USA > New York > A short history of New York State > Part 36
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-GEORGE TEMPLETON STRONG, July 13, 1863
CONFUSION, indecision, and instability marked the period between the election of Lincoln and his inauguration. Most citizens could not make up their minds as to what should be done about the seceding states. The great majority detested the abolitionists as troublemakers and favored some kind of compromise. Governor Edward Morgan in his inaugural address in January 1861 urged conciliation, and even Horace Greeley for a time favored allowing the "erring sisters" to depart in peace.
The outbreak of hostilities on April 12 stimulated and solidified Union sentiment. Even Mayor Wood and many other sympathizers with the South came out publicly for upholding federal authority. Upstate, citi- zens showed a similar surge of patriotic feeling as young men rallied to the colors and their elders organized relief agencies. Governor Morgan's appeal for volunteers and for supplies met enthusiastic response. Re- cruits were organized into companies and sent off to Washington and the front. Various relief agencies sprang up to help the soldiers and their families.
The outburst of patriotic feeling, however, stilled partisan clamoring for only a few months. The fall elections revived old local differences, although the conduct of the war and other national policies transcended state issues for the duration of the war. Both parties suffered from factionalism. Some Democrats were such ardent supporters of the war that they joined with the Republicans to form the Union party. Some
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A SHORT HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE
Democrats, on the other hand, were such violent opponents of the war that they bordered on treason. Most Democrats, including such immi- nent leaders as Horatio Seymour and Samuel Tilden, were in favor of maintaining the Union by force but were highly critical of Lincoln's drastic measures to achieve that end. The Republicans had two major wings: the moderates led by Weed, Morgan, and the administration who stressed the importance of preserving the Union; and the radicals, led by Horace Greeley, who wanted immediate emancipation of the slaves.
In the fall of 1861 Governor Morgan, one of the outstanding governors of the North, won re-election with ease and continued his strong sup- port of Lincoln. The Republicans also won the mayor's office in New York City, largely because Fernando Wood and his Mozart Hall faction split with Tammany Hall and divided the Democratic vote.
During 1862 Democratic spokesmen continued to attack the Republi- cans for violations of civil and political rights by means of arbitrary arrests and the suspension of habeas corpus. They called the Emancipa- tion Proclamation an unconstitutional exercise of power and a threat to free labor in New York. The Republicans countered with the charge that the Democrats were disloyal or, at the very least, guilty of en- couraging the rebels and of hampering the war effort. The Democrats surprised everyone, including themselves, by suppressing their differ- ences and putting forward Seymour for governor. A strong believer in Jeffersonian principles, Seymour attacked the Republicans for violating civil rights. Horace Greeley and the radical Republicans captured con- trol of their convention and chose General James S. Wadsworth as guber- natorial candidate. Seymour attracted many independent voters because of his distinguished career as governor in 1853-1854, and he defeated Wadsworth by a comfortable margin.
During the winter of 1862 and the following year enthusiasm for the war waned and demands for peace rose. The indecisive battles and heavy casualties were probably the most discouraging factors, but rising prices and disruption of family life by the war were also important. Most galling of all was the draft act and its bungling administration. After the initial rush of volunteers had subsided, the state, counties, and wards tried to encourage enlistments by granting bounties. These incentives were not sufficient, and in July 1862 the state legislature passed a weak draft law. When this law produced few soldiers, Congress in March 1863 enacted a conscription act to secure more recruits. All males be- tween twenty and forty-five were to register for military service, and each loyal state was directed to provide soldiers in proportion to its percentage of the total population, with deductions for previous enlist-
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NEW YORK AND THE CIVIL WAR
ments. A draftee could commute service upon payment of $300 or evade service altogether by securing a substitute.
The draft began in New York City on Saturday July 11, 1863. On Sunday citizens had time to wonder who would be called next, to drown their sorrows in alcohol, and to organize a protest movement. The next morning a mob ran wild and drove the provost marshal from his office. During the next three days they sacked stores, burned the homes of abolitionists and Negroes, and lynched stray Negroes. Millions of dollars' worth of property was destroyed before federal troops restored order.
