articles, under the title of " The
Times," which were published in the St. Lawrence
Republican, the democratic paper in his county. The
first article treated of the " probable continuance of the
suspension of specie payments by the banks ;" and the

770 SILAS WRIGHT.
second, of " the duties and responsibilities imposed upon
the national government by the suspension of specie
payments by the state banks." These articles were
published anonymously, but the terse and masculine
style of Silas Wright was generally recognized ; and
they attracted much attention all over the Union, not
only on account of the ability with which they were
written, but because they foreshadowed the separation
of bank and state afterward recommended by Mr. Van
Buren. At the regular annual session of the New York
legislature, in the winter of 1837, Mr. Wright was
reelected senator for the full term of six years. Mr.
Hammond states that this election was made by " the
general consent of his political friends."* This is a
mistake. An effort, which would have been success
ful in the case of one less popular with the people, was
made in the democratic legislative caucus, by the late
ral canal and state bank interests, to defeat his renomi-
nation. They presented Samuel Beardsley, of Oneida
county, as the opposing candidate, and gave him a
considerable vote. Mr. Wright did not regard this
opposition of much importance at the time, but it was
never forgotten or forgiven by his immediate friends,
and it served to increase the difficulties of his position
when he became governor of the state.
As the chairman of the committee on finance, Mr.
Wright reported the independent treasury bill, at the
* Political History, vol. ii. p. 465.

RE-ELECTION. 771
extra session of Congress called by Mr. Van -Buren, in
September, 1837. As originally reported, it did not
embrace the specie clause, although he was always in
favor of the principle. His bill did not contain it, be
cause some of the democrats in Congress were under
stood to be opposed to taking that extreme ground.
It was amended in the Senate, however, with his vote,
so as to require the collection of government dues in
the constitutional currency.
This bill failed in the House of Representatives at
the extra session ; and at the following regular session
he reported another bill, more complete in its details,
containing the specie clause. " The one previously
introduced had constituted each officer a receiver ; but
this proposed the appointment of persons to be charged
with the special duty of keeping and paying out the
public funds. This provision was intended to obviate
the objection which had been raised, that the adminis
tration was desirous of establishing an army of office
holders, who would have the means ofthe government
at their disposal. Severe penalties were also pre
scribed, for any neglect of duty, or breach of trust ;
and every precaution taken to provide against losses.
The opponents of the measure were free to admit that,
waiving the principle upon which the bill was founded,
nothing could be better calculated to carry into effect
the object had in view. Mr. Wright made several able
speeches while this question was agitated in Congress ;
but that delivered on the 31st of January, 1838, prob-

772 SILAS WRIGHT.
ably exceeded them all. In his speech on that occa
sion, he reviewed the whole subject of the collection,
keeping, and disbursement of the public revenue. He
avowed it as his firm and settled conviction, that the
state banks could not be relied upon as the fiscal agents
of the government ; for the reason that, as state insti
tutions, Congress would be unable to exercise that con
trol over them which was absolutely requisite. He
also declared that there could be no middle ground —
that a system based on the principles of the bill before
the Senate must be established, or they would be com
pelled to resort to a national bank. The bill reported
by Mr. Wright was discussed for a long time in the
Senate, and on the 24th of March the specie clause
was stricken out — yeas thirty-one, nays fourteen. Sev
eral of the democratic senators voted for the motion,
in obedience to the instructions of their state Legisla
tures. Mr. Wright, with Mr. Benton and Mr. Calhoun,
resisted it to the end. On the 26th the bill passed the
Senate by a vote of twenty-seven to twenty-five.
Like its predecessor, this bill was laid upon the table
in the House — yeas one hundred and six, nays ninety-
eight — the whigs and conservatives voting for the
motion. At the next session, in 1838-39, Mr. Wright
again brought forward the independent treasury pro
ject, without the specie clause, in the hope of securing
a favorable vote, as some law on the subject was
deemed necessary; but it was a third time defeated.
The elections for members of the twenty-sixth Con-

COURSE IN REGARD TO ABOLITION. 773
gress, however, terminated in the choice of a reliable
majority for the administration, in the House of Repre
sentatives ; and soon after the commencement of its
first session, Mr. Wright brought forward a bill estab
lishing the system which he had so earnestly advocated
since the extra session in 1837. The specie clause
was added, with his vote, and in that shape it passed
the Senate. On the 1st of July, 1840, a final vote was
taken on the bill in the House, which resulted in its
passage — yeas one hundred and twenty-four, nays one
hundred and seven. The law thus enacted was known,
by its title, as 'An act to provide for the collection,
safe-keeping, transfer and disbursement, of the public
revenue.' "*
In common with all the leading statesmen of the
democratic party in the northern states, Mr. Wright
was much opposed to the movements and proceedings
of the abolitionists. While a member of the Senate,
he uniformly voted, either to lay on the table, or to re
fuse to receive, petitions for the abolition of slavery in
the District of Columbia. He supported the bill, which
passed the Senate in 1836, designed to prevent the
transmission of abolition tracts and pamphlets through
the mails in the southern states. His opinions on the
subject of slavery were more clearly indicated, per
haps, by his course at the session of 1837-8. He voted
at this session, with Mr. Clay and other prominent
* Life of Silas Wright, p. 122.

774 SILAS WRIGHT.
senators of both parties,* in favor of a resolution de
claring that any interference, on the part of the citi
zens of other sections of the Union, with slavery in the
District of Columbia, endangered the rights of the citi
zens of the district, violated the implied faith in which
the cession was made by Maryland and Virginia, and
would disturb and endanger the Union. He also sup
ported a resolution offered by Mr. Clay, affirming that
it would be injudicious to interfere with slavery in the
territories — that such interference would ba a violation
of faith toward those who had been permitted to settle
and hold slaves there — and that the inhabitants would
be exclusively entitled to decide the question, when
admitted into the Union.
It will thus be seen, that Mr. Wright approved of
the doctrine of non-interference, generally held by the
members of his party, upon the subject of slavery ; and
it is not believed that his views were ever afterward
changed. He approved of the principle of the " Wil
mot Proviso," in 1845-6 ; but a new question was then
presented, which was, whether slavery should be per-
* A similar remark in my " Life of Silas Wright" has elicited the
indignation of Mr. Hammond, (Political History of New Tork, vol. iii.
p. 174) ; and he affects to misunderstand the meaning which I designed
to convey. He supposes that I wished to justify Mr. Wright's vote,
on the ground that Mr. Clay voted in the same manner. So far from
this, I saw nothing that needed justification ; and my only object was
to show, that all the great statesmen of the country, of both political
parties, occupied common ground, in upholding the integrity of the
Union and the compromises of the constitution.

ORATION AT CANTON. 775
mitted to extend itself to the territory acquired from
Mexico. To this extension he was opposed,,-r-but
equally so, to any interference with that institution
where it already existed with the implied or expressed
assent of the government. In the abstract, totally dis
approving of slavery, he nevertheless voted for the ad
mission of Arkansas and Florida, both slave states, into
the confederacy ; and he did not oppose the annexa
tion of Texas, for the reason that slavery had an ex
istence there, but for other and entirely different
reasons. On the 4th of July, 1839, he delivered the oration at
the celebration in Canton, in which he took occasion
to give utterance to his views upon the abolition ques
tion. " If," said he, " there be those among us, who,
misled by a mistaken sympathy, or by sudden excite
ment, upon any subject, are forgetting their obligations
to the whole country, to the constitution, and the
Union, let us use every effort of persuasion and ex
ample to awaken them to a sense of their dangerous
error. If those, who, for the sake of private interest,
personal ambition, or momentary political success, are
willing to experiment upon the public passions, to treat
lightly their constitutional obligations, to foment sec
tional jealousies, and raise up geographical distinctions
within the Union, let the absence of our countenance
and support convince such, that the personal gratifica
tion, or public services of any living man, are not ob
jects of sufficient magnitude to be gained at the expense

776 SILAS WRIGHT.
of the harmony of the country, the peace of the Union,
or a single letter in the list of our constitutional duties."
He approved of the principles of the bankrupt law
recommended by Mr. Van Buren, but opposed that
which was afterward enacted, under the administration
of Mr. Tyler. All the great measures in regard to the
public lands, brought forward and supported by the
democrats in Congress, during the administration of
Mr. Van Buren, received his approbation. He opposed
the various bills making compensation for French
spoliations prior to 1800, which were considered during
his term of service in the Senate. His advocacy of a
hard-money currency in the operations of the govern
ment was sincere, and he exhibited great ability in
discussing this, as he always did other financial ques
tions. His best and most elaborate speech advocating
a return to a specie currency, was delivered on the 16th
of May, 1838.
In 1837, he voted in favor ofthe recognition of
Texan independence, but against the proposition to an
nex Texas to the United States, made in 1838. Still
in the Senate, in 1844, he opposed the ratification of
the treaty of annexation concluded under the auspices
of Mr. Tyler. His objections to this measure were, not
that the acquisition of Texas was undesirable, but be
cause the claims of Mexico were not first disposed of
by means of a negotiation with her ; because the boun
daries of Texas were not settled by the treaty, but
were left undetermined, and, therefore, by implication,

ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 777
sanctioned the claim which she had made to territory
the title to which was a matter of doubt ; and because
it was alleged, by Mr. Calhoun, who concluded the
treaty on the part of the United States, that the object
of annexing Texas was to strengthen and secure the
slave interest. The Senate did not ratify the treaty,
and Texas was afterward annexed by joint resolutions,
embracing an alternative proposition making provision
for a negotiation. He was not then in the Senate,
but, had he been, it is very probable he would have
voted for the resolutions.
He was always fearful that the annexation of Texas,
without a prior negotiation with Mexico, would occa
sion hostilities with that government, and his fears were
ultimately realized. The war found him in the execu
tive chair of New York, but he contributed, to the ex
tent of his power and influence, to the support of the
general administration in the measures adopted for its
prosecution. In 1840, he supported Mr. Van Buren for reelection,
and during the canvass delivered a number of effective
speeches from the stump. But the efforts of himself
and other friends of the president proved unavailing,
and General Harrison was declared the successful can
didate. Mr. Wright opposed the project for a national bank,
the distribution of the revenue arising from the public
lands, and all the great measures brought-forward by the
whig majority in the 27th Congress. He voted for the
33*

778 SILAS WRIGHT.
tariff law of 1842, however ; not for the reason that he
approved of a high protective tariff, but solely be
cause it was the only revenue measure proposed, and
if it were not passed, the government would be bank
rupt. Under the administration of Mr. Polk, a new
tariff law was enacted, known as " the tariff of 1846,"
which, in all its essential features, harmonized with the
views of Mr. Wright.
Notwithstanding his warm approbation of the bank
vetoes of President Tyler, Mr. Wright was unwilling
to be classed among the particular friends of that gen
tleman. He chose to remain aloof from all cliques or
factions, contenting himself with the faithful and con
scientious discharge of his senatorial duties.
In February, 1843, Mr. Wright was once more re
elected. Not the least opposition was now offered to
him, and he was unanimously nominated in the legisla
tive caucus, on the first ballot. In January, 1844, the
office of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States, made vacant by the death of Smith
Thompson, was tendered to him by President Tyler,
but he preferred to remain in the Senate, and therefore
declined its acceptance.
He was ardently desirous that Mr. Van Buren should
receive the nomination for president in 1844, but he
cordially acquiesced in the decision of the Baltimore
convention. He was himself nominated, in the first
place, for vice-president on the same ticket with Mr.
Polk, and that by the unanimous voice of the conven-

ELECTED GOVERNOR. 779
tion; but as his friend, Mr. Van Buren, had been the
choice of New York for the first office, and as the latter
had not been nominated because of his opposition to the
immediate annexation of Texas, in which he con
curred, he refused to accept the nomination. Still, he
gave his hearty support to the democratic candidates.
Several months previous, he had been solicited to
accept the nomination for governor of New York, by
the leading radical members of the Legislature ; but
he steadily and uniformly refused to permit his name
to be used, with his consent or approbation, in opposi
tion to the incumbent, Governor Bouck. Such was
the dissatisfaction, however, existing among the demo
crats in the state, that the public sentiment of the party
appeared to be adverse to the renomination of Gover
nor Bouck, and in favor of the selection of Mr.
Wright, who had not been identified with the existing
divisions and dissensions, as his successor.
At the democratic state convention, held at Syra
cuse on the 4th of September, Mr. Wright was nomi
nated for governor, on the first or informal ballot, by a
vote of ninety-five to thirty for Mr. Bouck. The
nomination was then made unanimous, with the hearty
concurrence of the friends of the latter ; and the whole
party, united in its energies and efforts, went into the
canvass with a spirit and energy indicative of the suc
cess that awaited it. Associated with Mr. Wright, on
the democratic ticket, as the candidate for lieutenant-
governor, was Addison Gardiner, of Monroe county.

780 SILAS WRIGHT.
Millard Fillmore, of Erie county, deservedly one of the
most popular men in the state, and the present chief
magistrate- of the' Union, was the opposing candidate
for governor ; and Samuel J. Wilkin, of Orange
county, was supported by the Whigs for lieutenant-
governor. The contest was an animated one. The whig can
didates in the state and nation enjoyed a high degree
of popularity, and were sustained with great enthusi
asm. The nomination of Mr. Wright secured the vote
of New York for the democratic ticket, and that vote
decided the presidential question. The democratic
electoral ticket succeeded in this state by a little over
five thousand majority, but the majority of Mr. Wright
over his opponent exceeded ten thousand. He did not
again take his seat in the Senate, but resigned it, in the
month of November, shortly after the election.
In regard to questions of state policy, he was well
known to agree, in the main, with the radical demo
crats : consequently, no one was surprised, on the ap
pearance of his first message, in January, 1845, to find
that he endorsed the law of 1842 to the fullest extent.
But most of the radicals were now committed in favoi
of a convention to revise the constitution, for the pur
pose, more particularly, of incorporating the guaran
ties, pledges, and restrictions, of that act, into the fun
damental law of the state. Governor Wright was not
prepared to approve of the convention project ; he
was of the opinion that all desirable amendments could

ANTI-RENT EXCITEMENT. 781
be made through the agency of the Legislature, and so
expressed himself in his message. He stated, how
ever, that if those amendments were not made, the
reasons for a convention would be more urgent, and
it probably might be necessary.
He found the peace of the state disturbed by the
forcible resistance offered to the execution of the laws,
by the anti-renters in Columbia, Delaware, and other
counties. He approved of Governor Bouck's course
in ordering out the militia to put an end to the dis
turbances in Columbia county ; and during his whole
administration, pursued a firm and decided policy, in
availing himself of all his official power and influence,
to preserve the public tranquillity, and to maintain
the integrity and supremacy of the law. In 1845, he
recommended the passage of- laws to prohibit persons
from wearing disguises, and to authorize the governor
to declare a county in a state of insurrection under
certain circumstances, and to call out an armed force
to suppress it ; these laws were promptly enacted by
the Legislature at the session of 1845. In August,
1845, one of the deputies of the sheriff of Delaware
county was murdered by the anti-renters, and this out
rage was followed by other alarming violations of law
and order. He immediately issued his proclamation,
in accordance with the act of 1845, and ordered out a
military force. The insurrection was quelled ; a num
ber of the anti-renters who were present, disguised as
Indians, at the time of the murder in Delaware county,

782 SILAS WRIGHT.
were arrested, tried, and convicted. Two persons
were found guilty of the murder, as accessories, though
it appeared that they did not actually commit it. For
this reason, and at the request of the jurors by whom
they were convicted, Governor Wright commuted their
punishment to imprisonment for life.
He was urgently solicited to pardon all the anti-
renters, upon the ground that their offences were
political ; but he firmly refused, up to the last hour of
his official term. Yet, at the same time, he freely ex
pressed his disapprobation of the manorial tenures,
and his sincere wish that a system so inconsistent with
the other institutions of the state, could be done away,
in some amicable, legal, and constitutional manner,
and the tenants become the owners in fee of the land
which they occupied.
It is quite evident, that it was the desire of Mr.
Wright, when he entered upon the office of governor,
to pursue a middle course between the radical and
conservative democrats, and, so far as that was possi
ble with the maintenance of his own views and prin
ciples upon important questions, to conciliate the favor
and good-will of both factions. As in the case of
Governor Bouck, this was his great mistake. So much
bitterness of feeling had been engendered, that it was
impossible for them to harmonize ; and his true course
should have been, to identify himself with the radi
cals on the start, as he afterward did, though it was

PARTY DISSENSIONS. 783
then too late to be productive of anything but disaster
to nis political fortunes.
The leading radicals were not at all satisfied with
his position and course when he first became governor.
They doubted and distrusted him. They wished him
to reorganize the democratic party, and to place him
self at its head, as Mr. Van Buren had done in 1820.
But he had not the nerve to undertake this, — not the
tact to accomplish it. He understood men perfectly,
but did not know how to use them. He was a states
man, not a managing politician. He lacked policy.
He was Cato, not Csesar. Like the geologist, he knew
the properties of his materials, but he had not the skill
of the artist to mould them into shape and comeliness.
In the Legislature of 1845, the two factions were
about equal in point of numbers, but a large portion
ofthe members belonging to either side were moderate
men, and would have followed Governor Wright if he
had identified himself with either. But they saw he
was neutral, and of course followed their own prefer
ences, till they became interested and decided in main
taining them, and could no longer be influenced, except
in favor of the faction to which they belonged. The
course of Mr. Wright in opposing a convention in his
message, strengthened the conservatives a great deal ;
indeed, it was everything to them. The constitutional
amendments which had been so often proposed, and
by which it was designed to make the pledges and
guaranties of the act of 1842 a part of the constitu-

