USA > New York > History of the state of New York, for the use of common schools, academies, normal and high schools, and other seminaries of instruction > Part 14
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Position of affairs at the close of the war.
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SIXTH PERIOD.
2. By that instrument the several States of the Union were merely leagued together for the accomplishment of a specific purpose, retaining in all things their individual sovereignty. and only surrendering it in any case at the pleasure of their accredited representatives, acting under instructions from their own legislature. That purpose having now been accomplished, some more effective provision was deemed indispensable to the functions of a national government in its dealings with other nations, and its discharge of its obligations to its own constit- uent members.
3. Public attention in all the States was therefore turned to the consideration and discussion of such a modification of the existing system as should remedy its manifest defects, and, while providing for an efficient administration of the domes- tic and foreign affairs of the Union as a nation, should at the same time secure to its members respectively the rights and powers pertaining to them in their original capacity as sovereign States.
4. The State of New York occupied a commanding position, at this time, among her sister States. The prominent part taken by her citizens in the Revolutionary struggle ; the fact that she alone of all the United Colonies had promptly met every demand and fulfilled every requisition of the Provisional Gov- ernment, and even made advances on her own credit to supply the deficiencies of other States ; her extensive commerce, and vast territory, and the ability and patriotism of her leading statesmen, -- all entitled her to special consideration, and gave ยท her a powerful influence in the national councils.
5. As early as 1783, immediately after the conclusion of the treaty of peace, a feeling of jealousy of the concentration of power in the hands of the central government was mani- fested by the repeal in the Legislature of an act passed in 1781, on the recommendation of Congress, granting to the United States the import duties collected in the port of New York, and directing their collection by officers appointed by Congress ; and by substituting in its stead a similar appropriation of the duties, to be collected, however, by State officers. In the suc-
Articles of Confederation. - Propositions for modification of the Articles. - The position of New York. - State jealousy of the national government. ,
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THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
ceeding year an art was passed by the same body establishing a custom-house and a revenue systera in place of the regula- tions previously adopted by Congress.
. 6. These acts were the natural result of the large increase of revenue accruing to the State by the revival of trade and commerce consequent on the return of peace and by the navigation laws of the other States, which rendered the city of New York the great commercial mart of the Union. Every effort to restore to Congress the disposition and control of this revenue proved futile. The collectors were appointed by, and made amenable exclusively to, the State authorities ; and the Legislature, in 1786, went so far as to make the duties payable in the bills of credit issued by the State.
7. Congress, perceiving the dangerous consequences to the stability of the national credit of this enactment, - the in- evitable effect of which would be the rapid depreciation of Government securities by the unlimited issue of an incon- vertible paper currency, - requested Governor Clinton to con- vene the Legislature for its reconsideration. This, however, was declined by the Governor, upon the ground that no sufficient cause was shown for the exercise of this extraordinary power, the decision of the Legislature having been but recently made upon full consideration and mature deliberation.
8. In the mean time a convention of commissioners from 1786. the several States, held at Annapolis, in Maryland, in Sep- tember, 1786, - New York being represented by General Hamil- ton, - for the purpose of taking into consideration the trade and commerce of the United States, and the necessity and expediency of a uniform system of commercial regulations, recommended the calling by Congress of a convention of delegates to meet at Philadelphia, in May of the ensuing year, for the sole and ex- press purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation, and reporting to Congress and the several State legislatures such amendments and modifications as should, when confirmed by the former, and agreed to by the requisite number of States, be
Collection of revenue. - Proceedings of the State Legislature. - Proceed- ings of Congress. - Governor Clinton declines calling an extra session. - Convention of commissioners at Annapolis. - Recommendation for the call of a national convention at Philadelphia.
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SIXTH PERIOD.
found adequate to the exigencies of the Government and the preservation of the Union.