Citizens had some justification in resisting the draft, the first imposed by the federal government. It was particularly burdensome to the poor, who could not afford to buy exemption or to hire substitutes. Moreover, workingmen saw little sense or justice in fighting for emancipation of the Negroes, their chief rivals for unskilled jobs along the wharves and streets. Also, the draft law was unfairly administered. Investigations confirmed Governor Seymour's contention that the enrollment quotas for New York City were excessive. Seymour's enemies charged him with encouraging sedition and resistance by his speeches against conscription. Seymour's subsequent defenders have upheld his right to denounce an unfair law and its bungling administrators. They quite properly point out that Seymour did not countenance disorder and that he took vigorous action to restore order.
Victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg aided the Unionists in the fall elections of 1863. The Democrats continued to urge conciliation with seceding states, to condemn conscription, and to protest arbitrary ar- rests. They lost control of the legislature and the mayor's office in New York City when C. Godfrey Gunther, an independent Democrat, de- feated the newly formed alliance between Mozart and Tammany Halls. Governor Seymour in the last year of his term faced a hostile legislature. Although Seymour had to placate the powerful peace faction within the Democratic ranks, his own desire for conciliation with the South was sincere. The peace faction was particularly strong in New York City, which from the elections of 1860 to Appomattox provided more moral support to the Confederacy and more opposition to the war than any other important section of the North. Important officials, notably Mayors Fernando Wood and Godfrey Gunther, influential journals, such as the Day-Book, and the News, various organizations, some loosely connected with the Democratic party, and several huge mass meetings joined the agitation for peace. The "restoration of the Union as it was and the maintenance of the Union as it is" was a favorite slogan of the peace Democrats.
Radical Republicans in 1864 tried to replace Lincoln with Frémont,
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A SHORT HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE
but military victories in the late summer assured Lincoln of renomina- tion. The Radicals, however, succeeded in loosening Weed's control over the state convention and in nominating Reuben Fenton for gover- nor. The Republican ticket won by a narrow margin.
The end of hostilities relieved Fenton of many problems, although the assassination of Lincoln embittered the controversy over peace terms. For a time the more conservative Republicans rallied to the support of President Andrew Johnson, who tried to bring the southern states back into the Union on moderate terms. The Radicals demanded a more drastic program of reconstruction and gradually captured control of the party machinery.
The contributions of the Empire State to the war effort were massive and impressive. New York State was the leading state in population and wealth, and New York provided the greatest number of soldiers, the greatest quantity of supplies, and the largest amount of money. In addi- tion, New York's citizens paid the most taxes, bought the greatest num- ber of war bonds, and gave the most to relief organizations. Enlistment bounties alone cost the state over $43,000,000.
On the battlefields as well, citizens of New York distinguished them- selves. More than forty generals hailed from New York, some of them in posts of great responsibility. The United States Navy naturally at- tracted many volunteers from the ocean and lake marine. Captain John Worden was in command of the Monitor, which sailed from Brooklyn to the famous engagement with the Merrimac. Altogether, New York sent 464,701 men into the army. Deaths, counting those who died after discharge from maladies contracted in the service, exceeded fifty thou- sand. These losses hit every section and every class in the state. The cities quickly recouped their population losses through immigration from Europe and from the countryside, but the towns, villages, and farms of New York slowly recovered from the blows of the war.
The Civil War stimulated business in New York, but its impact upon various segments of the economy was uneven. Manufacturing continued its rapid expansion, although certain industries lagged behind. Domestic commerce multiplied in volume but foreign commerce barely held its own. Railroads and canals could hardly handle the increase in traffic, but, on the other hand, the merchant marine was almost ruined. Busi- nessmen in general prospered but labor suffered from the inflation. Agriculture flourished but the decline in rural population presented serious difficulties.
The financial panic of 1860-1861 brought bankruptcy to scores of business houses and unemployment to thousands of workers. By the summer of 1861 over one-fourth of the jobbers of Manhattan had gone under, but a revival in business during the fall brought prosperity to
Left: Portrait of Governor Peter Stuyvesant, painted from life by an unidentified artist. (New-York Historical Society, New York City.) Right: Portrait of Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1786. (New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown.)
Section of a Dutch overmantel, painted for the home-tavern shown in the painting. The house was built in Leeds by Marten Van Bergen in 1729. (New York State Historical Association.)
The headquarters at Newburgh where Washington announced the end of the war for independence. The house was built in 1750-1770. (New York State Department of Commerce.)
Fort Ticonderoga, scene of episodes of the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, built in 1755 and reconstructed early in the present century. (New York State Department of Commerce.)
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The Le Ray de Chaumont house, built in 1806-1808 in Le Raysville. (David F. Lane photo.)
