USA > New York > History of the state of New York, political and governmental, Vol. II 1822-1864 > Part 11
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and to the Regency began to call themselves. Tens of thousands of people thronged the Castle and the adjacent Battery Park, and it is recorded that three pipes of wine and forty barrels of beer were consumed. Daniel Webster happened to be visiting a friend in Greenwich Street, and made from a window of his host's house a brief address of congratulation. The event was indeed considered to be of national impor- tance, for great public celebrations were held in many places-at Goshen, New York; at Albany, at Buffalo, at Philadelphia, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and elsewhere.
It was in this campaign that the Whig party made its first appearance. With extraordinary dispatch the names of National Republican party and Anti-Masonic party were discarded, and the supporters of the old organizations were fused into a single compact party under the new name. The leaders, above all others, were William Henry Seward, just completing his last term in the State Senate, and Thurlow Weed, editor of the Albany Evening Journal. With them there was pres- ently associated, for a time, a young man destined to still greater fame than either of them, the young jour- nalist Horace Greeley, who at this time was just start- ing his literary weekly, the New-Yorker. The name Whig was chosen in memory of the English Whigs of Revolutionary times, who were the friends of America, and indeed of the Whig party in the Colonies, which became the patriot party. Further to promote and express the historical remembrance, the new Whigs called the Democrats Tories. A "new revolution"
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was proclaimed, against "King Andrew," and "liberty poles" were erected in emulation of those of 1776.
While the new party was primarily and essentially anti-Jacksonian, in New York it was inevitably also anti-Marcy. Indeed, we may reckon that it was at this time that State and national politics became com- pletely identified. Formerly it had often been possible for a man to belong to one party in State affairs and to another in national ; or there were State parties, such as the Clintonian, entirely distinct from the national. But now for the first time there was a clear-cut division between two great parties, in city, in State, and in nation.
Having made so fine a showing in the New York City election the Whigs determined to repeat the per- formance in the whole State by electing a Governor of their own against Marcy, who was universally re- garded as a candidate for reelection. A vigorous at- tack was made upon him for his special message and his proposal of a State loan to the banks. Although that loan had never in fact been made there was rea- son to believe that the mere provision for it had an immensely beneficial effect. Nevertheless it was pitched upon as an attempt to mortgage the State for the benefit of the banks, and "Marcy's mortgage" be- care a term of opprobrium comparable with that re- lating to the patch on his trousers in the former cam- paign.
A State convention of the Whigs was held at Syracuse in August-the first convention at which the name Whig was formally used. Only three names were so
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BENJAMIN F. BUTLER
Benjamin F. Butler, statesman; born, Kinderbrook Landing, N. Y., December 17, 1795; studied law with Martin Van Buren; removed to Albany with him and became his law partner in 1817; district attorney of Albany county, 1821-1825; in 1825 was named one of three commissioners to revise the statutes of the state of New York; member of assembly in 1828; commis- sioner to adjust the boundary lines between the states of New York and New Jersey; in 1833 was appointed attorney general of the United States by President Jackson and served until 1838, having been also acting secretary of war from October, 1836, to March, 1837; United States attorney for the southern district of New York, 1838-1841; died at Paris, France, Novem- ber 8, 1858.
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much as considered for the Governorship, and two of these were considered merely out of courtesy to the veteran leaders who bore them. One was John C. Spencer, whose infirmities of temperament made him impossible as a candidate. The second was Francis Granger, who had been repeatedly defeated and who for that reason was promptly ruled out. The third was William Henry Seward. He was a young man, only thirty-three, but during his four years in the State Senate had distinguished himself above most of his colleagues. His ability was recognized as great, his character was above reproach, his personality was at- tractive. Coming of a Jeffersonian Democratic family, he had supported John Quincy Adams in 1824 and had been a loyal champion of his administration. In 1828 he had been chairman of the State convention of the National Republicans, and again, of course, a sup- porter of Adams. Thereafter he was a leader of the Anti-Masonic party, but earnestly advocated its union with the National Republicans. In 1832 he of course supported the coalition, but preferred Wirt to Clay for the Presidency. He had been elected to the State Senate as an Anti-Mason, and had greatly commended himself by his votes on most of the important issues that had come before that body. It should be ob- served that in the spring of 1834 he spoke and voted against the State loan proposal of Governor Marcy. While he had cordially supported President Jackson in his fight against nullification, he had as strongly opposed the anti-Bank policy. He had made himself conspicuous by his advocacy of the abolition of im-
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prisonment for debt, of the enactment of a general law for the creation of business corporations, of the construction of roads, canals, and other internal im- provements, of protection for American industry, and of a National bank.