1787. 9. Congress having adopted this recommendation, it became necessary for the Legislature of New York, at its regular session in the winter of 1787, to determine whether the State should be represented in that body, and if so, by whom. General Hamilton succeeded in procuring an election to the Legislature as a representative of the city of New York. and his father-in-law, General Philip Schuyler, was already a member of the Senate. In conjunction with Chief-Justice Jay. Chancellor Livingston, and the Van Rensselaers, these men were regarded as the leading champions of the Federal Government ; while Governor Clinton, who had been successively re-elected to his present position from term to term, since the adoption of the State Constitution in 1777, with Justice Yates of the Supreme Court, John Lansing, subsequently Chancellor, and Melancthon Smith, were the prominent advocates of what were deemed States' rights.
10. The Legislature, on its assembling, after an animated debate, in which Hamilton took a leading part, approved, by a strong vote, the proceeding of the Governor in reference to the convocation of an extra session. Messrs. Yates, Lansing, and Hamilton were appointed delegates to the National Convention at Philadelphia ; their powers being, however, specially re- stricted to the revision of the existing Articles of Confedera- tion, in accordance with the call of the convention.
11. On the assembling, in May following, of the National Con- vention, presided over by General WASHINGTON, a great diver- sity of views prevailed among the delegates as to the proper course to be pursued. One portion of this number, including Messrs. Yates and Lansing of New York, insisted upon confin- ing their deliberations to such an amendment of the Articles of Confederation as should enlarge the powers of the national gov- ernment, and give it greater efficiency. Another, under the lead of Hamilton, advocated the formation of an entirely new Constitution, with ample provisions for the concentration of the
Proceedings of the Legislature in its session of 1787. - Approval of the Governor's course. - Appointment of delegates to the National Convention. - Their instructions. - State of parties in the convention.
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THE FEDERALIST.
executive power in a president and senate, to hold office during good behavior, with the power to appoint State governors and control State legislation, a House of Representatives elected triennially, and a permanent judiciary.
12. A third, whose views ultimately predominated, headed - by Randolph of Virginia, in accordance with the views of James Madison, a leading statesman of that Commonwealth, contended for the establishment of a government representing in its Con- stitution both the national and State sovereignty and the peo- ple collectively, - through the President and House of Repre- sentatives, chosen virtually by the people, and a Senate, the members of which should be elected by the State legislatures respectively.
13. On the final prevalence of this plan, the delegation from New York, with the exception of General Hamilton, withdrew from the convention, regarding its determination in this respect as at variance with their instructions and with the explicit object to which the convention itself was restricted. The Constitution - having, however, been completed in accordance with the views of the majority - was, on the 17th of September, adopted and submitted for approval to the several States, through conventions to be called for that purpose, the assent of nine of the thirteen States being required for its ratification.
14. Immediately on its publication in New York, a violent and spirited contest ensued between its advocates and op- ponents, who, in accordance with their previous proclivities, ranged themselves into two distinct and well-organized parties, the former known as Federalists, and the latter as Anti-Federal- ists. Hamilton, in conjunction with Madison and Jay, com- menced and continued in the public papers the admirable series of articles entitled, "THE FEDERALIST," which exerted a power- ful influence upon the public mind, and essentially contributed to the final adoption of the Constitution. Its opponents, how- ever. under the lead of Governor Clinton and his associates, backed by the popular majorities which had hitherto sustained them. rallied with great enthusiasm and ability to the defence of State rights.
Submission of the Constitution to the States. - Organization of par- ties. - " The Federalist."
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SIXTH PERIOD.
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15. On the one hand it was urged by the assailants of the proposed Constitution, that by its adoption a fatal blow would be struck at the independent sovereignty of the States, by the grad- ual absorption of the principal functions of government by the central power ; that the wealth and immense resources, of New York especially, instead of being devoted to the expansion, de- velopment, and cultivation of its vast territory, and the prosper- ity and welfare of its own citizens, would be largely diverted to the national coffers ; that its preponderance of population would be sacrificed, through the agency of the Senate, to the interests of the smaller States, and the popular element swallowed up by an aristocratic concentration of the executive and legislative departments ; that the inevitable tendency of such a state of things would be to the establishment of a virtually monarchical government ; and that the framers of the instrument submitted for ratification clearly and palpably exceeded the powers con- ferred upon them, which embraced only a revision and modifica- tion, instead of a repeal, of the existing Articles of Confederation.
