History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 12

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 648

USA > New York > Columbia County > History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 12

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COLUMBIA COUNTY POLITICS AND POLITICAL PARTIES.

Political parties, in the sense in which the term is now understood, cannot be said to have had any existence prior to the Revolution. During that struggle there were found everywhere (and Columbia county formed no exception to the rule) many who, from interest or a sense of duty, main- tained their attachment to the crown, and upon these the name of Tory was bestowed as a term of opprobrium by their patriotic opponents, the Whigs; but these terms as then used did not apply to or indicate organized parties. At the close of the war, however, political lines began to be drawn, and we find that soon after three parties had devel- oped themselves, of whom, and of their composition, Chan- cellor Livingston, in a letter written in January, 1784, spoke as follows : " Our parties are, first, the Tories, who still hope for power, under the idea that the remembrance of the past should be lost, though they daily keep it up by their avowed attachment to Great Britain. Secondly, the violent Whigs, who are for expelling the Tories from the State, in hopes by that means to preserve the power in their own hands. The third are those who wish to suppress all vio- lence, to soften the rigor of the laws against the royalists, and not to banish them from that social intercourse which may by degrees obliterate the remembrance of past mis- deeds, but who at the same time are not willing to shock the feelings of the virtuous citizens that have at every ex- pense and hazard fulfilled their duty, by at once destroying all distinction between them and the royalists, and giving the reins into the hands of the latter, but who at the same time wish that this distinction should rather be found in the sentiments of the people than marked out by the laws."

The league between the States, created by the adoption of the articles of confederation, in 1777, had been entered into in time of public peril, as a means of mutual defense, and so long as the safety of the States remained in jeopardy

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

it served the purpose of its creation. It was really a tem- porary offensive and defensive alliance, and had never been expected to become permanent as a plan and basis of gov- ernment. In fact, it had none of the attributes of a gov- ernment, for the Congress, as constituted under those articles, was little more than a convention of delegates from the several States, called together to deliberate and agree on publie measures to be recommended by them to their respective Legislatures for adoption.

A short experience after the return of peace was suf- ficient to produce a universal conviction of the inadequacy of this method, and the necessity for establishing a new plan of government; but opinions differed widely on the question of what that plan should be ; one side favoring the mere revision of the old articles of confederation, while the other demanded the adoption of a new constitution at the basis of a permanent and more consolidated govern- ment. The advocates of the constitutional plan became known as Federalists, their opponents Anti-Federalists ; and these were, in fact, the first of the political parties of the United States.

In February, 1787, Congress resolved that it was expe- dient that on the second Monday of May following a con- vention of delegates from the several States should be held at Philadelphia, for the purpose " of revising the articles of confederation, and of reporting to Congress and to the sev- eral Legislatures such alterations and provisions as should, when agreed to in Congress and confirmed by the States, be adequate to the exigencies of government and the pres- ervation of the Union."

At the time and place appointed the national conven- tion assembled for deliberation upon the different plans, of which there were proposed, first, the revision of the old articles of confederation, of which Robert Yates and John Lansing, of the New York delegation, were the uneom- promising advocates ; second, the adoption of a constitution establishing a strong and purely national government, in which plan Alexander Hamilton, also of the New York delegation, was the recognized leader ; and, third, the " Vir- ginia plan," offered by Mr. Randolph, of Virginia, and supposed to have been drawn by Mr. Madison, intended to represent the people in their numerical strength, as well as the States in their sovereign capacity; this being the one finally agreed on by the convention and recommended by them to the States for their adoption.

In this State the opposition to the new constitution was very strong and determined. A resolution was passed in both branches of the Legislature for the call of a State con- vention in pursuance of the recommendation of Congress, and in the subsequent election of delegates to that conven- tion the sole question considered was whether the eandi- dates were for or against the adoption of the constitution. Columbia county elected the opposition, or Anti-Federalists, Messrs. Matthew Adgate, John Bay, and Peter Van Ness.