Mr. Seward was not desirous of the nomination. Indeed, he was reluctant to accept it. But he was practically the unanimous choice of the convention and bowed to the party will. With him was nomi- nated for Lieutenant-Governor Silas M. Stilwell, of New York, who had been for several years a member of the Assembly and as such had been a Democrat and taken his orders from the Regency, but had revolted against the withdrawal of the deposits from the Bank of the United States and eagerly allied himself with the Whigs. These nominations were made amid great enthusiasm, which was manifested in extraordinary fashion when the entire convention, with banners and music, drove the more than a score of miles from Syra- cuse to Auburn to greet Seward at his home.
A little later, on September 10, the Democrats held their State convention at Herkimer and with only two dissenting votes renominated Marcy and Tracy. The campaign that followed was animated and by no means devoid of humor. "Marcy's pantaloons" were again brought forward, and Seward's great shock of sandy red hair became a leading issue. Democrats sneered at the "red-haired young man," and Seward's friends retorted by pointing out-or claiming-that most great men in history had been red-headed, in- cluding Esau, Jason, Achilles, and Samson. It was
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also pointed out that Martin Van Buren, the Demo- cratic leader, had red hair-"the only good thing about him," said one caustic critic. But the real issues were national rather than State or personal. The influence of the national administration was brought to bear in Marcy's behalf. And in the end Marcy and Tracy won handsomely. Marcy received 181,905 votes, to 168,969 for Seward. The Democrats also won the Legislature by a sweeping majority, and elected most of their Congressional candidates. They elected seven out of eight Senators and 91 out of the 122 members of Assembly.
It was apparently a crushing blow for the new Whig party, but did not destroy or discourage it. Seward went back to his law practice, cheerful and expectant that some day his time of triumph would come.
CHAPTER XI
STATE CARE FOR AGRICULTURE
T HE official interest of the State of New York in agriculture, which has ever been one of its fore- most industries, may be said to date from the time of Governor Marcy, who gave it its initial impetus. In his message to the Legislature of 1834 he recommended two measures for the welfare of the farmers-the crea- tion of a State Board of Agriculture and the endowment of a State College of Agriculture. The Legislature was not compliant, but the Governor's formal proposal is a historic reminder that more than a quarter of a century before the Civil War the importance of the agricultural industry was recognized by a far-seeing statesman.
The Governor's proposal was no doubt inspired by an interesting occurrence at Albany two years before. In February, 1832, the capital was the scene of a State convention of representative farmers, which, before it adjourned, laid the foundation of the New York State Agricultural Society. The object of this association was thus proclaimed in its first official circular : "To encourage and promote the organization of county or local societies of agriculture and horticulture, as a means of exciting laudable emulation and of promot- ing habits of industry, economy of labor, and improve- ment in the moral and social condition of society."
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1832-4]
More specifically the purpose was "to establish agricul- tural schools and to hold annual fairs." The mention of agricultural fairs was, of course, no novelty; but the demand for agricultural schools was proof that the leading farmers of New York were alive and alert to the State's food-producing opportunities at a time when most of the mighty expanse of western prairie lands was still virgin soil. The first president of the new State society was James LeRoy De Chaumont, a French refugee and extensive landowner, whose family name a town and village of Jefferson county now bear. The organization was incorporated by an act of the Legisla- ture in the following April.
