USA > New York > A short history of New York State > Part 23
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The Democratic tide remained strong in 1836. Martin Van Buren, the heir of Andrew Jackson, was elected president-the first New Yorker to attain that high office. Marcy was re-elected governor and the Demo- crats held firm control of the state legislature. With two members in high offices-Van Buren and Marcy-the Regency had reached the apex of its power. Strangely enough, this political empire survived only a few months before it was destroyed and the Regency dissolved.
The Jacksonians' refusal to reissue the charter of the Bank of the United States in 1832 had led to a demand for more local banks to handle the financial affairs of the state. The Democratic legislatures of 1834 and 1835 had complied by issuing a number of charters. The state law called for the fair distribution of the stock of new banks, but the party in power selected commissioners who distributed it only among its own followers. This stock was often resold for a profit of 20 to 25 per cent even before the original owner had paid for the shares. In 1836 two Democratic state senators were charged with improper conduct in connection with the chartering of banks. One resigned his seat; the other was allowed to retain his office by the close vote of sixteen to twelve.
Earlier, a faction calling itself the Equal Rights party sought to wrest control of Tammany from the banking interests. When the Equal Righters proved to be in a majority at a meeting in Tammany Hall, the regulars turned off the gas and extinguished the lights. This ruse had been used before and the reformers were prepared. From their pockets they took candles which they kindled from the new friction matches popularly called locofocos. By the following day the members of the new party were known as Locofocos.
Although the activities of the Locofocos and the public scandal in the matter of bank stocks were forces undermining the Regency and the Democratic party, the holocaust which drove the party from power was
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the Panic of 1837, one of the most devastating economic disasters ever suffered by New Yorkers. The Democrats received the blame, and in 1838 were swept from office as Seward was elected governor and the Whigs seized absolute control of New York. Weed replaced Van Buren and the Regency as the chief political power in the state. William Kent, the son of the famous chancellor, wrote Weed after Seward's election: "Mr. Dictator, the whole State is on your shoulders. I take it, some future chronicler ... will devote the brightest colours to 'the celebrated Thurlow Weed, who so long filled the office of Governor Seward during his lengthened and prosperous administration.'" The Dictator gloried in his title and unquestionably merited it.
Weed had in Seward a vote-getter and a statesman. In February 1838 he established Horace Greeley as the editor of the Jeffersonian, a Whig newspaper, and for many years this able journalist, who later became famous as the editor of the New York Tribune, used his facile pen to promote the aspirations of the political firm of Seward, Weed, and Greeley. In 1840 the triumvirate devoted its energy to prevent the re- election of President Van Buren. In this they were aided by the un- popularity of the administration's financial measures. Jackson's policy of placing federal monies in state banks had increased the funds available for the reckless speculative orgy which preceded the Panic of 1837. Van Buren, in an effort to prevent the recurrence of such circumstances, suc- ceeded in getting Congress to pass the Subtreasury bill, which required the placement of United States funds in federal repositories. This scheme, which removed federal deposits from private banks, won the enmity of bankers, who devoted large sums to the Whig campaign. Similarly, the President's opposition to cheap paper money found disfavor among the workers and the debtor class. The Whigs had an easy time of it. Seward was re-elected governor; their candidate, William Henry Harrison, be- came president; and Van Buren failed to carry his native New York. Elated at this triumph, Weed printed the following statement in the Albany Evening Journal: "To all those with whom we have bet-please call one at a time, approaching our office from Washington Street and departing through Congress Street, keeping in line, so as not to block up the highway." The Dictator was not to be so happy about his election wagers for the next few years.
For a time it looked as if war with Great Britain would break out dur- ing Seward's administration. The trouble began during Governor Marcy's last term, when, in the fall of 1837, the Canadian insurgent leader, Wil- liam Lyon Mackenzie, sought to lead an insurrection against the Crown. Mackenzie's revolt brought little response from Canadians but found many sympathizers among Americans. In New York, as elsewhere, it was difficult to enforce neutrality when mobs eagerly sought to furnish the
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insurgents with munitions and other supplies. The loyalist Canadians easily defeated the rebellion, and Mackenzie fled to Buffalo, where he brazenly set up his headquarters under his own flag at the Eagle Tavern.