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Johnson Hall in Johnstown, built 1762-1763 by Sir William Johnson. (John Vrooman photo.)
The Dutch church at Church and Market Streets in Albany, 1805, from a colored lithograph by James Eights. (New York State Historical Association.)
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A view of Trinity Church and Wall Street in New York City about 1829, from a drawing by C. Burton. (New-York Historical Society.)
A drawing of West Point Military Academy in 1828, by George Catlin. (New-York Historical Society.)
Oswego, probably about 1850, from a colored lithograph. (New York State Historical Association. )
The Angel Moroni on Hill Cumorah near Palmyra, associated with Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. (New York State Department of Commerce.)
Shaker Church Family Meeting House, built in 1824, in New Lebanon. (N. E. Baldwin photo, New York State Museum.)
An engraving of New York City in 1856, looking south from 42nd Street. In the foreground are the old reservoir and the Crystal Palace. (New-York Historical Society.)
Burning of the City Hall, New York, in 1858, a lithograph by Currier and Ives. (New-York Historical Society.)
Oil painting of the Smith and Dimon shipyard in 1833, in New York City, by James Pringle. (New York State Historical Association. )
Water color of a canal boat on the Erie Canal near Pittsford in 1837, by George Harvey. (New York State Historical Association. )
The "De Witt Clinton" pulling the first steam-powered passenger train in New York State from Albany to Schenectady on August 9, 1831. (New York Central System.)
Left: Benjamin West's portrait of Robert Fulton, 1806, who built the Clermont, the first of a line of commercial steamboats. Right: Life mask of Governor De Witt Clinton, a major supporter of the Erie Canal, by John H. I. Browere. (Both, New York State Historical Association.)
HUDSON RIVER Steum- Bout Line.
Constitution,
Constellation,
Captain W. J. WISWALL.
Captain R. G. CRUTTENDEN.
DAILY.
THESE new and splendid Boats will be despatched, DAILY, from New-York and Albany, during the smamer months ; commencing their regular trips, under this arrangement, on Monday the 5th June. Leav- ing the wharf, foot of Cortlandt-street, New-York, at 10 o'clock A. M. and the' wharf near the Steam-Boat Office, South Market-street, Albany, at 9 o'clock.
When practicable the Boats will come to at the wharves of Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Catskill and Hudson. Åt Rhinebeck and Kingston a convenient barge will constantly be in readiness to receive and land passengers. At the other intermediate places, passengers will be received and landed whenever it can be effected with safety.
These Boats are of the first class, and for extensive and airy accommodations, speed, and quiet motion of their engines, and skilful management, are not surpassed by any boat navigating the Hudson River ; and the proprietors assure the public that the most assiduous attention will be paid to the safety and comfort of Pas. sengers .- Agents for this Line,
N. HOFFMAN, No. 71 Dey-street, Vew- Pork. .₦
T. BARTHOLOMEW, South Market-street, .Ilbany.
Broadside for the Hudson River Steam-Boat Line in 1826. (New York State Historical Association. )
Left: Photograph of Herman Melville. (New York Public Library.) Right: John Rogers' sculpture of Joseph Jefferson as Rip Van Winkle. (New-York Historical Society.)
MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT.
Mr. Wallace & Family
RESPEC ESPECTFULLY inform the Ladies and Gen- tlemen of this place and its vicinity, that they intend giving a CONCERT of
VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL IUSIO
at the house of
on
evening, .. . _ 1829.
MISS WALLACE, only four years of age, with Marter John Wallace, nine years of age, will sing the laughable Comic Duett of Polly Hopkins and Tommy Tompkins, which has been received with shouts of appropation in the diferent places where they have sung this season. Master William Wallace, eleven years of age, will perform on the Violin some of the most difficult and Civaurite aus now performed in the most fashionable companies in New York. Mr. Wallace will also sing some favourite sungs, necompanied with the MUSICAL, GLASSES, the only performer nay travelling this country, with such an instrument, confidently at- serting that every exertion shall be made to render this performance interesting.
Broadside announcing a concert by traveling performers in 1829. (New York State Historical Association.)
Left: Oil portrait of Thurlow Weed, "the Dictator" of the Whig party, by Asa W. Twitchell. (New York State Historical Association.) Right: Photograph of William H. Seward by Mathew Brady. (New-York Historical Society.)
Thomas Nast's drawing of the Seventh Regiment of the New York National Guard marching down Broadway during the Civil War. (Harper's Weekly.)