The convention met at Poughkeepsie, and organized June 17, 1788, by the appointment of Governor George Clinton as president. The body was largely Anti-Federal. Wil- liam Jay, in bis " Life of John Jay," states that ont of the total of fifty-seven delegates, forty-six were Anti-Federalists. Hammond, in his " History of Political Parties," thinks Jay

was mistaken, and gives the whole number as sixty-seven. Chancellor Livingston, as leader of the adoptionists, opened the debate. It continued for three weeks, and would prob- ably have ended in rejection, or at least conditional adoption of the constitution, but, in the midst of the deliberations, news arrived of its ratification by New Hampshire, which, as it completed the requisite number of nine States, left the question before the convention, not whether they preferred the old articles to the new constitution, but whether they would remain in the Union or secede. In this state of affairs a portion of the Anti-Federalists (advised, as was supposed, by Governor Clinton) yielded to the necessity, and on the 26th of July it was, by a vote of thirty to twenty-seven,* " Resolved, That the constitution be ratified, in full confidence that the amendments proposed by this convention will be adopted." And then, after all the members had subscribed to a circular letter to the other States, requesting their co-operation in an effort to obtain the adoption of the proposed amendments annexed to their ratification, the convention adjourned sine die.

The election in 1789 was warmly contested, and gen- erally resulted in the success of the Federalists.t Ham- mond, in his " History of Political Parties," says such was the result in Columbia ; nevertheless, we find that Matthew Adgate and John Bay, two of the stanch Anti-Federal opponents of the constitution in the convention of the pre- vious year, were now elected to the Assembly. Peter Van Ness, who also as a delegate had been unwavering in his opposition, was elected by the House a member of the conneil of appointment. The election in 1790 indicated no especial change of political opinions among the people.

In 1791 (Feb. 7) a division of senatorial districts was made, in which Columbia, Rensselaer, Washington, and Clinton formed the eastern distriet. The senators elected in this district in that year were Peter Van Ness, John Williams, Edward Savage, Alexander Webster, and William Powers, the last named being of Columbia county.

The political sentiment of the county was now inclining towards Federalism, and so continued for a number of years. In 1794, Ambrose Speneer was elected to the Assembly, and in 1796 he was elected senator by the Federalists.

Peter Silvester (Federalist) was elected to the Senate in 1797. In the four following years the county favored the Federalists, though the Republicanst had been confident of success in 1799. In 1800 the middle district (of which Columbia was made a part in 1796) elected Republican senators, viz., Daniel Van Ness, John C. Hogeboum, Solo- mon Sutherland, Jacobus S. Bruyn, and James W. Wilkin, though the county itself gave a majority against them. The number of votes cast for Hogeboom was eight hun- dred and forty-six ; for Van Ness, eight hundred and fifty ;

The Columbia county delegation remained steadfast, and opposed the ratification in the final vote.

+ Governor Clinton was, however, re-elceted by a majority of four hundred and twenty-nine votes. Hammond says, " That Governor Clinton succeeded in this election is a high evidence of his personal popularity. His friends around him were slain, but he himself walked off the field of battle in triumph."

¿ The Anti-Federalists had now become more generally known as Republicans, and were often known as Demoerats.

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

for Sutherland, eight hundred and eighty-eight ; for Bruyn, eight hundred and sixty; and for Wilkin, eight hundred and seventy-nine. The elected ticket received an average plurality of thirty-one in the city of Hudson, but in the county the opposing ticket received an average plurality of one hundred and fifty-six.

At the election held in that year for representative in Congress, John Bird received in the county ten hundred and forty-five votes, against eighteen hundred and sixty-six given for Henry W. Livingston. The three towns then embraced within the Livingston manor voted as follows : Clermont, for Livingston, one hundred ; for Bird, none ; Germantown,* Livingston, forty-two; Bird, none; the town of Livingston, for H. W. Livingston, five hundred and forty ; for Bird, twenty-seven ; showing either a remarkable unanimity of political opinion, or a no less remarkable personal popularity enjoyed by Mr. Livingston among the people of his own section.

In this year Columbia's favorite, the gifted Elisha Wil- liams, was first elected a member of the Assembly. In the gubernatorial election of 1801 the county vote for the successful candidate, Governor George Clinton, was eleven hundred and twenty-six, and for his defeated opponent, Stephen Van Rensselaer, ten hundred and thirty-five.