With help from American friends, Mackenzie returned to Canadian soil by seizing Navy Island, a small plot of land in the Niagara River. The Caroline, a vessel of United States registry, carried supplies to the rebels. Angered by this breach of neutrality, a group of British stealthily crossed into New York on the night of December 29, 1837, and overpowered the men on the Caroline, killing one in the process. The raiders destroyed the steamer by fire and retired to Canada. The destruction of an Amer- ican vessel at anchor in American waters and the killing of one American citizen and the wounding of others was a very serious breach of peace and inflamed the passion of Americans in general and New Yorkers in particular. President Van Buren and Governor Marcy were able to re- store tranquillity, but the effort cost them and their party much popular support.
In 1840, during the administration of Governor Seward, Alexander McLeod, a Canadian citizen, while on a visit to New York boasted that he had taken part in the Caroline affair. Subsequently he was arrested and charged with murder and arson. The British government, maintain- ing that McLeod had acted under proper military orders, demanded his release and threatened war if he were executed. Secretary of State Daniel Webster implored Seward to obtain the Canadian's release; the governor refused but confidentially informed Webster he would pardon McLeod if he were convicted. This episode destroyed whatever friendly ties Webster and Seward may have enjoyed previously. Fortunately the trial proved a farce, for McLeod had lied and could not possibly have taken part in the Caroline raid. It took a jury of New Yorkers only twenty minutes to acquit him.
Although Governor Seward's actions in the McLeod affair won much popular support, some of his other policies were unpopular and con- tributed to the downfall of the Whigs. His forthright but gratuitous denunciation of the Virginia slave code resulted in reprisal by that state against New York shipping and drew little applause. His proposal that special schools be constructed for the children of the foreign born and that private schools should receive public support alienated many Prot- estants. The major factor in the Whig downfall, however, was a reckless program of expanding canals and railroads at state expense. In 1838 Samuel B. Ruggles, a member of the Assembly, made a report on in- ternal improvements, demonstrating the ability of the state to borrow money for the enlargement of the Erie Canal and for other public works. It had been the policy of Governor Marcy and other Democratic leaders to restrict canal expenses to the annual surplus of revenues. When the
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Whigs, confident that an improved canal would result in a sufficient increase in tolls to make borrowing worth while, voted to authorize a loan of $4,000,000, they received support from a number of Democrats. The following year Seward recommended the deficit spending of over $12,000,000 for the completion of the Genesee Valley and Black River canals and for the construction of railroads. By 1841 the state debt had reached $18,000,000 and the program of construction was only half completed. Public confidence was shaken and state securities fell 20 per cent under par.
In this same year the Democratic party won the election. The Demo- crats had divided on the issue of canal expansion at least three years earlier, and when the legislature of 1842 convened the division was still apparent. The Conservative Democrats, led by Edwin Croswell, Daniel S. Dickinson, William C. Bouck, Samuel Beardsley, Henry A. Foster, and Horatio Seymour, favored continued expansion. The Radicals, under the leadership of Azariah C. Flagg, Michael Hoffman, Samuel Young and George P. Barker, opposed any internal improvements which would increase the state debt.
The Radicals won the day and passed the "stop and tax law" of 1842. This popular enactment imposed a direct tax, suspended the completion of public works under construction, and pledged a portion of the canal revenues to the liquidation of the public debt. When the Democratic state convention met at Syracuse in 1842, the Radicals obtained a party pledge to support the work of the last legislature. Having accomplished this, they endorsed the nomination of two Conservatives, Bouck and Dickinson, for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Seward, aware of his own unpopularity, refused to run for re-election, and the Whigs nominated Luther Bradish for governor. The election was an overwhelming Democratic victory.