The prospectus of the society enlightens us regarding the division of agricultural activities in that distant time, and also the problems that confronted the farmer. The problems chiefly relaed to fertilization, crop rota- tion, draining, and insect depredations. Farm industry was divided into stock husbandry, tillage husbandry, horticulture, and household arts. It is curious to find that in 1832 the classification of "household arts" on New York farms included not only home spinning and weaving, but also the rearing of silkworms and the preparation of domestic wines. Under the articles of incorporation the society was authorized to acquire real estate to the value of $25,000. It held annual meetings, and in 1834 it established a monthly journal called the Cultivator, with Jesse Buell as editor.
It does not apear that in the first nine years of its existence the society accomplished much in the way of holding annual fairs. The exhibitions of this kind were
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confined to modest collections of farm products at Albany, which aroused but a limited interest. But in February, 1841, the executive committee of the State society held a meeting at the capital which led to big results. It decided that the time had come for a more efficient organization within the society and a more vigorous prosecution of its purposes. It revised the constitution and adopted a business-like system of an- nual dues, with life memberships. Finally it petitioned the Legislature for financial aid in the furtherance of its objects. As it turned out, this was the first step to- ward the introduction of a State Fair. The Legisla- ture responded by passing a bill which appropriated $5,000 per annum for five years, of which $700 was to be awarded to the State Agricultural Society, $950 to the American Institute of New York, and the rest to the various counties of the State, according to popula- tion, for strictly agricultural purposes. The modest allotments to the counties were placed at the command of local agricultural societies, which were made tribu- tary to the State organization. There was no reference to local fairs in the appropriation act, but the officers of the State society and of its local branches were au- thorized "to regulate and award premiums on such articles, productions, and improvements as they may deem best calculated to promote the agricultural and household manufacturing interests of the State." In order to utilize to the fullest the educational effects of the subsidy, the new law required the winners of premiums to deliver to the president of each society, in writing, as accurate a description as possible of the
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soil preparation and fertilization, or the stock feed- ing, by which the superior results were attained.
The way was thus cleared for the first State Fair. The executive committee of the State society held another meeting in April, after the Legislature had acted, and adopted the following :
"Resolved, That the New York Agricultural Society will hold its first annual Fair in the village of Syracuse on Wednesday and Thursday, September 29 and 30 next."
Syracuse was chosen on account of its central loca- tion in the same season that inspired its later selection as the permanent home of the State Fair. The place could be conveniently reached both by rail and canal. But at that time there was evidently no intention on the part of the committee to establish a stationary Fair at Syracuse. It was rather the committee's purpose to make the Fair a movable institution, to pass it around, so to speak, among the larger communities of the State; and, as the event proved, no less than eleven different cities or villages were, by turn, favored in this way. We may anticipate a little by stating that after the original choice of a Fair site the State Agricultural Exposition, in the course of its rounds, was staged at the two great extremes of the State-New York City and Buf- falo,-as far north as Watertown, and as far south as Elmira.
The habitat of the first State Fair was judiciously chosen. In 1841 the Syracuse Court House stood at the southwest corner of a large and unsettled space bound- ed by four highways, including the present North Sa- lina Street. Within the quadrilateral was a fine grove.
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The Court House was thrown open for the display of farm products and implements, while the pens for the animal exhibits were erected in the grove. The exhibi- tion was a great success, from the educational and spec- tacular point of view. Between ten and fifteen thousand people visited the grounds during the two days, but the attendance meant nothing in the financial sense, inas- much as no admission fee was charged. It is said that the concourse of people that overran thevillage was likened to the political mass-meetings of the preceding year, the year of the memorable Harrison-Van Buren campaign. On the day preceding the opening of the Fair the vil- lagers were awed by the sight of twenty-five cars, filled with livestock from Albany and the Hudson River counties, rolling into the primitive freight-yard. The principal oration at the Fair was delivered by President Eliphalet Nott, of Union College. Such festivities as diversified the Fair attractions were supplied by the village, but a popular feature harmonizing with the Fair itself was a plowing contest on a farm at Onondaga Valley. The Syracuse weeklies of that day referred with pride to the feat of the Syracuse House in supply- ing a "farmers' dinner" to no less than twelve hundred people. The records show that the exhibition of farm- ing implements included threshing-machines, straw- cutters, farming-mills, plows, harrows, cultivators, drills, scythes, pitchforks, and horse-rakes. The pre- mium awards to the winning exhibitors were announced before an audience that packed the New York Central waiting-room.