In the election for members of Assembly in 1802, Samuel Edmonds received sixteen hundred and seventy-four votes ; Aaron Kellogg, fifteen hundred and ninety-six ; Moncrief Livingston, fifteen hundred and ninety-eight; and Peter Silvester, sixteen hundred and seventy-two votes; and these were elected by an average plurality of one hundred and twenty-four over the opposing candidates.

In 1801, Elisha Jenkins, of Hudson, was made comp- troller. He had formerly been known as a leading Feder- alist in the county, but had transferred his allegiance to the Republicans, in 1798, with Ambrose Spencer, to whom it was said he owed this appointment. " It is not derogatory to Mr. Jenkins," says Hammond, "to say that he was far inferior to the person (John V. Henry) who was removed in order to make a place for him."

Mr. Spencer was appointed attorney-general of the State in 1802. He was a leader and a power in politics. At first he was a stanch Federalist, and as such had been elected first to the Assembly, in 1794, then to the Senate, but changed sides during the latter part of the session of 1798. This was not long after the appointment of Mr.

Jones as comptroller, and it was charged by the party which he abandoned that his course was actuated by disappoint- ment and resentment that his own aspirations to that office had been ignored by Governor Jay. This charge, however, was denied by him, and was branded as an aspersion and a calumny.

The maxim that " to the victors belong the spoils," often supposed to have been first generally adopted at a much later period, seems, however, to have been at the time of which we write quite as much the rule of political action as at the present day. The most violent denunciations of political opponents, too, were in common, and wellnigh universal use, degenerating not infrequently into gross per- sonal abuse, and even assault ; and this was true not only as applied to the ruder and less cultivated classes, but also to those occupying the very highest social and political station.

In the year 1801, among the various removals of county officers made (probably chiefly, if not entirely, for political reasons) by the council, of which Ambrose Spencer was then a member, was that of the clerk of Delaware county, Mr. Ebenezer Foote, an influential Federalist, who had been a senator from the middle district, and who had received his appointment as clerk, in 1797, from the council, of which Mr. Spencer was then also a member. This removal was much complained of as having been made on purely political grounds, and, in general reply to these complaints, a writer in the Albany Register, signing himself " A Friend of Justice," defended the action of the council, and charged Foote with official short-comings as the cause of the re- moval. Foote replied, denying the accusation, and charging Mr. Spencer with being himself the author of the publica- tion, and with base and unworthy behavior as a member of the council and as a public man. Spencer retorted that he had not known nor heard of the article in question until he saw it in print; and as to the matter of Foote's removal, he added, " It was an act of justice to the public, inasmuch as, in removing you, the veriest hypocrite and the most malignant villain in the State was deprived of the power of perpetrating mischief. . . . If, as you insinuate, your interests have by your removal been materially affected, then, sir, like many men more honest than yourself, earn your bread by the sweat of your brow." Even the great De Witt Clinton, in speaking of a political adversary (Col- onel John Swartwout), stigmatized him as "a liar, a scoundrel, and a villain." t

It was rather an unusual thing, however, even in those times, for gentlemen like Ambrose Spencer and De Witt Clinton to express their opinions in terms quite as violent as the above. Although the sentiments to which they

# Similar results were often shown in the vote of Germantown. In 1801 it gave Hezekiah L. Hosmer, for Congressman, forty-six votes, and his opponent none. In the same year it gave Van Rensselaer, for governor, sixty-five votes, and his antagonist, Clinton, one vote ; the Federal Senatorial ticket in the same election receiving sixty-five votes, with none opposing. In 1802 the vote of the town for repre- sentative in Congress stood fifty-ninc for Livingston to three for John P. Van Ness. In 1804 it gave Burr, for governor, fifty-eight votes, and Morgan Lewis, for the same office, four votes; but in the next election of governor (1807) Lewis received the lion's share,-seventy- six votes, against one solitary vote given for his opponent, D. D. Tompkins. In 1810 the town gave Platt, for governor, seventy-eight votes, against fonr for Tompkins ; in 1813, Tompkins held his own in the town, receiving four votes, to eighty-six cast for his competitor, Van Rensselaer. In 1816, Rufus King received seventy-five, and Tompkins' supporters had increased to nine; but in 1820 Tompkins received but six votes in the town, against eighty-five cast for his antagonist, De Witt Clinton.