Concord between the two wings of the Democratic party ended soon after the inauguration of Governor Bouck. Horatio Seymour ably stated the views of the Conservatives, calling for a sinking fund to retire the state debt while enlarging the Erie Canal and completing the Genesee Valley and Black River canals out of surplus revenues. Over the bitter protests of the Radicals, who believed state finances could not stand the strain of further construction, Seymour's proposals were enacted into law. The test of time has proven the soundness of the Conservative posi- tion on this issue. Although feelings ran high, the Democrats succeeded in maintaining a semblance of unity as the presidential and guber- natorial election of 1844 drew nigh.
It had been anticipated that Martin Van Buren would again be nom- inated for the presidency by the Democratic party. In March, Congress- man William H. Hammet of Mississippi wrote Van Buren asking him to
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state his position on the annexation of Texas. This placed the former president on difficult political ground. Slavery was legal in Texas, and, consequently, many Northerners were opposed to annexation because it would add another slave state to the Union. Most Southerners favored it for the same reason. Van Buren took a seemingly safe stand by indicating his personal antipathy to annexation while saying he would not oppose the wishes of Congress in the matter. The southern Democrats were not satisfied by this lukewarm position, and by clever parliamentary maneu- vering defeated Van Buren's candidacy and nominated James K. Polk, who was pledged to annexation. Although Van Buren had been humil- iated by political trickery, he effectively supported Polk in the campaign.
New York was recognized as a critical state. Many Democrats, fearing Governor Bouck would not be a strong candidate for re-election, pro- posed to strengthen the state ticket by nominating Silas Wright, a friend of Van Buren and a member of the radical wing of the party. Wright was a distinguished statesman, widely recognized for his excellent work in the United States Senate. He enjoyed the advantage of never having taken part in the canal controversy and, consequently, was looked upon as a man who could unite the Radicals and Conservatives behind the state and national tickets. Silas Wright enjoyed his work in the Senate, to which he recently had been elected for a third time, and was very reluctant to accept nomination for governor. In fact, he had repeatedly refused high honors which would remove him from Congress. When it became apparent that Van Buren could not be nominated for president, several persons suggested that Wright be put forward. He refused to permit his name to be used largely because he felt it would be disloyal to Van Buren. He also declined nomination for the vice-presidency and, earlier, had refused appointment to the Supreme Court.
It was not until Van Buren called on him to make the race for governor that Wright agreed to accept the nomination. He had nothing to gain by this decision, which removed him from his place in the national lime- light at Washington and which was certain to involve him in the intra- party strife which plagued New York Democrats, thus destroying the broad base of his political support. In this instance, as he often had done before, Wright put the interests of his party above his own ambi- tions.
In the meantime, the Whigs nominated Henry Clay for the presidency, and Thurlow Weed succeeded in having Millard Fillmore, a former Anti- Mason and a member of the Weed machine, named for the gubernatorial office. This choice of candidates made the task of carrying New York even more difficult for Wright and the Democrats. Clay was one of the best-known men in the nation and much respected for his leadership in Congress. Fillmore, who had distinguished himself as chairman of the
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Committee on Ways and Means in the United States House of Repre- sentatives, was also a formidable candidate.
During the campaign of 1844 three ugly issues began to come into focus. For several years there had been heavy European immigration. The influx of newcomers into a society almost always results in stress. In this instance matters were complicated by the fact that many of the immigrants were Roman Catholics moving into an essentially Protestant community. On a few occasions riots broke out between the two groups. In 1834 the New York Observer printed a dozen letters by Samuel F. B. Morse under the pseudonym "Brutus" which purported that the papacy and the Holy Alliance sought to overthrow American democracy and gain control of the nation. Nativist sentiments were aroused, and within a decade of the Morse letters an esoteric Native American party had come into being and was making itself felt in both Democratic and Whig circles.