The second State Fair was held in Albany the fol-
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1842-3]
lowing year. It lasted three days. It may be observed incidentally that the time for the State Fair sessions was extended to four days in 1851, and not until after the Civil War did fairs lasting a week become the rule. The center of personal interest at the Albany Fair was Governor Seward, who made the principal address. It is instructive to recall that, while expressing his satis- faction with the exposition, he deplored the lack of educational advantages in agricultural industry. He emphasized the "mortifying fact" that "an inferior edu- cation is deemed sufficient for those who are destined to the occupation of agriculture." "While other arts," he said, "are rapidly improving, this, of human arts the first and last, whose cultivation leads to plenty and is cheered by health and contentment, remains compara- tively unassisted and stationary." Among Governor Seward's claims to grateful remembrance in this State his pioneer interest in the cause of agricultural educa- tion deserves a place.
Before the date of the third State Fair, which was assigned to Rochester for late September, 1843, the State society decided that the time had come for charg- ing an admission fee. It looked like a bold experiment, considering that the Fair was partly financed by the State. It was also an expensive move, owing to the necessity of enclosing the Rochester Fair Grounds, oc- cupying some ten acres and overlooking the Genesee Gorge, with a high board-fence. But the venture was justified by the results. The assemblage of visitors was so great that the official chronicler for the State society waxed enthusiastic in describing it. "Canal-boats and
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railroad trains," he wrote, "poured in their thousands daily, and the manner in which the streets were blockad- ed indicated that every wheeled vehicle within fifty miles of Rochester had, by some magician's wand, been at once congregated in the place." The price of admis- sion, fixed, by the way, at twelve and one-half cents, was evidently no deterrent. In this instance, however, the Fair was not the sole attraction, as will readily be be- lieved when it is stated that two national celebrities, and one predestined to equal fame, were among the adver- tised visitors. Besides the Governor of the State, Wil- liam C. Bouck, the first Rochester Fair had as its guests Martin Van Buren, Daniel Webster, and ex-Governor Seward.
Webster was then at the height of his contemporary renown. The announcement that he would speak must have drawn a multitude to the Fair. His hearers were not disappointed; for the report of his address in the records of the State society is a striking revelation of his power to adorn even so prosaic a subject as agricul- ture. He seized the occasion to compliment New York upon its construction of the Erie canal, which he hailed as a mighty enterprise whereby "the products of the farmer may be easily and speedily transported to the place of sale." The speech was notable on account of Webster's happy forecast of the agricultural possibili- ties of New York State. "New York City," he told his hearers, "has been brought very near your doors. The great emporium of this continent lies before you. You are rich in your home market-a market of purchase and sale. All New York is at your feet. You can deal
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with her as if you lived in one of her wards-I mean for the purpose of commerce." Ex-President Van Buren preceded Webster with a brief talk in which he referred pleasantly to his experience with a farm of one hundred and fifty acres at Kinderhook. On the last day of the fair Webster, Van Buren, and Seward were fellow-spectators at a "plowing match" on a farm near the eastern limits of the city. Eighteen plowmen en- tered the contest, the maximum number the field would accommodate. A quarter of an acre was allowed to each team, horse, and plow-holder, and the time limit was an hour and ten minutes. Unfortunately, history tells us nothing as to the identity of the winner or win- ners in a contest of which this trio of great Americans were the witnesses. It was perhaps a drawn battle, for the official annalist informs us that "scarcely two of the spectators could agree as to the individuals to whom the premiums should be awarded." To complete this refer- ence to the memorable Rochester Fair of 1843, it should be recalled that the president of the State Agricultural Society at that time was Farmer (afterward General) James S. Wadsworth.