784 SILAS WRIGHT.
tion, were defeated, as they required a vote of two
thirds, by the whigs of the Legislature, who now, also,
advocated a convention to revise the constitution.
The conservatives, or hunkers, then consented to go
with the radicals in support of a convention, provided
all the amendments made should be required to be
submitted separately to the people. In this respect,
too, they had the sympathy of Governor Wright ; but
by going with them thus far, it only increased their
unfriendliness of feeling toward him, when he deter
mined to approve the convention bill as it at length
passed the Legislature, with the separate submission
feature excluded by the votes of the whig, and radical
members. In this shape the bill became a law, and he
was now connected and associated with the radical
interest. His identification with them was made com
plete, by his veto of the canal bill which passed the
Legislature, with the votes of the whigs and conserva
tives, in 1845, making appropriations, among others,
for continuing the work on the unfinished canals,
which, in his opinion, conflicted with the law of 1842.
Governor Wright was at length identified with the
radicals, but he had made the conservatives his ene
mies. The two factions could not agree upon a legis
lative address and resolutions at the close of the ses
sion of 1845 ; and from this lime forward, the war
between them was conducted with even greater spirit
and bitterness than before.
In his annual message in 1846, Governor Wright

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 785
repeated the same views in regard to the financial
policy of the state, which he had advocated in his re
port in the New York Senate, in his message at the
previous session, and in the veto of the canal bill.
The anti-rent excitement had now measurably subsided,
and he recommended the abolition of distress for rent
on all leases thereafter executed, the taxation of the
income of landlords, and the restriction ofthe duration
of leases to five or ten years. These recommendations
were approved by the Legislature, and laws were
passed in accordance therewith, except that the time
of leases was not restricted, though this was afterward
done by the constitution of 1846.
But little business of a general character was trans
acted by'the Legislature of 184G, in consequence of
the anticipated constitutional convention to be held in
June following. The sitting of this convention was
the great event of the last year of his administration,
and the revised constitution which they presented to
the electors of the state met with his hearty approba
tion. He was particularly gratified with the incorpo
ration of the leading and most important principles of
the law of 1842 in the new constitution.
Open opposition to Governor Wright personally,
was not exhibited by the conservative democrats, or
hunkers, although the radicals, or barnburners, claimed
to be his particular friends. Such was the influence
of his name, and his wide-spread popularity, that more
than nine tenths of the members of the democratic
50

786 SILAS WRIGHT.
state convention held in the fall of 1846, were in favor
of his renomination. He was, accordingly, again pre
sented, with apparent unanimity, as the democratic
candidate for governor. Mr. Gardiner was also re
nominated. John Young, of Livingston county, and
Hamilton Fish, of the city of New York, were the
opposing candidates.
The result of the election .was not a matter of much
doubt. The murmurs of the hunkers were not loud,
but deep, and in some counties, a great number of them
either erased his name from the democratic ticket, or
supported the opposing candidate. Mr. Wright's refu
sal to pardon the anti-renters, or to pledge himself to
do so if he were reelected, prevented his receiving the
support of their friends, who voted for Messrs. Young
and Gardiner. Both these gentlemen were consequent
ly elected, — the majority of Mr. Young over Governor
Wright exceeding eleven thousand.
His defeat was not unexpected to Mr. Wright.
When he consented to accept the gubernatorial nomi
nation, he anticipated just such a result, if he should
be a candidate for a second election. He was not,
therefore, either chagrined or disappointed ; but at the
close of his term, retired to his residence at Canton,
and busied himself in the improvement of a farm which
he had recently purchased.
But the eyes of his countrymen, in all parts of the
Union, were fixed upon him. His senatorial honors
were far too brilliant to be dimmed by a defeat occa-

HIS DEATH. 787
sioned by the divisions of his party. In several of the
most distant states, he had been nominated as a candi
date for the next presidency, in the columns of leading
democratic journals ; but all the hopes of his friends,
and the aspirations of his ambition, if such he had, were
blasted, by his sudden death, which took place at Can
ton, on the 27th day of August, 1847.
Ever since his return from Albany, he had been
constantly engaged in working upon his farm, like any
common laborer. The land was new. and he had
worked considerably in digging and clearing out ditches.
and in other occupations that required a stooping posi
tion. He also did his share of the labor in the harvest-
field, and seemed never so happy as now, since he had
laid aside the robes of office, and, like Cincinnatus, was
enjoying himself, in the noble employment of cultivat
ing the soil. After working hard during the day, he
spent his evenings in conducting his extensive corres
pondence, and for two or three weeks previous to his
death, in preparing an address to be delivered before
the State Agricultural Society at the annual fair.
This address was completed, -and was read before the
society, by his friend John A. Dix. It is a most able
production, and is mainly confined to the discussion of
the question, whether the consumption of the country
equalled, or would probably equal in any calculable
period, its agricultural production, and, inferentially,
to the effect of a high protective tariff upon the export
ing or farming interest.

788 SILAS WRIGHT.
His death was occasioned by the disease of the
heart, or blood-vessels connected with it, known among
medical men as angina pectoris, to which he was prob
ably constitutionally inclined, and which was developed
or hastened in its effect, by over-exertion and fatigue
during the summer.
" In person, Mr. Wright was large and muscular,
hale and vigorous. His stature was about five feet
and nine or ten inches. His complexion was florid ;
his hair a light brown ; and his eyes of a bluish gray.
Constant exercise in early youth had developed his
form, and rendered him hearty and robust. He was
somewhat inclined to corpulency in later years, but not
by any means what could be called gross. He was
aware of the plethoric tendency of his constitution, and
for that reason, probably, devoted more of his leisure
time to manual labor than he otherwise would have
done. He dressed quite plainly, and was simple in all
his habits. He usually enjoyed excellent health ; ex
cept in the fall of 1834, he was never known to be
seriously ill, until the fatal attack that terminated his
existence. "In his domestic relations, he was everything that
could be desired — a tender and affectionate husband —
a faithful and devoted friend. He had no children.
As has been beautifully said of Washington and Jack
son — ' Providence denied him these, that he might the
better serve his country ;' or, as he himself expressed
it, 'that he might be a father to the children of his

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER. 789
friends !' His manners were affable, and his address
pleasing and agreeable. He never forgot the dignity
of his position or of his character ; but he always had
a kind word and a cheerful smile to greet those who
visited him. As a citizen, he was generous and public-
spirited, and the influence of his example was upon the
side of morality and good order. Says one who knew
him intimately for many years : ' In his social inter
course, I never heard him utter an unchaste word, or
an immoral sentiment. Whenever he returned from
his public positions, to the place of his residence, he
returned to the simple, frugal, and industrious habits
of a New England farmer, and to the kind and neigh
borly offices which so eminently distinguished the early
rural population of our pilgrim fathers.'
" In the public schools and seminaries of learning,
in his own county, and in the state at large, he took
a deep interest. Anything designed to increase the
happiness, or promote the prosperity, of his fellow-
citizens, was sure to receive his patronage and encour
agement. He was not in affluent circumstances, yet
he possessed what to one of his moderate wants, was a
competency. Though he had filled many high offices,
and occupied situations which afforded him frequent
opportunities for the acquisition of wealth, his thoughts
were directed to other, and, unless riches are sought
in the proper spirit, to what may be called nobler pur
poses. His punctuality was proverbial. After he be
came a member of the Senate, his correspondence was

790 SILAS WRIGHT.
extensive, and often proved a great tax to him, in time,
if not in money. But he was never forgetful of those
who addressed him, and invariably adhered to his rule,
not to leave a letter unanswered for a single day, ex
cept where the nature of the subject required a
lengthy and deliberate reply.
" Silas Wright was not an orator — that is, he would
not have been termed eloquent, in the common accep
tation of the word. There was no attempt at display
in his manner, nor rhetorical embellishment in his lan
guage ; but he was an able and intelligent speaker.
He had not the graceful delivery of Clay, or the em
phatic earnestness of Calhoun ; yet there was a sub
dued enthusiasm in his style of speaking that was irre
sistibly captivating ; and though his voice was not
pleasant, this was almost instantly forgotten in the
beauty of his argument. There was nothing declam
atory about, him. He appealed to no man's passions
or prejudices. He was cool and collected, and care
fully preserved his own equanimity, while he avoided
giving offence, or provoking ill-feeling. He spoke
slowly, but distinctly and fluently, and with evident
care and deliberation. His hearers were charmed ;
and listened, but to be charmed again. Every word
seemed to issue forth at the proper time, and in the
proper place. All was clear, forcible, logical and per
suasive. " He was not destitute of ambition ; but his was not
that low and grovelling passion which seeks its gratifi-