t This choice language occasioned a duel between the partics. Swartwout demanded an apology or recantation; Clinton replied that he (Swartwont) had charged him with opposing Aaron Burr from base motives, and that he had used the offensive language solely in reference to that charge. If that were withdrawn he (Clinten) would recant or apologize. Swartwout would not withdraw, and so they fought. Clinton said he was fighting a man against whom be had ne personal enmity, but nevertheless he fired five shots at him ; and two of these having taken effcet, the surgeons interposed and prevented further hostilities, though contrary to tho expressed wish of Swartwout.

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

gave utteranee were by no means considered extreme in the political cireles of that day, yet it was not uncommon for men of equal education and approximate position to express similar opinions in phrases less abrupt, if no less forcible. Of such character were the contents of a pamphlet published in 1802, and bearing the fictitious signature of Aristides. This, discarding coarse vituperation, assailed in polished terms, but with unrelenting bitterness, the private character as well as the public actions of nearly all the prominent men of the Republican party. Upon Dr. Tillot- son, and the Livingston family in general, it showered a flood of the most unsparing denunciation, as being dis- honest, false, venal, and governed by the maxim,

" Rem, facias rem, Si possis recte, si non, quoque modo, rem."

" But," says Hammond, " the vials of his wrath, the dregs of his gall and bitterness, seem to have been reserved to be poured on the heads of De Witt Clinton and Ambrose Spencer. He charges them with everything vile, every- thing mean and malignant. William P. Van Ness is now the admitted author of this production. It is written with great talent. As a political writer, its style renders Mr. Van Ness unrivaled since the days of Jnnins; and yet every sentence and line of it seems to have been written with such intense hate and malice boiling in his bosom, that no man who possesses the least portion of the milk of human kindness would consent to enjoy the reputation for genius and talent to which the author is entitled, if the possession of that reputation must of necessity be connected with the evidence which this pamphlet affords of the ex- treme malignity of the heart of the writer."

But these comments bear much too severely on the brilliant Van Ness. A weapon so sharp as was the keen blade of his satire has ever proved too dangerous to be wielded by fallible human nature, and in this case we find no exception to this universal rule ; but, in extenuation, may be urged the weighty plea of the general custom and practice of those political times, which countenanced such attacks, and even tolerated physical assault. And it should also be borne in mind that at that time Mr. Van Ness was naturally in a state of exasperation at the extremely severe accusations-however well founded-which had been made against his_personal friend, Aaron Burr, in a political pamphlet then recently published. This pamphlet was almost as bitter, though by no means as able, as the publi- cation of Aristides.

The newspapers of that time were generally violently partisan in character, and teemed with the grossest personal abuse of political opponents. Mr. Charles Holt, the pub- lisher of a Republican paper called the Bee, at New IIaven, Conn., who had been convicted, fined, and imprisoned for sedition in 1799, removed in 1802 and established his paper at Hudson by invitation from the Republicans of Columbia. " On the appearance of the Bee in Hudson," says Mr. Mil- Jer, in his " Historical Sketches," " a small paper, less than a letter-sheet in size, was issued from the office of Mr. Croswell [who was the editor and publisher of the Hudson Balance] called the Wasp, . . . and both Wasp and Bee stung with personal abuse." They were political opponents,

most bitterly hostile, and were supported and applauded in their vituperation by their respective parties. As a speci- men of the language employed in their articles, we quote from the Wasp a reference to its political antagonists : " With them vice and virtue are convertible terms, as party interest requires. Yes, in this combination may be seen in miniature the conspiracy of a Cataline, and althoughi I have not Tully's powers of elocution, yet ere long I will lash the raseals with plain facts, and by a just exposition of their condnet I will make those pactitions scoundrels feel the just resentment of a just people; and if their callous souls are not impervious to the keenest remorse, they will fly the sight of honest men, and, like Nyctimene, bewail their fall in the dark."