16. To these arguments it was replied by the Federalists, that the distribution of the powers of the new government was so carefully arranged, that, so far from enabling it to trench upon the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the States, it was itself liable to constant and serious encroachments on their part, thereby weakening instead of strengthening the executive and even the legislative department ; that the existing confederacy, consisting as it did of a mere league of independent States, held together only by the common interest of all its members, and subject to disintegration at the pleasure of any, was wholly inadequate to the purposes of government, and nususceptible of any alteration not radically affecting the fundamental principle of its Constitu- tion ; that in view of the probable assent of the requisite number of States for the ratification of the new Constitution, independent- ly of the vote of New York, that State would occupy the unenvi- able and untenable position of a neutral sovereign, surrounded by a great nation, bound together by a federative union ; and that ample provision was made by the instrument submitted for adoption, by which the rights and interests of all classes of citizens and all State organizations were effectually secured.
Arguments of the Anti-Federalists. - Reply of the Federalists.
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THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
17. Governor CLINTON, in his annual message to the 1788. Legislature of 1788, avoided all allusion to the proposed submission of the Constitution to the approval of the State. The subject was, however, brought before the Legislature on the 17th of January, by a resolution proposing the call of a conven- tion for that purpose, which, after some opposition, was passed ; and in the ensuing spring sixty-seven delegates were elected to the convention at. Poughkeepsie, of whom a clear majority were opposed to the Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Chancellor Livingston, Chief-Justice Richard Morris, and James Duane were returned from the city of New York ; and Messrs. Yates and Lansing, Governor Clinton and his brother James Clinton, and Melancthon Smith, were among the dele- gates from the other counties.
18. The convention organized on the 17th of June by the appointment of GEORGE CLINTON as President. A majority of its members strongly urged the calling of a new national con- vention, for the purpose of making additional amendments specified by them, or at the least giving their assent to the pro- posed Constitution on condition of the adoption of such amend- ments ; but on the receipt of intelligence of the ratification of the Constitution by the requisite number of States, contented themselves with its adoption on the 26th of July, by a vote of thirty to twenty-seven, with the recommendation merely of the proposed amendments.
19. On the 13th of September the new Constitution was officially proclaimed ; and on the 8th of December the Legis- lature, specially convened by Governor CLINTON, proceeded to the choice of five delegates to represent the State in the con- cluding session of the Continental Congress. Provision was also made, on a subsequent day, for the choice of presidential elec- tors, and the State divided into congressional districts, in pursuance of which, EGBERT BENSON, WILLIAM FLOYD, JOHN HA- THORN, JEREMIAH VAN RENSSELAER, and PETER SYLVESTER Were elected representatives in the First Congress of the United States.
Election of delegates to State Convention at Poughkeepsie. - Ratification of the Constitution. - Official proclamation of the Constitution. - Special Mission of the Legislature. - Choice of presidential electors and representa- tives in Congress. -
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SIXTH PERIOD.
20. The two Houses not being able to agree upon the mode of choosing senators, the State remained unrepresented in the Senate during the first session. An address to Congress was adopted, requesting the call of another convention at the earliest practicable period, for the purpose of proposing amend- ments to the national Constitution. Important improvements in legal jurisprudence, chiefly prepared by Samuel Jones, an eminent lawyer, were also ingrafted upon the statute-book of the State.
CHAPTER II.
ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. - INAUGURATION OF WASHINGTON AND ADAMS. - INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. - PUBLIC LANDS.