MENTAL QUALITIES. 791
cation in the present — it was rather that nobler, and
purer, and loftier sentiment, which is directed to higher
ends and higher aims ; which strives for the welfare of
one's country and race ; and looks to the future, not
over-confident, but trustful and hopeful, for a sure re
ward. He was totally devoid of selfishness. During
the administrations of Jackson and Van Buren, he
might have commanded some of the most lucrative
offices in the gift of the national executive, but he
asked for none of them; and when they were tender
ed to him, he put them aside, not as Ceesar put aside
the crown, to have them Urged upon him, but because
he was content to remain where he was, in the Sen
ate. The sterling qualities of his mind, peculiarly fitted
him for the sphere in which he moved. It has been
said, that " the book of a statesman is the human
heart." No one perused it more attentively than he.
His foresight and sagacity were remarkable. He was
a sound and careful thinker — clear-headed, practical,
and discreet. His mind was evenly balanced and well
disciplined. Success was not followed by a lack of
caution ; and danger did not intimidate him. Like
the sturdy Alpine hunter, with the mountain-torrent
dashing beneath his feet, and the dreaded avalanche
thundering in the distance, he was not indifferent to
peril, but firmly and calmly prepared to meet it. Poli
tics appeared to him to be a science worthy of the
best energies of his mind, and he sought, in his life and
conduct, to give it that elevated character which it de-

792 SILAS WRIGHT.
served. He belonged to a higher grade of politicians
— he was a statesman."*
He has left behind him an honored and an honorable
name among American statesmen. " Celebrated men,"
said Napoleon, " lose on a close view." It was not so
in the case of Mr. Wright. The more critical the ex
amination of his character, the more beauties are dis
closed. There is a fullness, a completeness, a symme
try, about it,, which, like a piece of statuary of perfect
proportions, charms, interests, and excites feelings of
admiration. He possessed rare intellectual faculties,
rather imitative, perhaps, than creative ; but his mind
was capacious, and had a striking amplitude of com
prehension. He looked for models of statesmanship to republican
Rome, and preferred to be Cato, or Cincinnatus, rather
than Shaftesbury or Sunderland. Like Montague and
Walpole, he was a skilful financier, but how much did
he improve upon the authors of the funding system
and the excise scheme ! He maintained, throughout
his life, a high character for integrity in his public and
private relations. He was not a daring politician, and
never struck out in advance of his party ; yet he never
opposed useful and needed reform. In this respect he
was both a conservative and a radical. A rigid party
man, he was, nevertheless, an honest legislator; one
who kept the great end of legislation, the welfare of
the people, constantly in his view.
* Life of Silas Wright, p. 259 et seq.

3f©MSf T'DWiY©.
T/adeail/i dim, rdAnrhk.
lUA 'f.tl,r//,/(„ III Al,.,,,, :..,,).'

JOHN YOUNG.
Like his distinguished predecessor in the chair ol
state, this gentleman came from Vermont to New York.
He is a native of the former state, and was born in the
year 1802- His father, Thomas Young, emigrated from
Vermont when he was a lad, and settled in the town
of Conesus, Livingston county, where he at present
resides. For many years he kept a public-house in
that town, but during the latter part of his life has cul
tivated the farm which he now owns and occupies.
Though a man of rather eccentric character, he pos
sesses extraordinary good sense ; and in his younger
days, was conspicuous for his enterprise and persever
ance. He had just those qualities, in a word, which
fitted him for one of the pioneers of western New
York ; and which, in the evening of his life, he can
see manifested and developed by his son, in a different
career, and under different circumstances. His wife,
the mother of the governor, is said by all who know
her, to be an amiable and excellent woman; and both
she and her husband, are highly respected and es
teemed, in the circle of their acquaintance, for their
intelligence, and for their traits of mind and character.
34

794 JOHN YOUNG.
John Young was their only child, and as may well
be presumed, no advantages were denied him, that
could serve to bring out and strengthen those germs
of talent, which constituted the budding promise of his
earlier years, and, now that they are fully ripened and
matured, are regarded with so much satisfaction by his
numerous friends.
But the circumstances of his father were moderate,
indeed humble. He had not the pecuniary ability to be
stow a finished education upon his son, but he furnished
his mind as liberally as his means would permit, taught
him the duty of self-reliance, and sent him forth into
the world with his blessing, to achieve his own for
tunes, and to carve out a destiny for himself. He re
ceived his early, and his only education, at the common
schools— which were common enough in those days 
chiefly in the town of Conesus, where his parents re
sided. His youthful ambition had fixed his hopes and desires
upon the profession of the law; but he was unable to
gratify them till he reached man's estate. Having
once determined on his course, however, no obstacles
were allowed to interfere with, or to prevent, the ac
complishment of his desires. Before him was the goal
on which his thoughts were fixed; all his energies
were directed toward the attainment of his wishes; and
the difficulties that occasionally sprung up in his path,
only sharpened the zest and increased the eagerness,
with which he prosecuted his preliminary studies.

STUDIES LAW. 795
In 1823, he commenced the study of the law in the
office of Augustus A. Bennett, a highly respectable
lawyer, at East Avon, in Livingston county. Unwil
ling to be a burden upon his father, he supported him
self while reading law, by teaching a common school,
and the customary practice in justices' courts which
usually falls to the lot of students. His clerkship was
completed at Geneseo, the county-seat of Livingston,
in the office of Ambrose Bennett, a prominent member
of the bar in that county, and, till his death, which
took place in 1833, a leading- and active politician.
Mr. Young was admitted to the bar of the Supreme
Court in 1829, having been previously admitted as an
attorney of the Livingston Common Pleas, and imme
diately commenced practice at Geneseo, where he
continued to reside till his election to the office of
governor. His professional success was alike flatter
ing to his talents and his character. Possessing re
markable shrewdness and perseverance, a thorough
knowledge of human nature, good common sense, —
native talents above mediocrity, developed and invigo
rated by the experience to which the character of a
self-made man must always be subjected — together
with integrity, fidelity, and industry, he was well fitted
to encounter the difficulties and embarrassments inci
dent to a professional career, and to achieve the tri
umphs which await desert like that which he exhibited.
Political and personal considerations, in a majority of
cases, influence the opinions of the people of a county

796 JOHN YOUNG.
in regard to the members of their bar. It cannot be
said, therefore, that Mr. Young was placed, by general
consent, at the head of his profession in Livingston
county ; others had their friends and admirers, as well
as himself, — yet it is true, that every one conceded to
him a place in the very front rank, while he remained
in practice.
He was an active politician in early life. His
friend, Mr. Bennett, was a democrat and a Jackson
man ; and Mr. Young's predilections when he first
became a voter inclined him to support the measures
and the candidates of the republican or democratic
party. Becoming well and widely known to the citi
zens of the county, while engaged in the study of the
law, he was nominated as the democratic candidate for
county clerk in the fall of 1828, but was defeated by
the antimasonic and opposition candidate. At this
election he supported General Jackson and Mr. Van
Buren, with his accustomed energy and activity.
From the first, he had disapproved of the outrage
committed by some of the members of the masonic
society in the abduction of Morgan ; he believed the
institution to be exceedingly dangerous in its tendency ;
and from agreeing and sympathizing with the anti
masons in these general views, it was easy for him to
associate himself with the new party which was about
this time formed in western New York. The district
of country in which he resided was thoroughly infected
with antimasonry, and many of the most active Jack-

ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE. 797
son men attached themselves to the antimasonic party
at the time of, or soon after, its first organization. It
was, in truth, made up of all parties, and contained
men who had been the most decidedly opposed to each
other upon the general questions which had before di
vided political parties.
In 1829, he connected himself with the antimasonic
party, and adhered to its fortunes with fidelity, amid
all its changes and vicissitudes, till it united with the
old national republicans, and formed the present whig
organization. From 1828 to 1837, he held several
minor town offices, the duties of which were discharged
with ability and promptitude. In 1831, he was one of
the antimasonic candidates for the assembly, his col
league being George W. Patterson, late lieutenant-
governor of the state. The antimasons were largely
in the ascendant in Livingston county, and no serious
opposition was offered to their candidates for the Legis
lature, both of whom were elected.
Mr. Young was appointed a member of the judiciary
committee in the Assembly, and took a high stand in
the little band of his political friends who had been
chosen to this Legislature. Francis Granger, however,
was the champion and leader of the antimasonic pha
lanx, and those members who were less known and
less experienced, did not have that opportunity for
distinguishing themselves which would otherwise have
been presented. Mr. Young occasionally took part in
the debates, and always acquitted himself in a credit-

798 JOHN YOUNG.
able manner. He opposed the passage of the resolu
tions declaring that the charter of the United States
Bank ought not to be renewed, and voted against the
bill increasing the salaries of the judicial officers of the
state. The Chenango Canal bill, which passed the
Senate at this session, but was lost in the Assembly
received his support and his vote.
He was not again a candidate for the popular suf
frage till the memorable contest of 1840; having, in
the meantime, been actively and honorably engaged
in the successful practice of his profession. In 1840,
he was the whig candidate for member of Congress
from the thirtieth district, embracing the counties of
Livingston and Alleghany, and succeeded over his
democratic opponent by about two thousand majority ;
a result which may be attributed, in a good degree, to
his own persona] exertions in supporting and defending
the principles and the candidates of his party, in Liv
ingston county. Its firm adhesion to the whig cause
has in times past been proverbial, and its fidelity in
this respect is both an imitation of his own character,
and one of the results of his efforts.
In May, 1841, he took his seat as a member of the
27th Congress. While in the House of Representa
tives, he did not distinguish himself so much by the
number or ability of his speeches, as by his labors in
the committee room, and his sagacious advice in regard
to the movements and policy of his party. The bank
bills vetoed by President Tyler, the distribution of the