After these auspicious beginnings the State Fair de- veloped steadily in magnitude and in public favor in the years before the Civil War. Among the famous Ameri- cans who attended the early fairs as guests and orators were George Bancroft, Josiah Quincy, John A. Dix, ex-President John Tyler, Vice-President Millard Fill- more, and Stephen A. Douglas. In 1856 Horace Greeley was one of the donors of premiums for the State Fair at Watertown.
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The record of the State Fair's circuit prior to 1890, when it settled down in its Syracuse home, may now be completed. The four cities most in favor with the State society were Albany, Rochester, Elmira, and Utica. Utica captured the Fair eight times, and the other three cities nine times each. In all these years Syracuse, despite its central location, was the site of the Fair only three times-in 1841, 1849, and 1858,-from which it may be judged that considerations other than geographical convenience determined the selections. Buffalo was awarded the Fair three times, Saratoga three times, and Watertown twice; while New York City, Poughkeepsie, and Auburn each had one Fair to its credit. In the matter of attendance the State Fair had its share of vicissitudes, but not once was the annual exposition omitted for any cause. Even in the Civil War years it was uninterruptedly continued. In that gloomy period the State Fair had to dispense with the visits of American celebrities, but after peace was re- stored this feature was again in evidence. For example, the Utica Fair of 1865 was attended not only by Gover- nor Fenton but by two ex-Governors, Horatio Seymour and John A. King, and by two famous Union com- manders, General Joseph Hooker and General Daniel Butterfield. In the last decade before the Civil War the receipts from the annual Fair ranged from about $6,000 to $19,000.
In the early 'sixties the State societies began to realize the inadequacy of a movable State Fair conducted on the gypsy principle. In 1863 it took a progressive step by procuring adjustable structures suitable for exhibi-
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tion purposes. In its report it boasted of this outfit as "an advance toward the style of architecture in which agriculture will yet display its annual triumphs." This was the germ idea that ultimately developed into the permanent, stationary State Fair. An innovation look- ing in that direction was adopted by the society in 1872. In that year the Chemung County Board of Supervis- ors decided to make a tempting bid for the State Fair privilege. It offered to bond the county in the sum of $50,000 to procure a public fund for State Fair pur- poses. The condition of the agreement, which was promptly accepted by the State Society, was that the Fair should be allotted to the city of Elmira every third year for a twelve-year period. In pursuance of this plan the Fair was held in Elmira in 1872, 1875, 1878, 1881, 1884, and 1888, the last year thrown in for good meas- ure. Of the proceeds of the Chemung bonds, $20,000 was expended for a Fair site of fifty acres and the bal- ance was turned over to the society for the construction of buildings.
The Elmira contract had barely expired by limita- tion when a movement was launched in Syracuse for bringing the State Fair to final anchorage in that city. In 1887 a considerable fund was raised for the purpose by popular subscriptions supplemented by an appro- priation from the municipal treasury. Options were obtained for a desirable site in the city's western sub- urbs. Then followed a proffer to the State society of a hundred acres of ground for a permanent State Fair habitat, within easy access from the business center of Syracuse. In 1889 the executive committee of the
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society voted to accept the offer. To the original pur- chase the society added thirteen and a half acres, and the tract has since been extended by periodic additions. The Fair of 1889 had been promised to Albany, but in 1890 the Fair was welcomed to the home where it has since remained.
Now that the wanderings of the Fair were over, the State society moved with energy to develop its perma- nent plant. A group of buildings suitable for varied exhibits were gradually erected, and a carefully graded half-mile track for horse-racing was soon included among the Fair's equipments and attractions.
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