A second issue was that of antirentism. Thousands of tenant farmers still occupied land in New York under a semifeudalistic leasehold system. Most of these men were descendants of the original settlers who had cleared the land and established the farms they now occupied. They demanded the right to purchase their lands outright and put an end to the payment of rent, and they were not overly concerned about the legal aspects of the situation. As one of their number put it, if the present tenants' ancestors were "fools enough to enter into any compact with such men, it is preposterous that such should bind or be precedent for them. ... It is foul, cruel and oppressive to protect and encourage a lazy, worthless, immoral and bastard aristocracy to ride roughshod over the pith and marrow of the country, the laborious husbandman." By 1840 there was sporadic violence as landlords sought to collect their back rents. To accomplish their purpose, the Antirenters agreed to sup- port candidates of either major party who would champion their ob- jectives. In 1844 both Whigs and Democrats covertly sought Antirent support.
The third issue was that of slavery. For years abolitionist strength had been gaining ground in New York. The question of annexing Texas gave new impetus to the movement. In 1844 the Liberty party nominated James G. Birney for president and Alvan Stewart for governor. Sup- porting Stewart and Birney were Gerrit Smith, William Jay, and many other able zealots, some of whom were wealthy enough to contribute substantial sums to the party coffers. Antislavery sentiment was gaining ground. The major problem faced by both Whigs and Democrats was to lose as few votes as possible to the Liberty party.
Both Fillmore and Wright were on record as opposing the extension of slavery. Consequently, each party devoted the greater share of its energy
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to attacking the other's presidential nominee on the slave issue. Demo- crats pointed out that Clay was a slaveholder. Whigs decried Polk for his position on the annexation of Texas, on the ground that it would add another slave state to the Union. The Democrats countered by referring to Polk's demand for the annexation of the Oregon Territory, which presumably would be unattractive to slave owners. Probably the Demo- crat's policy of national expansion won considerable support, and when Clay reversed his stand in July and declared for the admission of Texas, he cut the feet from under his supporters in New York. Polk carried the state by five thousand votes. Wright, who openly opposed slavery extension, won the governorship by ten thousand ballots. On the Liberty ticket Stewart amassed fifteen thousand votes. Politicians were quick to note that the antislavery ballots could have given victory to either of the major parties.
It is difficult to assess the factors which led to the Democratic victory in New York. Certainly the personal popularity of Wright was influential. The policy of national expansion was popular even though the extension of slaveholding was not. The Democratic demand for a low tariff, in contrast to the high tariff stand of the Whigs, also helped Polk and Wright. A low tariff had natural advantages for a state prominently en- gaged in foreign trade. It also appealed to farmers, who produced a surplus of foodstuffs and, consequently, could see no benefit in a high tariff even if it did reduce the importation of wool. Silas Wright himself cut the heart out of the Whig argument that high tariffs meant high wages. Farmers could not pay higher wages, he reasoned, because few farm products were imported and therefore subject to tariff protection. While manufacturers might benefit and therefore be able to pay higher wages, Wright doubted that they would do so; he anticipated that instead they would increase their profits at the expense of all other citizens. Apparently this line of reasoning found favor with many.
When the legislature assembled in January 1845, the Democrats again divided into Radical and Conservative factions. The former soon won the sobriquet "Barnburners" because, claimed their opponents, Radical re- form measures were similar to those of the farmer who burned down his barn to get rid of the rats. The Conservatives, on the other hand, be- came known as "Hunkers," apparently by reason of their "hunkering" for office. The sharp cleavage between these two groups made it ex- tremely difficult for Governor Wright, who, like Van Buren, belonged to the Barnburner wing, to maintain party discipline. When President Polk appointed William L. Marcy, a Hunker, secretary of war and allowed him to dominate federal patronage in New York, the governor's position was further weakened. In this situation John Young, a Whig member of the legislature, was able to pass important bills by combining the votes of his
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own party with those of Barnburners or Hunkers as suited his purpose. Even so, it is possible that Governor Wright could have maintained his hold on the voters had it not been for the renewal of antirentism.