RE-ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE. 799
proceeds of the public lands, and the tariff law of 1842,
received his warm support and approbation ; and when
all, or nearly all, the great measures of the whig party
were defeated, by the impracticability of Mr. Tyler, he
most cheerfully affixed his signature to the able mani
festo, in which the whig members of the 27th Congress
justified the measures they had advocated, and the
course they had pursued.
At the close of this Congress, Mr, Young once more
returned to private life, and to the cares and duties of
his profession ; but in 1844 he was again summoned
from his retirement, and in deference to the repeatedly-
expressed wishes of his political friends in Living
ston county, consented to accept the whig nomination
for member of Assembly. , He was, of course, elected ;
and no one occupied a higher or more flattering po
sition in the Legislature of 1845, than himself.
He had early avowed himself in favor of the propo
sition to call a convention to revise the constitution.
Many leading members of the whig party exhibited a
great degree of reluctance in advocating this measure ;
but by means of his arguments and persuasions, all his
political friends in the Legislature, with one or two
exceptions, were ultimately brought to adopt his views.
The whigs held the balance of power in the Legisla
ture, and, under his lead and direction, no means were
left untried or unemployed, that promised to widen the
breach between the two factions. His tact and man
agement were admirable. The whigs voted against

800 JOHN YOUNG.
the proposed amendments of the constitution, which
the radicals had so long advocated, and thus compelled
the latter to insist upon a convention. When the con
servatives proposed to go for the convention bill, pro
vided that all amendments made by the convention
should be submitted separately to the people, the whigs
opposed this proposition, and, with the aid of the radi
cals, defeated it.
Mr. Young made a number of able speeches during
the progress of the convention bill through the House,
mainly in reply to Horatio Seymour, the speaker of
the Assembly, and the leader of the conservatives, or
hunkers, in that body. From his two principal speeches
on this question, the following extracts are taken, as
affording the best specimens of the character of his
parliamentary eloquence :
" The gentleman [Mi'. Seymour] said he was in favor of retaining
this instrument in its present form, because it had sustained for sixteen
years, with the exception of two administrations, the party to which he
belongs. I am not in favor of any constitution because it tends to
sustain any particular party organization, and which looks to party for
protection ; and I cannot believe, that he is in its favor for such
reason. Will he say again, that because the * democratic' party, as he
calls it, though I do not acknowledge it to be such, has sustained itself
for sixteen years, that is the reason why he would not alter the con
stitution ? Has it come to this ? — that a, statesman, learned, intelligent,
distinguished, familiar with questions of constitutional law, in open day,
not only acts from such motives, but tears off the mask and tells the
world, that we are to make a constitution in reference to party advan
tages ? He surely cannot mean this. Let him ask the hardworking
and intelligent mechanic, what is tlie purpose of- » constitution ; will

SPEECH ON THE CONVENTION BILL. 801
he reply that such is its object? Ask the farmer— the bone and
sinew of the country— as in the soft twilight of summer he sees the
lambs skipping on the green lawn, if it is for party purposes that he
wants a constitution ? Or in the autumn, when his granaries are full,
and he offers thanksgivings ;— and what will be his answer ? * * *
" And yet, in the bosom of that gentleman there breathes the most
generous emotions. Those hands have been stretched out for the re
lief of human suffering. It is not the man's, it is the party madness of
the day,— a madness that, forgetting the future, looks not beyond the
day. But to those men who look to their posterity , and, as they see
the stream grow wider and deeper as it flows on to the great ocean of
the future, feel that their blood there flows,— I send him there to ask,
if they would frame a constitution to favor party ? They will respond,
we would frame constitutions for ourselves and for our children. * *
" When was it that we first Bought to agitate this question ? We
had just passed through a political campaign, in which we had been
overthrown. That was not our fault, but our misfortune. We felt the
weight which had fallen upon us by the great victory which you had
attained over us. But we then thought— how justly, others must
judge, — that overthrown as we were, we might still speak, think, and
utter our thoughts, too, if there was nothing in them whicli the laws
of the country and of propriety forbade. How did we find you 1
There was another circumstance known to us, — for this was not the
first time we knew you. We knew of the contest at Syracuse, where
you were divided. When we came here, you met us with the proud
claim that you were again allied. We saw you— I now address that
branch of the party supposed to be in favor of a convention— marching
up to Syracuse in your strength, and overthrowing those allies that
now come here and tell us not to agitate this question. We had seen
more. The branch of the party to which I believe you, sir, (addressing
the chairman, Mr. Bevens, a hunker,) are attached, was overthrown by
that to which the gentleman from Westchester was attached, if rumor
and his early acts at this session can be relied on. This was your con
dition at Syracuse, but we could not tell what results would flow from
your action. We saw you grapple with a foe fully your equal, and
51

802 JOHN YOUNG.
though you overthrew your antagonists for the day, and Vly Summit
was clothed in mourning ; yet if you had paid much attention to the
attendant circumstances, you would have found that ' pomp was the
funeral, the black the woe.' The funeral knell, if it was sounded,
scarcely reached the first farmhouse. And while you were on that
night engaged in the revel — nay, for aught I know, when you had
brought out the golden vessels, an ordinary perception might have
seen not only the handwriting upon the wall, but the whole person,
proclaiming what subsequent eventB proved to be too true, that on
that night should Belshazzar the king be slain. If you had then
looked into the camp of your adversaries, you would have heard the
noise of mirth drowning the funeral dirge. They looked forward to an
event, which you see clearly now, when he, whom you called the Cato
of America, should be one ofthem. They appreciated the man better
than you, and they felt that while they had lost nothing, you had in
deed lost your general. This was your condition. * * *
" There is another remark in that speech (alluding to a speech de
livered by Mr. Seymour) to -which I listened with mingled pain and
pleasure. He asserted that the party with whom he acts, would be
unanimous on this question of a convention. He was then in the hey
day of power, and I thought, — and I beg pardon of my barnburning
friends for entertaining the suspicion, — that he would be able to make
the party unanimous.
" I thought I saw givings away in some quarters. I regarded your
forces as scattered in the early part of the session, and I feared there
would be nothing left. I knew that the Oneida chief whom you had
defeated, was not annihilated, but was still hanging around your out
posts, and once your vote in this house appeared to indicate that the
real friends of a convention were few indeed.. But the gentleman
evinced too clearly in his speech on Saturday, that after all his disci
pline and machinery, he had been compelled to surrender, and we heard
him asking for quarter. It was painful to witness a spirit so proud
thus crushed. Then I thought I could look into another place, and as
he paced his own chamber with nervous tread, I could catch some
broken fragments of his expressions in retirement, — for thoughts will

SPEECH ON THE CONVENTION BILL. 803
sometimes come unbidden to the lips. Long he struggled against his
fate before he was brought to submit to the state of things surrounding
him. The great captain was defeated, and I thought I would hear
many of the expressions of his wounded spirit. I thought I heard him
say, ' I have done much, have worked long, and have labored hard for my
party' — and I could hear no more. Then I thought I heard another
fragment from his lips, and it was in the words of the great poet —
' If I had served my God with half the zeal
I've served my king' —
and there that sentence ended. I thought I heard other things, and as
he repeated the word ' Saratoga,' a pang shot across his face, and I
heard him say — ' Stab'dst me in my prime of youth
At Tewksbury.'
" He was not speaking of the battle of Saratoga, but of a certain
convention in the fifth senate district, and then his feelings of nervous
excitement seemed still stronger. This was not all I heard. In his
imagination, he saw not merely a handwriting upon the wall, but the
full length of a living, breathing man. His gray hair hung in curls
upon his shoulders. I heard nothing then, for he said nothing. The
countenance of that old man was familiar to that gentleman, and it was
the last face he wished to see at such an hour. I listened, for I thought,
in that great struggle I might hear him pronounce the Roman name of
Cato. But prostrate and fallen as he seemed to regard himself, even
then he had no fear of Cato. The scene passed by, and let us return
from that chamber to this hall. The advice which he gave for my
benefit, looked only to political life for reward. I thanked him for
his good wishes, but my road lies another way. I have a single word
to say to him. There is much of him to cultivate for good. He has
shown himself the possessor of high and brilliant talents, and if he
would forget party, and turn aside his passion for place and power, and
the narrow path of party discipline and tactics — tear away the drapery

804 JOHN YOUNG.
he has thrown around himself, and stand out his own living self,
breathing out the purposes of his generous heart, I hope I shall live
to see that gentleman occupying the highest station that his ambition
may desire."
Mr. Young was the Ajax of his party during the
debate on the convention bill. He led and marshalled
them ; and under his auspices, though in a minority,
they controlled the action of the Legislature. He op
posed with all his ability the attempt to ingraft the
separate submission feature upon the convention bill.
He saw the whig party of the state and nation prostra
ted and disheartened, in consequence of the defection
of Mr. Tyler, and he was ambitious to aid in restoring
its ascendency. This object he did not conceal nor
deny. Important amendments to the constitution,
which, if adopted, would change its whole frame-work
and character, were urged with more or less earnest
ness by the different parties and factions. It was very
evident that a large majority of the people of the state
desired to have some or all of these amendments made,
and the history of the convention of 1821 pointed out
distinctly and clearly the fate that would await those
politicians who opposed popular reforms. It was his
wish, therefore, as he has himself said,* " to popularize
and republicanize" the whig party, and thus add to
their strength ; and in no way could this be so effectu
ally done, as by insisting on a convention with unlim
ited powers, in which his whig friends might have the
* Speech at the Banquet in New York, January 18, 1851.