Bag-making bee at the Oneida Community in the 1880's. The man with the black beard is reading to the group. (Photographic collection of S. R. Leonard, Sr.)
"You press the burton, a do the rest
KOD. A
K
THE EASTMAN CI IMPANY.
PHOTOGRAPHIC A ERIALS.
The home of the Eastman Company, now the Eastman Kodak Company, in Rochester in 1891. (Eastman Kodak Company.)
Octagon house built in 1860 by Paul Armour in Irvington-on-Hudson, now owned and occupied by Carl Carmer. The veranda and dome were added after 1870. (George Kar- fiol photo.)
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The W. K. Vanderbilt chateau at 660 Fifth Avenue, New York, designed for the Commodore's grandson by Richard Morris Hunt in 1881. (Brown Brothers.)
"The Power behind the Throne," cartoon from Harper's Weekly, 1870, by Thomas Nast. Boss Tweed and Peter Sweeny stand behind Governor Hoffman.
PLATT
C
ALBAN
DOS51519
"After the Battle," cartoon from Puck, 1898. Republican Thomas Platt says to Tammany leader Richard Croker, "Well, so long! See you at Philippi in January!"
The "million-dollar staircase" in the state capitol in Albany, de- signed by Henry H. Richardson, completed in 1898. (New York State Department of Commerce.)
Theodore Roosevelt greets the "Rough Riders" in 1910 after returning from a trip abroad. (Museum of the City of New York.)
The suffragette leaders Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. (Susan B. Anthony Memorial, Inc.)
Edith Wharton, many of whose novels portrayed New York society. (New-York Historical Society.)
Left: The Chapel at Hamilton College in Clinton, designed by Philip Hooker and completed in 1828. (Hamilton College.) Right: The library tower at Cornell University, overlooking Cayuga Lake. (Cornell University.)
The Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, designed by McKim, Mead & White and begun in 1897. The steps have since been removed. (Mc- Kim, Mead & White.)
Some of the buildings at the Farmers' Museum at Cooperstown. (New York State Historical Association. )
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Lew Fields and Joseph Weber in Twirly Whirly at the Fields Music Hall in 1902. (The New York Public Library Theatre Collection. )
The Four Cohans. (The New York Public Library Theatre Collection. )
Left: Ethel Barrymore in Lady Frederick in 1908. (The New York Public Library Theatre Collection.) Right: Lynn Fontaine and Alfred Lunt in The Taming of the Shrew in 1935. (Vandamm Studio.)
Helen Hayes and George Zucco in Victoria Regina, 1935. (Vandamm Studio.)
Charles Evans Hughes campaigning for governor of New York State at a county fair in 1908. (Brown Brothers.)
Left: Governor Alfred E. Smith. (Museum of the City of New York.) Right: Robert Moses.
President Roosevelt, Governor Lehman, and Mayor La Guardia drive to ground-breaking ceremonies of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel in 1940. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park.)
MARINELLI CASE
DEWEY
RAC
KIRBY
"One More Decoration," Rollin Kirby cartoon of Thomas E. Dewey for the New York World Telegram, 1937. (Museum of the City of New York.)
Loading apples near Kinderhook. (New York State Department of Commerce.)
Gathering sap for maple syrup on a farm near Lake Placid. (New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University.)
Logs for pulp near Glens Falls. (New York State Department of Commerce.)
Cows coming home for milking at a Kanona farm, Steuben County. (Standard Oil Co., N.J.)
Watkins Glen. (Finger Lakes State Park Commission.) Right: Ausable River, with Whiteface Mountain in the distance. (New York State Department of Com- merce. )
The Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in the 1955 World Series. (Brooklyn National League Baseball Club.)
The Thruway in the Mohawk River Valley near Fort Plain. (New York State Thruway Authority.)
The General Electric Research Laboratory near Schenectady. (General Electric Company.)
Dress operators, members of the I.L.G.W.U. (Harry Rubenstein.)
Left: Plant of the American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corp., in Buffalo. (American Radiator Company.) Right: Hand-blowing operation in "A" Factory at Corning. (Corning Glass Works.)
Grain elevator at Albany, reputedly the largest in the United States. (Standard Oil Co., N.J.)
HYGRADE NO ZF
CARMELITE II
A lock on the Barge Canal. (Wide World Photo.)
The George Washington Bridge. (The Port of New York Authority.)
Displaced persons arriving in New York harbor after World War II. (The New York Times.)