In 1803, Mr. Croswell, the Federalist editor, made a most violent attack on President Jefferson, for which he was indicted by the grand jury of the county. He was tried in February, 1804, and found guilty under the then existing law, though he was defended by no less a lawyer than Alexander Hamilton.

These political controversies did not in those days always end in mere words. Mr. Holt, of the Bee, had upon one occasion printed an article which was extremely severe on Elisha Williams, who, becoming furious in consequence, laid in wait for Mr. Holt (having first taken the precaution of posting several of his political friends within supporting distance), and upon the appearance of the editor assaulted and knocked him down ; an act disgraceful enongh in itself, considering the high position of the perpetrator, and doubly so from the fact that Mr. Williams, who was himself a man of powerful frame, thought it necessary to provide rein- forcements in advance when going to waylay a man who was not only naturally feeble and slight, but was also a cripple.

In those early times the bank question seems to have been a political one. The few banks then in existence appear to have been originated and used as party machines, and the chartering of new ones was not only made a party question, but was often accompanied by bribery and cor- ruption to an extent comparatively as great as that to which the same agents are employed at the present day in the securing of legislative favors to financial projects.

Up to the year 1799 there were in the State of New York but three banks, and the people thought this number was too great, for the system seemed to them too much like that of the old Continental paper money, the evils of which all either recollected or had heard of from their fathers, and the name of bank, too, carried with it the idea of a chartered combination of the money power against the interests of the poor. The three banks in existence were the Bank of New York, the Bank of Albany, and the Bank of Columbia, at Hudson ; all in the hands, or under the influence, of Federalists.

That Columbia county had been able to secure for her- self one of these coveted charters at that early day, and in spite of the strong popular prejudice against them, shows clearly upon what a commanding position of political in- fluence among the counties of the State (inferior ouly to New York and Albany) she had been placed by the num- ber and transcendent abilities of her leading men.

HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

In the year above mentioned the Legislature was peti- tioned to incorporate The Manhattan Company, for " sup- plying the city of New York with pure and wholesome water ;" an object which seemed to be a most laudable one, especially in view of the ravages which had been made in the city by the then recent visitation of the yellow fever. This plausible scheme found favor with the unsuspecting legislators, and the desired charter was granted during the last days of the session of 1799. As it was uncertain what amount might be required for the project, a capital of two million dollars was authorized, and, in view of the possi- bility that this sum might more than cover the outlay, it was provided that " the surplus capital may be employed in any way not inconsistent with the laws and constitution of the United States, or of the State of New York." But not long after the close of the session it was discovered that in this seemingly insignificant clause was contained a grant of banking privileges to Aaron Burr and his Republican associates, who had thus secured by indirection what they knew it was impossible to obtain otherwise, viz., an offset to the power wielded in the interest of the Federalists by the Bank of New York. Hon. Ambrose Spencer, of Columbia, was soon afterwards largely interested in the Manhattan banking concern. Whether he was so interested from the first we are unable to say, but it appears more than proba- blc.

Then came the project of the State Bank at Albany, which was chartered in 1803. The petition was signed by Ambrose Spencer, John Taylor, Elisha Jenkins, Thomas Tillotson, and others; Columbia county being, as usual, well in the foreground. No concealment was here made of the fact that this was a measure urged in the Republican interest, for it was alleged in the petition that not only did the trade and commerce of the capital city require another bank, but that the then-existing bank-the Bank of Albany -was owned by Federalists, and that its power was used oppressively against business men who were members of the Republican party.

The petitioners also asked that, in addition to banking privileges, they might receive a grant or lease of the Salina salt springs for a long term,-say sixty years,-at an annual rent to be paid by them to the State of three thousand dol- lars during the first ten years, three thousand five hundred dollars during a second term of equal length, and four thousand dollars yearly thereafter; the company to be bound to furnish, and have always ready for sale at Salina, mer- chantable salt, at a price not exceeding five shillings per bushel. It is not probable that any among its advocates or opponents realized the enormous value of the concession asked for, but there were not lacking those who felt that it was too extravagant to be granted, and as a result this pro- vision of the bill was finally stricken out .*

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History of Columbia County, New York. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 12

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign Number of Pages: 648

Author: Everts & Ensign; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 648