RE-ELECTION. 805
opportunity to advocate the great measures of reform
demanded by the people.
The Convention bill finally passed the Assembly, on
the 22d of April, 1845, Mr. Young, and the other whig
members, with two exceptions, voting in its favor. It
was ultimately concurred in by the Senate, and re
ceived the approbation of Governor Wright.
At this session, also, Mr. Young supported the canal
bill which passed the Legislature and was vetoed by
the governor. Indeed, his views and opinions upon
the internal improvement policy of New York, have
ever harmonized with those of his party ; and he has
always favored the prosecution of such enterprises, and
the construction of such works, as were required to
develop the resources of the state. He did not demand,
as a condition of his support, that each work should be
certain to be immediately profitable, but if it promised
to advance the general prosperity, and if, in the end,
the pecuniary ability of the state was not impaired, he
was content. He regarded the public works together,
as a great system ; and if, in the aggregate, they were
found beneficial and profitable, that, to his mind, was
sufficient. He was again returned to the Assembly, by the
whigs of Livingston county, in the fall of 1845, and
was supported as the candidate of his party for the
speakership ; but as the democrats were in the majori
ty, they elected one of their own number. The ses
sion of 1846 was not an important one, only so far as

806 J0HN YOUNG.
it served to keep alive the divisions in the democratic
party. The radicals, as represented in the Legislature,
had a majority over the conservatives, and they nomi
nated William Cassidy, one ofthe editors of the Albany
Atlas, as the candidate for State Printer, instead of
Edwin Croswell. The conservative friends of the
latter now proposed to abolish the office, and to give
the public printing to the lowest bidder. This propo
sition was approved by Mr. Young and his whig
friends, and they supported it with their votes, by which
the office was abolished, and additional bitterness was
imparted to the hostile feelings of the hunkers and
barnburners. In 1844, Mr. Young had approved of the position
assumed by his party at the north, with reference to
the annexation of Texas, and he was ever decided in
his opposition to that measure. He anticipated a war
with Mexico ; but' when it occurred, he was disposed
to waive his individual feelings and opinions in regard
to the causes which had produced it, and to stand firmly
and faithfully by his country in its prosecution. The
New York Legislature was upon the point of adjourn
ing, sine die, in the spring of 1846, when the intelli
gence reached Albany, that the armed forces of Mexico
and the United States had come in collision on the
banks of the Rio Grande. A resolution was immedi
ately introduced in the Assembly, by a democratic
member, authorizing the governor to enrol fifty thousand
volunteers, to defend the state, or to proceed to the

REMARKS ON THE WAR. 807
seat of war, as the honor and dignity of the country
required, and appropriating a sum of money to defray
all necessary expenses. An effort was made to lay the
resolution on the table, but there were only twelve
votes in favor of the motion.
Nearly all the whig members, including Mr. Young,
voted against laying the resolution on the table, and
supported it on its final passage. Previous to its
adoption, he made a few remarks explanatory of his
position. " I will go for the resolution," said he, " as it
is. I would have the opportunity taken to evince the
opinion of the Legislature of New York. It is known
that I was among those who opposed the annexation
of Texas ; but that is now a foregone act. Texas is
now bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh ; and he who
invades any portion of her soil, invades our territory —
invades a part of the United States. I will advocate
the voting of funds — the levying of troops to protect
her rights, and to secure her territory from invasion.
No man can doubt, — it is now past doubt, that we are
in a state of war. The country is invaded, — the rights
of our country, of our citizens, have been trampled
upon, — and I will sustain the country, ' right or
wrong.' "
These remarks were undoubtedly made on the spur
of the moment, and without premeditation. But Mr.
Young never had reason to regret them. The closing
sentiment has often occasioned remark, aud not unfre-
quently censure. Construed, however, in the spirit in

808 JOHN YOUNG.
which it was uttered — as indicating the duty of the
good citizen to waive his individual opinions when
called upon by the action of his government to support
it against a foreign power — it is so near akin to patri
otism, that it must find a response in the breast of
every one who loves his country.
Mr. Young voted for the law abolishing distress for
rent, at the session of 1846 ; and generally by his
votes and speeches, indicated his strong disapprobation
of the tenures by which the manorial lands were held
by the tenants, and his readiness to afford them every
aid and protection consistent with the provisions of
the constitution. He also expressed himself in favor
of amending that instrument, so as to protect them
still further, and approved of the changes made by the
convention of 1846.
He was not a member of the constitutional con
vention, but the new constitution, in all its essential
features, except the financial article, received his hearty
approbation and support.
The distinguished ability which he had evinced, at
the legislative sessions of 1845 and 1846, brought him
prominently before the people of the state, and gave
him an elevated position in his own party. It was
well understood, that Mr. Fillmore did not desire to be
again a candidate for governor, and the name of Mr.
Young was often mentioned in connection with that
office, long before the assembling of the whig state
convention. That body met at Utica on the 23d

ELECTED GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK. 809
of September, 1846. As in the democratic party,
there were two factions among the whigs. The one,
headed by Millard Fillmore, Luther Bradish, and John
A. Collier, may be called conservative whigs ; and the
other, or the radical whigs, was led by Ex-Governor
Seward, Thurlow Weed and others. The latter were
more friendly to abolitionism, and the anti-renters,
than the former, and, of course, were influenced in
their political action by a strong desire to advance the
fortunes of their leader, Mr. Seward. The conserva
tives, on the other hand, were not partial to Mr. Sew
ard. Upon the anti-rent question, Mr. Young sympathized
with the radical whigs, though Mr. Seward was not an
especial favorite with him. In the state convention,
however, he was supported by the radicals, and warmly
opposed by the conservative whigs, who insisted on
supporting Mr. Fillmore in opposition to his wishes.
The whig anti-renters finally decided the question of
the gubernatorial nomination, by surrendering their
own candidate, Ira Harris, and voting for Mr. Young.
The latter was nominated for governor on the third
ballot, by a vote of seventy-six to forty-five for Mr.
Fillmore. Hamilton Fish, of New York, a prominent
conservative whig, was then put in nomination for
lieutenant-governor, at the instance of Mr. Young's
friends, in order to conciliate the faction to which he
belonged. Silas Wright and Addison Gardiner, the incumbents

810 JOHN YOUNG.
of the two principal offices in the state, were supported
for reelection by their democratic friends. The anti-
renters also held a convention, at which Mr. Young
and Mr. Gardiner were nominated as their candidates.
The Native Americans, a party opposed to the election
of citizens of foreign birth to office, and in favor of
amending the naturalization laws so as to require a
longer residence in the country on the part of an alien,
and which had for the first time taken part in the
elections in 1843, also presented candidates for gov
ernor and lieutenant-governor ; and the abolitionists,
too, entered the field with their ticket.
But the votes of the anti-renters, and the disaffec
tion in the democratic ranks, decided the result of the
election. Mr. Young was chosen governor over Mr.
Wright, by upward of eleven thousand majority, and
Mr. Gardiner, the democratic candidate for lieutenant-
governor, succeeded over Mr. Fish.
Governor Young's first annual message, delivered at
the opening of the annual session of the Legislature,
in January, 1847, was clearly and concisely written.
He presented a gratifying picture of the financial con
dition of the state, but urged the importance to the
public interests, in his estimation, of an early comple
tion of the public works. To this end he suggested,
that if the provisions of the new constitution were too
stringent, they might be amended and modified. The
war with Mexico was then a topic widely agitated,
and he availed himself of this occasion to repeat the

MESSAGES. 811
views he had before advanced in the Legislature of
1846. He reminded the members of the Legislature,
that it had imposed " new and delicately interesting
duties" upon them. " It may," said he, " and probably
will, in its progress, claim further sacrifices from this
Mate, and I will rely with the utmost confidence upon
your readiness, as the representatives of a gallant and
patriotic people, to -discharge with alacrity any duty
that may be cast upon you. The country, always in
disposed to war, would receive with joy, intelligence
of an honorable peace. But to render peace honor
able, I think she would demand, and has a right to re
quire, that it shall be accompanied with such indemnity
as upon the page of history will be evidence of an
acknowledgment by Mexico of the superiority of our
arms. But of the character and extent of such indem
nity, I may not speak in this communication. With
return of peace will come a season for calm delibera
tion and searching inquiry. The causes, the conduct
and result of the war, may be then properly and use
fully investigated. But until our enemy shall have
been subdued, discussions involving collisions of opin
ion at home, cannot fail, by exciting false expectations
in Mexico, to embarrass negotiations for peace. I
confidently trust, therefore, that such discussions will
not be allowed to distract your deliberations. So long
as there is an enemy in the field, I feel assured that
we shall look only to the honor of our flag."
In his second annual message, he repeated the same