The port of Buffalo. (Buffalo Chamber of Commerce.)
New York International Airport. (The Port of New York Authority.)
A view of the East River and Manhattan skyline, showing the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. (The Port of New York Authority.)
The United Nations buildings. (The Port of New York Authority.)
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NEW YORK AND THE CIVIL WAR
the survivors. Prices firmed after the initial declines and made sharp advances, especially after the government began to issue legal tender notes (greenbacks ) in March 1862. By 1865 the price level measured in terms of paper money had more than doubled the prewar level.
Banks and insurance companies flourished. Most banks were able to pay at least 7 per cent in dividends. After some hesitation many state banks agreed to reorganize under the liberal provisions of the National Banking Act of 1863. The legislature facilitated the shift by an enabling act in 1865, which permitted state banks to become part of the national system without the necessity of formal dissolution and the consequent inconvenience of a distribution of their capital and earnings. In 1865, 183 banks joined the national system. Savings banks, appealing to the wage-earning class, made important gains. In New York City over 100,000 new depositors came forward, and in the rest of the state an even greater number of new depositors took advantage of the high rate of interest-6 per cent or more.
Foreign trade underwent severe shocks and drastic changes. In gen- eral, its relative share of the total business transacted within the United States gradually declined. The value of exports from New York City in 1865 was double that of 1860, merely keeping pace with the general advance in the price level. In contrast, imports declined sharply, largely because of the high wartime tariffs. Cotton, formerly the banner export from New York, dwindled to a small trickle, but a torrent of wheat from the new farms in the upper Mississippi Valley filled the holds of vessels leaving the docks of Manhattan for England.
The merchant marine, which during the 1850's had failed to make the shift from wooden sailing vessels to iron steam-driven ships, virtually collapsed during the war. Confederate raiders and high insurance pre- miums caused many shipowners to transfer their ships to British registry. Whereas in 1860 two-thirds of the trade of New York was in American ships, by 1863 only one-fourth remained in domestic bottoms. This trend continued until by the end of the century only a small fraction of vessels operating out of New York were American owned and operated.
Internal commerce expanded much more rapidly than foreign trade. The Erie Canal remained the backbone of heavy freight transportation (mainly grain and lumber) between the Lakes region and the port of New York. It carried twice as much of the lake traffic received at Buffalo as the New York Central and the Erie railroads combined. Buffalo be- came a major port, handling millions of bushels of grain each year.
Rail traffic increased more rapidly than canal traffic. The railroads not only were the principal passenger carriers but also the main agency for local freight within the state. Westbound freight, consisting largely of merchandise, deserted the canal boats for the railroad and eastbound
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A SHORT HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE
perishables traveled by rail. The railroads reinvested most of their profits in better equipment and improved roadbeds. The New York Central speeded up its construction of a double track, completing the section from Rochester to Buffalo in 1863. Improved engines enabled the rail- roads to double the length of the trains. The biggest railroad project during the war was the construction of the Atlantic and Great Western running from Salamanca to the West. This railroad connected with the Erie Railroad, a heavier freight handler than the New York Central.
The manufacturers of New York turned out immense quantities of sup- plies for civilian and military purposes. In general, production had be- come centered in the factory, but much of the clothing and shoes continued to be made by women's labor in the home. Woolen and shoe factories enjoyed unusual growth because of heavy army demands. Cotton textiles suffered because of the scarcity of raw cotton. Some new, war-stimulated industries, such as Western Union Telegraph, made handsome fortunes for their owners. Millers and pork packers also found their business more active.
The working classes and certain elements in the middle classes were hard hit by the rising cost of living. Coal, selling for about five dollars a ton before the war, rose to more than ten dollars in 1863 and still higher the following year. Citizens in upstate cities joined with residents of Manhattan in denouncing the coal "famine," apparently engineered by the railroad and canal companies. Coffee, tea, sugar, whisky, and beer doubled in price. Rents lagged behind only because of the decline in population. Nevertheless, in 1864 the New York Tribune criticized Wil- liam B. Astor for raising his rents 30 per cent. Because of a shortage of metallic currency, individuals bought and sold with stamps and per- sonal notes, and ferry, state, railroad, and industrial companies issued "shinplasters" or tokens. For example, the city of Rochester issued $160,000 in shinplasters during the war. The United States Economist on November 29, 1861, noted, "In this State alone, the different forms of shinplaster currency must be numbered by many thousands."
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