1. EARLY in February, 1789, the presidential electors of the several States assembled at their respective capitals, and
1789. unanimously made choice of GEORGE WASHINGTON of Vir- ginia as President, and JOHN ADAMS of Massachusetts as Vice- President, of the United States. The city of New York having been selected by Congress as the seat of the national government, the City Hall, in which the Continental Congress was accus- tomed to hold its sessions, was remodelled and repaired for the accommodation of its successors. On the 4th of March, the day appointed for the organization of the new government, the hall . was thrown open amid the firing of cannon and ringing of bells. A few only of the members of Congress, however, made their appearance ; and in their absence the residue, owing to the state of the roads and the deficiency of public conveyances, awaited for upwards of a month the arrival of their colleagues. On the 6th of April a sufficient number had arrived to constitute a quorum ; and the Senate and House of Representatives effected an organization, and proceeded to count the votes for President and Vice-President and declare the result.
Recommendation for new convention to propose amendments to the Con- stitution. - Improvement of the law. - Election of President and Vice-Presi- dent. - Organization of the new government. - First meeting of Congress at New York.
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WASHINGTON'S INAUGURATION.
2. On the 21st, Vice-President ADAMS arrived in the city, having been conducted with a military escort from the boundary of the State to Kingsbridge by Governor Clinton, where he was received by both branches of Congress, and accompanied by them to the City Hall. Two days afterwards, President WASHINGTON arrived from Mount Vernon, whence his journey to the capital had been a continuous triumphal procession. At Alexandria, Georgetown, Philadelphia, and Trenton his progress was greeted with the most enthusiastic demonstrations.
3. At Elizabethtown, New Jersey, he was taken in charge by a committee of Congress, and embarking in a barge, splendidly decorated, was conducted to the foot of Wall Street, where he was received by the Governor and the municipal authorities and a large procession of citizens, and escorted to his residence in Cherry Street. In the evening the city was brilliantly illumi- nated, and a splendid display of fireworks closed the festivities of the day.
4. At noon on the 30th of April, after the performance of re- ligious services in all the churches of the city, the inauguration ceremonies were commenced by the formation of a procession from the house of the President elect, headed by the city cavalry, and consisting of the members of Congress and heads of depart- ments in carriages, followed by WASHINGTON in a separate car- riage, and his military family and resident foreign ministers in others.
5. On reaching the Senate Chamber he was received by the Vice-President and conducted to the balcony fronting on Broad Street, where, in the presence of an immense crowd, the oath of office was administered by Chancellor LIVINGSTON. Return- ing to the Senate Chamber, the President delivered the inaugu- ral address, after which the whole assembly proceeded on foot to St. Paul's Church in Broadway, where prayers were read by the chaplain to the Senate, and at their conclusion the Presi- dent was escorted to his residence. A display of fireworks in the evening concluded the ceremonies.
6. The triumph of the Federalists in the adoption of the Con- stitution, and the prevailing popular sentiment in favor of the
Arrival of the President and Vice-President. - Triumphal progress of Washington. - Inauguration ceremonies.
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SIXTH PERIOD.
new administration of the general government, gave rise to a strong feeling of opposition to the re-election of Governor Clinton, whose official term would expire in July. Vigorous efforts were accordingly made, preparatory to the April elections, to replace him by Associate-Justice ROBERT YATES, of the Su- preme Court, who although a leading opponent of the new Con- stitution, had since its ratification uniformly given it, officially and otherwise, his support, and who, from his popularity with the Anti-Federalists, might, it was supposed, detach a sufficient number of his friends from the support of Governor Clinton to insure his defeat.
7. The contest, however, after an animated canvass, resulted in the re-election of Governor CLINTON by a reduced majority. Notwithstanding the general success of the Federalists in both branches of the Legislature, Pierre Van Cortlandt was elected Lieutenant-Governor. Both General Hamilton and Colonel Burr actively participated in the contest as supporters of Jus- tice Yates, as did most of the prominent and leading men of the Federal party.
8. On the 6th of July the Legislature convened in special ses- sion under the proclamation of the Governor ; and on the 19th, General PHILIP SCHUYLER and RUFUS KING were appointed sen- ators of the United States. The latter gentleman had been a representative from Massachusetts in the Continental Congress, where he had distinguished himself for his abilities and practical talents, and had but recently become a citizen of New York. No other business of general importance was transacted during the session.