Q12 JOHN YOUNG,
general sentiments, both in regard to the war, and the
canal and financial policy of the state. During his
whole term, the Legislature was mainly occupied in
the passage of laws, rendered necessary in order to
carry out the provisions of the new constitution. In
accordance with the opinions he had expressed, reso
lutions were adopted at the session of 1847, declaring
it to be the imperative duty of every good citizen, to
sustain the government in the prosecution of the war,
and that no peace would be honorable that did not
secure full indemnity for the aggressions of Mexico.
About this time, the question of the extension of
slavery to the territory, which, it was anticipated,
would be acquired from Mexico, began to be agitated ;
and resolutions were adopted, in the New York Legis
lature, in 1847 and 1848, which accorded with the
views of the governor, instructing the senators and
representatives from this state in Congress, to vote for
the prohibition of slavery in such territory, by the law
providing for the acquisition.
The administration of Governor Young was, in the
main, successful. His position was favorable : foras
much as the constitution had deprived the executive
of nearly all the official patronage formerly attached
to the office, it was scarcely possible for him to make
many enemies by his appointments. He aimed to
pursue an entirely independent course in respect to
the distribution of the few offices placed at his dispo
sal ; and it is said, by his friends, that when the editor

HIS POSITION.

813

of a leading journal belonging to the Seward, or radi
cal faction, once attempted to influence him in an im
portant appointment, his cutting rebuke — " Mr.  ,
I am governor !" put an end to all attempts to inter
fere with him in the performance of his duties.
Soon after he entered upon the office of governor,
he pardoned the leading anti-renters, who had been
tried and convicted during the administration of
Governor Wright, justifying his action upon the ground
that their offences were political. His course in this
respect did not meet the approbation of the conserva
tive whigs, though it was sufficiently evident, long be
fore the close of his administration, that he heartily
sympathized with them upon other questions. His
views in regard to the war with Mexico, and his re
fusal to make his appointments in accordance with
the wishes of the friends of Mr. Seward, were not at
all satisfactory to them, though no open rupture took
place. He did not desire a renomination ; conse
quently, the harmony of the party was not disturbed
by any considerations merely personal to himself.
He advocated the nomination and election of Gene
ral Taylor in 1848, not because he did not heartily and
sincerely concur in the political opinions of Henry
Clay, nor entertain the highest admiration for his
character and talents ; but he believed the former to
be the most available candidate. So well known
were his preferences for Mr. Clay, that after the elec
tion of General Taylor, the friends of Mr. Seward op-

814 JOHN YOUNG.
posed his appointment to any important office under
the new whig administration. His shrewdness and
sagacity, however, proved too strong for their influ
ence, and he was appointed Assistant Treasurer in the
city of New York, in the place of ex-Governor Bouck,
who was removed from the office, and entered upon its
duties in July, 1849.
Since then, he has not interfered actively in the
political contests of the state, though at no time con
cealing his opinions on any subject when it seemed to
him to be proper to express them. Though he ap
proved of the principle of the Wilmot Proviso, he was
well satisfied with the compromise measures adopted,
through the instrumentality and efforts of Mr. Clay, at
the session of Congress in 1849-50, and rejoiced to
see the agitation on the slavery question subside.
While he lamented the untimely death of General Tay
lor, he was glad to see the presidential office filled by
his friend, Mr. Fillmore. Cordially approving of his
course and measures, he is recognized as a national
whig, and is admitted to hold a high position in that
faction. He has been recently complimented with a
public banquet by his political friends in the city of
New York, at which he delivered an able speech re
viewing his own political course, expressing his satis
faction at the secession of the national or conservative
whigs from the state convention of their party in 1850,
and declaring it to be his intention and determination

MARRIAGE. 815
to follow the distinguished leader of the whig party in
the nation, Henry Clay.
" It does not become the biographer," says a writer
in the American Encyclopaedia, " to pronounce a de
cisive judgment until the career of his subject is
closed ;" and if the merits of Governor Young shall
obtain the desert to which, in the opinion of his
friends, they are entitled, the better part of his politi
cal career is yet before him. Hence, it may not now
be appropriate, to present a detailed review of his
course and character. A shrewd political tactician,
ambitious and enterprising, determined and unyielding,
frank and affable in his manners, and with his high
talents possessing a simplicity of character calculated
to win respect and esteem, and to add to his considera
tion and popularity, who can say what other honors
the future may have in store ?
He was married, in 1833, to Ellen Harris, a daugh
ter of Campbell Harris, of Yorke, Livingston county.
They are the parents of four children, who are now
living.

HAMILTON FISH.
This gentleman is a native of the city of New York,
where he was born in the year 1809. His family be
long to the old school, and have ever been held in high
consideration, for their standing, wealth, and respecta
bility, — qualities which, in their descendant, have
served to place him in an enviable position, and to
secure him a large share of popular favor.
He was educated at Columbia College, where he
maintained an excellent character for scholarship, and
for punctuality in his attendance upon all the collegiate
exercises. Having graduated, he commenced the study
ofthe law in his native city, which he pursued with
diligence and attention; and at the May term, in
1830, he was examined and admitted as an attorney
of the Supreme Court of the State. Three years
later, he was regularly enrolled among the counsellors
of that court.
Though his natural abilities, improved as they had
been by the educational advantages he had enjoyed,
eminently fitted him for the career on which he had
entered, the cares and responsibilities of a large prop
erty that devolved upon him soon after he commenced

,.>-.«. ..at

•^

fourteenth Govern or of Neit- tork.

A rh. VJtifie/m, WMaauj'

MEMBER OF CONGRESS. 817
practice^ presented him from devoting that time and
attention to the legitimate pursuits of his profession,
which are necessary to obtain its highest honors.
While he continued at the: bar, however, his business
was both considerable and lucrative, and he was de
servedly respected and esteemed, for his talents and
his integrity, and for the fidelity and promptitude with
which he managed the interests, committed to his
charge. He became interested in politics shortly after leav
ing -college ; though he has never been a partisan, but
has always had the reputation of being a candid, inde
pendent, and high-minded politician. He was for sev
eral years a commissioner of deeds in and -for the city
and county of New York, and, having attached him
self to the whig party, was presented as one of their
candidates for the Assembly, from that city, in the fall
of 1834, but with his associates on the ticket failed
of being elected. Subsequent t6 this, he repeatedly
declined nominations of various kinds, which were
urged upon his acceptance with'an earnestness not more
flattering to his character and abilities, than indicative
ofthe sincereesteem of the numerous friends who be
came early attached to him, and who have ever re
garded his course ahd conduct with warm approbation.
In 1842, he was chosen a member of Congress from
the sixth district, comprising the upper wards in the
city of New York, except the thirteen and four
teenth, over John M'K.eon, the democratic candidate,
52

818 HAMILTON FISH.
who was then representing the district. His majority
was small, but his election was considered a great tri
umph by his friends, as the majority of Governor Bouck
over Mr. Bradish, in the same district, was over three
hundred. This result, however, must not be attributed
entirely to the personal popularity of Mr. Fish, since it
was owing, in a great measure, to the opposition of the
electors to the New School law recommended by Gov
ernor Seward and approved by Mr. McKeon.
As a member of Congress, Mr. Fish did not fail to
secure the favorable regard of those to whom he was
responsible for his votes and conduct, and though not
distinguished in debate, he maintained a high character
for ability and usefulness. He was a member of the
military committee, and discharged all and every duty
of his position with commendable punctuality and cor
rectness. Though not preeminent among the many
distinguished whig politicians then Jn Congress, his
standing was alike creditable to him, and to the con
stituency whom he served.
At the close of his term he retired, to private life,
without any lingering feelings of regret that he no
longer occupied an official station. But his numerous
political friends in the city of New York were by no
means disposed to surrender their claims upon him.*
Without any solicitation on his part, he was nominated
as the whig candidate for lieutenant-governor, at the
state convention in 1846, on the same ticket with John
* In 1845, he was again nominated for the Assembly, but was again defeated.

CHOSEN LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 819
Young. The anti-renters adopted the democratic
candidate, and he was elected over Mr. Fish by upward
of thirteen thousand majority.
The latter was a candidate for the same office, at
the November election in 1847, to fill the vacancy oc
casioned by the resignation of Mr. Gardiner. The
whig ticket succeeded on this occasion, by a very large
majority, averaging about thirty thousand, in conse
quence of the divisions in the democratic party. Mr-
Fish presided over the state Senate, at the legislative
session of 1848, winning "golden opinions from all
sorts of men," by his gentlemanly courtesy and digni
fied urbanity.
There were several candidates for governor, among
the whigs in 1848, but Mr. Fish, as the lieutenant-gov
ernor, occupied a position that naturally attracted the
attention of his party to himself. The whigs were di
vided into two factions ; the conservatives, afterward
known as national whigs, and the radical whigs, or the
friends of Mr. Seward. The sympathies of Mr. Fish
were understood to be with the former, but however de
cided in his convictions, he was moderate in the expres
sion of his opinions, and by his conciliatory tone had
secured the good wishes of both factions. His friends
in the city of New York warmly urged his nomination
for governor, and such was his popularity among the
whigs of the state, that it was conceded to him without
serious opposition. He received 76 votes on the first
ballot in the whig state convention ; 28 votes were given
for Joshua A. Spencer, and 20 for Governor Young.