Soon after Silas Wright took office, petitions signed by thousands of tenants were presented to the legislature asking for relief from the lease- hold system. When no action was taken, Antirent Assemblyman Ira Harris berated his colleagues: "Woe to my country when her laws must be sustained with the point of a bayonet." Several sheriffs were threat- ened and beaten, but when, in August 1845, Under-Sheriff Osman Steele was shot to death while attempting to sell some cattle belonging to a delinquent leaseholder in Delaware County, the state was shocked by the murder. Governor Wright, acting with laudatory speed and firmness, declared Delaware County in a state of insurrection and ordered the militia to the scene. Many Antirenters were concerned at the use of military force.
Throughout the whole affair Governor Wright moved with decision and dispatch to bring an end to lawlessness. When the situation was under control, he commuted the death penalties of the men convicted for the killing of Steele to life imprisonment and turned his attention to lessening the evils under which the tenants labored. Early in the follow- ing year he called for laws to mitigate the lot of leaseholders. Several members of the legislature were under Antirent influence, and that body responded to the governor's recommendations by taxing income from long-term leases and by outlawing the forced sale of property for non- payment of rent. The tenants did not, however, obtain titles to the land.
While the antirent issue was still at its height, the United States went to war with Mexico. New York had no vital interests at stake in the Southwest, and many of her citizens viewed the struggle as a southern effort to extend slavery into new territories. Consequently, while nu- merous New Yorkers fought valiantly in the conflict, the state gave only nominal support to the national war effort. Even while battle raged, the local citizenry focused its attention on the constitutional convention which assembled at Albany on June 1, 1846, to modify the supreme law of the state.
The 128 delegates who made up the convention were an able group but hardly as distinguished as the men who had gathered for the same pur- pose in 1821. Only two members of the earlier convention were present -James Tallmadge of Dutchess County and Samuel Nelson, a justice of the United States Supreme Court. Several men who had played im- portant roles in the convention of 1821 were still alive. Martin Van Buren, who had lost his influence with the Democratic party in the election of 1844, lived in retirement, as did Ambrose Spencer. James Kent, now eighty-three, was delivering lectures on law in New York
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City. Erastus Root was on his death bed. A new group of leaders had arisen to replace the old; among the more prominent delegates were William C. Bouck, the former governor; Michael Hoffman, noted for his insistence on economy in state expenditures; Charles S. Kirkland and Ezekiel Bacon, gifted lawyers; George W. Patterson, twice speaker of the Assembly; and Churchill C. Cambreling, who had been minister to Russia and served eighteen years in Congress. Present also were two young men at the portal of eminent careers: Charles O'Conor, a southern sympathizer who would win renown at law, and Samuel J. Tilden, later governor of New York.
The Constitution of 1821 had been amended twice-once to remove property qualifications for holding office and once to prohibit the re- moval of judges without cause. Difficulty in getting additional amend- ments through the legislature had led to the demand for a new convention. Many citizens desired to place a limit on state debt; others demanded the election of legislators from single districts and the election of many officials who were appointed. The demands of the Antirenters for land reform and for the election of judges may have been the final strokes which forced the calling of the convention.
The Constitution of 1846, which was approved by the voters in No- vember, reaffirmed the continuing trend toward greater democratization and perhaps may be said to mark the division between government dele- gated to officials by the people and government directly controlled by the people. Senators and assemblymen henceforth were to be elected each from a single district, an arrangement which made legislators more directly responsible to their constituents. The term of senators was set at two years, of assemblymen at one year. All state offices, including judgeships, were made elective. The judiciary system was revised to provide for county courts, a court of appeals, and a supreme court. No longer did the Senate have appellate jurisdiction as a court of errors.
Through the efforts of Michael Hoffman the new constitution placed a limit on the state debt, which in the opinion of Thurlow Weed preserved the credit of New York through periods of financial crisis. The demands of the Antirenters were met by prohibiting feudal tenures and the lease of agricultural land, in the future, for periods of more than twelve years. This, however, did little to alleviate the situation, because the terms of the Constitution did not pertain to leases already in effect. As the fall elec- tions of 1846 approached, it was clearly evident the Antirenters would be a political force.
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