9. During the second session of the first Congress, which 1790. convened on the 8th of January, 1790, the Secretary of the Treasury, General HAMILTON, proposed the assumption of the foreign and domestic public debt, amounting to fifty-four millions of dollars, together with the debts of the respective States contracted during the war, estimated at about half that amount. So acrimonious were the debates and discussions on
Opposition to the re-election of Governor Clinton. - Nomination of Chief- Justice Yates. - His support by the Federalists. - Re-election of Clinton. - General success of the Federalists. - Appointment of United States son. ators. - Ilamilton's plan for the assumption of the public debt.
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THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
the latter part of this proposition, that serious apprehensions were entertained of the dissolution of the Union. Through the joint exertions of Hamilton and Jefferson, however, the meas- ure was finally adopted by the vote of the Southern delegates, in return for which the North consented to the permanent loca- tion of the national capital on the banks of the Potomac after the expiration of ten years, during which its scat should be at Philadelphia. The State election in April resulted in a Federal majority in both Houses.
10. The Legislature assembled in the city of New York 1791. on the 3d of January, 1791. By the census of the pre- ceding year the population of the State amounted to 324,127, showing an increase chiefly in the northern and western coun- ties of upwards of 85,000 during the past five years. A new apportionment of representatives and senators became, therefore, necessary, and was recommended by the Governor in his annual message ; and a communication between the Hudson and Lake Champlain on the north and Wood Creek on the west, by clear- ing out the obstructions in the Mohawk, and cutting a canal, were suggested for the purpose of affording greater facilities to the settlers in that region.
11. The term of office of General Schuyler as United States Senator having expired, AARON BURR was appointed as his suc- cessor. A new apportionment of senatorial districts was made, the State being divided into four great districts, - Eastern, West- ern, Southern, and Middle ; the Eastern and Western cach elect- ing five, the Middle six, and the Southern eight senators. Three new counties - Herkimer, Otsego, and Tioga - were formed ont of Montgomery, formerly a portion of Tryon County. The As- sembly under the new apportionment consisted of seventy-three and the Senate of twenty-four members. The State elections in April exhibited no material change in the state of par- ties.
12. At the termination of the war the State found itself the owner of more than seven millions of acres of wild, unculti-
Removal of the capital. - State election. - Meeting of the Legislature. - Population of the State. - Recommendations of the Governor - Inter- nal improvement. - Election of Aaron Burr as United States Senator. - Reapportionment of the State.
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SIXTH PERIOD.
vated, and unimproved lands, situated chiefly in the northern and western portions of its territory. Prior to the present year few sales of this vast possession had been made ; and an act w ... accordingly passed authorizing the Commissioners of the Land Office, consisting of the Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney- General, Treasurer, and Auditor, to dispose of these lands in such manner as they should judge most conducive to the public interests.
13. Under this act, upwards of five millions of acres were sold during the year for about one million of dollars, - more than one half of the whole to a single individual, - Alexander McComb, - for eightpence per acre, on a long credit without in- terest. Large parcels were also sold for a trifling consideration to other purchasers. Such an indiscriminate and wholesale disposition of this vast inheritance was, to say the least, injudi- cious in the extreme, and wholly indefensible on any sound principles of political economy, and could scarcely fail to sub- ject its agents to severe condemnation.
14. During the session ensuing, commencing on the 5th 1792. of January, 1792, an act was passed, in accordance with the recommendation of the Governor, incorporating the " West- ern Inland Lock Navigation Company," of which General Philip Schuyler was President, for the improvement of the navigation of the Mohawk River and the construction of a canal from thence to Seneca Lake and Lake Ontario. The " Northern In- land Lock Navigation Company " was soon afterwards organized under the same auspices, for the purpose of opening a communi- cation between the Hudson River and Lake Champlain, and the route carefully surveyed by Mr. Weston, a civil engineer, and Thomas Eddy ; thereby laving a foundation for those magnifi- cent works of internal improvement, destined hereafter to exert so great an influence on the prosperity of the State.
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