820 HAMILTON FISH.
The whig state convention was held on the 14th of
September, and Mr. Fish was nominated for governor,
and George W. Patterson for lieutenant-governor.
The democrats had now divided into two parties, each
presenting its particular candidates, and the success
of the whig ticket was a matter of course. The vote
given for Mr. Fish was considerably less than that
given for both the democratic candidates, John A. Dix,
and Reuben H. Walworth, but his plurality over either
of them was very large.
He took the oath as governor, on the 1st day of
January, 1849. In former years, the position he occu
pied had abounded in embarrassments, occasioned by
the numerous applications for office, all which could
not be successful ; and in choosing from among them,
it was difficult for the most honest impartiality always
to decide aright, and impossible not to incur the secret
or open hostility of the disappointed. This was no
longer the case. The office of governor, under the
constitution of 1,846, was made one of honor rather
than of patronage. A fruitful source of discontent
and dissatisfaction had been removed, and the occu
pant ofthe gubernatorial chair, even if possessing only
moderate tact and ability, " while he might not add to
fiis friends, could easily avoid increasing the number
of ; his enemies."
Gpyernor Fish, therefore, found no difficulty in pur
suing that moderate and neutral course which he had
inarked out for himself. His only embarrassment was

.VIEWS ON THE SLAVERY QUESTION. 821
produced by the repeated solicitations made by the
radical, or conservative factions, in his party, to exert
his influence in favor of one or the other; but he at all
times firmly and steadily refused to take any part in
the contests and divisions the occurrence of which -he
so much regretted. Accordingly, his conduct was
generally approved, and his administration passed
away quietly and harmoniously.
His messages indicate the possession, on the part of
their author, of high literary abilities, and were much
commended both for their style, and for the modest
tone in which they were written. In regard to the
finances of the state, he contented himself with plain
and succinct statements of their condition, without
giving expression to his individual opinions.
During his entire administration, the slavery question
was agitated in Congress and throughout the Union.
He was early committed, as was the whig party of
New York, in favor ofthe principle of the Wilmot
Proviso. In both his messages, he alluded to this sub
ject, on each occasion expressing his decided opposi
tion to the extension of the slave territory. His re
marks on this exciting question were conservative in
their tone, though indicating the firmness of his con
victions, and the determination with which they would
be maintained. The annexed extracts from his mes
sages exhibit his views on this question, and will also
show his style as a writer.

822 HAMILTON FISH.
" The ' compromises of the constitution' as they are familiarly termed,
do not of right extend to territory beyond the limits Of the original
thirteen states. The privileges which they concede may be granted,
but cannot be claimed for any newly acquired territory. * * *
" If there be any one subject upon which the people of the state of
Hew York approach near to unanimity of sentiment, it is in their fixed
determination to resist the extension of slavery over territory now free.
With them it involves a great moral principle, and over-rides all ques
tions of temporary and political expediency. None venture to dissent ;
and in the mere difference of degree in which the sentence receives
utterance, it has proven powerful, even to the breaking down of the
strong barrier pf party organization. * * * *
" They are now asked to become parties to the extension of slavery
over territory already free. Their answer may be read in their past
history. I believe that it is almost, if not entirely, the unanimous de
cision of the people of this state, that under no circumstances will
their assent be given to any action whereby the institution of slavery
shall be introduced into any part of the territory of the United States,
from which it is now excluded. * * * *
" It is no new declaration in behalf of the State of New York, that
she regards slavery as a moral, a social, and a political evil. * * *
" Regarding it as a domestic relation, founded upon and limited to
the range of the territorial laws of the state,— dependent for its con
tinuance- and its regulation upon the legislation of the Beveral states,-^
New York exercised her exclusive power over the institution within
her own borders, but has carefully avoided any interference with the
right of other states to regulate their internal policy in their own way ;
not because her repugnance to human bondage, or her attachment to
the principles of universal freedom, were confined to the limits of her
own jurisdiction ; but because of her attachment to the Union of the
states, and because of her solemn regard for the compact into which
she had entered with those states.
" But while she has scrupulously abstained from all interference with
the internal legislation of her sister , states, her voice has been fre
quently raised in behalf of human freedom, and in opposition to the

VIEWS ON. THE SLAVERY QUESTION. 823
extension of slavery beyond the limits of those states within which it
has heretofore been sanctioned. Her expressions on this point have
been frequent and emphatic, and their repetition at this time will not
be unexpected. * * * *
" She did not stop to consider the magnitude or the frequency of the
concessions which she was making, and the merely political advantages
which she was voluntarily relinquishing ; nor does she now consider
them. But she does stop before consenting to be a party to what she
deems a wrong, and such she considers would be the attempt to estab
lish slavery, under the sanction, or with the assent of the General
Government, within any portion of the territories of the United States
whence it is now legally excluded. * * * *
" By the treaty with Mexico, the territories of New Mexico and Cal
ifornia came to us free ; and the laws of Mexico abolishing slavery,
which were in force at the time of the cession, continue to be opera
tive, and are not affected by any transfer of sovereignty over the ter
ritory. * * * *
" Congress cannot, without a transgression of its constitutional pow
ers, establish slavery within this territory ; nor can it, without the
violation of the principles of justice, and an utter disregard of the
wishes of the people, and of the protection which it is bound to extend
over the territory to which it has acquired the title, refuse admission
to the new state, or countenance or sanction in any way, the introduc
tion of slavery within the territory. And without the sanction and
the assent of Congress, these newly acquired territories are secured to
freedom, and must remain as they now are, exempt from the institution
of slavery.
" The emphatic voice of the Legislature of the state of New York,
expressed in the resolutions passed at their last two sessions, and the
nearly unanimous sentiment of the people of our state, have declared,
that under no circumstances will their assent be given to the extension
of slavery into these territories, from which it is now excluded.
" New York loves the union of the states. - She will not contemplate
the possibility of its dissolution ; and sees no reason to calculate the
enormity of such a calamity.

824 HAMILTON FISH.
" She also loves the cause of Human Freedom ; and sees no reason
to abstain from an avowal of her attachment. While, therefore, she
holds fest to the one, she will not forsake the other."
Among the recommendations of Governor Fish
which deserve to be noticed, are the endowment of a
state agricultural school, and-a school for instruction in
the mechanic arts — the restoration of the office of
county superintendent of common schools — the revision
and alteration of the laws authorizing taxes and assess
ments for local improvements — the more general and
equal taxation of personal property — the establishment
of tribunals of conciliation in accordance with the pro
visions of the constitution of 1846— and the modifica
tion of the criminal code.
Since the retirement of Governor Fish from the
executive chair, he has been elected by the whigs in
the Legislature to the office of senator in Congress,
to succeed Daniel S. Dickinson. He was regularly
nominated in the whig Caucus by a large majority, but
the attempt to elect him in the Legislature was warmly
opposed, in consequence of the refusal of some of
the national whigs to vote for him, though he had
always before been a favorite with that faction, unless
resolutions were first adopted approving and endors
ing the administration of Mr. Fillmore. No fears
were expressed, that he would not sustain the whig
president, but some urged as an objection that he
had not committed himself against Mr. Seward ; and

CONCLUSION. 825
this, probably, was the cause of the opposition to his
election. It is difficult to describe a character, like that of Gov
ernor Fish, possessing no salient points, but presenting
a nappy admixture of all good qualities. It cannot be
doubted that he cherishes an honorable ambition, and
being still a young man, his character and career are
yet to be fully developed. Extended remarks upon
them now may, therefore, be considered premature ;
and the following extracts, from an article that ap
peared in a New York paper while he was governor
of the state, and evidently the production of a friend
and admirer, though no more than a just tribute to the
man, will not inappropriately conclude this memoir :
" As a politician, he is ranked with the whigs ; and,
whilst he maintains tlie principles of his party, he
zealously endeavors to promote the best welfare of the
whole people. Governor Fish cannot be regarded as
an ultra or despotic partisan. Indeed, all of his official
acts have thus far been distinguished by moderation —
by a fixed determination to extend equal benefits to
all, and achieve, if possible, the greatest good of the
greatest number. Since he has been in office he has
evidently studied to abate the evils that are too com
monly engendered by cliques and cabals ; and, if he
shall succeed in this, he will have restored the local
government of New York and the institutions of the
state to their pristine purity. * * * His personal
appearance is imposing and manly : he possesses, in
35*

826 HAMILTON FISH.

an eminent degree, all the graces of a finished and
highly-educated gentleman, and no man has ever
flourished in our local state affairs, who has been
.better calculated to secure universal personal popt-
laiity."